Carla

As the story opens, Carla and Benito are driving to a lunch party. Having met Benito a month earlier at another party, Carla has invited him to accompany her. Carla is younger than he is, works as a reporter, has long, streaked hair, and is thin. During the drive to the party, she makes conversation with him, and Benito remembers thinking when they met (although he does not remember her very well) that she seemed nice, quiet, and intelligent.

At the end of the story, the reader understands that Carla never had any romantic intentions toward Benito. She is engaged to Posey's son, Patrick, and has merely been friendly to Benito. She thought that he might know some people at the party and be able to tell her something about them. When the story ends, it is unclear whether or not Carla intentionally treated Benito as a date...