Chapters 5 - 6 Summary

Paul runs after Anita, and he drives with her to the dinner. Paul and Anita greet Kroner and Baer. Kroner is a fatherly figure, and he was a good friend of Paul's father. He makes Paul feel like a child. Paul and Anita learn that there have been rumors that Paul is mentally unwell, and Baer lets it slip that Shepherd told them. Shepherd was one of Paul's college friends, and they started at Ilium together. Shepherd is fiercely competitive, but he has never been as successful as Paul or Finnerty. Embarrassed that Paul knows Shepherd informed on him, Shepherd takes a walk out on the golf course.

Fred Berringer, a young engineer whose test scores are barely good enough for his job but who comes from a well-placed family, challenges Paul to a checkers match. Paul is the local checkers...