Summary

In Chapter 1 of the second section, “Autumn,” Howard interviewed a new woman for a job at the restaurant. She was very skinny with breast implants and the narrator commented that she was too pretty to survive in the restaurant. Jake told her that everyone had said the same thing about her when she started. Simone continued her lessons about wine tasting and Jake interrupted them. The narrator learned that Simone and Jake had grown up together and their families had been close. Over time, the narrator learned more about Simone. Simone had worked in the restaurant since she was 22 but had left for a while to live in Europe. She had once been engaged to an influential man from the publishing industry, but they did not marry.

In Chapter 2, Ariel – one of the other backwaiters – gave the narrator some Adderall to help her get...