Summary

The story centers around Henry Luff, a prominent New York City painter, on a single day in which he is supposed to meet his long-estranged daughter. Henry’s declining health is the focus of the story’s first few pages. He describes various physical pains and his deteriorating vision, while reminiscing about a woman named Olivia, who the reader later learns was his long-time girlfriend who recently passed away from drug addiction. Henry’s daughter, Elise, is an eighteen-year-old “cello prodigy” (69), who Henry became estranged from when she was still a baby. On this day, Elise is making her orchestral debut at Carnegie Hall, and she and Henry have agreed to have lunch.

Before their meeting, Henry visits his doctor who, after an uncomfortable examination, informs Henry that his abdominal pain is most likely a result of colon cancer. During the examination, Henry...