Summary

Lucy and her friend Alexis hang out in Central Park. Lucy mentions she has to babysit that night, and contemplates the statue in the park called The Falconer, which depicts a boy releasing a bird into the air. At her babysitting gig, she has condescending thoughts about the appearance of the child's mother, Janie Gruener. Once Janie has left, Lucy goes through the things in her study. In particular she notes a book filled with photographs of beautiful models. Percy arrives bearing a gift, a copy of Lucy's father's novel that he found in a secondhand shop. Her father wrote the book before Lucy was born and refrains from talking about it now, as he has a successful career as a lawyer and no longer writes.

Lucy and Percy discuss Percy's parents' money, and Percy mentions that he does not believe in love...