Summary

The chapter begins with Constance driving to the hospital. The narrative in this section remains in third person, but unlike the previous chapter, which gives everything away in the style of gossip, Constance's perspective refuses to directly address the reasons for her being at the hospital, at least at first. The narrative follows her thoughts as she thought about everything but the symptom she was having, and the reader will only realize a little ways in that Constance found a lump in her breast and feared she had cancer.

As she drove to the hospital, Constance thought of her girlfriends from school, who had all gone off to various adventures. She was the only one who stayed behind, without any real career, and who married later. As the chapter progresses, her thoughts about her friends and her past are interspersed with her...