Summary

Leda gets back to her apartment and immediately examines the painful spot where she was hit. She wonders where the pinecone had come from and realizes, "[a] sudden blow, in the end, is only wonder and pain" (31). She decides to calm herself down by going out to dinner.

Once outside, she finds the streets in town crowded with people from the beach. The spot on her back where she was hit continues to hurt, and she cannot stop thinking about what happened. She calls her daughters to tell them about the incident; Marta answers and talks "about how she was doing, non-stop and shrill" (31). She tells Leda about a party she and her sister went to with their father, goes on to discuss Canada's climate and does not ask Leda how she is doing. She does not mention her father, Leda's ex-husband, but Leda...