Chapter 5 Summary

Robert is not expecting the Narrator at Charlie's as he sits, talking with Lena. She is beautiful, thin, tanned, but stern and suspicious to see him. Internally, he tells her about visiting her old home, seeing how growing up in that environment effects people, making them reproachful of outsiders. He will not apologize for having enjoyed small comforts, thanks to the Marshall Plan. He is glad that he no longer has to be sorry for everything he likes and she does not. She is an aggressor, not a victim. Lena interrupts by asking a simple question and receives a jumpy, defensive answer. She and Robert are clearly involved.

When Lena leaves, Robert asks why the Narrator has kept her a secret and awaits no answer before focusing on a Soviet-American hockey game. Players and fans are both affected by the tension of military...