Summary

There are six chapters in Part III: Pox. The first chapter begins during February. Mitko appears at the narrator’s home almost two years after their fight in Varna. He appears thin and wet, downtrodden from whatever has been happening to him. He tells the narrator that he has been diagnosed with syphilis and that the narrator should get tested. The narrator now has a boyfriend, a Portuguese man named R., and he is worried to think about what his new boyfriend will think about the news.

The narrator tests positive for syphilis at the first clinic but is directed to another clinic for another test and possible treatment. He tells R. about the infection and encourages him to get tested, news that makes R. very nervous and upset. Mitko continues to visit the narrator. They go to a McDonalds...