Summary

The narrator starts hanging around Monsieur T. more often, and even buys him gifts in order to earn his affections. One day, when the narrator is close to Monsieur T.'s house, he sees the girls at the beach. Before going to Monsieur T.'s, he runs back home, puts on a pink tie, combs his hair, covers a pimple on his face, and takes his mother's umbrella with a jade handle, which he sees as a sign of "opulence" (4). When the narrator begs Monsieur T. to take a walk with him by the beach, Monsieur T. agrees to go but only after he finishes writing a letter. By the time he finishes, the girls are gone.

After they walk on the deserted beach, the narrator accompanies Monsieur T. to the post office. On their way back, they run into the six girls. The...