Summary

The narrative shifts to Artis’ room. In the room, sits Artis, Ross, and the narrator (we are finally given his name), Jeffrey. Jeffrey thinks back to his prior thinking regarding Artis. He first thought of her as his father’s second wife, then his stepmother, and finally the archeologist. Jeffrey realizes that he was brought here to be with Ross when Artis finally dies. Jeffrey states that Ross is a man shaped by money. He previously worked as a person who calculated the profit impact of natural disasters. The recollection continues, and Jeffrey remembers how Ross would always be diagramming or reciting speeches he would later give, and that Ross once had an affair. Ross left the family when Jeffrey was only 13. However, years later, Jeffrey saw his father on a news program speaking in French about the ecology of unemployment.

Later, Jeffrey...