Part 3: Ceremony, Chapters 6 and 7 Summary

It is the week before Christmas and Leslie Courtney is searching his studio and apartment to find Persia's cat Houdini, the only other link to Persia that remains besides Iris. Leslie took the cat after Persia died and Iris went off to college and ever since has relied on Houdini's company even though Leslie is allergic to the animal and does not like the cat's sneaky behavior. Leslie searches the studio again and lets himself drift back in time when Persia was still alive and the walls were covered with her portraits. Now the portraits hang in Leslie's bedroom so that Iris will not be upset when she visits the studio in the future.

Since Persia's death, Leslie has resigned himself to a solitary life of simple meals and nights spent alone with the exception of Houdini...