Thérèse and Léonie walk into the conservatory. The room is decorated with corn dolls and sheaves of grain for the harvest festival. Thérèse notices that Léonie is heavier than she was as a teenager. Thérèse feels inadequate in her frumpy, borrowed, synthetic clothes. Thérèse comments that her father, Papa, brought the chandelier from Italy for her mother. Léonie counters tartly, saying that she has kept all of the important objects that belonged to their family. The two women prepare for supper and have a drink.
The tension between Thérèse and Léonie is apparent as they meet after a twenty-year absence. Thérèse feels awkward, as she is not used to social interaction. Thérèse attempts to.....
