Chapters 5-6 Summary

In chapter five, Carl gets a threatening letter from his mother, who believes the marriage to be pending, but not complete. She threatens to cut Carl off financially, should he marry Annie. Both Annie's mother and Carl's mother assume a pregnancy has sparked the need for marriage. Carl writes a letter telling his mother the truth, and Annie considers leaving to ease the pressure on Carl, but Carl resists. He explains his life with such a pushy mother but resists loosing Annie for his mother's sake. He confesses that he dreads his mother's response to the truth.

In his little bit of free time, Carl attends a tennis match with a Japanese friend. Annie feels inferior next to such an exotic person. When Carl's friend addresses her as Mrs. Brown, she puzzles at the address but finds it agreeable to her...