Summary

In Chapter 16, Lillian leaves Delmonico’s on her way to Wendy’s party. She heads toward the Hudson River, where she runs into Stu, the night watchman whose job is to keep passersby from committing suicide. Lillian and Stu discuss divorce, the army, and Lillian’s one-time job writing limericks. Lillian thinks of the cruise she and Max took on their honeymoon (Chapter 17). The cruise and visit to Italy were even better than either imagined. However, Max aims to convince Lillian to move to the suburbs, and after much persuasion, she agrees. After a few months out of the city, the couple is miserable, moves back to New York, and recognizes that they are “a city couple” (186).

In Chapter 18, Lillian heads toward Wendy’s apartment. She encounters a young pregnant woman, Maritza, near St. Vincent’s hospital, where Lillian’s aunt Sadie worked...