The Toxique, Chapters 2-16 Summary

Chapter 2: Tony wakes up as usual at six-thirty. As usual, she turns to look at West, the man sleeping beside her. Tony rejoices in the miracle of his existence and his presence in her life. "Despite everything, despite Zenia, he's still here." (pg. 7) To avoid waking West, Tony slips quietly into her robe and tattered raccoon slippers, and then she slips down the hall to her study in time to catch the sunrise. In her study, the history books she's authored line the shelves, as do her favorite, dog-eared historical papers and textbooks. Tony spends an hour, as usual, marking her student's papers with her thorough, color-coded technique. To avoid boredom, she likes to read an occasional sentence backwards, with both word and letter order reversed.

By quarter to eight, Tony finishes in time to catch the...