Summary

Lily is preparing for a date with Clayton. His offers to drive Lily back and forth to Maryville have brought them close and she worries about the implications for Samuel. Meeting with Clayton to accompany him to a friend’s wedding in New York marks the first Saturday that Lily has spent away from her son. Lily’s parents are encouraging of the match, regardless, Lily decides that following the reception she will end things with Clayton.

The wedding reception is an extravagant affair fitting the upper-class status of Clayton’s acquaintances. Their appearance as a couple adds to Lily’s nerves. She feels an unease at not entirely belonging with this rest of the wedding guests, a sentiment that is amplified in her inability to connect with the women at her table on common ground without revealing her shameful past. As a...