Laura

Laura is Nick's wife. They have been together for a year and a half. She is thirty five years old and a legal secretary. The narrator describes her as "easy to be with." Nick's depiction of Laura is based on the continuing "honeymoon" tone of their relationship. Laura's comments and her expressions of affection for Nick are presented in marked contrast to the biting tenor of the exchanges between Terri and Mel.

Mel McGinnis

Mel is a friend of the narrator, and husband of Terri. He is a cardiologist and is described as: "forty-five years old. He was tall and rangy with curly soft hair. His face and arms were brown from the tennis he played." Mel, clearly an alcoholic, is the dominant voice in the conversation between the two couples, and the tone of the conversation changes as he becomes increasingly drunk. Mel is the one who...