Chapter 14 Summary

Howie notices that the walk back to the office seems longer than the walk to CVS. He has bought a hot dog and is eating it on the way back. He buys a cookie too, and then buys milk to go with it at Papa Gino's, as mentioned before. He goes to the brick plaza and sits on a bench. Howie then notes some architectural detail of the bench and looks at the view of his building, particularly the mezzanine floor.

He has fifteen minutes left and so opens his book, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. He notes in a footnote a memory about eating and reading at the same time in which his mother gives him some relevant advice on the subject. Finding his place, Howie reads the line: "Observe, in short, how transient and trivial is all mortal life ..." which he strongly disagrees...