Wilmington, North Carolina

The first part of the story takes place in Wilmington, North Carolina. This is where Althea and Oliver live and go to school and where they met when they were 6 years old. They have lived in the same neighborhood in Wilmington for 11 years.

Waffle House

The Waffle House restaurant in Wilmington is where Althea takes Oliver when he comes to her house in the middle of the night demanding to go. Normally, they don't like Waffle House but she takes him because he is so insistent. When Oliver wants to sleep in the booth there and Althea tries to get him to leave, he becomes enraged, throwing things and becoming verbally abusive. Althea had no way of knowing but Oliver was still in a sleep state and not really aware of what he was doing.

New York

Both Althea and Oliver end up in New York...