Chapter VIII Summary

Rose's work as a telephone receptionist is described in this chapter. Now twenty-four, she is young woman who would like to have a beau, and has learned from her female colleagues how to get dates by flirting on the phone. They tell young men to meet them outside the post office, near their work at department store called Bairds. If the prospective date looks uninteresting, the girl will just pass him by. Rose makes a date with a young man named Toby Raven, and when she sees him, he looks more interesting than the others. He is well-dressed, wears glasses, and seems to her like an "individual." They have lunch at a counter and chat. He makes guesses about her background and she guesses that he is a reporter. They make a date. He takes her to an out-of-the-way Italian restaurant...