Summary

Charlene meets a man “on a pea-soupy night” (3). They are both wearing “expensive beige raincoats” and waiting for the bus (3). He borrows a light. While waiting, they “glance furtively at each other” (3).

On the bus, Charlene studies a woman holding her shoes (3). She tries reading Madame Bovary. He asks about the book. They make jokes. Although it “sounds dumb,” this is how they meet (4).

Charlene and the man start seeing each other. They attend movies and concerts and visit museums. He “laughs at [her] jokes” (4). After attending roughly 10 “cultural events,” they sleep together (4). After sex, he tells her his wife’s name is Patricia. She is “an intellectual property lawyer” (4). He asks Charlene how she feels about this. She makes a joke about Patricia’s job and assures him she is strong.

When she was a child, Charlene did not know what the...