Section 16, Through p. 433 Summary

Before boarding the plane at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport to jet off to Spain to meet Renata, Charlie receives a tearful trans-Atlantic call from his lover, who assures him it would cost far too much for her to explain what is wrong at transoceanic rates. She acknowledges, however, that her sobbing has probably cost a lot too. She does manage to relate, however, that she is convinced the man she went to see, Signor Biferno, is indeed her father, but that he was furious when she introduced herself. Her mother, the Senora, had just filled suit against the man for back child support for all of Renata's life, and the process server had been to his house just before Renata showed up on his doorstep. The Senora had not bothered to inform her daughter of the suit.

During the...