Chapter Two Summary

The weekend prior to Mardi Gras is slow at the office, but John goes to the office and makes a wise investment on American Motors. He becomes obsessed with his secretary, Sharon Kincaid, who is from a small town in Alabama called Eufala. John frequently calls his aunt to check on Kate and she seems to be doing much better. She is seeing a doctor, but Kate honestly tells John she does not believe he is truly helping her.

John boldly thinks to himself that he is completely in love with Sharon now. He vows to treat her with a Gregory Peckish sort of distance, admiring her from afar. He is reading a novel, Arabica Deserta, concealed in a Standard & Poor binder so as to look busy. Sharon, on the other hand, carries around Peyton Place, concealing it from him. John...