Tales of the City

Brian lies in Connie’s bed and smokes a cigarette. Before long, they are in a raging argument. Connie tells Brian that he fails to provide “‘a little tenderness’” (72) in bed; Brian replies with sarcasm and quotations. As Brian apologizes, Connie reveals that it’s her birthday. Brian holds Connie “until she had stopped crying” (72). He makes her a sandwich with four matches stuck in the bread as makeshift candles.

DeDe waits for Beauchamp to arrive home. She is angry and watches the flock of green parrots outside her window. To calm down, she takes a long bath. Soaking in the water, she “realized suddenly that most of her ideas about love and marriage and sex had solidified when she was fourteen years old” (74). After examining herself in a mirror, she decides to look up the number of Splinter Riley, a former lover. 

“Mercifully” (75), Splinter answers the phone. Immediately, he accidentally reveals that Beauchamp is not at his club. Though DeDe invites Splinter to her house, Splinter declines, saying that he is too in love with his wife. DeDe orders groceries. The delivery boy arrives, an 18-year-old of Chinese descent named Lionel Wong, and she talks to him about a museum exhibit and offers him a drink.