An hour later, they were beginning their second Martinis at a student bar. The first had made Norton mildly sentimental, but not Laura. He was trying to prod her into agreeing to visit over the summer, but she remained evasive. She hadn’t decided whether to look for a job in New York or in Los Angeles, and he was irritated by the distance of both cities from Montana, unaware that Laura, at age twenty-one, spent very little time pondering his loneliness.
En time senere blev de begynder deres andet Martinis på en studerende bar. Den første havde gjort Norton mildt sentimental, men ikke Laura. Han prøvede at prod hende til at acceptere at besøge i løbet af sommeren, men hun forblev undvigende. Hun havde ikke besluttet, om at søge job i New York eller i Los Angeles, og han blev irriteret af afstanden fra begge byer fra Montana, uvidende om, at Laura, i en alder af enogtyve, brugt meget lidt tid overvejede sin ensomhed.