Paul’s parents get divorced when he is very young; his mother lies to him about the absence of his father, but very soon, he understands and accepts the truth. His mother is a self-sufficient woman, selling bonds to keep them afloat until she remarries and their stepfather sends them all – John, Paul, and Alan – away to boarding school. Since their mother has full custody, the boys see their father only a few times a year, during which they are greatly impressed with him, even though he forgets key moments of the time they spent together. Paul enjoys the routine of boarding school, and then he goes to Harvard College just as Britain enters the Second World War. He hasn’t seen his father in a long time, and the two meet briefly at the train station. His father looks older and more tired, and their conversation is stilted. Despite this, when Paul’s elder brother John puts forth the idea of them going to New York to see their father and his new wife Christina, Paul agrees. In New York, they are received by Christina ‘Tina’ Boyd, who is obnoxious and dramatic. She is half-dressed and disheveled, but the boys feel compelled to match the force of her greeting. By the time their father comes home from work, all three of them are drunk, and Tina has already kissed John on the mouth without offering any explanation. Dinner passes in the same way, and Paul is thankful when the evening ends. John sleeps beside him at night. The radio plays the same song that was stuck in Paul's head before his father's first visit after the divorce, and then he hears Tina’s voice cajoling John and attempting to climb into bed with him. John protests loudly, saying he is tired; Tina reluctantly pulls away and goes into the bathroom, and the two brothers leave.