After seven years of waiting, the chapter ends with the two of them having sex for the first time. It's the end of the road, after all. They've finally reached their "happy ending" . The narrator tells us that he's "so ill-natured" , and that his "evil eye" is a "bad omen." The narrator says that he used to hide it behind his hair, but now he realizes that "personal style" doesn't have anything to do with "age." He also says that his brother is "a tricky one," and that he wonders if he'll ever be able to be friends with him and Mussolini. He says that they're going to have to withdraw some troops from the border, since they don't know how much they'll have to contribute to the war effort. They originally planned to be gone for two days, but they've decided to stay for three days, and the narrator apologizes, saying that since he'd been waiting seven years for this to happen, he apologizes for anything he says. He's sorry that he even said anything, because it's different from what he expected it to be. He admits that he didn't prepare himself for the way things are going to be, but he says that if he hadn't, he would have prepared himself to be his "paramour and ally" in their "overblown lovey" world. He tells the narrator to "tug make sure the guests rooms are empty" for them, because tomorrow's conversation will probably go on long, too.