The chapter opens with a flashback to the present, when the narrator is a student at a fashionable school in New York City. The narrator tells us that he is very happy to be going to school because it will give him a chance to "hang onto a prince" . He also tells the narrator that he will be spending a lot of time with his friends and family. He tells her that he hopes she will be able to hang on to a prince someday. He asks her to help him buy some new clothes for the family since he is used to dressing for his new life. He suggests that she try on some of the new clothes and then he will give them to her. He then tells her to pick out some more clothes to wear to the party that evening. He says that they will need bloomers, panniers, and casual clothes, but that she will need more casual clothes since she is "used to" dressing for her new job. He gives her a list of things to buy for the party, and she tells him to go to the next store on the itinerary. She then tells him that they have another dinner planned for the evening. She tells the girls that she is taking care of kitten who is unwell. She says that the guests will be arriving at the party and that she thinks they will like her. She also tells them that she has been cutting back on her smoking and gum consumption. She asks the girls if they would like to eat lunch together, but they say that they do not want to. She reminds them that the party is about her grandparents and that they are eating out of her hand. The party will be a success, she says.