- Back in suburban Los Angeles in 1949, Laura Brown's birthday cake hasn't turned out quite like she hoped. "It looks amateurish, handmade," she thinks, and she had wanted it to be "more lush and beautiful, more wonderful" (9.1).
- Laura knows that her husband, Dan, will love the cake, love all of his gifts, and love her for them, too. Still, she feels disappointed and dissatisfied.
- As Laura washes the dishes, her neighbor, Kitty, knocks at the door.
- Laura lets Kitty in, and, when Kitty says that she needs a favor, Laura invites her to sit down.
- The two women look at Dan's birthday cake, and Laura is doubly embarrassed by its flaws now that someone else is seeing them, too. She gives Kitty a cup of coffee, and the two of them sit down at the table.
- Laura makes small talk with Kitty until Kitty comes out with the favor she needs. She tells Laura that she needs to check into the hospital for a day or two, so that her doctors can take a look at an abnormal growth that they've found in her uterus. She wants to know if Laura will feed her dog.
- Laura moves closer to Kitty and wraps her in a hug, and Kitty starts to cry.
- As Kitty cries and Laura holds her, Kitty turns her face up towards Laura's. "They touch their lips together, but do not quite kiss" (9.78).
- Kitty pulls away first, and calmly gets up to go. She gives Laura final instructions about the dog, then leaves.
- Laura takes a moment to process how tired and detached she feels. After a few moments, she dumps Dan's birthday cake into the garbage can. She has decided to make another, better one.