Alice and John are ordering ice cream; Alice tries to order vanilla, like John, but he tells her that she likes chocolate, so she says that’s fine, she’ll have something chocolate. John is annoyed by this, but Alice doesn’t understand why.

They sit by the river and eat their ice cream. John asks Alice what month it is; Alice knows it’s spring, but she is unable to tell him precisely. He asks when Anna’s birthday is; she tells him that Anna’s birthday is in the spring, but when he corrects her, she goes back to watching the geese. John continues asking her questions; unable to answer them, she asks why they don’t “focus on the things that really matter” (267), and he responds that he is trying. He asks if she still wants to be “here”; Alice tells him that she likes sitting there with him, and she isn’t done yet, showing him the ice cream cone that has “started to drip down the sides…onto her hand” (268). He tells her to take her time. 

Alice’s support group is growing, but she is no longer involved or in touch, which worries the other members of the group. She is beginning to lose her language, unable to comprehend more than small amounts of text, and unable to type using the computer keyboard.