Saint-Raphaël is the destination for an evening that carries Raymond and Anne Larsen’s marriage plans from private expectation into public view. A drive in Anne’s American convertible leads to a meeting at the Bar du Soleil, where Raymond announces their wedding date to Charles Webb; after dinner, a nightclub encounter brings Elsa Mackenbourg and Cyril into the same social orbit.

Arrival and Setting

A few days after the events preceding it, Raymond receives a note from a friend arranging an aperitif in Saint-Raphaël. Glad of a chance to leave the relative isolation in which the household has been living, he tells Elsa and Cyril that the group will be at the Bar du Soleil at seven if they want to join. Elsa knows the friend, Charles Webb, and hopes that seeing her will prompt him to persuade Raymond to return to her. Cyril, by contrast, cares little about Saint-Raphaël itself; what matters to him is being wherever Cécile is.

The party sets out by car at about six, with Anne driving her own heavy American convertible. Cécile likes its bright fittings, its quiet enclosure from the world, and the way it leans into turns. All three sit in front, sharing the speed and wind; Anne at the wheel seems to Cécile to embody the family they are about to form. The ride also stirs Cécile’s memory of the evening in Cannes, since she has not been in Anne’s car since then.

The Announcement at the Bar

At the Bar du Soleil, the group meets Charles Webb and his wife. Webb works in theatrical publicity and is preoccupied with money: his wife spends rapidly, including on young men, while he is continually trying to make ends meet. He had been Elsa’s lover for a long time, and her relative lack of greed and easygoing manner had appealed to him. At the meeting, he watches Anne and Raymond inquisitively, apparently wondering what she is doing with the womanizing Raymond and his daughter.

Raymond ends the uncertainty by telling Webb that he and Anne will marry on October 5. Webb is momentarily astonished, then loudly congratulates them and urges the party to celebrate. His wife is also taken aback; she has always been partial to Raymond. The announcement thus reaches the Webbs not as a quiet family decision but as news delivered among people whose prior attachments and opinions give it an edge. For Cécile, Webb’s surprise is gratifying: she has been anticipating the moment when he would learn of the marriage.

Dinner and the Nightclub

The company decides to dine together, like people who have nearly fallen out. Cécile drinks heavily and watches Anne’s anxious expression when she looks toward Raymond, as well as the vague gratitude in her glances toward Cécile. Mrs Webb makes pointed remarks; Cécile meets them with a composed smile, which unsettles her and makes her more aggressive. Anne signals Cécile not to respond, disliking public scenes, while Cécile is accustomed to such confrontations in their social world.

After dinner, they go to a nightclub in Saint-Raphaël. Elsa and Cyril arrive shortly after the others. Elsa pauses at the entrance to speak loudly to the cloakroom attendant, then enters with Cyril following her. Cécile judges Elsa’s entrance more like that of a paid companion than a woman in love, though she acknowledges that Elsa is beautiful enough to carry off the display. Webb notices the young man and asks who he is; his wife replies that love suits Elsa. The evening’s public announcement of Raymond and Anne’s future is therefore set beside the arrival of the two people whose presence keeps the household’s romantic tensions alive.