New York City
Forever...New York City connects Katherine’s family life with her growing independence. The city is both the setting for visits with her maternal grandparents and the destination for a consequential appointment at the Margaret Sanger Clinic, giving it a role in the book’s portrayal of family care, access to reproductive health information, and Katherine’s emerging responsibility for her own choices.
Family and Professional Connections
Katherine’s maternal grandparents, Hallie Gross and Ivan Gross, practice law together in New York City. After Ivan’s stroke, he no longer handles cases, but he continues to go to the office every day; Hallie, meanwhile, has political commitments and work with Planned Parenthood and NOW that leave her too busy to see many clients. Their professional lives give the city a lasting place in the family’s routine, even as their health and other responsibilities change what they can do.
When Katherine’s parents leave for their usual week away in January, the grandparents come to stay with the family. The arrangement makes New York City part of a wider pattern of family support: the grandparents travel to help at home, while Katherine also visits them in the city. Her account of Hallie’s past congressional campaign and Ivan’s continued daily journey to the office gives the city a connection to both public work and ordinary persistence.
Visits and Shared Routines
During an overnight stay at her grandmother’s apartment, Katherine goes for a Sunday morning walk in Central Park with Ivan. Later, Hallie takes her to a revival of Gone With the Wind, her favorite film, which she has seen sixteen times. The outing shows the city as a setting for affectionate, familiar time across generations: Hallie asks what Katherine thinks of Clark Gable, and gently teases her when Katherine remarks on his ears.
On another New York City visit, Katherine has lunch with her grandparents before setting off on foot. Ivan hugs her especially hard, and she watches Hallie help him into a cab. The small gestures place his post-stroke vulnerability alongside the grandparents’ continued care for one another. Walking through the city on a bright day appeals to Katherine; she takes off her jacket and feels like smiling at passersby, while recognizing that doing so in New York can invite trouble.
A Route to Reproductive Health
New York City is also where Katherine goes for an appointment at the Margaret Sanger Clinic, at 22nd Street and 2nd Avenue. She arrives at 2:45 for a 3:00 appointment and joins a group session with seven other people, including two young couples. A physician and a social worker explain different methods of birth control and invite questions; Katherine chooses not to ask any during the group discussion.
The visit then becomes individual. In a private counseling session with social worker Linda Kolker, Katherine explains that she believes preventing pregnancy is her responsibility. The clinic’s combination of general information and personal counseling makes the city more than a backdrop: it is the place where Katherine seeks practical knowledge and takes a deliberate step toward managing the possible consequences of sex.
Narrative Function
Across these visits, New York City holds together different forms of access. Katherine can spend time with grandparents whose work, politics, and care for one another shape her family world; she can also travel to a clinic where professionals explain contraceptive options and discuss her circumstances privately. The contrast does not make the city a solution to every difficulty, but it shows how personal choices are connected to places, institutions, and relationships that can provide information or support.
