Washington's Birthday weekend

Washington's Birthday weekend is an early shared holiday in Katherine and Michael's relationship: Michael invites Katherine to Vermont, where he plans to teach her to ski and introduce her to his sister, Sharon Wagner, and her husband, Ike. The trip brings their romance into a family setting, while also giving Katherine an encounter that shapes an idea for her school's Career Day.

The invitation and journey

Michael announces that he and Katherine will spend the holiday weekend skiing. Katherine does not know how to ski, but Michael offers to teach her. The plan includes a stay at Sharon Wagner's place in Vermont; Sharon will call Katherine's mother with the arrangements, making the visit an organized family invitation rather than a private escape.

Katherine's mood before the trip is not entirely carefree: she says she is disappointed, and Michael reassures her that he is glad she can still come with them. The account does not specify what has disappointed her, but the reassurance establishes that her presence matters more to him than whether the weekend goes exactly as planned.

At Sharon Wagner's home

After Michael and Ike unload the car and the four are unpacked, they gather around a fire with steaming coffee mixed with brandy. The domestic welcome places Katherine among Michael's relatives and gives the weekend a warm, conversational center beyond the planned skiing.

Sharon Wagner tells Katherine about her work as an anthropologist at the Museum of Natural History and her hope of joining a field trip, possibly that summer. Katherine responds by inviting her to speak at the school's Career Day in April. She points out that students do not often get to meet anthropologists, and that the guidance counselor, Mrs. Handelsman, is struggling to find enough engaging speakers, especially young women. Sharon Wagner welcomes the invitation. The exchange turns a family visit into a connection between Katherine's school life and Sharon's professional world.

A private turn in the weekend

The travel and conversation give way to a quieter, more intimate moment. Tired from the trip, Sharon Wagner and Ike go to their room for the night. Katherine and Michael look at one another, and Michael offers her the use of the bathroom first. The scene closes on their newly private space without detailing what follows.

Place in the relationship's chronology

The weekend sits early in a longer relationship whose future will become a source of concern. Later, Katherine's father argues that she might be happier not being tied to one boy, and her mother raises the prospect that she and Michael will be apart the following year. By June, Katherine describes graduation as the end of one life and the beginning of another; four days after the graduation events, she leaves for camp. These later transitions do not undo the weekend's significance: it records a time when a holiday plan, a welcome at Michael's sister's home, and Katherine's own initiative allow their relationship to feel both intimate and integrated with the rest of their lives.