Mary ends her relationship with Alan

Mary ends her relationship with Alan by telling him he can no longer visit her at night or share her bed. The decision turns a private bedroom encounter into a boundary she states plainly, while Alan’s devastated response exposes the depth of his attachment and the unequal meanings they have given the relationship.

The Decision in Private

Mary waits in bed for Alan, thinking that this is the only time she ever has to herself. She has already made up her mind when she hears him coming up the stairs. The narrowness of that private interval sharpens the importance of the decision: she is not offering him more of the little time she has, but reclaiming it.

Alan enters as usual, seeming to want to speak but unable or afraid to do so. He moves awkwardly to the foot of the bed and slips out of his dressing-gown, looking down rather than at Mary. From her place in bed, Mary calls his name and tells him, “I can’t have you up here at night any more. I can’t have you in my bed any more. I can’t. I hope you understand.” The repeated refusal makes the change unmistakable: his accustomed access to her room and bed is over.

Alan’s Response

Alan is naked when Mary speaks. He begins to cry, though silently, shutting his mouth and eyes as his chest rocks. Then he cups both hands over his body in a gesture the narration presents as protective rather than concealing. Mary watches from the bed while he turns toward the window; the scene gives his grief physical form before he can put it into words.

When Alan does speak, his voice is unexpectedly steady. He says that he had hoped the relationship would continue but had never truly expected it to, and that he is glad it happened. He tells Mary she is the only beauty that has ever happened to him. His response shows that the ending is not simply a rejected expectation: he recognizes its limits, yet regards the relationship as an exceptional experience in his life.

The Boundary and Its Aftermath

Mary answers with thanks and an apology. Alan then asks her to promise him one thing, but the scene ends before the request or her response is given. That unfinished appeal leaves his immediate need unresolved even as Mary’s decision is clear.

The scene sets Mary’s assertion of a boundary against Alan’s exposed vulnerability. She speaks from the bed where he had been accustomed to joining her; he turns away from her toward the window to express what the relationship has meant. The breakup is therefore both decisive and tender: Mary ends the nightly intimacy, while Alan’s words preserve its importance to him without challenging her refusal.