Joe returns home and prepares for the date in a rush. His apartment is filled with his collection of antique typewriters. He meets Beck at Union Station, where they sit on the steps and chat for a while. When he accidentally lets slip a detail about Beck’s life, Joe jokes that he looked her up on social media. Beck believes his lie, and they have dinner at a bistro where they talk and stay late. Afterward, Joe walks Beck to her apartment. She invites him inside, but he politely declines, pleased with how much she wants him.

Later, Joe returns to the bookstore to deal with Benji. Joe feeds Benji, and—after a few hours spent browsing Beck’s social media—he tests his prisoner’s knowledge of club sodas. Benji cannot tell his own artisanal soda brand from the mainstream alternatives. As he waits for Beck to email her friends about her date, Joe leaves Benji in the cage.

Beck invites Joe to a party at her friend’s house. He is nervous because he is “not a party person” (71) and because Beck’s friend Peach is a relation of the famous author J. D. Salinger. They ride in a taxi to the party, and Joe senses that Beck is anxious about something.