Précis

Vera, a young woman, suddenly sees, in a café, a man she has not seen in six years, whom is an ex lover of hers, or was a close friend. She goes to sit with him, and he looks happy to see her. They start talking, and they remember an afternoon they had spent at Kew Gardens. The man does most of the talking. At first, the man's memories are much more romantic and idealistic than the woman's memories, but after a while she starts remembering the good things about their past relationship. They talk about how in love the man was with Vera, while she wasn't. They also remember a Christmas night they had spent together. While the man has good memories of the night, like telling Vera all about his childhood, Vera remembers how he complained when she bought a little pot of caviare. Then, the man tells Vera about the trips around the world he made, to Spain, Corsica, Siberia, Russia, and Egypt. She realizes that he did all the plans they had made together, but without her. She feels jealous and, at the same time, attracted to the new man he became. At some point, she gets up to leave because she feels he mocked her, but he convinces her to stay. Then, he tells her about eating a dill pickle with the coachman in Russia. Imagining the situation, the dill pickle leaves a sour taste in Vera's mouth. At this point, Vera realizes how much these memories are hurting her. The man just keeps talking until he realizes Vera is gone. He just asks for the bill, and not to be charged for the cream.