Don't Forget to Write: A Novel

Ada calls to check in on Marilyn and Sally. She will be back in four days. Marilyn and Freddy keep up their affair. Freddy’s parents are eager for him to marry her, but Freddy insists that his interest in Marilyn has nothing to do with her family’s wealth and status. Marilyn worries that by dating Freddy openly, she will lose Ada’s respect.

Ada returns home and does not appear to suspect that Marilyn has been seeing Freddy. Marilyn realizes that she missed Ada. The two of them drive to the nearby town of Stone Harbor to get ice cream at Lillian’s favorite parlor. Marilyn resents Lillian’s presence in Ada’s life, as she is only a paid companion instead of family. Marilyn asks if Ada has been in love, and she says that she has been in love twice, but she refuses to elaborate. Ada also notes that she knows that Marilyn has been in her room.

Marilyn and Ada resume their matchmaking work, and Marilyn is unable to see Freddy for several days. She eventually sees him at the beach, and they arrange to go on another date. Marilyn also asks him for the names of any single Jewish men he knows, as Ada needs more matches for her clients.