Sections 1-6
- After he's back in New York, he doesn't see Joyce Lanyon for weeks. She invites him to dinner once, but he doesn't go because he's too absorbed in his work.
- As time passes, he decides to see her. He spends more and more evenings with her and goes to all of her fancy parties. He can't stand the company, but likes being around Joyce.
- One night, we look in on a conversation between Joyce and one of her male admirers. Joyce tells the dude that even though Martin is selfish and rude, she thinks she'll marry him.
- On Martin's side, the truth is that Martin is a thirty-eight year-old man and Joyce is a pretty young woman who strokes his ego with all her affections. He's also not intimidated by her wealth (she's super rich) because he's a doctor making plenty of money on his own.
- Soon enough, Martin and Joyce get married. Martin asks Terry Wickett to be his best man and things go well, except for one bad moment when Martin thinks about Leora floating between him and Joyce.
- For their honeymoon, they go to Europe for three months. They stay at all kinds of fancy castles run by fancy families, and Martin uses any opportunity he can to visit some of the world famous labs in the countries they visit.
- During this trip, Martin flirts with all kinds of other young women, but Joyce doesn't mind one bit. Unlike Leora, Joyce couldn't care less about Martin's fidelity. All she cares about is his being pleasant and dressing well.
- Martin feels guilty when the two of them visit France, since France is the place he'd promised to take Leora.