Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice.
Initial Situation
Vacay
Who wants to spend their vacation stuck inside? The situation of the couple stuck in their room is both monotonous and restless. The description of the view from the window suggests that it's a view the wife is used to. She's seen the square, the public gardens, and the war monument before. It sounds like this is a woman who spends a lot of time looking out the window. Her focus on the world outside the hotel is in contrast to her husband's absorption in his book, suggesting that the two are quite different: she is extroverted and oriented towards lived life, he is focused toward the internal world of books and ideas. They say opposites attract—but that doesn't necessarily mean they can stick together.
Conflict
Hiding Cats
Seeing the cat doesn't necessarily create a conflict between the characters, but it does give the wife a reason to move—something she has clearly been waiting for. Hey, it's not like she had Facebook or even an iPod to entertain her or anything. The husband's half-hearted offer to go down instead and her ready dismissal of it further suggests her desire for independent movement. She may also know full well that he didn't actually want to go down to find the cat, but that doesn't seem to bother her much.
Complication
A Cat in the Rain?
Once she goes downstairs, the wife encounters the hotelkeeper—known as a 'padrone' in Italian. She likes him very much, and is thinking of this as a maid escorts her outside with an umbrella. When she looks under the table, however, the cat isn't there. The maid is a little amused at the thought of a cat in the rain, but the wife is disappointed. They return inside, damp and cat-less.
Suspense
A Feeling of Great Importance
As she passes the padrone again, the wife is aroused and filled with a sense of importance in his presence. The feeling is very strong, but not defined or labeled. The wife isn't necessarily conscious of her feelings either, but is strongly affected as she proceeds upstairs. Sounds like someone's got a crush.
Climax
Back in the Room
When the wife returns to the room, her husband casually asks if she found the cat. She replies no and sits down in front of the mirror, evidently even more restless than before. We know she's bored when she starts to critique her hair and profile and proceeds to list all the things she wants: long hair, a cat on her lap, her own silver, candles, springtime… Her husband, George, is quickly fed up with this and tells her to shut up and find something to read.
Denouement
Modified Expectations
The wife doesn't react to her husband directly, but does seem to feel his scolding tone. She stays looking out the window as the evening darkens around her. If she can't have "long hair or any fun," she decides at the very least, she still wants a cat.
Conclusion
A Gift from the Padrone
The room and the couple seem to have settled into the same state of restless rest we saw at the beginning of the story when there's a knock at the door. The hotel maid is there with a large cat and tells them it was sent for "the signora."