Chapter 44 is narrated by Cherry, who begins to recount her life story. She recalls a man with "liquid black eyes" who asked her to tell him her life story over an Italian dinner in Glebe one summer night. Cherry notes that the man was romantically interested in her, hoping she would go to bed with him afterward. She acknowledges that the reader's interest differs—they want to understand how she became known as "the Death Lady."

Cherry commits to telling an accurate and concise version of her life, without trying to be charming or funny as she was that night at dinner. She parenthetically reveals that the same liquid-eyed man later told her not to try to be funny, implying their relationship soured over time and that she "no longer beguile[d]" him.

Cherry promises to eventually return to the dinner party and the ringing of the doorbell mentioned previously. She digresses briefly about her friend Jill, who hated the corporate phrase "circle back," and reflects that as one ages, memories become less linear, with everything circling back to something else. This chapter serves as a framing device, setting up Cherry's extended autobiographical narration.