Misty leads Patch across Boston Common and into Chinatown, where they sit on crates in a side street and drink warm sake. In the unfamiliar city, Patch sees how much Misty has changed: she looks more worldly and self-possessed, while he still seems frozen in an earlier version of himself. For a short time, both of them avoid Grace and the history that drove Patch away, letting the night feel almost ordinary and hopeful.

As they drink, Misty talks more openly about her life at Harvard, her professors, and her arguments with her father about politics, class, and her decision to tend bar and earn her own money. Patch mostly listens, uncomfortable with her intellectual confidence but deeply drawn to her energy and ambition. Their conversation shows how far Misty has moved into a larger world, even as Patch remains marked by his past and by the search that still defines him.

While they can still walk, Misty shows Patch more of the city until they stop for a busker playing guitar. Patch pulls Misty close, places a hand on her back, and begins to dance with her despite his old claim that he does not dance. The music and the closeness turn the evening from playful reunion into something more intimate and dangerous, because being together revives everything they have tried not to say.

During the dance, Misty finally names her pain: Patch did not just break her heart, he chose Grace over her. Patch apologizes but answers with the same self-effacing certainty that has kept him distant, insisting that everyone else will choose Misty even if he cannot. When Misty confesses that she does not know how to forget him, Patch tells her to close her eyes, let him be gone, and live the wondrous life ahead of her. His response makes clear that, despite their connection, Patch still believes he must remove himself from her future.