Edna and Robert settle on the cottage porch in the Sunday heat, fanning and smoking while conversation flows without effort. Robert shares his perennial Mexico dream and his clerk work in New Orleans; Edna talks about her Kentucky childhood, her father's Mississippi plantation, and a letter from her sister who is engaged.
Chopin describes Edna's frank, contradictory face and Robert's carefree youth before letting them talk. They revisit the morning swim, the wind, the guests at the Chênière, and the children under the oaks. Each listens with real curiosity, asking follow-up questions instead of performing politeness. Robert explains he saves Léonce's gifted cigar for after dinner while smoking cigarettes he can afford.
When Edna rises to dress for the early meal, she notes Léonce is not returning from Klein's; Robert assumes the club men keep him. Edna goes inside; Robert drifts to the croquet players and amuses the Pontellier children until dinner. The chapter establishes an emotional literacy between two people who treat each other as individuals, not social furniture, while Léonce's absence goes unregretted.
The Farival twins play from the pension piano while Robert saves Léonce's cigar for after dinner. When Edna rises for the early meal, both note Léonce will not return from Klein's. Robert drifts to the croquet lawn and amuses her sons until dinner, already loved by the children and present in her afternoon in a way her husband's absence barely registers.
Coming Up in Chapter 3
Léonce returns near midnight from Klein's hotel and wakes Edna to talk through his evening. His cheer, his lecture on motherhood, and the crowd's praise will make her private tears harder to name.
