noon
There was an added spot of color in his cheeks , an added glow that was not fever . For an instant before they turned to go out their eyes met and in that instant each found something that made him lower his own glance quickly . For in that instant they quite suddenly and definitely hated each other . Fifth Avenue and Forty-fourth Street swarmed with the noon crowd . The wealthy , happy sun glittered in transient gold through the thick windows of the smart shops , lighting upon mesh bags and purses and strings of pearls in gray velvet cases ; upon gaudy feather fans of many colors ; upon the laces and silks of expensive dresses ; upon the bad paintings and the fine period furniture in the elaborate show rooms of interior decorators . Working-girls , in pairs and groups and swarms , loitered by these windows , choosing their future boudoirs from some resplendent display which included even a man 's silk pajamas laid domestically across the bed . They stood in front of the jewelry stores and picked out their engagement rings , and their wedding rings and their platinum wrist watches , and then drifted on to inspect the feather fans and opera cloaks ; meanwhile digesting the sandwiches and sundaes they had eaten for lunch .