four o'clock
`` It has been seven years since I 've seen him , and he was through college then . '' Kid dismissed the subject . Old men , even with broken hearts , contained no interest for her . That afternoon , as the three girls were gathered in Patty 's room enjoying an indigestible four o'clock tea of milk and bread and butter -LRB- furnished by the school -RRB- and fruit cake and candy and olives and stuffed prunes , the expressman arrived with a belated consignment of Christmas gifts , among them a long narrow parcel addressed to Patty . She tore off the wrapping , to find a note and a white pasteboard box . She read the note aloud while the others looked over her shoulder . Patty always generously shared experiences with anyone who might be near . ''