midnight
She went miserably to bed . K. 's little watch ticked under her pillow . Her stiff cap moved in the breeze as it swung from the corner of her mirror . Under her window passed and repassed the night life of the city -- taxicabs , stealthy painted women , tired office-cleaners trudging home at midnight , a city patrol-wagon which rolled in through the gates to the hospital 's always open door . When she could not sleep , she got up and padded to the window in bare feet . The light from a passing machine showed a youthful figure that looked like Joe Drummond . Life , that had always seemed so simple , was growing very complicated for Sidney : Joe and K. , Palmer and Christine , Johnny Rosenfeld , Carlotta -- either lonely or tragic , all of them , or both .