In this beginning of the book, we were introduced to two people. The first was the main character, Neil Klugman and his lover Brenda Patimkin. These two had a weird relationship from the beginning that lead to the belief that they would never make it in a real relationship. They are two different people with completely two different social class levels. Neil is a twenty-three year old man who has a degree in philosophy and also spent about two years in the army. He currently has a job at the public library in Newark, New Jersey. He loves Newark, which is also where he was born and raised, but he isn’t so sure about the library anymore. Brenda is attending Radcliffe University in Boston but is back in Short Hills, New Jersey for the summer. Her field of study…show more content… Now that the characters and some of their background have been discussed, their relationship is now going to be discussed. Neil and Brenda met at the swimming pool when Brenda wanted to go take a swim and asked Neil to hold her glasses and that’s how it all started. Neil caught some sort of feelings for her in that one incident, so he went home and decided to call her after only seeing her once. He hardly even knew her and wanted something with her. She answered when he called. His first words on the phone were, “Hello Brenda…Brenda you don't know me that is you don't know my name but I held your glasses for you at the club” (1.47). He wants to introduce himself really fast and establish that he's not some type of creep. It also sounds like he's afraid Brenda will just hang up if he doesn't talk fast enough. Neil's nervousness sends a message to Brenda that this phone call means something to him. Neil asked her a question about where she attended and she replied but not in the way he wanted her to. After their first phone call, they meet in person. They go to the swimming pool time and time again