Macon and Sarah need a new couch since their furniture was destroyed in the water damage. The couple drives to the store, very efficiently chose one, and request same day delivery. Sarah suggests lunch at the Old Bay and they have wine with lunch, which was something Macon has never done. On the way home they stop at the bank so that he can get his passport out of the safe deposit box because his trip to Paris is coming up. The two then stop at the old house to pick up some azalea fertilizer from Rose. Rose is staying back at the house because the brothers' lives are a mess since she got married. Sarah goes off to her sculpture class and Macon sits down to write.
Macon is settling into his seat for the trip from New York to Paris when his eyes look up and land on a completely unexpected sight. Muriel is going to Paris anyway. Muriel had borrowed the money, different people were taking turns watching Alexander, and she had gotten Macon's travel details from his travel agent. Macon can't even begin to imagine how bad this will look if Sarah were to find out. When he lands, he rushes through customs, grabs a cab and feels lucky to have evaded her when it occurs to him that the travel agent would surely have given Muriel his HOTEL information too. Macon also is concerned that she will get lost in Paris, that she wouldn't have converted her money, or any number of other tragedies.