The End Of The Affair

Bendrix mediates on the nature of love and its relation to religion and prayer. He remembers that, during his affair with Sarah, he often returned home feeling as though he were just “one of many men” (26). One day, he remembers, she called him just after he woke. Bendrix wanted to meet, but Henry was sick, so Sarah found herself stuck at home. Sarah invited Bendrix to her house; Henry was to have tea in bed, so they could meet downstairs. As soon as she hangs up, Bendrix again felt suspicious about her adulterous talents.

While Henry, sick in bed, drank his tea alone, Sarah and Bendrix made love in the room downstairs. When they finished, they lay next to one another and heard the stair creak. Although Sarah tried to downplay the issue, Bendrix worried that Henry overhead. “It’s never happened,” Sarah insisted, “not in the whole ten years” (27). The stair creaked again, and they launched into a conversation just as Henry walked in, none the wiser. Bendrix was surprised by Sarah’s ability to so effortlessly continue as though nothing had happened and felt like “a police officer gathering evidence of a crime that hadn't yet been committed” (28).