The Story of a New Name

Lila is annoyed when the boys arrive to the beach late. She storms off, furious. That night, accompanied by Nunzia, Elena and Lila meet Nino and Bruno in Forio. Lila goes off to call Stefano and Nino skulks up to the bar. Neither Lila nor Nino appears for a long time. Elena finds them in an embrace, kissing, with Nino’s hand up Lila’s skirt. Lila’s marriage, Elena finds, is no obstacle to either of them. Elena finds herself hating them both. She wonders what Lila proposes to do, but “today, I believe that she didn’t know herself” (250). 

Lila and Nino become recklessly affectionate with each other in public and behave as though they are truly in love. Elena feels she is “watching a performance without substance: they were playing at being together, both knowing well that they were not and couldn’t be” (251).

Later, they have a fight when Nino is reading a love letter from Nadia. Lila grabs the letter, mocks it, and demands that Nino tear it up. Lila instructs Nino to write to Nadia and tell her he is leaving her. Nino then says they should all accompany Lila to the phone box, where they will tell her husband that she is leaving him.