By the time Anna arrived home, she had the “promise” of her first boyfriend, since she wasn’t allowed to “officially” have a boyfriend until she turned fourteen. Alexander had no problem waiting and the two had been the perfect couple ever since. The long-term plan was marriage, of course, but the post–high school plan was that Anna would attend Harvard or Yale and Alexander would go to law school wherever she ended up.

Steven once asked Anna whether it was scary to have her entire life planned out at such a young age. “We live in America now, so it’s not like you gotta do the whole Korean arranged marriage for the good of the family status thing, you know?”

She just smiled at her brother’s sarcasm and told him, “Alexander is a good person. He needs me and I’m happy to be there for him.” Steven was quick to remind her that Alexander was not a dog and to ask her about her own needs, to which she simply replied that Alexander adored her, and she liked how easy their relationship was from the very start. She was relieved to not have to deal with the drama of dating, which she had little time or patience for. Alexander was everything a girl could want, plus it helped that her parents approved of their relationship. There were very few boys that their father would ever trust his precious daughter with; in fact, Alexander may be the only boy that fit the bill. In Korea, societal status was paramount, and Alexander’s father was the top of the Greenwich elite. It was this importance their parents placed on social standing that Steven disagreed with the most.

“Track twenty-seven,” Vronsky said, breaking Steven out of his thoughts.

“What did you say?” Steven asked.

“Their train, it’s arriving now.”

Steven nodded and hurried after Vronsky, for whom the crowd seemed to part, as he walked toward the escalators in his Brioni camel overcoat, his extra-long Tom Ford cashmere scarf dragging on the ground behind him.

VI

Anna K. told Mrs. Geneviève R. she’d be back to say a proper good-bye, but she needed to look and see if she could spot her brother, Steven. “Please know if your son isn’t here we’d be more than happy to give you a ride home. And, if neither one shows up for us, I’m pretty capable myself.”

It was rare for Geneviève to be impressed, but this delightful young creature was a firecracker. “Absolutely, my dear. I truly believe men need us women to show them their purpose in the world. For instance, meeting a woman’s train on time.”