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The first sentence sets the tone for all of this brief chapter: \"We had a lovely time that summer.\" They do have a lovely time, going out to dinner and strolling, Henry on crutches, through the streets of Milan, and they continue to spend their nights together. Note how in the long paragraph beginning \"After dinner,\" the tempo of the prose increases as it leads them through the city and back to the hospital for lovemaking.
Hemingway inserts two slight interruptions in their bliss. One is the ever-present war and the knowledge that Henry must eventually go back to it. Subtly, Hemingway keeps sounding that note: the Gran Italia restaurant, for instance, has no wine waiter \"because of the war.\" The other concern is marriage and the possibility of Catherine\'s getting pregnant. This is another example of the conflict between legality and morality. It\'s morally \"right\" for them to be together, they are in love. But if they do the legal thing and marry, Catherine will be transferred and, though married, they won\'t be together. They postpone the dilemma by saying that in their eyes they are married.
They also postpone--Catherine in particular--any thoughts of Henry\'s return to the war, although they know it\'s inevitable.
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