They are later joined by Sante, another man they met on their first day in Milan, and his pregnant girlfriend Mariuccia who promise to stay with them only a few weeks until they get on their feet.

Carletto longs to be with Adelina but she insists that they remain chaste as she is an old-fashioned country girl from Sicily despite the fact that her fashion, career and lifestyle are increasingly citified and Milanese.

Carletto does manage to get a better job working in a restaurant but when he proposes to Adelina again she tells him it's not economical to marry and they should instead try to save their money so that they could open a small shop in 10 years.

While Adelina is pleased after her first sexual encounter she refuses to have sex with Carletto again by insisting that it is not economical as she sees that Mariuccia and Sante have 7 children from multiple pregnancies.

Carletto briefly considers moving away and starting over but his reminiscing falls apart when he is called back to work.