1984 Section Two, Part I Summary (pp. 105-117)
by George Orwell

Winston passes Julia at work, her arm in a sling, and she stumbles when he comes near. Despite his previous thoughts about killing her, he instinctively responds to her cry of pain in a compassionate manner. As he helps her up, she slips a note into his hand. Winston resists the urge to read it immediately out of fear of being discovered. After a short wait, Winston reads the words on the note: "I love you" (108). Winston has trouble processing the experience because he has no chance to be alone to think until he's in bed at eleven o'clock at night. Winston realizes she's not spying on him, at least not maliciously, and he thinks about how to contact her without being caught.

Back at work, Winston grows restless because he wants to talk to Julia, but it is too dangerous for them to communicate openly; in fact, they pass each other without even a look. Winston almost succeeds in sitting next to her, but is called away at the last second. He's so angry about this he imagines smashing the face of the man who called him with a pickaxe. When he finally succeeds in sitting next to her, they are able to exchange a few words about meeting up after work without being detected by the telescreens.

Winston arrives at the meeting place and sees the girl just as a convoy of Eurasian prisoners passes by. He works his way through the crowd and manages to stand next to her long enough for her to give him directions to a second meeting place. Pressed together in the middle of the crowd, they hold hands for a few moments. Winston doesn't dare to look at her face, but instead stares into the sorrowful eyes of the passing prisoners.