The Wapshot Scandal by John Cheever

"She stepped out into the street, into the afternoon. The parking meters ticked. Chopped meat and bacon were on sale. A fountain splashed in a public park. She smiled and waved to a friend who passed in a car. The consummate skill with which she could appear respectable was crushing and she detested imposters. Here was the light of the late afternoon - the store fronts seemed lit with fire - and she seemed, by her misery, shut away from the light."