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In paragraphs 8 - 12, there is again a brief description, this time of the waitress bringing the drinks with "two felt pads."  8 Some students, after getting the idea that nearly every object in the story can be symbolic, note that the pads can be symbols of protection in some way.  Others conjecture that Jig's current condition is a result of excessive consumption of alcohol--mixed with adding another sticker to their luggage, perhaps.

In paragraphs 13 - 34, the couple squabbles about having a "fine time."

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In the slang of the Swing Era, a "white elephant" was a gift that someone gave you that you didn't want, usually because it showed poor taste, such as the lamp that your Aunt Gladys gave you one Christmas--a bear with a clock in his belly. It's so ugly that you hide it in your closet until Aunt Gladys comes to visit. Since you like her and don't want to hurt her feelings, you put the lamp on your night stand during her visits, and she's pleased you kept it. A positive connotation derives from the story that Buddha's mother supposedly dreamed of a white elephant on the night before Buddha was conceived (?)/born(?)

On white elephants, see also the story cited by Baz in the forum and others in the strand that begins with a comment by a contributor named Jennifer.

14 Juan Perez's recipe for Anis del Toro, posted on the Web, starts with 90-proof alcohol, an equal portion of water, 1 tsp. of anise extract, and sugar.  After boiling half of the sugar in the water comes adding the rest of the sugar, the alcohol, and anis.  Let it sit for a week and filter it through a fine cloth.

27 Student Trudy Cuoghi (2000) notes: "Absinthe was a liquor made from plants in the genus artemisia (common names southernwood, wormwood).  It was a bitter licorice-flavored drink, which was used by the Greeks as a narcotic to induce sleep.  Absinthe is lethal in concentrated doses.  At the point it was used in the story, I believe the implication is death/eternal sleep – an escape from life and its problems."

9 The girl's attention is elsewhere--on the hills; sounds like a barren landscape. What's she thinking about?

28 He's older?  She knows how to push his buttons; he's awfully defensive, maybe even sensitive. 
30 Why are they trying so hard?