Lives of Girls and Women

As Del continues high school, Naomi does not take the same classes as her anymore because she chooses to take the “Commercial” courses over the academic ones. Around this time, Naomi begins an office job at the local creamery. Naomi asks Del to visit her at her job, and Del does so, believing that Naomi will still play around with her. However, she discovers that “Naomi’s nails were coral” and that she is wearing a new outfit with her hair fixed (196). Del thinks Naomi is acting unlike herself and feels as though she does not fit in with Naomi and her coworkers. Soon, Naomi’s coworkers begin to hang out with the two girls at Naomi’s house, and Del does not like to engage in their conversations about hair care and makeup.

Naomi prepares for marriage and motherhood, and she meets an older man, Bert, who is around 28. He bets she cannot attend the Gay-la Dance Hall with him. Naomi’s parents do not pay too much attention to what she does and goes with him anyway, and she wants to bring Del along with her. Del feels obligated to go, and at the dance, she meets Clive. They dance together, and Del discovers that she feels “proud that a man had [her] in tow” around other people she knows (206). Naomi tells Del to act presentable and respectable, and they leave the dance to go to the Brunswick Hotel. On their way to the hotel, Clive kisses Del, and she describes his tongue as being “wet, cold, crumpled, like a dish rag” (208). They then discuss politics and whether Del believes women should be considered equal to men.

They get a hotel room, and Clive and Bert continue drinking along with Del and Naomi. Del does not understand their jokes, but she pretends to laugh anyway. On her way back from the bathroom, Del goes out to the fire escape and decides to head back to Naomi’s house. She knocks on the door because she forgot they left the back door unlocked to sneak in, and Naomi’s father discovers that his daughter is not home. Del leaves quickly and falls asleep on the porch swing at her house. Naomi’s father, having realized that his daughter is not home, decides to stay up and wait for her. When she gets home, he beats her and makes her pray. Although Naomi does not know that Del caused her father to find out they snuck out, the friends start to drift apart.

Del then discusses her academic success and how this leads to her developing a friendship with Jerry Storey. She claims that they “developed, gradually, a banter, vocabulary, range of subject matter that was not shared with anybody else” (214). They soon start dating, and they spend their time together at the movies and dances, as well as drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes at a local restaurant. Although Del wishes he wouldn’t, he comes to her house for dinner. While Del wishes to spend more time at his house rather than hers, she is met with his mother’s constant questioning, such as if Del has a diaphragm or not. Del feels embarrassed about discussing sex with his mother, and she decides that she prefers her mother’s lack of dialogue regarding the topic. Still, this does not dissuade Del from exploring Jerry and herself in a sexual manner without having intercourse. His mother once walks in on them, and they never discuss the interaction again.

During the spring, the town holds a religious revival, and Del decides to attend for “scientific curiosity.” She meets Garnet French at the revival, and he invites her to attend a meeting at the Baptist Young People’s Society. Soon, Del attends every week, and after the meeting, Garnet and Del spend time down by the river sexually exploring each other. However, they don’t have sex, as Del chooses “not to hurry” (238). One Sunday afternoon, Garnet invites Del over to his house for dinner, and he shows her a list of names of women Garnet has carved into his porch. He tells Del why it did not work out with each woman, and his mother asks him why some names have an “X” next to them. However, Garnet will not reveal his answer. He adds Del’s name to this list and announces that he thinks this will end his list. He then kisses Del in front of his family. On the way home, Garnet’s truck breaks down, and she offers to have him spend the night at her house. He declines, but they sneak around the side of her house to kiss. Soon after, the couple has sex for the first time, and the next day, Del cannot concentrate on her exam.

Del soon learns that Naomi is getting married, and Naomi invites her over even though they have not talked in a while. She asks Del to be her bridesmaid and reveals that she is pregnant. Del reveals her own sexual experiences to her friend, including losing her virginity as well as her experience with Art Chamberlain.

Garnet and Del decide to get married. However, he tells her that she must be baptized at his church before they can have children. Del declines his baptism offer, so he decides to try to baptize her himself during one of their swims. He almost drowns her, and she leaves him to walk home alone. The pair do not see each other again.