How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"I was giving him fair warning," she said. "Maxine Patch found him on the first day. She'll be up at The Coffee Pot this minute, layin' in wait. She's thirty-six and man-hungry." Grandma's lips pleated knowingly, and the toothpick pointed out at this truth. "And there hasn't been an unmarried man around here since the last chain gang went through." (6.61)
Grandma isn't going to let poor Arnold Green carry on without warning him about the dangers of small town life—namely, desperate women who are trying to sink their claws into him before someone else does.
Quote #8
I thought I'd better come clean, never an easy decision at sixteen. "Grandma, Carleen Lovejoy's set her cap for him. And I want to make my move before she makes hers."
That was talking her language. "We'll squeeze some lemons for a pitcher of lemonade," she said. (6.68-69)
Carleen Lovejoy may be the most well-dressed and most made-up girl in school, but Mary Alice isn't intimidated by her "claim" on Royce McNabb. If anything, Carleen's possessiveness only spurs on Mary Alice's determination to nab Royce for herself. And it definitely sways Grandma Dowdel.
Quote #9
Then I had to get up the nerve to invite Royce, and we'd scarcely spoken two words to each other. And I couldn't just barge up to him. Carleen watched him like a hawk all day long, and I didn't want to show my hand. Finally, I wrote him a note. (6.75)
Well, now Mary Alice has Grandma's blessing to go after Royce and bring him over for a "study session." But she still has to take the terrifying next step…which is to actually talk to the cutest boy in school. Good thing competition tends to stimulate adrenaline production. That's just the boost a girl on a mission needs.