- It's the next day and Neil is a little early for his job at the Newark library.
- He goes to the nearby park and he describes the scenery to us. We learn that he's been out of college for about three years.
- We also learn that he loves Newark a lot.
- Around nine am, the city goes into fast motion, and Neil goes toward the library, thinking of Brenda.
- Two "cement lions" are at the entrance of the library. Neil usually doesn't notice them, but today there is a small black child standing in front of one of them.
- The boy growls at the lion, pretending to be in some kind of battle with it.
- Today is business as usual for Neil. He spends the morning behind the counter, waiting for lunch and thinking about Brenda.
- Neil is sure he isn't going to work in the library forever, even though he might be in line to replace an ancient woman who used to be in charge of the Reference Room.
- She recently broke her hip when she fell from a ladder while shelving books on a high shelf.
- Neil sometimes is afraid that he'll end up like the other people who work in the library, with "a thick cushion of air separating the blood from the flesh" (3.6).
- This would make him numb and unfeeling.
- Before lunchtime the young boy comes into the library and asks Neil where he can find the "heart section" (3.8).
- Neil tells us the boy has "the thickest sort of southern Negro dialect" (3.11) and was very hard to understand.
- (Neil, who seems critical of others for making racist statements, or statements based on stereotypes of ethnic groups, makes plenty himself. Here the joke is that the boy is obviously in the north, not the south, and so his accent must be northern not southern.)
- Anyhow, Neil asks him what he means by "heart" section.
- The boy says, "Heart. Man, pictures. Drawing books" (3.13).
- Neil understands he means art books, and tells the boy where they are.
- After lunch John McKee, one of Neil's coworkers, is upset that the black boy has been reading the art books. He makes offensive comments and suggests that they boy will abuse the books.
- Neil says he'll check on the boy.
- He finds the boy looking at a book featuring the work of Gauguin, painting of Tahiti.
- (Gauguin is important to the story. Check out "What's Up With the Title?" for details.)
- The boy asks Neil about Gauguin.
- Neil says Gaugin was French and white.
- Almost laughing, the boy says he didn't think a black person could "take pictures" (3.53) like a black man.
- Neil soon goes back downstairs to reassure his coworker. He spends the rest of the day thinking about Brenda.
- He drives to the Patimkin house after work.
- He finds the whole family, except for Julie, waiting for him.
- Brenda is wearing a dress. She looks beautiful in it, like she was born wearing dresses and skirts. She tells Neil to babysit Julie while they take Ron to the airport. Julie was supposed to go to the airport, but she's mad at Ron for pushing her in the pool.
- Neil isn't happy about this turn of events and lets Brenda know.
- Julie wants him to hang out with her, but he basically ignores her. Stewing in irritation, Neil stands in the hall and imagines driving back to Newark.
- There are pictures hanging in the hall of all the Patimkins except for Mr. Patimkin. There's a picture of Brenda before she got her nose job and a picture of Ron wearing "bar mitzvah suit, yamalkah, and tallas" (3.85).
- (A yarmalkah is a skullcap worn by religious Jews, especially in prayer. Tallas is a prayer shawl.)
- Neil leaves the hall and begins checking out the house.
- First he goes down into the basement. It's decked out for comfort, including a full bar and game tables. Neil would take a drink, but he doesn't want to break any of the seals on the bottles.
- There are pictures of Ron on the basketball team.
- There are also pictures of Brenda with ribbons and medals from showing her horse in competitions.
- Neil opens the refrigerator and finds it loaded with every kind of fruit you can imagine.
- As Neil is about to gobble a handful of fruit, Julie tells him they need to be washed so as not to upset his stomach. He crams cherries in his pocket and then eats an unwashed nectarine.
- He learns from Julie that Ron is headed to Milwaukee to visit his girlfriend Harriet, and that Ron and Harriet are in love.
- Julie suggests they play ping-pong, and Neil agrees.
- He starts winning the game, and enjoying winning.
- Julie asks if she can have some free points due to having hurt her finger yesterday. Neil refuses, and continues to beat her at the game.
- Julie continues try to get free points; Neil continues to deny her.
- She gets mad and accuses him of cheating and stealing fruit. She leaves the game before Neil can actually win.
- That night Brenda and Neil make love for the first time in the living room with the TV on mute.
- When Neil gets back to his aunt's house, he calls Brenda. Aunt Gladys hears him and starts yelling about the phone bill, while Neil shushes her.
- Brenda answers and they pretend they are sleeping next to each other.