How It All Goes Down
- On the trip, Dolores actually bumps into the old couple who used to send photos of themselves in caskets to be developed.
- When they get back home, Dante confesses that he lost his job at the beginning of the summer.
- A girl name Sheila accused him of inappropriate behavior, so he agreed to quit and the school agreed not to press charges.
- Dolores gets a second job while Dante tries—and fails—to write poetry that anyone besides himself wants to read.
- At New Year's, Dante offends Paula by saying she sounds like a car horn, so she says she'd "rather be a car horn than a child molester" (3.24.91).
- That night, Dante punches a hole in the wall and slaps Dolores.
- She slaps him back—hard—and hollers, "Don't you ever lay your hand on me like that again!" (3.24.102).
- In the Spring, Dante seems all energetic again.
- It surprises only Dolores when she goes home early and finds Dante with a girl—Sheila, the girl he was accused of molesting.
- Dolores chases them out of the apartment and throws rocks at his car.
- He calls her from his parents' house, but she tells him, "I don't plan on talking to you for the rest of my life" (3.24.145).
- Turns out she doesn't talk to him for the rest of her grandma's life, though, because when she finds out Grandma is dead, she calls Dante for support.