John and
Lorraine have a party at Mr. Pignati's place while he is at the hospital, and the party quickly
gets out of hand. Everyone is drunk, and John and some others don roller skates and dance on the
dance floor they have created by moving the furniture. Norton shows up, angry that he had not
been invited, and quickly goes upstairs to see what he can steal from Mr. Pignati. John and
Norton get into a big fight, and in the middle of this, Mr. Pignati comes home (Chapter
13).
The police come, and as Mr. Pignati declines to press charges, John and
Lorraine are taken home in a squad car. John is "hopelessly drunk" when they arrive at
Lorraine's house, and Lorraine's mother slaps her when the policeman escorts her to the door.
John's parents also react typically when he gets home, threatening to send him to a
psychiatrist, but never following through. Lorraine and John realize that it is Mr. Pignati, and
not their parents, whose forgiveness they must earn. They call the old man the next day and
offer to make amends, and agree to meet at the zoo. At the zoo, Mr. Pignati, who is frail and
weak, discovers that Bobo has died, and he collapses from the shock. Mr. Pignati is dead
(Chapter 14).
John waits with Mr. Pignati's body while Lorraine distances
herself from the situation so that she will not get into further trouble with her mother. John
reflects that, contrary to what everyone thinks, he cares deeply for Mr. Pignati and a host of
other things, and is completely bewildered at how "screwed up" life can be. He
imagines himself in his tomb, and wonders if he "would rather be dead than to turn into the
kind of grown-up people (he) knows." After an ambulance takes Mr. Pignati's body away, John
rejoins Lorraine, who is crying. Both sit for awhile, then, in a silent, mutual realization that
responsibility for their own lives lies solely with themselves, John takes Lorraine's hand. Both
understand that they had "trespassed...and...were being punished." There is no one
else to blame, and, in the end, their lives "would be what (they) made of it - nothing
more, nothing less" (Chapter 15).
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