Chapter 13 Summary

Ignatius awakens, confused, in a hospital, his aching head bandaged and his mother grousing in his ear. How will she face people after this? Ignatius looks at the newspaper Irene throws at him--"Wild Incident on Bourbon Street" headlines and three accompanying photographs: Darlene in ball gown with cockatoo; Lana Lee being loaded into a squad car beside three tough-looking, closely cropped women (with Mancuso proudly holding the door for them); and a doped Negro grinning at a dead cow in the street. Ignatius criticizes the staff photographers' ineptitude.

What, Irene demands, will the neighbors think about her son being mixed up with brawls, dirty pictures, and ladies of the evening? She refuses to listen to Ignatius' ramblings and forces him to read the text, which names him as a participant. Irene sniffles about calling Santa to alert Mancuso to Ignatius' suspicious dress...