Summary

The scene is set in the Crumps’ living room. “Ermina is dressed for a visit to the Peace Mission in a pristine white pinafore” (38). Lily comes in, “drunk and disheveled” (38). She collides with the mannequin that Ernestine has evidently been using to construct her graduation dress. As Ermina and Ernestine, also dressed in white, try to calm her down, Lily talks loudly about going dancing with a Cuban black man that she met. She takes Ernestine in her arms and starts teaching her the sexy mambo, in spite of Ernestine’s discomfort and Ermina’s jealousy. Ernestine tells the audience that the dance reminded her of her thoughts about “the man at the watch counter at Loesser’s” (40).

The dance is interrupted by a very angry Godfrey, who tells the girls to go. Lily tells him to not make a fuss. The...