Summary

Terrified but determined, Cal buys a bus ticket at Port Authority to Scranton, Pennsylvania. He stops at a Salvation Army and buys an ill-fitting and old-fashioned men’s suit and gets his hair cut at a barbershop. He finds people barely notice him, making him less self-conscious about transitioning into walking and acting like a male. He buys boxers, deodorant, and men’s razors.

Cal begins hitchhiking to California, accepting rides from semi-truck drivers and a kindly couple named the Bresnicks in an RV who treat him like their own child. Cal spends nights in motels exploring his body and understanding his sexuality for the first time. He is glad that he didn’t allow Dr. Luce to diminish the experience for him. In Nebraska he gets a ride from Ben Scheer, an urbane intellectual that Cal immediately emulates. Ben buys...