Summary

pp. 60 – 86. Section 2 begins with Regina’s brief commentary in narration on how telling the story seems to diminish the impact and intensity of what she shared with Martha, at one point commenting that they “endured [their] orgasms like shipwreck survivors with hoarse shrieks of actual fear” (61). She then describes how their relationship progressed – from Regina impulsively initiating their first conversation over the telephone, to their first meeting at a coffee shop. There, Martha insists that their relationship cannot continue, but Regina sees that she does not mean it: as their conversation concludes, she sees Martha’s heart bleeding, “…a dark drenching that more and more clung to reveal her breast and its hard, bumpy nipple” (65).

As the relationship progresses, there are many long telephone conversations, as well as determined avoidance of each other at the university while, at the same time, being deeply...