Part 2, Chapters 1, 2 and 3 Summary

It has been a year since Sal has seen Dean; in the meantime Sal has gone back to school on the G.I. Bill to finish his degree. He sends a letter to Dean informing him that he and his aunt will be in Virginia at Christmastime to visit some relatives. One day Dean arrives in Virginia with Marylou and another friend named Ed Dunkel. Dean has just bought a new car and the three of them have driven from San Francisco in just four days. The trio had dumped Ed's new wife, Galatea, in a hotel in Tucson because of her constant complaining.

Dean's presence creates chaos in the home of Sal's conservative relatives, but Dean offers to drive back to New Jersey to take some furniture for Sal's aunt. The boys make the trip to New Jersey...