Part 2, Chapter 2 Summary

1950. Rudolph is graduating from college thanks to the tuition money Teddy Boylan gave him. No one is at the ceremony for Rudolph. His sister could not come but is throwing a party for him in New York City. His mother, living in a small apartment they share above a store, is too ill to attend. Julie has her own graduation that day and will meet up with him later. Rudolph does not mind, however, as he prefers his solitude. Rudolph listens to the speaker, some cabinet member, and watches his Economics professor squirm on the podium. Denton had offered Rudolph a teaching position at the school after graduation, but Rudolph turned him down.

After the ceremony, Rudolph and his friend, Bradford Knight, jump into Brad's car and go to Calderwood's Department Store where he has worked part time and where the...