Chapters 54 through 57 Summary

Joanna picks up Henry from the airport in Galveston, Texas. They return to her posh apartment and make small talk. They go out for food, return to the apartment, drink, talk, and then Henry passes out. In the morning, they have sex and use drugs and drink. In the evening, they take mescaline and Henry paints, gets frightened, and rages at Joanna for putatively sneaking up on him. After about a week Henry gets bored and returns to Los Angeles.

Henry meets Tammie at his apartment and she seems nearly unaware that he has been gone—she is high on drugs and disoriented. Henry announces he is shortly traveling to New York City to perform a reading and Tammie begs to accompany him. When Henry's editor agrees to pay for Tammie's expenses, Henry announces that she can accompany him to...