Chapter 3 chapter 2

A long stone pier stretches out into the Atlantic Ocean from the seaside town of Ogunquit, Maine.Today, it looks to Frannie Goldsmith like a gray finger pointing accusingly into the distance.She parked the car in the public lot and saw Jesse Ryder sitting at the end of the pier.He was silhouetted in the afternoon sun, and flocks of seagulls circled and screamed above him.It is simply a lifelike New England oil painting.She worried that some seagull would spill its white droppings on Jessie's clean blue chambray shirt, and that would be a disgrace.After all, Jesse is a devout poet. She knew it was Jesse, his ten-speed bike locked to the iron rail behind Gus's house in the parking lot.Gus is a native, potbellied and bald, coming out of the house at this moment, walking this way.Outsiders charged $1 for parking, and he knew that Franny lived in the town, and he didn't even look at the "local residents" sticker on the windshield of the Volvo.Franny comes here often.

I do come here a lot, Franny thought.I actually got pregnant right here on the beach, just 12 feet above the tide line.Dear Little Thing: You were formed on the stunning coast of Maine, just 20 yards east of the breakwater, 12 feet above the tide line, in an "X". Gus raised his hand to her in a "V" sign. "Your friend is over there on the pier, Miss Goldsmith." "Thank you, Gus, how's business?" He smiled and waved to the parking lot.There were probably only twenty-three or four cars in all, and most of them, she saw, had blue and white "Local Resident" stickers on them.

"It's too early and there's not much business," he said. "Today is June 17. Wait two weeks and we'll be making some money for the town." "Of course it will, if you don't pocket it all." Gus laughed and walked back into the house. Franny supported the warm side of the car with one hand, took off her sneakers, and put on a pair of flat rubber slippers.She was tall and tall, wearing a loose shift dress, her long chestnut hair fell down and covered half of the skirt.She has a good figure, and her slender legs always attract admiration.She thought a fraternity would be a good place to go.People always say: Look, look, look, here comes the hot chick.She was the school belle in 1990.

She smiled bitterly to herself.You're messing around like it's world news, she thought (Chapter 6: Hester Pullin brings Reverend Dimmesdel news of Pearl's imminent arrival).He's not Dimesdale.He is Jesse Ryder, 20 years old, 1 year younger than our heroine, Franny.He was a devout school poet, as could be seen in his immaculate blue chambray silk suit. She stopped by the beach, and even through the rubber slippers, she could still feel the warmth of the sand baking the soles of her feet.In the distance, silhouettes at the end of the pier throw pebbles into the water.She felt a little amused, but even more disappointed.He knew what he looked like sitting there, she thought.Lord Byron, lonely and fearless.Sitting alone, looking out over the sea that stretches all the way to England.But, I'm a vagabond, maybe never...

Oh, what nonsense! It wasn't this kind of thinking that upset her, but her own mentality.The young man she thought she was in love with sat there, and she stood behind him, sneering. Carefully stepping over rocks and cracks, she made her way up the pier.The pier is very old and is part of the breakwater.Today, most boats are moored at the southern end of town, where three marinas and seven motels with pubs do brisk business all summer long. She walked slowly, fighting the thought that maybe in the 11 days since she knew she was pregnant, she had stopped loving him.Amy Lauder says she's a "little pregnant woman".He got her pregnant, didn't he?

Definitely yes.She has been taking birth control pills.It's very simple.She went to the school infirmary and told doctors she had painful periods and often had embarrassing hiccups.The doctor gave her a prescription and even gave her a 1-month note! She stopped again.Now she was out on the water, and the waves lapped the sand to the left and right.She thought that the school doctor might often hear people complaining of menstrual cramps and many pustules, just as the pharmacist often heard people talking about buying condoms for his brother-in this era, at this age, it is even more common.All she had to say to him was, "Give me the pill and I'll have sex." Why was she shy when she was old?She looked at Jesse's back and sighed.It's human nature to be shy.

Anyway, the pill didn't work.Some sloppy quality inspector at the Overlier plant must have made a mistake.Or she forgot to take her medicine and couldn't remember it afterwards. She walked gently behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders. Jessie was holding a stone in his left hand and throwing his right hand into the water with a bang bang bang bang, when he let out a cry and suddenly fell to the ground.Stones scattered all over the ground, almost knocking Franny into the water. She couldn't help giggling, and when Jessie turned around furiously, she put her hands over her mouth to stop the laughter.He was well-built, with black hair, gold-rimmed glasses, and a plain face that made it impossible to see what he was feeling inside.Jesse was never satisfied with his plain appearance.

"You scared the hell out of me!" he yelled. "Oh, Jessie," she giggled, "Oh, Jessie, I'm so sorry, but it's fun, it's fun." "We almost fell into the water," he said, taking an angry step towards her. She took a step back, tripped over a rock, and sat down heavily.The chin was hit hard, and the tongue was so painful that it was unbearable!The laughter stopped abruptly, as if cut off by a knife.Her sudden silence - I'm a radio and you turned me off - seemed ridiculous, so she giggled again, not caring that her tongue was bleeding and her tears were hurting .

"Are you all right, Franny?" He knelt beside her in concern. I do love him, she thought with some relief, and that's a good thing for me. "Does it hurt you, Franny?" "Just my pride," she said, letting him help her up. "I bit my tongue. See?" She stuck out her tongue, hoping he would smile back, but he frowned. "Damn it, Franny, you're really bleeding." He took a handkerchief out of his back pocket, looked at it hesitantly, and then put it back. She remembered the two of them walking back to the parking lot holding hands—young lovers in the summer sun—with their shared handkerchief in her mouth."Hi, Gus," she waved to the smiling, amiable administrator.

She giggled again, even though her tongue hurt and the fishy taste in her mouth made her sick. "Don't look," she said solemnly, "I'm not a lady anymore." He smiled exaggeratedly and covered his eyes.She tilted her head to the side of the pier and spat out—bright red and sticky.Another sip, another sip, finally her mouth seemed to be a little refreshed.Looking back, he was peeking through his fingers. "I'm sorry," she said, "but I'm so uneducated." "No," Jesse said, but with a clear nod of approval. "Shall we go get ice cream?" she asked, "You drive, I'll get it."

"Good idea." He stood up and helped her up too.She spat to the side again.The color is bright red. Frannie asked him worriedly, "Did I bite off my tongue?" "Dunno," said Jessie briskly, "did you swallow a piece?" She put her hands over her mouth in disgust and said, "This is no fun." "I'm sorry. Franny, you just took a bite." "Are there arteries in the human tongue?" Now they were walking back along the pier hand in hand.From time to time she stopped to spit to the side.The color is bright red.She would not swallow such a thing, well, never. "do not do that." "Okay." She held his hand tightly and smiled at him: "I'm pregnant." "Really? That's good. Do you know what I saw in the port..." He stopped and looked at her, his expression froze suddenly, becoming extremely cautious.Seeing his wary look, she was a little sad. "What did you say?" "I'm pregnant," she told him, laughing cheerfully, before spitting on the edge of the pier again.The color is bright red. "Just kidding, Franny," he said, uncertain. "It's not a joke." He keeps staring at her.After a while, they started walking again.As they walked across the parking lot, Gus stepped out and waved to them.Franny and Jesse waved too. They stopped at Queen's Creamery on U.S. 1.Jess buys a cocoa ice cream and sips it thoughtfully behind the wheel of the Volvo.Franny made him buy herself a box of banana split cream sauce, and sat down by the car door two feet from Jesse, spooning out peanut and pineapple salsa and margarine ice cream. "You know," she said, "Queen's ice cream has too much bubbles. You know that? A lot of people don't." Jessie looked at her and said nothing. "Honestly," she said, "those ice cream machines are just giant foam machines. How could Queens be so cheap? I read about it in a business theory book, and there are so many ways to make money. " Jack looked at her without saying a word. "If you want real ice cream, you've got to go somewhere like Deering's, and..." She wept. He moved over and put his arms around her neck. "Frannie, don't do this. Please." "The sauce is dripping on me," she said, still in tears.He took out his handkerchief again and wiped away her tears.At this moment, she no longer shed tears, but her nose was still sobbing. "Banana Split Cream Sauce and Blood Sauce," she said, looking at him, her eyes bloodshot, "I don't think I can take it. I'm sorry, Jess. Would you throw that away?" "Of course." He said reluctantly. He took the sauce and went out to throw it in the trash.It was funny how he walked, Frannie thought, as if he had been hit badly.In a sense, she thought that was what had hit him.But if you look at it the other way, he looks like the way she walked after he took her virginity on the beach.She had the feeling that she had a bad diaper rash, except that diaper rash doesn't turn you into a pregnant woman. He came back and got into the car. "Are you sure, Franny?" he asked suddenly. "affim." "What's going on? I thought you were taking medicine." "Well, one possibility, I guess, is that the people in QC got sloppy when my batch went through the conveyor belt at the old factory in Offlier; The young man eats aphrodisiacs; third, maybe I forgot to take the medicine, and I can’t remember it afterwards.” She forced a gentle smile at him, which made him back away. "Why are you so excited, Franny? I'm just asking." "Well, let me answer you in another way. On a warm night in April, it must be the 12th, 13th, or 14th..." "Stop it," he snapped, "you don't have to..." "No need?" She asked coldly, disappointed and frustrated in her heart.She had imagined all kinds of scenarios, but it never occurred to her that this would be the case. "So excited," he said lamely, "I'm not going to dump you." "No." Her voice softened.At this moment, she could yank one of his hands off the steering wheel, hold it in her hand, and everything would be right.But she can't.He didn't deserve comfort at all, no matter how much he needed it.All of a sudden, she felt, all the laughs and good times were gone forever.She wanted to cry again, but held back the tears.She was Frannie Goldsmith, Peter Goldsmith's daughter, and she wasn't going to sit in a parking lot in Ogunquit crying blind. "What are you going to do?" Jessie asked, pulling out a cigarette case. "What are you going to do?" He ignited the lighter.As the cigarette smoke rose, she clearly saw a man and a boy struggling to control their expressions. "Damn it," he said. "I see a couple of options," she said. "We can get married and keep the baby. We can get married and raise the kid. Or we don't get married and I keep the kid. Or..." "Frannie..." "Either we don't get married, and I don't have children. Or I have an abortion. Are they all included? Have I missed any?" "Frannie, can we just talk about..." "We're talking!" She glanced at him. "You have a choice, and you say, 'Damn. schedule." "Want a cigarette?" "Frannie, what the hell!" "Why are you yelling?" she asked softly. "Because you seem determined to annoy me," Jack said angrily.Controlling his anger, he said, "I'm sorry, I just can't think it's my fault." "You can't?" She raised her eyebrows and looked at him, "Look, virgins can get pregnant too!" "Why the hell were you so careless? You had the medicine, you said it. I believed you. Am I wrong?" "No. You're right. But that doesn't change the facts." "I don't think so," he said despondently, throwing away the half-lit cigarette. "Then what shall we do?" "You've been asking me, Jesse. I'm just listing a few options that come to mind. I thought you'd make up your mind. Another option is suicide, but I don't want to think about it just yet. So, you choose another One, let's discuss and discuss." "Let's get married," he said suddenly and firmly.It looked like he was determined to cut through the mess quickly.It was as if the howler had been driven below deck as the ship moved forward at full speed. "No," she said, "I don't want to marry you." It was as if his face was screwed together by some invisible screws, and upon hearing this, the whole set of screws suddenly loosened by a circle and a half.Every muscle relaxes.It was ridiculous!She had to press her injured tongue against the hard jaw to keep from giggling again.She didn't want to laugh at Jesse anymore. "Why?" he asked, "Frannie..." "I have to think about why. I don't want you to discuss why with me, because now I don't know." "You don't love me," he said angrily. "Love and marriage are incompatible in most cases. Choose one over the other." He was silent for a long time.He fiddled with another cigarette, but did not light it.At last he spoke: "I can't make a choice, Franny, because you don't want to discuss it. You want to knock me out of the water." This touched her slightly, and she nodded. "Maybe you're right. I've refuted myself a little over the past few weeks. Jesse, you're a college student after all. If a mugger came at you with a knife, you'd be there to call A seminar." "For God's sake, please." "No. You've already figured out all your reasons. Maybe I need time to think about it too. Okay. Can you take me back to the parking lot? I'll do something else when you get out of the car." He looked at her in surprise. "Frannie, I've been biking here from Portland. I've got a room in a hotel just outside of town." "Very well," she said quietly. "I'm staying at the Lighthouse Motel, just give me a call if you can figure it out." "Okay." She moved behind the wheel, feeling suddenly very tired.The place where the tongue was bitten hurts badly. He walked to the place where the bicycle was locked and pushed the bicycle towards her. "Hope you'll call, Franny." She smiled unnaturally: "We will meet, goodbye, Jesse." She started the Volvo, turned the corner, and drove across the parking lot onto the beach drive.She saw Jesse standing leaning on the bicycle with the ocean behind her, and for the second time today she condemned him inwardly for knowing so well what a picture he had made.This time, instead of being upset, she felt a little sad.As she drove, she wondered if the ocean was still the same as it had been before it all happened.Tongue burning hot pain.She opened the window wider and spit.This time it was all white and it was fine.She smelled the strong salty smell of the ocean, like bitter tears.