Tales of the City

DeDe waits for Beauchamp to arrive home. She is angry and watches the flock of green parrots outside her window. To calm down, she takes a long bath. Soaking in the water, she “realized suddenly that most of her ideas about love and marriage and sex had solidified when she was fourteen years old” (74). After examining herself in a mirror, she decides to look up the number of Splinter Riley, a former lover. 

“Mercifully” (75), Splinter answers the phone. Immediately, he accidentally reveals that Beauchamp is not at his club. Though DeDe invites Splinter to her house, Splinter declines, saying that he is too in love with his wife. DeDe orders groceries. The delivery boy arrives, an 18-year-old of Chinese descent named Lionel Wong, and she talks to him about a museum exhibit and offers him a drink. Beauchamp arrives home half an hour later and meets Lionel in the elevator. They make polite conversation. DeDe is upstairs, taking another bath. 

Mona and Michael head to a crowded beach. They walk to “‘the gay end’” (77) of the beach, pass nude bathers, and arrive at a crowd of “thirty or forty naked men” (78). As Michael applies Mona’s sun cream, she tells him that she now finds straight men “‘boorish and boring’” (79). Hours later, they leave for dinner and pass Mary Ann on the way home. Michael recognizes Mary Ann from their conversation at the Safeway. 

Mary Ann paces up and down her apartment, “anxious, guilty, and frightened of recriminations” (80). She decides to cook dinner, read, and relax in the bath with a homemade face mask. Staring in the mirror, she determines not to call Beauchamp.

DeDe mentions her call to Splinter, telling Beauchamp about Splinter’s regrets about missing the meeting. Beauchamp decides to walk the dog, taking an item with him from the bedroom as he leaves and slipping it into the glove compartment of his Porsche. 

Mona passes Mary Ann’s desk; noticing that she seems upset, Mona offers her a Valium. Later, Mona and Beauchamp give a presentation about cotton crotch pantyhose. Mona has a heated exchange with a client, eventually telling him not to “‘patronize me, you prick’” (84). Later, she explains to Michael that she has been fired. They wonder how she can tell Mrs. Madrigal, though they think she will understand. 

Michael tries to improve Mona’s mood by reading to her from gay classified ads. When he fails, he goes out with her blessing. Mona, alone in the apartment, reflects. She hasn’t called her mother “in eight months” (86), and it increasingly feels as though Mrs. Madrigal is her real mother. She goes to tell Mrs. Madrigal the bad news. 

Venturing out, Michael reflects on the rumors that spread through San Francisco’s gay community. He talks to a man named Chuck at a bar and tells “cheap jokes” (87). Chuck is very attracted to Michael’s shoes. 

Mrs. Madrigal opens the door and seems “oddly subdued” (89). She pours Mona a sherry. She asks whether Michael has ever asked Mona about her and Mona says no, as she thinks it is “‘up to [Mrs. Madrigal]’” (89). Finally, Mona confesses that she has lost her job and calls Edgar “‘the biggest asshole on the Barbary Coast’” (90). Though Mona insists that she is fine, this is not true. She takes a Quaalude and passes out. Michael arrives home later with Chuck. 

DeDe visits her mother, who is “aghast over the 1976 San Francisco Social Register” (91). After a quick back and forth, DeDe blurts out that she thinks Beauchamp has a mistress. She produces a scarf she found in Beauchamp’s car as evidence; she has seen Mary Ann wearing the same scarf. Later, DeDe attends a social gathering, convened to discuss the topic of rape. The host insists that they are going to “‘rap about rape’” (92) and asks the guests to share their stories of sexual misconduct. When it’s DeDe’s turn, she begins by telling the gathering about the grocery boy. Later, at home, DeDe orders groceries; Lionel arrives 10 minutes later. 

Mona slips out for a coffee the next morning and comes home to find Michael in the shower. He is wearing his jeans and “‘wire-brushing [his] basket’” (94) in preparation for a trip to the roller-skating rink. By the time he arrives, the rink has run out of men’s skates. Taking the women’s skates, he gets out onto the rink. Michael crashes into a potential love interest and bloodies his own face. Soon enough, Michael and Jon are skating together, “hand gripped in hand” (96). 

Brian visits the Sutro Bath House. Inside, a dozen women are surrounded by twice as many men. Everyone is naked, though some have towels. After deciding that it is “too early to head for the orgy room” (98), Brian approaches a woman and eventually they go to a room together.