Oh, be careful—if you breathe, it breaks!
(See Important Quotations Explained)
Summary
A half hour later, dinner is winding down. Laura is still
by herself on the living-room couch. The floor lamp gives her face
an ethereal beauty. As the rain stops, the lights flicker and go
out. Amanda lights candles and asks Jim to check the fuses, but
of course, he finds nothing wrong with them. Amanda then asks Tom
if he paid the electric bill. He admits that he did not, and she
assumes that he simply forgot, as Jim’s good humor helps smooth
over the potentially tense moment. Amanda sends Jim to the parlor
with a candelabra and a little wine to keep Laura company while
Amanda and Tom clean up.
In the living room, Jim takes a seat on the floor and
persuades Laura to join him. He gives her a glass of wine. Tongue-tied
at first, Laura soon relaxes in Jim’s engaging presence. He talks
to her about the Century of Progress exhibition in Chicago and calls
her an “old-fashioned” girl. She reminds him that they knew each
other in high school. He has forgotten, but when she mentions the
nickname he gave her, Blue Roses, he remembers. They reminisce about
high school and Jim’s glories. Laura also remembers the discomfort
and embarrassment she felt over the brace on her leg. Jim tells
her that she was far too self-conscious and that everybody has problems. Laura
persuades him to sign a program from a play he performed in during
high school, which she has kept, and works up the nerve to ask him
about the girl to whom he was supposedly engaged. He explains that
he was never actually engaged and that the girl had announced the
engagement out of wishful thinking.
In response to his question about what she has done since
high school, Laura starts to tell Jim about her glass collection.
He abruptly declares that she has an inferiority complex and that
she “low-rates” herself. He says that he also suffered from this
condition after his post–high school disappointment. He launches
into his vision of his own future in television production. Laura
listens attentively. He asks her about herself again, and she describes
her collection of glass animals. She shows him her favorite: a unicorn. He
points out lightly that unicorns are “extinct” in modern times.
Jim notices the music coming from the dance hall across
the alley. Despite Laura’s initial protests, he leads her in a clumsy
waltz around the room. Jim bumps into the table where the unicorn
is resting, the unicorn falls, and its horn breaks off. Laura is
unfazed, though, and she says that now the unicorn can just be a
regular horse. Extremely apologetic, Jim tells her that she is different
from anyone else he knows, that she is pretty, and that if she were
his sister he would teach her to have some self-confidence and value
her own uniqueness. He then says that someone ought to kiss her.
Jim kisses Laura on the lips. Dazed, Laura sinks down
onto the sofa. He immediately begins chiding himself out loud for
what he has done. As he sits next to her on the sofa, Jim confesses
that he is involved with an Irish girl named Betty, and he tells
her that his love for Betty has made a new man of him. Laura places
the de-horned unicorn in his hand, telling him to think of it as
a souvenir.
Amanda enters in high spirits, carrying refreshments.
Jim quickly becomes awkward in her presence. She insists that he
become a frequent caller from now on. He says he must leave now
and explains that he has to pick up Betty at the train station—the
two of them are to be married in June. Despite her disappointment,
Amanda bids him farewell graciously. Jim cheerily takes his leave.
