Book 1, Chapter 2 Notes from Tender is the Night

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Tender is the Night Book 1, Chapter 2

Mrs. McKisco said that they thought maybe Rosemary was in the plot, and that they didn't know who was and who wasn't in the plot but that her husband knew a man who turned out to be a main character, practically the assistant hero. When Rosemary inquired if there was definitely a plot, Mrs. Abrams jumped in and said that they didn't know because they weren't in it. As they continued talking, Rosemary wished that her mother was there to get them out of this uncomfortable situation. She decided that she did not like these people, particularly when comparing them to the other people who interested her - on the other side of the beach. After asking if she had been there long, they all went for a swim. After swimming a little bit, Mr. McKisco admitted that he did not know how to breathe while swimming. Rosemary explained that he should breathe out under the water, and roll his head over for air every fourth beat. Then, they swam to the raft, where a man helped up Mrs. McKisco for he thought that the raft had hit her. His voice was slow and shy, and he had one of the saddest faces Rosemary had ever seen, with the high cheekbones of an Indian, a long upper lip, and enormous golden eyes. Having made sure that Mrs. McKisco was alright, he swam off. Rosemary commented that he was a good swimmer, and was surprised when Mrs. McKisco replied that he was a bad musician. Her husband agreed that Abe North was a rotten musician. Abe then swam over to Mrs. Diver, who had her two children in the water with her, and picked up one of the children onto his shoulders. The child yelled with excitement, and the woman watched, without smiling. Mrs. McKisco then stated that Mrs. Diver was not staying at the hotel, and returned to asking Rosemary more questions.

Rosemary then swam back to shore and lay down in the sun. As a man in a jockey cap created excitement on the beach, she slowly saw Campion come towards her, and she pretended to be asleep. After a while, she really did fall asleep and woke up sun burnt. She realized that the beach was deserted, except for the man in the jockey cap, who told her that he was going to wake her before he left. She laughed, inviting him to talk, but Dick Diver was already carrying a tent and beach umbrella up to a waiting car. He came back, and gathered up the rest of his belongings: a rake, a shovel and a sieve, and stowed them in a crevice of a rock. He checked that he hadn't left anything and then answered Rosemary's question of the time by saying that it was a half past one - not one of the worst times of day. He then looked at her with his blue eyes for a moment, and she felt eager and confident. She then went back to the hotel.

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