A Chance Encounter that Would Prove Seminal Summary

After Zada goes off to Berkeley for college, Frankie and her mother, Ruth, go to the Jersey Shore to spend time with uncles and cousins. Frankie tries to convince her mother to let her go off on her own to the center of town. Uncle Ben cautions against this, because Atlantic City isn't far away, and Uncle Paul thinks Frankie should be allowed to go on her own. Ruth, who calls Frankie "Bunny Rabbit", disagrees. Frankie instead decides to go down the boardwalk.

On the boardwalk, Frankie gets some frozen custard and meets a boy going into twelfth grade. She gives the boy the rest of her custard. The boy tells her he lives in New York City, and Frankie tells the boy where she attends school. Frankie's phone rings, and...