Chapters 15 and 16, Graduation, Driving Summary and Analysis

After her abortion, Ruth doesn't want to return to Suffolk. She goes to high school in New York, sleeping on her grandmother's couch and struggling with her studies. She can't keep up with New York academics, so she returns to Virginia in order to graduate. She still loves Peter.

However, shortly after her return she overhears some girls in the store talking about Peter, saying that he's getting married soon because he got somebody pregnant. It was a black girl who lived behind the Shilskys in the neighborhood. Ruth confronts Peter and tells him she doesn't want to see him anymore, but she still misses him.

She wants to return to New York, but feels guilty about leaving her mother behind. She is her mother's eyes and ears in America. Her mother can't speak English...