Mrs. Wiggins

Rather than critique Scotty, Maggie drives away and returns home to take a hot bath. The next morning, Hubert scolds her about not driving if she’s had too much to drink, saying, that if she crashed, “We’d never be able to live down a scandal like that” (50). Hubert commiserates with her disappointment and suggests trying to meet a man somewhere near Mobile. On Friday, Maggie dresses up and goes out, and she meets Randolph. She tells him her name is Louise and she is separating from her husband. She says she lives with her parents on the other side of town because she doesn’t make enough money to afford her own place. Randolph says he is lonely after his wife left him, and he’s already fathered seven children, which Maggie finds promising. The back room of the saloon seems to be occupied by other couples, so Maggie agrees to go to Randolph’s house with him.

Randolph seems like a nice man, and he has a well-kept house. He teaches Sunday school and helps out neighborhood children. Maggie wonders why his wife left him but has already decided what he’ll do. Randolph takes her to his bedroom and is enthusiastic about sex, while Maggie goes through motions she hopes he will like.