Last Night at the Telegraph Club

When Lily meets Kath to go the Telegraph Club on Friday, Jean is with her, and though they went to the same high school, Jean comments that she doesn’t remember Lily, who refrains from making the same remark. Both Kath and Jean are in pants, and Lily feels somewhat self-conscious in a skirt.

The bouncer remembers Jean and welcomes the trio in. Lily tries to pay Kath back for the beers the time before, but Kath refuses. The show starts, and Lily tries to immerse herself in Tommy’s singing. Eventually, two others who know Jean join them. Jean flirts with one named Rhonda, and the other, Sally, mentions another nightclub. Sally asks what the others think of Tommy. Rhonda says she appears classy but implies that it’s just an act, having known a friend who was dating her. Lily chimes in that Tommy is with Lana now, and the group is surprised, but she explains that she met Lana the last time they were there. Rhonda refers to Lana as a “femme” (a woman who dresses femininely but dates women).

When they talk about suits, Jean comments that she thinks Kath would like one, and although Kath says it isn’t her style, Rhonda suggests that it is: “I can see them coming a mile away, those baby butches” (198). Lily notices that Rhonda’s words seem to please Kath even if she doesn’t admit it.

Shirley summons Lily, saying that she needs to get out of Chinatown, and they agree to go to the Sutro Baths out by Ocean Beach. There, they get hot chocolate and watch the people skating on the ice rink. Shirley asks if Lily ever wishes she weren’t Chinese and adds, “You wouldn’t have to live in Chinatown, and you could do anything you wanted. You could go ice-skating anytime” (204). Shirley says she feels like everyone is in her business in Chinatown. Lily feels more protective of Chinatown but understands where Shirley’s coming from.

When Shirley comments that Lily must understand wanting to get out of there because she wants to go to outer space, Lily gets defensive, feeling like Shirley’s picking on her. However, Shirley apologizes, admitting to being a bad friend and asking Lily to be her friend because she needs one.

At lunch, Lily says that she doesn’t know why Shirley would want to be Caucasian. They’d have to eat American food like tuna casserole or liverwurst. They eat some of the snacks that Shirley packed.

Shirley then reveals that she’s going to enter the Miss Chinatown contest, which confuses Lily. Shirley says that she didn’t mean what she said earlier and that this will give people in the community something to gossip about. She asks Lily to head her support committee and help sell raffle tickets. Shirley feels like it’s their last year together (as Lily will soon go to college, while Shirley plans to stay and go to City College in San Francisco but continue to work at her parents’ restaurant). Lily agrees to help Shirley with her Miss Chinatown candidacy.

Lily starts to spend more time with Shirley, helping her prep for Miss Chinatown, which also means that she’s spending less time with Kath. At school, December passes quickly, and Lily has spent most of her time with Shirley. The last day before break, she worries that she won’t get to talk to Kath. She manages to catch her at the end of the day, pulling her into a supply room. Lily asks if everything is okay between them, and Kath asks her why she thinks something is wrong, leading Lily to talk about Shirley and their history. However, as she speaks, she realizes how much she misses Kath and their conversations, as Kath really listens when she talks about her dreams of working on rockets.

Lily grabs Kath’s hand, running her fingers against it, and suggests going back to the Telegraph Club. Both blushing, they agree to go on December 30.

At Shirley’s house, Shirley, Lily, Mary, and Flora discuss their progress selling raffle tickets. Flora’s father has agreed to buy a couple hundred. They also discuss Shirley’s speech on why she should be Miss Chinatown. Lily suggests that she talk about how Chinatown is her home and how she wants to represent it to everyone in America.

On Christmas Eve, Lily’s older brother, Frankie, is in a nativity play, and as he performs, Lily wonders if Kath is thinking of her. The thought makes her blush. She also thinks about how she was the only girl to play a shepherd in a nativity play, wondering if that was perhaps an early sign of her interest in women.