We Are Okay

The book returns to the month of June. Mabel and Marin have decided to sneak out late at night and go to the beach. Marin isn’t sure if what she’s doing is against the rules or not—she could ask her grandfather but decides that’s not the way their relationship works. She meets Mabel outside, then returns inside when Mabel suggests she get her grandfather’s bottle of whiskey. They arrive at the beach near three in the morning and sit by the water. Marin asks if Mabel remembers when they were freshmen and practiced kissing together. Mabel muses about their nervousness and ignorance of how they were supposed to behave in high school.

They drink some of the whiskey. Mabel says, “it’s been a long time since we practiced” and then kisses Marin (109). The girls kiss and touch each other under their clothes. Mabel says they can “blame it on the whiskey” if they “regret this tomorrow” but when they wake in the early morning, Marin feels no regrets (110). When they return to Marin’s house, Gramps is concerned to see that they have the whiskey. They apologize and say they had only a few swigs.