Firefly Lane

Tully goes to Chad’s house. Chad asks if she wants to talk about her fight with Kate because he knows how much Kate’s opinion matters to her. Tully realizes that he has listened to her as she has revealed pieces of herself to him. She feels less alone; she is comforted by his intimacy but also scared of it. Tully tells him that Kate thinks their relationship is wrong, and Chad agrees, saying that Tully should listen to Kate. He is worried because he is falling in love with her, and he knows that he shouldn’t, especially because she doesn’t believe in love. Tully says that maybe someday she will.

Tully is not talking to Kate, so Kate calls her mother for advice. Kate tells her mother that Tully’s boyfriend is all wrong for her (careful not to reveal his age) and that Tully is missing the college experience. Her mother points out that Tully was never going to be an average sorority girl because of the fire within her, suggesting that perhaps Kate could use a little bit of that fire herself. Kate’s mom also tells Kate that sometimes being a good friend means staying quiet, watching the mistake unfold, and being there to “pick up the pieces” (119).

Kate goes to the TV station and apologizes. Tully’s face crumples. Kate promises that she won’t ever let a guy come between them again, and she makes Tully promise to never leave without talking again.

Tully’s relationship with Chad blossoms. She finds that she feels content with him, which is “a new emotion for her” (121). He makes her forget that she doesn’t believe in love and makes her rape recede into “a scar on her soul [...] that could only sometimes be seen” (121).

Despite her happiness with Chad, Tully is anxious to get into the real world. As Tully gets ready to go to a local news affiliate to find out about a part-time internship, Chad says she’s not ready because reporters need “to exhibit a perfect mix of objectivity and compassion. [She’s] too objective, too cold” (122). Tully knows that he’s right, but she has spent most of her life trying to suppress feelings, so the balance does not come naturally. Before she leaves, Chad caves and tells her, “You were born ready“ (123).

Tully meets with Johnny Ryan at KCPO. Johnny tells Tully the station does not have an internship, so Tully offers to work for free and do whatever needs done. Finally, Johnny agrees, and Tully has a job three days a week at KCPO. Tully rushes home to tell Kate.

By November of 1981, Kate has found herself in college. She is happy except for the feeling that journalism may no longer be her dream. She doesn’t have the same drive as Tully, and she doesn’t like intruding on others’ lives. She has started to dream about going to law school, writing novels, or falling in love and getting married. Kate knows that she should tell Tully how she feels, but she finds it difficult, especially because Kate can’t offer a clear alternative dream. When Tully barges in to tell Kate that she got the internship at KCPO and that she’ll start working on getting Kate hired, Kate tells Tully that “this is your day, your start” (129). Tully questions whether Kate is still invested in their dream but quickly dismisses the possibility that she might not be. As Tully leaves to tell Chad the good news, Kate tells the empty doorway that she doesn’t want to follow that path.

Thanksgiving includes “girlfriend hour,” when all the women of the family gather for cocktails and catch up while the men watch football. Tully tells everyone about some of her copy making it to air and how she and Kate are on their way to the top. As Kate prepares to tell everyone that she has changed her mind about journalism, her mother and aunt start to talk about how proud they are of her, and Kate feels she’s lost her chance.

The end of senior year goes wonderfully. Tully and Kate spend weekends together, and although Tully spends many nights at Chad’s, Kate is having fun dating. Looming over all this happiness, however, is their impending graduation. Kate still hasn’t told anyone that journalism isn’t her dream anymore. Finally, Kate calls home to come clean to her mother. She explains that she isn’t like Tully, willing to do anything for the news, and that she is just being realistic in admitting that the news business would eat her up. Kate’s mother chastises her for being realistic, as youth is the time for idealism and big dreams. When Kate is unable to verbalize what she does want, her mother tells her she shouldn’t be afraid “to reach for the brass ring” (134). Before the conversation can continue, Tully bursts in, telling Mrs. Mularkey that she’s kidnapping her daughter.

Tully drives Kate to the TV station and introduces her to Johnny Ryan. Kate is immediately struck by his looks. He offers her an office job, and she accepts despite her intense attraction to the man who will be her boss and her feeling that she’s following Tully again. Immediately, Kate realizes that Johnny only has eyes for Tully, and she knows she has made a mistake.

Shortly after Kate arrives at her first day of work, Johnny sends Mutt (the cameraman) and Carol (the reporter) out on a story, and Tully tags along. Kate is left standing in the office with no idea what to do while Johnny retreats into his office. Kate answers the phone and organizes the files on the desk. When she takes lunch to Johnny, she tells him about what she has done over the course of the morning. He laughs and tells her that he tried to get Tully to do the same for months, but he knows now what to expect from her: passion. When he says that, Kate can see the admiration in his eyes. Kate feels she’s falling in love with him.

The summer after graduation, Kate and Tully get an apartment downtown and settle into a nice routine. One day, Kate and Tully get to work and find things in a state of chaos. Carol has gone into labor, so Tully will need to go cover a protest happening in Yelm. Tully is thrilled at the chance to go on-air, but she frowns when she learns that it’s in Yelm, explaining only that she knows “someone who lives out there” (145).

Once Tully and Mutt leave to cover the protest, Kate is alone in the quiet office. She has come to care about the people who work there, and she has become a confidante to both Mutt and Carol. However, she still hasn’t gotten very close with Johnny. Kate is a mess around him because of his looks and the wounded idealist that she can see behind his cynicism.

Johnny asks Kate to join him for lunch. In the restaurant, Johnny asks whether Tully is seeing anyone and comments about her passion for the news. Kate says that she feels her own job is fine, and then she points out that Johnny doesn’t seem very passionate about his job either. He agrees that he isn’t and explains how bad things are in El Salvador, where he previously worked as a war correspondent. When Kate presses him about why he left reporting and El Salvador, Johnny gets upset and cuts the lunch short. Kate points out that his experiences in El Salvador don’t seem to be “old news” like he says, and he goes into his office and slams the door.

In Yelm, Mutt pushes Tully into a small crowd of protestors. Tully is awkward at first, but by her third interview, Mutt is no longer coaching her, and people are opening up to her. As they pass a campground on the drive back, Tully asks to stop and see her vacationing mom. Tully hasn’t seen Cloud since Gran’s funeral; she has only received postcards telling her where to send money. When Tully sees her, she notices that Cloud has aged considerably and that she has the “glassy, unfocused gaze of an addict” (151). Tully tells Cloud that she just had her first on-air piece, to which Cloud responds that “TV is the opiate of the masses” and proceeds to ask for money to buy drugs (151). Tully is upset, though not surprised, and leaves.

When Mutt and Tully return, the four of them work to edit the piece. Kate has a hard time concentrating because her crush on Johnny has deepened. Kate feels a “stab of envy” about the way that Johnny looks at Tully (152). Johnny takes Tully and Kate to a dive bar to celebrate, and all three of them get drunk. They watch Tully on TV and then get on the dance floor. As they’re out there, Johnny gazes at Tully and eventually kisses her. Tully chastises him, and then she runs to Chad, who has just arrived. When Tully and Chad leave, Johnny watches the door, and he acknowledges that he thought he might have a chance with Tully. Johnny walks Kate home, telling her that she’s a talented writer. As Kate lies in bed, she thinks about Johnny’s compliment; he noticed her a little today, so maybe her feelings for him aren’t hopeless.

Tully’s first broadcast marks the start of her successful on-air career. She, Kate, Johnny, and Mutt have a productive two years together, but Tully’s success quickly outgrows their small, local studio. Meanwhile, Johnny’s feelings for Tully remain unrequited, as do Kate’s feelings for Johnny. Kate keeps her feelings secret from Tully, worried that her interest in Johnny would spark feelings in Tully, too.

One day, when Tully and Mutt are out reporting a Sasquatch sighting, Johnny calls Kate into his office. Johnny confides that a friend of his has disappeared in El Salvador, and he’s going down there to try to track him down. When Kate notes that it’s dangerous, Johnny insists that it’s important to be there for those who protected and worked with him. He asks Kate to run the office while he’s gone, and though they have a moment of romantic tension, Kate does not kiss him.

Kate worries for Johnny while he’s gone, but her responsibilities grow. She finds that she enjoys producing news segments and feels a sense of pride seeing her work on TV. Still, she misses Johnny, and though she wants to confide in her best friend, she chooses not to.

One evening, Johnny turns up drunk at Kate’s doorstep. He is disheveled and distraught, and he tells Kate that by the time he got to El Salvador, his friend was already dead. He kisses Kate, and Kate is elated as the two begin to kiss more passionately. However, Johnny breaks away and calls Kate “Tully” before passing out from intoxication. Kate is heartbroken. The next morning, Johnny doesn’t remember what happened, and Kate pretends that they didn’t kiss.