The Wayward Bus

The passengers watch Juan walk away.

Bernice mocks Elliott for wanting to go on a vacation via bus. Her tone becomes increasingly hostile, which is uncharacteristic of her. She accuses Elliott of ruining everything. Mildred is angry about her mother’s outburst and goes for a walk to calm herself down. Elliott encourages Bernice to lie down. Bernice lies down and overhears a conversation between Camille and Norma. Norma tells Camille that she admires how well Camille handles unwanted male attention. Camille tells her a story about her friend Loraine, who seduced a man into buying her an expensive fur coat and went wild for it.

As Mildred goes on her walk to cool down, she worries that witnessing her parents fight for the first time signifies that they fight often, but in private, suggesting their idyllic marriage is not so perfect. Mildred finds Juan’s footsteps in the mud. She follows the footsteps and finds him asleep in an abandoned barn. She watches him sleep, contemplating her desire for him. He wakes up. Mildred says she thought that he might leave the passengers and go to Mexico. She admits thinking about leaving her life for Mexico too.