I Know This Much is True Chapter 22 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • Leo pulls up (in a car that would look new in 1969… because it's still 1969) and Thomas hops in.
  • In the glove compartment, Leo has a tin of weed that he got from Ralph Drinkwater.
  • Leo has a business plan: Get weed from Ralph and sell it at a markup to college students.
  • Dominick doesn't want to do that, though—he'll rape his girlfriend, but he draws the line at dealing drugs.
  • Speaking of his girlfriend, Dominick wants a car so he doesn't have to ride his bike to see her. He remembers Dell has a car for sale, so they head to his house, even though he said to call first. (No cell phones to call along the way.)
  • Ralph Drinkwater answers the door "shirtless and barefoot" (22.49).
  • He leaves in a hurry, so Dominick and Leo let themselves in.
  • There's no sign of Dell's wife, but there's plenty of gay porn; they find Dell, and he shows them the car.
  • He wants four hundred bucks for it, but they talk him down to two-fifty. And by talk him down, we mean blackmail him for being gay.
  • Sitting in their car at the side of a bridge, Leo and Dominick talk about their experiences with "fruity kids" (22.151), "queers" (22.172), and "f**s" (22.184).
  • Leo once had a drama teacher kiss him, and, that night he had to hitchhike home, Dominick had an old man feel him up.
  • This charming conversation is cut short when a cop walks up, catching them smoking pot.