A Complicated Kindness

Nomi and Travis are sitting in the truck waiting to meet The Comb, a local drug dealer, and buy marijuana. They are arguing about whether Ray and Trudie ever had chemistry; Nomi says that they once did, but Travis argues that Ray is like a boy “with his finger in the dike,” trying to save everyone but looking kind of goofy in the process. He puts Nomi’s hand on his groin and tells her that this is chemistry. Nomi is offended and says that Travis shouldn’t insult Ray and then come on to her. Travis says she should relax.

The Comb comes outside from his trailer. He once worked at the chicken plant, and could kill four chickens at once. Nomi gives him some money and the Comb throws her a bag of weed. He asks if Nomi has seen Tash lately and grabs his crotch. Nomi doesn’t respond; she’s a little scared of The Comb and doesn’t want to annoy him. He’s one of the only people who can live in the town yet completely ignore all its rules. Nomi says he’s kind of like Menno Simons; both men share an “obsession with escaping from the world.”

Later, Nomi sits outside the bakery drawing with her chalk and watching a man named Bert drive up and down the street. He’s wearing a jean jacket with Led Zeppelin written on the back, except that the last two letters don’t fit on the jacket. Nomi reflects that there are many simple ways to look less like an idiot. She remembers that one time Bert picked her up in his truck and told her about the deaths of his parents and his life with his grandmother. He’s been excommunicated from the church  for his alcoholism. Now he dates a French girl, and they often drive up and down Main Street together. Once, Nomi dreamt that Bert and his girlfriend start dancing in the supermarket parking lot, and it was so beautiful that everyone watching started to cry.

Travis picks Nomi up on Main Street, and they go for a drive. Nomi wants him to play more songs on his guitar, but she also gets anxious thinking about what to say in between songs. However, Travis is mostly interested in running around naked in the fields, and Nomi likes doing that too. When they get tired, they lie down next to each other. Travis says that they shouldn’t talk so they can “synchronize.” Nomi falls asleep and when she wakes up, it’s raining and Travis is sitting in his truck. Nom asks why he didn’t wake her up, and he doesn’t answer. She points out a clump of horses in the field, who have gathered together to protect each other from the elements.

When Nomi gets home, Ray is on the roof cleaning out the gutters. Nomi asks him to come down, but he refuses. She wonders if he has purposely waited for a thunderstorm to handle this chore.

Armed with Tash’s Valium and some cigarettes, Nomi prepares to walk to Abe’s Hill. Outside her house, she sees the little neighbor girl playing. Nomi stops to pick her up and spin her around until they both fall down. The girl shows Nomi the contents of her purse: lipstick and a fake gun. She tells Nomi that Jesus used to drink wine, and Nomi makes funny faces to make her laugh.

On the way to the hill, Nomi passes The Mouth and his wife, whom she has privately nicknamed Aunt Gonad. The Mouth greets Nomi in the Mennonite language Plautdietsch, which he wants everyone to speak, but she refuses to respond. The Mouth has a daughter, currently living in Germany, who used to be Nomi’s Sunday school teacher. Nomi remembers her trying to illustrate the miracle of Christianity by describing the “impossible” things that can happen with God’s help, such as very fat gymnasts winning Olympic medals. The Mouth also has a son with whom Nomi was close as a child. They played a game called “Bus Driver and Lost Girl,” in which Nomi pretended to be lost and had to let the bus driver kiss her before taking her home.

Nomi isn’t strong enough to ride her bike up the hill, so she leaves it at the bottom. She knows she should stop smoking, but she would feel lost without her cigarettes. She’s even loyal to her brand, Sweet Caps; it comforts her to buy the same pack of cigarettes every time, just as it comforts Ray to watch Hymn Sing on TV every night. Nomi plans to quit when she’s 40, after she’s worked at the chicken plant for 23 years.