Bud begs Jasmine to marry him before the baby is born, asking her to “put this old bull out of his pain” (212). But her mind is on Du and her anger toward people’s surprise at how well Du excels at most anything he does. Jasmine understands why he is so flexible and smart: She had to be the same way to survive what she went through, just like Du.

While Bud is working late one evening, Jasmine calls Darrel who is in an odd, upsetting mood. She advises him to call Karen’s Hot Line, but Darrel wants to give Jasmine a chance to save him first. He asks her to come to his house and “keep me sane” (214).

She arrives at Darrel’s home to find him in the kitchen trying to cook an authentic Indian meal. Jasmine quickly offers to help correct some of his mistakes but realizes that there is another element at work here. The 23-year-old Darrel is now “a shy, would-be lover with a despondent face, holding my hand in so anxious a grip that I think I must pull away before he breaks it” (215).

The conversation with Darrel turns dark as he accuses Bud of not being able to satisfy Jasmine’s sexual needs.