A week later, Oscar visits the Giddens’ house the morning after Alexandra was supposed to arrive with Horace. Addie has been up all night waiting for them, and everyone is starting to worry. Regina remains calm, naming several things that might have caused the delay. She chides Oscar for fretting so much. He is worried to the point that he misses his daily shooting for the first time in eight years. Regina and Addie exit, and Oscar is left to himself in the living room.

Leo arrives at the house after stopping at the bank to see if they’ve received word from Horace. Oscar scolds his son for showing up with no news when he should have stayed at the bank and worked. He tells Leo, “You got to stop that kind of thing. You got to start settling down. You going to be a married man one of these days” (31). He also tells him to stop seeing the woman in Mobile and to work harder at the bank so he can convince Horace he is a fit husband for Alexandra.