Jake's relationship to Rachel
.................................................................................................................................................. Jake,
Slat, Chuckie and Max meet at Central Station. When
they are boarding the peace train, Jake sees Rachel for the first time. She has
dark hair, is short and about 25 years old, she is a peaceful and soulful type and
wears no make-up. After
observing Rachel for a while she suddenly comes over to him (page 188: "She
noticed me notice her.") They talk for a while and Jake feels insecure
because of her beauty (page: 191: "She was very pretty. Too pretty for me,
perhaps.") Because of the chaos he tries to keep close to her group, but
they have no chance to exchange words. "Some
peace girls started sreaming and crying. Elbowing through some more, I got to
Rachel and grabbed her hand."
 
When
they get out of the crowd, they walk to a river and sit down (page 197: "I
wanted to kiss her."). He feels like a 17-year-old boy, he is nervous and
happy (page 197: "My mouth dried and I grew nervous but I talked on. She
was silent and started glancing at me in that wonderful way that says the first
kiss is expected, dreaded and desired."). While
they are walking to his car they see Rachel's friends and Jake tells her to join
them, although he likes her very much (page 198: "She was the prettiest
girl I'd ever talked to..."). "You
were too old anyway. I'm only twenty-one, " she said.
"What age are
you anyway?" she asked sharply. "Fifty-seven."
She
walks away. "You know Jake, you are a real sanctimonious arsehole."
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