In this section, Nicole becomes a key figure, introducing the theme of The Influence of Love and Hate in Human Lives. Her relationship with Gary will form a central connection in both of their lives and become an important through line in the text.

Nicole’s traumatic past has shaped her deeply, which leaves her more susceptible to forming a volatile relationship with Gary. Although Nicole is very young when she meets Gary—only 19—she has already had a complicated past filled with romantic disappointments and traumatic experiences. Her disclosure of abuse at the hands of Uncle Lee and her difficult experiences with sex from a young age portray Nicole as someone who has long struggled with finding love and security in her relationships with men. Meanwhile, her past experiences with petty crime and time spent in mental health institutions create parallels between her own troubled adolescent experiences and Gary’s, with the narrative implying that having such difficult experiences in common helps to cement the bond between them.  

Their relationship also depicts a different side to Gary, suggesting that he is sometimes capable of experiencing love for individual people, which forms an important contrast with his usual antagonistic behavior toward society at large. Nicole is entirely open with Gary, and in turn, he tells her stories about his own life that he is reluctant to tell anyone else. Gary may be reluctant to tell Nicole everything, but the information he does share with her suggests a willingness to be vulnerable, which he does not exhibit around anyone else. Nicole’s hopes for the relationship create a sense of dramatic irony in the narrative, as readers already familiar with Gilmore’s story will know that Gilmore will ultimately end up back in prison instead of leading a new, reformed life with Nicole.

Even in the early days of their relationship, however, the narrative reveals details that imply the relationship is already more troubled than it may initially seem. The couple drinks and does drugs, with neither partner serving as a stabilizing force for the other or offering motivation to get sober. Their acts of petty vandalism together speak to Gary’s casual return to criminality, continuing his pattern of anti-social behavior depicted in the weeks after his release in Part 1. Nicole’s mother’s disapproval of the relationship mirrors Brenda’s uneasiness in Part 1, with the concern of these loved ones reinforcing the sense that Gary and Nicole might not be good for one another, and that Gary is now drifting further away from reform.