A teenage boy's best friend Frank Lacy often spends time at his house, even when he himself is not home. The boy may arrive at home and find Frank napping in his bed, reading magazines, or playing board games with his parents. Frank often spends the night, and the boy's mother makes him call home to his parents to let them know, but Frank is always reluctant, and the boy suspects that his friend only pretends to call and never actually does. Because of the depression, the boy's family often travels to his grandfather's old house in the country, where they can buy cheap produce and goods. After spending the weekend there, the family comes home to see Frank, who admits to living in the house while they were away. The family doesn't mind his presence, even when Frank teases his friend's sisters about reading their diaries. Frank's older brother soon calls, however, and the boy's mother discovers that the Lacys have been trying to reach their son all weekend, but he never answered the phone. The mother is disturbed by this, especially when she learns that Frank's mother has been sent to the hospital after falling from a horse. His mother recovers quickly, but after this incident, the boy's parents are less friendly and welcoming toward Frank. Frank often receives attention from girls his age, which his best friend finds entertaining to witness, although he is confused by Frank's behavior towards them. A redheaded girl who lives at the house behind Frank watches him and his brothers from her window, wearing lipstick and her mother's clothes, but Frank never acknowledges her presence, even when her friends come over and tease him, giggling and flirting. This happens when the boy is at Frank's house one day, but when the boy calls the girls explicit names, Frank tackles him to the ground and only stops when the other boys pull him off of his friend. As the boys enter high school and become teenagers, Frank's relationship with girls continues to be somewhat of a mystery to his friend. Even when Frank was dating a girl named Mary, he often directed his attention to another girl named Janet, even though the boy had always assumed Frank disliked her as much as anyone else, since she was very much considered to be a troublemaker. Before Frank began dating Mary, he had entertained a relationship with a girl named Irene. As a young teenager, Frank's best friend is hopelessly in love with Irene, a fact that Frank is certainly aware of. He believes that Irene is the very ideal of beauty, like a greek statue or a painting of Daphne and Apollo. Irene often flirts with older boys in a very direct way, so that the boys always know if she is interested in him. The boy, however, is shy and sweet, so she does not flirt with directly but enjoys the attention he gives her. When the boy and Irene are playing fly-ball with Frank one day, Frank and Irene begin flirting and teasing each other, and Frank soon takes her in his arms and kisses her, while his friend watches, shocked and horrified. Frank and Irene date for a few years after this incident. The boy eventually meets a girl, also named Mary, in high school, and she later becomes his wife, but he never truly forgets his infatuation with Irene.