Peggy, Al, and Millie are seated at a small cocktail table in a cocktail lounge. Al swallows his drink in one gulp.
The montage continues. at “LOUIE & ERNIE’S,” Peggy, Al, and Millie are seated at a crowded bar. A man reaches over Peggy to grab his drink from the bar. Al has another drink.
At the “PELICAN CLUB,” A nightclub singer scats a jazz tune, backed up by a jazz band. Al finishes off a drink and points at the empty. “Hey, Rupert!” says Al to a waiter. “How about another one here?” Millie and Peggy look on.
At “MIDNITE GARDENS” a guitar player in the jazz band plays at a frantic pace. Three members of the band wave their instruments, as a crowded dance floor shows a fast-stepping crush of people.
Al presses his nose up against a window, smiling at the crowd, while Millie and Peggy look a little less interested.
A couple dances a jitterbug. Al grins.
Meanwhile, at the Parrish living room, Wilma and her parents are visiting. Homer and Luella sit awkwardly in the back of the room, while Wilma’s father speaks.
“Well, I’ll tell you,” says Mr. Cameron, “As I see it, we’re headed for bad times in this country. Of course, we’re in the backwash of the war boom right now, but the tide is running out fast. Next year, in my opinion, we’ll see widespread depression and unemployment.”
Mr. Cameron pulls out a cigar from his pocket. He looks at Homer’s dad. “Oh, have a cigar?” asks Mr. Cameron.
“No, thanks,” says Mr. Parrish. “I’ve got my pipe.”
“Homer?” asks Mr. Cameron, offering the cigar to Homer, “didn’t you contract the tobacco habit in the Navy?”
“Just cigarettes,” says Homer.