Ordinary Grace

It’s almost the Fourth of July, and Ruth and Ariel leave the Drum household to attend the final rehearsal for the Independence Day celebration in New Bremen’s Luther Park. Father Peter, a friend of Nathan’s who is a Catholic priest, has spent the afternoon playing tennis with Nathan and stays at the Drum house after dinner. Father Peter communicates concerns he’s heard from the community about the fact that Ruth, a minister’s wife, both drinks and smokes cigarettes, adding that Ruth was wild in her youth. He goes on to say that Ruth “shuns the activities of the WSCS,” or Women’s Society of Christian Service (131). Nathan counters by saying she spends her time focused on the church’s music programs.

Later that evening, Frank heads toward the Heights with Jake in tow. Jake urges Frank to tell Gus about the incident with Engdahl, and also tells Frank that he should apologize to Engdahl for pushing him into the water. Frank tells Jake not to worry. Here, Krueger, through Frank, establishes Engdahl as a possible culprit for the impending murder of Ariel. This segues into Frank’s questioning of Ariel’s motives for wanting to remain in New Bremen: “In the hours since I’d left the quarry I’d come to realize that not only was [Ariel] in love with