Character Analysis
Robby's on-again, off-again girlfriend is only really around because she supposedly had an affair with his dad. Or, to hear Robby tell it, "I couldn't like someone who had affairs with married men. The main thing is to get her to like me" (19.31). We know that he's trying to prove a point by getting close to her and breaking her heart (as payback for destroying his family), but it doesn't work out like that.
Instead, Robby discovers that Mary Beth is smart and fun to hang around. But the biggest surprise of all comes when Pearl learns that she wasn't having an affair with Hoyt in the first place; it was just one big misunderstanding. It turns out Mary Beth is a great gal. It just goes to show that you can't judge a book—or in this case, a kiss—by its cover.