An American Dream Chapter 6 Summary

A Vision in the Desert

  • Afterward, they lie in bed and share a bottle of booze. Rojack talks about his television show, which began as an edgy piece of counter-culture but eventually devolved into a boring, run-of-the-mill talk show.
  • Cherry starts cooking and talking about her own life. It's a rough story: She was sexually abused by her older brother from childhood, and this continued even after her parents' death. Although the whole town knew, everyone blamed her because her brother was a well-respected sheriff who's currently "running for State Legislature" (6.12). That there's some victim-blaming if we've ever seen it.
  • Eventually, her brother moved out and Cherry's sister went a little mad. Cherry spent a lot of time wandering, getting into relationships with odd characters, like the rich businessman she met—and lived with—in Vegas.
  • In fact, she got involved with the mob through that businessman. In time, Cherry became a little Mafioso herself, even putting out several hits on different men. She eventually realized that this was too much for her, though, so she moved to New York, where she met Shago.
  • Cherry asks Rojack if he killed Deborah, and without hesitating, he says yes. He then explains that he needs to visit Deborah's father tonight.
  • This clams Cherry up. She tells Rojack that Kelly was "the man […] in Vegas" (6.90). Holy smokes—this drives Rojack a little nuts.
  • They talk about how they both believe that Cherry's pregnant. Although Cherry seems excited, she's saddened by the memory of an abortion she had while with Shago—in fact, Cherry's pregnancy is what shattered their relationship in the first place.
  • Then Cherry drops a bombshell: Despite her sexually adventurous life, she never had an orgasm until meeting Rojack. Bizarrely, though, she's always had this belief that she will die as soon as that happens, so this might not be good news.
  • Suddenly, the door opens: It's the one and only Shago Martin.