The next morning, Blanche goes to Stella and tries to make her see that Stanley is an animal. She is shocked that Stella could have returned to him. But Stella assures her that Stanley was gentle when she returned and that she loves him. As Blanche begins describing Stanley, he comes in and overhears the conversation but doesn't say a thing.
Some time later, Blanche is dressing for a date with Mitch. She tells Stella that she wants Mitch because she is so tired of struggling against the world. Stella assures her it will happen. She leaves with Stanley to go bowling; just before Mitch arrives, a paper boy comes by and Blanche detains him long enough to kiss him because he reminds her of her young husband. When Blanche and Mitch return from their date, Blanche explains to Mitch how much Stanley apparently hates her. She thinks that Stanley will be her destroyer. She tells Mitch about her past life, how once she was married to a young boy whom she later discovered with an older man. Later that night, her young husband killed himself as a result of a harsh remark that Blanche made to him. Mitch tells Blanche that they both need each other.
It is later in mid-September. Stella is preparing a birthday cake for Blanche. Stanley comes home and tells Stella that he now has the lowdown on Blanche. It seems that she lived such a wild life in Laurel that she was asked to leave the town. Even the army had referred to Blanche as being out-of-bounds. Stanley then tells her that Mitch won't be coming over and that Blanche will leave Tuesday on a Greyhound bus. Later that evening Blanche cannot understand why Mitch does not come. After a scene between Stanley and Stella, Stanley gives Blanche her birthday present — a ticket back to Laurel, Mississippi. As Stanley is about to leave, Stella has her first labor pains and has to be taken to the hospital.
