Should Roger Have Gone to Whittier?

The main question from the previous post is a conundrum that haunted me for over 40 years, as I continued to shape and bend the story into a novel.  Should Roger have gone to Whittier, California, on Day 32 with Otto, for Otto to pursue his interest in Kelly Cooper?  My answer always has been yes. I’ve always regretted not going, and have tried to reason it the other way. But I wind up with the same conclusion. What the heck did it matter, in the big picture, if we went? What was my glitch? The guys worked in a timeless zone and had a wide open agenda. Sure, the trip back across the country was planned and even set in motion, you could say, but what was the big deal? Who was paying us?  Who was setting the rules?  It would have turned Roger into the subservient role, but it only temporary.  As I churn the circumstances over and over, especially in my reflections on the succeeding days, Roger should have swallowed his fucking pride (as it says on page 296) and let the sidetrip unfold.  It would have saved a ton of hardship and misgivings between the guys. It might’ve proved my original point that his so-called thirst for this girl was frivolous. Then again, it could’ve reaped sexual benefits for me. “For all I knew, we could’ve still been there, playing doctor with those girls.  I could have pulled down the elastic of a girl’s panties, reached for paradise and maybe even found it.  Instead, I encouraged this . . . hellraking.” It was because I was too much of a prima donna. Pride got in the way. I had to have things my own way. Something along the miles empowered me. Plus the backwater story of engaging this particular girl (because Otto was spurned by Denise Latourette) was too clear in my mind. I blocked it, and had my reasons. But the more generous gesture would’ve been to let it happen. That one’s not on Otto; it’s on me.