Tommy Aronson
Forever...Tommy Aronson is a former boyfriend of Katherine Danziger whose relationship with her ends over his pressure for sex. His later phone call to Katherine and visit to Erica Small bring him briefly back into the narrative, where the accounts of both women connect his confidence and physical appeal with a lack of emotional or intellectual interest.
Relationship with Katherine
Katherine recalls that she liked Tommy the previous year, but only for a few months. The relationship ended when he told her that if she would not sleep with him, he would find someone who would. Katherine rejected that condition and told him to go ahead; he did, beginning a relationship with Dorothy, who later appeared in Katherine’s English class. Katherine’s recollection makes the breakup a consequence of Tommy treating sex as the measure of the relationship, rather than a mutual decision about intimacy.
Afterward, Tommy was at Ohio State. The news reaching Katherine was that he was pursuing many women on campus and might fail out. She hoped he would, a pointed sign that the breakup had left resentment as well as a clear understanding of why she had ended things. The narrative contrasts Tommy with Michael Wagner, who, unlike Tommy, called Katherine every night.
Return to Katherine’s attention
Tommy re-enters Katherine’s immediate life when he calls her family home. Her father identifies the caller, and Katherine takes the call on the extension in her parents’ bedroom, clearing her throat before answering. The brief exchange does not establish what Tommy wants or what follows from the call; its significance lies in bringing the former boyfriend back into Katherine’s awareness after the relationship has ended.
Erica’s account
Tommy also becomes a subject of conversation between Katherine and Erica Small in their shared English class. Erica says that Tommy called her and then came over. She makes clear that they did not make out, although he tried to move the encounter in that direction and she was curious about him because of his physical attractiveness.
Erica ultimately says she did not pursue him because she found him dull and lacking ideas, especially beside Artie Lewin. Her assessment echoes Katherine’s earlier experience from a different angle: Tommy can attract interest, but neither woman describes him as offering the emotional or intellectual substance she wants in a relationship.
