Summary

In late May at the Sea Section, David and his family reminisce about getting dressed up for church as children, something their father still does. Unlike David, Lisa and Hugh are good at getting his father to talk, but David has never known how to make conversation with his father. He would always wonder, "What do other fathers and sons talk about?" (132) Now, knowing that every conversation with his father could be the last makes David feel a paralyzing pressure to make their conversations meaningful.

That night on their way to dinner, David's father points out a condo complex where they used to stay on the island "when we were a family" (133). When Hugh says, "aren't you still a family?" he responds, "I meant when Sharon was alive" (133). Though he hates to hear it, David knows that his mother was the one...