Chapter 11 Summary

The month after June dies, her husband Gordie starts drinking, and he doesn't stop. Alcohol alternately consoles and pains him. He can remember the good times way back to when he and June were kids growing up together. He also recalls the more recent times of their troubled marriage and shamefully, what his hands were capable of then. It is the memory of striking June that troubles Gordie the most.

Gordie is not completely alone in his despair. His Uncle Eli has been steadily caring for him through the rough patches, but Eli's patience is running out. One early morning, the two sit at Eli's kitchen table. Gordie is drunk, and Eli is trying to feed him eggs and coffee. Their interactions seem routine. It is clear that Eli has spent many mornings like this trying to care for his nephew. Gordie refuses...