Act 2, Scene 2, Summary

It is late morning in mid-September. The house is packed up and cluttered again. Ethel is moving through the house with a box, puzzled that one of the boxes she laid down a minute ago has moved. Norman is studying a collection of hats when Ethel comes back into the room. Norman wants to mail a fishing pole and hat to Billy, though Ethel does not think he can mail the fishing pole. The phone rings. Ethel answers. It is Bill. Bill wants Ethel and Norman to fly to California to visit them. Ethel says they will, maybe in January, if she can talk Norman into it. Chelsea comes on the line and Ethel talks to her for a minute before giving the phone to Norman. Norman hesitates about agreeing to a trip to California. Then Norman asks to talk to...