Summary

The story opens with a woman and her lover, Pete, preparing to visit the woman’s son on the son’s birthday. The son is mentally ill and has resided in a mental institution for the past three years. The woman and Pete are not allowed to bring anything that could possibly be dangerous or turned into any type of weapon. One of the things that Pete buys as a present is a basket of various jams in glass jars. However, as the woman reminds him, he is not allowed to bring these to the institution, as the glass jars can be broken into sharp shards. Pete says he will think of something else to bring. Pete had first begun living with the woman and the son when the son was eight years old. The son’s mental illness began to develop when he...