Summary

When the chapter opens, we learn that Mary Solomon has died of the heart attack he had in the previous chapter. Mark stopped by the funeral and subsequent reception, returning home to find Karen and Haley in a fight – Haley had been “making fart noises with her mouth” (117) at the funeral. Karen was upset at Mark’s placidity in the face of this information, perceiving him to yet again be casting her into the role of the sterner parent.

The next morning, after the last day of work on Philip Hadi’s house, Mark and Philip had several beers in the kitchen together. Mark got somewhat tipsy and asked Philip’s advice on how to improve his position in life. Philip told him not to “devalue what you do just because others make more money than you” (122), before adding that as long as Mark...