Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant

Pearl dies in her sleep while Cody is “off on a goose hunt” (238) with his son. Ruth must tell him two days later, when he returns. Cody feels “not so much sad as heavy” (238). The family travel to Baltimore for the funeral; Pearl asked to be cremated. They drive through the old Baltimore neighborhoods and arrive at the family home. Ezra greets them, looking “sad and exhausted” (241). Jenny and Joe are also present, about to depart for the church. Ezra insists that they share coffee and pastries before leaving, seemingly with something on his mind: Ezra has invited Beck, who is yet to arrive. He insists that it had been Pearl’s idea and that he does not particularly care. They leave for the funeral without Beck. The minister delivers a vague eulogy, failing to describe Pearl at all. The funeral is sparsely attended. Outside the church, Cody wonders what Ezra will now do with his life. His mind is wandering when an old man introduces himself; it is Beck. Cody and Jenny have a stilted conversation with Beck; then, they watch as Ezra and Beck talk. Ezra invites his father to dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. They walk to the restaurant.

Ezra grows warmer in Beck’s company, giving him the tour of the restaurant as Cody watches. When they sit at the table, however, no one sits beside Beck. On learning about Cody’s success, Beck says that he is “proud of you, son” (248), and Cody is struck by this “brief moment of respect flitting across his father’s face” (248). Cody makes a barbed comment about Beck’s absence, and Ezra quickly moves the conversation along. Beck is now retired and has been seeing another woman, whom he is now free to marry. Joe arrives with the rest of the children, and the food is served. Though Beck is impressed by the size of the family, Cody dissuades him from this notion: Most of the children are Joe’s; Cody does not spend much time in Baltimore; and Pearl was a “raving, shrieking, unpredictable witch” (251). Ezra disagrees with this final comment, remembering the good times. Cody tells a story about a friend who discovered that he had fathered a child many years after the child was born. The mood darkens. Jenny’s baby begins to choke, and everyone jumps up. Jenny dislodges the mushroom in the baby’s throat and cuddles the baby, who seems happy. After the chaos dies down, they notice that Beck has left.

Ezra chases Beck out of the restaurant. Everyone waits in silence. He returns, unable to find Beck and asks others to help him search because “for once, [Ezra wants] this family to finish a meal together” (253). Reluctantly, people begin to search for Beck. Cody remains in his chair, drinking wine but feeling “chastened” (254). Eventually, he joins the search and begins to wander the streets. He finds Beck sitting alone on a stoop. Beck begins to talk about why he never sought a divorce; Cody accuses Beck of leaving “us in her clutches” (255), saying that Beck did not “lift a finger to defend us” (256). Beck admits that Pearl “wore [him] out” (256) and discusses how he came to leave Pearl, shortly after the incident with the bow and arrow. Beck confesses to thinking about the children often and, one time, he stood outside the house and watched. When he saw Cody, he believed that Cody was “going to turn out fine” (257) and praises Pearl for raising the children. The rest of the family appear, and Beck agrees to return to the meal. Cody leads him “toward the others” (258), thinking back to the archery set.