What's Eating Gilbert Grape

The next day, Mrs. Carver comes to Lamson Grocery to buy brown sugar. Gilbert tells her he made a two o’clock appointment for that afternoon. A little before two, Gilbert takes his lunch break. Instead of driving to Carver’s Insurance, he drives to Mrs. Carver’s home, where she is waiting for him. They hide Gilbert’s truck in the garage and go into the kitchen, where she is making oatmeal cookies. She begins touching Gilbert as he makes a call to Carver’s Insurance to tell Melanie he will be late for his appointment. As Mrs. Carver performs oral sex on Gilbert, he finds himself distracted by thoughts of Becky and asks her to stop. Mrs. Carver begins to cry, and Gilbert attempts to console her.

Gilbert arrives for his appointment with Mr. Carver. They discuss insurance for a moment, and Mr. Carver suggests that Gilbert become an insurance agent because he has a good life. Mr. Carver says that his two sons want a swimming pool, but he sat down with them and explained that they have a comfortable life but cannot afford a pool. He purchased a trampoline instead. They are interrupted by a phone call from Mrs. Carver. They speak for a moment, and then Mr. Carver tells Gilbert there is an emergency at home, and he must leave. Gilbert follows him outside, and Mr. Carver asks him for a ride since he is too upset to drive. Gilbert is convinced Mr. Carver knows about his affair with his wife, but Mr. Carver says nothing when they arrive at the house, apart from inviting Gilbert to be the first to use the new trampoline.

Gilbert and Arnie watch the carnival drive out of town on Monday. Arnie tells a story about the horses' being mean to him and spitting on him, although they are made of fiberglass. When the cars are gone, Gilbert walks Arnie home, racing him to distract him from stopping at the Methodist church where the carnival was set up. However, Arnie goes to the church anyway. When Gilbert arrives home, he tells Amy that Arnie is at the church. Amy sends a complaining Ellen to retrieve him.

Trevor comes over. He and Gilbert bring in the wood for the floor support while Bonnie sleeps. Amy signals them when Bonnie wakes up and again when she goes to the bathroom so they can finish the job. Tucker tells Gilbert that he went to the site of the new Burger Barn, where he plans to get a job, and he tries to tell him something else, but Gilbert cuts him off. When they finish bringing in the wood, they both jump in their trucks and head into town. Gilbert sees Ellen dragging Arnie down the street. He stops and yells at her for hurting Arnie and watches as they finish the trek home. Tucker finishes his story, telling Gilbert that although he always wanted to date Ellen, he saw the most beautiful girl in the world at the Burger Barn site. Gilbert knows he saw Becky.

Gilbert follows Tucker to Ramp Café, where Tucker is eating with Bobby McBurney, the son of the owner of the local funeral home. Their waitress is Beverly Ramp, a young lady Gilbert once bullied in school. She purposely ignores Gilbert as she takes Tucker's and Bobby’s orders. They talk about Becky for a moment, and the conversation switches to Mrs. Brainer’s funeral. Bobby says there was a big turnout, and Lance Dodge, one of Tucker and Gilbert’s former classmates, sent flowers. Tucker laughs and begins to tell a story about Lance urinating in Mrs. Brainer’s classroom once because she didn't allow students to use the bathroom before recess. Gilbert becomes annoyed and leaves. He goes home and drinks a lot of water, and then he goes to the cemetery and urinates on Mrs. Brainer’s new grave. Gilbert drives back to the Ramp Café and blocks Tucker in the parking lot. As Tucker yells at Gilbert for hurting his feelings, Gilbert tells him that it wasn’t Lance who had the accident in Mrs. Brainer’s classroom. Tucker apologizes.

Gilbert is at work listening to Mrs. Lamson sing in the office while her husband speaks optimistically about good surprises coming in the future. They haven’t had a customer all day, and she wonders if there’s something going on at Food Land. Gilbert knows the new store recently put in a lobster tank, but he doesn’t want to tell them; it turns out that Mr. Lamson already knew. At the same time, Gilbert reflects on his relationship with Mrs. Carver. She had car trouble once when he was 17, and he stopped to help. Later, she came to Lamson Grocery with her husband and their small children, cornered him in the stockroom, and invited him to her home on his day off. The first time he went, they didn’t speak but just sat and stared at each other. The next few times were similar, but eventually their sexual relationship began. Late in the afternoon, Becky arrives at the store to buy a watermelon. The melon is so large that Mr. Lamson asks Gilbert to deliver it to her home.

Gilbert offers to give Becky a ride, but she insists on riding her bike. He puts the watermelon in his truck and follows her, but she goes up a dirt road and backtracks, causing him to lose her. He tries to find her for a while, stops at the convenience store ENDora THE LINE to get a drink, and spots her. Tucker and Bobby are driving around, too, and they spot her as well. Gilbert gives up and stops at Buck Staples’s gas station. While he’s checking the oil, Becky comes up. She tells him, “Maybe if you expressed an interest in getting to know my insides” (93). Annoyed, Gilbert pushes the watermelon out of his truck and drives off.

Gilbert returns to work, and Mr. Lamson tells him Amy stopped by with Arnie. Mr. Lamson is hurt that Arnie no longer likes to come into the store. Gilbert explains that Arnie likes the mechanical doors at Food Land. At the same time, Mrs. Carver comes in and admits she understands their relationship is over, but she asks Gilbert to meet her for a picnic on their anniversary. When Gilbert asks why she chose him, she says “I knew you would never leave Endora” (97), words that haunt him.

Mr. Lamson gives Gilbert an envelope Amy left for him that contains a grocery list, $30, and a request to ask for credit on the rest. Gilbert is embarrassed by this request and puts it off as long as he can. The owner, however, is quick to tell Gilbert he can take anything he’d like. Gilbert is also embarrassed by the list itself, which contains an unusual amount of food. At home, Amy apologizes for the grocery list and explains that the checks their siblings usually send are late. Gilbert acknowledges that he has a brother and a sister who escaped the house. Larry, the second oldest at 32, appears to make good money but refuses to share information about his life with his siblings. Janice, the third child at 29, went to college and received a degree in psychology but became a flight attendant.

Gilbert refuses dinner and waits in Amy’s room for a meeting regarding Arnie’s upcoming birthday party. Ellen joins Gilbert, and they bicker over the amount of lip gloss she chooses to put on. Amy joins them. They discuss the food they plan to serve and decide that the party will take place in the yard. They think about having hayrides but decide against it. Arnie comes to the door and pretends to be a cat. Gilbert and Amy play along, but Ellen makes a rude remark that causes Gilbert to tackle her.

The phone rings, and Gilbert rushes to answer it. Tucker is on the other line and tells him he gave Becky a ride home with her watermelon. Gilbert demands to know where she lives, but Tucker won’t tell him. Gilbert has to hang up when Bonnie calls everyone to the living room. Gilbert’s old classmate, Lance, is on the news doing a special report on a family murder. Bonnie asks Gilbert why a boy would kill his family, and he replies that maybe the boy was afraid the family couldn’t survive without him. Bonnie laughs.

Gilbert gives Arnie a bath. Arnie expresses concern that Gilbert will leave him, and he promises he won’t. The topic of Elvis comes up, and Arnie expresses dislike for him because of his eye. Gilbert is surprised that Arnie remembers the day Elvis died: Janice and Larry were in the attic drinking and playing darts, and Bonnie sent Arnie up to get her some cigarettes. When Arnie opened the door, Larry threw a dart that hit him in the eye. Arnie was in the hospital for a week and now has an artificial eye. Gilbert takes Arnie out of the bath, helps him dress, and sends him downstairs. In his room, Gilbert sees a light flash in the yard. He goes to see who is there and finds a piece of watermelon with the message “It’s the insides that count” (113).