Delano and his wife, Shelly-Ann, are no longer together. She has moved, along with their sons, Brandon and Hayden, to Los Angeles. Trelawny, who is teaching English, now lives with Delano. Nordic, one of Delano’s neighbors, has come to pressure Delano into asking Tina, the property manager in their area, if she will give the two men a contract to remove some vulnerable trees in advance of the oncoming hurricane. Because Tina had unsuccessfully tried to seduce Delano, he is dubious that she will hire them. Shelly-Ann calls, upset that Delano had gotten their four-year-old son guitar lessons for Christmas because he is too young to play guitar and the lessons are at the home of a teacher who lives far from her house. Delano finds the dissolution of their marriage deeply frustrating, and he misses his children. Nordic continues wheedling, and although their bucket truck is still in the shop (they’ve yet to pay the mechanic for its last round of repairs), Delano caves. He sends Nordic to see Tina, and he goes to the mechanic’s shop on his own.

At the mechanic’s, Delano tries to convince Rusty, the shop owner, to return the truck before the overdue bill is paid.