Jack parks at a mall and leaves Danny in the car so he can use a phonebooth. Jack is embarrassed. A year earlier he was teaching at Stovington, a prestigious prep school, with several published short stories to his name. Losing his temper cost him everything. He had been close to tenure before George Hatfield came into his life. After Al Shockley told him that the Board had voted against keeping him—with the exception of Shockley—Jack avoided a bar and went to Al’s house instead.

They became friends because they drank more than anyone else at faculty functions. When his self-loathing grew too severe, Jack considered suicide. He remembers all the excuses he gave Wendy for his drinking. A month after Jack broke Danny’s arm, Al hit a bike in the street—without a rider—when they were driving, drunk. Al quit drinking that night.

Jack remembers telling Wendy that Danny’s arm was just an accident, but Wendy started to talk about separation. Just before the conversation when she was going to insist on a divorce, Jack asked her to give him one week before they spoke again. He never drank again.

When Al answers the phone, Jack thanks him for getting him the job.