14

Summary

• The protagonist reflects on her age, stating she feels both fifty-­seven and twenty-­four.
• The girls, including the protagonist's daughters and their friend Hazel, plan to watch "The Promised Man," a film known to be soul-­crushing, for the experience rather than the plot.
• An offer is extended for the protagonist and her husband Joe to join the outdoor movie viewing, but they decline.
• Joe and the protagonist discuss the film, with Joe praising it and asking the protagonist if she ever regretted their life choices. She reflects on what could have been different for them both.
• They recall Joe's past performance as a Stage Manager in a play, drawing a comparison to how different he was from Uncle Wallace, a previous actor in the role.
• The protagonist reminisces about Duke, who had stayed in a cozy cottage with better amenities than their own accommodations.
• Duke expresses a lack of urgency to seek medical care and instead revels in taking over Uncle Wallace's cottage, including its contents like prescription pills.
• The protagonist and Duke clean out Uncle Wallace's cottage after his departure, with Duke leading the process with an irreverent attitude.
• The chapter illustrates the widespread drinking amongst actors during a summer at Tom Lake, with Duke embracing it fully for his role in "Fool for Love."
• The protagonist discusses the pressure to drink during rehearsals to improve her performance and struggles with it.
• The adoption of real tequila during rehearsals led to a compromise on the size of the tequila bottle used in the play.
• Joe leaves the protagonist to tend to the goats, indicating he'd be back soon.
• The protagonist walks through the orchard, remembering the children’s fear of the pear trees and a contentious relationship with the Ott children due to those fears.
• As she watches the film from a distance, the protagonist recalls the fear and allure Duke's performance was able to project, as well as the mixed emotions surrounding having watched this film with Joe in the past.
• The protagonist reflects on her regrets, wondering if her actions could have altered Duke's downward spiral, recognizing the self-­importance in such thoughts.
• The protagonist chooses not to join her family watching the movie, preferring to avoid the film's tragic ending and the conversation that would follow afterward, and to instead go to bed early.