Summary

Eugene visits Ben at Easter in "the tobacco town." Ben, who has always been drawn to older women, is living with one now. He is well-known in the small town and proudly introduces his tall, younger brother to the people he has come to know.

When Eugene comes home in the spring, he announces that he is going away to Virginia. His father gives him money, and he takes off. He goes to the town where Laura lives but never contacts her. He runs out of money and must find work so bounces from job to job and is often hungry. He is now over six-foot-four and weighs less than 130 pounds. At the end of summer, he goes back home with $130 final pay in his pocket. Loathing the idea of going home, he stays in Richmond at a good hotel and lives well for several...