Willoughby is a writer and critic who lives in New York. When he receives news that his father is dying, he makes his way back to his small hometown. He’s initially disgusted and plans to leave the following day. Before making his way to his parents’ house, he eats at a restaurant to avoid having to consume his mother’s cooking. At home, his parents are both fragile. His mother indicates that the doctor believes that she’ll come down with illness left. Willoughby only gets a few moments with his father, but they talk about the son’s criticism of Whitman, which the father understood but could not accept because he always loved Whitman’s poetry. At the end of the night, Willoughby insists on going without waking his father up, despite his mother’s protests. He gets to the train station, where he feels deeply sad and pained, but also like he must leave at all costs. He goes back to his life without his parents.