A professor named Dwight Clark is packing his family's car with their belongings. He is waiting for his children and his wife--Kitty. His wife's brother, a bachelor named Henry, helps him pack. His father-in-law, Judge Parker, sits on the porch and judges everything that Dwight does--the design of his foreign car, the way he packs the car, and anything Dwight does. Dwight realizes people are watching him and he finishes packing the car, hoping that his wife hears that he is done. However, his wife and children are still upstairs getting ready for the day so walks up to the porch. Judge Parker sits and asks him questions about their trip. Judge Parker assumes the car's mileage and model, but gets all of the statistics off. He pretends he doesn't get these answers wrong and Dwight has to hold his anger in because these are his wife's parents and she wants him to be kind to them for that day.

Dwight thinks about their trip to visit her parents, who live in Nashville, and waits for his wife and children to finish so they can eat breakfast before they leave. He hears the toilet flush upstairs and remembers how there is a slight water crisis and that they had too padlock the bathroom so one of his sons wouldn't play with the flusher. Dwight pulls out a newspaper and so does Judge Parker, but they don't talk nor look at each other as they read.

As Dwight reads, he thinks about the garden house on the property and that Judge Parker explained it was built many years ago for free. It's made of stone and Judge Parker talks about the house with such poetical speech. Dwight leans back in his chair, but then stops, remembering he broke a chair last year and that it would make Judge Parker mad if he did it again. Judge Parker seems disgusted by the whole action. Dwight hears his family walk down the stairs.

Henry Parker is Kitty's brother who is considered an old bachelor. He watches the interaction, or lack thereof, between Judge Parker (his father) and Dwight before thinking about his own life. At breakfast, he asks his father to read the headlines, but his father refuses. His sister warns him to not be difficult.

Henry thinks about the love affair he's been having with a married Catholic woman for the past thirteen years. He also thinks about his childhood and the effort his mother goes through to make time for the whole family to get together. Henry's sister, Kitty, is the most sympathetic one of their family and she made an effort to go and spend the summer with her parents and brought her family along. Additionally, she and Henry worked to clean and renovate the whole cottage together to make their parents happy.

Henry remembers seeing a railroad and graffiti that says "have you had yours" and thinks it is talking about fornication. However, he soon realizes it means certainty, and certainty is something he and Dwight haven't had. Dwight is someone who is always dependent on manuals to teach, so he is rarely certain about things. Henry thinks about his father who is considered "Mr. Law" by friends because he is a judge and used to be an assistant to the registrar of deeds. Even though his father is a Democrat and very involved in politics, no one came to Henry for political opinions. Henry recalls that being with Nora is the only thing that makes his summers tolerable. Nora spends a lot of time with her children.

Kitty ensures that her children get a good breakfast before they leave. The men begin to talk to each other and she and her mother listen in. Dwight talked about his route for returning home and Henry pitches in, but no one listens to his comment. Then they begin to talk about the political states of things and Dwight starts to become tired of the conversation until Henry hears his father speak badly about Catholics.

Kitty and her mother begin their own conversation while the men continue to talk about politics. Judge Parker eventually gets mad and tells them to be quiet so he can hear his own conversation. Then Dwight asks for Henry's opinion. He thinks about his life and sits there smiling, without responding to them. Eventually, he makes a petty comment on the fruit and then his mother gets mad at him.

Henry begins to share his opinion about good relationships and Judge Parker asks his son if he is trying to dictate how the relationship between him and his son-in-law should go. Dwight breaks the tension by talking about Henry being a bachelor. Judge Parker says that he was kidding about being angry at his son and then they all finish their meals.

The family gets ready to leave and they say their goodbyes. The children were very eager to leave and Henry tells Dwight that he is sorry they never got to play chess together. As the family drives away, Dwight suggests they go buy a newspaper, but his wife says they shouldn't in a sad tone so he agrees they shouldn't. As they begin to drive farther, the children exclaim that their Uncle Henry is juggling fruit. Dwight thinks Henry is doing it to entertain the children, but Henry looks deep in thought. Eventually, they depart from the property and head home.