A woman's son Gerald develops schizophrenia as a young man and is sent to a mental hospital. He stays at the hospital for a few months until he is eventually cleared to return to school, a decision which surprises his parents. When he returns to college in Manhattan, he is able to complete his first three years with the help of therapy and medication. During this time, his parents buy him several parakeets and other small birds to care for. Gerald enjoys playing the piano and gets a job delivering telephone books. Soon, however, he stops taking his medication, and his condition begins to worsen. Gerald has now been back at the mental hospital for more than ten years. At first, his parents came to visit him every Sunday, but now they only come when they can, though his mom still writes him weekly letters and calls several times a week. Gerald sends his parents letters in return and shares his other writing with them, as well. He sends them a book chapter that he wrote entitled "I, Jesus," in which he describes himself as the second coming of Christ. Soon after this, Gerald's mother is happy to hear that he will be able to come home for Thanksgiving, his first home visit in over five years. Though the Thanksgiving visit goes well, the next time the mother visits Gerald at the hospital, she worries about his health. He has lost a significant amount of weight, and one of his front teeth is missing. His new medication makes him bouncy, which reminds the woman of his behavior as a young child. When the parents leave, they have to say goodbye several times before getting a response, and even then it is just a mumble. When they return home, the mother finds a letter from their old maid, Hattie, who worked for them when they lived in Kentucky several years ago. Hattie has recently lost her son and explains that she is still grieving him. She then asks about Gerald and his sister Janey and says that she will come visit sometime soon.