Chapter 35

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Lee helps the Trasks make the move to Salinas by packing up the house, taking them to the train, and then unloading all their goods once they arrive. He makes the family as comfortable as possible then waits for Adam to notice his “coldness and formality.” Adam eventually becomes aware of his manner and asks Lee to tell him what he already strongly suspected: that Lee wants to leave the family.

Lee tries to begin a speech he had memorized, intending to say that he had served the Trasks with his utmost ability for many years, but Adam interrupts him. The formality is sloughed off and Lee must simply come out with it. Lee confesses that he must leave right away or he might not have the nerve to go. Still, he asks if Adam would like him to wait until he has found a suitable replacement. Adam declines, knowing that the time would likely never come and he does not wish to hold his friend back. Adam wonders if they should keep the news from the boys because he fears it will upset them too much. Lee disagrees; he argues that it is best to be honest with children.

When the boys are told, they take the news in stride. Adam is furious and calls them “little brutes!” but Lee is sanguine. He claims he does not want them to be sad and hopes that one day they will remember him fondly. Adam, for his part, he tells Lee he will certainly miss him. He wants to know if Lee truly intends to open a bookstore. Lee says that is the plan. Adam offers to walk Lee to the depot but Lee refuses, knowing it would be too emotionally difficult. He says good-bye to Adam and leaves quickly, barely hearing Adam’s plea to remember to write.

Later that night after a basketball game, Cal and Aron discuss Lee’s departure. Cal wonders what Lee will ever do without them, but Aron says they will not have to wonder; he is certain Lee will return. Cal bets his brother ten cents that Lee will come back, a bet that has no expiration date. Aron takes the bet and Cal rewarded only six days later.

Lee arrives back at the Trask home and lets himself in with his own key. He finds Adam in the kitchen. Adam has burned the dinner. The two talk as if nothing in the last week has transpired, falling into their old roles effortlessly. Lee shoos Adam out of the kitchen and makes them both some coffee, pouring a little bit of Chinese absinthe into each cup. After a bit of avoidance, Lee finally confesses the reason he came home. “I got lonesome. That’s all. Isn’t that enough?” he asks. Adam agrees but feels sad for the loss of Lee’s dream of owning a bookstore. Lee, however, is relieved. He is no longer chasing a dream but accepting a reality he has come to love and be comfortable within. He is glad to be home.

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