In Country

The storm continues, and Emmett cringes on the stairs with his cat Moon Pie on his lap. When the storm ends, Lonnie suggests they all go to Cawood’s Pond, a preserve set up by university biologists, although Sam calls it “a snake infested swamp with sinkholes” (34).

They smoke marijuana while parked at the pond, and Sam asks Emmett about a bird he is always on the lookout for. He tells her it is a white egret, and that he saw flocks of them while he was in Vietnam. When Sam suggests that might be a bad memory, Emmett tells her it is not. It is his one happy memory of Vietnam.

In a change of scene, Sam visits her best friend Dawn Goodwin, who is piercing a second set of holes in Sam's earlobes. Dawn has many piercings in her ears. She tells Sam, “I get bored easy, so when I get bored I just stick another needle in my ear“ (40).

Sam tells Dawn about her worry that Emmett's acne is caused by his exposure to Agent Orange in the Vietnam War. Dawn and Sam talk about their boyfriends, Ken and Lonnie, and about getting married. Sam reveals that she takes birth control pills while Dawn says she is too afraid of the side effects to take them. Dawn seems to think Sam should marry Lonnie, but Sam is undecided. The two conclude that Hopewell is “dead without a mall” (43).

Back at home, Sam finds Emmett digging a hole next to the house to expose the foundation. He's trying to find out why they have water in their basement and is obsessed with the task.

Sam wonders if talking about Vietnam would help Emmett. She thinks about how the psychiatrist on M*A*S*H cured his patients of anxiety by encouraging them to talk, but she knows that real life is different.

The next day, Emmett continues digging, while his father (who Sam calls Grandad Smith) tells him he should get a job. Emmet just says that no jobs are worthwhile, and that “most jobs are stupid” (45).

The next morning, she goes with Emmett to McDonald's where he meets up with his friends, all of whom are Vietnam War veterans. She tries to talk to them about the war and Agent Orange. No one wants to tell her anything. She lets it drop that she wants to buy a car, and one of the veterans, Tom Hudson, says he has a Volkswagen he will sell her.

Sam and Emmett discuss Irene and her desire to have Sam move to Lexington. Sam expresses anger over her mother's move to Lexington, her marriage, and her new baby. She continues to prod Emmett to do something about his health. When she watches M*A*S*H that night, she connects Emmett's health problems to those of a surgeon on the show, Trapper John. She considers how the characters on the show often turn down the chances to leave Korea and decides that there must be something men like about war.

Later, she has a long conversation with her mother on the telephone. She still refuses to move to Lexington and accuses her mother of not looking after Emmett. Irene says that she looked after Emmett for 14 years and now deserves a new life. She does not want to remember Dwayne, her first husband.

After the call, Sam takes out a picture of Dwayne she keeps in her Collegiate Dictionary. Dwayne was 19 years old when the picture was taken, and this is Sam's only photo of her father.

Sam awakens to the sound of Emmett's digging. He talks to Jim Holly, who heads up a local organization of Vietnam War veterans. They talk about Agent Orange and the need for community. One of their friends has a daughter with birth defects, and he suffers from many side effects of being sprayed with Agent Orange.

When Sam asks Emmett if he is afraid the house will fall apart if he does not fix the foundation, Emmett replies that he is. Jim Holly takes Emmett's trowel and covers the crack, reassuring Emmett that the house will hold.

Sam visits with Anita Stevens, a nurse who used to be Emmett's girlfriend. She asks Anita about cancer and Agent Orange. Anita is a beautiful woman from a good family. Emmett broke up with her because he felt that she was from a higher social class than he was, and he did not feel he deserved her. Anita shares details about her first marriage and divorce. Sam asks Anita to come to their house for lasagna and tells Anita about the dance Jim Holly plans for the veterans. Anita says she will come, and she gives Sam the names of good doctors for Emmett.

Emmett has now turned to working on the crawl space under the kitchen floor. Sam tells Emmett she thinks he should get back with Anita.

In her room, Sam examines her father's photo again. She talks to him and tells him about all the things he has missed while being dead. Sam feels that his photo, set in the mirror, “ruled the room” (67).

Emmett, Sam, and Lonnie drive to Paducah to see a doctor who will examine Emmett for Agent Orange exposure. An eye doctor has already told him his eyes are fine. Emmett and Sam think that Lonnie should pursue the trade school his father favors, but Lonnie keeps coming up with excuses about not getting a job or training. Lonnie's brother is getting married soon, but Sam is not looking forward to the wedding.

At the medical center, Sam and Lonnie sit in the waiting room while Emmett is seen by a doctor. Sam poses the ethical question of whether killing someone in a war you believe is wrong is doing something evil. Sam feels guilty because her father and Emmett went off to war to protect her mother and her.

Emmett is disgusted by the advice he gets from the doctor to wash his face more often. He receives a salve and advice to eat better food. He tells Lonnie and Sam that the doctor laughed at him and told him his problems were just caused by his nerves.

Sam goes running the next morning and winds up at Tom Hudson's garage to look at the Volkswagen. She talks to Tom about their visit to the doctor, and he shares with her his skepticism about the government ever doing anything about Agent Orange exposure. Sam would like Tom to tell her about Vietnam, especially about the place where her father died. Tom tells her to stop asking questions because no one wants to remember it or think about it. Tom wonders why Sam needs a car since she's a runner. Sam says she wants to “go places.” Tom offers to take Sam for a ride in the Volkswagen, and she accepts.