He enters their bedroom, taking off his jacket. He still looks like he's on the verge of a heart attack. He sits down on the bed, and calls for Betty, now that Baby Gene is tended to. "Sit with me," he says. Remarkably, she does, eying him warily. "This was my father," he says, starting to go through the pictures. "Well, this was not my mother. My mother was a 22 year old prostitute, who died, having me." Wow, the floodgates are really opening now. "This woman, Abigail, she raised me," he goes on. He goes on to tell of how his father died when he was 10, and Abigail took up with a new man, who was nice to him. "What happened to them?" Betty asks, much of the edge gone from her voice. "They're all dead," Don replies, more resigned than sad. "Even Adam?" Betty asks, "The little boy in all the pictures. I assume he's your brother." "He was my half brother. And he died," he says, his voice starting to break, and his lip trembling. "He killed himself. He came to me because he wanted help. And I turned him away. He didn't even want help, he just wanted to be part of my life. And I couldn't risk all this," he goes on. The flood of emotion is almost too much for him to contain now, and the harsh look is fading fast from Betty's face. "He hung himself," he finishes as he starts to cry. "I'm sorry, I am," Betty says, placing her hand on his shoulder.
Roger calls an old friend on Joan's behalf. "I want to help her out, she's important to me," he says. Aww, Roger! I almost forgive you for that Derby Party.
Joan sets the table as Greg the Rapist walks in the door. "I'm sorry, Joanie," he says, handing her a bouquet of roses. "And I'm going to buy you another vase to put those in," he adds. Greg the Rapist has a tiny sense of humor. My first thought is she can hit him over the head with the new vase too. Anyway, Greg admits he's been an ass, but the answer was right in front of him - he joined the Army! Woo-hoo!!! He gets to be a surgeon! He's being shipped off to basic training for six weeks, then his residency in New York. "And then what?" Joan asks, the light coming back into her eyes. "West Germany, maybe Viet Nam if that's still going on, but a lot of docs don't have to go anywhere, especially if they have families. And I'll go in as a Captain, you know what that means? That you won't have to work anymore," he says. "I don't know what to say," Joan says, smiling. "It's wonderful, Greg." You can tell she's happy, but the wheels are turning. I think the Army is the answer to Joan's problems even beyond money.
