What?

They decided to take a road trip. The whole family. All of them. To Snowden, a town Megan called “Loserville,”a town her sister had lived in for years. Megan kept telling Rose to get out of Loserville, to move to New York, where she could forget Ben and do "real" architecture. But Rose was a sap. She didn't consider fleeing Loserville. Moving to a new house was all she could do.

Don't go back to Rockville, Megan sang.

She loved her son, in her way. They hadn't traveled together in a long time because she had been busy writing her book about the '60s since his father's death and he had been busy with his job, with his girlfriends. The trip was the last thing she had considered. Jason wanted to console his aunt. He secretly wanted Rose and Ben to get back together, but knew it would not be possible.

What I want most in this world...he said drily to Megan.

Oh, honey. I want that for you, too. Whatever you want. On the trip Megan planned to ask her son about marrying April, if he were happy in his reporting job (she suspected that he was not).

As soon as Megan learned that Jason intended to bring April, Megan tried to get out of it.

I’ll fly. I’ll take the train.

No, don’t do that. I haven’t seen Aunt Rose in a year. April and I will drive. You won’t have to worry about it.

Megan couldn’t sleep that night. Why did she hate April? The next day she couldn’t even get dressed. She watched soap operas. One of the characters had been married to the mother, daughter, and granddaughter of a family. The plot had been stolen from Hardy's The Pursuit of the Well-Beloved. Jason should go ahead and do that, as far as she was concerned, marry three women of different generations. Anything was better than fat April.

Jim came home and didn’t understand why Megan was pale, wearing a huge old shirt with holes and ancient red bell-bottoms that had belonged to Jason, unwashed, a nervous wreck. He didn't understand that she was trying to remember what it was like to have a son, who her son had been, why he was now the man who would marry April.

She couldn’t cry. Tears didn’t run in the Underwood family. They got depressed. They were wooden. They didn’t express emotions. Some thought they didn't feel.

I can’t stand April. Please, please, please come with me and sit in the back seat so I don’t have to talk to them. Jason may not be the prize of creation, but why would he marry this cop?

He seems to be in love.

Don’t you think it’s just to get back at me?

For what?

Megan sighed. By today’s standards Megan had been immoral, a hippie mother who had allowed her son to take drugs, flunk out of English class while publishing poems in little magazines, and hitchhike on the weekends . Megan had been called to the principal’s office repeatedly because Jason’s IQ was off the charts but he wouldn’t work. Words had been his life: let him have words. He’d written poems on walls: graffiti poems on the school walls, ont he walls of downtown buildings. In the end he got off without a fine because his girlfriened, the mayor's daughter, went to his school, and the mayor intervened and called attention to Jason's talent. The poetry stayed on the walls. The teachers were furious.

It was amazing Jason got out of high school alive. He'd wanted to take the GED, but Megan and her husband insisted that he graduate.

Now he wanted to marry a policewoman.

He adores you, Megan. But, okay, I’ll go.

The trip to Snowden took only three hours. Megan wanted to stop at an old-hippie restaurant known for its epicurean Molly Katzen-like breakfasts of omelets, quiche, and casseroles, but she was voted down.

Let's just get there.

Snowden was a dump, just as she'd remembered it. Well, the buildings weren't tall enough. People worked here who couldn't work anywhere else. Rose should be in New York. She adamantly believed that. Or Philly, for Christ's sake.

But when they pulled up in front of Rose's house, everyone was impressed. It was a Victorian, with a tower, moldings, dormer windows. Mauve with brown trim and brown molidngs.

Rose opened the door, looking shiny and rested. Her clothes were new, some kind of designer jeans and loose sweater (hard to find among the tight sweaters that were the style). Her hair was new: cropped, shingled, and dyed.

You look like a flapper, Megan said.

Rose laughed. I’ve made Jason's favorite coffee cake. Jason, April, Jim, come in.

She threw her arms around Megan and whispered, What are all these people doing here?

Wow, this house is mammoth. What an improvement over the river house, Megan said loudly. Then, when the others had gone inside, she said, Jason wanted to see you. And he wanted to bring his fiancee. So I demanded that Jim come, too.

Rose cried. I need to talk to you alone.

Well, we’ll send them out to hike or something.

It was a huge gathering of souls, sitting in the living room, drinking coffee, spilling coffee cake crumbs, talking loudly while Bob Dylan sang on the CD player, "Blood on my saddle...."

Good God, there’s nothing here but Dylan. Where are all the CDs? Megan asked, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

I left them with Ben.

How about all your Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Billie Holliday and Keith Jarrett records?

I have had other things to think about, you know.

This was unthinkable. Megan had to have her music. Rose needed music. Why did Rose have only Dylan? Rose was idiotic.

They were talking about Dylan, apparently April's favorite singer (she knew everything about his music, exactly when each song had been written and recorded: really boring), when an emaciated woman in jeans, with a skinny aging little face, peered in. I’m going to see Dorrie at the hospital. Anything you want me to take her?

It was obvious to everybody that she wanted to see Rose’s family, but Rose didn’t mind. Megan did. Rose introduced Gabrielle and went into the kitchen to wrap a piece of coffeecake in foil.

Motherly to the end, said Megan. She lets Gabrielle take coffeecake to the schizophrenic who cheated with Ben.

She seems very interesting, Jason said.

Who? April asked.

Oh...the tenant. Jason hurried into the kitchen and struck up a conversation with Gabrielle about Arabic literature. Pretty soon Gabrielle took off her coat and sat down to discuss Munif, whom Jason had read in translation.

The cake’s ready, Rose said, frowning. She wasn’t going to encourage Jason with Gabrielle.

Who was that beautiful woman? he asked after she left.

Beautiful? You mean the anorexic drug user? April asked.

What do you mean, drug user? Jason asked.

Gabrielle is a heroin addict. She teaches and is working on her dissertation. But she is an addict, Rose said.

Jason’s face fell.

April and Megan exchanged looks. They smiled at each other. Megan realized this was probably her “bonding” moment with April.

What’s so funny? Jason asked.

It’s tragic about the skinny heroin addict, Megan said with a straight face.

Isn’t it? said fat April. Have another piece of cake, Megan.

I think I will, April. Thank you. I might have two more pieces of cake.

Rose started laughing.

What? asked Jason.

Rose teared up and rushed out of the room. Megan heard her sobbing in her bedroom.

What? asked Jason.

Megan disappeared.