This is a story devoted to Charlie Macauley, the man who has appeared and re-appeared only in glimpses. In the stories before this, we’re led to believe that Charlie is a sympathetic character, a troubled man who suffers from post-traumatic stress but has some kind of darkness we can’t fully grasp. And then we learn that he’s been having an affair. After an awkward phone call between Charlie and Marilyn during which she says “You’re supposed to be having fun — well, I know it’s not fun, but I mean I know it’s your time, and –” I started to wonder if maybe Marilyn knew about Tracy, maybe they had some kind of agreement. But we come to find out that Charlie’s inner demons are much worse than just the PTSD. He’s got an ongoing affair, a practically loveless marriage, there’s some serious beef with God, and now this woman is begging him for money, a lot of money.

There’s almost a fundamental sadness about him. Where Patty Nicely and Tommy Guptill recover from their trauma, we sense that they’re going to be alright, Charlie McCauley seems to have a more permanent depression, a dark cloud looming overhead. I have begun to notice, however, that along with the sadness comes some kind of acceptance or forgiveness in these stories as well. “He wanted to fall on his knees, and what would he pray for? Forgiveness. There was nothing else to pray for, not if you were Charlie Macauley,” (111). I’m also interested in the role of desire and forbidden desire in these stories. Each romantic relationship is flawed in some terrible way, or something is lacking — Tommy lies to his wife Shirley about his spiritual experience, Patty’s first husband Sebastian was not only sexually abused but also died, the Peterson-Cornell’s relationship is one of secrecy and betrayal and Charlie is involved with a prostitute. They all would rather be with someone, anyone, than be alone.

Another thing, in each previous mention of Charlie, he seems to be consumed by PTSD. The other characters only describe him as a war vet, so I waited for a vivid description, something graphic, something traumatic…but it never came. But I began to realize that we don’t really need to know exactly what happened because he is overwhelmed by his past: the opening paragraph begins with war imagery of the “unlovely motel lot…at war with the rest of the world” (92) and with the reoccurrence of the “hit-thumb theory.” Its definition is sort of hard to follow but this idea that there is a moment of calm, a “spaciousness of calm” following a painful blow, occurs during more than the first mention. The very idea of war is this terrifying waiting, waiting for a blow from the enemy that will inevitably come. It’s the silence depicted in movies before the shots are fired and the battlefield is decorated with blood. Until finally, Charlie isn’t sure he can feel the pain anymore. “And so he waited. It would come: the wave upon wave of raw pain after a blow like this, oh yes, it would come” (114).

1. Do you think Charlie is a sympathetic Character?
2. Do you think his sadness differs from Patty, Tommy, etc.?
3. While the stories are linked by characters, what overarching themes do you see linking them as well?
4. What purpose does PTSD serve in this story?
5. What role does desire play in this story and in others?
6. How does the “hit-thumb theory” appear in the story?