Summary

The narrator opens The Size of Things by explaining to the reader who Enrique Duvel is. Duval came from “a rich family” and still lived with his mother (153). One day, the narrator sees Duvel peering into his toy store. The first time he entered the store, he appeared “ashamed,” but asked for a model-plane kit (154). One night, as the narrator was closing the shop, he saw Duvel in front of the window. He had “a red face and weepy eyes,” and told the narrator “It’s bets if I stay here” (154). Upon the narrator asking about his mother, Duvel revealed that she told him she does not want to see him again. Duvel tells the narrator that he will pay for lodging by working, and he took him inside to show him how to stock the empty shelves.

The next day...