Summary

An unnamed first-person narrator visits his father and mother in Daytona Beach, as they renovate a former motel, Palm Bay Resort, into a timeshare. His father borrowed money to purchase it and has been making renovations on the property that his mother hopes will make them millions. The father had made millions before buying property in Fort Lauderdale and then reselling it. He also purchased property in California and a ski resort in North Carolina, but it went bankrupt after his partner embezzled $100,000. Eventually he invested in “manufactured homes,” which were a kind of more luxurious mobile home. After this venture failed, his father and mother have had to live from savings and an IRA, and credit from the banks (114).

The first-person narrator contemplates all that must go into renovating the property. The ceiling is leaking in some of the guest’s rooms, palm...