Summary

In “The Beach Boy,” John and Marcia, who had just been on a beach vacation to celebrate their 29th anniversary, met with friends for dinner. Marcia described the way they were harassed by male prostitutes, locals who were young and poor. She described the situation as being sad and tragic. She claimed she did not understand how people could starve in a place like that since there was “food everywhere. Fruit on every tree” (160). The narrator notes that the waiter took unfinished plates of food from the couples while they ordered dessert and coffee.

At home, Marcia took a Tylenol for a headache and sat on the couch. As she waited for John to join her, she suffered an excruciating headache and died. When John finally joined Marcia, he thought she was asleep. He did not realize...