Summary

The Post family is preparing to leave on their vacation, panicking in normal, last-minute throes. Jim, the father, packs his bag and reflects on the past years’ worth of regrets. Sylvia, aged 18, stands on the street to hail a taxi. She is waiting through the last few weeks before she leaves for college at Brown University. Sylvia’s parents take a while getting to the taxi, and they are on their way.

At the airport, Jim walks the terminal as is his daily custom. During his walk he reflects on his family, Franny, Sylvia, and his son Bobby, who at twenty-eight has an established life as a real-estate agent in Miami. On the island of Mallorca they would spend two weeks, along with Franny’s best friend Charles and his husband Lawrence. The house belonged to a woman named Gemma that was friends...