Ordinary People

In Texas, Cal sits with his sister-in-law, Audrey, while they wait for Beth and her brother, Ward, to return from riding horses. Earlier that day, Cal shot a 71 in the golf tournament, which is an exceptional score. While they wait, Audrey asks about Conrad. She says that Beth avoids the topic, so she isn’t sure if she should ask. Cal says that he is doing better and thinks about all the other topics that have become “off limits, these days” (202), including their summer plans and what Beth told Nancy. Beth told Cal to back off the hard conversations and that they should use these days in Texas to relax and enjoy themselves.

Though Cal is surprised that Beth was so tight-lipped with Audrey, Audrey is not. She says, “[Y]ou have to be careful with Beth. I mean, emotion is her enemy. She wants everything to go smoothly, to go right” (203). Cal wonders if Beth’s perfectionism is so obvious to everyone else. He thinks about what Carole Lazenby said, about how she never lets herself get trapped. There had been one time, however, when he found her sobbing in the backyard after

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