Typical American

A soaking wet Ralph returns home and announces that the car broke down. He dries off, eats, and then calls Grover. They meet and eat cheeseburgers. Grover explains how he has been wrongly accused of buying stolen grease. Grover has aged and become less handsome. Grover tells Ralph that he may be of some help regarding Ralph’s “work situation” (123) but first Ralph must write a check for $1,000 to show that he is serious. Ralph hesitates and Grover tells him to sleep on the matter. Grover removes his watch and gives it to Ralph as a gift.

Ralph thinks about the proposition. He sees Henry the next day and feels as though he is being judged. That afternoon he writes and posts the check. He hears nothing until Helen notices an apparent error in their bank balance. Ralph rings Grover, who insists that he has been trying to get in touch.

Grover and Ralph meet again. Grover continues to complain about false accusations against him. He offers to match Ralph up with the owner of a fried chicken shop with a view to purchasing the business. The owner is the man who has accused Grover of buying his stolen grease. Ralph drives home delighted at his good fortune. Grover has assured him that the business is profitable. The shop could be the beginning of Ralph’s business empire. Helen thinks the offer is too good to be true. Theresa calls Grover “a liar and a cheat” (126), and Ralph says that his sister is the same. He announces that he will ask Henry for time off and expects that his knowledge of Henry’s affair will ensure it is granted.

Ralph has a few lingering doubts about leaving his tenured job. He remembers how poor he once was. He takes his leave of absence once Helen is convinced of the plan. Grover visits the house more often and speaks of a local property deal he has under consideration. Theresa locks herself in her room when he visits. Ralph begins to change, becoming more like Grover.

The wall of Ralph’s office is papered in inspirational quotes about making money. Theresa notices that her brother is reading more books about wealth and how to accrue money. Ralph passes on stories to his children about the importance of money. Theresa wants to speak out against this money worship but feels that her authority is compromised. When the chicken shop succeeds, she struggles to begrudge her brother’s hard work. Ralph and Grover begin work on a secret project behind closed doors, and Theresa wants to know more about it. All she hears is the sound of a cash register ringing over and over.

The chicken shop is successful. This success is partly due to underreporting earnings to pay less tax. The family purchases many new appliances for their home. Theresa stays in her room while Grover visits to discuss expanding the business. The sound of laughter from the dinner table annoys her. She hears Grover sing a sad song, which the family applauds. The sound of their appreciation hurts her. Theresa complains about the evening on a telephone call to Henry. He is confused as to why she has called; he thought she wanted to end the relationship.

The next day Theresa sits at the breakfast table and finds an exquisite meal laid out. She sits down and begins to eat. Grover appears. He has stayed the night in the house and sent his assistant to purchase the large meal. Grover picks at the food and then kisses Theresa. She sits quietly until he stops.

Theresa struggles to get up in the morning. She has started work at a clinic after finishing her training but can barely motivate herself. Any attempt to mention this struggle to Helen is difficult. Theresa says that “things have changed” (134) and she feels herself drifting from the family, but Helen does not understand. Theresa tries to talk to her brother at the family dinner table but is surprised to find him drunk. Helen is unimpressed with Ralph’s drinking. Ralph calls Theresa a rotten egg, a Chinese expression “meaning a woman of no virtue” (134). Theresa blames Ralph’s change in personality on Grover’s influence. Ralph mocks her for having “two boyfriends now” (135) and tells Callie and Mona that Theresa kissed Henry Chao and Grover.

Theresa packs her bags and is surprised by how few clothes she owns. She tells Helen that Ralph has gone too far. Helen begs her to stay, but Theresa asks whether she is just worried about making mortgage payments. Theresa tells Callie and Mona that she is going on vacation.

Apartment viewing depresses Theresa and she takes a small, rundown place. She is too tired to unpack. The sound of the loud plumbing pipes depresses her even more. She regrets leaving but has no choice but to live with her decision.

Helen cannot help but hear the sound of herself breathing. Grover does not seem to breathe. Ralph works on his cash register in his study downstairs while Grover and Helen spend more time together. They flirt, they kiss, and he touches her belly button. Their time together makes Helen feel like “someone else, someone must prettier” (138). She imagines how Ralph would react if he found her and Grover together. She hopes he would be angry.

Their flirting began when Grover winked at her, then left sugar packets in her apron pockets, then drew a heart on the sole of her shoe, warning her not to tell Ralph. Helen searched the house for other clues. Anything unexpected she attributed to Grover and her fear turned to excitement. She found the mail box filled with her favorite flowers, all plucked from her own garden. She could not tell anyone. Helen’s only fear now is that the children will find out about her affair.

Ralph is focused only on the cash register. The process of making phony tapes is tedious but satisfying. The business has been going well, but he needs to make more money to cover the loss of Theresa’s contributions to the mortgage payments. Ralph has the idea to expand the restaurant with a seating area upstairs. He wants to raise the roof and becomes consumed with the idea. Helen is unusually reserved when he brings up his struggle to convince Grover about the idea.

Helen worries that Ralph suspects something is wrong. Grover tries to buy her affection with flowers stolen from the neighbor’s garden. He tells Helen how lucky Ralph is to have her. She tries to call off the affair but a week later she gives herself over to him again. Helen feels uncomfortable. She calls for Ralph then begins to cry. Grover tells her that she could leave Ralph and be with him. He leaves and says goodbye to Ralph, who leaves his cash register for a moment to try and convince Grover to stay. Grover stays and agrees that Ralph should build the extension to the shop. That night, Helen and Grover lay on the fold-out bed and he tries to convince her to leave Ralph.

Conversations between Helen and Theresa have been “stilted” since Theresa moved out. Theresa has not visited the family, and no one has visited her. Helen firmly believes that the awkwardness can be undone. She visits Theresa’s apartment and discovers that Theresa has changed her hair and acquired two cats named Callie and Mona. Helen hands her an ashtray made by Callie and signed by Mona in a scrawl that begs Theresa to return. Theresa invites Helen into the apartment.

Helen calls the Salvation Army to take away the fold-out bed where she and Grover spent time together. She tells Grover, who begins to unbutton her blouse. He assures her that she will have everything she has ever wanted if she leaves Ralph and comes to live with him. Grover unbuttons his pants and Helen grabs his genitals. He “yowled so loudly the register downstairs stopped ringing” (148).

Grover leaves. Ralph confronts Helen and asks about what happened. She searches for a suitable explanation but begins to sob. A frustrated Ralph drops the subject, “a matter of discretion that was also a matter of survival” (149). A frosty atmosphere permeates Helen and Ralph’s relationship and envelopes the girls. Ralph reveals that Grover agreed to the chicken shop extension at 5% interest with a second mortgage. Grover is suddenly keen on the idea as he wants to give Ralph a chance to prove his business acumen.

Helen suspects that Grover has an ulterior motive. Ralph gets his building permit, and Helen feels that the project is suddenly very real. She asks to see the numbers. The more she looks at the figures, the more worried and confused she becomes. Ralph assures her that his projections are sound. He tells her to “have faith” (151).

Construction at the chicken shop begins. The shop closes and is filled with dust. Delays hit the project and worry Ralph. Grover suggests legal action, so Ralph argues with the construction crew. The project slowly nears completion and Ralph’s Chicken Palace is closer to opening. The only issue for Ralph is that Helen seems to have changed. He wants the old Helen back. His view of America has never been better, however, and he believes that he is living the American dream. A grocery store down the block goes out of business. Ralph feels sympathy so fills a paper bag with the cash in his wallet and donates it to the former owners.

The chicken store reopens and business is good. The new seating area allows the store to make more money when the weather is bad. Helen relaxes, thinking she might have overestimated Grover’s fury at being rejected. Weeks pass and news comes to Helen that Grover was arrested for tax evasion. Ralph continues to pay his mortgage to Grover through an intermediary named Chuck.

Business booms and Ralph thinks about expanding the menu. He and Helen wonder whether they should start reporting their earnings correctly. Ralph debates whether Grover can be trusted. Helen works in the store to save money. Adjusting to the workplace is difficult but necessary. She feels men staring at her but considers it “her penance” (155) for the affair with Grover. When a homeless man grabs her, she buys a large apron and pretends not to speak English. Helen observes the patrons closely and, over time, notices that cracks are appearing in the walls.

Ralph dismisses the cracks as “a little settling” (157) and repairs them himself. The cracks reappear, however. The economy sinks and more people are unemployed. The girls are old enough to help with the after-hours sealing of the cracks in the walls, and soon enough Ralph is buying his joint compounder in bigger and bigger containers. The busboy quits because he is worried the building is about to fall down. Ralph looks up the old owner of the stop and, on a hunch, he phones Grover’s home number. Grover answers the phone. He is not in jail. Ralph hangs up.

Ralph visits the shop’s previous owner and learns that the land beneath the store is unstable. Grover bought the plot at a knock-down rate and sold it to Ralph at an inflated price. Ralph and Helen talk in Chinese at the dinner table so the girls do not understand. They continue to run the shop and wonder whether they should get extra jobs or sell the house. The cracks in the building become so bad that a letter in the sign falls off. The store is now named Ralph’s Chicken Place. They stay open as long as possible. The building creaks and groans loudly, and Ralph orders all the customers down from his upstairs extension.