Ironweed

After dinner, Francis goes to the mission looking for Helen. Pee Wee sends him to an abandoned house to find Rudy. Together, they head to Palombo’s Hotel. Donovan, the hotel manager, tells him that Helen did check in. Francis asks him to check on her, so Donovan knocks and asks whether she needs anything. She responds gratefully that she does not need anything, just as she’s looking back on her life, as related in Chapter 5. Francis leaves two dollars for Donovan to give Helen in the morning.

Francis and Rudy go buy wine and whiskey, then rent two beds in a cheap dormitory. There, they run into Moose, a down-on-his-luck friend of Francis. As they drink and talk about their troubles, Francis imagines that he sees a group of women in the corner who shift in number and age, including Sandra, Katrina, his mother, and others he recognizes but cannot name. Later, Helen appears in the mix before all the faces turn to Annie’s.

Finny, whose car was apparently burnt, enters the dormitory with his friend Little Red and another man called Old Shoes. Old Shoes is another friend of Francis, who claims to now have a wife, a house, a steady job, and a car.