The narrator complains that he's been overwhelmed by his boss's demands. He asks to be excused from work for a moment. He's not sure what he should do, but he decides to take a break. The narrator asks about the store's temporary closing. The store is always closed for a week at this time of year, and the narrator is curious about what he'll do now that his parents are gone. He tells the store manager that he still hasn't spoken to his parents about his plans to move out of the house, but the manager assures him that he can do what he wants. He also tells the narrator that his father told him he could do whatever he wanted, not like "disowning me" or "any thing" . The manager tells him to go home and bring the rest of the meat with him. He says that his mother bought the meat for him, and that she likes it. He wonders if this is the way of kicking him "olit" , and wonders if his mother has already found someone else to work for at the store. The owner of the store tells him that the meat is about to burn, and he asks the manager if he can talk about it. The man says he can't, because he can only talk about "flowers" and "ground meat." The owner tells the man to relax his shoulders, and they go to work.