A Member of the Family

One night at Whit's house, Whit and his friend Tom Riley talk quietly while cleaning up after Monty, Whit's grandson, who has spent the past week visiting and is now asleep upstairs. Whit admits that he and his daughter Jana, Monty's mother, had a bitter argument when she arrived that evening. He confesses he simply doesn't understand her: she seems to carry a deep anger toward him, and every conversation between them turns into a fight. Tom reminds Whit that God has given him a gift for helping other people sort out their problems, and gently suggests he take some of his own good advice, but Whit answers that when it comes to his own daughter, he is fresh out of ideas.

The next morning, when Jana comes to pick up Monty, Whit tries to talk about the night before, and the argument flares up all over again. Jana accuses her father of a lifetime of passing judgment on her, criticizing her friends, her work, her hobbies, her marriage, and then her divorce. Now, she says, he has even taken it upon himself to discipline her son with a spanking. Whit insists that Monty was in his care, that he saw a problem and dealt with it the best way he knew how, and that he still believes he did what was right. In the middle of the quarrel, they suddenly realize Monty hasn't come downstairs. Jana hurries up to his room and discovers, to her alarm, that he is gone.

They find Monty at the police station. He has broken the big front window of his grandfather's store, and an officer named Fred has been keeping him in the office. Whit signs for his release without pressing charges, and back at the house Monty is sent straight to his room. Jana blames Whit's influence, saying that one week with him has turned her son into the neighborhood vandal, but Whit sees it differently: the broken window is a cry for attention, a boy trying to tell them both something, and they had better listen while he is still willing to talk. Jana insists on handling it herself.

Upstairs, Monty admits he broke the window but can't really explain why, until the truth comes out: he heard his mother and grandfather fighting. He remembers that his mom and dad used to fight before his dad moved out, and now he is afraid he'll never see Grandpa again either. He even lashes out with a bitter remark about her boyfriends. Whit, who has come to the door, tells Monty that is no way to speak to his mother, and then tells him the real truth: his mom loves him more than anybody in the world, the kind of love that puts his best interests ahead of her own. She works hard so he can have what he needs, she never made his father leave, and nobody was sadder than she was when the marriage ended. Monty apologizes and is sent downstairs with his bags.

Alone with her father, Jana thanks him, especially for what he said about putting a loved one's interests first, and Whit at last tells her something he lay awake all night thinking about. Years ago, when her brother Jerry died in the war, everyone in the family grieved differently. Fourteen-year-old Jana threw herself into anti-war demonstrations, her mother into volunteer work, while Whit felt his whole life was over. Then he realized his younger son Jason was only a few years from draft age, so he moved the family to Odyssey and poured all his time into Jason, partly because he missed Jerry so much and partly in case Jason was ever called up. Without ever meaning to, he let Jana get lost in it all, and by the time he could see clearly, a gap had opened between them that he has never been able to close.

Jana softly admits the tension is not what she wants either, and never has been. They agree to make a fresh start, two people trying to become friends who just happen to be related, though Jana warns him she isn't that little girl anymore. Whit even hints that the bank in town could use a big-city executive like her. Then Jana names her one condition: something he hasn't done since Jerry died. "I want you to give me a hug," she says, a real one. Stricken, Whit tells her, "I thought I'd lost one child. I almost lost two," and father and daughter finally embrace. Monty appears, delighted to find everybody making up, and joins the hug.

There are still consequences, though. Plate glass is expensive, so Monty will spend his vacation mowing lawns at five dollars apiece until every cent of the damage is paid off, and he'll be on restriction the rest of the time. Whit agrees it is a fair settlement. But if Monty does a good job, Jana promises, she and Monty and his sister may take a trip to Odyssey before school starts, if they're still invited. Whit tells him he happens to be standing in the best guest house in town, so exclusive you have to know somebody to get a reservation. "I know you. Does that count?" Monty asks. Whit assures him, "Yeah, that counts. That really counts."