Living in the Gray

Connie remains in Washington after Joanne returns to Odyssey, partly to see the sights and partly to avoid questions about her canceled wedding. She joins George Barclay for lunch with his son Jimmy, whom neither has seen in a long time. Jimmy now has a goatee, an apartment in the city, and what he describes as an entry-level reporting job at the Washington Star.

Jimmy is evasive about nearly every part of his life. He gives vague answers about work, friends, and church, then seems uncomfortable when his girlfriend, Felicia, unexpectedly waits on their table. Felicia is cheerful and scattered, and Jimmy introduces her merely as a friend until she corrects him. He also discourages George from visiting his office and insists that any visit must be arranged in advance.

George admits that Jimmy has kept his parents at a distance for months. Connie offers to learn what is happening without making Jimmy feel that his father is checking on him. Her first visit to the Washington Star immediately reveals that no employee named Jimmy Barclay appears in the directory.

After Connie calls, Jimmy arrives and takes her through the newsroom as if he belongs there. He claims an empty cubicle as his own, explaining the lack of possessions and a nameplate with stories about field reporting and budget cuts. When a new intern says she has been assigned that desk, Connie demands the truth.

Jimmy admits that he held a summer internship at the Star but lost the chance for a permanent position when the newspaper cut its budget. He has also been dismissed from college for poor grades after trying to work three jobs and leaving himself no time to study. His parents know none of this because Jimmy does not want them to worry or see him as a failure.

Jimmy insists that his actual work is still journalism. His boss and landlord, Mr. Gardner, then assigns him to visit a senator's home at night, wear dark clothes, and return with photographs. Suspicious, Connie follows Jimmy as he climbs a fence with a camera and is chased away by the senator's dogs and security guards.

The job is for Society Scandal, a tabloid magazine that Jimmy defensively describes as trying not to lie outright. He takes secret pictures of public figures and helps produce stories that can damage people's lives. Jimmy says the work is only temporary and pays well enough to keep him going until respectable journalism becomes available.

Connie sees that compromise has spread into every corner of Jimmy's life. He seldom attends church, has deceived his family, and keeps changing his story whenever the truth becomes uncomfortable. Jimmy finally admits that he is proud of none of it. He is waiting for his circumstances to improve before he changes, even though his choices are making his life worse.

Because Connie's interruption prevented him from photographing the senator, Gardner fires Jimmy. Desperate, Jimmy promises to accept any assignment if he may keep his job. Gardner offers one final chance: investigate the Stand Your Ground Christian Men's Assembly, assume its unselfish public mission hides a scandal, and expose its organizers.

One of those organizers is George Barclay. Gardner expects Jimmy to use his family relationship to gather damaging inside information about his own father. Unwilling to do the assignment but afraid to lose both his income and his home, Jimmy faces the ugliest compromise yet.