Everybody's Fool

The narrative perspective shifts to that of Rub Squeers, who is waiting out of sight near the funeral, impatiently waiting for the sermon to finish so he can shovel earth over Justice Flatt and finish his day’s work. Rub, who has a severe stutter, passes the time in an imaginary dialogue with his former best friend, Sully. Sully is supposed to come to Rub’s house in the afternoon to prune a branch of a tree, but Rub is worried Sully will pretend to forget, as has already occurred on other occasions when they had arranged to meet.

Sully and Rub used to work off the books for Carl Roebuck’s “coldest, wettest, foulest, most dangerous jobs” (32). Rub cherished his comradeship with Sully, even though Sully constantly put him down and has a large circle of other friends. A series of windfalls allows Sully to no longer do odd jobs; Sully has increasingly abandoned Rub.

Rub recalls his childhood. He remembers struggling to speak and his father impatiently asking, “Why don’t you just give up?” (41). Rub’s mother, who overheard the exchange, was furious and blamed Rub’s stutter and bedwetting on his father’s aggressive behavior. In spite of the abuse, Rub’s mother was emotionally lost after his father’s death and developed early-onset dementia. Rub reflects that his dependency on the often bullying Sully is perhaps similar. Rub dreads the thought of his friend dying. The imaginary Sully promises to “stick around” until he is “squared” (43).

North Bath compares unfavorably with its more affluent, gentrified neighbor, Schuyler Springs. North Bath’s Democratic mayor, Gus Moynihan, ran on benefiting from the proximity of Schuyler Springs, and on investment in entrepreneurial activities in the tourism and hospitality sectors. However, a lot of the money allocated for this has fallen into the pockets of conman Carl Roebuck, who is currently supposed to be converting unused factory space into luxury apartments—the Old Mill Lofts. An overwhelming stench emanating from the Old Mill has been spreading through the town. When a state inspector insists Carl investigate the yellow fluid seeping into the basement of the complex, Carl resolves to contact Rub, whose sense of smell was permanently compromised by adolescent solvent abuse.

Sully sits in Hattie’s Diner, where Ruth serves him coffee. Sully and Ruth were lovers for a long time, but have now agreed to stick to friendship. Sully has learned that, without heart surgery, he has only two years to live. He recalls how Beryl Peoples, his former teacher and later landlady, always nagged him that he was wasting his life. Entering, Carl asks Sully where he can find Rub and complains about his continuing impotence following prostate surgery. When Sully points out a urine stain on Carl’s pants, Carl retreats into the bathroom to clean himself.

Roy Purdy, the abusive ex-boyfriend of Ruth’s daughter Janey, comes into the bar and menacingly demands free food. Sully interjects, but Ruth eventually complies. Roy has recently been released from prison. Sully fantasizes about murdering Roy before his own demise.

At the funeral, Raymer, who is feeling increasingly unwell, spots Rub and wonders why he is crying. Becka died when she accidentally fell down the stairs, after packing her bags and writing Raymer a note that she was leaving him. The medical examiner, Tom Bridger, compared Becka’s long fall to a slinky going down stairs and now Raymer cannot get the darkly humorous analogy out of his mind.

Eulogizing Judge Flatt, Reverend Tunic preaches about shared responsibility and the evils of shirking. Raymer feels mutinous and continues to touch the remote control in his pocket, attracting the attention of a young girl and her mother who are convinced he is masturbating.

The proceedings are suddenly interrupted by an earth tremor. Everyone looks to Raymer for a response, so he calls his secretary, Charice, who incredulously says, “You aren’t going to believe what just happened” (74). Raymer’s vision blurs and he loses consciousness.

In the diner, Ruth is angry with Sully for provoking Roy and worried about him in general. She believes Sully is depressed because his son, Peter, is moving to New York with Sully’s grandson.

Their discussion is interrupted by the earth tremor and they both rush outside. Carl emerges from the bathroom and asks what is going on. The smell is worse than ever and a yellow-brown cloud is floating toward the town from Carl’s construction site.

Raymer sits in the emergency room with a broken nose and two black eyes, having falling into the judge’s as-yet unoccupied grave after fainting. He learns from Charice that the North Wall of the Old Mill suddenly collapsed, crushing Roy Purdy’s car and leaving him with a broken arm. Raymer unwillingly accepts a lift into town from Charice’s brother, Jerome, who works for the Schuyler Springs PD.

Since leaving prison, Roy has presented himself as reformed, expressing regret for his past actions, including bullying Raymer at middle school. Raymer is skeptical.

Raymer takes four Tylenol pills, though Jerome expresses concern. As he puts the bottle in his pocket, Raymer remembers the remote control and realizes that it must have fallen into the grave. He makes Jerome hurry back to the cemetery, but Rub has already filled the grave.

At the ruined mill, Raymer surveys Roy’s crushed car and marvels that Roy survived. Carl’s workers have not only caused the wall collapse, but also cut through a power line, depriving a part of the town of electricity. Raymer is surprised to note that Jerome and Gus are on very friendly terms and grows suspicious when Gus asks Jerome if he has “given any more thought to what we discussed” (107).