Wallace doesn’t like to drink because his parents did – particularly his mother. Wallace found her dead in her chair the summer before he left for grad school. She had had a stroke and still had a cold drink with ice in it.
The dinner with his friends – which Wallace already was unsure of attending – resulted in yet another uncomfortable situation of Wallace’s race. In conversation, Vincent brings up what Wallace said the night before about potentially leaving Graduate school and being unhappy. To this, Roman tells him that to leave would be ungrateful and a waste of all the effort his mentors have put into him.
“‘ Besides, they spent so much money on your training. It seems ungrateful to leave.’ ‘So I should stay out of gratitude?’ ‘I mean, if you don’t feel you can keep up, then for sure you should go. But they brought you in knowing what your deficiencies were and –‘” (pg 161)
This conversation seems to send Wallace through another fit of rage he is unable to attend to. Again, this is another situation where his racial background is being uncomfortably and inappropriately examined while the rest of the group remains quite, afraid to acknowledge the ignorance in the room.
Wallace’s response to this interaction is to call out Vincent’s presence on the dating app and turn the awkwardness in the room over to him instead.
Did Vincent and Roman hook up???? Yikes.
Wallace feels remorse for ruining the night but still struggles to process emotions, laughing when he feels he should be crying.
Emma opens up about also being miserable in Grad school; I think they may all be unhappy.
Miller is no longer ashamed of his interest in Wallace and seems to be comfortable with the idea of their friends knowing they have some sort of relationship that differs from a friendship.
