Raymond Carver, Are These Actual Miles?
Pg. 585

“He goes for another drink. He adds ice and sees that his hand trembles. He holds the hand over the sink. He looks at the hand for a while sets down the glass and holds out the other hand. Then he picks up the glass and goes back outside to sit on the steps.”

Leo is not getting his first drink of the day in this quote he is probably on around his third and it is late afternoon. Leo instead of doing some thing productive he chooses to drink and wait for Toni to make money from selling a car. Leo while getting a drink notices that his hand is shaking it is from either too much to drink or he is nervous and stressed about his kids being gone. What ever the problem is he still chooses to continually drink to hide his problems and not have to address them.



Pg. 588

“Near dawn he hears footsteps on the porch. He gets up from the couch. The sat hums, the screen glows. He opens the door. She bumps the wall coming in. she grins. Her face is puffy, as though she’s been sleeping under sedation. She works her lips, ducks heavily and sways as he cocks his fist.”

Late that night, after Toni had been out to dinner with the guy who was buying the car, she arrived at home very drunk and tired. Leo did not have a warm welcome for her. As she came in the door he goes to hit her, but some how even though she is very drunk she manages to get out of the way. Toni and Leo’s relationship has seemed to have gone downhill from what the story tells they have kids and more then one so, they must of had some love for each other in the past, but as of lately they have not been too friendly to each other.