Another Country: Book 2, Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

Now in New York, Eric is thinking of the last time he saw Yves. They said goodbye to each other at a train station in Paris and promised they would see each other again soon. The last thing Yves said to Eric was, “‘You are all I have in this world.” After saying goodbye to Yves, Eric cried and asked himself why he was returning to New York.

Upon returning to New York City, Eric found it strange. There is something both profoundly public and utterly isolating about the city. Even though Eric runs into people everywhere, he finds it hard to connect with anyone. Additionally, everyone—especially young people—seem to suffer from despair, though no one wants to admit it publicly. Eric wonders what happened to turn the city into such a place.

Four days after returning to New York, Eric visits Cass and Richard to have a celebratory drink. Before going to Cass’s apartment, Eric talks to her on the phone and tells her he missed her but not the city. He remarks on how ugly it has become, and Cass agrees. Eric also thanks Cass for writing to him about Rufus; he knows he would not have found out until he returned otherwise. Then, Cass invites Eric to come see Ida perform a few days later. Eric agrees to go; Rufus never introduced him to Ida, and he is eager to meet her and see Vivaldo, who will also be in attendance.

Eric shows up early to Richard and Cass’s apartment for drinks. He is the first one to arrive and the apartment is quiet. Richard is in his study and the children are at the park, giving Eric a chance to speak with Cass alone. Eric looks at Cass and sees signs of aging and sorrow in her face, as she offers him a drink.

While fixing Eric’s drink, Cass chats with him about his time in Paris. She notes that Eric looks much happier than the last time she saw him. Eric admits that is true, and says he enjoyed his time in Paris very much. Cass asks if he left because he became unhappy in Paris. Eric responds that he only returned because of the Broadway show. Cass inquires about his role in the show, and Eric assures her it is the best he has ever had. He also says that he does not plan to return to Paris, at least for some time.

Eric contemplates telling Cass about Yves but decides against it. Instead, he admits that, although he is much happier, he is still unsure of what his future will look like. Cass assures him that he has a bright future ahead of him, so much so that she envies him. Eric is surprised anyone could ever find his life worthy of envy.

When Eric and Cass’s conversation starts to wane, Eric breaks the silence by asking what Rufus was like toward the end of his life. Cass tells him that she did not know Rufus well enough to know a lot of specifics. However, she knew he was unhappy. She also mentions Leona and the abuse she suffered at Rufus’s hands. Hearing about Leona sparks memories within Eric about how Rufus mistreated him. Eric asks if Leona liked to be mistreated. Cass tells him that Leona did not in any way encourage or bring on Rufus’s treatment of her. Rather, she loved him and always hoped he would get better.

Cass leads Eric to the living room and then goes to get Richard from his study. Richard excitedly greets Eric and gives him a big hug. Richard asks Eric about his time in France, and what he thinks of the French people. Eric answers Richard’s questions politely and wittily. However, in the middle of their conversation, Eric realizes he does not like Richard very much and only puts up with him because he is Cass’s husband. He wonders if he has always felt this way about Richard—and if Richard has always been this way—or if he has changed. He also wonders what Yves would think about Richard and Cass, and what Richard and Cass would think of Yves.

Eric asks Richard about his writing career. Richard informs him that things are going well; he has a new book that he is working on, and there might be a Hollywood adaptation of the first one. Before they can talk any further, Paul and Michael enter the house. Michael is crying and his face is bloody, while Paul has bloody knuckles and a grim look on his face. Cass runs over to help Michael, while Richard asks Paul about what happened.

Paul explains that he and Michael were walking home from the park when a couple African American boys ran up and assaulted them out of nowhere. Paul claims to have never seen the boys before and says he does not know why they attacked. Although Michael was helpless, Paul fought back as much as he could. After Paul gets his story out, he starts to cry. He does not understand why someone would choose to attack him and his brother for no reason.

Paul asks Richard if the boys attacked them because they were white. Richard explains that race has nothing to do with why they were attacked. Eric echoes his sentiment and tells the boys that people from every race do bad things, just as people from every race do good things. Richard changes the subject, asking Paul if he would recognize his attackers if he saw them again. Paul says that he would. Richard promises his son that he will do something about what happened.

Richard and Cass step into a different room for a moment to argue about what to do next. Cass wants to take the boys to the doctor, even though Richard thinks it is unnecessary. Eventually, Richard gives in to his wife and tells Eric that they will have to celebrate a different night. He also says he wants to move out of the city because of what it has turned into.

Cass hears Richard mention moving, which sparks another argument. She claims that Richard wants to move to live among writers, which she has no interest in doing. In response, Richard mockingly says she should go find someone like Vivaldo to be with instead. He thinks Cass does not like him as much as she used to because he sold out to write a popular book, rather than continue to live life as a struggling artist.

After their argument wraps up, Richard apologizes to Eric for their conduct. Eric tells him it is no problem. He shakes hands with Richard and Cass, then he leaves the apartment. Once again on his own, Eric walks uptown to the jazz club where Ida will be performing. When he arrives, he feels unprepared to see Vivaldo and Ida. At the moment, he feels unprepared to talk to anyone else, and he wonders why he decided to come in the first place. To make matters worse, he feels out of place because he is dressed like he is from France.

Eric sees Vivaldo and Ida walk into the jazz club. At first, Eric does not say anything; he merely watches them. He notices Vivaldo seems more confident than he used to be. After a few minutes, Vivaldo makes eye contact with Eric and runs over to greet him. Vivaldo tells Eric that he is surprised he decided to come back. Then, he introduces Eric to Ida. Ida takes them to a table in the back and explains that she is going to go on stage and sing soon.

Vivaldo asks Eric why Richard and Cass did not join him. Eric lies and says that one of the kids are sick. Internally, he kicks himself for lying. He did not want to bring up race in front of Ida, which in retrospect he thinks is patronizing. After settling in, Vivaldo, Eric, and Ida listen to the music. The band’s first few attempts are not great, although the audience remains enthusiastic. Then, they invite Ida up on stage to sing with them.

Ida gets up in front of the crowd and gives a strong performance. The crowd recognizes her as Rufus’s sister and gets excited. As she performs, Eric thinks that, although she is not a trained singer, there is something raw and powerful in her voice that is deeply moving. After her first song, the audience gives her a big round of applause. Ida moves into her second number, which is stronger than the first. Under his breath, Vivaldo states that he is impressed and can tell Ida has been working hard.

Ida gets off stage and returns to Vivaldo and Eric. Both men complement the performance and note that Ida is immensely talented. Ida says that she knows she is not a great performer yet, but she plans to be one day. Briefly, the conversation turns to the subject of Rufus, as Eric tells Ida he is sorry for her loss. Ida appreciates the sentiment and then says that Rufus was too nice for the world, and the world beat him down because of it.

Moments later, Steve Ellis comes up and says hello to the table. He explains that he came to see Ida perform. He also chastises Vivaldo for not reaching out to him. In response, Vivaldo moodily says he does not think he has a future in television. Ellis merely shakes his head and tells Ida to do her best to change Vivaldo’s mind. Meanwhile, Eric can sense that there is something negative in the air between his three companions.

Ida introduces Eric to Ellis, who already recognizes Eric’s name because he knows about the upcoming play. After introductions are made, Ellis invites Ida to go have a drink with him elsewhere. He has no desire to stay in the jazz club, which he describes as a “inferno.” The group agrees to go talk elsewhere.

Before they depart, Ellis asks why Cass and Richard did not come out to the performance. Determined to tell the truth this time, Eric says that the children got hurt in the park because, “some colored kids beat them up.” Immediately, he regrets his choice of language because he feels Ida grow cold toward him. She asks if the reason for the fight was race-related. Eric says he thinks it must be. Ida responds that Matthew and Paul must have done something to the other boys first. Not wanting to start a fight, Eric agrees with her and lets the matter drop.

Ellis, Eric, Ida, and Vivaldo walk together in silence to their next destination. To break the silence, Eric tries to start a conversation with Ellis. However, as soon as he starts talking, Ida and Vivaldo begin fighting with each other. Ida is angry because she thinks Vivaldo is acting jealous again. In her rage, she says, “I’ll never understand white people, never, never, never!”, which only makes Vivaldo angrier. He does not like that Ida invokes race to explain his behavior, so he does the same to her in return.

As Ida and Vivaldo continue to yell at each other, Eric tries to drown them out by asking Ellis about television. Eric finds Ellis boring but prefers listening to him over Ida and Vivaldo’s arguing. Eric also tells Ellis a bit about Paris and how he spent his time abroad. As they talk, the group walks by two openly gay men. Ida says that she feels bad for them—speaking about gay men in general—because of how others treat them. Eric stays quiet, while Vivaldo tries to pick another fight.

As soon as they arrive at the bar, Ellis immediately starts talking business. He tells Ida that she has a bright future but needs a lot of work. He suggests that she regularly come by his office to work with him, assuming Vivaldo does not object. Vivaldo admits to Ellis that he does not like him but also does not plan to stand in Ida’s way. Ellis thanks Vivaldo for his honesty, tells the server that drinks are on him, and then heads home.

Vivaldo steps aside to call Cass, leaving Eric and Ida alone. Ida asks Eric about his relationship with Rufus. Eric says that he cared for Rufus very much, though their relationship was difficult. Rufus was always focused on his music, and, as a young man, Eric did not always understand. Eric does not mention any of the abuse he suffered from Rufus.

Ida says that people often wanted more from Rufus than he was able to give. She brings up Leona and once again insults her, calling her a “little whore of a nymphomaniac” and a “filthy white slut.” Eric assures Ida that his relationship with Rufus was nothing like that at all. Ida tells Eric not to worry—she did not assume anything like that of him and wants to be his friend.

Vivaldo returns to the table and assures Eric and Ida that everything is alright with Cass, Richard, and the kids. Then, Vivaldo says he thinks he should go home. Ida is annoyed that he wants to leave so early but does as he suggests. Vivaldo apologizes to Eric for what the night has turned into. However, he empathically promises Eric that they are still friends, and that he wants to get together soon. Eric says he will take him up on his promise and says goodbye.