Eddie informs his sons in his next letter that he has been hospitalized for “exhaustion.” He reminisces about the horrible mustard soup Grandma fed him when he was sick as a child. Arty, who is also sick, reads the letter in bed, dressed in a bathrobe. On Grandma’s orders, Jay brings him a bowl of the hated mustard soup. Arty refuses the bowl and then mentions Louie is napping in Bella’s bedroom. Jay mentions that a man came to the house searching for Louie and claiming that “the dance [will be] over” on Friday night (68). The boys worry that the gangster plans to kill Louie and will also try to kill them.

Grandma enters to chide Jay for taking so long to deliver the soup. She tells Arty his fever will not abate while he is lying in bed. Arty argues that his mother told him differently, but Grandma points out that this is her house, so they will follow her rules. She forces Arty to eat the soup. Arty fights back, saying that Grandma only wants to make other people miserable because “somebody made [her] miserable in Germany” (71).