Louis Waters is a retired English teacher who has lived in the small town of Holt for 42 years. His late wife Diane died of cancer, and his daughter Holly, also a teacher, lives in a different city. Louis once wanted to be a poet, which indicates an emotionally open, free, and artistic side to him; however, he found that his responsibilities as a husband and a father conflicted with the life of a poet. Though he tried to keep writing poetry for a while, he eventually gave it up. He had little success in publishing, and without external validation, he felt his work was not good enough—he calls some of his poems “awful little things. Imitative. Unnecessarily complicated” (94). Also, he had to work hard and make enough money to run the family since Diane didn’t work, so he didn’t have time for writing. Moreover, he says Diane didn’t support his writing; she was “jealous” of his passion for it “and about the time it took [him] away to [himself], being isolated and private” (95). So, he shelved his interest in poetry and gave in to duty and responsibility—until his affair with Tamara.

Louis’s affair reveals his yearning for freedom and passion.