Cathedral

Jack and his wife Fran are invited to dinner at the home of Bud, Jack’s friend from work, and his wife Olla who recently had a baby named Harold. Fran, who has never met either of them, is unenthusiastic about the evening. Her long blonde hair requires a lot of effort to maintain, but whenever she suggests that she might cut it short, Jack jokes that he might not love her anymore with short hair. Most nights, Jack and Fran sit in their living room and discuss their dreams and aspirations. As a working-class family, most of their dreams are unattainable. Neither of them wants children.

When Jack and Fran pull into Bud’s driveway, they hear an inhuman wailing sound. Suddenly, a giant peacock. Having barely finished dressing, Bud appears. Jack is annoyed to see Bud in work clothes, while Jack dressed up for the evening. As they go inside, Bud curses at the peacock, whom he calls Joey, and complains that Olla likes to let the bird inside the house. Fran surprises Jack by complimenting their house. Bud replies, “A place like this is not all it’s cracked up to be” (18) but notes that at least life is never boring. Inside the house, Olla greets them. Commenting on an auto racing event on the television, Fran says maybe they will see a crash if they keep watching. Bud is unsure if this is a joke.

While Bud brings them drinks, Fran notices a plaster cast of extremely crooked teeth. Olla and Bud return, and Bud explains that the cast is of Olla’s teeth before he paid for her to get braces. Olla tells the couple that she keeps the cast as a constant reminder of everything Bud provides for her. Her teeth were such a mess that the orthodontist took photographs of the casts to publish. After an awkward silence, Harold cries in the next room. Fran asks if she can go with Olla to see Harold, but Olla explains that seeing her might make the baby fussier and that perhaps Fran can look in later if he falls asleep. At the dinner table, they all praise Olla’s cooking.

When they finish eating, they hear Joey walking on the roof and wailing. As Bud and Olla argue over whether to let the bird inside, Harold starts crying again, and Olla brings him to the table. Fran is stunned for a moment because the baby is so ugly. Olla says fondly that they are aware that “he wouldn’t win no beauty contests right now” (26) but that they hope he will grow out of it. Olla asks her husband again to let Joey in the house because Joey and Harold usually play before bed. Bud replies that their guests might not want the peacock inside, but Jack and Fran reluctantly agree that they should allow Joey to come in. Olla tells Fran that Harold is very intelligent, adding, “You wait until you get your own baby, Fran. You’ll see” (28).

As Fran holds Harold, she entertains him lovingly. They all watch with amazement as Joey, now inside, plays with Harold. At the end of the evening, Jack feels good about his life and wishes to always remember the evening. In what he later terms as bad luck, Jack notes that it is his first wish that ever comes true. That night during sex, Fran exclaims, “Honey, fill me up with your seed!” (30).

Fran gets pregnant, and everything changes. Although Fran hasn’t seen Bud or Olla since that night, she often curses, “Goddamn those people and their ugly baby” (30). Since having their own baby, Fran quit her job, gained weight, and cut her hair. Jack and Bud talk occasionally at work, and neither is especially happy with his life. Jack describes his son as “having a conniving streak” (31). He and Fran barely talk, but Jack often thinks back to the evening of the dinner, remembering fondly how Olla given Fran some peacock feathers and how he drove home with Fran snuggled close, her hand on Jack’s knee.