"Eddie thought about the years that followed his father's funeral. How he never achieved anything, how he never went anywhere. For all that time, Eddie had imagined a certain life--a "could have been" life--that would have been his if not for his father's death and his mother's subsequent collapse. Over the years, he glorified that imaginary life and held his father accountable for all of its losses: the loss of freedom, the loss of career, the loss of hope. He never rose above the dirty, tiresome work his father had left behind. "When he died," Eddie said, "he took part of me with him. I was stuck after that." Ruby shook her head, "Your father is not the reason you never left the pier."