The Burgess Boys

Helen is taking care of some tasks around the house—grateful that all her children have come home for Christmas after all—when she discovers that the diamond in her wedding ring is missing. She calls Bob, who comes over to help her look for it. She is frantic, as she and Jim have plans to attend an opera with Dorothy and Alan that night.

While they are searching, Jim comes home in a rage, having learned the news of the civil rights charge from Susan. He calls the district attorney’s office, attempting to use his sway to change their minds. Hanging up, he complains that he will need to return to Maine to help Susan prepare Zach for the hearing. Bob offers to go in Jim’s place, realizing that he and Susan will never escape Shirley Falls.

As Bob walks home, he recalls the fight with Jim at the end of their Maine trip, in which Jim insulted Pam and told Bob that Pam had once hit on him. Bob continues to wonder if the latter is true, missing Pam terribly and disliking being single.

At the opera, Helen tries to talk with Dorothy. She has been worried that they have not seen the couple socially since the trip to St. Kits, but Jim assures her that it is because they are occupied with family counseling, still having difficulty with their daughter.

The hearing begins with Assistant State Attorney General Diane Dodge representing the state. Abdikarim Ahmed and a man named Mohammed Hussein testify to their experience in the mosque when the pig’s head was thrown in. Zach takes the stand as well, clearly scared. He asserts that a Walmart co-worker took him to a slaughterhouse that he owned and gave Zach the pig’s head for fun. Zach stored it in his mother’s basement freezer, though he asserts that he is unsure why he took it in the first place. He says that he thought it might be fun to display at Halloween.

The judge finds Zach guilty of a civil rights violation and places him on probation. So long as Zach abides by the terms of the probation, he will not incur fines or jail time.

After the hearing, Bob rides back to Susan’s house with Margaret Estaver, the Unitarian minister. She confides in Bob that Jim’s appearance at the rally harmed Zach more than it helped—she explains that both the attorney general and the governor were upset that Jim left immediately after speaking. She feels, too, that Jim calling the district attorney’s office after Zach was charged only angered them further.

Pam and her husband attend a dinner party. She thinks about how much she enjoys living in New York and how Jim once insisted that she was not brave enough to do so. During dinner, one of the guests brings up Zach’s hearing. Pam remains silent about her connection to him, though she is eager to know the details of the hearing. As the party continues, she thinks about Zach and the Burgess family, finally admitting to herself that being a part of their family was truly the best time in her life.

Dorothy has lunch in Manhattan and sees Jim there with his paralegal. She is careful not to let them see her, certain that Jim is having an affair.

Abdikarim cannot sleep at night because he continues to suffer nightmares about the death of his son in Mogadishu. The next day, he goes to see Margaret Estaver at the Unitarian church.

Susan is leaving work in late February when Charlie Tibbetts calls to tell her that Zach will be charged with a federal hate crime. At home, Zach has made dinner, and after they eat, Susan gives him this news. He is upset, though Susan tries to reassure him that Jim and Bob will help him. Zach points out that Jim has done nothing to help so far.

Helen, eager to find a way to spend time with Jim, suggests that they see something on Broadway that weekend. Jim agrees, and Helen proceeds to make the plans. She decides to make a doctor’s appointment, just to make sure that everything is okay. She calls a few friends to see if anyone is available to have lunch, but when no one is, she heads out by herself.

Over her lunch, Jim calls to say that Zach has disappeared. He has left Susan a note. Jim is preparing to leave for Maine immediately, and Helen asks to join him.

Susan calls the police chief despite Jim and Charlie telling her not to. The chief believes that Zach has left of his own accord and tells Susan that a missing persons report cannot be filed until 24 hours have passed.

Jim, Helen, and Bob arrive but can do little to comfort Susan. Jim and Helen check in to a hotel, and Bob stays at Susan’s house. Helen, especially, is not sure what to do with herself. Jim tells her that she is free to return to New York if she likes.

While Jim goes to Susan’s house, Helen walks through town, stopping to look at a war memorial. In the early evening, Bob arrives at the hotel and pours drinks for himself and Helen.

The next day, Jim drives Helen to the Portland airport, and she flies home. At the end of the day, Jim returns to Bob at the hotel: Susan has filed a missing persons report, even though Jim has advised against it. He shows Bob a cell phone, explaining that it is Zach’s. Susan assumed that Zach took it with him, but Jim found it in his bedroom. The phone shows that Zach attempted to reach Jim at his office before disappearing.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Drinkwater makes dinner for Susan. Susan is too upset to eat but says that hearing Mrs. Drinkwater’s stories of her own children is a welcome distraction.

Back at the hotel, Jim is drunk and laments how badly he botched Zach’s case, insisting that he has failed everyone. Then, Jim reveals that it was he—not Bob—who killed their father. He explains how the accident actually occurred and how he was able to make everyone believe that Bob, at only four years old, had been operating the car.

They are interrupted by a phone call: Susan has learned that Zach is in Sweden with his father.