# Reunion explained — Short Fiction > Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Ring Lardner. ## What happens Bob Mason and his wife Jennie, from Buchanan, Michigan, visit Bob's sister Rita and her husband Stu at their home in Sands Point, Long Island, after nearly twenty years of separation. The reunion is marked by cultural clashes and mutual incomprehension: Bob and Jennie are simple, abstinent, and unfamiliar with golf, bridge, and cocktails, while Rita and Stu are wealthy, social, and drink heavily. The visit is strained, with Stu becoming increasingly drunk and desperate to escape, even plotting a fake telegram to get away. Ultimately, Jennie announces they must leave early due to a drought threatening Bob's garden, providing an awkward but convenient end to the visit. ## Themes in this chapter ### Class and Aspiration The chapter starkly contrasts the simple, small-town life of Bob and Jennie with the wealthy, sophisticated world of Rita and Stu, highlighting the social and cultural chasm between them. ### Family and Generational Conflict The reunion between Bob and Rita, who have been separated for twenty years, is strained by their vastly different lifestyles and values, illustrating the difficulties of familial connection across class and geography. ### Alcohol and Escapism Stu's heavy drinking, beginning with highballs at lunch and continuing through the evening, serves as a means of coping with the boredom and frustration of hosting his provincial in-laws. ## Character check-ins ### Bob Masons Bob is a simple man from Buchanan, Michigan, who has been away from his sister for twenty years. He is quiet, abstinent, and unfamiliar with the social customs of Long Island high society. ### Rita Rita is Bob's sister, now a wealthy Long Island socialite. She is initially eager to reconnect but finds the cultural gap with her brother and his wife difficult to bridge. ### Stuart Johnston Stu is Rita's husband, a wealthy man who is bored and frustrated by his provincial in-laws. He drinks heavily and plots to escape the visit. ### Jennie Jennie is Bob's wife, a simple woman from Michigan. She is polite but out of her depth, and her gold teeth and lack of sophistication are a source of amusement for Rita and Stu. ## Key lines > I honestly think we ought to do something about Rita. Imagine a person not seeing their own sister in nearly twenty years! Jennie suggests to Bob that they should make an effort to reconnect with his sister, Rita, whom he hasn't seen in two decades. _This line sets the plot in motion, highlighting the long separation between the siblings._ > Well, we won't argue about it, but I'm certainly not going to waste my vacation in any hick town where they've probably got a six-hole course that you have to putt on with a niblick! Stu refuses to visit Bob and Jennie in Michigan, dismissing it as a backward place with a poor golf course. _This quote reveals Stu's snobbery and his prioritization of golf over family._ > She was the same age as Jennie, thirty-five, and he had expected her to look it. Instead, she looked ten years younger and was prettier than a member of the Buchanan Mason family had any right to be. Bob is surprised to find that his sister Rita looks much younger and more attractive than he expected. _This observation underscores the difference between Rita's sophisticated life and the more ordinary lives of Bob and Jennie._ > I know, but it would be violating the letter of the law. Jennie declines a cocktail, citing the Prohibition law. _This highlights the cultural and moral differences between the two couples, with Jennie being law-abiding and Rita and Stu being more relaxed about Prohibition._ > Bob can't see anything in golf. He says it's a sissy game. Jennie explains that Bob thinks golf is a game for weak or effeminate men. _This quote illustrates Bob's traditional, masculine values, which clash with Stu's leisure-oriented lifestyle._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/reunion - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_62_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters