Cathedral

Marge, the property manager of an Arizona apartment building, watches as a family from Minnesota pulls up in a dirty station wagon loaded with what she and her husband Harley later realize are all of their remaining belongings after the bank repossessed their farm. It’s over a hundred degrees outside. The couple leaves their two teenage sons in the car and comes to the door to inquire about renting an apartment. The man introduces himself as Holits. His wife Betty, meanwhile, stays silent and averts her eyes. She notices the stylist chair, and Marge notes, “I do hair” (171). Marge grabs the key for one of the units and leads the couple outside. She asks about Holits’s profession, and Betty speaks up to say that he is a farmer. Holits adds that he isn’t a farmer anymore, and Marge comments that there isn’t a lot of farming in Arizona. Betty talks about their farm in Minnesota, explaining that Holits is an expert on horses.

Marge understands that Holits is unemployed, which she considers none of her business. She shows them the apartment, which overlooks the swimming pool, and they quickly agree to take it. Holits pays the deposit and rent in fifty-dollar bills and Marge gives him the keys.