The Beet Queen

Celestine takes stock of the state of everyone’s lives: Mary spends her time fantasizing about futuristic problems, such as “’killer robots’” (111), and ordering books on psychic abilities; Celestine’s half-brother, Russell Kashpaw, has been released from the VA hospital following his stint in the Korean War and now spends most of his time in the bars; and Wallace is a regular customer at the butcher shop, though he has not told Mary about his encounter with Karl. As for Mary’s cousin, “the bottom is falling out of Sita’s situation” (112). She and her husband, Jimmy, have a restaurant called The Poopdeck, which Jimmy runs as a theme restaurant while Sita wishes to make it a fine dining establishment. Soon, an invitation arrives for Celestine and Mary to attend the grand opening of Chez Sita. Sita and Jimmy have divorced.

Celestine attends the opening mainly to annoy Mary, who reluctantly agrees to attend at the last minute. They bring Russell along to give him a refined night out. The restaurant is so dark that they cannot read their menus, but when Russell lights a cigarette, he inadvertently sets his menu on fire, giving them a momentary light. Sita runs to their table, distressed, and informs them that her chef and staff have all gotten food poisoning; she needs someone to cook.