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Eddie's birth
In a crowded hospital, Eddie's father is smoking and waiting anxiously. A nurse calls his name, and takes Eddie's father to the newborns' nursery. Beneath the blanket. A tiny head covered in a blue cap. [...] Then he smiles. His. (p.19) -
Eddie's 5th birthday
It is a Sunday afternoon at Ruby Pier (p.23). There is a huge party going on with food, games, and cake. Eddie is dressed up as a cowboy; now, he's playing with a toy gun and Mickey Shea, a friend of his father. Mickey starts to lift him up and down, and Eddie is scared. After that, he runs into his mother's arms, then he tells her it was very scary; Eddie's mother hugs him and they walk along the pier, she tells him that he's good boy and God is proud of him. -
Eddie without knowing causes an accident
Eddie is tossing the ball with his friends. Suddenly, the ball flies over Eddie's head and out into the street (p.42). Eddie chases the ball and passes by a car; the driver did a maneuver that saved Eddie. -
Eddie's 7th birthday
Eddie got a new baseball for his birthday; He's playing with his brother Joe. Eddie tosses the ball too hard and Joe ducks. The ball is lost, and they're looking for it in the sideshow tents of the freak show. They are scared by the people there, and then Eddie and Joe started to run. -
Eddie goes to a funeral
Eddie is angry at the situation. The family is getting dressed, and the only thing Eddie wants is to celebrate his birthday with his friends. At the cemetery, Eddie barely recognizes the pier people (p.45). While watching a man shoveling dirt into a hole, Eddie is not sad; he's hoping the funeral to end soon for having his birthday back. -
Eddie's birthday as an adolescent
Eddie is reading a comic book while his mom is cooking his favorite meal. After his mother and the visitors greet Eddie, his brother Joe yelled that Eddie met a girl last night; and he is crazy for her. Eddie feels a rush of blood (p.53). The brothers started to fight but their father separates them. Eddie's mother turned on the radio and tuned orchestra music. She tells Eddie to dance with her just like he did with the girl he met. Then, she tells Eddie to dance with his brother. -
Eddie decides to go to war
The pier business was down; Eddie saw only women and children. The hardest part is to watch those sad smiling faces. Eddie didn't know how to fire a rifle so he started to practice at the shooting arcade. Mickey Shea saw him, and he advices Eddie to never think while shooting because that gets you killed -
Eddie's birthday before going to war
Eddie's mother prepares a "military cake" but with a message of come back son-soon. Marguerite arrives, and Eddie is so happy. After blowing out the candles, and with the party ended, Eddie walks along the promenade with Marguerite. Marguerite tells him about waiting, he's relieved by her love and disposition. -
War and Eddie
Eddie during the war learned a lot of things. Among them, is to become a prisoner. His squad was captured and dumped into a bamboo barracks. The captors were only four, probably abandoned too. One of them was trying to juggle with some rocks, despite his efforts, he couldn't make it. Eddie and The Captain developed a plan. Eddie knew how to juggle; he learned how to do it at Ruby Pier. Then, Eddie while juggling give them the signal for attack. Within minutes, all four guards were dead (p.75). -
Bang, bang & burn
They decided to burn down the place they have been kept; after they found some flamethrowers. While they were doing it, Eddie saw something running. Eddie snapped; he's now desperate looking for that something. The others are pressuring him to rush it because they have to go. The Captain shot Eddie for his own good in his attempt for the rescue of that someone. -
The Captain's sacrifice
While getting away in a vehicle, The Captain decided to check if the path was clear, after waving at them that it was OK, he stepped a landmine that blew him into pieces. -
Eddie's after war "party"
His father, his mother, Joe, Mickey Shea, and Marguerite visited Eddie in the hospital. After singing Happy Birthday, they talked about how good the wounds are, but only Eddie's father is separated from the rest. -
The challenge of Eddie's father
His father had been drinking [...] he came home late to find Eddie asleep on the couch (p.108). Eddie's father was challenging him to get up and get a job. It was so annoying that Eddie put a stop to him. His father tried to punch him, but Eddie grabbed his arm swing. He never spoke to his son again (p.109) -
Eddie marries Marguerite
With the money Eddie had left from the army, they rented a Chinese restaurant, and also spend it on the reception. When the meal was finished and some small gifts were given, a final toast was offered and the accordion man packed his case. [...] the bride and groom walked home together (p.155) -
A bad dream and a strange call
He wakes up with pain in the leg, and sweating from a bad dream. The same dream that is been hunting him since that day in The Philippines. When Eddie returns from work, he enters the apartment to find a party. After the happy birthday song, Mr. Nathanson, the guy who owns a phone, tells Eddie that there's a phone call, and that something happened to his father. His mother told him that his father had colapsed. Complications developed. Congestion built in his chest (p. 125) -
Anger & Funeral
Eddie covered his father's job in the pier. When Eddie heard the news that his father had died, he felt an empty anger inside him. Eddie cursed his father for dying and for trapping him. -
Eddie and Noel
Eddie and Noel are having breakfast in a saturday morning before the pier gets crazy. Eddie is thinking the load of maintenance for today; Noel mucks his lack of celebration for a birthday, -
just another birthday
Eddie is talking with brother Joe; then, Marguerite enters the maintenance shop and there are bunch of kids behind her singing happy birthday. -
The Beginning of her end
Eddie is with his friend Noel in the racetrack. Eddie is in a lucky streak with $800 earned; he decides to call Marguerite. Marguerite gives him a hard time for behavioring like an adolescent. Then, Marguerite regrets about yelling at him, and decides to go to the racetrack and apologize. In Marguerite's path to the track, some adolescents are drunk and playing a dangerous game. A bottle impacts her windshield and Marguerite loses control of the car; therefore, she had an awful accident. -
Her end
Marguerite was in the kitchen; then, everything went dizzy, and she had passed out on the floor. The doctors determined a brain tumor and everything was in decline. Eddie organized a small get together for her; the spirit of everyone there was like in a homecoming. Two days later, Marguerite awoke with a scream. Eddie took her to the hospital, and was terrified, he could feel her in every single thing. Before entering the hospital, Marguerite points Home to Eddie -
Loneliness
It's his first birthday without Marguerite. Eddie misses her. He took for granted the celebrations of his birthday; now, Eddie is alone at Ruby Pier. -
Swallowed by...
Eddie eats a bologna sandwich; He doesn't finishes it, attaches it to a hook and drops it into the fishing hole -
Unimportant attention
Eddie places the pills on the counter; his brother calls him to wish him a happy birthday, and also for talking his new achievements. Eddie says "uh-huh" at least 50 times (p.184) -
Check
Just checking the rides -
Memories in a cemetery
A taxi picks Eddie up, and takes him to the cemetery. He visited his mother's grave; and, also Joe's . His father grave only takes him a few moments. In Marguerite's grave, Eddie thinks about many things, among them is taffy. He eats taffy as if it means eating with her. -
The Journey Begins
Eddie walks along the pier; and, he talks to his co-workers, yells at teenagers, and entertains a little girl. Suddenly, a cart is hanging, and the passengers are in danger. Eddie quickly develops a plan; he tells Domínguez to release the cart after the passengers are safe. Eddie then figured the whole problem. His order turned against him, and now, a little girl is standing in the way of the free fall cart. Eddie jumps trying to save her, and so he did, but at the cost of his life.