After Mr. Cross’s recent car crash—rumored to have "knocked his brain back to normal"—his family tests him by repeatedly urging, "Call me honey" to keep him calm. On the street his broken bike sparks an awkward argument about who should push whom; James ends up being pushed home. At the table Estelle and his mother-in-law fuss over abalone, shrimp and a soup Estelle prepared. The mother-in-law asks James to be gentler toward Estelle; he deflects, and when someone says "Mom, eat together" James's unexpected address provokes, "What did you call me?"