An unwelcome visitor arrives with children at Vera's home, prompting an immediate reproach: "I told you not to come." A neighbor's slip, calling Vera "Mrs. Smith," sparks suspicion and a jealous exchange with Fern. The man insists, "There's nothing between me and Vera," but tension escalates as family strain surfaces: the father admits his kids have worked in the fields dawn to dusk for three years and recalls standing up for Leo after classmates mocked him for lacking a father. Flirting and jokes fail to defuse things. The meal ends with Russian insults and awkward silence, leaving the household tense and unresolved.