Other Voices, Other Rooms Part II, Chapter 8 Summary

  • Randolph paints a portrait of Joel and tells him about his life.
  • Amy knocks on Randolph's door and says that Joel should go read to his father, but Randolph sends her away.
  • Randolph begins talking about Ed (Joel's dad) before "it happened." Finally Joel will learn what happened to his dad.
  • Randolph tells Joel that he had been in love with a girl named Dolores who, in turn, was into a prizefighter named Pepe Alvarez. His manager was Ed Sansom.
  • Randolph explains that he was jealous, but that he finally realized it was Pepe he was in love with not, Dolores.
  • One night, Randolph says, Pepe came over and beat Dolores and Randolph up and then one day Dolores and Pepe ran off together. Randolph found a gun while he was looking through Dolores' things and he shot at someone who came in her door. It turned out to be Ed.
  • Randolph says he left Ed bleeding for two days while he called out for Joel and Joel's mother (Ed's wife at the time) and that then Amy came from the Landing to help.
  • Ed and Amy got married in New Orleans, according to Randolph, and then all came back to the Landing.
  • It seems like Amy has sort of captured Ed after Randolph shot him. If you're thinking this is really creepy, we agree.
  • Joel has no idea whether to believe Randolph, and asks what happened to Dolores and Pepe Alvarez. Randolph says he doesn't know. He says that he writes to every post office in the world, looking for Pepe.
  • Randolph makes Joel tell him what he wants to hear, which is that everything is going to be all right. Joel does so.