Breathing Lessons

Breathing Lessons Summary | Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary

Breathing Lessons is the story of Maggie and Ira Moran and the struggle for extraordinary moments in their quite commonplace marriage. The story, which takes place in one day, begins early on a Saturday morning as Maggie and Ira are preparing to travel from their home in Baltimore to a small town in Pennsylvania to attend the funeral of the husband of Serena, Maggie's best friend from high school.

They had just heard from Serena the night before that Max had died and didn't have as much time to prepare for the trip as they normally would. The alarm has gone off too late, and the couple is frantically preparing to leave. Maggie is not as unnerved by this as Ira.

Their car has been in the body shop for quite awhile, but fortunately is available is available to be picked up that morning, so Maggie walks to the body shop while Ira heads to his frame shop to leave a note for his customers. The car is ready, and Maggie is able to pay the body shop manager and be on her way without delay.

The car radio is set to a morning talk show, and Maggie hears the voice of her ex-daughter-in-law, Fiona, who has apparently called in to tell the world that she married the first time for love and in another week she will marry for security.

Hearing Fiona's voice so unexpectedly causes Maggie to press the gas pedal instead of the brake as she's leaving the body shop parking lot, and she runs right into the path of an oncoming delivery truck. Maggie, too bewildered to stop, drives a few blocks before she pulls over to assess the damage. Ira is baffled by this new accident and its ironic location, but there is no time to argue about it, as they need to get to the funeral.

As they drive, Maggie and Ira discuss the nature of Maggie's latest accident. She can't explain it other than the fact that she had still hoped Jerry and Fiona would get back together for the sake of Leroy, their daughter. Maggie had grown very attached to Leroy when they all lived together after Jerry and Fiona married and couldn't afford a place of their own. Now, Maggie hardly ever sees Leroy except on scheduled grandparent visits.

She suggests that after the funeral today they take a detour and go see Leroy at Fiona's mother's house, where she is living. Ira is noncommittal, as Saturday is a big day for his store and it's normally not his policy to show up anywhere unannounced.

Ira's resistance to her impulsive plan puts Maggie in a defensive mood, which is not helped at all when Ira chastises her for forgetting to bring the driving directions. Ira stops at a gas station to buy a map, leaving Maggie with a few minutes of reflection on the general sadness in her life today. She knows that Ira is not insensitive about Leroy; she sees how he behaves with her and it breaks her heart that he can wall up his feelings all the time. She also thinks about poor Serena and her life with Max, and how fast the time goes from being young and in love to having everything change forever when one is stricken with disease.

Both Maggie and Ira are in disgruntled moods, however different the reasons, and they begin resorting to their old behavioral patterns. Ira whistles songs that echo his thoughts as Maggie chatters away. At a roadside café, Maggie shares some of her concerns with a waitress who listens to the things Ira is weary of hearing. then he scolds her when they are back in the car.

Maggie, who has reached her limit, demands that Ira stop the car to let her out and she walks back toward the café. In the time that it takes Ira to turn around and come back for her, she has imagined a whole new life living in the little town ahead of her, how she could start fresh and how liberating that would be.