Long Distance

Long Distance Summary | Detailed Summary

As Kirby Christianson showers, his mind is full of various, unrelated thoughts: his apartment never seems to have enough hot water; he never had this problem while he was in Japan; Mieko will arrive in four days, and he will not be able to control Mieko's expectations of him. As he thinks about Mieko, he begins to feel anxious.

When Kirby steps out of the shower, he realizes that the telephone is ringing. While he has no way of knowing for sure, he senses that the telephone has been ringing for a long time and he runs straight to the living room to answer it. As he answers, he learns that his suspicion that the caller is Mieko is correct.

As he speaks, Kirby realizes that his voice conveys a sense of annoyance, which he cannot fully explain. Mieko senses his annoyance, which makes Kirby feel as though he will be obligated to apologize. Rather than apologize however, he feigns telephone trouble, a trick that apparently works. Then, after effectively starting their conversation again, Mieko tells him that she cannot come to visit; her father has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer and she promised her mother that she would remain at home.

As Mieko relays this news, Kirby realizes that he has never met Mieko's father; in fact, he has not met anyone in her family. Kirby asks if she will be able to come at another time, however, Mieko reminds him that she concocted an excuse about attending a seminar that is only being offered one time. She tells Kirby that she realizes that she is only giving up a pleasure, but her father might very well die and so it is more important that she remain with him. As Kirby considers what she has said, he thinks of how much she was looking forward to this trip and how difficult it must be, despite her brave exterior, to give it up. When he expresses these thoughts to Mieko, she begins to cry.

Kirby is taken by surprise by her unexpected display of emotion. He realizes that during the entire five months that they spent together in Japan, he had never seen her cry. As Mieko continues sobbing, Kirby wonders what he should do. Although he is tempted, he does not want to hang up the telephone so that she can cry privately - he feels that he should remain on the line in a show of support.

Eventually, Mieko stops crying and then tells Kirby that he should not have listened. When Kirby protests that he wanted to be of comfort to her, Mieko tells him that under similar circumstances, a Japanese man would have hung up. Then, before ending the conversation, Mieko apologizes again for not coming. Kirby implores her not to hang up, and asks her to call again but he is not sure that she hears him.

Two hours later, Kirby is on his way to Minnesota visit his two brothers and their families for Christmas. As he drives, he realizes that he has not seen his siblings in years. Originally, the plan was for Mieko to arrive right after Christmas and then the two of them were going to head west, including a stop in Yellowstone National Park.

It is snowing quite heavily as Kirby makes his way through Iowa and he is having difficulty seeing the road. He knows that it is important that he maintain a safe driving speed to minimize the chance that he is involved in a collision and so he makes a concerted effort to keep his speed at 35 miles per hour. As he drives, he recalls some of the stories he has heard over the years of people who were stranded in snowstorms and realizes that he can easily find himself in similar circumstances. As he approaches a rest stop, he contemplates whether to stop and eventually decides to push on.

The rest stop makes Kirby think again of Mieko and he wonders that if he were to die, would she ever know. Since his brothers did not even know she was planning to visit, he doubts that they would tell her. If she should call and find his line has been disconnected, she would probably assume that he has moved. Again, he wonders if he should stop, but once again, he decides to continue. Even so, he cannot rid himself of thoughts that something bad may happen to him. In an effort to calm his fears, Kirby decides to think of the time he spent in Japan.

Eventually, he arrives safely at his brother Harold's house. Harold is busy clearing a path through the snow with his snow blower and does not see Kirby pull into the driveway. Eventually, though, he does turn around and acknowledges Kirby with a big smile. Because Harold is a ski enthusiast and used to taking risks, Kirby decides not to share the details about his trip.

That evening at dinner, Kirby looks around the table at the different people gathered there. He realizes that he has only met Harold's wife Leanne once, on the day of their wedding. Eric, his other brother, and his wife Mary Beth are there as well. Eric and Kirby never have gotten along and typically limit their contact to a few letters each year. Eric is well educated and is much more serious than his two brothers are. Also at the table is Eric and Mary Beth's daughter Anna, their three-year-old daughter Kristin.

As Kirby looks at Anna, he is reminded once again of Mieko, and he wonders how she would have fit in with his family. He imagines that she would be very anxious to please and would easily have her feelings hurt.

Kirby awakes early the next morning. He is sharing a room with Harold's son (also named Harold) and he is afraid that if he attempts to get up, he will wake young Harold. As he lies awake in bed, he thinks he hears footsteps. Glancing toward the door, he sees Anna staring at him.

Kirby cannot summon the energy to get out of bed and the thought of spending the entire day in Harold's home causes a sense of dread. He compares the décor in Harold's living room to that of the interior of a coffin and cannot imagine living there. While he realizes his own home will not win any decorating prizes, he feels more comfortable there than he does in Harold's home or Eric's pretentious house. As he often does when feeling anxious, Kirby tries to calm himself with mental images of some of the Japanese homes he had visited, but even these make him uncomfortable.

Kirby finally rises from bed and makes his way to the kitchen where Leanne is busy giving her children breakfast. As Anna enters the room, Kirby is somewhat startled to realize that she is only in fifth grade; the previous evening she seemed older. Harold is at work, and Eric has sequestered himself with his computer and so, Kirby is at a loss as to what to do with his time. He makes his way to Harold's bar and pours himself a glass of bourbon. It is nine o'clock in the morning.

Soon after, Anna appears in the doorway. Kirby greets her before asking why she keeps staring at him. Anna denies that she has been staring before asking Kirby if he is a socialist. Before he can answer, she has left the room.

Kirby finds himself imagining that Eric and Mary Beth are talking about him, a notion that offends him. However, rather than busy himself with something so that these thoughts stop, he pours himself another drink and picks up a book. As he sits, he thinks about how his brothers have changed; they now seem to be entirely defined by their homes, their families and their jobs.

Later that afternoon, Kirby is still sitting in the living room when Kristen comes in. She pulls one of the cushions off the sofa and begins to jump from the cushion to the floor. Kirby asks her what she is doing, a question that is met with the simple answer: jumping. In an effort to make further conversation, Kirby asks the young girl if she likes to jump. Kristen responds that it is a beautiful thing to do. Before long, the little girl tires of jumping and runs from the room.

That evening at dinner, Kristen gives her parents a hard time about eating. Consequently, Eric brings her upstairs. When he returns, Anna remarks that Kristen should have more control over her body. When it becomes obvious that Eric disagrees, Kirby feels compelled to defend Anna's assertion. This raises Eric's ire and he tells Kirby that at the age of three, Kristen cannot be expected to have any control over her actions. Kirby continues to challenge his brother, a strategy that seems to delight Harold.

Sensing that the conversation may spiral out of control, Eric reminds everyone that it is Christmas and that all should enjoy each other's company rather than argue. Nevertheless, Harold continues to bait him, and soon, Eric has launched into a dissertation about the purpose of the family. As the two continue to argue, Kirby resorts to vulgarity, a move that causes Leanne promptly to put an end to the entire conversation.

When the meal finally ends, the family turns to the task of opening their Christmas gifts. Kirby is surprised at the generosity of his siblings and is likewise anxious to see how they like the gifts he has chosen for them. He realizes that he will be leaving for home the next day, a thought that he greets with mixed emotions.

As Kirby makes his way to the stairs, intending to go to bed, he runs into Harold who suggests that they go outside for some fresh air. Kirby expects that Harold is going to mention the incident at dinner, but he does not. As they walk, Kirby notices the Christmas lights and feels for the first time in years, a bit of Christmas spirit.

When they return to the house, Mary Beth and Leanne are quietly arguing about how to handle the children's Christmas gifts. Mary Beth is concerned that her daughters will learn the truth about Santa Claus when they notice their gifts are wrapped in the same paper in which the adults' gifts were wrapped. Leanne finally agrees to unwrap her gifts so that all of the presents are identical.

Kirby goes to bed but is unable to sleep. Going back downstairs, he sees Leanne arranging the children's gifts under the tree. On his way into the kitchen, he comments that she must be tired - she has been awake since six o'clock that morning. As they talk, he realizes that in the entire time he had been there, the two of them have not spoken to each other. They spend a few minutes talking about Eric's child-rearing theories before Kirby asks Leanne if he can tell her about something.

Kirby then spends the next few minutes talking about Mieko and how while he is disappointed that she could not visit as planned, he is also relieved because he was sure he wasn't going to be able to meet her expectations and that she would spend the rest of her life compromising her beliefs.

He tells Leanne that he met Mieko at the Japanese school where he taught and that they had a brief affair. Even so, he was sure that no one has ever cared for Mieko before and as a result, she had become quite attached to him. This attachment scared Kirby and he was glad to leave Japan.

Kirby then tells Leanne about the previous day's telephone call and his fear that he inadvertently compromised Mieko's strength. He also says that he believes that as their relationship developed, he destroyed the inner strength that she worked so hard to build and that she was now unable to live in the stoic manner expected of Japanese women. Kirby comments that he tried his best to refrain from dating Japanese women during the year and a half he was away, but his resolve ultimately gave in to loneliness.

They are both silent for a moment before Leanne comments that although Eric is often criticized, she admires the fact that he never tries to get something for nothing. As Kirby listens, he realizes that he probably will never get over his loss of Mieko and that as a result, he will likely stay single for the rest of his life.

As the two leave the kitchen and head toward the stairs, Kirby, who is still somewhat drunk, stumbles in the dark. He reaches out to Leanne who guides his hand to the banister before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.