 Adam remembers his uncle. He had a hardware store, made a spider out of a pipe cleaner for Adam, had no kids and became sort of a surrogate parent to the lad. Adam s aunt commits suicide, but his uncle is not lonely, thanks to his dog Reg, his lemon tree, meals he shapes into smiley faces, good cups of tea, an incinerator, playing Santa on Christmas, and occasional visits from religious missionaries. Things start to go downhill for uncle, though, with the sudden death of Reg, and life ends in a nursing home, where Adam occasionally goes to visit.