The Winter Of Our Discontent

Married couple Ethan and Mary Hawley wake up on Good Friday. Despite the holiday, Ethan must go to work at Marullo’s grocery store. Ethan jokes with his wife, who seems to delight in his humor. Mary reminds him to pick up eggs so their children can dye them for Easter. Ethan sets off to work after admiring the house he inherited from his father. Ethan’s job starts early; he runs into several neighborhood pets, but the only other person he runs into is Joey Morphy, the bank teller. Joey is well-liked in the town for his sense of humor. Joey and Ethan walk downtown together; Joey tells Ethan that holiday weekends are big business for banks. Joey also tells Ethan about a friend of his who was held up in a bank robbery.

Ethan opens the grocery store. As he sweeps the doorstep, the banker, Mr. Baker, stops by and proposes that Ethan invest his wife’s money, newly acquired from her late brother’s will. Ethan does not want to risk losing the money and prefers to place it in a savings account for Mary in the event of his own death. Ethan’s family used to own Marullo’s grocery store; he inherited it from his father who lost it in the Great Depression.