John is Sal’s father. He is a “kind, honest, simple, and good man . . . he likes plain and simple things . . . his favorite clothes are the flannel shirts and blue jeans that he has had for twenty years.” He has had the same car for fifteen years. John is a considerate, sensitive man. He does things like shovel his parents’ driveway when it snows, he buys small, thoughtful gifts for his wife and daughter, and he never seems to get angry. John loves working on the farm because he can be outside and can work with the land and animals.
When his wife, Sugar, leaves, John is devastated. He fumbles around until he and Sal finally fall into a routine of their own—and then he finds out that his wife has been killed in a bus accident. He goes to Idaho to bury his wife. John deals with his grief by spending “three days chipping away at the fireplace hidden behind the plaster wall.” He replaces bricks and writes Sugar’s real name, Chanhassen, in the cement. Finally, John can’t stand being at the farm any longer. He sees Sugar everywhere; his memories and sadness are overwhelming. He loved Sugar very much.
John and Sal move to Euclid, Ohio. Margaret Cadaver helps John get a job selling farm machinery. He spends time with Margaret because she is his connection to his dead wife. John is grieving, and he understands that Sal is grieving also. He pays attention to Sal and hugs her, talks to her, comforts her, and gives her the space and time she needs to grieve for her mother. When they are ready, and can accept the fact that Sugar is never going to come home, John and Sal return to the farm.
