Homesick for Another World

A real estate lawyer named Charles visits his family’s cabin, which lies at the end of a dark, winding road in the woods. Charles has come to the cabin to escape a fight with his pregnant wife, whom he feels is mistreating him. The cabin is extremely bare: no running water, electricity, or cell service, and only a chair and simple bed inside. Charles is happy to be away from his wife and spends the first night eating his favorite foods, smoking marijuana, and drinking Scotch. He had planned to drink a special bottle of wine, which his college roommate had given him as a wedding gift, but he forgot to bring a corkscrew. He finds a flesh-colored dildo in the bed, but is undisturbed, assuming it’s a kind of prank.

The isolation of the cabin leads Charles to think about his family, especially his younger brother MJ. Charles and MJ were not close as children. MJ bullied Charles, calling him anti-gay slurs and beating him up, despite being three years younger. The brothers have grown into very different men: Charles is a lawyer and owns an expensive home, whereas MJ works in a factory and wears old, ratty clothing.