- Ben's remembering his mom. She was the kind of mom who liked working in the garden.
- It sounds like Ben's household has been in pretty bad shape since her death.
- His dad, a professor, has just been reading sad poems and crying all the time.
- It also sounds like Ben's dad has checked out of the whole fatherhood thing. He hasn't really been there for the boys.
- Ben feels like he's taken on a sort of fatherly role to his little brothers. He had to.