In Country

Dawn and Sam meet at the local Kmart, a national retailer that gained prominence in the 1970s and 80s. Dawn reveals that she thinks she is pregnant, and the pair decide to buy a pregnancy test. Dawn is embarrassed to make the purchase, so Sam does it for her and tells Dawn to name the baby after her.

Sam is preoccupied with Tom and has a dream about him that night. Sam reflects that life is more complicated than what is portrayed on M*A*S*H, although she does think about how Army psychiatrist Sidney Freedman solves the problem of the main character, Hawkeye, by helping him remember a childhood incident.

Later, Sam has dinner with Lonnie and his family. They talk about the upcoming wedding of Lonnie's brother. Lonnie's parents ask questions about Emmett, and Lonnie says Emmett's problems cannot be linked to Agent Orange, something that annoys Sam. The parents continue to probe and pass judgment on Emmett. Lonnie's father says he feels like he missed out since there was no war while he was growing up, and Sam snaps at him, “Is it why we have wars—so guys won't miss out?” (87). Lonnie's mother changes the subject.