ATDTDA (17): Eugene is gettin grumpy, 481

[Paul Nightingale]

Immediately following the section break Tace speaks of an impossibility,
"getting back to that old domestic bliss". She refers to Lake and Deuce, but
the previous section has a different "domestic bliss" in mind. What Tace
calls "getting back" is, for Lake, is endless repetition, "put[ting] up with
the son of a bitch, maybe again and again".

When Deuce does reappear he is haunted by Sloat, not Webb, his 'crime' not
killing Webb but failing to protect Sloat (who always thought Deuce was his
sidekick, of course, 195). He has no knowledge, still, of Sloat's killer,
even if he does suspect Lake's brothers (478). His departure from Wall o'
Death has been, then, a failed attempt to demonstrate agency, his project
throughout the chapter. There is back-story available in scenes between the
two women here; but Deuce's relationship to Lake is confined to dreams that
keep her awake (481), Sloat returning so to speak to the "three-party
household of dubious coziness" (269).