Eddie's mom died and the bills were mounting up. So Eddie's dad married a waitress he'd met in town so he could leave Eddie with her and work on an off-shore oil rig. Eddie didn't know his new step-mother well before his father left. Now they were stuck together and things didn't look good for Eddie. She didn't cook, didn't clean house, but she did drink and smoke and listen to music half the night. Eddie realized quickly that he was going to have to grow up fast. His school work suffered as he got little sleep and hardly anything to eat. He had to mow the lawn himself because they threatened to kick them out of the trailer park. Things looked pretty bad for Eddie.