Paper Six: Language Analysis "Chemistry," by Tom Drury, is about Keith Lyon and Stella Brand, both working at a secluded, upscale restaurant near Ventura, California called the Road House. On this night a policeman comes in asking about Mr. Geer, a seventy-seven year old man that disappeared from the theater next door. When the cop asks everyone to help him locate Mr. Geer in the woods surrounding the local establishments, Keith and Stella volunteer to …showed first 75 words of 479 total…

…showed last 75 words of 479 total…story is marked with symbolism, using the searching couple's surroundings and situations as clues into their personal relationship. The title of the story also alludes to the chemistry between Keith and Stella: "They were on the sort of ever-descending path that you keep thinking is about to reach bottom and start climbing. But eventually they got used to walking downhill and to the turns of the trail and lost track of that feeling of descent."