George is alone onstage, and Nick enters after tending to Honey. Nick apologizes that she is delicate and gets sick easily, and Martha is in the kitchen making coffee for her. Nick uses vague pronouns for the women, and George responds as if Nick meant Martha, and Nick explains, “Your wife is Martha” (89). George mentions the fighting that Nick witnessed in the first act, and Nick remarks that he finds it inappropriate and embarrassing in front of guests. George mocks him and Nick bristles but admits that he is impressed with how accurately George and Martha strike at each other.

Nick says that Honey vomits frequently and divulges that he married her because they thought she was pregnant. Afterwards, however, it turned out to be a hysterical pregnancy, and her symptoms stopped. George offers Nick more bourbon, which leads him to tell Nick about a time when he was 16 and had gone to New York with friends during the Prohibition era. One boy in their group was 15, and George mentions nonchalantly that he had accidentally killed his mother with a shotgun a few years before.