What happened after he quit his vacuuming sales job?

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I will have to hide this behind a "spoiler". Hopefully it won't get deleted.


He tells her that he quit his job and she is shocked. He says that everyone has a vacuum cleaner, and she asks him if he's sure it's everyone, or just him. The entire time his son asks him to fix a toy, and gets ignored.

In the next scene, we see John, along with other men, waiting in an office waiting room. A man comes out of an office and and looks around. He signals over to a young man, and when this young man approaches him, he tells him "all I want is an opportunity". We learn that John and all these other men were waiting to see if they could get the job being offered.

Next, we see the sims living in a shack of a house. There is a sign that reads Dressmaking, and Mary is busy at her sewing machine. John is outside standing on the porch when his Mary's two brothers arrive. They talk to him (or rather, at him) and go inside. On the account of their sister, they've decided to give John a job, which he refuses. He says he can't take a charity job and claims that he has some thing lined up. Mary is very frustrated over this, and her brothers leave, telling John that he's never been anything more than a wind bag. Mary, who is now sick of her husband, approaches him and tells him he's a fake and a quitter. She is very angry, and she slaps him across the face. Both of them are in shock. She kicks John out of the house and tells him that she'd almost rather see him dead. John leaves, and his son tags along.

They walk to a bridge over a rail road track. John throws a ball and his son runs to go retrieve it. John sees a train approaching, so, while his son is getting the ball, he hops to the other side of the railing and is ready to throw himself off into the path of a speeding train. For whatever reason, he doesn't do it. His son returns, and the two of them walk away. His son talks to him and soon John realizes that it's time to get back on his feet.

He leaves his son on a park bench and goes to look for work. He is shut out of a couple of different jobs, and finally lands one juggling in a clown suit on the street. After a days work, he goes back home. On his way back, he buys some flowers for Mary, and some tickets to the theater. When he arrives at his house, Mary is packed and ready to go. The two exchange words while her brothers wait for her outside. She leaves and John stays in the house alone. But after a few moments, she returns and tells John that he can see Junior anytime he wants to. He offers her the tickets to the theater, and gives her the flowers. He puts on a record and the two dance. Mary's brothers, realizing she's staying with John, leave. The next scene shows them at the theater.

I personally don't think it was an unhappy ending. John and regained almost everything he lost. Except his daughter. He became one of the crowd but he was happy.