What Does it Mean?

I really liked this story. Carver draws out the situation in a truly magnificent way. Style comes in once more to make an important influence upon the writing. I noticed how Carver avoids the use of quotations for the characters' conversations, and I believe this is done with the porpuse of having the reader figure out for himself the difference between what is being said and what is being thought. However, the use of continuous relatively short-lenght sentences are what I think Carver stands out for the most. "Our kids kept their distance. Cheryl lived with some people on a farm in Oregon...She kept bees and put up jars of honey. She had her own life, and I didn't blame her." (Carver, 29) I find this passage to be a significant example of Carver's style. I don't quite know what it is he means to communicate to the reader through this strategy, but by simply making us wonder adds substance to the writing. We find ourselves trying to figure out whether it has something to do with the meaning of the story. We ask ourselves what he is trying to tell us, whether this all ammounts to something in the end, or if after all, it is only signifying nothing.