Charles' widowed mother Lillian comes into town for a five-day visit, complete with motherly advice and using her favorite nickname for her son, "doodlebug." Charles is afraid that his responsible position in the household will be undermined by his mother's attention to him, which he thinks is caused by her dependence on him. He encourages her to develop an outside interest. What he doesn't count on is what develops when she takes him up on it and ends up with an attractive man she met at the golf club. Charles can't stop sneezing (a childhood symptom of anxiety) and takes to bed, too sick to eat, while his mother goes out and has a wonderful time. Buddy keeps popping in and out performing new jobs he is forced to get to replace the allowance he lost when his grades dropped. He gets into more trouble than it is worth and he decides the bringing up his grades instead might be easier.