Who is Franklin Woodmoore from Taft and what is their importance?

Franklin Woodmoore is Marion Woodmoore and John Nickel's son. He is nine years old when the novel begins and living in Miami with Marion. Early in the narrative, he falls on the beach while roughhousing with some friend and gashes his head on a broken Coke bottle. He clearly wants his parents back together. Later in the plot, Franklin and Marion return to Memphis for his spring break, and he is very excited to see his father. They go miniature golfing, and Franklin tells him he wants to be a drummer when he grows up. At the end of the novel, Franklin crawls into bed with the recuperating John, and John decides he will dedicate himself to taking care of his son.