Summary

The novel opens with the sentence, "The boy asks the girl a question" (3). The girl's response is, "Ask me again tomorrow" (3). This is followed by the observation that lonsdaleite, not diamond, is the hardest known mineral. Thereafter, the narrator states that her lab mate "says to make a list of pros and cons" (3). The narrator, it becomes clear, is "the girl" to whom "the boy" proposes. After noting that the lab mate is both a better solver of personal problems and a more accomplished academic than she herself is, the narrator makes the list. She identifies many pros and no cons: the boy, Eric, is a devoted partner. He is also incredibly patient. When the pair goes to Home Depot to buy a fan and end up waiting in a long line, she gets furious with the woman in front of them, whereas...