Summary

As Kirby Christianson showers, his mind is full of various, unrelated thoughts: his apartment never seems to have enough hot water; he never had this problem while he was in Japan; Mieko will arrive in four days, and he will not be able to control Mieko's expectations of him. As he thinks about Mieko, he begins to feel anxious.

When Kirby steps out of the shower, he realizes that the telephone is ringing. While he has no way of knowing for sure, he senses that the telephone has been ringing for a long time and he runs straight to the living room to answer it. As he answers, he learns that his suspicion that the caller is Mieko is correct.

As he speaks, Kirby realizes that his voice conveys a sense of annoyance, which he cannot fully explain. Mieko senses his...