Summary

The novella is narrated in third-person past with a close focus on the main character, Dorothy. She saw her husband, Fred, off to work as usual. He told her that he might be back late that night, and she walked him to the door. He did not kiss her goodbye or even wave—he had not done that for years. He had an affair with the publicity girl once. Dorothy wondered if he was going to have an affair again because he had stayed late at the office all the time back then.

After he left, she dressed and started cleaning the house. While doing the dishes, she decided to turn on the big, old-fashioned radio. For the past three weeks, she had been hearing strange voices on the radio that blended in with the regular commercials. One voice had told her not to...