Summary

"The Gloves are Off" focuses on the narrator's afternoon of cleaning around the outside of her home. The chapter begins with the narrator walking outside with a disposable barbecue when an unnamed man she is familiar with rides up on his bicycle. He spots the narrator right away although she was hoping she would go unnoticed and be able to spy on him for a bit. The man asks if he can use her shower. The narrator complains that the man has his own home but never confronts his landlords when things break. Instead, the man waits for the narrator to complain on his behalf. As the man is showering, the narrator cleans her house by taking her compostable waste to the compost bin. She then walks to the bench by the pond with the bowl but notes how strange it...