Summary

As the story begins, John and Laura, his wife, are having lunch in a café in Torcello, a small town outside of Venice, Italy. During their meal, John notices two women at a nearby table who appear to be watching them. He tells Laura what he sees and the two of them launch into a humorous discussion of who they think these women are and what they are doing in Italy, a game they typically play when on vacation. John soon realizes that the women are twins.

We also learn that John and Laura have recently experienced some sort of personal tragedy and are using this vacation to help heal a particularly painful emotional wound. John is relieved that he is able to get Laura to laugh and hopes that this is a sign that she is beginning to feel better...