Summary

In “A Man from Her Past,” the narrator suspects his ninety-four-year-old mother of rekindling an affair with a man named Franz, suspecting that while her body is frail, her potential for betrayal feels timeless.

In “Dog and Me,” the narrator imagines their dog perceives them as another dog and compares their own behavior to canine habits, ultimately asserting control by barking “No! No!” at the animal (404).

In “Enlightened,” the narrator reflects on a strained friendship, concluding that their friend is not enlightened enough to match their own self-perceived growth.

In “The Good Taste Contest,” a husband and wife compete in a formal judgment of their aesthetic preferences, with the husband declared the overall winner despite both receiving mixed evaluations.

In "Collaboration with Fly," the narrator notes that while they wrote a word on the page, a fly left a mark resembling an...