Part 1: Chapter 2 Summary

Nora Devon invites Art Streck, the television repairman, into her house even though her instincts tell her that he is trouble. The man flirts with Nora and asks intimate questions about her life despite the obvious discomfort this causes Nora. Nora makes up a husband to discourage Streck. Finally, Streck leaves, and Nora feels relief. She tells herself that he was harmless, and she simply mistook his friendliness for maliciousness because of a lifetime of isolation. Nora was raised by her aunt who distrusted everyone, but men in particular, and left Nora with her same fears after her death the year before. However, later that day, Streck calls Nora and tells her he checked up on her story about the husband and discovered the man did not exist. Now, Nora is beginning to believe that her initial instincts were correct.

After...