Fix is shown at the beginning of the story as a policeman in his thirties who feels that he has a good life—a good job, good family, and good friends. He is suspicious of anything that threatens that balance, wanting to protect his family and home from the dangers of the outside world. When Bert Cousins shows up at his door, he is immediately wary but does not understand the extent to which Bert will divide his family.

Fix’s younger self is juxtaposed with his older self: in his eighties, remarried, and dying of esophageal cancer. When Fix gets chemotherapy treatments, he thinks of the past, especially his police partner, Lomer. Lomer’s death teaches Fix that he is not invincible or able to protect those he loves. He also thinks that there is a value in dying young as opposed to suffering in old age. He realizes now that the dangers of life do not come solely from the outside world; threats are also internal. His own body has betrayed him, and he is no longer able to defend himself from its breakdown. He has a hole in his chest for the chemotherapy portal, paralleling the hole in Lomer’s chest where he was shot.