Content Warning: This section of the guide mentions the death of a child.

Addie Moore approaches her neighbor Louis Waters with an unusual proposition: She suggests that they spend their nights together. Her offer is not sexual or romantic in nature; both Addie and Louis have been widowed, and they agree that their nights are long and lonely, complicated by the trouble they have falling asleep. Addie gives Louis time to think it over, but she tells him to call her before he comes over so she will know to expect him.

The next day, Louis prepares himself for his first overnight stay at Addie’s by getting a haircut, shave, and trimming his nails. He puts his pajamas and toothbrush in a paper bag and walks to her house via the alley so that the neighbors won’t notice him going over. However, Addie tells him to come by the front door the next time, if there is a next time, because she’s tired of paying attention to what other people think. They have a drink, and then Louis asks for a brief tour of the house. Addie has lived there for 44 years, which is two years longer than Louis and his wife Diane lived in Holt.