The narrator argues with his wife over what to name their baby, then leaves on a business trip. While sitting on a stopped bus, he sees a woman approach a homeless man and wash his feet. The homeless man then grabs the woman, takes off her shoes and socks, and spreads grime from the street on her feet. The narrator ponders this exchange and the woman's relatively calm reaction, as well as her volatile reaction when he later offers her his seat on the bus.