The narrator tells the story of a thirty-year-old man who should have gone to his old friend's house. The man, who is a friend of the man's, asks the narrator to help him pay back the money that he owes the man. The narrator says that it would be awkward for the man to meet the man alone, and that he would like to be treated like a friend. He tells the narrator that the man is obstinate, and if the man were kicked out, the man would probably give up on the man for good. He says that if he had kicked the man out, he would have given up on his friendship with the man, and the two would have continued to meet each other. He then returns the glasses that the old man had given him, and says that he thinks the man will be very sad if he were to be transferred, but that he will do anything to keep the two of them from meeting each other again