The narrator tells the story of a thirty-year-old bachelor and his wife, who have been together for a year. He tells them that his wife's mother found out about the engagement because she saw them together with their rings. The narrator says that he was just testing her acceptance of the engagement before making a final decision. He says that the truth will eventually come out, and that they both kept the engagement a secret because they feared that their families would not approve of it. He adds that he does not want to go "down the same road" as his previous relationship. When the narrator asks about his mother's health, he says that she threw flowers at him in her face and that he has a hard face. He also says that his face is not bad, but that he is the "chicken" . He goes on to say that he might go to a friend's house for a while.