In this short scene, the reader is introduced to a new character, Miss Rebecca. She is a young woman who has just returned from a trip to Europe. She has just arrived in the city of Strasbourg, France, where she has been sent by Milady, a friend of Milady's, to help her find a job. Milady has found a job in a home electronics shop in the town of Strasbourg. The young woman is very excited to find Milady there, as she is sure that she will soon be able to return to Europe with Milady. The narrator tells the young woman that Milady will be arriving in Strasbourg in a few days, and Milady is excited to see her. She tells Milady that she has to leave immediately, for she must return to her job in France immediately. The two women go into the shop, where Milady finds a vacuum cleaner, which Milady uses to clean up the mess Milady left behind in Strasbourg. When Milady returns, she finds that the vacuum cleaner has a lock on it, but Milady doesn't know what to do with it. She goes back to the shop to find a new one, and the narrator tells her that the new one feels very different from the previous one.