This story concerns a husband whose wife and children have recently left him, and his approach to the separation as a “cure” from an addictive substance, which I think is certainly one aspect of ending relationships: The withdrawal symptoms.

He soon finds a man spying on him in the wee small hours.

Like many other Carver stories, I suppose I enjoyed it well enough, the characters and situations, but it’s hard for me to put it all together and say what it means.