Bored by the lack of magazines in the plastic surgeon's office, a man turns to a woman in the waiting room to ask about the scar that cuts down her face. He calls himself her "brother" and says that, as a concerned person, he really wants to know what happened. The woman is insulted and asks why the man's nose is all messed up, to which he says that he injured it while love-making. Still, the woman doesn't answer, but the man persists.

Finally, she dives into the story. The woman says that it was caused by her boyfriend, Billy. They met during lunch in the "swing room," where postal employees took breaks. Billy was in college — and nine years older than her — but she was attracted to his composure and book smarts. He was different. Over time, though, she felt he was too severe and good for her, so she decided to look for other potential lovers. Then came Teddy. He was a confirmed womanizer, and he was fun. Unlike Billy, his head was never deep in the books. Abruptly, the man interrupts the woman. He says he knows where the story is going — Teddy will break up her relationship, cheat on her, and then cut her face when confronted.

The woman pulls out a cigarette and tells the man that he thinks he knows everything, but he is wrong. She dives back in, saying that Red Bone, a coworker, kept trying to set Teddy and the woman up. The three of them would hang out sometimes after work and drink scotch. One day, Billy appeared to find them hanging out and commanded the woman to leave with him. She did not. When she got up to stand her ground, Billy sliced her face and stabbed her side. The man in the waiting room turns quiet and looks away. He realizes that he never asked the most critical question and finally asks the woman, his "sister," for her name.