An unnamed, middle-aged, recently divorced man living in Boston hears that his old golfing friend Len has passed away. Len had been friends with his wife but didn't try to talk to him about their divorce. Instead, the middle-aged man found solace in golfing following the divorce. He goes to Len's funeral. A short time later, the man hears of the death of Miss Merrymount, a proud ninety-one year-old New Englander who lived in a large inherited house. The man's former wife Julia used to visit and read to her. Following the divorce, the man saw Miss Merrymount at a party, and upon recognizing him, she told him that he had done a terrible thing. Several years later, after the man remarries a woman named Jenny, his daughter brings the family dog Canute to visit. The dog has grown old and fat after being neglected for some time. Shortly after the visit, the man hears that the dog was found near his old house having passed away from a heart attack. Upon hearing the news, the man is paradoxically happy when he realizes that there are less and less people who are around to witness his shame and failure of going through a divorce.