Mariella is on a hike with Simon, a man she has been seeing recently. He is the director of a research lab at Berkeley; she the director of an art studio. A mutual friend introduced them at a small party, telling Simon that he would like Mariella’s face and telling Mariella that it would take a while to get to know Simon. They had gone on a few leisurely walks together before Simon invited her on a more rigorous hike. Not wanting to risk rejection, he simply informed her that he was going hiking and that she was welcome to join, if she liked. As they are hiking, they pass a young man being dragged along by a massive mastiff. Having been attacked by a German shepherd as a child, Mariella is terrified of dogs. The man tries to joke that he is harmless. She can’t help but think this dog is just like a violent, slobbering human. But she ignores these thoughts, not wanting anyone to think her strange. They are walking the mountain trail single file, Mariella in front, so that Simon (the more experienced hiker) can watch over her. Simon has been lonely for a long time. Devoted to his lab work and mentoring graduate students, he feels cheated and foolish in his personal life. He’s never been in love, even though Mariella guesses he’s a few years older than her, in his mid-fifties. Mariella, on the other hand, is dissatisfied with her life but for other reasons; she has also felt lonely but because others always let her down. She has had a number of relationships since college, though she never loved any of them. Her father left when she was just a girl. Although she is social, has a close group of friends, and invests well in her art studio, she often shuts down in conversations—feeling a deadness inside, an indifference to others. At the top of the mountain, they stop so Simon can take pictures with his new camera. He insists that she drinks water from his water bottle, though she says she doesn’t want any. He ignores her for over an hour. She chats with other hikers, though he thinks it silly to converse with strangers who you’ll never see again. She thinks that’s precisely the reason for doing so. He seems to forget Mariella, which infuriates her. How can he be so self-contained when she can never be so comfortable in her self. They have never spent the night together. She always asked him to leave, or he left on his own accord. She does not feel comfortable with a man in close quarters, unless she is drunk, which she doesn’t do much anymore. He does not feel comfortable in a woman’s house. Not wanting to annoy him, she tentatively asks to return home. He acquiesces. She thinks that it is time to settle down. If she can’t love him, maybe he can love her. That should be enough. On the hike down the mountain, they come across the mastiff and his owner. The dog growls at Mariella, who screams. The dog attacks, clawing at her face. Simon steps between them, kicking and punching the dog. When the owner finally pulls him back, Simon is gushing blood from his forearm and face. Mariella holds him as the owner runs to get the Park Rangers. Simon is rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. He tells Mariella not to come in the ambulance, he wants her to drive his car to the hospital. There, she waits nervously as he goes into surgery. He has lost consciousness and his heart is fibrillating. She finds his ID, and realizes he is fifty-six years old, a full sixteen years older than she. When the doctor finishes his procedure and Simon’s condition has settled, she sits in the room. She listens to his breathing, the beep of the hospital equipment. As she sits there, she hears something else—hungry panting.