A mother and her adult daughter serve as the cook and housemaid of a home, though they are not very skilled at their jobs. Both are very unattractive. The mother's dream is to save enough money to live in the country, but the daughter's dream is for her mother to choke and die so she can steal her money box. The two were happier when a man lived in the rooms above them. He used to wear a lifelike mask that covered his entire face and gave the daughter nightmares. He barely noticed either of the women during his time there and spent much of his time reading. The daughter began to do an intensive amount of work in order to please him and get his attention, and all this labor only served to make her more unattractive, which upset her mother. The daughter used to fantasize that she was the man's wife or daughter. One day, the man moved out for good and a new woman moved in. There was no fanfare and no goodbye. The daughter became very sick in his absence and her mother tried to take care of her. Now, the daughter works very hard, but she is also careless. The scoldings of the buildings' new tenants don't faze her because, in her mind, they have never known disappointment. Even though she never spoke with the man, she misses him and his presence deeply.