A young priest, Father Russell, visits an old friend Reverend Tarmigian for tea. Tarmigian, thirty years his senior, looks terrible. When Father Russell asks Tarmigian about his pale complexion, weight loss, and cough, Tarmigian insists it's just a cold. As they drink their tea, Reverend Tarmigian tells Father Russell about a couple that has been married for fifty-two years came to him recently seeking a divorce. A few days prior, Father Russell visited one of his parishioners in the hospital. While there, a nurse rushed in asking if he could say a prayer for a man who had recently passed away. In the hallway, he sees Reverend Tarmigian unexpectedly. Father Russell rushes to the man's hospital room and finds his wife weeping over his body. He learns he died unexpectedly of a heart attack and was quite young. After the encounter, Russell becomes increasingly more anxious about both his own health, which is in fine condition, and that of Reverend Tarmigian. Russell offers to help Tarmigian paint the rectory of his church, and as they work, Tarmigian's cough worsens. Russell asks Tarmigian again to see a doctor, but Tarmigian again insists it's a simple cold. Russell finally builds up the courage to confront Reverend Tarmigian, but when he arrives at Tarmigian's church, the man is helping a parishioner. By chance, the parishioner is the woman seeking the divorce from her husband of 52 years. Russell is visibly panicked over Tarmigian's illness, and so when Russell yet again asks how Tarmigian is feeling, the older priest responds that he's a bit under the weather. With this admission, Russell breaks down sobbing both with relief and sadness.