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The bearded man sets aside his gun and waits as Rye decides whether to go with him. His willingness to disarm himself earns a little trust, and she is lonely after the deaths of her parents, sister, husband, and children. A global pandemic has killed many and left survivors with impaired speech, intelligence, and mobility. Rye moves toward the car as the men nearby clap and whistle, congratulating the driver on his conquest. If he had responded in kind, Rye would not have joined him. She knows men now see women as possessions.
The bearded man walks to the driver’s side as the other men edge closer. They pelt the car with rocks as it drives away. Rye worries about the driver’s intentions, but he builds her trust by having her direct where they go. He hands her his necklace, a chain with a piece of obsidian, to communicate his name. Rye can remember Obsidian, whatever his name actually is. She offers her own “name symbol,” a pin with a wheat stalk. It’s the closest she can come to conveying her name, which she may never hear spoken again. Obsidian holds Rye’s hand briefly as he gives the pin back.
Obsidian stops and opens a map, which Rye can’t read. She had been a history professor at UCLA and suffers profoundly from the loss of reading and writing. As Rye points to the shape that is probably Pasadena, she realizes that Obsidian can read the map. He can likely write as well. Sudden jealousy arouses a “deep, bitter hatred.” She imagines killing him, but then calms down. Obsidian reads her emotions and takes her hand. Her loneliness and hopelessness compelled Rye to get into Obsidian’s car, yet she still, briefly, feels murderous envy.
Obsidian gestures to ask whether Rye can still speak and comprehend speech, and she nods as he expresses a “milder envy.” The illness has taken from each what they most value. Then Obsidian touches Rye’s thigh, and she shakes her head no. Sex is too risky, pregnancy unthinkably dangerous. He rubs her thigh, smiling. Rye realizes that she craves human touch, and when Obsidian produces a box of condoms, she laughs and gives in. They have sex in the back seat. Afterward, Obsidian gestures to ask whether Rye has children. She conveys that her three children died. Rye tries to believe that death was the better end because children now have “no future.”
Rye reaches for the condoms, wanting a few more moments of connection and forgetfulness. She had been close to suicide; now she wants Obsidian to come live with her. He seems pleased but declines, and she assumes that he already has a woman. More men than women died from the illness, and surviving men were often severely impaired. Obsidian confirms that Rye’s gun is loaded and hands her his LAPD badge to communicate that he must keep up his duty. She agrees by attaching her wheat pin to his badge, happy that Obsidian will stay with her for now.
