Joan moves from one miserable abusive relationship to another. She only chooses lovers who are a mess, physically or mentally sick and about to die. Meanwhile her childhood friend Jack is doing well. When he runs out of money and falls ill, she tries to start a relationship with him, but he escapes, declaring that his life is beginning not ending.
Subtly suggested supernatural story: Jack thinks Joan is a sort of vampire.
| Date | Publication | Publisher | Type | Page | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 1947 | The New Yorker, October 4, 1947 | MAGAZINE | |||
| 1953 |
|
The Enormous Radio and Other Stories | Funk & Wagnalls | Collection | |
| 1954 | Short Story Masterpieces | Dell | Anthology | ||
| 1956 |
|
Daughters of Eve | Berkley Books | Anthology | 108 |
| April 1958 |
|
The Enormous Radio and Other Stories | Berkley Books | Collection | 89 |
| 1965 |
|
Suddenly | Popular Library | Anthology | 36 |
| October 1973 |
|
Short Story Masterpieces | Dell Laurel | Anthology | 56 |
| 1981 |
|
The Treasury of American Short Stories | Doubleday | Anthology | |365 |
| July 1982 | The Stories of John Cheever | Ballantine Books | Collection | 105 | |
| 1990 | The Treasury of American Short Stories | Dorset Press | Anthology | 365 | |
| September 1990 | Urban Horrors | Dark Harvest | Anthology | 59 | |
| September 1990 |
|
Urban Horrors | Dark Harvest | Anthology | 59 |
| April 1993 |
|
Urban Horrors | DAW Books | Anthology | 68 |
| October 1994 |
|
The Norton Book of Ghost Stories | W. W. Norton & Company | Anthology | 381 |
| November 1994 | The Norton Book of Ghost Stories | W. W. Norton / BOMC | Anthology | 381 | |
| October 1997 |
|
Blood Thirst: 100 Years of Vampire Fiction | Oxford University Press | Anthology | 103 |
| September 1999 |
|
Blood Thirst: 100 Years of Vampire Fiction | Oxford University Press | Anthology | 103 |
| 2009 |
|
American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from the 1940s to Now | The Library of America | Anthology | 79 |