She says she'd do her best to try to make any of his friends comfortable. When the narrator points out that he doesn't have any blind friends, his wife points out that he doesn't have any friends, period. She reminds him that the blind man's wife Beulah has just died, and tells him a little about her. The narrator asks his wife if the blind man's wife was a "Negro," to which she responds to by asking if he's crazy – or drunk. The man's wife Beulah, she explains, was a reader for Robert the summer after she was, before the two of them got married. They were married for eight years before Beulah got cancer, and had in a Seattle hospital recently, with the blind man holding her hand.
At first, the narrator has trouble believing this story. Then he starts to feel a little sorry for Robert (the first time the narrator refers to his future guest by his given name). He cannot comprehend being married to a woman for eight years without ever knowing what she looked like, nor can he comprehend what the woman's life must have been like - it didn't matter whether she wore makeup or not or what clothes she wore, she would never get a compliment from the man she loved. The narrator wonders if her last thought was about the fact that her husband never even saw her face. .
Then the narrator's wife brings the blind man home. Drink in hand, the narrator watches them move, laughing, from the car to the door. He notices the blind man has a full beard. A blind man, with a full beard-the narrator can't get over it! He finishes his drink and opens the door. Beaming, his wife introduces Robert, who offers his hand. The three move into the living room. The narrator, thinking about the scenic ride up the Hudson, asks the blind man which side of the train he sat on. His wife scolds him for his inquiry as she gives him a look and asks him why it matters.
The narrator, who says he has never met or known a blind person, observes his guest.
