The narrator's partner

The narrator’s partner is a main character in the short story “The Other Couple” by Sandra Marslund. He appears to be middle-aged since he has grey curly hair (l. 53) and ridges on his forehead (ll. 52-53). Like his older alter ego, who looks “dapper” (l.3) and “whenever he sips his Guinness he lays down his fork and pats his lip with a paper napkin” (ll. 37-38), the narrator’s partner also seems concerned with being tidy and keeping up appearances. This can be seen in the way he “fold(s) the map back into a neat rectangle and tuck(s) it under (the) plate” (ll. 17-18). This implies that he is fond of being in control in general.

The narrator’s partner does his best to pretend that nothing is wrong. The narrator notices this by the way his “voice is an octave higher than usua...