In this short story, Moore depicts Zoe, an eccentric female college professor, as a woman hopelessly lost in her search for companionship. Contemplating the failed relationships of her past and the constant criticism from her students, Zoe struggles to find a place where she can be herself instead of the "Heidi" that everyone wants her to be (Moore 354). Through her romantic endeavors, dialogue with students, and amusement over owning a home, Zoe indirectly characterizes herself as a strong, independent, opinionated woman. Her sister, Evan, knows this about Zoe and attempts to help her with her love life accordingly. Evan tells Zoe that at the upcoming Halloween party she must speak with her friend Earl and get to know him. However, once Zoe arrives at the party, Evan's plan does not go well. Zoe, dressed in a bonehead costume, and Earl, costumed as a naked woman, end up arguing bitterly. Each character's costume signifies a reversal of traditional gender roles in the argument. Zoe, who has also been complaining about her manly chin hair, assumes the role of a boneheaded man shut off to the idea of love. She supports this role when she shares her idea of a love story which ends with a woman shooting "a gun through her head" (Moore 369). Earl, then, becomes the vulnerable female in the argument, in accordance with his costume, as he speaks poetically about the idea of love. Earl goes on to explain this gender reversal by saying that throughout society "hormones [are] sprayed around" and they change people (Moore 370). The short story left me confused as to its message and what the gender reversals said about Zoe and Earl.
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