Hunger

Several men and women discussed how to best remove the contents of Rock's back bedroom and bathroom without disturbing his cat, Jo. It was an undertaking Rock did not at all understand. He stood in his bathroom and watched Jo as she looked on from the hallway. It seemed she shared his confusion.
Earlier, Rock had discussed with two women of undeterminable ethnic origin their possible purchase of a large wooden box they found in the storage area of a department store in an abandoned shopping mall. There might have been money at stake, but he remembered they were offended when he told them how fashionable he thought their look had become. It appeared to him as if they were spawned from a genetic mix of people from several regions, possibly including Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Iberian Peninsula, and perhaps Africa. There was no way to know where they were from outside of asking, and even then, he imagined they might not know. Either way, it was clear from their disdain that they found the topic inappropriate.
Rock wondered whether he should clean some before the people returned, and then whether or not they were ever there. All he knew for sure was he was hungry and Jo wanted out.