Amila knew the man holding number nineteen by his hand. He raised it calmly, without turning, just when she thought an old box or glass paperweight was finally hers. In three months of small Sunday auctions, he had outbid her twice. Once she beat him and felt pleasure entirely disproportionate to a cracked porcelain dog's value. At home she put it on a shelf, where it represented victory more than good taste.
Lot forty-two was a small wooden letter cabinet. Before the auction Amila opened it and smelled the dry wood, imagining where it would stand. She set the maximum she could spend. The man with number nineteen stood several steps away, also studying it. This time she noticed a warm green shirt and glasses he constantly pushed toward his forehead. She resented her opponent suddenly acquiring a face she liked.
When bidding began, several other people joined faster than expected. Amila reached her limit and lowered her number. The man raised his once more, then also stopped. A woman in a purple coat bought the cabinet, nodding contentedly as though everything followed her schedule. Afterward Amila collected an ordinary box from an earlier purchase. The man held the door and said it was fortunate they need not hate each other over the cabinet too.
His name was Nedim. He admitted still remembering the porcelain dog. Amila said the dog was not particularly attractive. "I know," he answered, "which is why wanting it annoyed me in the first place." Their laughter was sincere enough to stop them halfway down the stairs. He offered coffee nearby. She accepted but first took the box to her car. She did not want to seem in need of help merely because she suddenly wanted him around longer.
Over coffee they discussed objects bought for wrong reasons. Nedim had scales missing a weight; Amila had three frames fitting none of her pictures. They also discovered things that were not for sale: his love of morning quiet, her habit of calling her sister whenever something funny happened. When he mentioned the next auction, Amila suggested dinner before then. She wanted to know him with both hands free as well.
They continued attending occasional auctions, each with their own budget and taste. They formed no alliance against other buyers. Sometimes they wanted the same object and laughed about it beforehand. The porcelain dog stayed at Amila's, and Nedim formally greeted it on his first visit. They never saw the cabinet again. It was the only lost object they both remembered with exactly equal pleasure.