His Finest Hour by John Updike

From the first line we are trapped into this story: "First they heard, at eight pm, the sound of a tumbler shattering." George and Rosalind are neighbors of the Irvas. The Irvas frequently become violent with each other. They had grown accustomed to these violent spats, especially when he would be the angry one. It was George, however, who was always concerned that something bad would happen. As George and Rosalind debate what is going on at the Irvas', suddenly Mrs Irva screams. The rest of the story leads the reader to question what type of man George is. "It was Rosalind who had called them"; (the police) as George tries to avoid any type of confrontation. Juxtaposed are the actions of both George and Mr Irva as well as Rosalind and Mrs Irva. A great story.