"Cathedral" begins with the matter-of-fact unnamed narrator explaining that his wife's friend, Robert, who is blind, is coming to stay with them. He has never met Robert, but his wife became friends with him ten years before when she answered an ad in the paper and started working for him. She had a transformative experience when he asked to touch her face, and the two have kept in contact via audio tapes since. The narrator doesn't trust his wife's friend, especially because he is suspicious of the man's blindness. He makes jokes about Robert, and his wife chastises him for being insensitive. Robert's wife has just died, and he is still grieving for her. Begrudgingly, the narrator accepts that the man will be staying with them, and he will have to be civil.