62 pages • 2 hours read
Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses drug addiction and suicidal ideation.
Isabel and Nathan stand on the porch of Isabel’s new home in the woods, which she started renting after separating from Dan. Isabel tells Nathan that he chose a good spot to scatter Robbie’s ashes, but Nathan challenges her on how she knows what Robbie would want. Isabel reminds Nathan that he is not at fault for what happened to Robbie—he was in Iceland when he got sick and had a heart condition—but she knows that, on some level, Nathan blames himself. Nathan points out that Violet also has a heart condition and that she could have died from COVID-19 after their family got it from Harrison and Chad the night they snuck into their house. She knows that she has failed at convincing Nathan not to blame himself, as he turns to go back inside.
Once Nathan is gone, Isabel thinks of how much he has grown up. She thinks of him as in-between childhood and adulthood: Part of him needs reassurance that he is not to blame, while another part of him acts “gruff” like he doesn’t care. Ultimately, she decides that she may drift apart from the Nathan he becomes, but he needs to become that person to forgive himself.
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By Michael Cunningham
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