Things We Never Got Over

Naomi tries to settle into a routine and makes a list of things to do while she enjoys coffee on the cottage deck. Knox comes out to his deck next door and, to Naomi’s surprise, urinates. Naomi spends “a full ten seconds of open-mouthed ogling” (92), noting Knox’s comfort and confidence in his physicality.

Wanting to check her email, she takes Waylay to the public library. She meets the librarian, a saucy, anything-but-typical librarian named Sloane, who gets Naomi started on one of the library’s computers. When Naomi checks her email, she is stunned to find out that her ex-fiancé canceled their joint credit cards. She emails her parents, who are on a cruise, but only to tell them she is in Virginia, that she is okay, and that marrying Warner would never have worked out. She also sends an email to Stef, a close friend who planned the elaborate wedding, telling him about Waylay. 

Knox heads to work. He cannot stop thinking about Naomi. He arrives at the Whiskey Clipper, a barbershop that he owns along with Honky Tonk and several apartment complexes. He bought these properties after winning the state lottery two years earlier. He settles into his office and examines the framed family photos on the wall.