60 pages • 2 hours read
Mona AwadA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Ava and Samantha drink wine and listen to tango music. Ava continues to wear black-mesh gloves as if she’s going to a gothic prom in the 1980s. There’s a fireplace that Samantha doesn’t remember.
Samantha thought Ava had left town; Ava thought Samantha was dead—the Bunnies killed her, stole her soul, and erased Ava from her memory. Samantha wonders if Ava hates her. She doesn’t. She’s affectionate, and they sleep for what seems like 1,000 years. In her sleep, Samantha screams, but Ava doesn’t need Samantha to talk about why she screamed: She’s just glad Samantha is home.
Being with Ava feels like heaven, and Samantha can write again. Ava unbraids her hair, and Samantha apologizes for how she acted with the Bunnies. Ava blames the Bunnies and Warren and worries the Bunnies/bonobos still somehow control her thoughts.
At a thrift store, Ava insists Samantha buy a black coat for the cold. She tries it on and looks in the mirror. She sees a blurry woman—a dead person—but tells Ava she loves it.
Samantha spends the winter months—January, February, and March—with Ava and stays away from Warren. She can feel her hair again, and Ava takes care of her.
By Mona Awad