First-Time Caller

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of cursing and illness.

In the parking lot of the radio station, Aiden talks to his mother on the phone. HE assures her that he is fine, falling back on his habit of avoiding topics that might add to her stress. He uses work as an excuse not to meet his parents at Acadia National Park, as he avoids any reminders of his mother’s illness, including this celebration of her remission. As he talks, Aiden is acutely aware of the necklace he always wears (which, the novel later reveals, is tied to his memories of his mother).

Maggie summons Aiden back to work, and he is anxious about the upcoming show. He sees a woman in the lobby scanning the building directory, which still identifies the station as a dentist’s office. He notices that the woman is young and attractive, with long brown hair. Aiden inadvertently turns the moment awkward when he asks if she is looking for a dentist, only to declare, “I don’t think you want me in your mouth” (81). The woman laughs at his obvious discomfort, and Aiden rushes off. From his recording booth, Aiden suddenly realizes that the woman from the lobby is there.