Chapter summaries Congratulations, the Best is Over! R. Eric Thomas

It’s Called Hope – Chapter 20 Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

In the summer of 2021, after receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, R. Eric Thomas and his husband David take a previously booked trip to Provincetown, Massachusetts, a historic LGBTQ refuge. The journey comes shortly after the death of David’s mentor Rick and before Rick’s Viking funeral in Maine. Thomas’s own father has just retired, and Thomas attends a surprise party for him in Baltimore, wearing a matching pale-pink dress shirt and blue blazer with his brothers.

Once in Provincetown, Thomas and David discover a large painting of a silver-white thundercloud against a black sky at the Woodman/Shimko Gallery. Separately, each is drawn to the same piece. They decide to buy it, and later learn its title is “Hope.” The chapter intercuts this purchase with memories of earlier anniversary “state-of-the-union” conversations the couple attempted, which grew awkward and were eventually abandoned. Instead, they learned to ask each other “Who are you now?” and “How do we move on together?”

The narrative concludes on their last evening in Provincetown. After a beach dinner at Sal’s Place and a piano-bar performance of Elton John’s “Your Song,” the couple walks hand in hand through the dark streets, past the now-empty easel where “Hope” had stood, contemplating a future that feels like constant beginnings rather than endings.

Key Events

  • Thomas travels to Baltimore for his father’s surprise retirement party; he and his brothers unknowingly wear matching pink shirts and blue blazers.
  • He takes a ferry to Provincetown to join David, and immediately launches into a running monologue about his trip.
  • While walking to their bed-and-breakfast, Thomas notices a painting of a thundercloud at the Woodman/Shimko Gallery.
  • David reveals he has already found the same painting and wants to buy it.
  • The couple secures a reservation at Sal’s Place and dines on the beach, observing a community of strangers whose heartbeats seem to synchronize.
  • The narrative flashes back to the first four years of their marriage, when they attempted annual “state-of-the-union” conversations—a practice David learned from a mentor. The early talks turned into nitpicking, and they eventually stopped.
  • Over time, they reinterpret the conversation: it becomes a way to ask “Who are you now?” rather than a performance review.
  • On their last day, they finalize the painting purchase and learn its name is “Hope.” Thomas notices a thin orange horizon line at the bottom, suggesting sunrise or sunset.
  • That night at a piano bar, a friendly woman shows Thomas a photo of her new puppy. When the singer begins “Your Song,” Thomas feels a sudden deep connection to the lyrics.
  • The couple leaves, passes the now-empty easel, and walks through the dark street, hand in hand.

Character Development

  • R. Eric Thomas: Reveals his tendency to talk excessively after solitude and his habit of assuming endings. He learns to see life as “constant beginnings,” a shift from earlier chapters where he felt squandered potential. His experiences with Rick’s death and David’s grief renew his commitment to showing up for what matters.
  • David: Demonstrates the grounding influence in the relationship, from carrying Thomas’s bag so he can gesticulate to independently finding the painting. His patience with Thomas’s monologue reflects their dynamic. David’s willingness to adapt the “state-of-the-union” practice shows growth in how they communicate.
  • Thomas’s father: Portrayed as a devoted community figure whose retirement party reveals dimensions Thomas had never seen—mentor, cheerleader, visionary. His question about how to step into the next phase of life echoes the chapter’s theme.
  • The woman with the puppy: Serves as a foil, representing unselfconscious joy and the simple gifts of connection.

Themes, Symbols, and Motifs

  • Hope: The painting itself is the central symbol—a huge, ominous cloud with a sliver of orange horizon. Its name, “Hope,” reframes the intimidating unknown as something to look toward.
  • Constant beginnings: Thomas explicitly rejects the story of endings. The chapter argues that every stage—retirement, marriage, grief—is a new start with little external instruction.
  • Community and synchronicity: The beach dinner where strangers’ heartbeats sync, the piano bar where the woman shows her puppy, and the chorus of voices at the retirement party all illustrate collective bonds.
  • The “state-of-the-union” conversation: Evolves from a scary evaluation into a loving inquiry about who each person is becoming. The motif of the “cairn” (a marker for the middle of the trail) ties to the earlier Black Butte hike in Chapter 18.
  • “Your Song”: The Elton John classic becomes a moment of spontaneous illumination, making Thomas feel the truth of the lyric “How wonderful life is while you’re in the world.”
  • Hand-holding in public: Provincetown is the only place Thomas feels safe enough to hold David’s hand, making that gesture a symbol of sanctuary.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter serves as an emotional hinge for the memoir. Thomas has spent earlier chapters grappling with loss, disappointment, and the feeling of being left behind. Here, he actively chooses hope—not as naivete but as a disciplined posture toward an uncertain future. The purchase of the painting “Hope” is both a literal investment and a commitment to seeing the sliver of light at the bottom of even the darkest cloud. The reimagining of the “state-of-the-union” conversation demonstrates how a couple can mature past scripted rituals into genuine connection. Finally, the chapter reaffirms the importance of place (Provincetown as holy ground) and presence (“I am here now. And David is here now”). It encapsulates the book’s central argument: the best is not behind you—it’s the endless beginning you walk into, hand in hand.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. What does the painting “Hope” represent for Thomas, and how does its composition reinforce the chapter’s themes?
    Answer: The painting shows a single huge thundercloud with a barely visible strip of orange at the bottom—sunrise or sunset. For Thomas, it represents the intimidating unknown that also contains a hint of light. He learns that “Hope” is its official name, which reframes the cloud not as a threat but as something to move toward. The composition suggests that even in overwhelming darkness, there is a horizon, a beginning or an end that invites interpretation.

  2. Why do the “state-of-the-union” conversations initially fail, and how do Thomas and David eventually salvage the practice?
    Answer: In the first two years, both partners were too new to marriage and too nervous, so they filled the space with nitpicking over trivial domestic matters. The third year they skipped it entirely. By the fourth year, they redefined “this” as the painful evaluation itself and agreed to stop. Later, they realized the real question is not “Do you still want to do this?” in a judgmental sense, but “Who are you now? Who are we now? How do we move on together?”—transforming the conversation from a report card into an ongoing inquiry.

  3. How does the scene with the woman showing her puppy’s photo connect to the chapter’s larger ideas about joy and presence?
    Answer: The woman, a straight tourist in white jeans, repeatedly insists on showing Thomas a photo of her sleeping black puppy. Though Thomas is initially distracted, he eventually participates in the small, silly moment. This interaction—along with the beach dinner, the piano-bar music, and the painting purchase—exemplifies the chapter’s emphasis on being fully present. The woman’s unguarded delight echoes Thomas’s own discovery of joy in “Your Song”: happiness can be found in fleeting, communal experiences if you stop narrating and simply live.

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