Chapter 8 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
This chapter is a flashback to Meddy's senior year of college, four years before the novel's present-day events. It opens with Meddy on a video call with her mother, Ma, who is practically shouting with excitement. The family's wedding business is thriving—they've just received an order for twelve lily tower arrangements. Meddy is genuinely pleased; she has been helping from a distance by photographing Ma's flower arrangements and Big Aunt's cakes, and she even built a website for the business. She admits to herself that she's looking forward to graduating and diving headfirst into the family enterprise, a prospect she once doubted.
During the call, Meddy cuts it short when Nathan knocks at her door. She hasn't told her family about Nathan yet, deliberately keeping their relationship secret. She reasons that once she introduces him, her mother and aunts will fuss over him so much that she'll lose him to them, so she's been selfishly keeping him to herself.
Nathan arrives with big news: his summer internship at JLL has turned into a job offer. Meddy is thrilled at first, but then he reveals the catch—the position is in New York, at the company's headquarters. He asks her to come with him, painting an appealing picture of their life together: a small apartment, morning lattes, fresh bagels, and a city that would be perfect for her photography career.
Meddy is deeply tempted. She wants all of it. But almost immediately, her thoughts turn to her family. She imagines her mother's devastation, her aunts' disappointment. She compares herself to her male cousins who left home as soon as they could, to her uncles, and most painfully, to her father—all of whom abandoned the family. She resolves that she will not abandon her family, not for love, not for anything.
She also realizes that if she tells Nathan the truth, he might give up his New York opportunity to stay with her. She won't allow that. She also believes in what she calls the curse—that her relationships are doomed anyway, and that Nathan would eventually leave her. So she decides to take matters into her own hands and make the breakup her gift to him.
Meddy breaks up with Nathan, claiming she wants to see what else is out there. Nathan is shocked and hurt, asking how long she's felt this way. She lies and says it's been a while. He leaves, saying he'll come by for his things later. Meddy forces herself to watch him go, tears falling, knowing it will be the last time she ever sees him.
Key Events
-
Ma reports that the family wedding business is thriving, with a large order for twelve lily towers.
-
Meddy reveals she has built a website for the family business and is eager to join it after graduation.
-
Nathan announces his job offer from JLL—but the position is in New York.
-
Nathan invites Meddy to move with him, describing their future life together in the city.
-
Meddy internally wrestles with her desire to go versus her sense of duty to her family.
-
She decides she cannot abandon her family, comparing herself unfavorably to her cousins, uncles, and father.
-
Meddy breaks up with Nathan, falsely claiming she wants to see other people.
-
Nathan leaves, devastated, and Meddy watches him go, knowing it's the final time she'll see him.
Character Development
Meddy is revealed as deeply self-sacrificing and bound by family loyalty. Her decision to break up with Nathan is not born of indifference but of a twisted sense of protection—she wants to spare both her family and Nathan from pain. She believes her relationships are cursed and that Nathan would eventually leave her anyway, so she preempts the heartbreak. Her internal monologue shows a young woman who has internalized her family's fears of abandonment and is determined to be the one who stays, no matter the personal cost.
Nathan is portrayed as loving, ambitious, and genuinely blindsided. His offer to bring Meddy to New York is sincere, and his shock at the breakup suggests he believed their relationship was solid. His brief mention that he was going to say something else—cut off mid-sentence—hints at an unspoken intention, possibly a proposal, that the breakup interrupts.
Ma appears only through the phone call, but her excitement about the business and her expectation that Meddy will return home underscore the family's reliance on Meddy, a pressure that shapes her decision.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Family obligation vs. personal ambition: The chapter's central conflict. Meddy's dream of a life with Nathan in New York is set directly against her duty to her family's business and her fear of repeating the abandonment patterns of her father and male relatives.
Self-sacrifice for loved ones: Meddy's breakup is framed as a gift—she sacrifices her own happiness to protect Nathan's future and her family's expectations. She refuses to let Nathan give up his dreams for her, even as she gives up hers for her family.
The curse of doomed relationships: Meddy explicitly references a curse she believes hangs over her relationships, which fuels her conviction that the breakup is inevitable and that taking control of it is the only way to ensure Nathan's well-being.
Secrecy in relationships: Meddy has hidden Nathan from her family, and her breakup is built on a lie. The chapter shows how secrecy and half-truths compound emotional damage.
Fear of repeating family abandonment patterns: Meddy's comparison of herself to her cousins, uncles, and father reveals a deep fear of being seen as another family member who left. Her identity is tied to being the one who stays.
Why This Chapter Matters
This flashback is essential to understanding the present-day story. It explains the central mystery of why Meddy and Nathan are no longer together, revealing that the breakup was not a mutual decision but a painful sacrifice Meddy made for her family. It establishes Meddy's defining trait—her overwhelming sense of duty to her family—which drives much of the novel's comedy and conflict. The chapter also introduces the concept of the curse, which may have ongoing relevance to the main plot. Finally, it humanizes Meddy, showing that her present-day chaos with her aunties is rooted in a genuine, painful choice she made years ago.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Meddy break up with Nathan instead of telling him the truth about her family obligations?
Meddy fears that if she tells Nathan the truth, he will give up his New York job offer to stay with her. She refuses to let him sacrifice his dreams for her, especially since she is not willing to give up her own dreams of joining the family business. She also believes their relationship is cursed and doomed to end anyway, so she decides to take control of the ending and make it her gift to him—sparing him the pain of a later, messier breakup.
2. How does Meddy's view of her family shape her decision?
Meddy imagines her mother's devastation and her aunts' disappointment if she were to leave. She compares herself to her male cousins, her uncles, and her father—all of whom abandoned the family—and she is determined not to be like them. Her identity is tied to being the family member who stays and supports the business, and she cannot bear the thought of being seen as another person who left.
3. What does this chapter reveal about Meddy that helps explain her present-day behavior?
This chapter reveals that Meddy's loyalty to her family comes at a tremendous personal cost. She is willing to sacrifice her own happiness—including a relationship with a man she clearly loves—to fulfill her perceived duty. This pattern of self-sacrifice and putting family first likely carries into the present-day story, explaining why she remains so entangled with her mother and aunts and why she may struggle to prioritize her own desires.
Continue Reading
-
Previous Chapter: Chapter 7