Chapter Nine (Cal): Confronting Family and Unfinished Feelings

⚠️ 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

Back to Book Hub

Cal returns to Chicago for a Kane Company board meeting, mostly to annoy his father. During the presentation on DreamStream’s subscription losses, Cal asks pointed questions, surprising his brothers. After the meeting, he ends up in an elevator with his father, who berates him as a “disappointment” and a “waste of space.” Cal deflects with humor but feels the sting. Later, at home, his friend Iris forces a conversation about his wallet photo of Lana. Cal admits he still loves her but insists there’s no chance of reconciliation because he abandoned her. He reflects on the photo’s inscription: “Get drunk on life, not alcohol,” given after his twenty-first birthday. He blames his own destructive spiral for losing Lana forever.

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Key Events

• Cal attends a Kane Company board meeting to spite his father.
• He interrupts a presentation about DreamStream’s 12% subscription loss, questioning the reasoning.
• Declan and Rowan react with surprise at Cal’s engagement.
• After the meeting, Cal is trapped in an elevator with his father, who delivers a vicious verbal attack.
• Back at his Chicago apartment, Iris presses Cal to examine his feelings toward Lana.
• Cal retrieves an old photo of Lana from his wallet; the inscription reveals her wish for his sobriety.
• He acknowledges that he still loves Lana but believes he ruined any chance of a future together.

Character Development

Cal
Throughout the chapter, Cal’s armor of indifference cracks. In the elevator, his father’s insults (“pathetic waste of space”) hit harder than he lets on. He uses humor as a shield, but the pain leaks through when he admits he “never forgave himself” for walking away from Lana. The photo scene exposes his vulnerability: despite years of destructive behavior, he kept Lana’s note as a talisman. This chapter shows that Cal’s defiant persona masks deep guilt and unresolved love.

Cal’s Father
Though unnamed here, he embodies cold disdain. The elevator exchange reveals his bitterness over Cal’s trust fund and his belief that Cal is a “stain” on the family name. His cruelty is consistent with what Cal describes throughout the book.

Iris
As Cal’s friend, Iris acts as a truth-teller. She challenges his denials about Lana and sees through his lies. Her directness pushes Cal toward painful self-examination.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Family Disappointment
Cal’s father openly belittles him, while Cal plays the role of the “family reject” as a defense. The dynamic underscores how parental rejection can shape a person’s identity.

The Photo as Symbol
The worn photo of Lana with her inscription represents Cal’s lost chance at sobriety and love. It is both a reminder of his best self and a record of his failure to live up to it.

Avoidance vs. Confrontation
Cal uses humor and deflection to avoid emotional pain, but Iris forces him to confront the truth: he still loves Lana and cannot move on while clinging to the past.

Addiction and Recovery
The photo references Cal’s sobriety journey. After his ACL injury and loss of hockey, he relapsed into destructive habits. The chapter suggests that his unresolved feelings for Lana are intertwined with his addiction history.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 9 deepens Cal’s emotional complexity and sets the stakes for his return to the lake house. The boardroom scene shows his latent business insight and his complicated family role. More importantly, the conversation with Iris and the wallet photo bring Lana into the present story emotionally, even though she is not physically present. Cal’s admission that he still loves Lana—coupled with his belief that reconciliation is impossible—creates the central conflict that will drive the rest of his narrative arc. The chapter also clarifies that Cal’s self-destructive streak is rooted in shame and addiction, not just rebellion.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Cal attend the board meeting if he has no active role in the company?
   He goes primarily to irritate his father. Cal enjoys being on the board because his father hates it; he calls it “fucking with” his father. The meeting also gives him an opportunity to perform his identity as the disappointing son.

2. What does the wallet photo reveal about Cal’s feelings for Lana?
   The photo shows Lana from the summer after Cal’s twenty-first birthday, when he was fresh out of rehab. The inscription (“Get drunk on life, not alcohol”) was a gift encouraging his sobriety. Cal has kept it for over a decade, proving his love for Lana never faded. He admits he “will always love a part of her,” but he believes his past actions—walking away from her—make a future together impossible.

3. How does Iris challenge Cal’s self-perception?
   Iris refuses to let Cal hide behind jokes. She points out that he hasn’t been in a romantic relationship in six years and that the photo symbolizes unresolved love. When Cal denies loving Lana, Iris calls his bluff by asking for his wallet. She later gets him to admit that his feelings “don’t just go away.” Her role is to force Cal to stop lying to himself.

Navigation

Previous Chapter: Chapter Eight
Next Chapter: Chapter Ten
Back to Book Hub