Chapter 7 (Wednesday 10th July 2019): Nostalgia, Rejection, and the First Good Break‑Up

⚠️ 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

Andy cannot face another day on his mother’s sofa, so he walks to the Sun and Lion pub when he sees it open for breakfast. He orders food and opens his laptop to finalise the van and storage unit for his belongings from the shared flat. He messages his sister Jane to ask if he can stay with her family; she agrees immediately. After breakfast, Andy starts drinking heavily—four pints of Guinness, then a large glass of red wine. While drunk, he sends Avi a belated “love you” message, which Avi finds bizarre after weeks of silence. Andy realises that the young barmaid reminds him of his first girlfriend, Nicky. He leaves the pub and, with a dead phone, finds a phone box and calls Nicky’s parents’ landline. Nicky calls back but is clearly uncomfortable. She politely declines his invitation to meet, pointing out that they last saw each other seventeen years ago and she now has a husband and baby. Andy admits he is struggling with a break‑up; Nicky remembers how hard Andy found their own split. The conversation ends awkwardly, leaving Andy alone with his gin and fruit‑cordiale.

Key Events

Andy goes to the Sun and Lion for breakfast, then starts drinking heavily from mid‑morning onward.
He books a removal van and a storage unit, arranging to move out. He asks Jane for a place to stay; she welcomes him.
Andy sends an emotional “love you” text to Avi, causing confusion after weeks of ghosting.
He notices the barmaid resembles his first girlfriend, Nicky, and becomes obsessed with contacting her.
After his phone dies, Andy uses a phone box to call Nicky’s parents’ landline.
Nicky returns the call and firmly refuses Andy’s request to meet, citing the passage of time and her current family life.
Andy confesses he is “going through a break‑up”; Nicky sympathises briefly but ends the call.

Character Development

Andy: Deeply stuck in the past. His drinking escalates from “mid‑morning” to a full day’s binge. He romanticises his teenage relationship with Nicky as the “only good break‑up” he has ever had, yet he cannot replicate that clean ending with Jen. His attempt to reach out to Nicky is a clumsy grasp for a simpler time when heartbreak was finite.
Nicky: Mature and grounded. She is kind but firm, setting clear boundaries. She does not share Andy’s nostalgia and is content with her present life. Her refusal highlights Andy’s inability to accept that people change.
Avi (off‑page): His baffled texts reveal he is hurt by Andy’s silence—and now confused by Andy’s sudden warmth. Their friendship is still intact but strained.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Nostalgia as a Trap

Andy literally sits in the Sun and Lion, a pub he associates with his teenage years, and sees the barmaid as a “cocoon of nostalgia.” He wants to recapture a time when he felt hopeful and young, but the attempt only leads to more drinking and a humiliating rejection.

Drinking to Escape

The chapter tracks Andy’s alcohol consumption: breakfast beer, four pints, a glass of wine, then gin mixed with fruit cordiale at home. Drinking is his way of avoiding the pain of the break‑up and the practical tasks of moving out.

The “Good Break‑Up” Myth

Andy claims his split with Nicky was “the only good break‑up I’ve ever had.” Yet his phone call shows that Nicky does not share that memory—she remembers his difficulty with it. The chapter undercuts the idea that any break‑up can be truly clean or satisfying.

Communication Failures

Andy’s interactions are one‑sided or failed: he ghosts Avi, he cannot contact Nicky directly, and his call ends in mutual awkwardness. The dead phone and phone box symbolise how disconnected he is from the people who might help him.

Why This Chapter Matters

It shows Andy actively avoiding the future by clinging to the past. His search for Nicky is a desperate attempt to revisit a relationship that ended well, to reassure himself that he is capable of a good ending.
The chapter deepens the theme of loneliness: Andy is physically alone in the pub, then emotionally alone after the call. All his friends (Jane, Avi) are approached only when he needs something.
It foreshadows Andy’s inability to move on from Jen. If he cannot even accept that his first love has moved on, how will he let go of the relationship that just ended?
The barmaid/Nicky confusion reinforces that Andy is projecting a past image onto the present—a pattern that will almost certainly repeat in later chapters.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Andy contact Nicky after seventeen years, and what does he hope to gain?
Andy is grieving the end of his relationship with Jen and seeks a version of his past where heartbreak felt manageable. He wants to confirm that the “good break‑up” was real, hoping Nicky will validate his nostalgia and offer him comfort or a sense of closure. Instead, Nicky’s clear boundaries force him to see that even that cherished memory belongs to a different time.
What does the setting of the Sun and Lion pub contribute to Andy’s emotional state?
The pub is a “cocoon of nostalgia” where Andy tries to relive his teenage self. The familiar space, the barmaid who reminds him of Nicky, and the old man at the bar all feed his desire to retreat into a simpler past. The setting also normalises his mid‑day drinking, allowing him to avoid facing the practical and emotional fallout of the break‑up.
How does this chapter develop the theme of “moving on” or the failure to move on?
Every action Andy takes—drinking, contacting Nicky, ignoring Avi—represents an attempt to stall or reverse time. He cannot even physically move his belongings until Jane forces him to. Nicky’s refusal to meet symbolises the real world’s refusal to let him stay in the past. By the chapter’s end, Andy is more isolated than at the start, suggesting that nostalgia is a dead end, not a refuge.