Chapter X: Poolside Revelations
⚠️ 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
Two hours after arriving at the Mauna Lani resort on the Big Island, the group settles into separate moments of reflection and reconnection. Eden tends to Solène’s leg wound with professional efficiency, declining an offer of a coveted Hermès handbag. Rufus remains in Solène’s suite while Freddy and Eden retreat to a poolside bar. There, over ube coladas, Freddy confesses that he has wasted years reshaping his body to impress Solène, only to realize she never truly sees him. The conversation shifts to childhood memories of losing their mothers; both share painful recollections, though Eden’s happened when she was five and Freddy’s when he was twelve. Freddy admits his sister was right: he should look for a partner who shares his love of food, not someone who scorns eating. Meanwhile, Rufus watches them from the window, witnessing Freddy and Eden laughing, touching hands, and leaving together. His unease suggests a new, unacknowledged jealousy.
Key Events
- Eden professionally cleans and stitches Solène’s wound, then prescribes antibiotics.
- Solène offers Eden a place on the VIP list for a Kelly or Birkin handbag; Eden politely declines.
- Rufus stays behind with Solène while Freddy and Eden go to the poolside bar.
- Freddy orders ube coladas and, over the drinks, discusses his five-year obsession with Solène and his punishing diet-and-exercise regime.
- Freddy reveals he no longer cares what Solène thinks, a shift in perspective triggered by finally spending time with her.
- Eden and Freddy bond over childhood memories of their mothers’ deaths.
- Freddy laughs at his sister’s blunt advice to find a nice Persian girl who enjoys good food.
- Rufus, watching from the suite, sees Freddy and Eden’s growing intimacy and feels uncomfortable.
Character Development
- Eden Tong: The chapter reinforces her calm, skilled medical demeanor; she deflects luxury-gift gratitude without arrogance, mentioning only that she possesses her late mother’s handbag collection. Her empathy surfaces when she listens to Freddy’s loss, her own grief mirroring his. She also quietly assesses that Solène is wrong for Rufus, a sign of her perceptiveness about people.
- Freddy: Undergoes a pivotal self-realization. He admits that his physical transformation was driven by the hope of winning Solène’s affection, yet now he sees the emptiness of that goal. His honesty with Eden, his ability to laugh at himself, and his willingness to move on show genuine growth.
- Rufus: The chapter exposes the first crack in Rufus’s laid-back facade. Watching Freddy and Eden together stirs a jealousy he does not yet name, hinting that his feelings for Eden run deeper than friendship.
- Solène de Courcy: Her priorities are reaffirmed. Even while injured, she focuses on projecting a seductive image and offering status symbols—the Hermès bag—as thanks, missing the deeper connection that Rufus and Freddy both fail to give her.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
The Mask of Superficial Desire
Freddy’s confession dismantles the illusion that a sculpted body will win love. His boiled-chicken-and-broccoli ordeal symbolizes the lengths people go to for approval that never materialises. Solène’s Hermès offer continues this motif, reducing gratitude to a transactional luxury token.
Memory and Loss
Both Eden and Freddy carry childhood scars from losing a mother. Eden’s vivid hospital memories contrast with Freddy’s sudden, unexplained disappearance of his own mother. Their shared vulnerability deepens their bond and underscores the novel’s recurring exploration of how families handle grief.
Authenticity and Self-Discovery
The ube colada—a local, sweet purple-yam drink—anchors the scene in a sense of place but also acts as a catalyst. Freddy’s enjoyment of something new and genuine mirrors his pivot toward a more authentic self, away from the pretense of impressing Solène.
Jealousy and Unspoken Feelings
Rufus’s silent observation turns the chapter into a turning point. His discomfort signals that his casual friendship with Eden is evolving, possibly into something he is not yet ready to confront.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter X deepens the emotional stakes for multiple characters while serving as the novel’s true turning point for Freddy. No longer the lovesick admirer, he becomes a man ready to seek a real partner. Eden’s medical competence and her quiet grief provide vital texture to her personality beyond the previous chapters’ glimpses. Rufus’s subtle jealousy plants the first seeds of a romantic triangle that will complicate the group’s dynamic as the wedding weekend continues. The chapter’s Hawaiian setting also contrasts the characters’ internal turbulence with a placid resort backdrop, emphasising how much each person is hiding beneath the surface.
Study Questions and Answers
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How does Freddy’s confession about his diet and exercise change the reader’s understanding of his previous pursuit of Solène?
Freddy’s admission that he crafted a whole physical persona to attract Solène reveals how deeply he internalised her superficial standards. The chapter reframes his earlier eagerness not as pure devotion but as a misguided attempt to be seen. His relief at discarding that effort shows that he was performing a role rather than being himself. -
What does Eden’s refusal of the Hermès handbag signify about her values compared to Solène’s?
Eden’s polite decline—and her unspoken reason (her mother’s trunk of bags she cannot bear to use)—highlights that she attaches no status to luxury items. Solène, by contrast, uses a Birkin or Kelly as a currency of gratitude, assuming all women covet the same symbols. The moment underscores Eden’s authenticity and emotional complexity versus Solène’s transactional worldview. -
Why might Rufus’s observation of Freddy and Eden by the pool be a critical plot development?
Until this point, Rufus has been presented as easygoing and detached. Seeing Freddy and Eden laugh together, touch hands, and leave as a pair awakens a possessive emotion he does not voice. This jealousy suggests that his feelings for Eden go beyond platonic friendship, setting up potential conflict as the wedding approaches and the group’s relationships realign.