Chapter 28 (9:00 p.m.): Summary, Analysis, and Key Moments

⚠️ 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

Chapter 28, set at 9:00 p.m. during the Riva party, shifts focus away from the main action to introduce Ricky Esposito, the manager of the photography studio at Pepperdine University. Ricky stands in the kitchen eating cheese and crackers, but his attention is elsewhere: Kit Riva has walked past him four times, and each time he cannot stop staring at her.

Ricky has harbored a crush on Kit for roughly three years, despite never having spoken to her. He is certain she has no idea he exists. Because he has lived in the same town his entire life, he has grown accustomed to noticing people—and, as he reflects, everyone notices the Rivas.

His routine reveals the depth of his quiet obsession. He occasionally visits Riva's Seafood, ordering fried clams without bellies, a large Coke, and french fries, then takes a seat on one of the wooden benches near the parking lot, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kit. He considers her the most appealing person he has ever seen.

What draws him to her is not conventional beauty. He likes that she never has to try to be beautiful, and he admires the solidity and strength of her body. He imagines she is the kind of person who would not need a man to kill a spider—a detail that matters to him because he is, by his own admission, afraid of spiders.

Ricky has also watched Kit surf at Surfrider Beach. He goes to the pier, sits on a bench, and watches the fishermen, but he can always pick Kit out in the water. He recognizes her by her bravado: she is aggressive with the waves and never defers to other people in the water. This quality is precisely what he admires. He has long imagined marrying a woman like that, and he notes that his own mother was that kind of person.

The chapter ends with Ricky's unresolved dilemma: he still has not worked up the courage to speak to her.

Key Events

Ricky Esposito, the Pepperdine photography studio manager, is at the party kitchen eating cheese and crackers.
He sees Kit Riva walk past four times and cannot stop staring at her.
The narrative reveals his three-year crush on Kit, whom he has never spoken to.
His routine of visiting Riva's Seafood and watching from the parking lot benches is described.
Ricky recalls watching Kit surf at Surfrider Beach, admiring her aggressive, confident approach to the waves.
He connects his ideal partner to his mother, who was similarly strong.
The chapter closes with Ricky still unable to approach Kit.

Character Development

Ricky Esposito is the chapter's sole point of view. He is defined almost entirely by his internal life rather than by action. He is a man who observes, plans, and fantasizes but never acts. His crush on Kit is built on distance: he watches her at the restaurant, at the beach, and now at the party, but he has never introduced himself. His fear of spiders is a small, humanizing detail that also underscores his self-perception as someone who needs a partner who is strong in ways he is not.

His admiration of Kit is telling. He does not describe her in terms of conventional attractiveness; instead, he values her strength, her solidity, and her lack of effort in being beautiful. He imagines she would handle a spider without flinching—a fantasy that reveals more about his own anxieties than about Kit. His reference to his mother as a similarly strong woman suggests that his attraction to Kit is shaped by an early model of femininity, one he has been seeking to replicate ever since.

Kit Riva, though never directly present in the chapter, is developed indirectly through Ricky's gaze. We learn that she is physically strong, that she surfs with bravado, that she is aggressive with the waves and does not defer to others. These details align with the independent, headstrong personality the novel has been building for her. Ricky's observation also confirms the family's visibility in the town: everyone notices the Rivas, and Kit in particular draws attention even from people who have never spoken to her.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Unrequited longing and observation from afar. The entire chapter is built on Ricky's one-sided devotion. He has constructed an elaborate fantasy around a woman he has never met, sustained by glimpses from benches and piers. His longing is entirely internal and has never been tested against reality.

Fear of approach. Ricky's paralysis is the chapter's central tension. He has everything he needs to introduce himself—proximity, opportunity, a shared town—but he cannot bring himself to act. His fear is not of rejection per se but of the moment of contact itself.

Surfing as character expression. Kit's surfing is presented as a direct window into her personality. Her aggression with the waves and her refusal to defer to others in the water mirror the independence and self-possession that define her character. For Ricky, watching her surf is the closest he has come to knowing her.

Small-town family visibility. Ricky reflects that when you live in the same town your entire life, you notice people—and everyone notices the Rivas. The family's fame and presence in the community make them objects of fascination even to those who have never interacted with them.

The gap between fantasy and reality. Ricky imagines marrying a woman like Kit, but he has no evidence of what she is actually like beyond what he has observed from a distance. His fantasy is built on projection, not knowledge.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 28 is a deliberate pause in the party's momentum. It offers a portrait of the Riva family as seen from the outside, through the eyes of a man who has watched them for years without ever participating in their world. This outside perspective reinforces the family's mythic status in Malibu: they are figures of fascination, observed and admired from a distance.

The chapter also deepens Kit's characterization without placing her on the page. By showing how she appears to a stranger, the novel confirms the qualities that define her—strength, independence, bravado—while also hinting at the cost of being so visible. Ricky's crush is a reminder that the Rivas are not just a family but a spectacle, and that their lives are subject to the projections of others.

Finally, the chapter introduces a theme of inaction that contrasts with the Riva siblings' own struggles. While the Rivas are defined by their choices and their recklessness, Ricky is defined by his inability to choose. His stillness in the kitchen, watching Kit walk past, is a quiet counterpoint to the chaos unfolding around him.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does Ricky's perspective reveal Kit's character without her appearing directly in the chapter?

Ricky's observations give the reader a portrait of Kit built entirely from external evidence. He notes her physical strength, her lack of effort in her appearance, and her aggressive, confident surfing. These details align with the independence and self-possession the novel has established for her. Because Ricky has never spoken to her, his view is untainted by conversation or interaction—it is pure observation, which makes it both admiring and incomplete.

2. What does Ricky's fear of approaching Kit reveal about his character and about the Rivas' social position?

Ricky's fear reveals his own timidity and his tendency to idealize from a distance. He has constructed a fantasy of Kit that he is afraid to test against reality. His paralysis also reflects the Rivas' social position: they are so prominent in the town that approaching them feels intimidating, even for someone who has lived there his entire life. The family's visibility makes them seem almost untouchable.

3. How does the chapter use surfing as a metaphor for Kit's personality?

Kit's surfing is described as aggressive and unyielding—she does not defer to other people in the water. This mirrors her personality as it has been presented throughout the novel: she is strong, independent, and unwilling to compromise her own path. For Ricky, watching her surf is the most intimate access he has to her character, and it is the quality he most admires and hopes to find in a partner.