Chapter 9 Summary: A Man Named Dick

⚠️ 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 9 shifts perspective to Dick Eikenborn, a fifty-four-year-old hardware executive, opening with a morning ritual: after an eighteen-mile bike ride that shaves two minutes off his personal best, he rewards himself by posting a series of shirtless selfies—including one nearly explicit photo—to a secret online dating profile. He doesn't actually use the profile to meet anyone; he enjoys the reactions and the provocative messages he receives, though a seed of doubt about whether those women are real has been planted by Olga.

The chapter then traces the origin of this habit. While traveling, Dick woke up thinking of Olga and, feeling vulnerable and longing for her, sent her a naked photo from his hotel terrace. She replied tersely, reminding him it was her business line. He bought them both new phones, but she never used hers, and the unsolicited photos continued until she told him plainly that no one needed mounting photo evidence of their affair.

Dick eventually asked his wife Sheila for a divorce—a move that felt liberating but also expensive. Olga warned him that if Sheila learned he'd been sleeping with the wedding planner, the cost would be far higher. After the divorce, Dick stayed at his family's Vineyard estate to establish it as his primary residence, a lonely place in early spring. His adult children—Victoria, Richard, and Sam—grew distant, and their absence made him acutely aware of his own mortality.

His greatest miscalculation, however, was with Olga. He had assumed she would move in with him after he left Sheila, but when he finally asked her over a room-service dinner at the Carlyle, she laughed and refused, saying she liked things exactly as they were—spontaneous, without the pressure of commitment. He confided in his assistant Charmaine, who reminded him that many women would want to be with a rich man who left his wife, but Dick insisted he wanted to chase Olga, to pin her down and make her love him as much as he loved her.

In an effort to move on, he joined a dating app anonymously, posting headless photos and a cautious self-description. The likes came immediately, but they only made him more resolved to win Olga's commitment. When he asked her why she didn't like his photos, she dismissed them, arguing that women don't actually enjoy such images—that it's a lazy patriarchal assumption. She also suggested that the women on dating apps might not be real, citing her cousin Mabel's experience with a man who lied about his height. Dick was genuinely confused by the idea that people would misrepresent themselves.

The chapter closes with Dick reflecting on his business successes—how he saved the family hardware chain during his father's Alzheimer's diagnosis, expanded into new markets, and capitalized on the recession and climate change. These achievements left him confident in his place in the world, and he saw Olga as the missing piece. He resolved that getting her to commit was simply a matter of finding the right approach.

Key Events

Dick posts shirtless selfies to a secret dating profile after a morning ride.
Flashback: Dick sends Olga naked photos while traveling; she tells him to use a personal line.
Dick buys new phones for both of them; Olga never uses hers.
Dick asks Sheila for a divorce; Olga warns him about the financial and personal costs.
Dick moves to the Vineyard estate and feels lonely as his children grow distant.
Dick assumes Olga will move in with him, but she rejects his offer of cohabitation.
Dick confides in his assistant Charmaine about his frustration.
Dick joins a dating app anonymously, posting headless photos.
Olga dismisses his photos and suggests the women on the app might not be real.
Dick reflects on his business successes and resolves to find a new way to win Olga's commitment.

Character Development

This chapter is a deep dive into Dick Eikenborn's psyche, revealing a man who is confident in business but emotionally naive. His habit of posting selfies stems from a need for validation, especially from Olga, whom he sees as his personal fountain of youth. His assumption that Olga would move in with him shows a fundamental misunderstanding of her desires—he projects his own need for commitment onto her, without ever asking what she wants.

Dick's loneliness after the divorce is palpable. He misses his children and feels the weight of mortality, yet he remains unable to see his own flaws. When Olga points out that people on dating apps might be lying about themselves, he is genuinely perplexed, revealing a lack of empathy for those who don't share his privileged confidence. His business acumen, however, is sharp: he sees opportunities where others see crises, and he has built a legacy. But his emotional intelligence lags far behind, and his resolution to