People We Meet on Vacation Chapter 17: Deze zomer

Spoiler Warning: This chapter summary and analysis contains spoilers for Chapter 17 of People We Meet on Vacation. If you haven't read the chapter, proceed with caution.

Summary

Poppy wakes early to buy medical supplies for Alex, whose back is in severe spasm after sleeping in a poor chair. She applies tiger balm and tries to make him comfortable, even though he resists needing help. Alex insists she go out and enjoy Palm Springs, so Poppy visits the art museum, wanders antique shops, and calls her friend Rachel to vent about the tension and the oppressive heat. She returns with sandwiches, and they have a lighter moment joking about their minimal accomplishments on the trip. The mood shifts when Alex mentions his back trouble began after their trip to Croatia. Poppy notices a job posting for a teaching position at Berkeley Carroll in New York City on his laptop and confronts him. The conversation turns raw: Alex admits he wants a traditional life—marriage, children, a home—and feels Poppy doesn’t share those desires. Poppy denies this and tearfully says she doesn’t want him to get back together with his ex, Sarah. In an attempt to lighten the atmosphere, Alex shows her his Tinder profile at her request.

Key Events

Poppy buys ice packs, tiger balm, food, and donuts to care for Alex, who has thrown out his back.
Alex forces himself to smile through the pain and insists Poppy go out without him.
Poppy explores Palm Springs alone—the art museum bores her, and antique shops hold her attention only briefly.
She calls Rachel, complaining about the heat and the awkwardness with Alex, but refuses Rachel’s offer to invent an emergency.
Alex reveals that his back issues started after their Croatia trip.
Poppy accidentally sees a job listing on Alex’s laptop for Berkeley Carroll in New York City.
They argue about life goals: Alex wants a settled family life; Poppy feels he misjudges her desires.
Poppy admits she doesn’t want Alex to marry Sarah and breaks down crying.
Alex shows Poppy his Tinder profile, and she offers to help him improve it.

Character Development

Poppy reveals a deeply nurturing side, contradicting her free-spirited persona. She admits she wants the same things Alex does—home, family—but is afraid of being judged. Her vulnerability peaks when she sobs over the idea of losing him permanently.
Alex finally articulates the core of his frustration: he craves stability and commitment, and he believes Poppy runs from those things. His confession shows his loneliness and the weight of being the “responsible” one. He also demonstrates self-awareness about his own stubbornness.
Their dynamic shifts from caretaker/patient to equal partners in a painful truth-telling session. Both admit they have missed each other, but the gap between their visions for the future seems wider than ever.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Mismatched Life Desires: The central conflict of the chapter—Alex’s need for permanence versus Poppy’s apparent restlessness—mirrors the larger rift that has kept them apart since Croatia.
Care as Intimacy: Poppy’s physical care for Alex (applying balm, sorting ice packs) becomes a metaphor for her emotional desire to mend their relationship. His reluctance to accept help symbolizes his guarded heart.
The Heat as Emotional Pressure: The relentless Palm Springs heat mirrors the suffocating tension in the apartment. The broken air conditioner (now somewhat improved) represents their strained communication—still broken, but perhaps fixable.
Croatia as a Turning Point: Alex explicitly traces his back problems to the months after Croatia, linking his physical pain to the unresolved emotional fallout from that summer.
The Tinder Profile as a Social Mask: Alex’s laughable Tinder profile—and Poppy’s offer to optimize it—serves as a comic release after the heavy argument, but also underscores how poorly both of them have learned to perform vulnerability.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 17 acts as the emotional fulcrum of the novel. It forces Poppy and Alex to voice the fundamental incompatibility that has kept them apart for two years: Alex wants a rooted, traditional life; Poppy fears that very rootedness but also craves it. For the first time, Poppy admits she does want what Alex wants, but she is terrified of being trapped—and of losing him. The argument over Sarah and the New York job brings their conflicting fears into the open. This chapter also plants the seed for the final reconciliation: both characters now know exactly what the other needs, but neither knows how to bridge the gap. The chapter’s title, “Deze zomer” (This Summer), hints that the events of this trip are the crucible in which their history will either be redeemed or permanently shattered.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Poppy react so strongly to the job listing Alex has been viewing?
Poppy sees the Berkeley Carroll listing as evidence that Alex is considering leaving Linfield and everything that ties him there. Because she still loves him, the prospect of him moving to New York—where she lives—simultaneously excites and terrifies her: it could bring them closer, but also forces him to decide between his desire for a settled life and his feelings for her.
How does Alex’s back injury function as a narrative device in this chapter?
The injury forces Poppy and Alex into close physical proximity and creates an excuse for Poppy to take charge, reversing their typical roles (she is usually the one needing rescue). The pain also lowers Alex’s defenses, allowing him to speak more honestly about his hopes and resentments. Finally, the injury ties directly to the aftermath of Croatia, symbolizing the unresolved trauma that has been “backed up” for two years.
What is ironic about Alex’s accusation that Poppy “doesn’t want the same things” as he does?
The irony is that Poppy does want many of those things—a home, family, lasting connection—but she has never admitted it because she has defined herself in opposition to Linfield and to the conventional life Alex represents. Alex’s anger blinds him to the fact that Poppy’s wanderlust is partly a defense mechanism. When she cries and says, “I love Betty’s house,” she proves she is not as different as he assumes.

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