Chapter 7 Summary, Analysis, and Key Themes
⚠️ 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 7 opens the morning after the previous chapter, with the narrator driving west on Interstate 10 in Jack Stapleton's black Range Rover, heading to meet his parents while fully in character as his pretend girlfriend. Glenn has sent over a wardrobe for the occasion—an embroidered sundress with sandals and a messy bun—which leaves the narrator feeling unprofessional, exposed, and vulnerable. She misses her pantsuit.
She reflects on why she agreed to this arrangement. When her own mother was sick, she was devoted to bolstering her spirits and protecting her from despair, and she understands Jack's motivation is similar—he wants to shield his mother from stress. She had done a route assessment the night before and was fine with the plan in theory, but now that it's actually happening, she's less certain.
Jack, in contrast, seems completely at ease, lounging in the driver's seat with unbrushed hair, aviator sunglasses, and a casual polo-and-khakis outfit. The narrator notes that despite having visited the Eiffel Tower, the Acropolis, the Taj Mahal, and the Forbidden City, she has never been to a Texas ranch—she was always too busy escaping. She packed a pair of red cowboy boots her mother gave her for her eighteenth birthday, on principle.
Jack asks if she's nervous. She lies and says no. He mentions that his brother hates him and will get rid of them quickly. She tries to get him to talk about his brother, but he refuses, citing the nondisclosure agreement.
She pulls out her J.S. file and begins the Very Personal Questionnaire. Jack answers questions about drugs, vices, obsessions, anger management, and medical concerns. He mentions a freckle shaped like Australia. When she asks about sleeping difficulties, he admits to recurrent nightmares—about drowning. When she asks about phobias, he admits to a fear of drowning and, more specifically, a phobia of bridges.
He explains how the bridge phobia manifests: when they reach the Brazos River bridge, he will pull over, get out, and walk across on foot while she drives the car over. If he's alone, he holds his breath and drives across, then has to pull off the road to throw up. She asks why he's afraid of bridges, but he deflects, saying America's infrastructure isn't as sturdy as people think.
They never finish the questionnaire. When they reach the bridge, Jack really does pull over and walk across. The narrator drives the car over and waits for him on the other side, watching the tension in his face as he crosses. When he reaches her, his face is pale and sweaty. She says he wasn't joking; he replies that he never jokes about bridges. Then he shifts back into his relaxed, carefree persona.
Jack asks if she's done any acting. She admits she's only portrayed barnyard animals in Christmas pageants, though she notes there are elements of acting in her job—blending into the background, playing a role. He says he'll tell his parents she's his girlfriend, and she just needs to be pleasant and smile. She worries they won't believe him, but Jack says she's totally his type.
She doesn't buy it. She's done a Google search and seen his exes—women she describes as Barbie dolls, one with so much cosmetic surgery she wonders if her mother misses her face. She brings up Kennedy Monroe, his real girlfriend. Jack says his parents don't pay attention to that stuff—they don't even know he's dating Kennedy Monroe, despite the People magazine cover in matching sweaters. If they ask, he'll say they broke up. He says they know nothing in Hollywood is real. The narrator wonders if Kennedy Monroe is not real, but feels too shy to ask.
She remembers Robby's voice saying there was no way she could pass as Jack's girlfriend, and she hates that she agrees with him.
Jack says their best option is for her to smile a lot. Then they discuss physical contact. He asks if he can hold her hand, drape an arm over her shoulders, and whisper in her ear. She agrees with conditions: no surprise nakedness, clothes stay on. He mentions stage kissing—a technique where it looks like a kiss but mouths don't touch, like cupping her face and kissing his thumb. They agree not to try it today, since it takes practice. She awkwardly says that if a real kiss is necessary, she's fine with it, and immediately feels like she sounds like a loony bird.
Jack thanks her for what she's doing for him and his mom, says he doesn't want to make her uncomfortable, and they agree to tell each other if either messes up. He cranks up the radio, rolls back the sunroof, and finds a fresh piece of cinnamon gum.
Key Events
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The narrator drives with Jack to meet his parents, wearing a sundress from Glenn's pretend-girlfriend wardrobe.
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Jack reveals his brother hates him and will get rid of them quickly.
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During the Very Personal Questionnaire, Jack admits to recurrent drowning nightmares and phobias of drowning and bridges.
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Jack demonstrates his bridge phobia by walking across the Brazos River bridge on foot while the narrator drives the car over.
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Jack asks about the narrator's acting experience; she admits she has none beyond Christmas pageants.
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Jack reveals his parents don't know about Kennedy Monroe, despite the People magazine cover.
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They negotiate the physical boundaries of their fake relationship, including hand-holding, arm-draping, and stage kissing.
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Jack thanks her and they agree to communicate if either feels uncomfortable.
Character Development
Jack Stapleton: This chapter peels back the confident, carefree movie-star facade to reveal genuine vulnerability. His admission of recurrent drowning nightmares and his phobia of bridges—complete with a ritual of walking across bridges on foot and vomiting when he can't—humanizes him in a way his celebrity persona never could. The bridge crossing scene is particularly revealing: the narrator watches the tension in his face and the focus in his eyes as he makes a straight line from one shore to the other, and afterward he's pale and sweating. Yet he immediately shifts back into character, a relaxed, carefree guy who has it all. This contrast between his public performance and his private struggle is central to his character. His deflection when asked why he's afraid of bridges suggests a deeper trauma he's not ready to share. His consideration for the narrator's comfort—asking about touching, offering stage kissing, agreeing to communicate—shows a thoughtful side beneath the bravado.
The Narrator: She's out of her element in the sundress, feeling uncharacteristically vulnerable and missing her pantsuit. Her professional identity is tied to her clothing and her role; without them, she feels naked. Her empathy for Jack grows as she understands his motivation (protecting his mother, just as she tried to protect her own). She's also self-aware about her own insecurities—she doesn't believe she's Jack's type, she remembers Robby's doubt, and she feels shy about asking whether Kennedy Monroe is real. Her awkwardness about the potential real kiss reveals her own growing attraction, which she immediately tries to suppress.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Vulnerability and Trust: Jack's confession about his nightmares and phobias is a significant act of trust. He doesn't have to tell her—she even says he doesn't have to—but he does. The bridge crossing is a physical manifestation of his vulnerability, and the narrator witnessing it creates an intimacy between them.
Performance and Authenticity: The entire chapter is about performance—the narrator performing as a girlfriend, Jack performing as a carefree celebrity, the stage kissing technique that looks real but isn't. The question of what's real (Is Kennedy Monroe real? Is Jack's relaxed persona real?) runs throughout.
Boundaries and Consent: The negotiation over physical touch is a model of consent. Jack asks before each type of contact, and the narrator sets her own conditions (no surprise nakedness). This establishes the rules of their fake relationship and foreshadows how they'll navigate intimacy.
Professional Identity vs. Personal Self: The narrator's discomfort in the sundress highlights how her professional identity (pantsuits, blending in, being invisible) is stripped away in this role. She's forced to be visible, personal, and vulnerable.
Escape from the Past: The narrator's observation that she was always too busy escaping connects to her own history, and Jack's bridge phobia suggests a past he's trying to escape as well.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is a turning point in the novel. It's the first time Jack reveals genuine vulnerability to the narrator, moving him from a celebrity archetype to a complex, wounded person. The bridge scene is a powerful visual metaphor for trust—she literally drives the car while he walks, and they meet on the other side. The negotiation of physical boundaries sets up the rules for their fake relationship, which will inevitably become complicated as real feelings develop. The Kennedy Monroe question plants a seed of doubt about Jack's real life, and the narrator's awkward admission about being fine with a real kiss hints at her growing attraction. This chapter establishes the emotional foundation for everything that follows.
Study Questions
1. Why does Jack choose to reveal his drowning nightmares and bridge phobia to the narrator during the questionnaire?
Jack's decision to answer the questionnaire honestly—despite his earlier refusal to discuss his brother—suggests a growing trust in the narrator. He could have deflected or lied, as he does with the bridge question's why. But he chooses to share his nightmares and phobias, perhaps because the questionnaire format gives him permission to be honest, or because he senses the narrator is someone he can be vulnerable with. The fact that he demonstrates the phobia in real time by walking across the bridge reinforces that this is a genuine, lived struggle, not a performance.
2. What does the narrator's discomfort in the sundress reveal about her character?
The sundress strips away her professional armor. She misses her pantsuit, feels weirdly naked, and is worried about rattlesnakes and fire ants. This reveals how much of her identity is tied to her professional role—she's a bodyguard, someone who blends in and stays in control. Without that role, she's just a person, and that vulnerability is uncomfortable for her. It also foreshadows the central tension of the novel: she's being asked to play a role that requires her to be visible and personal, which is the opposite of her training.
3. How does the negotiation over physical touch establish the rules of their fake relationship?
Jack asks permission for each type of contact—holding hands, draping an arm over her shoulders, whispering in her ear—and the narrator sets her own conditions (no surprise nakedness). This establishes a framework of consent and communication that will be important as their relationship deepens. It also shows Jack's consideration for her comfort, which complicates her view of him as just a client. The stage kissing discussion introduces the idea that their physical intimacy will be choreographed and controlled, but the narrator's awkward admission about being fine with a real kiss hints that the boundaries may not hold.
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