Chapter 6: The Jordans — Summary 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 6, “The Jordans,” opens on what appears to be a near-perfect day for the married couple Jordan and Jordy. With their PR firm running smoothly enough that employees have been given discretion to handle non-urgent matters, the two enjoy a leisurely Wednesday in New York City: lunch at their favorite Japanese restaurant, followed by a matinee performance starring Judith Light. They leave the theater agreeing the play was overhyped, though they praise Light's performance. The day is “almost” perfect—a word that foreshadows what's to come.

After the theater, they stop for drinks at Joe Allen's, the restaurant where they had dinner on their wedding night. Jordy gently questions whether a martini is wise given Jordan's cancer treatment, but Jordan insists on just one, saying he'll only sip it. For a while, the evening feels like old times as they debate theater trivia—including whether The Boy from Oz could be revived without Hugh Jackman. But Jordan drinks more quickly than intended and becomes drunk. When he pushes his glass forward for a refill, Jordy places his hand over the glass and tells the bartender one is enough, handing over his credit card to close the tab.

This small act of control triggers an explosive argument. Jordan announces he intends to discontinue his cancer treatment. Jordy, stunned, challenges him, suggesting that if Jordan is truly done fighting, he should trigger the pact—the funeral pact the friends have established—and attend his own funeral. Jordan rejects the idea that this decision should be made collectively, insisting it only matters how he feels. Jordy accuses him of giving up, reminding him he promised to fight to the end. Jordan counters that he has fought valiantly and that this is the end.

The argument escalates as Jordan begins issuing instructions for Jordy's life after his death: keep swimming (noting Jordy has been a different person since returning to the pool), stay in touch with Jordan's parents, and eventually settle down with someone new. Jordy responds with bitter sarcasm, joking that he'll sleep his way through the boroughs before settling down with a man named Jordan whom he'll introduce as “Also.” The joke turns pointed when Jordy brings up his own name change—he was originally Jordan too, but changed his name to Jordy because there couldn't be two Jordans in the couple. Jordy reveals his resentment at being managed and fussed over throughout Jordan's illness, insisting he doesn't need the pact and will survive on his own.

Jordan, drunk and emotionally spent, briefly hallucinates that the bartender resembles—and then becomes—their old friend Alec, whom they haven't seen in more than half their lives. When the hallucination passes, Jordan is struck by the thought that Jordy may have half his life still to live, and he wants to leave him okay. He opens his phone's messaging app and begins typing, adding names one by one: Naomi, Craig, Marielle, and finally Jordy. The chapter ends with the pact being activated.

Key Events

Jordan and Jordy enjoy a rare relaxed day in New York: lunch, a matinee, and drinks at Joe Allen's, their wedding-night restaurant.
Jordan becomes drunk on a single martini, and Jordy stops him from ordering a second, closing the tab.
Jordan announces he wants to discontinue his cancer treatment.
Jordy challenges Jordan to trigger the pact and attend his own funeral.
Jordan issues posthumous instructions to Jordy: keep swimming, stay in touch with his parents, and eventually settle down.
Jordy responds with sarcasm about the “Also” joke and reveals resentment about his name change from Jordan to Jordy.
Jordy insists he doesn't need the pact and will survive.
Jordan hallucinates that the bartender is their old friend Alec.
Jordan texts Naomi, Craig, Marielle, and Jordy, activating the pact.

Character Development

Jordan emerges as a man caught between exhaustion and defiance. His decision to stop treatment is framed not as surrender but as a rejection of being “managed” and treated like a child. He insists he has fought valiantly and that this is the end—a claim that carries both resignation and a strange kind of agency. His instructions to Jordy reveal a deep love and concern for his husband's future, even as his drunken state makes his requests feel both tender and controlling. The hallucination of Alec suggests how much Jordan's mind is already processing loss and memory.

Jordy is pushed to his emotional limit in this chapter. His gentle attempts to manage Jordan's drinking backfire, sparking the confrontation. His sarcastic “Also” monologue is a defense mechanism, but it also exposes genuine resentment: he's tired of being fussed over, tired of being defined as “half of the Jordans,” and tired of people assuming he can't cope. His insistence that he doesn't need the pact—that he will survive—is both a declaration of independence and, as Jordan perceives, a protest that rings hollow. Jordy's identity struggle (his original name was Jordan too) adds a layer of complexity to his grief.

The pact itself becomes a character of sorts in this chapter. Jordy invokes it as a challenge, and Jordan ultimately activates it, transforming it from a theoretical arrangement into a concrete action that will drive the rest of the novel.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Autonomy vs. being managed: The central conflict of the chapter. Jordan's decision to stop treatment is fundamentally about reclaiming control over his own body and choices, even as Jordy's caregiving instincts push him to manage Jordan's behavior. The martini serves as a symbol of this tension—Jordan's desire for a small pleasure, Jordy's protective impulse, and the fight that erupts when control is asserted.

Identity and selfhood: Jordy's name change—from Jordan to Jordy—becomes a flashpoint. His resentment about being renamed, and his longing to “be Jordan again,” speaks to how illness and caregiving can erode a person's sense of self. The “Also” joke is darkly funny but also a serious meditation on what it means to be replaced or to have one's identity subsumed.

Survival and resilience: Jordy's insistence that he will survive without the pact contrasts with Jordan's claim that he has fought to the end. The chapter explores different definitions of survival—physical endurance versus emotional resilience—and the burden of being the one left behind.

Legacy and instructions for the living: Jordan's requests to Jordy—swimming, staying in touch with his parents, settling down—are an attempt to shape the future from beyond. They reflect a desire to leave instructions, to ensure the living are okay, even as Jordy resists being told what to do.

Memory and hallucination: Jordan's vision of Alec as the bartender blurs the line between past and present, suggesting how grief and alcohol can summon the dead. It also foreshadows the role Alec may play in the larger narrative.

Caregiving burden: Jordy's outburst reveals the hidden cost of being the caregiver—the exhaustion, the resentment, the feeling of being unseen and uncredited.

Why This Chapter Matters

This is the chapter where the pact is actually triggered, making it a pivotal turning point in the novel. Up to this point, the pact has been a theoretical arrangement among friends; here, it becomes real, with Jordan texting Naomi, Craig, Marielle, and Jordy to summon them. The chapter also deepens our understanding of the Jordans' marriage, revealing the strain of illness on both partners and the complex dynamics of care, control, and love. It introduces the theme of identity through Jordy's name change and sets up the emotional stakes for the funeral that will follow. The hallucination of Alec hints at the novel's broader engagement with memory, friendship, and the people we carry with us.

Study Questions

1. Why does Jordan's decision to stop treatment escalate so quickly into a full-blown argument at Joe Allen's?

Jordan's decision is triggered by the martini incident—Jordy's act of stopping him from ordering a second drink. For Jordan, this small act of control crystallizes everything he resents about being “managed” by people throughout his illness. The argument escalates because both men are exhausted and grieving in different ways: Jordan is tired of being treated like a child, while Jordy is tired of being the one who has to manage everything. The public setting of the bar, and the fact that it's their wedding-night restaurant, adds emotional weight to the confrontation.

2. What does Jordy's “Also” monologue reveal about his character and his relationship with Jordan?

The “Also” monologue is a defense mechanism—a way for Jordy to deflect the pain of imagining life without Jordan by turning it into a dark joke. But it also exposes genuine resentment: Jordy is angry about having his name changed (he was originally Jordan too), about being fussed over and managed by well-meaning people, and about not being given credit for his own strength. The monologue reveals that Jordy's identity has been partially erased by his role as “half of the Jordans,” and that he longs to reclaim his own sense of self.

3. Why does Jordan activate the pact at the end of the chapter, and what does this action signify?

Jordan activates the pact after his hallucination of Alec. The vision of their old friend—someone they haven't seen in more than half their lives—reminds Jordan of the passage of time and the people who matter. He realizes that Jordy may have half his life still to live, and he wants to leave him okay. By texting Naomi, Craig, Marielle, and Jordy, Jordan is summoning his support network, acknowledging that he can't face this alone—even though he insisted earlier that the decision was his alone to make. The activation signifies a shift from isolation to community, and it sets the stage for the funeral that will bring the friends together.