Chapter 2 (Chapter 1): Arrival at the Cornwall Inn

⚠️ 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

Phoebe Stone arrives at the Cornwall Inn in Newport with no luggage, wearing an emerald silk dress and gold heels from her wedding. She has left her husband, house, and ordinary life behind after a divorce finalized during lockdown. The hotel is filled with wedding guests for Lila and Gary. In the lobby, bride Lila gives each guest a gift bag filled with full‑sized liquor bottles. Phoebe checks in; the front‑desk clerk Pauline assigns her the Roaring Twenties penthouse suite.

In the elevator, Lila’s hand is cut when she stops the closing doors. Phoebe reveals she has come to kill herself at sunset. Lila begs her not to, insisting this is her wedding week. Phoebe shows her a Discman with Sax for Lovers and explains her plan: pills, room service, no mess. When Lila asks about Phoebe’s husband and children, Phoebe hands her a tissue and says, “Consider it a wedding gift.” The doors open to the top floor, where bridesmaids High Bun and Neck Pillow greet Lila. Phoebe goes to her room, locks the door, and drinks the German chocolate wine from the gift bag, realizing small losses are hardest to accept.

Key Events

Phoebe arrives at the Cornwall Inn without luggage, only an emerald dress.
She checks in amid a lobby full of wedding people for Lila and Gary.
Bride Lila gives Phoebe a gift bag, assuming she is a guest.
In the elevator, Lila’s hand is cut on the door; Phoebe reveals her suicide plan.
Lila begs Phoebe not to die during her wedding week.
Phoebe refuses, hands Lila a tissue, and exits to her room.
Alone, Phoebe drinks chocolate wine and reflects on the pain of never again.

Character Development

Phoebe Stone: Emerges from a period of lockdown isolation and a failed marriage. She is resolute about ending her life, yet capable of dry humor and defiance. Her past self—a professor who wore “normal” shirts and agreed with her husband about what was selfish—is replaced by a woman who acts without hesitation.
Lila (the bride): Introduced as a polished, entitled wedding planner who expects everything to go perfectly. Her first cracks appear when she cuts her hand; her desperation grows when Phoebe’s plan threatens her celebration. She transitions from a “momentary celebrity” to a pleading young woman.
Pauline (front desk): Eager, slightly overwhelmed, and kind. She represents the hotel staff trying to maintain service in a post‑Covid world.
High Bun and Neck Pillow: Bridesmaids absorbed in their own petty concerns. They remain oblivious to the drama unfolding around them, highlighting the contrast between ordinary wedding talk and Phoebe’s crisis.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The Invisible Wire: Phoebe imagines love as an invisible wire connecting her to her husband, a connection that persists even after divorce. The wire is both a comfort and a trap.
Wedding as Performance: Lila wears a glittering sash and practices hugs; the bridesmaids lie about their flights. The wedding is a carefully managed spectacle that Phoebe’s confession threatens to tear apart.
Happy Place as Illusion: Phoebe chose the hotel because it was the only place she could imagine being happy—a bed she had never slept in. She now realizes happiness is internal, not tied to location.
Blood and Mess: Lila’s bleeding hand and Phoebe’s insistence on a “bloodless” suicide connect to the unruinable stain on the bride’s dress and the memory of a friend who survived a wrist‑slashing, leaving her husband to clean the grout.
Ordinary vs. Extraordinary: Phoebe abandons her “normal” professor clothes for an emerald dress; she rejects the everyday routines (grading, printer talk) in favor of a final, spectacular act.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter establishes the central conflict of the novel: Phoebe’s determination to die collides with Lila’s determination to have a flawless wedding week. It sets the tone of dark comedy and emotional rawness, introduces Phoebe’s past marriage and her current isolation, and positions Lila as a character whose self‑absorption is both infuriating and human. The locked‑room ending promises that Phoebe’s plan will unfold against the backdrop of the wedding people, forcing both women into an uneasy proximity.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Phoebe leave everything behind—her husband, her luggage, her normal clothes?
She believes that to move on and carry out her suicide plan, she must shed all traces of her old life. The emerald dress and wedding heels are the only items she still loves because they were never worn; they represent potential rather than memory.

2. What does the gift bag (with chocolate wine) symbolize in this scene?
It symbolizes the bride’s expectation that every guest is part of her celebration and the superficial kindness of wedding favors. For Phoebe, it becomes a final comfort—a taste of something she will never have again.

3. How does Lila’s reaction to Phoebe’s suicide plan reveal her character?
Lila’s first instinct is to protect her wedding, not Phoebe’s well‑being. She pleads from a place of entitlement (“This is my wedding week”) but also shows genuine panic. Her later question about husband and children suggests she cannot imagine a life so empty; her shock highlights her youth and inexperience.