Chapter 26
Summary
- Nisha is cramped in the backseat of a car driving across London with Sam and her friend Andrea, who appears seriously ill but cheerful.
- Andrea teases Sam about an affair; Sam denies it but admits to kissing someone.
- Nisha observes Sam's tender interaction with Andrea and reflects on her own past, feeling a pang of jealousy.
- Nisha's anger about Sam borrowing her shoes and giving them away is juxtaposed with doubts about whether the mix-up was intentional or an accident.
- The group arrives at Global Cat Foundation, a charity shop where Sam's daughter donated the shoes, to Nisha's dismay.
- In the shop, they discover the shoes are not on display and may be in storage. The two search unsuccessfully.
- Sam tries to ask the shop assistant about the shoes but Nisha takes over, demanding to see the shoes donated the previous day. The store denies liability for sold items.
- They learn the red Christian Louboutins have been sold; the shop refuses to share the buyer's information, citing data protection.
- Andrea fakes a collapse in the shop, creating a diversion for Nisha to find and steal the buyer's details from the ledger.
- Outside, Andrea admits her collapse was an act and they decide to track down the buyer of the shoes.
- Sam reflects on her troubled personal life, questioning if her actions amount to cheating on her husband.
- The group arrives at the buyer's address, debating ethical ways to retrieve the shoes, deciding against breaking in.
- They witness the shoe buyer cruelly throwing a cat in a bin, tipping the group's moral compass towards taking action.
- At Jasmine's, a teenage girl, a strategy session takes place to reclaim the shoes. Sam, Nisha, and Andrea meet Jasmine, who offers to help.
- The evening turns into a bonding session over snacks, stories, and shared tasks, with everyone chipping in on Jasmine's ironing job.
- Finally, despite initial hesitations, they come together with a plan to recover Nisha's shoes without resorting to violence or illegal acts.
- Sam returns home to her sleeping husband, filled with the events of the evening and a refusal to discuss their issues.