Chapter 23

Summary

• The protagonist, Sam, is warned by her husband, Simon, not to be late for important meetings at work with Head Office attending.
• Sam discovers the car won’t start and asks her daughter, Cat, for help locating her husband, Phil, who is unhelpfully fixing a van and advises Sam to take a cab to work.
• Feeling estranged from Phil and Cat, who have become cold toward her, Sam takes a cab while managing a critical call from her demanding mother.
• Her mother asks Sam to help with household tasks like cleaning, looking up socialist hymns, and paperwork for taking in a refugee, which Sam can’t commit to due to work.
• Arriving late to her meeting, Sam faces a passive-aggressive reception from Simon, the epitome of her stressful work environment.
• At work, Sam is undermined by Simon and struggles through meetings, feeling unnoticed and unvalued by her family and colleagues.
• During a work lunch with Miriam Price, Sam is berated on the phone by Simon about a last-minute job change, causing her distress in front of the client.
• Miriam supports Sam, sharing her own experiences and suggesting that Sam might be a good fit for her company, offering her a potential job opportunity.
• Sam is left feeling emotionally overwhelmed at both the possibility of a new job and Miriam’s kindness, contrasting with her current stressful life.
• Miriam advises Sam to stand up to Simon, symbolically suggesting she wear great shoes and red lipstick to boost her confidence.