Chapter 20

Summary

• Cat is in Colleen's room, removing nail polish, while downstairs her mother does a fitness video.
• Cat claims to have seen her mother hugging a man near a boxing club and suspects an affair due to her mother's unusual shoes and behavior.
• She debates whether to tell her father, Phil, about the suspected affair, given his depression.
• Phil, in a therapy session, discusses his wife's changed behavior and his reluctance to question her about it.
• The therapist explores Phil's feelings of helplessness and revisits the psychological impact of his father's illness and death.
• Phil recounts his father's demanding request for euthanasia, his harsh words, and Phil's subsequent trauma associated with being unable to comply.
• Nisha, another character, has feelings for Aleks, a chef at her work, despite their limited and challenging interactions.
• Nisha is self-aware of her attraction to Aleks and her missed sexual intimacy, but expresses disdain for his presumed lack of aspirations.
• Cat, at home, expects Phil to be in a state of lethargy, but instead, finds him gone from his usual spot on the couch.
• Cat confronts Phil about her mother's absence and suspected affair and shows him the incriminating shoes as proof.
• Sam, Cat's mother, is excited about her new interest in boxing and a meeting with a woman who could offer a job opportunity.
• Phil and Cat eat without Sam and avoid discussing the tension in the family.
• Phil is haunted by both his father's death and the revelation of his wife's affair.
• Feeling the need for action, Phil cleans out the neglected camper-van and discards collected waste, including the shoes.
• Phil remains outside fixing the van instead of confronting Sam about the affair.