Summary

Toby thinks back to when he and Rachel attended couples therapy. In therapy sessions, Rachel denied being mean and neglectful, and she portrayed herself as the victim. Toby thought that she was lying or mistaken. Libby states in narration that Toby’s first priority in relationships seemed to be trying to find someone who “wasn’t crazy” (272). Libby thinks that Toby entered into a boring and unhappy marriage because of this strange and subjective criterion. Libby also thinks that Rachel is “cruel and unloving” (274). The narrative shifts to Toby, who receives a call from the hospital. Karen Cooper has become unconscious again. Karen has apparently had an unforeseeable hemorrhagic stroke, and her husband David is devastated. Fleishman then talks privately with Karen’s sister, who says that Karen was unhappy in her marriage and was planning on divorcing David. She says that David is...