Summary

In Stop 14, “The Gallaghers’ House (Again),” Aidan and Clare arrive at Aidan’s house dripping wet. They sneak inside and change. Aidan gives Clare a UCLA sweatshirt. He dons a Harvard sweatshirt. They drink hot chocolate in the kitchen. Aidan tells Clare she should be more impulsive, the way she was when she jumped into the lake and forgot “about the rules for a minute” (207).

Mr. Gallagher comes into the kitchen. After making his coffee he sits with Aidan and Clare. He does not seem upset. He asks Clare about college. As she answers, she realizes “she feels ready to dive in” (211). Convinced Aidan and Mr. Gallagher should talk, Clare dismisses herself, pretending to call her parents. She stands around the corner, eavesdropping.

Mr. Gallagher tells Aidan he and his mom were high school sweethearts. He thinks Aidan and Clare “seem great...