Contents
Chapter 22
Overview
In a flashback to June 15 a decade earlier, Will leaves Fern’s apartment to catch a flight but proposes a one-year check-in at Brookbanks. When Fern’s boyfriend Jamie comes up, Will refuses ongoing contact to avoid entanglement. They choose the docks as the meeting place, and Will departs.
Summary
On the morning after their day together, Fern wakes to find Will writing at her table. He is already preparing to leave for breakfast with his sister and a flight, and he gives Fern a torn sketch he made of her. Hoping to carry the connection forward, he suggests they check in in one year when he returns for his father’s wedding.
Will writes a date—June 14, 3 p.m., at Brookbanks—into his notebook, and Fern agrees. They select the docks by the beach as the exact meeting spot, teasing about canoeing. The plan excites Fern, hinting at possibilities she can’t fully articulate.
When Fern asks for Will’s number and address, Will pulls back. He reveals he knows about Jamie and says it’s better not to stay in touch. Fern admits she wanted a day where the world—and Jamie—didn’t exist, but insists she would never cheat. Will affirms he likes Fern but maintains that ongoing contact would be a bad idea.
They part with a clear boundary: no texts, no social media, no mix CDs, just the promise to meet in one year at Brookbanks. Fern confesses she will miss him; Will, visibly moved, tells her not to let him down. He leaves, and Fern is left with a deepening sense that her feelings are more than fleeting attraction.
Who Appears
- Fern BrookbanksNarrator; agrees to a one-year meeting with Will, admits feelings despite having Jamie.
- Will BaxterProposes a one-year check-in at Brookbanks; refuses contact due to Fern’s boyfriend; leaves for the airport.
- JamieFern’s boyfriend, prompting Will’s no-contact boundary.
- Will’s sisterHas a breakfast planned with Will the morning he leaves.
- Will’s fatherHis upcoming wedding provides the reason for next year’s visit.