Chapter 16

Natalie pushes Caleb to find work, but he suggests travel, buying a farm, or settling near her mother instead of employment. His unserious plans and idle “help” with the baby escalate her frustration. After he flaunts daytime yoga in the driveway, Natalie appeals to her mother, who prompts Natalie to call Amelia, triggering a scolding from Caleb’s mother.

During the silent, tense drive to California, Natalie notes Caleb’s shock and anger at her going over his head. When Caleb finally whispers that he “didn’t know” she was unhappy, Natalie insists she wants them to settle, while he deflects with claims of post-college uncertainty.

They arrive at the Mills family’s guarded Napa estate, where Doug and Amelia greet them as model hosts. Clementine charms her grandparents, and Natalie plays the agreeable daughter-in-law. Caleb, sullen, asks for a glass of milk, deepening Natalie’s disquiet about his arrested maturity and his dependence on his parents’ wealth.

Inside, Natalie observes the estate’s cold minimalism and an invisible staff trained to be discreet. She senses Caleb shrinking under his parents’ chatter and control. Doug’s curious gaze seems to question why she married Caleb, prompting Natalie’s internal acknowledgment that she’d taken him on as a project.

Alone in Caleb’s opulent, impersonal childhood room, Natalie comforts a crying Clementine and realizes that while Reena returns to college, she likely will not finish her own degree. The visit crystallizes Caleb’s marginal position within his family and the cost to Natalie’s ambitions.