Contents
Chapter 22
Overview
On the flight home, Jasper grapples with past love and parental neglect as Eloise learns a troubled teen employee, Blaze, acted violently at the hotel. Their disagreement over her parents escalates into a painful fight after landing. Seeking space, Jasper fetches the mail and discovers divorce papers addressed to Eloise, threatening their fragile progress.
Summary
On the final flight home from Europe, Jasper lies awake with Eloise asleep on his lap, reflecting on Ashley’s claim that Samantha still loves him and contrasting that past with what he’s learning about love from Eloise. He checks his phone, notes his parents’ indifference, and sends a reply to a pending job offer from a fighter he’d met in Vegas.
Eloise wakes to alarming texts from Taylor, the hotel’s front desk clerk. Blaze, the seventeen-year-old son of Anne’s college roommate Lydia—whom Eloise had hired as a favor—showed up unscheduled, harassed Taylor, and killed an injured bird inside the hotel. Eloise resolves to fire Blaze. Jasper insists she not do it alone and presses concerns about safety and boundaries.
During the drive from the airport, their discussion turns into an argument about Eloise’s parents. Jasper criticizes Anne for pressuring Eloise to hire Blaze and accuses Eloise of letting her parents control her because of the hotel. Eloise defends them but grows upset as Jasper admits he dislikes her parents.
At the cabin, Eloise concedes Jasper is partly right but says she still loves her parents. She calls out Jasper’s own fear of abandonment, claiming he pushes people away to avoid being hurt. Overwhelmed, she goes inside, leaving Jasper outside to cool down.
Jasper retrieves the mail and finds a large envelope from Misner Family Law addressed to Eloise. He opens it and confirms his fear: the envelope contains divorce papers, a devastating blow just as he’d been preparing to ask Eloise for a real marriage.
Who Appears
- JasperNarrator; struggles with parental neglect, past with Samantha, and fear of intimacy; quarrels with Eloise; finds divorce papers.
- EloiseAsleep on flight, then handles hotel crisis with Blaze; defends her parents; confronts Jasper’s fears; becomes upset after argument.
- BlazeTeen employee hired as a favor; shows up uninvited, harasses Taylor, and kills a bird; prompts his firing.
- TaylorFront desk clerk who reports Blaze’s behavior and is distressed by the incident.
- AnneEloise’s mother; asked Eloise to hire Blaze, drawing Jasper’s criticism for parental overreach.
- LydiaAnne’s college roommate and Blaze’s mother; moved to Quincy and sought the job favor for her son.
- SamanthaJasper’s ex; her wedding and Ashley’s words trigger Jasper’s reflection on love.