Summary

In this section of the novel, Jake’s girlfriend, who is never named, admits that she is thinking about ending their relationship. She remembers how Jake once told her that thoughts cannot be faked like actions. She wonders if she knew from the beginning of the relationship how their story would end.

The Girlfriend narrates that she and Jake are driving in isolated farm country. She is going to meet his parents for the first time. Because she has already decided she is going to end the relationship, the Girlfriend thinks that she is less nervous about meeting Jake’s parents. An old country song plays on the radio. The Girlfriend realizes she has already heard it once before. They pass a deserted farm with a new swing set in front of the burned out foundation of a house, and the Girlfriend thinks...