Chapter 3
The chapter picks up right
where the last left off. Caroline can't fall back asleep and decides
to just get ready for work early. She talks to Clive a little and
gives Lady Friend #2 a nickname, Purina (cause the cat noises), but
as this is happening I got to thinking. Caroline can hear their night
time antics pretty clearly and Clive was meowing so much that
Caroline couldn't sleep, so wouldn't they have heard Clive?
Anyway...
Caroline hears LF2 leave so
she goes to her peep hole again.
“He stood just inside
his doorway – far enough inside that I couldn't see his face.”
When you look out a peephole
you really can't see to the left or the right. You can a little, but
you really only get the space right in front of your door. So, the
only way Caroline could be seeing anything useful is if Simon was in
the apartment across from her. But if that is the case then how do
their bedrooms share a wall? I hope confusing architecture does not
become a trend on this blog.
Anyway...
LF2 says 'Do svidaniya' and
Caroline almost, but doesn't, see Simon. One thing that is curious
though, if he is across the hall, how does she not see him when LF2
leaves? She narrates that he is too far in his apartment, but if that
is the case why would she “strain” to see him through her
peephole? It's confusing is all.
“...I pondered what in
the world might be required to make a woman meow.”
Cat videos? But that sounds
way less “exciting” than what probably went on.
Caroline talks about her
boss, a woman named Jillian that she interned for in her last year at
Berkley. Their firms design aesthetic is “modern”.
“She hired me after my
internship was over, and she'd provided the best experience a young
designer could ask for.”
When you say “young” how
young do you mean? Cause, as I have said, I feel like her character
is in her thirties. She talks like a woman in her thirties and she
has the lifestyle of a woman in her thirties. Don't get me wrong,
there is nothing wrong with women over 29, and I'm not saying that it
is impossible for a woman in her mid-twenties to live on her own and
have a career but in this day and age it's unlikely. As a person in
their mid-twenties, I can attest to the difficulties in finding
gainful employment. I work at a bookstore and I have coworkers with
BA's, MA's, someone even interviewed who had a PhD. It takes a lot to
live on your own and not drown in debt, unless Caroline is from a
wealthy family, which given her condescension toward the movers and
dislike of shabby chic is very possible. Either way it makes me think
of this
She gets to work and it is
in the Russian Hill area of San Fran. This is an actual place, and
given how she only needed to take one short cable car ride to get
there, it makes me rethink her whole rent situation. Originally, I
guessed it would be somewhere in the 2,500 range, but if she lives
that close to work, it is more like 3,000. I know I keep bringing up
money, but this bugs me. In a historical fiction, I can suspend my
disbelief about wealth because it's already pretty fantastical, but
this is supposed to be realistic and I don't know that it is. This is
someone's reality, I suppose, and I do like that she will not be
financially indebted to her OLI (Obvious Love Interest), but everything feels like bragging.
I can't relate to her as a character or emotively. I know this is a
“me problem” but this is supposed to be my initial feels as I
read a book, so
It says "Honesty"
Caroline gets to her office
which she describes in loving detail. The short of it is, it's modern
furniture with pop art accents and fresh flowers. Her boss comes in
and we find out that Jillian is subletting the apartment to Caroline.
“The rent control made
the price obscenely low.”
Okay, that explains part of
her finances to me, but “obscenely low” for that area would still
put it in the 2k range.
Caroline yawns and Jillian
asks whats up. Caroline counters by asking when was the last time
that she had slept there. It was over a year ago when Jillian's
fiancee was out of town.
“Self-made millionaire,
venture capitalist, and knockout gorgeous. My friends and I had a
killer crush.”
She has a crush on her
boss/friend's fiancee, anyone else think that is weird?
Jillian explains that
someone new moved into the apartment within the last year or so, and
that she does not know the person. They talk about Caroline hearing
“sexy times”
“'Straight up sex is
coming through those walls. And not sweet, boring sex either. We're
talking...interesting.'”
If you think spanking
requires a “...interesting” your sex life must not be very
varied.
“I don't care how old
you are, or what background you come from, there are two universal
truths. We will always laugh at...gas if it happens at the wrong
time, and we are always curious about what goes on in other people's
bedrooms.”
Unless your asexual, or me.
I generally don't care about what is or isn't going on in other
people's bedrooms unless it directly effects me or my circle. As long
as everyone is a consenting adult, I am disinterested. This is partly
why most celebrity drama does nothing for me.
Their conversation pretty
much goes like this
Jillian calls Simon
impressive but Caroline says this
“'Come on, impressive?
No. Manwhore? Yes.'”
And just like with Boy
Window, I'm left wondering why my main characters insist on
slut-shaming. How dare these people have and enjoy sex. Sex is
supposed to be like dealing with internet trolls – pointless and
frustrating.
Then we get a title drop
before Jillian leaves to do actual work.
A page break happens and we
are at the end of Caroline's big important meeting with her potential
clients. They are blow away by her presentation. Jillian
congratulates her.
“'Proud of you, kid.'”
Geb's laughing belly, she
really is my age isn't she?
We get another page break
and Caroline went out drinking with Sophia and Mimi. Drunk Caroline
talks about how pretty they are and tries to smooch Sophia on the
cheek.
“'You smell like
tequila and sexual repression'”
A line that I will admit is
kinda funny, although I'm not sure how “repressed” Caroline is.
Caroline flops on her bed
and starts to undress.
“...my pants going the
way of my blouse. Ask me why I kept my heels on, and I will never be
able to tell you.”
I am curious though,
considering you would have to take them off to get your pants off.
Which means you took them off, took your pants off, then put them
back on.
The BFF's tuck Caroline in
but not before the tell-tale thump starts up and this time with
another new lady.
“She was giggling. She
was a dirty, dirty giggler.”
Apparently, Lady Friend #3
laughs during sex which must not be very encouraging for Simon. I
just imagine he is all into it and thinking he is awesome then she
starts to laugh while trying to talk dirty. Not only would it kill
the mood but I can only imagine it coming off sounding sarcastic.
Like
Anyway...
Same song different chorus,
and the chapter ends with
“While the three of us
recovered from the Giggler, Clive returned to play in the corner with
a cotton ball.
Giggler, I think I
hate you most of all...”
And that's chapter 3. 27
pages in and no real complaints, but no real praise either. This is
actually my finish it or quit point when reading a novel. If it
doesn't get me hooked by chapter 3 (out of either interest or hate) I
will usually give up. And to be honest, I would put this book down,
but since this is not just for my pleasure, but for yours as well
gentle reader, I will bravely move forward.
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