Pat looks at a professional headshot of Nikki that she had taken as a gift for Pat’s 28th birthday. He kisses the picture and says, “I know I told you that this was not such a great present, back before I started being kind rather than right” (54). He remembers that there was a video of their wedding and asks his mother where it is. She says it must have been replaced. Pat feels himself getting angry, so he goes downstairs and works out for over an hour. In his bed, he kisses the picture good night.

Pat reads The Scarlet Letter, hoping that it will impress Nikki whenever he sees her. He admires Hester, who kept trying to do good things even though the town was against her. Pat wishes the novel had a happy ending, and he hopes that one day he will be able to stand with Nikki and apologize to her publicly, as Dimmesdale did with Hester.

Cliff asks Pat to tell him about Tiffany. Pat describes her as “sort of a whore” (61) and tells Cliff about her invitation to have sex. They talk about why Pat refused and about Tiffany and him crying together.