A Scatter Of Light

Matthew leaves after a few days in Woodacre to start his writers’ retreat. Aria reminisces about earlier family trips to Woodacre and feels “displaced and yet cornered” (29). She feels anxious whenever she thinks about Jacob, and even a text from her best friend, Tasha, makes her feel panicked. Aria goes to the grocery store to buy new shampoo and runs into Steph. Steph offers to walk Aria out while she waits for the store manager, Lisa, to finish her shift.

Outside the store, Steph sits down next to Aria, and Aria notices that she finds Steph “cute—exactly the way [she] might feel about any boy” (32), which confuses her. Steph confides in Aria that she’s worried about Joan’s memory; Joan has seemed forgetful and confused. Aria isn’t particularly worried but assures Steph that she’ll talk to her dad about it. Another woman approaches them while they talk, and Steph introduces Aria to her friend Mel. Lisa emerges from the store, and from their body language, Aria realizes with “a tiny jab of disappointment” (35) that Steph and Lisa are a couple. Before leaving, Mel invites Aria to Steph’s open mic in Fairfax later that week, and with some persistent encouragement, Aria agrees to go.