59 pages • 1-hour read
First-Time Caller
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Chapters 13-17Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary: “Lucie”
Content Warnings: This section of the guide includes discussion of cursing, sexual content, substance use, and gender discrimination.
Lucie and Maya are spending time with Patty at the café as Lucie’s new cellphone buzzes with messages from Heartstrings callers. As Maya and Patty read the texts, Maya notices one from Aiden, asking if the callers are bothering her. Lucie distracts her daughter with pizza and wonders if she should focus on family rather than dating.
Lucie reads more messages later, finding one from a man named Elliott that intrigues her. However, she texts Aiden back first, telling him about a text from a listener that included a photo of the man’s pet lizard. Lucie and Aiden banter over whether their new professional relationship constitutes friendship. Aiden teases her for being the only one excited about the corporate sponsorship from the tire company.
At work the next day, Lucie’s coworkers also read the messages on the station phone, insisting that she should go on an in-person date soon. Her coworkers, Dan, Angelo, and Harvey, persuade her to let them pick candidates. They assure her that they truly care about her happiness, and Lucie is touched.
Lucie goes to meet a customer, initially struck by his muscular physique and blond hair. The interaction becomes more challenging when he asks for an unusual modification to his classic Chevrolet truck. Lucie is dismayed but politely listens until she finally expresses dismay at the idea. She is surprised to see the man smile after she tells him, “[Y]ou should be reported to some sort of vintage car police” (154). The man insists that she should do any repairs his car needs herself. She is surprised by her newfound assertiveness and feels slightly attracted to the customer.
At their next recording session, Lucie tells Aiden she feels ready to pick a date. He seems skeptical, but Lucie inwardly reminds herself, “I want a connection with someone that feels real and I can’t do that if I keep sitting here in the booth with Aiden” (158). She notices Aiden’s necklace. Aiden reluctantly agrees that Lucie should use the show to find dates.
In the transcript, Lucie and Aiden discuss her first date. Aiden says that besides finding love, Lucie is bringing more entertainment to his life.
Chapter 14 Summary: “Aiden”
Aiden sits at the radio station, uncomfortably aware that Lucie is on a date. His irritation grows as he discusses Lucie’s plans with listeners. During a commercial break, Jackson tries to draw Aiden out, seemingly aware of his interest in Lucie. They are interrupted by the news that a furious man in the lobby is saying that something has gone wrong for Lucie.
Aiden leaves Jackson to start the weather report early. He arrives in the lobby, where a tall, furious man with curly hair tells him, “I trusted you to take this seriously. You said you wouldn’t make fun of her” (164). He explains that something went wrong on the date and blames Aiden, getting into his personal space. Lucie rushes in and scolds the man, Grayson, for threatening Aiden. Aiden finds himself furious when Grayson points out that Lucie has been crying. Aiden thinks, “I want to wrap her in a blanket and make her some of my secret coffee. I want to punch Elliott in the fucking face” (166).
Maggie rushes up, demanding to know why Aiden is not on air. Grayson introduces himself, and Maggie realizes that she owns one of his paintings. Aiden refuses to continue the show until he knows what happened to Lucie. She reluctantly explains that her date was trying to prove that all women are easily duped by relying on lines from movies and other pop culture clichés to win her over. Grayson declares that he is obviously the only person qualified to select Lucie’s future dates.
In the Heartstrings transcript, Jackson gives a weather monologue.
Chapter 15 Summary: “Lucie”
Lucie is disheartened by her recent setbacks and ready to give up on her new plan to take romantic risks. Aiden gently suggests that Lucie can leave the show if she has changed her mind. She asks, pointedly, if that is what he wants, given his jaded outlook. She suggests that he could take the opportunity to reclaim his show for himself, but Aiden declines.
Lucie decides that the show has widened her world and that she is not ready to give that up, declaring, “[M]aybe that’s its own sort of bravery, that I’m willing to try again” (176). Lucie reluctantly remembers her date, where Elliott mocked her for believing she deserved love or any standards in a partner as a single mother. After Aiden checks that she is ready for him to start the show, Lucie soothes herself by listening to his voice.
After the broadcast, Lucie is on a bench outside the station. Aiden finds her and expresses curiosity about why Lucie and Grayson are not still a couple since they obviously care for each other. Lucie explains that Grayson offered to marry her when she became pregnant but that she knew he deserved grand romance, not settling for a childhood friend. Lucie explains that she is grateful Grayson has Mateo since both her family and Grayson’s disowned them for refusing to marry and deciding to raise Maya rather than pursue adoption. Aiden is furious on Lucie’s behalf. Lucie sits quietly with him, feeling tired. She asks if he believes she will find “[her] magic,” and he tells her, “I think you’re the magic” (182).
The Heartstrings transcript features Grayson dramatically declaring his mission to find Lucie love. He describes all of her best qualities and assures listeners that she is an incredible person.
Chapter 16 Summary: “Lucie”
Days later, Lucie sits alone in a restaurant. The date Grayson chose for her is nearly an hour late. Lucie decides to text Aiden, who asks if she needs an excuse to leave dinner early. Lucie explains that her date has not arrived. The waiter surprises her by offering to cover her bill and goes on to explain that her advice helped him decide to leave a toxic relationship. Lucie tears up, moved.
As she walks away from the restaurant, Lucie hears someone call her and sees Aiden running down the street. He offers to take her for a drink, admitting when she presses him that she seems depressed. When he reveals he recognized her at a distance, Lucie is skeptical, but Aiden tells her, “I’d know you anywhere” (191).
Instead of a Heartstrings transcript, this interstitial is a radio transcript from the station’s popular show about cats. The hosts speculate on the chemistry between Aiden and Lucie.
Chapter 17 Summary: “Aiden”
Aiden takes Lucie to an unassuming neighborhood bar with a jukebox that only plays Sisqo’s “Thong Song.” Aiden is distracted by Lucie’s formal dress, which shows more of her body than he is used to seeing and struggles to answer when she asks if he lives nearby. He finally explains that he does but that he would have come to find her in any case. Lucie, bluntly, asks Aiden why he is helping her when he professes so little sincere belief in love, clearly curious about his personal history. Aiden explains that he stumbled into radio inadvertently in college and discovered he had a talent for it. He reluctantly confesses that he lost faith in love as callers turned increasingly sour when discussing their relationships. His family history compounded his cynicism, as he remembers his father’s grief when his mother was ill. He resolved that life would be safer without serious relationships. Lucie argues that he is secretly as sentimental as she is and insists that she will convert him to her cause.
After more drinks, Aiden fights his attraction to Lucie. She explains to him that she wants to escape her problems by having an entirely frivolous evening, saying, “[W]hile everyone else was having fun, I was mixing formula bottles and reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar” (199). Aiden suggests they play Skee-Ball after another round of drinks. When they do, Lucie discovers Aiden is terrible at the game, and his distraction deepens when she wraps her body around his to show him how to throw. Aiden realizes, “I can really only focus on the places she’s touching me” (199). Lucie, clearly intoxicated, demands that they dance. As Lucie badgers Aiden into slow dancing with her, he begins to realize he has feelings for her. Aiden gives Lucie a piggyback ride home, overcome by the chemistry between them.
In an online comment about the show, a caller laments that there is no news from Lucie and Aiden on weekends.
Chapters 13-17 Analysis
As Lucie becomes more comfortable with the radio show, she becomes less controlled by fear and more willing to take risks, underscoring the theme of Love as a Source of Security and Basis for Transformation. However, Lucie does not consciously realize that she is more interested in texting Aiden than Heartstrings callers, even as she is clearly relying on him for emotional support.
Lucie’s ambivalence about dating also emerges in contrast to her comfort with the familiar and stable love of her daughter and friends. At the same time, the novel shows how those relationships spur Lucie’s quest for connection. Maya’s initial call to Aiden inadvertently did so in a negative way, bringing out some of Lucie’s insecurities about being single, but increasingly, caring for and supporting her daughter fuels Lucie’s dedication to finding a partnership she truly wants. That her coworkers surprise her with their investment in her new quest further reminds her that she has value and worth in the wider world. Notably, it is immediately after a conversation with coworkers that Lucie is assertive with a customer and even notices a flicker of attraction, suggesting that greater honesty in her existing relationships allows Lucie to assert herself in her professional life and recognize when she finds someone attractive. Lucie’s interest in repairing cars even reads as a kind of extended metaphor: She is learning to devote the same care to herself that she devotes to her work.
Borison quickly establishes that Lucie’s distaste for dating and Aiden’s anxieties for her are not wholly unfounded. Lucie’s encounter with a misogynist who disparages her for being a single mother diminishes her enthusiasm and brings out her insecurities. The episode also functions as character development for Aiden, whose initial jealousy gives way to protectiveness and concern, cementing that he is fundamentally unselfish and generous and establishing contrast between him and many of the men Lucie encounters. However, while the novel dabbles in social commentary, it is a romantic comedy at heart: The confrontation between Aiden, Maggie, and Grayson adds humor to the difficult subject matter, as Grayson’s penchant for drama overlaps with Jackson’s impromptu weather monologue. Grayson even succeeds in playing matchmaker, another romance novel trope. He recognizes that he and Aiden both deeply respect Lucie, and while his attempt at setting Lucie up with a second date fails on the surface, Lucie gets emotional validation from the waiter that her quest is helping others lead more emotionally fulfilling lives.
Grayson also inadvertently sets up Aiden and Lucie, as Aiden’s rush to the restaurant results in an unexpectedly intimate evening for the two of them that signals a deepening of the novel’s emotional stakes. The episode at the bar is the first time Aiden and Lucie have spent time together outside the radio station for an extended period. With this shift to a more personal setting, Lucie begins to demand reciprocal authenticity from Aiden, asking about his personal history and how he became so skeptical of romance. Aiden’s confessions continue developing the theme of Fear and Cynicism as Obstacles to Growth, establishing that for all his brusque bravado and dismissiveness of emotions, he is highly sensitive. Lucie seems to sense this, as she does not push him to reveal more about his mother. Instead, she invites him to help her on another kind of quest: pursuing fun for its own sake as a brief escape from her various responsibilities. Touching on Parenthood as Both Challenge and Reward, Lucie admits that motherhood has made it more difficult for her to find these moments, and trusting Aiden with this confirms that their growing bond is mutual.
Aiden’s admission to himself that his attraction to Lucie goes beyond sex reveals that spending time with her has made him more aware of his own emotions, even as he remains hesitant to admit to them. At this stage, in fact, Lucie seems less aware of her feelings. She turns to Aiden for comfort and support and notices his physical appeal, but she does not openly consider a relationship. She also ignores Patty’s efforts to point out that Aiden is attractive and does not see anything unusual in the fact that she is more interested in texting Aiden than potential suitors.
Overall, the night in the bar marks a turning point, as Lucie’s choices of Skee-Ball and dancing become a kind of impromptu date. Borison ends the date before Aiden and Lucie arrive at her home, adding to the sense of romantic tension that the radio station’s listeners are also registering in the interstitial world of the transcripts.
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