52 pages 1 hour read

Dolly Alderton

Ghosts

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

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Part 1, Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary

As Nina prepares to go on her second date with Max, she tries to remember what he looks like and realizes that she has created a fantasy of him in her mind. Max suggests that they go for a walk through Hampstead Heath, a place that holds special significance for Nina, as her parents took her there when she was a child. She worries that the nostalgia will overwhelm her and ruin the date, but as soon as she sees Max she is once again captivated by his good looks and her strong attraction to him. They picnic in the park while watching different couples interact and guessing their relationship statuses based on body language. They observe a child having a tantrum and Max outright asks Nina if she wants children. She says yes but admits that raising children frightens her. Max also wants children. He asks her why she is an only child, and Nina explains that her mother didn’t enjoy parenthood. She tells Max her father is ill, but he can see she doesn’t want to talk about it. Max tells Nina that he can’t stop thinking about kissing the back of her arms.