Life's Too Short

Vanessa knocks on Adrian’s door and asks if he wants to help her go through her fan mail. Though they’re both in pajamas, he agrees and offers to cook them breakfast. Vanessa produces a large bag of mail, just two weeks’ worth, and her popularity shocks Adrian. He notices her wrist brace, but she lies and says she has carpal tunnel. With Grace napping in the swing, they go through the mail, sorting through the kind and sometimes bizarre things fans send Vanessa. Adrian genuinely enjoys himself.

Vanessa makes a separate pile for all the “dick pics” and jokes that Adrian is the type of “super-confident, self-assured, brooding alpha male” that sends nude photos (72). Adrian disagrees, and Vanessa demands access to his phone to confirm. They swap phones and get to know one another through scrolling pictures and looking at each other’s music. Vanessa learns that Adrian enjoys running, and they discover they are both foodies and bond over their favorite restaurants in town. Vanessa jokes about sending pictures of Adrian to all the women in the building to prove she’s hanging out with him, but they decide to take a selfie for proof. When Vanessa moves closer for the photo, Adrian enjoys the closeness. The police banging on Vanessa’s door interrupts them.

The policeman informs Vanessa that they found her car wrecked at the fairgrounds. Adrian steps in because he knows the officer and silently coaches her to say that she lost her keys, and the vehicle must have been stolen. After the officer leaves, Vanessa panics because she bought the car for her dad and worries that he has been injured. She asks Adrian to watch Grace while she leaves to determine what happened.

Neither her father nor Annabel is at the hospital, so she heads to her father’s house for answers. Her father struggles with hoarding and is on probation due to the city’s intervention. Annabel stole the car, along with her father’s phone, prescription medication, and her mother’s wedding ring. Brent, who lives across the street with his boyfriend, asks Vanessa for money when he sees her. The filthy conditions at her dad’s house and worry over Annabel overwhelm Vanessa. She supports her family financially and emotionally, fearing for them if she were to pass. Her biggest concern is Grace, who is vulnerable and helpless. Vanessa hasn’t shared her symptoms and puts her needs aside to hold the family together. She cleans the house and insists that her dad and Brent attend a Nar-Anon meeting. Vanessa is attracted to Adrian, but even if she did date him, she knows he would never want her because her life is such a mess.

After leaving Adrian with Grace for five hours, Vanessa returns to find him bathing her because she had a diaper blowout. Seeing him tenderly care for Grace shifts something in Vanessa, but it’s instantly replaced with the despair that ALS has stolen from her, especially the hope that she could be happy in the future. She explains to Adrian what happened with the car and holds back tears as all the day’s events crash down on her. She explains that after her mother died, her father remarried, and Brent and Annabel are a product of that marriage. However, her stepmom is no longer in the picture. Things have gone downhill for her dad and Annabel since. Adrian invites her to stay for dinner and use his washer to do her laundry.

Vanessa showers, applies makeup, and wears a nice outfit before returning to Adrian’s apartment, and Adrian notices. While he cooks and watches Grace, Vanessa heads to the laundry room and notices how neat and orderly his apartment is. She brings Italian wine and suggests that Adrian should take a trip. He doesn’t have time to travel due to work and reminds her that he doesn’t fly. Vanessa points out that he has what she calls “One Day Syndrome,” the habit of postponing enjoyment in life. Adrian explains that flying triggers panic attacks, an issue his mother attributes to his father abandoning them when he was young. Vanessa can relate to Adrian’s complicated family history, having lived her entire life with a distorted sense of familial love. Although she could envision herself falling for someone like Adrian, she would never think of burdening him with her family drama, especially knowing she might not live past 30. Sensing that Adrian is upset, Vanessa asks if he’s okay after the breakup. Adrian admits that the split from Rachel has been tough on him, but having Vanessa and Grace around has been comforting. They toast to their status as “just friends.”

Adrian researches Vanessa online and learns just how famous she is. From reading her Wikipedia page, he knows that her older sister, Melanie, died from ALS and that her mother died in a car accident. After looking into it more, he discovers that most cases of ALS are random and not inherited, meaning that it’s unlikely that Vanessa has the disease. Thinking of how much he enjoyed being with her, he hopes she has a long life because “She was too incredible to be lonely forever” (113).

Adrian’s grandmother calls him and is disoriented about where she is and what day it is. Since their move to Nebraska, he’s noticed she’s been more confused. Adrian’s mother gets on the phone and says his grandmother is confused because Adrian isn’t there, but he accuses her of making the memory loss worse by moving her away. Adrian ends the call, exasperated by the unresolved conflict between him and his mother.

Vanessa calls frantically, needing help because her father is trapped beneath a pile of his belongings. She can’t call 911 due to the condition of his home. When they arrive at the house, Adrian feels overwhelmed, first by the smell and then by the sheer amount of stuff in Gerald’s house. There’s hardly any room to walk. After they rescue him, Adrian becomes claustrophobic and must excuse himself outside. Vanessa joins him and explains that Brent lives across the street. He has a business degree, but instead of securing a job, he keeps investing in multilevel marketing (MLM) schemes, which never pan out. Vanessa begins collecting trash, and Adrian offers to help. Gerald protests, insisting that he needs everything in the house, but Vanessa insists he collect at least one bag to discard. Vanessa shows Adrian her former room, which is now filled with bicycles and parts. He is astonished that she could have lived in these conditions. As they sift through endless piles of mail, Vanessa discovers bills from hospital visits that Annabel made while pregnant, faking injury and illness to obtain pills.

Vanessa suggests a spontaneous trip to Duluth to see the Christmas lights and have dinner. Adrian replies that they could stay home and have lunch, but Vanessa insists he needs to do something unplanned to break out of his routine. She says that everything he does, from his criminal defense work to training for marathons, revolves around planning and control. Realizing she is right and wanting to spend more time with her, Adrian agrees.

While returning to work Monday, Adrian reflects on his weekend with Vanessa and how time with her feels like “rest for my soul” (130). Becky notices his lightened mood and guesses that he’s met someone. He explains that Vanessa is his neighbor and just a “friend.” As he says this, he receives a text from Vanessa with a video of Harry, whom she is watching for him. He also notices that Vanessa changed his lock screen photo to the selfie they took. Adrian takes a call from a private investigator he’s hired to locate Vanessa’s mother’s ring. Overhearing the call, Becky guesses that Vanessa is Vanessa Price of YouTube fame and recognizes that Adrian is “Jesus’s abs,” her hot hero, and she shows Adrian the video.

Adrian comes home from work early to tell her he saw her video. He thinks it’s funny, which relieves Vanessa, mainly due to the video’s popularity. Vanessa insists he needs to inject life into his apartment. Adrian agrees to let her decorate his apartment for Christmas in exchange for her telling him what she did for a living before YouTube. Vanessa agrees, and they go to Pottery Barn to purchase décor. Vanessa reveals that she used to work for a paper supply company, just like Pam in The Office. Adrian doesn’t believe the ironic twist, and Vanessa shows him photos and even calls an old coworker to prove it. Adrian invites Vanessa over for dinner, and they shop at Whole Foods for ingredients. Both being foodies, they lose themselves in selecting ingredients and inadvertently plan to eat meals together for the rest of the week.

Adrian gives Vanessa a card for Sonja Bragg, a former therapist who is a “sober companion,” a trained professional who supports someone recovering from addiction by helping them maintain a substance-free life outside of rehab or treatment. Vanessa is thankful for the referral, especially since she hasn’t heard from Annabel since she stole and wrecked the car. Vanessa has cut off all financial support, hoping it will help Annabel see the need for help. Instead of buying a tree at Whole Foods, Adrian impulsively suggests they go to a tree farm and cut one like he did when he was a kid. Vanessa is giddy at the idea, but the tone shifts when Adrian reveals that the tree-cutting was the last memory of his father. Vanessa shifts the mood by saying they are making a special memory for Grace’s first Christmas. Adrian doesn’t think Grace will remember him, but Vanessa says they are “imprinting” on one another because Grace feels safe with him.

After decorating and dinner, Adrian and Vanessa sit together on the couch, and she admits internally that she has a crush on him. She teases him that fate brought her to him, but Adrian says he doesn’t believe in fate. Grabbing his palm, she reads his lifeline and explains that he will have a happy life and that he is “willing to sacrifice everything for love” (153). Adrian takes her hand and asks her to read her palm. Despite enjoying being close to him, she pulls away, not wanting to discuss her lifeline on her numb hand.

Adrian has been spending so much time with Vanessa and Grace that he has fallen behind on a big case at work. For the first time in his life, he’s not putting work first, and it feels good and right. While working with Becky to catch up, she asks him what hanging out with a celebrity is like. Adrian says she acts like a normal person, and other than her talking about him in her videos, he doesn’t notice her fame. Vanessa and Grace have become so much a part of his life that he bought baby items for his apartment and gave Vanessa a key. They eat dinner together almost every night, and he goes with Vanessa to Grace’s doctor’s appointment to get her first vaccinations. Adrian wants to tell Vanessa he has feelings for her, but he worries about ruining their friendship, something he can’t risk.

Thinking about his feelings for Vanessa forces Adrian to reflect on his failed relationship with Rachel. He conceded that he never tried to learn about Rachel’s family or show he cared about her because he was too focused on work. He realizes he kept Rachel at arm’s length, much like he’s always done in relationships, for fear of being hurt. Being with Vanessa has helped him see how his childhood wounds still affect his relationships. He’s thankful she makes him “different. Better.”

Vanessa surprises him by bringing lunch to the office. Becky is so star-struck that she runs from the room. Adrian kisses Grace and is captivated by how beautiful Vanessa looks. Adrian enjoys being close to Vanessa while they eat and longs to touch and kiss her. With Vanessa’s birthday approaching, Adrian plans to take her out. She thanks him for caring about her despite the messiness of her life, but suddenly starts to cry. Her 29th birthday is nearing, and she feels her time is running out. She confesses her worries about the numbness in her hand, fearful of what it might signify. Adrian comforts her and offers to accompany her to the doctor. He realizes that he is Vanessa’s “person,” someone she trusts and needs, which fills him with joy and sadness because he desires more, and he’s unsure if she feels the same way.