Just the Nicest Couple

Christian Scott, one of the novel’s narrators, arrives home from work to find his wife, Lily Scott, acting anxious. Christian believes that Lily’s pregnancy is the cause of her behavior, and he worries about her standing too frequently in her teaching job. Lily seems distracted as Christian cares for her, offering to bring her dinner in bed. Lily declines, not wanting to risk a mess. She eats takeout on the couch with Christian while they watch television, but Christian notices Lily’s inattention to their program. Lily asks Christian to lock up before bed, which is out of character for her.

Christian locks all entrances while reflecting on the house: It is decently sized and charming, has modern appliances, and has large windows that look out over a scenic backyard with a community trail. Though the home's price point exceeded Lily and Christian’s budget, Christian purchased the house knowing that Lily adored it. He anticipates raising a family in this house. Lily asks Christian to turn on their home alarm system, again out of character for her.

Christian enters their bedroom and finds Lily standing by the window in the dark. Christian’s presence startles Lily. She nearly attacks Christian, apologizing immediately upon realizing her error. Christian asks about Lily’s apprehensive behavior, and Lily tells Christian that she thought she saw someone outside. Christian believes that Lily saw teenagers being mischievous.

The novel’s other narrator, Nina Hayes, wakes on her couch at 10:00 p.m. after dozing off while waiting for her husband, Jake Hayes, to return home from work. Nina feels eager to reconcile with Jake after an argument from the previous evening. As an English teacher­—and Lily’s colleague—Nina frets about essays that she has yet to grade. Knowing she won’t sleep until Jake arrives home, Nina decides to work while waiting for her husband’s return.

Jake works as a neurosurgeon, though Nina recalls Jake intending to see patients in his office today, not operating. She finds his lateness highly unusual, though she knows that the possibility of Jake assisting with an emergency surgery is likely. Nina thinks highly of her husband's work, though she notices an increasing emotional detachment from his dying patients. She remembers a specific patient who died of a gunshot wound. Jake explained how the young woman had a minimal chance of survival when she arrived in the operating room after being shot by her husband. Nina still feels disturbed from hearing about this particular patient and recognizes how quickly Jake appears to move forward after these tragic events. She justifies his lack of emotional distress as a necessary part of his job.

Nina leaves Jake a voicemail message inquiring about when he will return home. She thinks that she possibly confused Jake’s schedule, which would explain his lateness. Nina feels distracted and overwhelmed by caring for her sick mother. Nina’s mother has macular degeneration, which causes diminished eyesight. She also recently found a lump in her breast, and Nina fears that her mother has breast cancer. Jake feels jealous about the amount of time that Nina spends with her mother, which was the cause of their argument the previous evening. Nina suspects that Jake hasn’t returned home because he is still angry and needs space. 

Christian wakes in the middle of the night to Lily crying. Christian holds her until morning, and Lily tells Christian what is bothering her. At first, Christian expects Lily to tell him that she is experiencing a miscarriage. Lily previously endured several miscarriages. However, Lily tells Christian that she encountered Jake while walking in Langley Woods. Lily defends her decision to walk, reminding Christian that her doctor recommended light exercise. Christian verifies and supports Lily’s decision to go for a walk.

Lily becomes more distressed as she talks about her chance meeting with Jake. Christian feels relieved to know that Lily continues to experience a healthy pregnancy. He assumes that everything is fine, and Lily feels physically unwell from her pregnancy symptoms. Christian suggests that Lily take a sick day, but Lily wants to prepare her students for an upcoming math test. She leaves abruptly, and Christian admires Lily’s figure as she walks away in tight leggings.

Struggling to focus while teaching, Nina worries about Jake’s sudden disappearance. She continues to believe that he is intentionally avoiding her after their argument. Her colleague, Ryan Schroeder, checks on her, commenting on how loud and rowdy her previous class sounded. Nina apologizes and excuses herself to speak with Lily. Nina admires Lily’s appearance when she sees her through her classroom window. She reflects on how the students’ admiration of Lily is “a major triumph, since teenagers are notoriously hard to impress” (26). The fact that Lily teaches math, a difficult subject for many students to master, adds to her overall success as a highly regarded educator.

Nina notices that Lily is missing an earring and points it out to Lily. Nina begins crying and tells Lily about Jake’s absence. She feels comfortable confiding in her friend, as the women share a close relationship. Nina asks Lily if Christian has ever stayed away for a whole night. Lily apologizes, telling Nina that Christian typically makes the first step toward reconciliation when they argue. Nina admires Christian’s dedication to Lily. Lily must return to class but promises to speak more about Jake later. That afternoon, Lily leaves the school before Nina can talk to her again.

Lily asks Christian to leave early from work. Once again afraid that Lily is experiencing a miscarriage, Christian speeds home and rushes to her side. Lily wears a tank top, and Christian notices scratches on her arms. Lily is crying. She tells Christian about losing her earring, a present from him. He consoles Lily by lying and saying that the earrings were inexpensive.

Lily tells Christian that Jake attacked her while walking in Langley Woods. Again, she rationalizes her decision to walk on a public trail, telling Christian that she believed it would be safe with plenty of other people exercising. Jake confided in Lily, feeling distressed after a few of his patients died. He asked Lily to join him on a walk down an unmarked trail to see a mother deer with two fawns. Not wanting to be rude, Lily obliged. Deeper into the woods, Jake revealed his unhappiness in his marriage to Nina. He said that he felt neglected, believing that Nina spends too much time with her mother. Jake tried to kiss Lily and became angry when Lily refused him. Lily defended herself by hitting Jake in the head with a rock a few times and running away. She recalls seeing a large amount of blood as she fled.

Christian becomes enraged at hearing what happened to Lily. Lily worries that she killed Jake or badly injured him and left him for dead in the forest. Christian believes that Jake is sheepishly lying low while the gash on his head recovers. Lily looks visibly anxious while recounting Jake’s anger and violence during the incident. Although Christian convinces Lily not to call the police, he thinks that it is a smart idea for Lily to check in with Nina in case Jake returns home. He finds Lily’s clothes from the day of the attack and notices a missing button and bloodstains on her shirtsleeve.

Nina takes her mother to the ophthalmologist after work, thinking about the unfairness of her mother’s condition. At only 62 years old, Nina’s mother is slowly losing her vision and increasingly depends on Nina. Nina doesn’t mind; she enjoys a close relationship with her mother. Nina worries that she will also be diagnosed with macular degeneration but sees an appeal in dying young.

Nina doesn’t disclose Jake’s absence to her mother. Her mother invites Nina to stay over for dinner, but Nina lies about having papers to grade. At home, Nina feels lonely and desperate to see Jake. She checks her and Jake’s joint credit cards and bank accounts only to discover Jake has not made any purchases or cash withdrawals in the past few days.

Nina’s phone rings, and she experiences extreme disappointment when she sees Jake’s friend Damien, not Jake, on the caller identification. Damien announces that his wife, Anna, is pregnant with twins. Nina feels happy for Damien and Anna, knowing that the couple experienced fertility complications and underwent in vitro fertilization to conceive. Damien asks to speak with Jake, reporting unsuccessful attempts to contact his friend. Apologizing for Jake’s unavailability, Nina becomes angry with Jake for his prolonged absence and failure to communicate with those closest to him.

Christian convinces Lily to take a day off from work. He intends to look for the rock that she used to defend herself and her missing earring. He also plans on getting rid of Lily’s clothes from the day of Jake’s attack. At breakfast, Christian reaffirms Lily’s protective actions. Lily regrets not screaming to alert another walker, but Jake reassures Lily that she acted in self-defense. The couple heads to Langley Woods, and although Lily seems apprehensive, she identifies the spot where Jake asked her to deviate from the established path. They discover a dark bloodstain, which they dilute with Christian’s water bottle before covering it with leaves. Unsuccessful in locating the rock or Lily’s earring, Christian and Lily decide to look for Jake’s car.

With disdain, Christian recalls Jake bragging about his expensive BMW. He remembers laughing with Lily about Jake’s ego while taking pride in the more practical, budgeted life that they build together. Regretfully, they spot Jake’s car parked alongside the main road outside of Langley Woods. Christian realizes that Jake is likely dead. Jake would never have left his car unattended for two days. Lily begs Christian to return to Langley Woods to look for Jake. Initially wanting to leave, Christian gives in to Lily, and the couple walks 10 miles of trails while unsuccessfully looking for Jake. Christian believes that the exercise is too much for Lily and worries about his unborn baby.