Part of Your World

Alexis goes on a run with her neighbor, Jessica, who also works at Royaume, and tells her vaguely about Daniel. Jessica thinks Alexis should get back together with Neil after she punishes him for cheating, and Alexis finally opens up about some of the abuse she experienced from him. She tells Jessica about how Neil would continually lower her self-esteem to keep her on eggshells. Jessica believes Alexis, but Alexis still is nervous to tell other people about it because everyone at the hospital loves Neil and would never think he could do anything wrong, especially as the abuse wasn’t physical. Jessica also mentions that her husband invited Neil to his upcoming birthday party, to which neither woman now wants to go. They suggest having a girl’s weekend instead. As they get home, they see a police car and Neil in Alexis’s driveway. Neil tells Alexis that he has a legal right as co-owner to move back in, and the police confirm that they cannot tell Neil to leave. Neil starts taking his things from the garage and moving them back inside, telling Alexis that if she does not like the situation she can move.

After eight days, Alexis hasn’t replied to either of the two texts Daniel sent her. His mother, Amber, calls and Daniel thinks of how she is only really his mother by name; she had him when she was a teenager and left Daniel to be raised by his grandparents shortly after. Amber only ever calls Daniel when she wants money, which Daniel gives her from his earnings running the bed-and-breakfast. The business technically belongs to her, and he has begged her in the past not to sell it. Amber now tells Daniel that she intends to list the house that day, and Daniel begs her to put it off for a few months so he can save enough to make a down payment on the house. She gives him six months to raise $50,000. Daniel hopes he can take out a loan and supplement it by opening the bed-and-breakfast in the off season and selling some of his carpentry projects. Alexis finally texts Daniel back and he responds by calling her. They talk about his woodworking and her work in the ER, and they bond over the fact that they both like to read historical fiction. They talk on the phone for five hours.

Alexis heads off on her girls’ trip with Jessica and their other neighbor, Gabby, who has booked them a weekend at a bed-and-breakfast. Although Alexis sees Gabby and Jessica very often, she does not feel as close with them as she does with Bri because she sees that they are both quite superficial. Shortly before they arrive, Alexis finally asks where they are going, and Gabby reveals it is a bed-and-breakfast in Wakan. Alexis texts Daniel telling him that they are coming and to pretend he doesn’t know her, but he hasn’t responded to the text by the time they pull up to the Grant House.

Daniel leashes his dog Hunter to the front desk as Gabby and Jessica come to check in. A moment later, Alexis sneaks in and puts a finger to her lips, but Hunter rushes her and takes the front desk with him, scaring the other women. Daniel is confused and concerned; he only sees Alexis’s apologetic texts after he shows the guests their rooms.

Alexis finds Daniel in his garage while the others are settling into their rooms. He is hurt that she would pretend to not even know him, and Alexis tells him a bit about the situation with Neil, avoiding the subject of her abuse. Daniel is appeased when Alexis tells him she was excited to see him and that she brought his hoodie even though she did not expect to run into him. When she gets back to the house, Jessica and Gabby ask Alexis if she saw Daniel. They talk about how attractive he is but say he is not the kind of man they would bring home, which makes Alexis feel upset and ashamed.

Daniel finds it hard not to look at Alexis during her stay but is not impressed with her friends. Although their appearance fits with what Daniel knows of Alexis’s world, Daniel doesn’t think that Gabby and Jessica act like the Alexis he knows. The group starts to get ready for dinner, but Alexis fakes a headache so she can stay with Daniel, and the other women leave without her.

Alexis and Daniel have sex while the others are out of the house, and Alexis knows that she will not be leaving Daniel anytime soon because she feels safe with him. Afterwards, he asks her about the ex she mentioned earlier, and Alexis tells him vaguely that he was emotionally abusive to her. Daniel promises earnestly that he would never be mean to Alexis.

Alexis looks through Daniel’s garage as he makes them dinner, and he tells her about how a Grant has been the mayor of Wakan for 125 years, something Alexis relates to. Daniel does not want to leave Wakan—not just because of his family’s legacy but because he loves it. Alexis looks through his woodworking projects and realizes Daniel is a true artist who is underselling his work. She asks why he doesn’t do his carpentry full-time, and he explains the situation with Amber selling the house.

At breakfast the next morning, Hunter comes in carrying what Alexis thinks is a plush toy in his mouth. When she sees it move, she realizes it is a squirrel. The guests are frantic as Daniel tries to get Hunter out of the dining room and even more so when Hunter drops the squirrel, letting it chase the guests outside. The women all laugh at the situation, but Alexis sobers when they mention leaving a bad review for the bed-and-breakfast. She thinks about how much their minor action would hurt Daniel’s business and his prospects of buying the house. She thinks about telling them about her history with him but decides that doing so would “be giving Daniel to Neil” (136).

Alexis comes inside with Hunter, and Daniel complains about his misbehavior. Alexis speculates that Hunter is deaf and that is why he doesn’t respond to verbal commands. Alexis begins to complain about her friends and how they look down on anything from outside their world. Suddenly, the two of them hear shrieks coming from outside. They see that all the oak trees outside are dropping their acorns like hail as Gabby and Jessica try to run to the front door. Daniel thinks this is odd, as the trees don’t do this until the fall, let alone all at once. As soon as the women enter, the deluge stops. Jessica and Gabby are furious and go into town to have breakfast instead, but Alexis stays behind to help Daniel clean, something she admits she has never actually done before.

The rest of their stay is uneventful and Gabby promises Alexis she won’t leave a bad review. Alexis starts to think about how seeing Daniel is the only thing she wants at the moment, though it is not part of her plan for their relationship. Alexis finds Gabby leaving a one-star review for the Grant House on TripAdvisor, which Gabby and Jessica think is warranted even though they reveal that Daniel refunded their entire stay after they complained. Alexis feels terrible being associated with these cruel women who have now cost Daniel money and wonders if she was like them before meeting him. Alexis has the idea to show the women Daniel’s woodwork and convinces them to buy several thousand dollars’ worth of his projects to make up for his lost earnings.