Things We Never Got Over

Jokingly dubbing themselves the women’s babysitters, Lucien and Nash join the table. Naomi tells them about her frustrations, about how everything in her life seems “wrong or broken or a mess” (471). The table sympathizes. Lina suggests Naomi be strong as an example for Waylay. Nash tells her that Knox has been an emotional mess since their father developed an alcohol addiction when they were kids.

When several of the women head to the restroom, Nash tells Naomi he has been looking into the red-haired stranger from the library. Nash is bothered by the coincidence of the man’s visit and Naomi’s cottage being broken into. Convinced that her sister is involved, Naomi texts Tina to tell her she will help her find whatever she is looking for. She reasons that that’s the only way to get her out of her life.

Her phone rings: Knox is calling. Naomi, exasperated and drunk, tells him to lose her number and that she intends to make tomorrow her last night working at Honky Tonk. Her heart aching, she hangs up.

When Naomi arrives for her shift the next day, Knox asks her to come to his office during her break. When she declines, he slings her over his shoulder and carries her there. He finally tells her about his relationship with his father; Duke, the man they met at the shelter for unhoused individuals in Washington, is Knox’s father. Knox shares with Naomi about his father’s alcohol addiction and how he carries those memories with him. In the end, his father preferred drinking to his family and abandoned them. “That’s in my blood” (487), he tells her, and he cannot in good conscience inflict that on Naomi and Waylay. “I can’t be what you deserve” (490). With that, Naomi departs the office.

When Naomi heads to the bar restroom to gather herself, she gets a disturbing text from Waylay telling her she is in trouble. Naomi heads home and finds Tina waiting for her. “He’s got Waylay” (493), she says. Naomi has no idea who “he” is, but the two get into Naomi’s car. Before Tina pulls away, she snaps a pair of handcuffs on Naomi. Tina berates her: “For the smart one, you sure are stupid” (494). Tina drives Naomi out of town to an abandoned industrial park near Washington. She uncuffs Naomi and leads her into a warehouse. Naomi sees a group of men and Waylay in her pajamas, gagged and bound to a chair. Naomi recognizes among the men the red-haired stranger from the library. He introduces himself as Duncan Hugo.

In short order, Naomi finds out that the boxes of appliances, stacks of televisions, and racks of designer clothes in the warehouse are stolen, and that Hugo is the son of a prominent and ruthless crime lord in Washington. This operation marks Hugo’s break from his father’s organization. Hugo explains that Tina—whom Naomi deduces is his girlfriend—hid a computer flash drive with important information about his operation in her apartment, but Waylay found it and hid it. He wants the flash drive and believes that if he threatens to shoot Naomi, the girl will give it up.

Back at the bar, Knox assumes that Naomi’s hasty departure from the bar was not about their conversation. He suspects something is wrong when he cannot reach either Naomi or Waylay. He notifies Naomi’s parents, and her father tells Knox he can track Naomi through the GPS on her phone. They locate where Naomi is, notify Nash, and almost the entire bar heads to the industrial park.

All the while, Knox excoriates himself for pushing Naomi away and being afraid of love. Nash provides an important lead: The getaway car used in his shooting was found in pieces in a chop shop run by the Hugos, a notorious DC crime family. In addition, a confidential informant told DC police that young Hugo was striking out on his own with the help of a woman, presumably Tina. Knox gets a phone call from one of his poker buddies. The town’s motorcycle club staked out the facility where Naomi is being held, suspecting it was a chop shop. They saw Naomi being led in wearing handcuffs. Knox finally knows where to go and what to do.

Desperate, Naomi suggests to Hugo that perhaps Tina has the flash drive and is planning to double-cross him. Suddenly, Tina says that she notices that Naomi is starting her period and that they need to go to the bathroom.

It is a ruse. Tina suggests that she and Naomi switch clothes; dressed as Tina, Naomi would be able to walk out of the warehouse and get help. Tina already told Waylay about the plan, and she and Naomi will make a run for the door. They switch clothes and return to the warehouse.

Tina, now as Naomi, tells Waylay it is okay to reveal where the flash drive is. Naomi, as Tina, removes the duct tape across Waylay’s mouth. She tells Hugo she hid the flash drive in the Knockemout public library. The library is already closed. Hugo settles down for a long night, but first, he tells Tina that he is on to her and Naomi’s switcheroo. As he gets close to Naomi, she remembers Knox’s advice and knees Hugo in the groin, then cracks him across his mouth when he doubles over. Tina unties Waylay.

The cops arrive outside the warehouse. In the confusion, Tina grabs a stack of cash from a table and tells both Naomi and Waylay she is leaving. Hugo grabs Naomi by the throat and starts to choke her: “You ruined everything” (524). Before Naomi passes out, she hears a familiar voice telling Waylay to run. Her last thought is that Knox had arrived.

Aware that Naomi passed out, Knox begins to beat up Hugo. Knox turns his attention to Naomi just as she is coming to. Cops swarm into the building along with Lucien, Nash, Sloane, Stef, and patrons from Honky Tonk. They’re all there to help Naomi and Waylay. The building secured, Knox tells Waylay she is getting a birthday party and then tells Naomi they are going to get married.

Knox discovers that Hugo and his partners fled into the Virginia countryside, but Tina was arrested trying to steal a Mustang just two blocks from the warehouse. Naomi assures Waylay that she will never leave her, and Knox echoes the reassurance.

Waylay reveals to the police that she made a copy of the flash drive and that it was in her shoe the whole time. She peeked on the flash drive in the library and saw it was a list of names, among them Nash’s. Nash decides he needs to see the list.

It is Waylay’s birthday, one week later. Knox splurged on a massive backyard party. To negotiate her sentence, Tina cooperated with the feds and revealed that the list on the flash drive was a list of informants and police officers compiled by Hugo’s father. They were all to be eliminated as part of the Hugo family’s expanding operations. His son wanted to impress his father, so he decided to start taking care of the list, but he got no further than Nash.

Liza J., for her part, offers to switch houses with Naomi and Waylay; she will take the cottage, and they will take the house along with Knox. Knox approaches Naomi during the party and offers her an engagement ring: a massive, solitaire diamond surrounded by three smaller stones. As he proposes, he says, “I’m going to remember how fucking lucky I am, every single day. And I am gonna do my best to be the best for you” (541). He also tells her that she “make[s] broken things whole again” (541). He tells Naomi and Waylay to move into the big house, and he wants to give his cabin to Naomi’s parents. Then Knox surprises Naomi with the signed papers naming her Waylay’s guardian; Tina, facing prison time, agreed to sign over her parental rights.

A party is being planned. Unable to have children of their own, Naomi and Knox adopted two girls, a three-year-old and an infant. Waylay will be going off to college, most likely on a soccer scholarship. For now, Waylay is looking forward to her senior year with her boyfriend, Theo. The family gathers to welcome the two new additions, and among them is Knox’s father. He is now more than three years sober and living in Washington with his new girlfriend and two cats. Both of Naomi’s parents welcome their new grandchildren. Naomi tells Knox she is sure they are in for an exhausting few years raising the new kids and seeing Waylay off to college, but she is so thankful. Overcome with happiness, Knox tells Naomi how much he loves her and promises to spend the rest of his life making sure he shows her just how much.