Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Three days after rescuing the cat, Eve and Dani arrive at Chloe’s apartment to check on her. Since the “Grand Climb” (69), Chloe has hardly left the couch because of her pain flare-ups. Chloe introduces her sisters to the cat, which Dani believes male and Chloe names Smudge. When Dani asks whether Chloe will be able to keep Smudge because of the building’s no-pets policy, Chloe explains her arrangement with Red.

Eve and Dani at once begin discussing how attractive Red is and suggest that Chloe sleep with him “as soon as possible” (73), especially considering sex is part of her Get a Life list. Chloe vehemently protests, saying she “wouldn’t know what to do with him” (73), but then begins thinking about what it would be like to have sex with him. Her lingering insecurities about the complications of dating while disabled interrupt her imaginings. Despite her family’s unwavering loyalty, Chloe remembers the rejection she faced from earlier relationships and friendships after her fibromyalgia diagnosis.

Chloe excuses herself to shower and get dressed, which her pain makes complicated. In the shower, she thinks about the cycle of pain, exhaustion, sleeplessness, and brain fog she has experienced over the past few days. In response to her diagnosis, Chloe practices various methods of accommodating and managing her life. She uses a disability aide in the shower, chemically relaxes her hair, and wears sweaters that look like cardigans but have fake buttons, to prevent herself from having to navigate the buttonholes.

She returns to the living room and does various organizational tasks. She writes “Red” (76) on her weekly to-do list and Googles his name, finding images of his artwork online as well as fan-run social media accounts. She also sees a tabloid photograph featuring Red and a blonde woman who “looked at Red the way a wolf eyed a sheep” (79). After seeing the photo of Red and Pippa, Chloe decides to stop her research and pretend she never searched him online, so that she can feign ignorance at their website consultation.

Red recalls a vivid dream he had the night before. While his dreams are normally “Technicolor, [...] through-the-looking-glass, [...] down the rabbit hole dreams” (80), this dream disturbs him because it featured a sexual encounter with Chloe. The dream distracts Red as he goes about various jobs at the apartment complex until he gets home, finally breaks down, and begins to masturbate to the memory of Chloe in his dream. Just as he is about to climax, a knock on the door jolts him.

When Red answers the door he sees Chloe, who has arrived for the free website consultation. She tells him he looks like he just woke up from a nap and teases him about napping on the job. Embarrassed but relieved, Red lies and says that he was in fact sleeping as he tries to act natural. Red finds himself attracted to Chloe as he takes in her outfit, calves, and “ankles, circled by the leather straps of her shiny shoes” (86). Knowing that Chloe would be uncomfortable sitting on a wooden stool in his living room-turned-studio, Red invites her to sit in his bedroom. Chloe makes a joke about Red wanting to go to his bedroom as an excuse to “ravish” (89) her, which embarrasses him.

In Red’s room, he shows Chloe a piece of his artwork that he finished the week before, noting how different it is from his earlier work. Chloe looks at the piece in awe, clearly impressed, and exclaims how talented he is. This softens Red towards Chloe and makes him want to touch her. When Red admits that he has not shown anyone his work for some time, Chloe accidentally admits that she has searched him online.

Red asks whether Chloe has taken Smudge to the vet to find the owner and asks if Smudge is neutered. Chloe states that she has no idea, and that she knows Smudge is a boy because Dani “decided he was” (97). Red says that if Smudge is neutered then it means he has owners and offers to go to the vet with Chloe to make sure she follows through on her promise. This prompts Chloe to call Red “a very rude man” (97), and thus they begin to banter about which of them is ruder. This escalates until Chloe reaches out to gently shove Red, and as she does so, he grabs her wrist and pulls her “tumbling onto the bed with him” (99). At this moment of surprising intimacy, both Red and Chloe are embarrassed and shy. Red suggests postponing the consultation, which he can see disappoints Chloe. Instead of sending her away, he offers to take her on a motorbike ride, which causes her to smile “like the rising sun” (100).

Despite putting “ride a motorbike” on her Get a Life List, Chloe is nervous when Red takes her out to the parking lot to get on the bike. When Red asks if she is okay, Chloe realizes that she might like Red after all. Red tells her that she does not have to ride the bike if she does not want to, but Chloe takes the helmet and says she is in. Red gives her instructions for how to hold onto him while he drives and adjusts her helmet and coat, which feels “weirdly intimate in a way that made her stomach dip” (105). As she sits behind Red on the motorbike, she wonders about whether she might be able to convince him to help her with another item on her list—meaningless sex–before dismissing him as an “unsuitable candidate” (105).

Despite this, she finds herself aroused sitting behind him on the bike. Chloe feels exhilarated as they drive through the city on Red’s bike. The experience reminds her of her life before her illness, and she finally admits to herself that she is attracted to Red. She wonders whether Red might be able to help her with her list. She decides this would be a safe choice because she will not be heartbroken if he refuses to help or ultimately abandons her because she has no emotional investment in him.

The narrative switches to Red’s perspective as he reflects on the time Pippa rode on his motorbike, which she hated and ended in her yelling verbal abuses at him. He wonders if him taking Chloe out proves that he seeks out “cruelty as a challenge” (110), but dismisses the idea, feeling that Chloe could never truly be cruel. He finds himself genuinely enjoying the ride and her on the back of his bike and stops himself when he thinks about wanting to kiss her. When they arrive back at the parking lot, Chloe hugs Red and exclaims that the ride was amazing.

Suddenly serious, Chloe says she must tell Red something. He asks her if she is going to explain why she wanted to ride a motorbike in the first place, and she tells him about her list and that she has another proposition for him. She asks whether he can help her carry out some of the other items on her list, and in return she will build his website for free. Before agreeing, he asks her what other items are on her list and is incredulous when she says activities such as camping. A voice tells him to decline the offer, knowing it would “lead to getting tangled up in her” (120), but instead he agrees.