Hello Stranger: A Novel

Mr. Kim repairs Sadie’s door lock and tells her Sue has exciting news. Sue calls to announce that she and Witt have eloped and are leaving for a two-week train tour of Canada, meaning she can’t be Sadie’s portrait model. Sadie swallows her despair in favor of being supportive and excited for her friend, but she begins sobbing when she ends the call. Joe hears the phone call and exits the apartment to console her. He offers to be her model in Sue’s place. Sadie wrestles with telling him the truth about the facial blindness but instead tells him she’s trying new artistic techniques, which may be awkward. Joe jokingly says that he’s okay with awkwardness if he isn’t posing nude. Sadie wonders if his girlfriend, the girl she calls “Busty McGee,” will be angry. Still, Joe says her name is Marie Michaux, and she “[…] is a trailblazing evolutionary biologist and herpetologist” and not his girlfriend (176). Sadie can’t pay Joe, but she offers whatever terms he wants in repayment. Joe agrees, excited about the prospect of a “blank check” from her in return.

Missing Sue’s wedding saddens Sadie, but she is most concerned about getting her submission in. Sadie uses a grid to map Joe’s face, but when she sends pictures of the portrait to Sue, Sue confirms it’s not working. Sadie tries painting his face upside down, and from his description of himself, nothing works, and she’s ready to give up. Joe says they need a break and asks her to go on a walk. He wants to see the portrait pictures, but Sadie won’t show him. They flirtatiously wrestle, and Sadie must tickle Joe to prevent him from grabbing her phone. She enjoys the flirtation and being close to him. They are interrupted by Skylar, Joe’s ex-wife, and her new partner, Teague, the guy she cheated on Joe with. Sadie senses the tension between the exes and Sadie and wants to help him since he’s been so kind to her. She wraps her arm around Joe, pulls him close, and then, without thinking, kisses him passionately. Joe kisses her back, and the kiss goes from a “feat of surprise improv” to a real kiss (186). After Skylar and Teague leave, Joe thanks Sadie for what she did. The kiss, despite being enjoyable, makes Sadie think about Dr. Addison, whether they will go out on a date, and what he might think about her kissing someone else.

After a morning of minor annoyances, Sadie must schedule a vet appointment because Peanut vomits. On the way out of her building, she sees Joe coming out of Parker’s apartment in his pajamas. She wonders what Parker did to lure him inside. When she checks her Etsy shop, someone has left her a scathing review calling her art “Banal, trite, and cheesy to the max” (192). Her follow-up brain scan with Dr. Estrera reveals no change in the swelling. Becoming increasingly frustrated, Sadie ignores several calls and texts from Lucinda. When she stops at Bean Street for coffee, Parker is there. She saw Sadie kissing Joe and had to get back at her. Parker also says she’s coming to her art show, but Sadie says she isn’t invited. Yet Parker is insistent since it’s open to the public. She also laughingly asks Sadie how she liked her Etsy review. Sadie angrily slams the coffee shop door, causing it to shatter. While “Hazel Two” cleans up the broken glass, Sadie realizes “Hazel One” and “Hazel Two” are the same person.

Sadie is still stunned to realize there’s only one Hazel. She feels a hand guiding her to sit down and realizes it’s Joe. Her mind floods with the image of Joe leaving Parker’s apartment, and she angrily tells him she doesn’t need his help, including with the portrait. Back in her apartment, Sadie thinks that forcing herself to finish the picture is futile and resolves to quit the competition and stop painting altogether. Sue sends her an article about a woman with face blindness who taught herself to sketch her face by touching it. The article describes the revelation, “She couldn’t perceive her own face, and so the process of drawing self-portraits had become a way of finding herself” (200). Seeing the woman’s sketches inspires Sadie to try the technique. After losing herself for hours, she sends the completed self-portrait to Sue, who declares it a success. Sue demands that Sadie resume the portrait and use the facial touching technique on Joe.

Sadie apologizes to Joe and asks if they can resume the portrait. Joe thinks Sadie is angry about the kiss, which he describes as “unbelievably nice.” She explains that she is furious about him being with Parker. Joe explains that he’s feeding Parker’s cat while she’s out of town. Sadie reveals to Joe that she had brain surgery recently, which explains her erratic behavior and struggles with art. She shows him her surgery scar but doesn’t reveal her face blindness diagnosis. They agree to continue working on the portrait.

Sue encourages Sadie to finish the painting even if there’s no chance she’ll win the contest because it is good for her creativity, and she thinks Sadie is in love with Joe. Sue says to use the painting to […] capture your story-right now-as it is” (207). This frees Sadie to focus on enjoying the art-making process instead of worrying about its success. Joe arrives, and Sadie asks permission to incorporate his torso into the painting and touch his face. Joe gives consent, saying he doesn’t mind. When he removes his shirt, the beauty of his form captivates her. She feels an intimacy with Joe she’s never felt with another person who’s posed for her.

Sadie moves her hands over Joe’s face just as she did her own, memorizing each feature. It’s a sensual pleasure, more intimate than having sex, and touching Joe makes her want him more. Sadie moves to the canvas and begins sketching his body, saving the face for last. She closes her eyes and sketches from the memory of touch, so her skewed vision doesn’t complicate the process. After two hours, Sadie is pleased with the result and thanks Joe for his time, saying they won’t have to spend so much time together once the contest ends. Joe wants to spend more time with Sadie, but she wonders if Dr. Michaux will mind as she assumes they’re dating. Joe explains that they are friends, and he cares for her snakes when she travels. Joe is a pet sitter for many people in the building, which explains why Sadie sees him going in and out of many apartments. He’s never had a relationship with anyone in the building except his ex-wife, and the phone call Sadie overheard in the elevator was about a bulldog in his bed, not a woman. Joe says Sadie is the only person he wants to sleep with. Sadie leans in for a kiss, and Joe draws her in. Wrapped in a passionate embrace, they move to the bed but get interrupted when someone knocks on the door.

The knocking is Lucinda, who Sadie calls a “human cold shower” (222). Sadie tells Joe to ignore her, but Lucinda is insistent. Sadie makes Joe promise they can pick up where they left off and answers the door. Lucinda is angry Sadie won’t return her calls and claims it’s an emergency, which she must speak about in private. Lucinda identifies Joe as the man Sadie took from Parker, but Joe says that’s a lie. Joe leaves, though Sadie begs him to stay. Lucinda says Sadie’s father injured his hand and possibly broke his pinky. He’s canceled his Vienna trip and plans to attend her show. Sadie vehemently counters that they can’t come and threatens to throw them out if they show up. Lucinda produces a bag containing the pink dress Sadie was wearing the night of her seizure. She saved it from the incinerator and took it to a tailor for repairs. Though Sadie never told her it belonged to her mom, Lucinda knew and thought she might want to wear it to the show. Touched by Lucinda’s kindness, Sadie resolves to let them attend the show.

Even though Sadie and Dr. Addison never had a first date, she feels she must be honest with him as she has developed feelings for Joe. At Peanut’s follow-up appointment, she asks to speak with him privately afterward and explains that she’s fallen for someone else, and the timing wasn’t right for them. She almost mentions him standing her up but doesn’t. Dr. Addison seems shocked, though Sadie can’t read his face. He pours out his heart, saying that he thought they had something and that he’d never felt like this with anyone. Confused, Sadie reiterates that she’s confident she’s meant to be with someone else. The nurse calls Dr. Addison away to a client, and he wishes her well.