First Encounter

We first meet John and Kathy Wade in the first chapter of the novel. The married couple's love and relationship are deteriorating and will both soon be non-existent. Our first encounter of of the couple takes places on the deck of their forest home in the Lake of the Woods, Minnesota. Quickly, we learn that their favorite thoughts to dwell upon and talk about are their future desires. "'Verona,' Kathy would say, 'I'd love to spend a few days in Verona'" (2). They would go on talking about visiting Verona and all the things they would see and do, and would try to make the dream real in their minds. However, all of the Wade's fancies, along with this one, would remain only a dream as Kathy would be leaving John in two days time. Dealing out false hope was one of Kathy's strengths. "'It's not really so terrible... I mean, it's bad, but we can make it better.' In less than thirty-six hours she would be gone, but now she lay beside him on the porch and talked about all the ways they could make it better" (3). This makes me pity John because he thinks he has an amazing wife who loves him as he does she, yet she has little feelings for him and she always gets his hopes up only to crush them in the end. I'm worried about how John will react when he finds that she has left him; his reaction could be tragic.