This Time Next Year

The narrative moves forward three months. Minnie is swimming at the ponds in one of London’s largest parks, Hampstead Heath. She has had time to rediscover this childhood hobby given the lower demands of her new catering job, which has more reasonable hours than the bakery did. Leila and Minnie are on friendly but distant terms following the dissolution of their business. Minnie finds the catering work monotonous but restful, although she misses her co-workers, customers, and formerly close relationship with Leila.

Minnie finishes her swim and goes up to a man she suspects has mistakenly taken her towel. The man, who turns out to be Quinn, hasn’t taken her towel after all. He asks Minnie to breakfast, reminding her of her earlier rejection. They talk about their mutual fond memories of Hampstead Heath as they walk to find food. Minnie accidentally whacks Quinn on the backside with her towel, lightening the mood between them.

The two get bacon sandwiches from a food truck, and Minnie explains her new work situation. Minnie presses Quinn to talk about his mother. He finally explains the extent of Tara’s anxiety and agoraphobia and his role as a caregiver. He admits to being close to burnout and feeling intense guilt for his resentments.

As they finish their breakfast, Minnie is reluctant for the outing to end, and Quinn invites her to the zoo, where he hopes to adopt a penguin at his mother’s suggestion. As the two banter and Quinn physically steers her toward the train, Minnie feels another stir of attraction, admitting to herself that she is happy to be spending more time with Quinn.

Minnie admits that she has never been to the zoo before, as her parents often worked weekends. Quinn teases her about her obviously “deprived Dickensian upbringing” (213). Minnie catches Quinn staring at her when she expresses rapturous glee at the penguins playing. A nearby man explains the penguins’ courtship rituals and shares a story about a penguin who accidentally mated for life with a cardboard cutout of a girl, eventually dying of depression for lack of reciprocated affection.

Quinn and Minnie spend hours together, chatting easily. As they leave the zoo, Minnie thinks Quinn might kiss her, but he backs away. Minnie is anxious that she has misinterpreted their connection. Quinn notices that she is hurt and confused, and he tells her, “Don’t look at me […] [l]ike you want me to kiss you” (216). He finally explains that he is dating someone else and would be a bad boyfriend for Minnie regardless. Minnie tells him that she didn’t want him to kiss her and leaves.

Crying from the rejection and disappointment, Minnie realizes that she wants to tell Leila everything. Her friend is initially distant, but when she realizes that Minnie is upset, Leila offers to meet her anywhere.

Minnie is nervous as she arrives at Leila’s house. Minnie sinks into Leila’s embrace and explains what happened with Quinn. Minnie and Leila both apologize for what they said during their fight. Leila tells Minnie, “You let other people screw with your sense of self-worth too much” (220). Quinn calls, and Minnie decides to take Leila’s advice and not answer it.

Minnie and Leila spend the rest of the afternoon catching up on their lives. Ian arrives, happy to see Minnie. When Leila uses the bathroom, Minnie asks if he has proposed yet, and Ian says he cannot plan the event without her given the elaborate scenario Minnie has insisted on. Minnie apologizes for her absence, but Ian says, “I get it. You were off doing a bonus level” (222).

Several weeks later, Ian’s elaborate proposal is staged in a large park. Thanks to Fleur’s contacts, there are animatronic singing animals, a horse trainer to guide Ian in his suit of armor, and many people in elaborate costumes. Minnie herself is dressed as a mermaid with a red wig.

Leila arrives, baffled, and Ian asks her to marry him from atop the horse as “the singing sheep in the front row [start] bleating out a sinister rendition of ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’” (227). Leila accepts, and Minnie explains that the proposal was inspired by Leila’s teenage desire for a Disney fairytale romance. Leila does not recall what she said that night, to Minnie’s shock. The atmosphere remains jubilant, and Minnie’s disappointment quickly fades.

Minnie’s phone rings as she watches the party. It is her mother, uncharacteristically frantic, reporting that she is at Tara Hamilton’s house and Tara is having an intense panic attack. Connie asks if Minnie can reach Quinn, and Minnie says she will call him and come help as well. As Minnie hails a cab, she reaches Quinn and explains the circumstances.

Minnie arrives at Tara’s home, still in costume. Connie explains that Tara’s panic attack started suddenly, and she and Minnie try to calm her as Tara asks for Quinn. Quinn arrives, and Minnie fights to hide her happiness at his presence. Quinn thanks Connie for being there, mentioning that her visits in recent months have been important. Minnie is stunned: Her mother never told her that she used Tara’s contact information and resumed a relationship, but Minnie hopes that the renewed friendship will help Connie overcome her bitterness.

Connie explains that she and Tara had been talking about their children’s births, and Tara became upset about Minnie’s name. Connie explains that she now has context for Tara’s struggles despite her material privilege, including her postpartum depression, anxiety, miscarriage, and painful divorce. Quinn tells Connie that he hopes she will stay connected to his mother. Connie assures him that she will and leaves Quinn and Minnie alone.

Quinn accepts Minnie’s offer to stay at the house with him. They drink wine, and Quinn explains that his family situation means he has little energy for relationships. The two tease each other to defuse the tension and stage an elaborate mock fight over a banana. The friendly mood grows romantic as Quinn pins her to the sofa. Minnie reflects that “she’d stayed for a glass of wine, and now they [are] engaged in some kind of sexy-fruit themed role play” (240).

As Minnie prepares to leave, Quinn asks if they can be friends, saying, “I just can’t handle anything more at the moment” (241). Minnie leaves before the moment turns awkward, falling down his stairs in her haste to reach an Uber.

Minnie returns to Hampstead Heath to swim and distract herself from Quinn, but she ends up running into him and agrees to get coffee and breakfast with him. As they eat, the two discuss the unlikely friendship their mothers are forming. Quinn speculates, “[T]hey’re both lost souls […] they see themselves reflected in the other” (245). When they discuss the loveliness of the park amid the otherwise urban and crowded city, Quinn quotes John Keats, making Minnie self-conscious about her relative lack of education. As they continue talking, Minnie relaxes, remembering that the person she is with Quinn is the “version of herself she most enjoy[s] being” (247). They part in the subway station, maintaining eye contact until Quinn’s train draws him away.

Minnie is at a fashion show with Leila, discussing her new platonic relationship with Quinn: They meet weekly for a swim and breakfast at Hampstead Heath. Leila says it is obvious to her that Minnie has feelings for Quinn and warns her not to get overly invested. She suspects that Quinn is “having the best of both worlds” (252), as he can have emotional intimacy with Minnie while continuing to casually date others. Minnie realizes that Leila might be right.

The next day, a Sunday, Minnie considers not meeting Quinn at the ponds but ultimately decides to go. She is immediately drawn into Quinn’s gaze and wonders if he is surreptitiously examining her body in her swimsuit. They chat about Minnie’s new flat and plans to begin moving that day. Minnie asks Quinn to help her move, recognizing that this makes a demand on his time, which she has been avoiding. After some hesitation, he agrees to help. Minnie realizes that she needs to be honest with Quinn about her feelings and accepts his offer despite her own doubts.

Quinn and Minnie arrive at her family home to move boxes. He immediately notices all the clocks and her Edward Hopper print. At her new apartment, they laugh about its small size and open the bottle of champagne Leila gave Minnie to celebrate her new home. Quinn notices the pie equipment, asking Minnie if she misses her old career. Minnie admits that she does and says she will keep baking if nothing else. Minnie, emboldened by the champagne, asks if he feels the chemistry between them.

Quinn kisses her passionately, and Minnie is eager for more, but her doorbell rings. Her parents are on the other side, eager to help with the move. In their presence, Quinn turns stiff, making small talk with Connie about Tara. Quinn rushes off, telling Minnie he will return later for his car. Minnie is dismayed, and her mood sours further when her father temporarily gifts her one of his clocks she has always detested.

The narrative shifts to a teenage Minnie, riddled with anxiety about the constant teasing and bullying she endures at school. In hopes of changing her outlook and her life, Minnie dyes her hair bright blonde, hiding in the bathroom until her mother leaves. Minnie reflects that the day has been pleasant, as time in the kitchen always brings out a warmer side of her mother and helps them both relax. Minnie sees a single firework before she prepares to leave for the local youth club, where she will share an anonymous kiss with a young Quinn.

A week later, Minnie is on an outing with Fleur, Beverly, and Leila to try hairstyles for Leila’s wedding. They arrive at the salon, which is run by two middle-aged best friends, Clare and Claire. As the group sits in adjoining salon chairs, Leila tells the whole group about Quinn’s decision to avoid Minnie after their kiss. The older women tell Minnie that enduring friendship is more important than romance with men who are fearful of commitment.

Minnie’s phone rings. Connie tells her she is hoping to help Tara set up a blog to discuss gardening as a coping mechanism for anxiety, but neither of them can grasp the technology. Minnie and her friends decide to go to Tara’s house to help them in person. The friends are all astonished by Tara’s home. Connie greets them, shocking Minnie by complimenting her hairstyle. Tara shows them all the garden, saying that her new hobby and independence are all thanks to Connie’s determination and support. Minnie is surprised by this new compassionate side of her mother.

After going inside to make tea, Tara returns with Quinn on the phone. Awkwardly, Minnie takes the call. Quinn apologizes, saying he cannot face a future where he tries a relationship but cannot meet Minnie’s hopes for him. Tara takes Minnie aside, saying that she knows her illnesses have had profound effects on Quinn. She believes Minnie can help Quinn transform his life and tells her, “Don’t give up on him” (280). Minnie privately reflects that “it was too late, she’d already given up” (280).

The narrative shows the same New Year’s Eve party from the beginning of the novel from Quinn’s point of view. Quinn is uncomfortable with the crowd and Lucy’s insistence that he focus on networking. The two see a couples therapist, at Lucy’s insistence. Lucy is particularly focused on Quinn’s inability to say that he loves her. Quinn privately realizes that couples therapy has shown him that he is avoiding attachment out of fear of ending up like his mother, whose devastation at her divorce altered her life so profoundly. At the party, Lucy pulls Quinn aside, asking him to see a separate therapist for himself, and Quinn tells her he will decide later.

Quinn watches Lucy reprimand a young waiter for being unoccupied. The waiter rushes away, spilling a tray of tarts on a woman. Quinn is immediately drawn to the woman, who he does not yet know is Minnie. He notes her obvious compassion for the young man and her discomfort at the party, comparing her to Lucy and realizing, “whether it was to do with his past, their present, or something else entirely—he [does] not love Lucy” (285-86). He decides that he will pursue therapy rather than a lasting relationship with Lucy.