The Goldfinch: Part 4, Chapter 10 Summary & Analysis

It is just before Christmas; Theo and Kitsey are having a long lunch after a morning of setting up their wedding registry, and Theo has just given her Audrey’s emerald earrings as a gift. Kitsey expresses her gratitude, but says she’s not sure they’re right for the wedding day, which irritates Theo. They have spent the past few weeks apartment-hunting, which Theo found unbearably stressful. Making the registry had seemed like a nice distraction, but in the end it was only Kitsey who showed enthusiasm, while Theo blankly agreed to whatever she wanted. He can never muster much enthusiasm for new objects, which he sees as inherently inferior to antiques.

Now, at lunch, Kitsey assures Theo that she will wear Audrey’s earrings to their wedding, and affectionately tells him he needs to nap. He remembers how “lucky” he is. Their relationship developed fast; only a couple of months after Theo went over to the Barbours’ for dinner, they were seeing each other almost every day. They are “very different people,” but get along well. Theo was glad for the relief the relationship brought from his obsession with Pippa, which he always knew was unhealthy and somewhat ridiculous. When he and Kitsey started spending time together, it was the first summer she’d ever spent in the city. She is light, charming, playful, and beautiful.

Kitsey was the one to propose, doing so on Park Avenue just before they went into a party. Theo happily agreed, but now he feels frightened by the wedding’s escalating magnitude and expense. Telling Mrs. Barbour about their engagement was one of the most special moments in Theo’s life. Now, however, Theo feels inexplicably depressed, just when he is supposed to be happiest. Part of the issue is that he will never truly be “over” Pippa, and he and Kitsey are so busy planning the wedding and socializing that they hardly get any time alone together. He has “never felt so sure of the future,” particularly because of how happy the engagement has made Mrs. Barbour, who is thrilled that Theo will be “an official part of the family.” 

Theo was also happy about how shocked Pippa sounded when he told her about the engagement over the phone. He’d boasted that he’d been in love with Kitsey since they were both children, which is something he now believes is actually true. Every day, Theo is reminded of his luck. Kitsey always brings “fresh air” and joy to his day, and everyone loves her. Theo is almost “disturbed” by how little trauma she seems to carry with her regarding Andy and Mr. Barbour’s deaths. Now, he tells her that he has to go downtown, and she asks if he will come back uptown to see her later. She lives with two roommates in an apartment near the arts organization where she works. Theo says he isn’t sure, but she begs him to try.

Eight months have passed since Theo last saw Reeve at the restaurant in Tribeca, and he hasn’t heard anything from him since. Neither has any client complained about the fakes, although he’s sure “it [is] only a matter of time.” He doesn’t want the truth to emerge before the wedding, but having it come out after seems almost worse. The Barbours are in some kind of financial trouble, partly due to the fact that in the final years of his life, Mr. Barbour’s mania led him to make extremely unwise investments. Theo knows that, on some level, the Barbours are expecting him to help save them from financial ruin.

Meanwhile, although Theo hasn’t seen Reeve in person, he has received a series of threatening letters from him. One day, Hobie finds one of the letters, and, confused, asked Theo what it’s all about. Theo makes up a story about Reeve attempting to blackmail him into joining a crooked scheme, which prompts Hobie to keep the letter, in case they need to report Reeve to the police. Theo tries to protest, but Hobie insists, and says he will ask Mrs. DeFrees if she knows anything about Reeve.

Theo still thinks about The Goldfinch all the time, even downloading pictures of it to his computer despite how this could risk incriminating him. He has begun to feel like Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man who kept his daughter locked in a basement for 20 years. He frets about what would happen to the painting if he died, and constantly worries that about the temperature and humidity in the storage facility, even though he has checked that these are sufficient for storing art countless times.

Theo was planning to ask Grisha to bring cash to the storage facility to pay the next two years’ rent on his behalf, but a few days ago Grisha approached him himself and asked if he was all “square” in a legal sense. Grisha explains that he’s not judging Theo, but has noticed that people have been hanging around the store, and is worried that they are going to follow him. He thinks they might be undercover police. Theo thinks about the man he thought he saw standing outside his window. Grisha admits that recently, one of the men came into the shop and asked for Theo by name, adding, “I did not like the looks of him at all.” Grisha asks if he needs to worry and Theo tries to assure him he doesn’t, although neither of them seem convinced.

After leaving Kitsey outside Barney’s, Theo goes to the bar where Larry used to drink and considers taking a shot of whisky in his memory. However, he then changes his mind and keeps walking. He thinks about going to see a movie, but at the theater he finds that the films he wants to see have already started. He goes to another theater downtown, but encounters the same problem there. By the time Theo gets to Union Square, he has persuaded himself to call Jerome. Theo thinks about the wedding, and dreams about the days before their engagement when he had “Kitsey all to [him]self.” He hates the constant social obligations that dominate Kitsey’s life—and now his too.

Theo is especially “squeamish” about the prospect of having children. Larry had been the same way, and Theo is sure that it’s a genetic disposition. Theo thinks about taking pills again after being so long clean and feels excited about how low his tolerance will be. Instead of opiates, he has been drinking a lot, which makes him irritable rather than placid and pleasant, as he feels when he does opiates. However, when Theo tries calling Jerome it goes straight to voicemail, and it seems as if he may have changed his number. He considers trying to find a dealer on the street, but doesn’t know how. He remembers Jerome telling him about a bar in the East Village where the bartender sold pills from behind the counter for double their street value. 

Theo goes into a couple of bars, asking for the bartender, who he thinks was called Katrina. In one, the bartender asks if he means Katya, and Theo stumbles his way through answers to the man’s questions, opting to leave before he is kicked out. As he is walking away from the bar, he hears someone shout, “Potter!” Theo turns around to see Boris, taller and with a few more scars, standing before him. He is too shocked to speak properly. Boris said he came by the shop earlier, then tells Theo he looks “terrible,” with dark rings under his eyes. He then asks if Theo “hate[s him] forever.” A thin woman walks over and says that she’s heard a lot about Theo, then introduces herself as Myriam.

Acting as if he’s silently been beckoned away, Boris asks if he can find Theo in an hour to talk. After speaking with Boris in Ukrainian, Myriam links her arm in Theo’s and points him toward an old Polish bar where Boris will meet him. Theo waits in the bar for three hours, during which time he has three large vodkas. When Boris arrives, Theo tells him he was almost about to leave, and Boris apologizes but says he came as quick as possible. He mentions being married, but when Theo assumes Myriam is his wife Boris says she’s not, and shows Theo a picture of a blond woman accompanied by two small blond children, all on skis. It looks like a Swiss muesli ad. 

Boris explains that the twins in the photo are his kids. He says that he barely knows them, and that they live Stockholm with his wife, a former ski champion. As Theo wonders if Boris is lying, the waiter delivers traditional Polish food to the table, even though the bar technically doesn’t serve food. They take a shot of vodka. Boris explains that Myriam is his “right-hand man.” They toast to their meeting and drink another shot. Boris explains that he runs a small business which is, officially speaking, a housecleaning agency. He spends six to eight weeks a year in the US, and most of the rest in Northern Europe.

Boris says that after Theo left Las Vegas, he didn’t sell any of the cocaine they took from Xandra. He gave some of it away, which made him very popular, but he did most of it himself. Like Theo, he also took the opiates, which Larry had evidently been addicted to. It turned out that Xandra had been selling cocaine at her job, and that the square-looking couple who’d come over after Larry’s death were “bankrolling” her. They were furious after Xandra lost her supply, and although Boris felt bad, at this point it was too late—he’d already done all the drugs. Boris explains that he lived with Xandra for four or five months in the house in Las Vegas, before she moved back to Reno. 

Backing up, Boris explains that he initially went to see Xandra after he’d been up on coke for multiple days in a row and was in a state of deep despair. It was Christmas, and although she at first wouldn’t let him in the house, when he asked if he could stay there, she eventually said yes. Boris admits that he “blamed some things” on Theo. At that point Xandra was in a bad way as well, too afraid to leave the house. It turns out that while Silver wasn’t even much of a serious threat, the couple were.

By this point, Boris had a reputation for having a supply of high-quality cocaine, and soon everyone at school wanted to buy from him. He started buying from someone he knew who sold low-quality cocaine, then selling it at school for a higher price. Soon, he was making a lot of money and was “everybody’s best friend.” He was doing drugs every day and night while still turning a huge profit. He notes that nowadays, he rarely touches cocaine. He then asks Theo about his life.

Theo explains that he is in the antiques business, and immediately Boris tries to hire him, promising to pay him twice what Hobie does. Theo, who is now very drunk, says no and insists that he loves his job. Theo tries to leave, saying there’s something he wants to show Boris, but Boris stops him. Theo keeps insisting, and Boris, suspicious, asks if his driver can take them there. Theo says this is fine, and Boris reluctantly  gets up to go. Theo takes them to Hobie’s, but as he opens the door Boris refuses to come in. Hobie and Mrs. DeFrees are there, seemingly on their way out to dinner. Before Theo can introduce Boris, Boris sees Popper and screams in delight, falling over backward while Popper bounces on him, barking ecstatically.

Although Hobie and Boris are happy to meet each other at last, Theo cuts the conversation short because he worries that he and Boris are too “boisterous” and are upsetting Mrs. DeFrees. Back in Boris’ car (this time accompanied by Popper), Theo befriends the driver, Gyuri, who expresses his joy over the fact that Theo and Boris have reunited. Gyuri mournfully admits that his own childhood best friend recently died. For some reason, Gyuri thinks the Theo is a college professor, and asks him questions about God.

Gyuri drives them to a club in Queens, then looks after Popper while Boris and Theo go inside. The club is populated by Russians, and Boris—now very drunk—introduces Theo to various people. Theo is stunned by how much gold jewelry all the men are wearing. After a while, everyone in the club seems to know Theo, and a woman named Zhanna with fake breasts reads his palm. Eventually, Boris and Theo get back in the car. They drink vodka and do bumps of cocaine. Boris reminisces that it was Larry who taught him how to dress well.

Theo notices a blue Star of David tattoo on Boris’ wrist, and asks what it’s about. Boris explains that after his drug dealing operation at school started to go wrong, so he decided to pretend to be Jewish so Mr. Silver would hire him. He admits that he stupidly didn’t know that tattoos are “against the Jewish law.” Mr. Silver knew Boris was lying, but hired him anyway. Boris worked for him for a year, and claims he never did anything illegal, only ordinary things like running errands and walking his dogs. Mr. Silver became like a “father” to him. Then Boris shows Theo another tattoo, a rose with the name Katya, which Boris says is for the love of his life. 

Boris and Theo are both too wired to sleep, so they stay up talking and drinking beer at a 24-hour bar. Theo tells Boris that in college he took a Conversational Russian class, but that he was terrible at it. Yet it still made him happy to be reminded of Boris by learning the language. Boris asks if Theo is feeling better now, noting that he looked practically suicidal when they initially ran into each other. He asks about the business and enquires if Mrs. DeFrees is Hobie’s wife. In truth, Theo isn’t sure about the nature of their relationship. He always thought Mrs. DeFrees was a widow, yet it turns out her husband is still alive. Theo thinks she and Hobie are probably just “good friends.”

Boris then repeats his offer for Theo to come work with him. He says that every good thing that’s happened to him is thanks to Theo, and he wants to both make amends for what he did and let Theo share the profits. Theo says he doesn’t want to be involved in anything “dodgy,” and that after making some bad decisions he’s trying to straighten his life out. Boris then says, very seriously, “I’ve been trying to get it back for you.” He mentions “the Miami stuff,” which he regrets went so wrong. He has been obsessing over how to get “it” back, and also wanted to see Theo to apologize in person. He says he knows how much Theo loved it, and he even came to love it himself.

Theo, bewildered, asks Boris to explain what he’s talking about. Boris says he begged Theo to stay just one more day so he could have given it back to him. As Theo realizes what Boris means, he repeats the word “No” in disbelief. Boris explains that he took The Goldfinch as a “sort of joke,” keeping it in his locker in school. He wanted to give it back to Theo, but because Theo insisted on leaving the night Larry died, he couldn’t. Boris admits that the painting has made his whole fortune. Still in shock, Theo asks what is inside the package he has, and Boris is astonished that Theo’s never opened it up to look in all these years.  

Theo is in shock and can hardly speak. Boris tells him that he loses his memory when he drinks. He observes that when they were teenagers, Theo was suicidal, and often expressed a desire to die while he was blackout. He says they both did “crazy things back then” that Theo probably doesn’t remember, although then assures Theo that he’s not talking about their sexual history, adding, “I will say, you are the only boy I have ever been in bed with!” Boris dismisses this sexual experimentation as a normal part of the growing up process, but then says, “I think maybe you thought it was something else.” 

At this point Theo tries to leave, but Boris stops him. He says that, particularly when Theo first started drinking vodka, he would cry and make confessions to Boris. He would claim that he was to blame for Audrey’s death, and express a desire to die so he could be with her again. Theo once jumped into the pool from the roof, and another time tried to set the house on fire. It was also while he was blackout that Theo told Boris that he had stolen The Goldfinch, and he brought the painting down from his room for Boris to see. Although Boris found it hard to believe that Theo had stolen a priceless masterwork, he could tell immediately that the painting was real.

When Theo still insists that Boris can’t have stolen The Goldfinch, Boris shows him a photo of the back of the painting. Theo is speechless. He gets up and leaves, ignoring Boris calling after him. He gets straight into a cab, arriving at the storage facility at 8.30am. He cuts into the packaging and rips it open to find Boris’ Civics workbook enclosed within. Theo goes home and takes some pills to try to help him sleep. They don’t work, and after two hours he gets up again, drinks coffee, and goes down into the shop. Outside it’s raining, and Theo is overcome by a death-like misery.

Theo knows that, on one level, Boris has “done [him] a favor.” Now he cannot be blamed or punished for The Goldfinch’s disappearance, which should be a relief. However, all he feels is “despair, self-hatred, shame.” Hobie gets back from the auction around 2pm, clearly in a good mood. He remarks that it was funny to meet Boris in person after hearing so many stories about him. He says that last night Kitsey called, and Theo remembers with horror that they are supposed to go to dinner at the Longstreets’ later. Hobie suggests that they invite Boris over for dinner while he is in New York. Theo doesn’t reply.  

Having initially forgotten about it, Theo realizes that he left Popper with Boris, and is now scheming about ways to get him back while also explaining his absence to Hobie. However, after a while Boris turns up at the shop, accompanied by Popper. He announces that they had a lovely day together. He apologizes again, and promises that he’s going to “make it right.” When Theo doesn’t say anything, Boris keeps talking, begging him to reply and saying he’s felt guilty all day. Eventually, Theo asks why Boris took The Goldfinch, and Boris at first says it wasn’t safe in the house, what with Mr. Silver coming around all the time. However, he then admits that’s not the whole reason. He wanted it because he realized he could take it—“Chance makes the thief.”

Boris says he was sure Theo knew he took the painting years ago. He adds that he doesn’t know exactly where it is now, but thinks it’s somewhere in Europe—Belgium, Germany, or Holland. He says he is going to track it down and will let Theo know what he finds. Awkwardly, the two say goodbye. After Boris goes, Theo closes the shop and heads to the Barbours’ apartment, bringing with him an exhibition catalogue called Printmaking in the Age of Rembrandt for Mrs. Barbour. She is thrilled by the gift, and tells Theo that she actually saw the exhibition back when she was a college student in Boston. Talking to her, Theo feels much better already.

Previously, Theo tried to call Kitsey to cancel dinner with the Longstreets, but he hadn’t been able to get through. Kitsey blames her regular “communication blackouts” on her broken phone, but also refuses to get a new one. In order to get himself out of the house, Theo took some opiates, and now feels better than he has in months. Mrs. Barbour observes that Forrest Longstreet had been in the same class as Theo and Andy at school, and was part of the group that bullied Andy, although Forrest was too unintelligent to be much of a bully himself. 

Mrs. Barbour recalls the torments to which Andy was subjected, and the nonchalant responses of the bullies and their parents. When Theo tells her details about the bullying she hadn’t known at the time, she observes, “You knew Andy better than I did […] I never saw him for who he was and in some ways he was my favorite child.” She admits that she was always trying to turn him into a different person. They look briefly at the exhibition catalog, before Platt barges in and announces that Kitsey is running late. He says that she’s been playing golf, which Theo observes is strange because the weather is terrible. Mrs. Barbour suggests that Theo and Platt go out for a pre-dinner cocktail. Theo gets a cheery text from Kitsey saying she’s late and will see him soon. 

Over the next week, Theo endures a “grueling” social calendar with Kitsey, where they hardly get to spend a moment alone together. He fixates on one upcoming evening, Tuesday, when both Hobie and Kitsey will be busy and he will finally get some time to himself. That evening, Theo is finishing up at the shop, and Boris arrives saying that he is going uptown to “talk to some people” (about The Goldfinch) and asking if Theo wants to come too. Reluctantly, Theo agrees. As Gyuri drives them up, Boris explains that the man they are going to meet, Horst, is a German friend of Myriam’s born into a profoundly wealthy family.

A heroin addict, Horst has been disowned by his family, and is abandoned by his girlfriend Ulrika, who is also an addict, whenever he runs out of money. Horst’s friend Sacha was the one who messed up the transaction in which The Goldfinch was lost in Miami. After the men involved were arrested, Boris only got half the “goods” he was owed, and didn’t get the painting back. The spot where Gyuri drops them is near the Barbours’ house, outside fancy townhouses on Fifth Avenue. Boris explains that this is Horst’s father’s house. A blond woman (Ulrika) answers the door without saying anything. The house is majestic, but covered in litter. Books, cigarette butts, oil pastels, beer bottles, and burnt tinfoil are strewn all around. Theo also notices some significant artworks and antiques.

A man enters, looking somewhere between the ages of 30 and 50, with a grubby, “punk” look. After introducing himself, Horst invites them to stay for dinner. Theo catches sight of sleeping bags behind the tapestry, and notices a “homeless smell.” Boris refuses the dinner invitation, but he and Theo accept glasses of wine. Horst says he thinks The Goldfinch is in Ireland, but Boris seems to think this is unlikely. While Horst and Boris talk, Horst encourages Theo to look at the paintings hung around the house, saying he can give Theo a “good price” for them. They discuss one painting, then Horst gives a long speech about The Goldfinch and whether the painting could be considered a trompe l’oeil. 

Eventually, Theo begins to enjoy discussing The Goldfinch with Horst, pleased to meet someone who also knows the details that he has treasured for so long. Horst says he saw the painting for the first time when he was 12, and Theo says he was about the same age when he first saw it, too. Boris is impatient, complaining that listening to them is like watching “the education channel on television.” They talk about art and antique dealing, even though “dealing” is not quite the right word for Horst’s illegal activities. Horst tells Theo about a Canadian man who makes art forgeries “to order.” A person could make a huge amount of money by swapping a real piece in a private collection for one of these forgeries.

Suddenly, a young “wild-haired” man enters, with an old-fashioned thermometer inside his mouth. He looks unstable, with one sleeve rolled up. He drops to the floor. Commotion ensues, and Boris suggests to Theo that they leave. Regretfully, Horst says they will have to keep talking later, calling the young man a “dumbass” in German. As they walk away, someone bundled up in a sleeping bag on the floor grabs Theo’s ankle and tries to talk to him, but Boris pulls him away. Once they are out of the building, Boris assures Theo that there is nothing to worry about—sometimes the people at Horst’s house do too large a shot of heroin, but they’ll be ok. Theo is doubtful, but Boris assures him that Horst will have Narcan.

Boris explains that Horst always has a different crowd of young people hanging around him, usually rich kids who steal art for him from their family’s collection. Theo remembers a time when he passed out from taking too high a dose of opiates with an ex-girlfriend and lost consciousness, causing her to almost call 911. Boris explains that Sacha is Ulrika’s brother; the two are very close, and Boris never imagined that Sacha would betray Horst. Horst still trusts him, but Boris thinks he is wrong to do so. He doesn’t believe that The Goldfinch is in Ireland. Boris suspects that the “whole bad deal” and the arrival of the police was an elaborate setup, allowing Sacha to take the painting for himself.

Boris explains that The Goldfinch will never be sold, but it could remain within the underground being used as collateral “forever.” This kind of collateral is highly prized by drugs, arms, and human traffickers. In response to Theo’s alarm, Boris assures him that he has nothing to do with human trafficking, having come very close to being sold himself as a boy. Theo says he wants the police to find the painting, and Boris dismisses this as “all very noble.” He adds that he feels optimistic about finding the painting, as it is going to move within a very small circle.  

Boris is late to another appointment, and thus drives off without dropping Theo home. Theo decides to go to Kitsey’s apartment, which is nearby. Although she is out at “Girl’s night,” Theo has a key and decides to wait for her there. Theo loves Kitsey’s apartment, which is sparsely decorated but comfy, with a fridge always stocked with “Girl Food: hummus and olives, cake and champagne.” When he gets there, Theo is surprised to find the chain of the front door locked. Theo knocks loudly until Kitsey’s roommate Emily answers. She tells him that Kitsey isn’t home and that she doesn’t know what time she’ll be back. When Theo asks to come in to wait for her, Emily refuses, saying it’s a “bad time.” Theo is incredulous, but unable to do anything when Emily closes the door.

Theo calls and then texts Kitsey to see if she wants to meet him, then goes to head downtown. However, just as he tries calling again, he sees Kitsey “arm in arm” with Tom Cable. They are carrying a bag from the wine shop where she and Theo often go. As Theo watches them, they kiss, and he sees that it is more full of “mournful tenderness” than any kiss he’s shared with Kitsey. As they approach her apartment, Theo can see that Kitsey looks sad. Yet her sadness is also mixed with “joy” to be with Tom. For the first time in his life, Theo sees Kitsey crying.

Theo doesn’t sleep much, and he sits in the shop the next day in a daze. Memories are spinning through his mind, obvious signs that Kitsey was having an affair and evidence that Mrs. Barbour knows about it, too. He is supposed to go to the birthday party of Kitsey’s friend that night, and he gets a text from Kitsey asking him to call her. As he is debating what to do, Boris arrives, and says he can only stay for a second but wants Theo to know that he has a lead on the painting. Theo asks for details, stressing that the painting needs to be kept in certain conditions. Boris says he doesn’t know much and can’t guarantee that the painting is being stored properly. 

Boris also says that earlier Horst found out Theo’s last name and wanted to tell him to stay away from Lucius Reeve. He adds that if Theo needs any help, both he and Horst will back him up. Boris goes to leave, apologizing that he can’t stay longer. Just before he goes, Theo asks what Boris would do if thought his girlfriend was cheating on him. Boris says he would wait until an unexpected moment, then ask her outright. Boris asks if Kitsey is beautiful and intelligent, and Theo confirms that she is.

Boris then observes that Theo doesn’t love her “too much,” because otherwise he would be acting crazy with grief in this moment. He says that this is a good thing, adding, “Stay away from the ones you love too much. Those are the ones who will kill you.” When Theo gets to Kitsey’s apartment later, she chats away somewhat manically. She suggests they go to an Indian restaurant Theo once took her to, a place he used to go with Audrey that is now “the saddest restaurant in Manhattan.” Theo quickly tells her to drop the act, saying he saw her with Tom in the street. Kitsey denies there’s anything going on between them, insisting that Tom is just “an old friend.”

Kitsey says that Tom got bad news himself the night before, and turned up unexpectedly just before “Girl’s night.” Theo says he doesn’t believe a word of what she’s saying. He notes that when he first bumped into Platt on the street months ago, Platt mentioned that Tom and Kitsey were dating. Apparently Tom has been “writing bad checks lately [and] stealing from people at the country club,” something Kitsey instantly denies. Theo says he now understands that Kitsey probably felt she couldn’t keep publicly dating Tom after Andy and Mr. Barbour died, but kept doing it in private. Kitsey promises that she will stop seeing Tom, saying she thought it didn’t matter before she and Theo were married.

Kitsey accuses Theo of enjoying his accusations because he is smirking. He mocks her, and eventually she responds, “I don’t expect you to understand but it’s rough to be in love with the wrong person.” She says she knows that Theo doesn’t really care if she’s in love with someone else, and adds that she knows about his drug habit and “sleazy friends” and doesn’t mind. She points out that everyone knows Theo is an addict, but has “straightened out” since he and Kitsey got together. She emphasizes that Mrs. Barbour adores Theo, and that him coming back into her life gave her the will to live again. Kitsey concludes that her marriage to Theo “makes sense for everyone involved, not least us.” 

To Theo’s surprise, he begins to feel less angry. Kitsey kisses him on the cheek and says, “Let’s both be good, and truthful, and kind to each other, and let’s be happy together and have fun always.” He ends up staying over. They order takeout. It isn’t hard to keep “pretending,” which Theo now admits is what they were both doing the whole time. Their relationship now reminds Theo of the first girl he dated. He was 16 and she was 27, with a boyfriend living in California. Theo obsessed over her, but never really loved her, and found it difficult to even talk to her. Now he wonders he loves Kitsey.  

Theo wakes at 4am and smokes a cigarette. He is consumed by panic about the condition of The Goldfinch. He notices that Kitsey’s phone isn’t in the place she usually keeps it on the side of the table. He imagines her and Tom talking, and realizes that he can actually see how they are well matched. He imagines Tom “calling her silly names in bed and tickling her until she shrieked.” Unable to fall asleep again, Theo leaves without telling her. When he gets back to Hobie’s house, he is stunned to see Pippa there, still wearing her pajamas. She explains that she’s going to Montreal to see a friend called Sam, before meeting Everett in California. Her plane was rerouted and she decided to stop by for a visit.

Pippa notes that it was good timing, as Theo’s engagement party is the next day. She wishes him congratulations on his marriage and kisses him on the cheek. She says Hobie has gone out to the bakery to pick up the blueberry biscuits that were always her favorites as a child. Pippa then tells Theo that she’s burned some CDs for him but doesn’t have them with her; Theo says he’s burned CDs for her, too. In fact, Theo has lots of gifts for Pippa, most of which he won’t give to her. For him, buying her things is a way of “being with her.” Feeling nervous, Theo hurries to his room, but then shouts an invitation for Pippa to come to the movies with him that night. She agrees.

Theo spends all day thinking about his plans for the evening: what he will wear, where he will take Pippa for dinner. Hobie knows about Theo’s love for Pippa, although they’ve never discussed it. He asks about Theo and Pippa’s plans that evening, and Theo is forced to admit they’re going to a movie he’s already seen. He asks Hobie not to mention to Pippa that he’s seen it. Hobie offers to watch the shop while Theo gets ready for the evening. Theo is so happy that he hums a tune on the way to the theater, yet when he sees Pippa he is overcome with nervousness. Inside the theater, Theo subtly keeps an eye on Pippa, and is horrified when he realizes that she doesn’t seem to like the movie, and is actually sad.

After they leave the theater, Theo says he noticed that Pippa didn’t like the movie. In some kind of daze, Pippa tries to call a cab to take them home, but Theo suggests they get some food first. Luckily, the wine bar they randomly dash into is very cozy and romantic. Their conversation is long, covering many topics, and Theo feels thrilled to be in her company. He doesn’t think anyone listens to him like she does, and being around her makes him feel like a better person. As Pippa explains that she actually loved the film, Theo gazes at her and thinks that this is “one of the great nights of [his] life.”

With great sadness, Pippa talks about the fact that the attack at the Met ruined her chances of being a professional musician. She adds that she can’t even go to concerts because they trigger her PTSD. Yet the issue isn’t so much the crowds, and more the intense jealousy and resentment she feels of the people who are able to have careers in music. Going to a concert puts her in a terrible mood for days, and she ends up arguing with herself. Pippa doesn’t need to have a job; she supports both herself and Everett with Welty and Margaret’s money. She also says that she doesn’t like London.  

When Theo tells Pippa to move back to New York, she says she’s been considering it. She observes that Theo doesn’t like Everett, but says that he would if he knew him better. She adds that Hobie is always trying to get her to move back to New York. Yet she admits that she likes the fact that in London, she is not constantly reminded of her life before the attack. She feels that her life froze at the age of 13, and even notes that she stopped growing that day. While she is talking, Theo takes her hand. She admits that she obsesses over the details over the day, and how she could have avoided being at the Met if she had done things differently. Theo says he feels the same way, but then notes that it is of course crazy to be blame oneself for not being able to predict the future.

Becoming increasingly upset, Pippa recalls that she begged Welty to come uptown with her on the day of the attack, because she wanted him to take her out to lunch before her audition for the Juilliard pre-college program. Theo tells Pippa that Welty “knew what he was doing,” then hesitantly explains that he has gone to see a woman named Barbara Guibbory who hosts “past-life-regression” seminars upstate. Although Pippa looks confused and a little alarmed, Theo continues, explaining how he believes that Welty’s energy has stayed with him ever since the day of the attack. This is why Theo was drawn to antiques, and why he was instantly so skilled at doing Welty’s old job. Their meeting must have been fated.

As Theo is talking, Pippa stares at him intensely, taking seriously everything he says. The next day they are “awkward” with each other again, with all the emotional intensity of the previous evening gone. He thinks about the long, vulnerable talks they’d had the previous summer, sitting outside on the stoop long after it was dark. As soon as they went back inside, though, the “spell was broken,” and they became shy and formal with each other again.

Theo’s engagement party is taking place at a highly esteemed private club, hosted by Kitsey’s godmother, Anne de Larmessin. Hundreds of people are invited, only about a dozen of whom are Theo’s guests. The mayor and both New York senators will both be there. Because Mrs. Barbour failed to do so herself, Anne has taken over the planning of every aspect of the wedding. The irony of this is that Anne disapproves of Theo so much that she practically refuses to look at him. Before heading to the party, Theo gets “good and looped” on opiates. When he sees Kitsey she comments that he looks “sad” and he replies “I am,” but she doesn’t seem to hear him. 

Mrs. Barbour sees Theo and introduces him to the man she is talking to, Havistock Irving. Havistock says he knows who Theo is because he knows Hobie, and knew Welty. Havistock also mentions that he is a “close associate” of Lucius Reeve. He notes that Theo sold Reeve a “very interesting chest-on-chest.” Theo comments that he’s been trying to buy the chest back, and Havistock notes that Reeve has been doing research on other pieces Theo has sold, too, indicating that he knows they are not authentic. Theo panics. At this moment, Kitsey comes over, and Havistock takes her aside to get a drink and “have a good long gossip about your fiancé.”

Mrs. Barbour says that she is glad Havistock is gone because small talk tires her. Theo is so panicked that he is drenched in sweat. Mrs. Barbour notes that Havistock is a busybody who volunteers at the New York Historical Society, and thus “knows everything, and everyone.” She says he can be charming and is good about “visiting the old ladies,” but disapproves of his fondness for gossip. Wearily, she announces that she is tired and hungry. Theo finds a chair to sit in and offers to get her some food. Theo tries to dash over to Hobie, but is interrupted by Platt, who asks if everything is ok between Theo and Kitsey. 

Unexpectedly, Platt announces that Tom doesn’t love Kitsey, and that Theo coming into her life was the best thing that could have happened to her. He adds that the reason why she didn’t go to visit Mr. Barbour the weekend that he and Andy died was because she was with Tom. He adds that Tom “leeche[s] money” from Kitsey and has affairs with other women. Theo comments that Kitsey is still passionately in love with Tom, and Platt observes that women fall in love with “assholes.” Theo tells Platt that Mrs. Barbour needs some food and a drink, and Platt hurries off.

Theo tries to get a moment alone with Hobie, but strangers keep approaching to congratulate him and make friendly comments. Finally pulling Hobie to one side, Theo asks if he knows Havistock Irving. Hobie says he doesn’t exactly know him, but has interacted with him before. He explains that Havistock Irving is not his real name; Hobie doesn’t know what it is, because he has changed his name multiple times. Hobie explains that Havistock and his partner, Lucius Race, would go and visit elderly women and men, then steal valuable items from them. They would pretend to be furniture appraisers or even family members in order to get access to their victims.

Hobie recalls that years ago, Havistock came into the shop with a bunch of silver and jewelry he wanted to sell, which he claimed he’d inherited from family members. Hobie and Welty realized that the items were stolen; they accepted them on consignment, then turned Havistock and “Lucius Race” into the police. Hobie thinks Lucius served prison time. Theo asks him to describe what Lucius looked like, which confirms that he is indeed Lucius Reeve. Hobie points out that these men are in no position to be trying to intimidate Theo, which Theo knows is not true. Hobie advises Theo to warn Mrs. Barbour not to let Havistock into her house.

The next few hours are overwhelming; Theo is so busy talking to people that he doesn’t have time to get himself a drink or any food. As the party clears out, he spies Boris in the distance with his arm around Pippa. Theo goes over to them, and Boris greets him warmly. Although he invited Boris, Theo never expected that he would actually come. Theo asks for a moment alone with Boris, and as they walk away Boris comments on how beautiful Pippa is. Theo explains that Pippa is not the woman he’s marrying, and Boris observes that he’s blushing. However, when Theo points out Kitsey in the crowd, Boris announces that she is the “Loveliest woman in the room! Divine! A goddess!”

Boris jokes that Kitsey is too good for Theo, and Theo replies that many people think this. He also indicates that Kitsey is the woman he mentioned who has been cheating on him. Boris then says that the two of them need to leave. He says Theo needs to get his passport and some cash, and to make arrangements to go away for a few days. A photographer keeps taking pictures of them as Theo tells Kitsey that he has to leave right away. Kitsey protests that Anne has a reservation at a restaurant, but Theo insists that she will have to make an excuse for him, for example by saying that he had to take Mrs. Barbour home. He notices that she’s wearing Audrey’s earrings, which don’t suit her, and he suddenly feels moved.

Theo assures her he will be back soon, even though he’s not sure of this at all. He tells her to make sure Mrs. Barbour stays away from Havistock, and Kitsey mentions that he’s been calling on them incessantly lately. Theo then tells Hobie that he’s leaving. Hobie seems worried about him. Theo finds Boris, who is drinking a glass of champagne. He wants to say goodbye to Pippa, but can’t find her.