Why We Broke Up Chapter 40 Summary

  • Some of the last items in the breakup box are rose petals.
  • Min says that Lauren told her she thinks Ed wanted his treachery to be discovered, and that's how he and Min ended up at the flower shop. A-ha! So we're finally going to find out what the heck happened.
  • Flashback to Min and Ed walking out of his basketball practice: Ed wants coffee, and Min wants to stop by Willows, the florist, to buy flowers for Lottie Carson.
  • Ed doesn't want to go to Willows—like, really doesn't want to go—and he tries to talk Min out of it. But she's made up her mind, and she drags Ed down the street.
  • They look around the flower shop. The proprietor, Ambrose, greets Min with, "You must be Annette."
  • Slowly, it dawns on Min that she is not, in fact, Annette… So why does Ambrose keep bringing her up?
  • The florist knows exactly what they're there for: the red roses Ed bought for Annette. Min, no longer able to ignore the obvious, rips open the card: I can't stop thinking about you. "You" being Annette, of course. Ouch.
  • Min is mad and getting even madder. Ed tries to claim they never said they were exclusive, but Min's not buying it, not for one second.
  • Ed admits that he and Annette hang out all the time—and by "hang out," he pretty much means they've been having sex.
  • Min finally understands Joan's weird evasive behavior: Joan knew Ed was cheating and she didn't approve.
  • Min totally loses her mind. She screams at Ed, and then she notices something: an obituary for Lottie Carson (the real one), who has been dead for a while. (Note: The obituary isn't discussed explicitly until the end of the chapter, when we see that Min has included it in the breakup box.)
  • Min rips the obituary off the wall and runs out into the street. Ed follows.
  • She confronts Ed about the obituary. How could he have known that Lottie Carson was dead this whole time they'd been planning her birthday party? Somehow this betrayal is as bad as, if not worse than, the cheating.
  • Ed can't explain. He knew—and he didn't know—both at once.
  • Min runs away, and Ed doesn't follow. She runs into Jillian, who for once does not seem to be drunk. Jillian understands what has happened without Min saying a word; she gives Min a ride to the coffee shop where Al is hanging out.
  • Min reflects on all the ways in which she isn't different and arty, like everyone seems to think. She compiles a long inventory of her faults and deficiencies, painting herself in a really unflattering light.