Surfacing Chapter 10 Summary

  • The next day, the narrator was still feeling nervous about being there still.
  • David went fishing from the dock in the morning while Anna read.
  • The narrator tried to work, but she kept noticing that Joe was watching her. She asked what was up, but he denied having anything on his mind.
  • After lunch, she suggested that they go pick blueberries.
  • While they were out picking, Joe announced to the narrator that he thought they should get married. His proposal? "We might as well." Wow—color us not swooning.
  • Anyway, she declined (of course). In response, he claimed that she didn't care about him. She denied that charge, but she still held strong on the "No."
  • This led the narrator into memories of her first wedding, which is odd—probably doubly odd for Joe. In her retelling, her husband treated her more like an invalid than a bride.
  • Then she got upset, telling Joe he was going to "ruin it" with all these questions and ideas. He then claimed that he wasn't "good enough" for her.
  • Later, they ate blueberry pie outside (in a fenced-in enclosure that had been used to house the narrator's brother at some point). Joe, having finished, was playing in the sandbox with his back half away from the group. Pouty much?
  • When the narrator got up to collect the dishes, David started complimenting her rear end. Joe's response was to say David could "have it." The narrator appeared to ignore all of this.
  • When people came back inside, they settled into reading in the living room, and the narrator went into David and Anna's room to look for more magazines. While she was there, she looked through some of the family's old things, including an album and some scrapbooks.
  • David eventually came in and inquired why she was in his bed, asking if she was a "customer." She apologized (lady, it's your house…) and left with the scrapbooks.