The chapter opens with the husband observing his wife at breakfast, noting her tired appearance and weight gain. He privately blames himself for her exhaustion but frames himself as a pleasant, considerate husband. He suggests she needs a holiday and claims to have received a small windfall from a friend, Peter Tovey, a person he admits does not exist.

When the wife proposes using the money to pay down debts, the husband interrupts, taking her hands and insisting she needs the break. He resolves to handle the arrangements, projecting warmth and decisiveness to override her practical concerns.

The next day, he presents a sky-blue gift box containing a printed voucher for a Wowcher weekend in Lille, including an eight-course tasting dinner and Eurostar travel. He emphasizes flexibility before year-end, and the wife brightens and checks her calendar, suggesting a date in mid-June.

Internally, the husband admits the deal was inexpensive and paid for with money she had transferred to him for their supposed pensions. He congratulates himself on packaging the voucher in a way that elevates it into a gesture of love, contrasting a "basic husband" with his curated performance.

As they set the date, he reflects on his disordered life, which lacks structure and requires constant maintenance of a charming exterior to conceal what he describes as a chaotic inner "hellscape." Outwardly, he remains attentive, kissing her cheek and offering to make dinner, while inwardly he suppresses distaste at her scent and manufactures tenderness he barely feels.

The scene ends with the husband humming in French and slicing garlic for dinner, reinforcing the performative quality of his care and the ongoing deception underpinning their marriage.