A few days after leaving, Nick (using the name Alistair/Al) received a message from Martha begging him to come home. Martha said she had been spiraling, suspected an affair after hearing seagulls during a call, and even went to a house near Folkestone to confront the imagined affair. She insisted she loved him and could send money, and said their child Jonah needed him.

Nick’s initial response was cautious. He asked how Martha knew about the Folkestone house. Martha quickly admitted she had planted a dog tracker in the car weeks earlier, which showed him going to the house after he left them at a pub. She apologized, called herself an idiot, and repeated her plea for him to return.

Nick reflected that Martha’s suspicions were understandable and that her visit to the house would have revealed only a normal family home with no evidence of him or an affair. This softened his feelings toward her, though he did not reply immediately. He sat in Jessie’s spare room, weighing his options and the implications of her tracking him.

That evening, Jessie cooked chicken, leek, and potato soup with cumin. Nick observed Jessie’s sadness and considered her prospects and finances, implying he was assessing her vulnerability or usefulness. He then went to bed to think further.

By 2 a.m., Nick had made a decision, though the specific choice was not revealed in the chapter.