Chapter 26

Contains spoilers

Summary

  • Nisha is cramped in the backseat of a car driving across London with Sam and her friend Andrea, who appears seriously ill but cheerful.
  • Andrea teases Sam about an affair; Sam denies it but admits to kissing someone.
  • Nisha observes Sam's tender interaction with Andrea and reflects on her own past, feeling a pang of jealousy.
  • Nisha's anger about Sam borrowing her shoes and giving them away is juxtaposed with doubts about whether the mix-up was intentional or an accident.
  • The group arrives at Global Cat Foundation, a charity shop where Sam's daughter donated the shoes, to Nisha's dismay.
  • In the shop, they discover the shoes are not on display and may be in storage. The two search unsuccessfully.
  • Sam tries to ask the shop assistant about the shoes but Nisha takes over, demanding to see the shoes donated the previous day. The store denies liability for sold items.
  • They learn the red Christian Louboutins have been sold; the shop refuses to share the buyer's information, citing data protection.
  • Andrea fakes a collapse in the shop, creating a diversion for Nisha to find and steal the buyer's details from the ledger.
  • Outside, Andrea admits her collapse was an act and they decide to track down the buyer of the shoes.
  • Sam reflects on her troubled personal life, questioning if her actions amount to cheating on her husband.
  • The group arrives at the buyer's address, debating ethical ways to retrieve the shoes, deciding against breaking in.
  • They witness the shoe buyer cruelly throwing a cat in a bin, tipping the group's moral compass towards taking action.
  • At Jasmine's, a teenage girl, a strategy session takes place to reclaim the shoes. Sam, Nisha, and Andrea meet Jasmine, who offers to help.
  • The evening turns into a bonding session over snacks, stories, and shared tasks, with everyone chipping in on Jasmine's ironing job.
  • Finally, despite initial hesitations, they come together with a plan to recover Nisha's shoes without resorting to violence or illegal acts.
  • Sam returns home to her sleeping husband, filled with the events of the evening and a refusal to discuss their issues.