Louisa orchestrated one last plan that made Ted anxious: a nighttime car ride with Christian’s mother driving despite having her license temporarily revoked for speeding. Ted, jumpy in cars, fretted about every small hazard, while Louisa teased him. Christian’s mother reminisced that after Christian died she turned a room into a library where Ted came daily, explaining how that sanctuary led him to become a teacher who could give children adventures without moving. Louisa mocked history as boring; Christian’s mother scolded Ted when he snapped back.

Spotting a police car, Christian’s mother admitted her license was “on hold,” prompting further panic from Ted. When the police stopped them, Louisa jokingly claimed Ted had kidnapped them. The officer, seeing disheveled, bruised Ted with taped glasses, laughed, then let them go. The incident left Ted insulted and the women in fits of laughter, lightening the night.

They arrived at the museum, where Louisa broke in through a bathroom window. Ted bumped his head climbing in and re-taped his glasses. Inside, Christian’s mother found a space on a wall, and they hung Kimkim’s painting. The three sat on the floor and contemplated it. When Ted insisted Louisa should sell it and enjoy the money, Louisa said that monetizing this painting would make her see all art as money, preventing her from painting.

Feeling prompted to speak, Christian’s mother quoted Tomas Transtromer about being proud to be human and never being complete. Ted recalled how Kimkim used to watch people from a window and wonder how anyone could bear to be human. When Louisa asked what Ted had said, Ted answered that perhaps they could learn how, admitting he is still on his way.

They shared banter about travel before returning to the painting. Louisa said the painting belonged in a museum; Ted replied that Louisa did too. When Louisa asked what to do next, the two bickered about responsibility and a past moment when Louisa left Ted alone on a train. After tempers cooled, Louisa promised not to leave him again, and Ted agreed they would figure out a plan, sounding paternal.

Finally, Christian’s mother gently placed a hand on Louisa’s shoulder and proposed a suggestion for what Louisa should do next. The narrator labeled this moment as the happy ending, closing the chapter with a sense of direction and support for Louisa.