Safe Haven

Katie sees in the Boston Globe that Gladys has died. She knew Gladys was ill, but seeing news of her death fills her with guilt. The Feldmans had been nothing but good to her, and she repaid that goodness by stealing their dead daughter’s vital records. She did it because she knew Kevin didn’t like the Feldmans and would never guess she’d taken Katie’s identity, but it still left her feeling uneasy.

Alex and Katie make plans the following Saturday to go to the carnival. He also asks her to babysit the kids while he goes to Raleigh with his friend Joyce to pick up Joyce’s daughter at the airport. As they flirt, Alex again comments that Katie is free to marry. Katie gets angry, and Alex reacts by asking her to stop. Katie asks in response, “What are you going to do? Hit me? Go ahead” (250). Alex withdraws and takes the kids home.

Kevin drinks vodka steadily as he drives through the night toward North Carolina. He imagines Erin living a carefree life with a new man, laughing at him. He remembers how happy he and Erin once were and insists he gave her everything she ever wanted. Then he realizes there was one thing she wanted that he refused: children. He thinks to himself, “He married her because he wanted a wife, not a mother” (255). Now, he might allow her to have a child so that she can never run away again. However, he believes she doesn’t love him, never loved him, and that is laughing at him. He hates her.

Katie apologizes to Alex. He is cold at first, telling her how hurt he was by her goading him to hit her. He is horrified that she imagined him “capable of… that” (260). Katie apologizes again and tells Alex that she’s ready to share his bed. 

Kevin arrives in Southport and quickly finds Katie’s cottage. It is empty, so he goes inside and searches it. He finds a utility bill in the name of Katie Feldman, confirming this is Erin’s home. He lies in the bed to wait for her and quickly falls asleep.

Katie, Alex, and the kids ride their bikes to the carnival. Kevin wakes in Katie’s cottage and removes all evidence he was there before leaving. He drinks more vodka as he drives to Ivan’s. He learns that Katie is not working that day, so he walks to the carnival. Katie is riding the Ferris wheel with Kristen. She feels uneasy and scans the crowd, remembering how she used to do this when she first started working at Ivan’s—“when she was watching for Kevin” (272). At the same time, Kevin walks around the carnival, searching every female face for Erin’s. He is disgusted by the crowd, feeling ill from too much alcohol and not enough food. Katie and Alex move on to the swings, watching the kids ride for the third time. As the kids come off the ride, Kevin approaches and spots Erin in the crowd.

Katie and Alex hold hands as they walk to where their bikes are chained up at Ivan’s. The two share a kiss just before they take off with the kids, a scene Kevin witnesses. Kevin follows them on foot, as his “thoughts ricocheted like pachinko balls” (278), but he decides to return to his car. The traffic is heavy, and Kevin quickly loses Katie, Alex, and the kids. The longer he searches, the angrier he gets.

Alex, Katie, and the kids arrive back at the store. They go up to the house where the kids quickly plant themselves, exhausted, in front of the television. Alex showers, has something to eat, and heads out to the airport. Katie checks the time, thinking “this would be the longest five hours of her life” (287).

Kevin, imagining Erin laughing at him with her new love, returns to the cottage. He now imagines everyone back in Boston laughing at him and gossiping about how they all slept with Erin at one point or another. The cottage is empty, so he returns to his car where he gets sick. Afterwards, he imagines shooting up his old precinct. He then gets back in the car, drinks more vodka, and drives to the store. He is sick again as he arrives in the parking lot, but when he gets his bearings he sees four bicycles parked outside a nearby house.