Sweet Tooth

Serena meets with Haley and, within a few hours, they are lovers. She takes him back to her apartment and then to her bedroom, pausing only when her three roommates linger interestedly in the hallway. Their slow and steady seduction continues from the time they spent together in the gallery, where she discovers that he was easy company and a good listener. She had even been frank with him about her earlier mistruths, a revelation which only brings them closer together. They discussed literature and he spoke to her about poetry, taking her to a bookstore and encouraging her to read poems even though she has never particularly been a fan. After a day spent comparing the tragedies in their personal lives, they kissed and then returned to Serena’s apartment.

In Serena’s bedroom, she worries about whether her mattress will support them and the thinness of the walls. Her amorous thoughts are complicated by memories of Tony and her job. They talk about the stacks of books piled around Serena’s bedroom. They do not necessarily agree on the quality of all the books in her collection, thought the conversation ends when he kisses her and places her awkwardly on the bed. They have sex and, even though it is “not a great experience for either of us” (110), Serena is satisfied. Their time together is slightly marked by the sensation that Haley is cataloguing their intimacy for future literary use. Afterward, he treats her to dinner at a restaurant in the expectation that his money from the Foundation will soon arrive. Then, they return to Serena’s apartment and spend the night together.

In November, the war in the Middle East causes a fuel crisis. Serena is happy, however, as she and Haley are lovers, which distracts her from her residual anger at Tony. She begins to read newspapers again, particularly the opinion pages which offer her a “woeful daily narrative” (112) of a world on the brink of disaster. She tries to care but is more focused on work and romance. Each weekend, she travels to Brighton and stays in Haley’s apartment. They follow a similar routine of sex, food, walks, and Haley tapping away on his typewriter. They develop “a number of smug routines” (113), including in-jokes and regular orders at the same restaurants. They talk about politics, including war and Watergate, and literature, though their tastes are still some ways apart.

Serena sneaks a peek at two of Haley’s unfinished stories. She dislikes the short story, but the second is a short novel which catches her interest. The story is about a man and his nine-year-old daughter trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The man and girl encounter a brutal world defined by scarcity and degradation. The short novel is a critique of the 20th century and Serena imagines how Nutting and the others at MI5 would be unimpressed by the “easy nihilism” (116). Though she worries that her bosses will be unimpressed, she also delights in how much Max will hate the story. In terms of her own opinion, she is unsure whether she likes it. She begins to worry whether Haley might ever fulfil his early promise, thereby making her look foolish in front of her bosses. She resolves to help him and insists that they will either fail or flourish together.

Serena takes a bath and thinks more about the story. The aim of Sweet Tooth is to give the author free rein of their creative output, but she wonders whether she should intervene. Haley arrives home, they sink back into their routine, and she can forget about her worries. As they walk to dinner, he jokingly quizzes her about the other writers supported by the Foundation. Serena is running out of ways in which to mask the truth. Over dinner, he tells her about the short novel. A publisher has asked for a final draft. She congratulates him, pretending not to know about the story’s existence though she is anxious and unsure how to respond. They celebrate, and then Haley begins to ask Serena about mathematics. She tries to think about what to say and tells him about a math problem used to explain an American game show. The theory tells a person whether they should accept a mystery prize if they have the potential to swap it for another mystery prize. She tries to explain the counterintuitive answer, but Haley’s mind is clouded by the wine. He pays, leaves a large tip, and is on the cusp of understanding when he rushes outside and vomits in the street. They return home and, the next morning, Haley shakes Serena awake to excitedly tell her that he understands the solution. He sees the puzzle as something he can incorporate into his writing. When she returns to London later that day, Serena is even sadder than usual to leave.

Three days later, Serena receives a story from Haley in the post. The story concerns an architect named Terry Mole who is caught in a childless marriage to a serial adulterer named Sally. One day, Terry follows Sally to a hotel room and finds himself presented with three doors. He wishes to knock down the door and expose his wife’s infidelity, but he does not know which door is hers. The situation with the doors mirrors Serena’s math puzzle. Terry uses Serena’s solution to knock down the door and catch his wife. Serena spends the day at work thinking about Haley’s story, which she regards as a return to form after the depressing short novel. He has not understood the puzzle and she feels guilty for not explaining it better.

Serena is so caught up in Haley’s story that she does not notice Max walking toward her. He asks her to have a drink with him one night after work so that they can talk about an unnamed matter. Still distracted, Serena agrees and then returns to thinking about the story. When she realizes exactly how he has misunderstood the puzzle, she realizes that she needs to help him find a solution. She spends her lunchtime reworking the finale and then posts her notes to Haley. The brief creative flourish proves immensely satisfying and she imagines explaining the matter to Haley when she sees him the next day. She goes to bed but is woken close to midnight by her doorbell. She discovers a drunk and disheveled Max at her door. He claims to urgently need to talk.

Serena sits down with Max in her kitchen. He reveals that he has ended his engagement because he is in love with Serena. Though he expects Serena to feel the same way, she admits that she does not. When she reveals that she is dating Haley, he warns her against unprofessional behavior and reminds her that their relationship is doomed to fail. He groans in agony and Serena begins to feel guilty that her mild flirting has destroyed his engagement and “ruined his life” (128). He suggests that Serena was only hired by MI5 to see whether she was part of Tony Canning’s undercover work for the Soviets. Their conversation devolves into insults, so Serena tells Max to leave. On the way out, he apologizes and begs her to reconsider. She closes the door, fixes the security chain in place, and goes to bed.