Meg decided the only way out was through. She asked Roger to summarize one of the books he’d been reading, and tuned out during his rigorous synopsis. She wanted to ask him what his deal was—what was wrong with him—but didn’t know how to phrase it in a way that wasn’t hurtful. It was possible, she now realized, that he had suffered some trauma that kept him frozen in a childlike state, preventing him from developing social skills. This thought softened her view of him, and she felt guilty for having judged him previously simply because he was so attractive. She observed Roger as he summarized the Murakami novel, filing away data points that she could later convey to Genevieve.