Adelaide: A Novel

Adelaide lives with a college friend, Madison, in London. Shortly after leaving the United States and securing their Highgate flat, they met and befriended Celeste. One night, Madison and Adelaide are talking while Adelaide prepares for a date with someone she met online named Rory Hughes. Madison reminds Adelaide that she doesn’t have to sleep with Rory, as Adelaide has a habit of having flings. Adelaide doesn’t know it yet, but her life will soon be split into two halves: “Before Rory Hughes and After” (12).

When she arrives for the date, she’s shocked that she recognizes Rory. Roughly two years earlier, Adelaide was having drinks with her friends near the river when she saw an attractive young man nearby. She approached him and told him that he looked like a Disney prince. Two years later, Adelaide discovers that Rory is the prince from the river. The two enjoy their night out together and talk about their schooling and interests. Later, Rory kisses Adelaide outside the bar but doesn’t invite her home. Instead, they make plans to meet again. Adelaide texts her best friend, Eloise, to say that she met her soulmate.

Adelaide, Celeste, and Madison get together to discuss Adelaide’s date. They also talk about their plans for the future, as they are all finishing graduate school and looking for jobs. A former colleague of Adelaide’s, Sam, offered her a position with Alliance Technologies. Adelaide is unsure if she’ll take it because she loves books and writing and hopes to work in publishing.

Adelaide and Rory meet for their second date. They talk about their favorite books and movies and their families. Walking to Rory’s afterward, Adelaide studies the London scenery, thinking that the evening feels cinematic. Adelaide is surprised that Rory’s room is filled with books, posters, and albums she likes. She and Rory start kissing. Mid-kiss, Adelaide decides to wait to sleep with Rory and pretends that she’s menstruating. Rory is understanding but begs her to stay. Adelaide decides to go home, calling Eloise with updates on her way. Months later, Adelaide will remember her loving feelings for Rory on this night.

Adelaide is working toward a graduate marketing and communications degree. She’s in the middle of her dissertation but struggles to focus after her date with Rory. She’s even more distracted when Rory texts with an invite to a show at the Globe. Adelaide and Rory attend the play and go out for drinks afterward. The conversation lags until they start discussing the craziest things they’ve ever done. Adelaide tells the story of approaching Rory and calling him a Disney prince. Rory is shocked, as he hadn’t recognized Adelaide as the same woman. The whole way home, he exclaims at the revelation. Back at Rory’s, they have sex. Adelaide enjoys herself more than she usually does. Later, when she leaves, she and Rory promise each other not to disappear.

In 2009, Adelaide’s first boyfriend is Emory Evans. They start dating in high school, and over time, Emory becomes aggressive. After five months, Adelaide begins to experience panic attacks, but she continues to dismiss Emory’s aggressive behavior and hides his sexual aggression from Eloise. For Christmas 2009, Adelaide’s sisters, Holly and Izzy, visit Adelaide and her mom. Izzy, who has bipolar disorder, experiences an outburst. Desperate to escape the fighting, Adelaide calls Emory. In his car, he rapes her. He does this several more times throughout their relationship, but Adelaide never tells anyone.

Rory goes to Downing College in Cambridge. There, he meets Nathalie Alban and her friend Diana Abrams. He and Nathalie start dating and fall in love quickly.

In 2018, Adelaide doesn’t hear from Rory for days after they have sex. She blames herself for ruining the relationship. Finally, after five days, he responds to her texts, apologizing for being busy with work. They make plans to meet after Adelaide’s upcoming meeting with Sam. During the meeting, Sam pitches Adelaide on the tech company role again. Adelaide accepts. She feels excited afterward because she has a job and a boyfriend and is living in the perfect city.

Adelaide and Rory meet up at the Soho Theater, where they run into Rory’s college friend Diana and his flatmate, Brennan “Bubs” Uralla-Burke. Adelaide spends the night at Rory’s. In the morning, Adelaide tells Rory about the Alliance job, and they make plans to meet later in the week. Adelaide spends the rest of the weekend with Madison. On Sunday, Sam asks her to come to the office the next day for a meeting with the head of the international marketing team, Djibril. Adelaide shows up for the meeting hungover and nauseated.

Adelaide manages to get through the meeting with Djibril. She and Djibril get along well. However, as soon as Adelaide leaves, she vomits outside. She doesn’t hear from Rory all week, though she tries making plans with him. She thinks about her favorite love story, a novel by André Aciman titled Call Me by Your Name, and tells herself that it’s okay to feel hurt that Rory keeps disappearing. Adelaide runs into Bubs on the train, and that evening, Rory calls.

Adelaide and Rory spend the weekend traipsing about the city. Back at Rory’s, they share secrets, with Rory revealing that he’s an orphan. Adelaide alludes to her family troubles but doesn’t give specifics about Izzy’s bipolar disorder. The next morning, Adelaide invites Rory to Mallorca, where an old client has given her an all-expenses-paid trip to write about a boutique hotel there. Rory accepts.