The Leftovers

Once Meg’s training in the Guilty Remnant is completed, she and Laurie are invited to speak with the chapter’s director, Patti Levin. Patti acknowledges how close Laurie and Meg are; both women apologize, knowing that they were not supposed to form an attachment to each other or consider each other friends. Meg begins crying. Patti announces her decision to keep Laurie and Meg working together from their new residence at Outpost 17, which Patti calls “’a very special place’” (247). She hands Laurie divorce papers to present to Kevin.

Laurie and Meg arrive at Outpost 17, a house they will share with fellow Guilty Remnant members Julian and Gus. The two women share the entire second floor. Despite their vows of silence, the rules of the Guilty Remnant are more lax in this house, and Meg and Laurie frequently speak to each other. Their life in Outpost 17 is “disturbingly cushy,” making Laurie question why she even bothers to be in the Guilty Remnant anymore if she is just going to live an ordinary life. She is conflicted about divorcing Kevin, as she knows the Guilty Remnant wants the money she would receive, and she feels shameful asking for it from a family she abandoned. Meg overhears Julian and Gus having sex in the master bedroom one night; Laurie tells her to forget about it, and neither of them reports the incident to Patti.

One morning at breakfast in the Garvey house, Aimee announces that she’s dropping out of high school, has a full-time job at a local Applebee’s, and wants to start paying rent. Jill is simultaneously shocked and relieved, as the time apart from Aimee will allow her to reclaim her independence. The friends are growing apart, even though Aimee continues to live in the Garveys’ house, and Jill would like to continue focusing on herself.

Tom and Christine reached Boston and are staying with the Falks, a couple that remains devoted to Holy Wayne despite his ongoing trial. The Falks keep Christine inside and discourage any physical activity so as to protect the baby. Though Tom completed his mission by delivering Christine to them, he remains at the house to look after her until the baby arrives. His love for her is deepened; he often “[imagines] that the three of them were a family” (262). Tom maintains his disguise as a member of the Barefoot People and often frequents a café called the Mandrake to talk to other members.

During one visit, Tom talks with his new friends: Kermit, Eggy, and Eggy’s new girlfriend, Lucy. Lucy tells him she was a member of the Harvard flagellants immediately following the rapture. The group members walked the streets around the school whipping themselves in a display against “’the sins of excessive pride and selfishness’” (266). Eventually, though, the ritual became too performative for her, and she joined the Barefoot People. She asks after Tom’s family and encourages him to call his father when Tom admits that he hasn’t spoken to him for months.

Nora and Kevin go on a Valentine’s date to a local high-end restaurant called Pamplemousse. Nora regrets agreeing to the dinner; she now realizes “that she’d made a mistake getting involved with him” (271) before she was ready to commit to a relationship. Kevin is also unsure about the dinner but invited Nora after Aimee encouraged him to be more insistent with her. Kevin and Aimee developed a close friendship after she began working at Applebee’s, as the job allowed her to spend the mornings drinking coffee and chatting with him.

At dinner, Kevin tries to break the tension by asking Nora questions about her childhood, but she becomes annoyed with his attempts. He tells her Tom called him earlier that day and conveys the relief he felt at finally hearing his son’s voice again. Tom is considering returning to Mapleton. Kevin becomes overwhelmed with emotion and excuses himself to go to the bathroom; when he returns to the table, Nora is gone. Laurie and Meg are waiting by his car when he leaves the restaurant. Laurie hands him the divorce papers and says that she is sorry.

Jill spends Valentine’s Day playing Get a Room with the usual group of people, minus Aimee, who is working. Aimee is “the sun in their little solar system, the magnetic force that held them all together” (277); without her, the game lost its excitement. They go through the motions of it anyway. Even with Aimee gone, Jill doesn’t manage to grab the attention of her crush, Nick. She ends up paired with Max as usual. The two go into a private room and talk instead of having sex; Max tells her that he saw Laurie walking through Mapleton. Jill asks if she was using the lighter she gave her for Christmas, but Max saw Laurie and Meg using matches to light their cigarettes. Jill walks home along the railway tracks. She is stopped by the Frost twins, who pull up and offer her a ride, but she continues walking until she encounters a watcher, Gus, having an asthma attack. Once Gus uses his inhaler, Jill leaves him and continues walking along the tracks. There, she finds the dead body of his partner, Julian.