Previously, Alessia saw the sea and was overjoyed. Maxim and Alessia also shared a bed to ward off her nightmares. They still manage to have no chemistry, but don’t you worry, that’s never stopped James’ characters before!
The Mister Chapter 13:
As they stroll along the sea together, Maxim tells Alessia about Kit and impressively refrains from shouting WHY KIT WHYYYYYY into the sea. Alessia wisely surmises that he misses his brother, and they exchange some very basic details about both their families before continuing their walk.
They walk into town and chat to a few people that Maxim knows–mainly a vicar and a bartender at the pub.
Hi, Jago,’ I say to the barman. ‘Table for two for lunch?’
‘Megan will sort you out.’ Jago points to the far corner.
‘Megan?’
Shit.
‘Yeah, she’s working here now.’
Fuck.
James, E L. The Mister (p. 255). Random House. Kindle Edition.
Ruh roh. I wonder if Megan…do you think she and Maxim…no. It’s got to be a classic misdirect. There’s no way these two have hooked up and now it’s being used as a plot device to make Alessia jealous!
‘Hello, Maxim. Or should I say “milord” now?’
Shit.
I turn around, and Megan is standing in front of me, her expression as dark as her clothes. ‘Table for two?’ she says with a saccharine tone and a smile to match.
‘Please. And how are you?’
‘Fine,’ she snaps, and my heart sinks, my father’s voice ringing in my head.
Don’t fuck the local girls, boy.
James, E L. The Mister (p. 256). Random House. Kindle Edition.
Okay, so maybe it IS a plot device. But surely some sort of important revelation or character-moment will come from this? We’ll learn something new about Maxim or Alessia? There can’t possibly be so little going on in this book that this level of filler is necessary!
Boy, she is still bitter. It was one summer seven years ago. One fucking summer.
‘Are you ready to order?’ she asks, glaring at me. ‘Catch of the day is cod.’ She makes it sound like an insult.
[…]
She’ll probably spit in my food – or, worse, in Alessia’s.
[…]
We are interrupted by Megan and fish pie. Megan plonks the plates down on the table and leaves without a word. Her face is sour, but the fish pie is warming and delicious, and there’s no sign that anyone spat in it.
James, E L. The Mister (p. 260). Random House. Kindle Edition.
And that’s the last we hear from Megan for this chapter! Maybe she’ll show up later and reveal that she had Maxim’s baby.
Thinking about it, so far Megan’s arguably had the most interesting character arc of the story. I mean, she apparently didn’t spit on their food. So clearly defined in such a small space, Megan is obviously someone who makes a habit of spitting in food. It’s her biggest flaw, and she managed to either hide that spit so well that Maxim was none the wiser or, more likely from the close reading I have done, she refrained. If really read between the lines, you can see that there are allusions to an off-screen conversation she had with Jago about healing and moving on and she reaps the rewards of that conversation by not spitting on the food. She had a choice, and she made the right one. Finally. Here’s to Megan!
Meanwhile, back on the farm, Alessia and Maxim have a deep discussion.
‘Tell me about your work.’ It’s clear she wants to change the subject, and because I don’t want to tell her what I do yet, I fill her in on my DJing career.
James, E L. The Mister (p. 260). Random House. Kindle Edition.
There is absolutely nothing to be filled in on because we never get to read what Maxim has to day about his thriving DJ career. After a stilted conversation about music–Maxim likes all types of music, wowee–they head back to the sea. Alessia realises that she’s in love with Maxim. It must be the DJing career.
Back at the house, Maxim catches up on some communication with the outside world including Caroline who offers to come join him at the house. Maxim declines, but I’ll wager a bet she’ll arrive at the same time as Megan who I am still convinced is going to show up with a child.
Alessia wants to sleep with Maxim, but he turns her down, so she angrily plays the piano. Instead, of explaining to Alessia that he feels like she’s in a vulnerable position and he would be taking advantage, he just vaguely tells her how attractive he finds her and asks her to play the piano some more.
Through the power of piano playing, Maxim starts to mourn for his brother.
Kit.
Why?
James, E L. The Mister (p. 275). Random House. Kindle Edition.
He breaks down and cries for the first time since Kit died, claiming that Alessia has “unmanned” him (eye roll).
I do like that now it’s Alessia’s turn to hold Maxim while he cries. It’s a nice little reversal.
” It must be the DJing career.”
Me = ded
I just have to say that my primary familiarity with the word “unman” is as a euphemism and I feel like that is a common enough experience that James should have thought more about her word choice but wait what am I talking about, when has she ever thought about her word choice
Oh my god, after you saying that, I’m just picturing Alessia castrating Maxim, and him STILL saying ‘Kit, whyyyyyyyy’