In the Dream House: 25. Dream House as Omen Summary & Analysis

Machado and the woman from the Dream House take jobs as standardized test scorers. One time when Machado goes to the bathroom, she hears a woman crying in the next stall. She knocks on the stall door; the woman tells her she’s having a “traumatic episode.” They go for a walk outside while the woman tells her she was raped a long time ago.

Machado walks with the woman for a while, and when she finally looks at her phone, she realizes they’ve been outside for two hours. The woman from the Dream House has called and texted her several times to ask where she is. Machado gives the crying woman her number, then goes to meet the woman from the Dream House, who is furious. On the drive home, the woman slams her hands on the dashboard and tells Machado she’s “the most inconsiderate fucking person [she’s] ever met.” Machado tells the woman not to talk to her that way. The woman tells her she’s never allowed to write about what just happened.