Such a Fun Age: Chapter 15 Summary & Analysis

Emira and Kelley stay for dinner. Emira compliments Alix’s decorations, even though she thinks they’re ugly. Alix, still flustered, tries to explain that they were meant to be a joke, but Jodi cuts her off and says that they’re nice. Alix is grateful for her friend’s support. Everyone starts to eat. Alix listens to the sound of clunking silverware. It might sound like Thanksgiving, but everything feels so wrong.

Peter asks Emira and Kelley how they met. Alix watches Emira and Kelley look at each other, clearly unsure of what to say. When neither speaks, Alix tells everyone that they met on the train. But Kelley corrects her and tells the table that he and Emira actually met at Market Depot the night that Emira was being held by the police. Suddenly, Peter remembers seeing Kelley there—he was the one who recorded the incident on his phone. Tamra seems excited to hear that there’s a video of the altercation out there. Meanwhile, Kelley tells everyone that the video is Emira’s property now. Alix feels betrayed by Emira lying to her about where she and Kelley met. 

Peter thanks Kelley for recording the incident. He also says he’s glad that something good could come out of such an awful night. And, knowing now that a video exists, he reminds Emira that she could totally sue Market Depot if she wanted. Emira reiterates that she has no desire to share the video, and then she changes the subject to ask Alix and Peter how they met. Peter tells the story about how Alix “pursue[d]” him in an awful dive bar. Alix has heard Peter tell the story a million times, but this is the first time it’s annoyed her—Kelley’s presence makes her incredibly self-conscious. Tamra asks Alix if she met Peter when she was working at Hunter, and Alix says yes—though she wishes she could tell Emira and Kelley that the reason she frequented dive bars back then was that she was making under $40,000.

Kelley changes the subject, theatrically asking Alix about the book she’s working on—Emira has told him it’s a “history” book. Alix’s friends and Peter laugh at this. Alix blushes, then she explains that the book is really just a history of her business—a collection of the most important letters she’s written and received over the years. Kelley asks Alix when she started her business. When she tells him 2009, he rudely observes that this isn’t much of a history. Finally—to Alix’s relief and horror—Peter decides to make a toast. He thanks the strong women in Alix’s life—Emira included—who have supported her as she grows her business.