Again, the narrator and the old man are able to connect over the fact that they have experienced terrible loss. The narrator’s alienation from novels seems pretty complete here, since she can’t even believe she made up a character who had a different job than her. The old man is impressed by the idea of novels, even if he can’t really remember them. There is something intentionally meta about this conversation, too, since the novel is referencing the magic (and importance) of storytelling while simultaneously telling a story itself.