Hello Stranger: A Novel

The art show goes badly from the beginning. Sadie’s painting is in a corner near the bathroom, and no one bids. Sadie nervously looks at the clock, counting down until she can leave and declare the whole thing over. Feeling utterly alone, she wishes someone would show up to support her. She overhears the judges in the restroom talking about her painting, wondering how something so subpar made it into the finalists. Parker arrives not to support Sadie but to make fun of her painting and taunt her for being alone. Sadie demands that Parker leave immediately, but Parker refuses. When Sadie asks why Parker insists on torturing her, Parker levels a caustic, bitter reprisal of how her mother marrying Sadie’s father ruined her life. Adding insult to injury, Parker says Sadie’s father doesn’t love her because he blames her for her mom’s death. Sadie’s mother had an art trip planned with Sadie and put off going to the doctor. She died soon after from the burst blood vessel. As Sadie attempts to process the shock, she sees her father standing before her with flowers. She asks him if what Parker says is accurate, and he doesn’t answer.

Sadie races out of the venue and sees Lucinda hurriedly entering the show. Lucinda says Parker told them the show was canceled, and she called to find out it wasn’t. Lucinda tries to defend Parker, saying she must have been mistaken, but Sadie says Parker lied to sabotage the show, ensuring Sadie was alone. Sadie reminds her father and Lucinda of all the times Parker lied, and they believed her over Sadie. She reminds them of Augusta Ross and how Parker ruined her life and Sadie’s by bullying her and pinning it on Sadie. Lucinda wants to “[…] just try and move on” (258), but Sadie explains how Parker came to the show just to taunt her and that the cruelty continues.

Just then, a young woman approaches and introduces herself as Augusta. She explains that after the high school incident, her parents moved her away so she could recover, but she’s recently moved back to the area. Only then did she learn that Sadie was blamed for the incident. Augusta hands Sadie a polka-dot dress and explains that she is the girl in the coffee shop. When she heard about Sadie’s show, she came to thank her for her kindness and return the dress. Augusta confirms to Lucinda and Sadie’s father that Parker is the villain, and they should believe Sadie.

Lucinda feels faint, and Sadie’s father retrieves the car to take her home. He pulls Sadie aside and apologizes to her for all the ways he failed her as a father after her mother’s death. He says in the days after her death, he was “crazed with grief” and blamed everyone (264), including himself. As he tucks one of the marigolds in her ear, Sadie knows that his apology doesn’t erase all the mistakes, but she is thankful for it anyway.

Parker doesn’t leave the show and instead hides in a corner. Sadie empathizes with Parker, remembering how Parker’s father traumatically left her and Lucinda. Sadie knows that Parker uses cruelty as a self-preservation tactic. Knowing that getting revenge won’t help, Sadie resolves to let Parker stew in her self-hatred. Sadie tells Parker that she hopes Parker can stop hurting others and they can find a path toward peace. Sadie’s painting doesn’t win or even get one vote, but she views her decision to forgive Parker as a victory.

Sadie reflects on her life after her mother’s death and realizes that her father’s distance taught her the incorrect belief that she shouldn’t depend on people and that being “needy” shows weakness. Sadie has kept a safe distance in all her relationships, avoiding vulnerability, except with Joe. Though she knows he’ll never hear it, Sadie leaves Joe a long voicemail apologizing for not telling him the truth about her condition. She explains face blindness and its effects on her physical and mental health and labels the voicemail as a first attempt at showing her true self to others. Spontaneously, she says she’s in love with him and awkwardly ends the message with “Best wishes!” (273).

The following day, Sadie regrets leaving Joe a voicemail, feeling he didn’t deserve her apology after abandoning her for the show. Sue returns from her trip, and her parents plan an elopement party. Sadie learns that Mr. and Mrs. Kim purchased her painting, which sold for the highest price in the show. They plan to hang it in the building lobby. Humbled by their generosity, Sadie worries about the money, but Mr. Kim explains that they believe in her and love the painting. Mr. Kim says Parker is moving out because she violated her lease agreement by having a pet.

Sadie’s father sends her a package containing the last painting her mother made, a portrait of Sadie at 14. It was to be her submission for the contest, but she died before finishing it. As Sadie marvels at her mother’s talent, she suddenly realizes she can see her face in the portrait. She cautiously goes to the mirror and exclaims, “Hello, stranger […]” upon seeing her face for the first time in a while (280).

The elopement party is on the rooftop, and Sadie feels much better than the last time she attended a party at this location. Dr. Nicole warned her that face blindness would resolve slowly, and at the party, she can only recognize half of the faces but is comforted to see Sue, Witt, and Mrs. Kim’s faces. Sadie practices her new skill of asking for help by telling the guests with scrambled faces that she struggles to recognize faces and asking if they know each other.

Suddenly, she sees Joe, and though she’s never seen his face, she instantly recognizes him. He's far more attractive than she’d ever imagined. Sue apologizes, explaining that Mr. Kim invited him to set them up. Sue introduces Sadie to her handsome cousin, Daniel, and flirts with him to make Joe jealous. Sadie and Joe are seated next to each other for dinner. They speak warmly, but Sadie turns her attention to Sue’s family, ignoring Joe. She counts the minutes until she can leave, determined to keep her head high, though seeing Joe breaks her heart.

Joe remains at the party, and Sadie runs from him when he approaches her on the dancefloor. With nowhere to run, Joe and Sadie are alone, staring at the skyline. He says he got her voicemail and apologizes for not knowing she is struggling. Joe says avoiding her calls has been hard even though she broke up with him. Sadie insists she never broke up with him, but Joe argues she did. As they dig into the details and Sadie mentions having a crush on her vet, Joe makes the connection and reveals to her that he is Dr. Addison. He never corrected her when she called him Joe because he thought it was a cute joke they shared. Joe reveals that he met Sadie for the first time when he helped her carry her art supplies upstairs and that he’s had a crush on her ever since seeing her dance in the grocery store. Joe was the guy who bought her groceries and the “Good Samaritan” who pushed her out of traffic. Astonished, Sadie says, “How is it possible […] that you were everywhere? All along?” (301). Sadie kisses him and melts into Joe’s embrace.

They return to the party and explain the mix-up to Sue, who is initially skeptical. Dr. Addison dresses differently at work, speaks more professionally, styles his hair, and doesn’t wear glasses at work. This adds to Sadie’s confusion since Joe wears glasses, has floppy hair, and always wears the bowling jacket. That, combined with Sadie’s lack of skill in recognizing voices, helps explain how she didn’t make the connection. Sadie is thankful that Joe heard her voicemail and that she gave him the chance to talk as the party marks a new beginning for them.

Mr. Kim forces Sadie to move out of the loft to make room for a garden, but it doesn’t matter because she and Dr. Addison, who she still calls Joe, are engaged and live together. Parker moves to Amsterdam, and Sadie sees her father and Lucinda often. An art gallery scout named Ellery Smith, who attended the art show and was intrigued by Sadie’s painting, reaches out to her to do commissions for the gallery. The paintings sell for $3,000 each. Sadie looks back on the time after her brain surgery with thankfulness that it forced her to explore beyond her emotional and creative boundaries. It gave her a new appreciation for humanity and an artistic vision, and most importantly, it gave her Joe.