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Chapters 16–19

Summary: Chapter 16

Sitting on the roof of the hospital, Will listens to the voicemail Stella left him after her surgery and watches her working on her computer in her room. Will contemplates how much of his life has consisted of wanting something he cannot have. The next morning, Will finds an envelope that has been slid under his door. He opens it to see a drawing of himself and Stella with an arrow in between them above which reads the message “FIVE FEET AT ALL TIMES.” Will wonders what Stella means by this, as she knows they are supposed to stay six feet apart, not five. Will receives a text from Stella with a link to her newest YouTube video. In the video, she talks about B. cepacia and why people who have cystic fibrosis must stay six feet apart from each other. While showing a pool cue that is five feet long, Stella explains that her disease has taken too much from her, and now she plans to take one foot back for herself. Stella comes to Will’s room and, holding the pool cue between them, tells him to meet her in the atrium that night.

Summary: Chapter 17

Before meeting Will, Stella talks to Poe while selecting an outfit. Finally, Stella does not wish she were anywhere else but the hospital, not even in Cabo with her friends. When she goes to meet Will, she realizes she has had many firsts in the hospital, and now she will have her first date there as well.

Summary: Chapter 18

That night, Stella and Will walk around the hospital, getting to know each other. Stella tells Will she has been coming to the hospital since she was six years old, and Will tells Stella about his father, who left once Will got sick. They go to the pool in the gym and discuss whether they believe in an afterlife. Stella says she believes death is like birth, an existence just an inch away from their current one. Will says he does not believe anything happens after death, but Stella objects, saying she cannot accept that Abby is fully gone. Will asks what happened to Abby, and Stella says that she broke her neck and drowned while cliff diving. Stella shares her guilt at not being there for Abby when Abby was always there for her. Will points out that in the end, everyone dies alone, and they discuss their fears about dying. Stella and Will take off their clothes and go in the pool, and Will realizes he is falling in love.

Summary: Chapter 19

After getting out of the pool, Stella and Will walk around the hospital more. Stella points out Christmas lights in a park they can see from the hospital and says Abby used to tell her to wish on the lights as if they were stars. As they move closer to each other, Stella receives a text from Poe saying that Barb is looking for them. They panic, but Will suggests that Stella go to the NICU, the first place Barb would look for her. Stella rushes to the NICU and lies down on a couch, pretending to be asleep. Barb finds Stella and puts a blanket over her. The next day, back in her room, Stella basks in her happiness from her date with Will and makes a plan for his birthday the next day.

Analysis: Chapters 16–19

The motif of physical distance recurs in these chapters as Will and Stella have their first date in the hospital. While they have most often talked over Skype or from across a room or hallway, they are now closer than they have ever been but need an object to remind them not to get any closer. As they get to know each other and their mutual attraction deepens, the desire to get close enough to touch intensifies, even though they are both aware of the risks.

By staying five feet apart from Will instead of six, Stella shows her fresh rebellious spirit. In her video, she explains that a cough can travel up to six feet, which is the reason that is the recommended distance for patients with cystic fibrosis. By being five feet apart instead of six, she and Will can still be reasonably safe, but not as safe as they should be. With her newfound defiance ever since her surgery, Stella shows she is willing to take risks to experience things, such as love, that make life worth living.

As Stella and Will discuss what happens after death, their outlooks on life are again compared and contrasted. Stella believes that life and death are only an inch apart, partly because she cannot believe that Abby is any farther from her than that. This idea, which Stella shares with Will, again seems to be partly driven by Stella’s guilt that she was not there when Abby died.

On their date, Stella shows Will the holiday lights in the nearby park, which Abby first pointed out to Stella years ago. Even though the lights are only a few miles away, they might as well be as far away as the stars, as Stella has never been able to see them up close. The lights represent the hopes and dreams Stella cannot quite bring herself to embrace, as she knows she cannot take any risks or she may face an early death.

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