Then it's later and Jackie's shaking her head because I guess he reneged on the soup. "He's afraid God will punish him," Zoey reminds herself. "Personally I don't think God punishes us, what about you." (She says this in a great administrative voice, like they're at a PBS round table on Sunday morning or one of those child-enriching unlikely conversations they used to have on Zoom!, like tweens sit around going, "So guys, what do you think about cheating on tests? I am against it." Well. Little Zoey Brakow probably did do that, because she saw on it on TV and thought it was how people act, because "How People Act" is just not a chapter she's ever going to read.)

Obviously Jackie doesn't think God punishes people, not only because that's what free will and other people are for, but because a little deeper than that she believes she would have been hit by lightning one dozen times just on her way to work today. But speaking of self-hatred... "Zoey, what you walked in on was very, very private," she explains, and Zoey tries to reassure her that she has "no judgment," which is not at issue, because like Zoey or anybody else can "have judgment" about Jackie Peyton, but Zoey's not listening because she wants to bond in whatever gross way she can: "I went to second with my manager at Burger King, so I get it." I can't remember if they've actually said Zoey is from Florida or if I just made it up, but either way that's an even shorter, even more amazing novel than the text messages, and I want nothing to do with it.

Neither does Jackie, who carefully explains that she didn't ask about that, and did not ask Zoey to share with her, while in contrast she did not share the Eddie information with Zoey by choice at all. So Zoey is not returning the favor by sharing information Jackie doesn't want to know, because that's creating two problems where before there was only one problem.

"Got it. We're professionals!" I get scared when Zoey uses words she doesn't understand, like, now I'm picturing her with a black suit like Romy & Michelle all, "You know how some places have like a lunch special? For businesswomen?" Jackie tells her to take more food to the padre and to make sure he understands that liquid meals don't, for the purpose of God, count as "food," and in return Zoey offers her a breakfast bar or something, and Jackie's not interested, and she goes, "Right. NO SHARING!" with a hilarious ogre face before running off.