That Summer

An email mixup figures in Weiner’s second “Cape Cod” story (after Big Summer). Midlife ennui has hit Daisy Shoemaker hard. Her husband Hal’s patronizing attitude is exhausting, her daughter Beatrice is in the throes of teen girlhood, and her best friend has recently died. Then she receives an invitation to a lavish 50th-birthday party—but it turns out to be intended for someone with an email address similar to Daisy’s. Daisy and the intended recipient, Diana Starling, strike up a correspondence, and Daisy is immediately impressed with Diana’s poise and sophistication. Their friendship leads Daisy to wonder what could have been if she hadn’t left college early to marry Hal. But Diana has an ulterior motive; as a teenager, she was sexually assaulted, and her quest to confront her rapist has led her to Daisy’s doorstep. Each chapter features a different perspective from Daisy, Diana, or Beatrice, providing insight into the characters’ motivations, as well as glimpses of their pasts.