The New Couple in 5B

In the final chapter of “Act 1,” Rosie and Chad visit their neighbors Ella and Charles for what they think is a small welcome party, but instead they find most of the residents of the Windermere waiting for them. Rosie finds the neighbors, including a sculptor named Anna and an anesthesiologist named Xavier, strange and off-putting. Rosie recognizes Ella and Charles’s daughter Lillian as the woman she saw at Chad’s show, but Lillian denies having been there. Rosie learns that the apartments have automatic intercoms to the doorman that are activated with the phrase “Hey Abi.” Later, she confronts Chad, who admits Ivan told him about the apartment. He justifies lying by claiming he wasn’t sure Ivan was serious about the inheritance.

The second part of the novel, “Act 2” begins with a chapter narrated by Willa Winter in 1963. Willa cannot understand why her husband Paul believes their sunny apartment in the Windermere is haunted. She tries her best to be a good husband to Paul, keeping their apartment clean and herself beautiful. Despite their best efforts, she cannot get pregnant, and she worries that Paul is going to leave her. She also maintains her affair with her mysterious unnamed lover, sneaking out to see him hours after having sex with Paul.