Darren likes to make grand gestures and to surprise Lucy with gifts. From the beginning, Lucy is annoyed by these moves, calling them “…infantilizing. Or…patronizing” (141) the first time Darren does it. She does not like being cut out of the planning. While Lucy claims that surprising her with a gift like a dog or a house is not something Gabe would do, the reader may disagree. While it was not a surprise gift, Gabe did cut Lucy out of the process of signing on with the Associated Press and moving to Iraq to become a photojournalist. These types of revelations become a theme throughout the novel, as many of the major plot points center on some kind of surprise or secret.

Lucy is a strong, independent career woman who likes to have her voice heard. However, the men she chooses as partners do not always understand this part of her. Gabe showers Lucy with affection and promises never to undermine her dreams. However, he also leaves her alone at a party to speak in an empty room with another woman and hides his decision to move to a war zone. When Lucy meets Darren, he is also kind and considerate, though he does not take her career as seriously as she would like.