Hardin’s Birthday and Tessa’s Gift

After We Collided

Tessa’s thoughtful birthday gifts reveal how closely she observes Hardin, while the missed celebration exposes the damage caused by faulty communication.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Book of Shared Meanings A Book of Shared Meanings from "After We Collided". A Book of Shared Meanings Tessa marks a novel Tessa highlights passages in Pride and Prejudice that remind her of Hardin and their difficult relationship.

A Book of Shared Meanings from "After We Collided". A Book of Shared Meanings Tessa marks a novel Tessa highlights passages in Pride and Prejudice that remind her of Hardin and their difficult relationship.

A Book of Shared Meanings Tessa marks a novel Tessa highlights passages in Pride and Prejudice that remind her of Hardin and their difficult relationship. Intimacy in attention The gift reflects the way they use books to say what direct conversation often cannot.

A Practical Binder A Practical Binder from "After We Collided". A Practical Binder Tessa notices details Tessa gives Hardin a new binder because his work papers are disorganized and his old one is falling apart.

A Practical Binder from "After We Collided". A Practical Binder Tessa notices details Tessa gives Hardin a new binder because his work papers are disorganized and his old one is falling apart.

A Practical Binder Tessa notices details Tessa gives Hardin a new binder because his work papers are disorganized and his old one is falling apart. Affection through irritation The gift is caring but teasing, based on an everyday habit that has become part of their intimacy.

A Kickboxing Pass A Kickboxing Pass from "After We Collided". A Kickboxing Pass Anger redirected Tessa buys Hardin a week of kickboxing classes, hoping he can use them as a constructive outlet for anger.

A Kickboxing Pass from "After We Collided". A Kickboxing Pass Anger redirected Tessa buys Hardin a week of kickboxing classes, hoping he can use them as a constructive outlet for anger.

A Kickboxing Pass Anger redirected Tessa buys Hardin a week of kickboxing classes, hoping he can use them as a constructive outlet for anger. A practical hope The gift acknowledges his temper without pretending it is harmless, and offers a small alternative to violence.

The Fray Album The Fray Album from "After We Collided". The Fray Album A shared soundtrack Tessa includes music by The Fray, a band whose songs have become familiar to both of them.

The Fray Album from "After We Collided". The Fray Album A shared soundtrack Tessa includes music by The Fray, a band whose songs have become familiar to both of them.

The Fray Album A shared soundtrack Tessa includes music by The Fray, a band whose songs have become familiar to both of them. Memory carried forward The gift gives their relationship an ordinary, repeatable pleasure that contrasts with its larger crises.

Hardin Reads Her Notes Hardin Reads Her Notes from "After We Collided". Hardin Reads Her Notes A private reading Hardin studies the marked passages in Tessa’s gift and recognizes how carefully she has thought about them.

Hardin Reads Her Notes from "After We Collided". Hardin Reads Her Notes A private reading Hardin studies the marked passages in Tessa’s gift and recognizes how carefully she has thought about them.

Hardin Reads Her Notes A private reading Hardin studies the marked passages in Tessa’s gift and recognizes how carefully she has thought about them. Self-knowledge through her eyes The annotations reveal both affection and criticism. They give him a chance to understand how his pride, anger, and tenderness appear to her.

Before Hardin’s twenty-first birthday

Hardin’s twenty-first birthday

After the campus arrest