The List: A Novel

The famous former soccer player and current TV personality Lewis Hale texts Michael, and they meet at Lewis’s luxurious house and discuss The List. Michael tells him about Jackie, and Lewis says that newspapers regularly gossiped about his sex life before the advent of social media. Lewis blames “fake news” on mainstream media outlets that routinely publish articles sourced from social media. The accusations against Lewis include abuse and anti-gay behavior. Lewis denies abusive conduct but admits that he has used anti-gay language.

Lewis is gay but has declined to disclose this fact publicly. For 17 years, he has been married to a religious woman, and they have children together. Lewis has had a serious relationship with another man, Cris, who broke up with Lewis because he wouldn’t leave his wife. Cris has a sister with a drug addiction, and Lewis claims that she put him on The List because he wouldn’t give her £100,000. Lewis’s family has strong anti-gay biases, and the example of the gay soccer player who died by suicide in 1998, Justin Fashanu, keeps Lewis from publicizing his sexual orientation.

Using the spare key hidden under Michael’s plant outside his home, Ola sneaks into Michael’s house. Because she knows his password, she easily logs into his laptop and searches his email for mentions of harassment, restraining orders, and Christmas parties. She does not find any matches. Michael’s browser history includes searches for beard oils and gift baskets for her. She discovers All Tea, No Crumpet and reads the negative comments about her. Upset, Ola closes the laptop. When she opens it again, she sees a message from @mirrorissa92, who tells Michael, “Because I can, Mikey x” (257).

Ola shuts the laptop again and takes an Uber to the wedding rehearsal, where she confronts Michael in the church office. As she is telling him about @mirrorissa92 and her meeting with the creator of The List, her phone rings. Michael grabs it. He thinks that she is cheating on him with Luke and wonders why Luke has images of his DBS, his Instagram, and him eating lunch. Ola explains, and Luke quits because he cannot find evidence against Michael. However, Ola still suspects Michael of wrongdoing, reasoning that she cannot produce evidence for every time a man has sexually harassed her.

Lewis wants to release a joint statement with Michael and then make donations to four charities. Michael fears that Lewis’s involvement will only attract more attention, but Lewis argues that ignoring the accusations will not make them vanish.

Before the wedding ceremony, Michael reflects on the rehearsal. He feels that Ola came after him with “guns blazing,” and he compares his life to a daytime talk show. At the wedding, Celie won’t look at Michael, and Amani reads passages from the Bible about the responsibilities of love. Michael says, “I do,” and so does Ola.

Ola tries to enjoy her wedding day. Ruth and Celie joke about their different breast sizes, and Ruth expresses interest in Kwabz. Ruth plays Papi Danks’s music, upsetting Celie, who tells Ola that she will stay away from Michael. Celie has been distancing herself from Ola, and her publisher won the right to publish Dot Dot Dot, a collection of essays by writers with freckles. Ola feels that Amani read the Bible passages about love as a way to “troll” her. She says, “I do,” and hopes that the words themselves will invigorate her, but as the confetti falls, she remains discontented, worrying that she has married “a monster.”

The wedding reception takes place in a park. Over 400 people attend to enjoy the large cake, and there is also a place for people to take pictures with #TheKorantengs19. The DJ summons Ola and Michael to the dance floor, and Ola feels like she is on a “death march.” Ola has multiple wardrobe changes, and Celie leaves early with a headache. Frankie shows up uninvited, and Kiran has to “babysit her.” This duty prevents Kiran from flirting with other women.

Ola and Michael saved money on their wedding by partnering with various brands, but neither can promote the wedding on their social media accounts. Michael realizes that social media attention gave him self-worth, and he wonders if a wedding matters without a “viral post.” Meanwhile, Frankie gushes over Michael and Ola until Michael pulls Ola away. For a moment, Ola and Michael are on the “same team” again, and they playfully make fun of their guests and friends. Before the speeches start, Frankie runs over to Ola to alert her that #TheKorantengs19 now features endless posts that pair Ola and Michael’s engagement photos with text that labels Michael an “abuser” and Ola an “apologist.” The posts suddenly appear on the 120-inch projector screen at the reception, causing Ola to vomit and have a panic attack.