Later, the Narrator sits in the dark to operate a slideshow for a work presentation, because his boss denies him face-time with their clients due to the Narrator’s extensive facial injuries. The Narrator feels the stitches come loose on the inside of his cheek, and his mouth fills with blood that he must continually swallow to not be disruptive. He makes excuses for his appearance. He tells his co-worker he fell because the “first rule of fight club is you don’t talk about fight club” (48). The Narrator recalls the first meeting of fight club was simply him and Tyler beating up one another, but it has now grown into weekly meetings with a surprisingly diverse membership—men of varying ages, physiques, and careers—that increases with each passing week. When they fight, it is like they are different people; when the meetings end, they all return to their normal lives. They never acknowledge fight club if they see one another in public.

The Narrator contemplates how he and Tyler lack relationships with their fathers. Tyler claims to have never known his father, while the Narrator states his father left when he was six years old. When he found himself on the cusp of a major life decision, the Narrator would call his father to ask what he ought to do next.