Chapter seven describes how Tyler meets Marla. The nararrator wakes up one morning to find condoms floating in the toilet and Tyler's door closed. He remembers dreaming about being with Marla all night which reflects his inner desires to actually be with her. The next few paragraphs go into describing the dilapidated condition of the house whenever it rains like it had the night before. The descriptions are all negative and unattractive such as the wood swelling, the wallpaper sagging and pealing, and the power having to be turned off. This also may reflect how the nararator is really feeling.
Palahniuk next goes into explaining what the nararator reads in The Readers Digest magazine article where "the organs in the human body talk about themselves in the first person: I am Jane's uterus. I am Joe's prostate (Sipiora 49)." Tyler enters the kitchen where his roommate sits and spills the beans about the activities the night before between himself and Marla.
The nararator recalls the events of the day before. He had called Marla to discuss splitting the support group meetings. Upon answering in slow motion, she tells him that she is attempting suicide but only as a ploy for attention and would like it if he would like to come over and watch. He declines her offer by placing the receiver off of the hook to allow her to continue her ramblings. Tyler happens to walk by the receiver, picks it up to listen and finds himself in the hotel room of Marla Singer. Throughout this part of the chapter, the nararator keeps referring to himself as parts of Joe's body that reflect anger (such as Joe's flared nostrils).
Tyler then further explains how Marla ended up at their house on Paper Street. The police were called to aid Marla and her suicide attempts but Tyler arrives in just enough time to escape them with her. They catch a cab and arrive at Tyler's house. When Tyler wakes up that morning, Marla is nowhere to be found. To hide his feelings but still voice his unhappy opinion of the matter, the nararator says "Marla Singer doesn't need a lover, she needs a case worker (Sipiora 53)." He again assures Tyler that he has no problem with his involvment with Marla which once again appears to be an obvious lie.
