Celeste arrives at Pirriwee Public with Perry and their twin boys to buy school uniforms before the new term. She is physically tense and hypersensitive because she and Perry had a violent argument the previous night, though they now behave with their usual post-fight tenderness. Perry plays affectionately with Josh and Max, which reinforces Celeste’s conflicted feelings of love, hatred, shame, and denial.

Celeste remembers that the fight began when she asked Perry to fix a computer error. When Perry could not solve the problem, his frustration escalated into rage, and Celeste’s own anger rose because she could see the evening collapsing into their familiar destructive pattern. With the boys staying at Perry’s mother’s house, there were no restraints on the shouting, and the aftermath followed the usual cycle of sex, apologies, and promises that it would never happen again.

Celeste also reflects on their failed attempt at counseling two years earlier. Both Celeste and Perry concealed the truth, reducing the violence to ordinary marital tension, and Celeste wished the counselor would somehow ask the right question. Afterward, the couple turned the failed session into flirtation and sex at a hotel, leaving Celeste feeling both exhilarated and despairing.

Back at the school, Perry asks where the uniform shop is, and Renata Klein appears with Amabella to direct them. Renata introduces herself, recognizes Celeste as Madeline’s friend, and tells Perry about the orientation-day incident in which Amabella accused Ziggy of choking her. Perry reacts protectively, while Renata suggests the boys should avoid Ziggy, and Celeste gives only a cautious defense of Jane, saying Jane seemed nice.

When Josh yanks Celeste’s arm, pain shoots through her injured shoulder, revealing the physical aftermath of Perry’s violence. Perry recognizes the source of the pain, and Celeste imagines telling Renata the truth about her husband hitting her and asking whether Renata’s husband does the same. Instead, Celeste says she is fine, preserving the appearance of normality.