Contents
Saturday, 29 June
Overview
Alix’s chance encounter with Josie in the rain exposes how deeply the podcast interviews are disturbing Josie’s suppressed emotions. Josie’s reaction to seeing Alix with Eliza, followed by her sudden flight from a café after possibly seeing Roxy, suggests that Josie’s past and present are beginning to blur under pressure.
Back home, Josie’s revulsion toward Walter’s football and her memories of molding herself around him reinforce the trapped, self-erasing nature of her marriage. The chapter shifts Josie from controlled storyteller to unstable subject, increasing tension around what she may reveal or do next.
Summary
On a wet Saturday, Alix prepares to walk Eliza to an eleventh birthday party. On the way, Alix unexpectedly sees Josie walking Fred in the rain. Josie notices Eliza and seems moved by the sight of Alix with her daughter, but the encounter remains brief, and Alix continues to the party.
Eliza asks who Josie is, and Alix explains that Josie is the woman Alix is interviewing for her podcast. When Eliza says Josie seems boring except for the dog, Alix says the point is that ordinary-seeming people can have interesting stories if someone knows how to draw them out.
After staying at the party for tea and gossip, Alix walks home and finds Josie still standing near the same spot in the rain. Josie is distressed and says the podcast work is making her feel things she has not felt for years, as if she has been numb. Seeing Alix with her daughter has unsettled Josie so much that Josie says she could not make her feet move.
Alix responds with sympathy and takes Josie into a nearby café, intending to buy her coffee. Alix orders cappuccinos and cookies, but when Alix returns to the table, Josie has disappeared.
At 4 p.m., Josie arrives home soaked. Walter is watching football, and Josie feels repelled by the familiar sound, which she associates with the twenty-seven years she has spent shaping herself around Walter’s tastes and desires. Josie tells Walter she is going to bed because she feels shivery, and Walter shows brief concern before football pulls his attention away.
In the bedroom, Josie tries to understand what happened at the café. Josie remembers seeing something through the window that she believed might have been Roxy, causing her to flee, but Josie is unsure whether it was real, a memory, or just a resemblance. Josie gets into bed with Fred and plays one of Alix’s podcasts, using Alix’s voice to drown out the noise of the football from the living room.
Who Appears
- Josie FairDistressed podcast subject; breaks down in the rain and flees after possibly seeing Roxy.
- Alix SummerPodcaster who encounters Josie, offers comfort, and loses sight of her in a café.
- ElizaAlix’s daughter; attends a birthday party and prompts Josie’s longing response.
- Walter FairJosie’s husband; watches football while Josie reflects on years of self-erasure.
- FredJosie’s dog; walked in the rain and later comforted by Josie at home.
- RoxyJosie’s daughter or remembered presence; possibly seen outside the café, triggering Josie’s flight.