Wednesday, 10 July

Alix tells Nathan that she wants to invite Josie and Walter over for dinner as part of the podcast project. Alix has been uncertain all morning, but decides that a social setting, helped by alcohol and Nathan's presence, may make Walter easier to read than a formal interview.

Nathan reacts with alarm and asks whether he has to attend. Alix explains that Walter seems like a “man's man” and would probably respond better if Nathan is there. Nathan reluctantly agrees, partly out of affection and partly because he knows he owes Alix after recent events.

Josie receives Alix's invitation and immediately focuses on how Walter will appear in Alix's home. Josie tells Walter they are going to dinner and insists that Walter get a haircut and new clothes before Friday, because the invitation feels important to her and she does not want Walter's shabbiness to reflect badly on them.

Walter is suspicious of why Alix wants them over, but Josie frames the invitation as ordinary friendship. As Josie criticizes Walter's grooming and clothes, the atmosphere shifts; Walter backs down, but remarks that he does not know what has got into Josie lately.

At work, Josie obsesses over Friday's dinner and imagines Alix's domestic world in vivid detail. Her thoughts turn bitter when she pictures Walter's age, dullness, and defeated manner, and she sees herself as someone frozen since girlhood. When Alix texts asking Josie to bring a photo of the girls to their next session, Josie is shaken, then decides it is time to expose her life to scrutiny and tell the truth.