Tuesday, 18 June

Alix visits Stitch, the bright sewing shop where Josie works, bringing two dresses for alterations. Josie greets Alix warmly, measures and pins the dresses, and makes small talk about the clothes and pregnancy while Alix notices the odd intimacy of Josie touching her shoulders and waist.

After ringing up the alterations and applying a discount, Josie explains why Josie wanted to speak to Alix. Josie has discovered that Alix is a podcaster after hearing Alix’s name at the Lansdowne, has listened to Alix’s work, and proposes a new kind of podcast: following someone while that person is actively changing her life.

Josie presents herself as that subject. Josie says she has lived the same unchanging life for thirty years, has been with her husband since age fifteen, and has endured “really bad things” in a complicated and traumatic marriage. Josie wants Alix to tell her story because Josie believes her apparently ordinary life is actually extraordinary.

Alix feels wary of Josie’s intensity and instinctively wants to walk away, but Alix’s journalistic curiosity wins. The possibility of uncovering the dark truth of another woman’s marriage draws Alix in, especially because Alix is bored with her current podcast format. Alix tells Josie the idea is interesting and asks what Josie is doing tomorrow.

Walking home, Alix feels excited by the prospect of a darker, more immediate project. Alix shops impulsively and reflects on Nathan’s money, generosity, and hard work, allowing those thoughts to soften Alix’s anger over Nathan’s recent absence and drunkenness. Alix imagines a pleasant family evening with wine, expensive food, music, and the kind of life others expect Alix to have.