Contents
Thursday, 20 June
Overview
Alix records her first formal interview with Josie and uncovers the central revelation that Josie began a relationship with Walter when Josie was fifteen and Walter was forty-two. The material excites Alix professionally even as Nathan’s latest unexplained absence pushes Alix toward Josie as an outsider to confide in.
Intercut documentary segments complicate Josie’s account through Helen and Jason, who confirm the grooming dynamic but also portray Josie and the fallout around Walter in unsettling terms. Josie, meanwhile, becomes more enchanted with Alix’s life and attention, secretly taking a small object from Alix’s studio and obsessively researching her online.
Summary
Alix prepares her garden studio for Josie’s first recorded interview, reflecting on Nathan’s generous gift of the studio and the contradictions in her marriage. Josie arrives with Fred, admires Alix’s beautiful home and equipment, and begins recording for Alix’s new podcast, Hi! I’m Your Birthday Twin!.
Alix starts with Josie’s birth and family history. Josie says her mother, Pat, is a loud, locally famous community figure, while her father was never involved. When Alix asks about the older man from the pub, Josie clarifies that he is Walter, her husband, and reveals that she has been with him since she was fifteen, when Walter was forty-two.
Josie describes first seeing Walter when he worked as an electrical contractor on her estate. She says that by her fourteenth birthday his interest in her felt like an invisible monster in the room: frightening, compelling, and somehow tied to the power she felt in being young and desired. Alix is shocked but senses that Josie’s story is strong material. A later Netflix-style segment shows Helen Lloyd, Josie’s former schoolfriend, describing Josie as controlling and saying Walter obviously groomed her, while also claiming Josie wanted him and helped make him want her.
After the interview, Josie walks home overwhelmed by Alix’s glamorous house and studio. Wanting to possess a fragment of that life, Josie keeps a Nespresso pod she secretly took from Alix’s studio and hides it in her underwear drawer. Walter questions her absence, and Josie lies that she visited her grandmother’s grave. Passing Erin’s room, Josie notices the smell worsening but postpones dealing with it.
Another Netflix segment introduces Jason Fair, Walter’s son, who says Walter left his mother for teenage Josie, prompting Jason’s mother to take him abroad. That evening, Nathan fails to come home from work, and Alix recognizes the pattern of another bender. After listening back to the interview, Alix becomes more convinced that Josie’s story is dark and compelling, then messages Josie to continue the project and visit the estate where Josie grew up.
Josie receives Alix’s message with intense delight, almost like a crush. Josie imagines bringing Alix to the Kilburn estate and showing Pat that Alix is interested in Josie rather than in Pat. Instead of replying, Josie spends the next half hour searching Alix online and looking through her public image, then decides it is too late to answer and returns to her book while Walter’s voice sounds elsewhere in the flat.
Who Appears
- Josie FairInterview subject; reveals Walter’s pursuit, envies Alix’s life, and grows increasingly fixated on her.
- Alix SummerPodcaster; records Josie’s first interview and sees dark potential in her story.
- Walter FairJosie’s much older husband; questioned by Josie’s account and documentary testimony.
- NathanAlix’s husband; fails to come home, worsening Alix’s anxiety about their marriage.
- Helen LloydJosie’s former schoolfriend; documentary interview portrays Josie as controlling and Walter as a groomer.
- Jason FairWalter’s son; documentary interview says Walter left his family for teenage Josie.
- Pat O’NeillJosie’s mother; described as a dominant community figure whom Josie imagines impressing.
- Erin FairJosie’s reclusive daughter; her room’s worsening smell worries Josie but is postponed.