The Wife Between Us

Nellie thinks of herself as several different women: she used to be a playful child and then a carefree sorority social director who would forget to lock the door at night, but she is now cautious and alert, never wanting to be in a vulnerable position. Her day and night selves—the dedicated preschool teacher and the waitress in black miniskirts and red lipstick—are also at odds. Though she had planned to quit her serving job after the wedding, Richard asked her to quit early and spend more time with him. Nellie was reluctant at first, maintaining that she loved the work and her coworkers and wanted to save some more money. Richard, though, was adamant, promising to provide for her and then playfully tickling her. Nellie squealed, begging him to stop. When he didn’t, she pushed him away violently. Hyperventilating from the terror of feeling trapped, Nellie quickly apologized, worried she has ruined a perfect date night. She agreed to speak with her manager about quitting.

Later, Nellie is getting ready for a surprise Richard has planned for her. Her roommate and best friend, Sam, comes home just before Nellie is about to leave. Sam watches Nellie get into Richard’s car, squinting her eyes and watching them intently as they pull away. During the ride, Richard asks Nellie to wear a blindfold before they reach their destination. She complies but is unsettled by the sensation of blindness and desperate to take it off. Finally, Richard tells her she can remove the blindfold, and Nellie finds herself outside a large house. Beaming, Richard tells her the house is her wedding present and that he bought it because she wanted to live in the suburbs. Though Nellie doesn’t remember saying that, she assumes she must have at some point. Moving through her new house, marveling at its size and noticing its isolation from the neighbors, Nellie feels she has stumbled into yet another life.

Vanessa wakes, hungover and exhausted. She attempts to call in sick for work—the second day in a row—but her manager guilts her into coming in. Standing upon the subway platform, she notices a young pregnant woman. The sight conjures up memories of her many efforts with Richard to conceive. Vanessa reveals how she was initially more worried about whether she’d be a good mother. She thinks of her own mother’s failings—when she would forget to pick Vanessa up, or mail would pile by the door because her mother had locked herself in her room. Eventually, however, Vanessa’s desire for a child overcame her anxiety.

She and Richard had agreed to try six times before seeking medical help. Vanessa remembers how positive and supportive he was at first, but after the sixth disappointment, she noticed a shift in him. She felt this letdown more acutely than the rest and hoped Richard would take her with him on a business trip to cheer her up. However, he only suggested that she should quit drinking altogether.

Vanessa’s train approaches. She squeezes into the stuffed, hot train car and wonders if Richard’s fiancée is pregnant. The thought consumes her, bringing new waves of panic. She struggles to breath in the suffocating train and collapses. Strangers help Vanessa out of the train at its next stop, setting her down on a bench. She recovers and walks the entire way back home.