The Husband's Secret

Cecilia attends the funeral of Sister Ursula, one of the nuns at her children’s Catholic school. She spends the funeral thinking about sex, specifically about the lack of sex in her marriage for the past six months. This concerns Cecilia because it marks a dramatic and unexplained change in her marriage. She wonders if she’s become undesirable in her middle age or if John-Paul is having an affair, but she dismisses both possibilities. Her thoughts return to the letter, and she tries to convince herself that it does not contain a big secret, like a secret second family or homosexuality. She firmly tells herself that the letter is of no importance and that she is not going to open it.

Tess and her mother go to Tess’s childhood school, St. Angela’s, to enroll Liam. They arrive as Sister Ursula’s funeral is ending. As they’re entering the school, Cecilia intercepts them. Tess’s mother, Lucy, says that Cecilia makes a “fortune” selling Tupperware. Cecilia’s bubbly, chatty nature is draining for Tess, whose shyness and social anxiety are in stark contrast. She marvels that Cecilia not only remembers her but knows her son’s name.