Confessions on the 7:45

Selena is in her sons’ room, trying to get them to fall asleep. They have been fighting all day, and she is preoccupied with what happened between her and Graham. Her boss and best friend, Beth, asked if she was okay, and she lied and said everything was fine. She and Beth have unspoken rules about being nice about each other’s spouses, even when Beth’s husband cheated on her before their divorce, and letting each other keep secrets. Selena knows that Beth does not like Graham and can feel the pressure of keeping everything inside, but she is not ready to tell Beth about what is going on with her family.

Oliver asks why his dad hasn’t called, and Selena tells him that he is having a guys’ weekend and doesn’t have cell service. Oliver and Stephen both resist going to sleep. Oliver tries to tell Selena about something he saw, and she cuts him off, repeating that he needs to go to sleep. When they finally do, Selena thinks about the mess her marriage has become and tries to watch TV, but she is startled by a noise. It turns out to be Oliver, who also heard a noise and complains that his brother is snoring.

Oliver is more serious and perceptive than his brother and continues asking Selena questions about Graham. He heard their fight the previous night and asks if she really hates Graham. She soothes him, comparing their fight to fights that he has with his brother, in which they say things they don’t mean. Oliver asks again where Graham is, and Selena says that he probably went to Oliver’s uncle’s house. Oliver replies that he thinks that Graham is actually outside.

They look outside, and sure enough, Graham is sitting in his car across the street. Selena is angry that he can’t respect her wish to be alone. She sends Oliver back to bed, reassuring him that she and Graham love him and Stephen more than anything. She goes outside to talk to Graham, who has a bandage on his head from where she threw the toy robot at him. She tells him to sleep in his office and refuses to discuss their situation any further.

At the end of the chapter, Selena receives a text from an unknown number. The text says that it was great meeting her last night and asks if she would like to get together to continue their conversation. Selena remembers meeting Martha but doesn’t remember sharing her phone number. She almost blocks the number, but another text comes in saying that it is Martha. Selena feels uneasy, but part of her wants to talk to her again because she’s the only one who knows her secret.

The next morning, Selena is making to-do lists in her head when Graham comes into the bedroom, wanting to know what is going to happen next. Selena marvels at how different her reality is from the Instagram posts she makes about her family and how easy it is to pretend to be someone else online. She tells him that she will take the boys to school and that he needs to fire Geneva.

They begin getting ready for the day when the doorbell rings. Selena thinks it is Geneva and that she must have misplaced her key because she usually lets herself in. It is actually two policemen, who say that Geneva’s sister reported her missing when she missed their planned brunch on Saturday. They ask Selena and Graham about their relationship with Geneva and the last time they saw her; they do not tell them that Graham is having an affair with Geneva. Selena marvels at how easy it is for Graham to lie about how he hurt his head and other small details to avoid discussing their problems.

Geneva’s sister told the police that Geneva had trouble with the last family she worked for and that the husband had behaved inappropriately toward her. Selena was unaware of these circumstances and is shocked. The police ask if they can see footage from their doorbell camera, but Graham lies again, saying it doesn’t work. The police leave to question more neighbors, and Selena and Graham agree to contact them if they get any more information about Geneva.

This is the first chapter that focuses on Oliver’s point of view. He thinks about how much grown-ups lie. He listens to the police question his parents and knows that they are lying. He doesn’t know what is going on, but he knows something is wrong.

Oliver asked Geneva before about where she lived, and she gave him vague answers. He thought that Geneva looked sad sometimes and wondered about her life. He recorded her leaving their house on Friday night. He and Stephen had been making videos with their iPad when he saw Geneva leaving. He wondered about where she went at the end of the day, so he trained the camera on her. He got distracted and forgot that he recorded her. Before he went to bed, he also noticed that her car was still parked on their street, but Selena told him to go to sleep when he tried to tell her.

Now, as he listens to the police question his parents, he remembers what he saw that night but decides not to say anything. He hopes that Geneva will come back soon and everything will return to normal.

After the police leave, Selena thinks about the lies she told and what she should have said to the police. She is good at detecting small lies because her father lied to her mother all the time when he was having affairs. She knows that telling one lie usually means having to tell more to support the original story.

Graham tells Selena that he had nothing to do with Geneva’s disappearance. While they are talking, the police return and tell them that they found her car on their street. The police tell them they should plan to stay home for the rest of the day so they can be available for more questions. Selena thinks she needs to call her mom, Beth, and Will in case they need a lawyer.

At the end of the chapter, she gets another set of texts. They are from a different number, but the texter identifies herself as Martha. She says the same thing as last time: “It’s Martha, by the way. From the train” (104).

The perspective shifts to Anne, who is still sleeping with Hugh even after Kate paid her off. They are in a hotel room, and Anne tells him she has to leave the city to take care of her sister, who is very sick. He gives her $1,000 and a credit card to use for flights and hotels while she is away. He has to leave but tells her that she can stay in the room for a while and use the spa if she wants.

After Hugh leaves, Anne stays in the room, enjoying the luxury. She does not really have a sick sister and is just scamming Hugh. She is good at taking on new personas and being the kind of person her targets want her to be. Pop taught her everything he knows about conning, and she surpassed him in her skill.

Earlier in the hotel room, Anne recorded herself having sex with Hugh in the shower. She sends the video to Kate; she wants to show her who her husband really is because she believes Kate is too good for him. Anne takes another shower, buys some expensive things with Hugh’s credit card, and sends out a few emails and texts to other people she is currently scamming. The last text reads, “It’s Martha, by the way. From the train” (111).

Pearl and Charlie are working together at the bookstore again, and Charlie asks who Pearl’s father is. She doesn’t know and is annoyed that he asked. Pearl and Charlie spend a lot of time together; even though her mother has started dating a new man, Charlie still works at the bookstore and gives Pearl rides, makes sure she eats, and helps her with homework. He has acted more like a parent than anyone else in her life ever has.

Charlie says that the bookstore is not doing well financially, but Pearl isn’t concerned because her mother never seems very concerned. Even though the store doesn’t make much money and they have overdue bills, Stella always makes ends meet. Pearl knows there is a mystery man who occasionally gives her money when she is desperate, but she does not care to investigate, and he doesn’t seem to be around anymore.

Pearl asks Charlie about his own father. Charlie says that he was a monster and elaborates that he was an abusive man with an alcohol addiction, as well as a con man.

They leave the store and go back to Stella and Pearl’s house. They haven’t seen Stella all day, and Charlie goes to her room to look for her. Pearl hears Charlie yell out her name, and she rushes upstairs to find him wailing and distraught. Stella’s dead body is on the bed.

Selena decides to bring her sons to her mother Cora’s house, where Cora lives with her second husband, Paulo. She tells her mother about Graham’s affair and that Geneva has disappeared. Cora asks if she thinks Graham had anything to do with her disappearance, and Selena is adamant that he didn’t. Cora warns her to be careful and to avoid the mistakes she made when dealing with Selena’s father. Selena’s sister, Marisol, also divorced her husband because of cheating.

Selena and Graham agree to conceal that Geneva and Graham were having an affair, and Graham deletes video files from Selena’s computer and apps linked to the camera that caught them. One day, Selena is getting ready to meet Will and Graham, but Oliver is clinging to her, not wanting her to leave. When she finally does, she cries by herself in the car until she hears a text ping on her phone. It is the same message she has already gotten twice: “Maybe we should meet for a drink? I’m eager to continue our conversation. It’s Martha, by the way. From the train” (122).