The Wives

Thursday wakes up alone on Friday morning; Seth has left, and she feels like he was never really there at all. Thursday drinks a bottle of Coke from the fridge, quickly replacing it to look as though she didn’t take one. She thinks about her need to maintain appearances, noting that as a child, she always loved playing with dolls. She remembers packing all of her dolls away into a box and crying to her mother about how it was time to move on now that she was too old. Her mother reminded her that she does not have to give up something she loves just because other people don’t approve. Later in life, Thursday realizes that she is very good at having and keeping secrets.

Thursday remembers how she met Seth five years prior. Thursday was a nursing student studying at a café for an exam. Seth came and sat next to her, asking if he could quiz her, before asking her out to dinner. She agreed to go on a date with him, and she soon found herself completely charmed.

Thursday looks at her phone and is surprised to see that Seth has texted her, saying that he misses her. She responds but is haunted by her own fear of inadequacy. She thinks about his words—“I love you all differently but equally” (27)—and can’t help but wonder what exactly that means.

Thursday learned about his wife, Tuesday, when they were on their fourth date. Seth told Thursday that his parents were in a polygamist relationship and that he had four mothers. His wife didn’t want children, so Thursday was someone with whom he could have children. Thursday couldn’t believe what she was hearing and became angry. She said goodbye to Seth and left, but she couldn’t deny that she was drawn to him. She avoided Seth for a month before calling him. Seth told Thursday that his wife, Tuesday, agreed to allow the relationship between Thursday and Seth. Thursday agreed to meet him for coffee, reminding herself that she was in control of the situation.

After an overnight shift at work, Thursday returns home exhausted. She is lying in her bedroom when she hears her home alarm sound. Afraid, she berates herself for not remembering where she placed her gun, which was a gift from her father. Thursday hears her mother’s voice from the foyer, and she immediately relaxes. She then remembers that she was supposed to have lunch with her mother.

Her mother sees how exhausted Thursday is and decides that it would be best if they ate lunch at home. Thursday’s mother asks about Seth, and she reminds her that she believes it is Thursday’s duty as his wife to move to Oregon to be with him more often. Thursday’s parents don’t know that Seth has two other wives and that they both live in Oregon.

Thursday’s mother tells her that if Thursday were to have a baby, Seth would have to be in Seattle more permanently. Angry, Thursday accuses her mother of trying to get her to trap Seth with a baby. Her mother responds that it wouldn’t be the first time that a woman had done it. Thursday dismisses the idea, but in reality, she doesn’t want to tell her mother about the emergency hysterectomy she had; Thursday is worried it would make her a failure in her mother’s eyes. She tells her mother that she is tired from work, and her mother leaves, realizing that she has overstepped.

Thursday returns to her bedroom, thinking about her relationship with Seth and the two other women. She looks into Seth’s closet, noting that there is a small slip of paper sticking out of one of his pants pockets. She removes it and discovers that it is a doctor’s bill for someone named Hannah Ovark in Portland, Oregon. She wonders whether Hannah could be Monday, as she remembers that Seth had told her about Monday’s visit to the doctor.

Thursday’s curiosity gets the better of her, and she looks up Hannah online. The image of “Monday” Thursday had formed in her head is shattered, as she realizes she really doesn’t know anything about her. She feels the sudden need to escape, noticing the pill bottles that fill her cabinet; she takes a sleeping pill and goes to sleep.

When Thursday wakes up the next day, she sees that she has seven missed calls from Seth. She calls him back, and he answers immediately, asking if she is okay. She reassures him that she is fine. Seth tells Thursday that she could come spend a few days in Portland with him outside of their scheduled weekly visit. Excited, Thursday hangs up and prepares to leave in the morning by getting her hair freshly cut and dyed.

As she is packing for her trip, she remembers the doctor’s bill she found in Seth’s pants and contemplates just who Hannah Ovark really is. She opens her computer and reminds herself that if she finds out who Hannah, is, she won’t be able to go back to how everything was before. Nevertheless, she looks through Hannah’s profile. Hannah is a beautiful woman; her image stays stuck in Thursday’s mind until the next morning, when she leaves to meet with Seth in Portland. She brings the doctor’s note with her because she’s tired of not knowing who her husband’s other wife is.

Upon arriving in Portland, Thursday goes to a department store to buy some lingerie. She thinks about Hannah and wonders why Seth would stay with her when he has already found someone as beautiful as Hannah.

When Thursday drives to the address on the doctor’s bill, the picturesque house and neighborhood impress her. As she stares, she catches the attention of a young woman also looking at the house. She quickly realizes the woman is Hannah and begins to panic. Hannah tells her that her husband owns the house, and they remodeled the home after their wedding. Thursday feels insecure, comparing Hannah’s home against her own.

Hannah invites Thursday inside, and she is overwhelmed by how lovely Hannah’s home is. Jealousy fills Thursday as she tries to take in as much information about Hannah and Seth’s life together as possible. When she decides to leave, she notices broken glass on the ground and an empty hook on the wall where a picture used to be. She hands the shard of glass to Hannah and notices a cluster of bruises on her forearm. Shocked and suspicious, Thursday wonders whether she is “seeing things” as she returns to her car.

Thursday returns to her hotel and prepares to meet Seth at a restaurant, but she keeps thinking about Hannah. As she dresses in her lingerie, she wonders whether Hannah would look good in the same outfit; meeting Seth in Portland feels like cheating, and it excites her. However, when she is on the phone with Seth, all she can think about is Hannah and Seth with their baby.

She meets Seth at the restaurant, and Seth tells her that he loves her. But she wonders why she never noticed how flat his voice sounds when he says those words. As the couple orders dinner and chats about their week, Thursday can’t get rid of the jealousy she feels toward Hannah. She drinks some wine to calm her nerves, but the feelings return when she sees a young blond woman fussing over her baby a few tables away. Seth notices her watching them and reminds her that he loves her. Thursday wonders whether those words are hiding how he really feels since she was unable to give him a child.

Thursday changes the subject by asking why Seth looks upset. He tells her it has been a difficult week, and there isn’t anything she can do about it. She becomes insecure, wondering why she felt like she could place all of her problems on Seth when he already has many of his own. She also wonders why she has never fought with Seth before and asks how often he fights with his other wives. Seth tries to dodge Thursday’s question by giving vague answers.

Thursday asks Seth what he isn’t saying. Seth tells her that it’s about Monday—Hannah—and that he thinks it’s a bad idea to go on vacation with Thursday when the baby is due soon. Thursday realizes that the reason Seth invited her to Portland was to soften the blow before he told her that they wouldn’t be going on vacation. Thursday demands to leave, enraged and feeling betrayed. Seth reminds her that she knew what his marriage to Monday would entail. Still, Thursday leaves angry and alone.

Thursday wakes up to several missed calls and texts from Seth but ignores them; she wants to see Hannah again as soon as possible. Thursday checks out of the hotel and heads to her car; she notices flowers and a card have been placed in the front seat of her car. Moving them to the side, Thursday turns her phone back on and asks to meet Hannah for breakfast.

Thursday orders their food and wonders why she’s doing this. When she returns to the table, she notices the bruises on Hannah’s arm again, commenting that they look like finger marks. Hannah quickly changes the subject, asking questions about Thursday’s condo. Thursday tells Hannah that she found out that her husband is cheating on her, and that they fought about it last night. Hannah admits to Thursday that she is pregnant, revealing that Seth has been hiding her birth control pills from her. Shocked, Thursday asks Hannah if she believes Seth is trying to trap her in their relationship by getting her pregnant; she asks if Hannah wants to leave him. Hannah remains quiet, and this shatters the picture that Thursday formed of Hannah inside her head. Hannah claims that Seth doesn’t hit her, and that Thursday has it all wrong. A waitress accidentally spills a drink on Thursday’s lap, at which point Thursday excuses herself from the conversation and leaves.