The Leftover Woman

Rebecca stands clutching the condom, wondering how well she knows her husband. She would like to go and question him immediately, but she calms herself down and tries to remember to act like a “lady.” The next day at work, her boss, Simone, impresses upon her the importance of securing the publication rights for Isabel’s new book, and Rebecca feels the pressure on her mounting. She gets an email confirmation that Brandon ordered a car service pickup, and she has no idea why he would have done that or for whom he ordered the car. She resolves to confront him.

Rebecca goes to Columbia and sneaks into the back of Brandon’s lecture. He sees her and smiles, and she feels a pang, wondering if their marriage is already over. The lesson that day is about China’s one-child policy, and Rebecca listens as his students argue for and against state-level family planning.

After class, she confronts him about the condom. He is upset by her lack of trust and points out that Lucy’s bag fell open in the hallway a few hours before Rebecca found the condom. Rebecca feels terrible and suggests that they go out together later.