The Girl on the Train

Saturday, July 20, 2013. Anna wakes up early to feed Evie and quickly falls back asleep with the child beside her in bed. When she wakes again, Tom is singing to her—it is her birthday, which she completely forgot about. After breakfast in bed, Anna opens her presents and snuggles with Tom and Evie until Tom falls back asleep. Anna takes Evie downstairs to the patio to watch the trains go by. As Anna gets dressed and takes Evie out to the shops to buy some things for dinner, she reflects on the unlikely success of her relationship with Tom—a relationship that began while Tom was still married to another woman.

When Anna returns from the shops, she finds Tom on his laptop. He quickly closes it. Anna realizes that he is reading an email from Rachel. She asks what Rachel has written. Tom tells her it’s the “usual [drunken] nonsense.” Anna asks when Rachel will leave them alone and let them be happy, but Tom insists that they are happy. Later that evening, after a big lunch and some playtime outside with Evie, Anna reflects on the happiness she does feel with Tom and Evie. As Anna tidies up the living room and reaches to pull the curtains shut, she sees a woman scampering across the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. Tom comes in, finds Anna standing stock-still at the window, and asks what’s wrong. Anna insists that everything is fine.