Alison sits on the almost empty train. It would be nice to just keep going, an endless loop through the suburbs, and the city, Circular Quay, the harbour, then round again, a bag full of sandwiches and books. She thinks again of Tolstoy’s introduction to Anna Karenina, All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
It’s true. She knows no one else who is unhappy the way she is. She can only guess about what is happening in Mark’s head.
Alison doesn’t go directly home when she gets off the train. She checks her purse to see how much money she has, enough to take herself and Anna into a bar close to the station. It is early evening and quiet. She buys a glass of white wine, then finds a corner…