Cherry reflects on her first year of marriage to David Smith, describing it as blissfully happy, largely because David's long work hours and new scuba-diving hobby meant they saw each other infrequently, with their relationship sustained primarily by a strong sexual connection. They lived in David's Edwardian bungalow in Wahroonga, just two train stops from Cherry's hometown of Hornsby but a world apart in affluence. Cherry took great pleasure in arranging their wedding gifts—crystal bowls, a twelve-piece dinner set, shiny cutlery—feeling validated and anchored by the trappings of married life.

Cherry's in-laws, Stephen and Michelle, lived directly across the street, a fact David had not disclosed early in their relationship. Cherry's mother predicted trouble, but Cherry found the arrangement surprisingly comforting. Stephen was a kind, calm retired bank manager, while Michelle, a South Korean war bride, was tiny, intense, and immediately took to Cherry, appreciating her math skills and finding her cooking incompetence endearing. Michelle regularly left homemade Korean food on their doorstep and cleaned Cherry's house as an expression of love. Cherry, an only child who gravitated toward older company, adored both in-laws.

During one visit, Cherry's mother witnessed Michelle cleaning the kitchen uninvited and grew alarmed, but Cherry defused the tension by steering the conversation toward Korean fortune-telling. Michelle explained "sajupalja" (four pillars of destiny), in which saju readers analyze the cosmic energy at one's exact moment of birth. She also described "gunghap," the practice of checking marital compatibility, noting that incompatible couples sometimes change their names or even separate. When Cherry wondered aloud if she and David were cosmically compatible, both mothers enthusiastically insisted they were, united by their shared desire for grandchildren.

A week after their first wedding anniversary, David came home in high spirits from a night dive and dinner with friends. Cherry had spent the evening with his parents, playing chess with Stephen, looking at photo albums with Michelle, and watching a Spitfire documentary while eating Korean honey cookies she had baked herself. The couple settled into their usual intimate position on the sofa, but instead of the romantic overture Cherry expected, David announced they were moving to Perth the following month. He would undertake three years of advanced cardiology training at the Royal Perth Hospital. Cherry was blindsided—David presented the move as a fait accompli, refusing to entertain compromise. When Cherry protested about her own career, David dismissively reduced her work to "adding and subtracting" and declared they would also soon start trying for a baby, another decision Cherry had not been consulted on. Despite her clear objection, they moved to Perth.