The narrator tells Jordi about the "favored nations" arrangement with Harris. Jordi is stunned and needs a cigarette. She explains the Quaker concept of the "Third Thing"—a conversational topic that belongs to neither party, allowing the soul to speak indirectly—and the narrator recognizes the telephotographer roleplay served this function. The narrator grapples with what replaces the old marriage dream, comparing it to outgrowing Santa Claus: nothing replaces it except reality. When Jordi asks who she'd want to date, the narrator's eyes land on a card for sculptor Lore Estes, and she admits she'd want someone "that butch." Jordi gives her the card.

For nearly two months, the arrangement stays abstract: Harris spends Monday nights at his office, the narrator spends Wednesday nights in the Excelsior district, and each morning she wakes with a sense of total freedom. Then Harris nervously reveals he had a dinner date on a Monday night and went back to the woman's place. The narrator reels but accepts the cost of her morning freedom. Two weeks later, Harris tells her the woman is now his girlfriend—a word that devastates the narrator, who remembers when she herself held that title.

The girlfriend is Paige, a forty-six-year-old red-headed therapist they've known as an acquaintance, divorced with no kids, who lives a few blocks away. Paige calls the narrator, and they have an awkward but mutually gracious conversation. The narrator tries to share information about perimenopause—asking about Paige's sleep issues and vaginal dryness—but Paige interprets the dryness question as competitive and territorial. The narrator apologizes profusely and realizes she cannot control what Paige tells Harris; the old idea of primacy doesn't apply in this new structure.

The narrator begins covering up with the pink robe around the house, sensing Harris's discomfort with casual nudity now that he has a girlfriend. They explicitly confirm that sex between them is over. Harris asks if she's dating anyone; she says not yet but expects it will happen, possibly with a woman. Harris says he knows her.

The narrator pins the Lore Estes exhibition card above her desk beside the real estate card and cross-country map. Sam notices the new card and asks about it. The narrator describes the artist as a "role model," careful not to reveal the marital changes yet. She reflects on how her own parents overshared with her as a child, treating her as wise and clairvoyant, and reminds herself that therapists debunked this approach. Sam asks to print pictures of role models and chooses Charlie Chaplin, RuPaul, and the Apple logo.