What Alice Forgot

In a letter to Phil, Frannie explains that Alice’s CT scan was normal, but she has memory loss. While Barb is hopeful that Nick and Alice will no longer be divorcing, Frannie believes that a reconciliation is unlikely. Frannie reminisces about Nick and Alice in love during the early days of their relationship and compares it to a later memory of their restrained but obvious anger towards each other after an incident at the beach with their children. She considers the nature of relationships and marriages, reminding Phil that she has been writing to him for three decades. Mr. Mustache tells Frannie that she needn’t call herself an “honorary” grandmother to Alice and Nick’s three children. She is irritated with his presumptuousness.

A voice in Alice’s head instructs her to get moving. She showers and dresses. As she does so, her thin body surprises and impresses her. She notices signs of aging, such as her smaller and less perky breasts and wrinkles around her face and eyes. The smell of her shampoo triggers a memory of holding a shower wall and sobbing. She is surprised that she instinctively knows how to use the many jars and bottles of products in her toiletries bag.