One Plus One: A Novel

Jess, Ed, Nicky, and Tanzie drive to Glasgow to Marty’s mother’s house. When they reach it, Jess and Tanzie knock on her door while Nicky opts to stay in the car with Ed. Marty’s mother looks shocked to see them and gives Jess a new address for Marty, saying that he doesn’t live with her anymore. Back in the car, Jess becomes slowly furious as she realizes that Marty has been living with another woman all along. Nicky confirms that he suspected this, saying that his grandmother would have never chosen the wallpaper they saw when Marty called them.

The address leads them to an upscale housing development. A woman named Linzie answers the door, and when Jess asks for Marty, the woman seems to guess who Jess might be. Overwhelmed when she sees Marty, who confirms that he has been living with the woman, Linzie, and her two children for almost two years, Jess attacks the car parked in the driveway, kicking it until her feet hurt.

Finally, Ed pulls her away, telling her to calm herself since the children are watching. Jess notices that not just Tanzie and Nicky but even Linzie’s two children are staring at her.