The Hunting Wives

The day after the party, Sophie is added to a group text chain featuring Margot and the other women from the party. They give her the details about the upcoming shooting party, and she is eager to join them.

As Sophie drives to Margot’s neighborhood to lurk outside her house, she reflects on her history of attachment and relationships. Her mother, Nikki, was frequently entangled in short-lived romantic relationships but urged Sophie never to lose her independence. Sophie experienced doubt and fear about marrying Graham but was also attracted to the promise of long-term stability, and she loved becoming a mother. She recalls a flirtation that she experienced with a co-worker shortly after her son, Jack, was born. At that time, she came close to beginning an affair but stopped because she valued her relationship with her son and husband. Now, Sophie wonders why she is so often drawn to dangerous attractions rather than experiencing fulfillment and contentment.

Sophie tells Graham that she is going to attend Margot’s shooting party, and he seems amused. She drives out to the address of Margot’s lake house. Callie, Jill, and Tina are already there, and the group quickly drives out to a wooded area on the shores of the lake to shoot skeets (clay disks).