One by One

An unnamed narrator describes an upcoming trip of six people traveling by minivan to a luxury hotel in the woods. The narrator is unsettled by the number six, as their mother was religious, and the number six has many biblical meanings. The narrator does not believe in the religious significance of six but does know that all six people on the trip have secrets they don’t want to be discovered. The narrator then reveals their own secret: Only one of the six people will survive the trip.

Claire Matchett, the protagonist, begins narrating. Her marriage to her husband Noah is in shambles, as she has begun to hate him, though they stay together for the kids. When they first got married, Claire was head-over-heels in love with Noah, but now, their relationship has soured. He asks her where his UChicago shirt is, and Claire thinks he’ll find it in the top drawer. She notices that Noah has not shaved recently since he’s been working as a physicist from home lately. She is annoyed that he asks her if she put the shirt in their son Aidan’s dresser: Aidan does his own laundry, while Noah has never done laundry.