Jessie Zacker opens with a triumphant speech about building an aesthetic empire but suddenly collapses and wakes in the 1980s. A stranger shouts, "You touched me? Then you'll have to marry me," creating an immediate, awkward demand. At home Amelia bakes buns while neighbors gossip about Jessie’s coldness and a child’s snacks linked to a past fatal incident are recalled. Jessie, who remembers her hard-won financial success and had bragged she could start over, now feels trapped and worries Harkins is stuck with an "awful wife." Someone bangs: "Jessie, open the door!" she must decide whether to face them.