Before We Were Innocent

When Bess hears a knock at her door one night, she knows instinctively that it is her old friend Joni, even though the two have not seen each other in a decade. Joni appears nervous and asks Bess for help, but not before commenting on Bess’s demeanor and grooming. In the 10 years since the two were last in touch, Bess has become something of a recluse. She rarely leaves her solitary home near the Salton Sea, and her pale, unkempt appearance contrasts markedly with that of Joni, who is now a famous social media personality.

Joni was recently discovered to be cheating on her girlfriend Willa, another social-media star, and although Joni ended her relationship with the third party, she now needs Bess to help cover up the truth of her movements on the evening that she ended the relationship, just in case Willa inquires. She would like Bess to say, if asked, that Joni left her own house at six, showed up at Bess’s at nine, and then stayed the night. Joni suggests that the two can claim they were planning a memorial service for the 10th anniversary of their friend Evangeline’s death. Joni has an important book launch coming up, and because she has built her platform on the concept of “radical honesty,” she does not want to appear to be a liar in the public eye.