Two old friends meet, talk a bit about love and relationships and stories with twisted endings, and we go back to their last meeting of a few months' back.
At that time, they attended a conference and accepted a ride back home by a friend (Douglas) of the first person narrator. The narrator is recently divorced, her friend Julie is unhappy in her marriage. On the ride they tell stories of infidelity and surprise at how marriages exist. We sense something between the narrator and Douglas beyond friendship, and yet we see something else happening between Douglas and Julie.
Without bringing us back to the present meeting of the two women, Munro leaves us with the thoughts of the narrator riding home with Douglas and Julie:
And so Munro has put the twist of their story, mentioned in the opening conversation, at the beginning, or so it would seem. The narrator's view of the future would have been of the three of them together, while the reality is that Julie and Douglas have an affair.
I think what Munro establishes is the secrets, the desires, the uncontrollable emotions in reaction to one another of relationships. While the narrator has made the decision long ago to divorce her husband and make it on her own, she still has a hope for happiness that includes Douglas and her friendship with Julie. Even as the stories they tell each other reek of wonderment at the attraction that brings two people together, she is surprised by the way things turn out, as is Julie. Douglas simply follows his nose, which may be the answer, after all.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology