The next day, Joy struggles to write a letter to Hazel, distracted by her fight with Elizabeth. She reflects on her daughter’s accusations and admits to herself that they are true. Joy realizes she parented Elizabeth based on her own unfulfilled childhood needs rather than Elizabeth’s and regrets pressuring her to stay with her ex-husband. Later, Rowan visits to return Hazel’s vegetable basket. He informs her that he has discussed her proposition with Philippe and that they have agreed to help her with the vase plan for Hazel. Though grateful, Joy feels a wave of apprehension, realizing the gravity of the crime she is planning.

Elizabeth calls and asks Joy to watch Finn for the night, claiming she was offered a last-minute night shift for overtime. Joy agrees, secretly relieved to postpone another confrontation. Her evening is complicated by the knowledge that Rowan is also scheduled to visit to discuss the vase heist. Before Rowan arrives, Joy impresses Finn by confidently hanging up on a telephone scammer. When Rowan shows up, he quickly improvises a cover story, telling Finn he is there to tune Joy’s piano. Joy sends Finn outside on an errand, giving her and Rowan a moment to talk. Rowan confirms that Philippe is already creating a replica of the vase. When Finn returns, he asks to watch the tuning, and Joy is moved by the patient way Rowan explains the process to her grandson.

The next week, Joy and Rowan meet at a nearly empty cinema for another installment of their film club. During the movie, Rowan discreetly unwraps the replica vase from his duffel bag and Joy wordlessly transfers it to her grocery caddy, so she can use it in the heist on a later day. After the film, they sit outside and finalize the plan: Philippe will pose as a customer to distract the antique shop owner, Seth, while Joy swaps the vases. Back at home, Joy is struck by the reality of what she’s about to do and has second thoughts. Her resolve is tested further when she discovers that the heist is scheduled during one of her free piano lessons for a student in need. However, she decides that this final grand gesture for Hazel is more important and proceeds with the plan.

Joy takes the train to Brooklyn to visit Hazel, having hidden the replica vase in her laundry hamper at home. Using a spare key Hazel recently gave her, she lets herself into the apartment and finds her friend asleep. Seeing Hazel looking so frail reminds Joy of her own mother’s terminal illness. To feel useful, Joy tends to Hazel’s neglected houseplants. When Hazel awakens, they share a rare, prolonged hug. Hazel’s health has declined to the point where she can only consume liquids, but Joy has anticipated this and brought blended soup. To lift Hazel’s spirits, Joy plays a record on the turntable. Watching the music briefly reanimate her friend, Joy’s resolve to steal the vase is strengthened, and she puts all her doubts aside.

On the day of the heist, Joy prepares for the possibility of being arrested. She packs an overnight bag with essentials, leaves a note and her checkbook for Elizabeth, and gives her garden a final watering. To commit the crime, she adopts a courageous alter ego, “Bad Joy,” and disguises herself in an uncharacteristic outfit and her newly acquired visor. She hones her persona by acting frail and elderly, successfully distracting a parking inspector with a long, fabricated story. At the antique shop, Seth doesn’t recognize her. As planned, Philippe arrives, posing as a restaurant owner looking for vintage dinnerware. When Seth leads him to the back of the store, Joy puts on gardening gloves and quickly swaps the real vase with the replica, hiding the original in her grocery caddy. A sudden interruption from a UPS driver nearly causes her to panic, but Seth deals with the delivery without noticing the switch. Joy leaves the shop, elated by her success.

As Joy walks home, she sees a police car parked outside Rowan’s house and fears they have been caught. Rushing over, she prepares to confess and take full responsibility to protect her accomplice. However, she learns the officer is only there because a neighbor, likely Rita, made a complaint about Rowan’s frequent package deliveries. Joy provides a statement defending Rowan’s character. The officer, Charles Launceston, then reveals that Joy was his piano teacher about 30 years ago, and that she would have known him by his nickname Chuck. He explains that his father moved them away from Beacon when he was 10, but he never forgot her kindness. He tells her that the stability she provided during his tumultuous childhood effectively saved his life. Joy is deeply moved by his words, realizing for the first time that her quiet existence has had a deeper impact than she ever knew.

Joy presents the stolen vase to Hazel, who is stunned. Joy proudly explains that she stole it by swapping it with a replica with help from Rowan and Philippe. Though shocked by Joy’s uncharacteristic rebellion, Hazel is overcome with gratitude. Joy tells her it is a thank-you gift for their lifelong friendship and for always pushing her to be braver. Hazel then asks that, after she dies, her ashes be placed in the vase so Joy can keep it on her mantelpiece. Joy tearfully agrees. On the train ride home, Joy reflects on her transformation. She understands now that she has always been capable of the same boldness she admired in Hazel. She lets go of the rigid “good” persona she has maintained her whole life, accepting the moral complexity of her actions and embracing a more authentic version of herself.

Joy attends a neighborhood gathering at Rita’s house, where Celeste is also a guest. Rita begins gossiping about a local woman whose husband is cheating on her, and the other women make cruel remarks. When one suggests the wife is to blame for not keeping her husband “satisfied,” Joy’s 40 years of contained resentment bursts to the surface. She loudly confronts Celeste in front of the group, outing her for the kiss she witnessed between Celeste and Thom decades ago. After her outburst, Joy storms out. Celeste follows her, insisting on explaining what really happened. She clarifies that Thom initiated the kiss and she was too surprised to react before pushing him away. She never told Joy because she didn’t want to destroy Joy’s family. Joy realizes she has wrongly resented Celeste for years. She apologizes and, in turn, confesses to having deliberately dented Celeste’s car. The two women reconcile, finally beginning a genuine friendship.

Joy goes to Elizabeth’s apartment to apologize. She delivers a heartfelt speech, admitting that Elizabeth was right about her emotional distance and her poor handling of Thom’s infidelities. A tearful Elizabeth confesses that Jack also cheated on her, which was the real reason for their divorce. She admits she has been struggling financially, explaining that she didn’t ask Joy for help because she didn’t want to burden Joy given her tight budget, and that she was too proud to pursue Jack for child support. Joy and Elizabeth also confess their mutual envy over each other’s close relationships with Hazel and Finn, respectively. Elizabeth then reveals she lied about working a night shift and was actually on a date with a new man who makes her happy. Joy offers her unconditional support, and mother and daughter share their first truly meaningful hug in years.

Two months later, Joy has temporarily moved into Hazel’s Brooklyn apartment to care for her during her final days. Hazel, who has always been fiercely independent, has finally allowed herself to be vulnerable and accept Joy’s help. During a quiet moment, Hazel tells Joy that their friendship has been “the true love of [her] life” (278). She reveals that she is leaving the apartment to Joy in her will, urging her to use it to experience a different kind of life in the city. Hazel also establishes the “Hazel Scottsdale scholarship” by leaving Joy money to buy pianos for underprivileged students. She makes Joy promise to live the rest of her life to the fullest. Joy feels at peace, no longer fearing the end but treasuring the remaining moments with her best friend.

Sometime after Hazel’s death, Joy hosts a dinner party at the Brooklyn apartment. Her guests are Elizabeth, Finn, Celeste, Rowan, and Philippe. Hazel’s ashes are in the stolen vase, which sits at the head of the table. Rowan reveals he once gave Hazel a ride from the train station in Beacon and jokingly offers Joy a permanent role in his and Philippe’s art forgery operation. Joy declines but adds a sly wink, leaving the possibility open. Later that night, alone, Joy removes her wedding ring for the first time in nearly 70 years, determined to discover who she is independent of her past role as a wife. Reflecting on her garden, she accepts that everyone blooms in their own time and feels that, at 89, her life is truly beginning.