Great Big Beautiful Life

After the Oscar party, Cosmo came to the Ives’s house to see Margaret. Laura greeted him and could tell they were in love. Margaret worried about what Laura thought about her being with Cosmo, though Laura was in love with Dr. David Ryan Atwood, a psychologist whose books she’d been reading but who Margaret called a “quack.” The next day, Cosmo took Margaret for a beach picnic, and they were intimate afterward. He asked her to marry him, but she said they barely knew each other. When he proposed again two weeks later, she said yes. They tried to keep their relationship secret, but the press was relentless. They married at the courthouse, and only Laura attended. The paparazzi followed them on their honeymoon to Italy. Cosmo, who didn’t come from money, hated the constant attention and wished he could protect Margaret from it.

When they returned from their honeymoon, the butler told them that Laura was in New Mexico with Dr. Atwood, receiving “treatment.” Laura left Margaret a letter explaining that she had been corresponding with Dr. Atwood and benefited greatly from his “program.” She asked for space and requested that no one contact her until she completed her treatment. Cosmo offered to travel to New Mexico to bring Laura home.

Hayden and Alice walk through a graveyard and pass a funeral procession, which sparks their grief over the recent losses of Len and Alice’s father. Alice considers the weight of Margaret’s story and wishes she could tell her dad since she and Hayden can’t discuss it. They make dinner together, and Hayden shares how his mom loved to cook but never taught him. She liked the solitude of being in the kitchen alone. Alice asks whether Hayden believes in free will. He says that even though humans have little control over what happens to them, people who believe only in rigid determinism must have many regrets. Alice doesn’t want to live a life of regret.

Margaret continues her story. She tried to give Laura the space she requested, but the family hired a private detective after several months. Letters between Laura and Dr. Atwood revealed that he manipulated her through her intelligence and isolation. They feared that he was after Laura’s money, which she had been sending him. The detective showed them pictures of Laura, who had lost weight but looked happy. Margaret felt guilty that her falling in love with Cosmo pushed Laura to make this drastic decision. The family moved on, and Margaret became immersed in life with Cosmo as he went on tour. Their marriage was idyllic except when the issue of children came up because Margaret wasn’t sure she wanted to be a mother. Many months later, Margaret’s father revealed that the family had been extorted and produced a letter from Laura.

Laura became part of David Atwood’s cult, the People’s Moment for Metaphysical Healing. Laura threatened to reveal Gerald’s secrets unless her family paid her $4 million. The family didn’t know Laura’s secrets, so they agreed to give her the money, but only if they could see her in person. Margaret traveled to meet Laura in a diner and deliver the funds. Laura was noticeably unwell, and someone in the corner was watching them. Margaret begged Laura to tell her how to get her out, but Laura claimed that she couldn’t escape. She gave Margaret an address and the date of September 1 before the guard took the case full of money, told Margaret to stay in the bathroom for 10 minutes, and escorted Laura away.

They contacted the authorities, who, through the Ives’ connections, raided a warehouse at the address. They found weapons and uncovered a plan to assassinate government officials. Laura and David’s other wives weren’t there and weren’t rescued until later. Lawyers later tried to accuse Laura of extortion, but David’s brainwashing had depleted her mentally and physically. Laura’s recovery was long and complicated, and Margaret and Cosmo eventually brought her to Nashville to live with them. Margaret found out she was pregnant, which was exciting. However, Cosmo’s career suffered because of all the time he took to be with Margaret and her family.

Alice reviews what she knows about the ensuing trial after Laura was rescued. Though the press accused her of extortion, Laura testified for the prosecution. While researching online, Alice stumbles across a courtroom photo and notices that the doctor who testified was the Ives’ family doctor, Dr. Cecil Wainright, who is Captain Cecil Willoughby.

She calls Hayden, who already knows. They agree that they can discuss this detail. They discuss the possible reasons that Cecil hides on the island using a fake name, like Margaret does. Hayden thinks they’re being “played” and explains that Margaret shares little about her personal life during their interviews. Alice decides to confront Margaret about Cecil during their next interview.

Alice arrives at Hayden’s hotel room after her interview. She wants a romantic night with him since their time together is over. They have sex, and Hayden tells Alice he’s never loved someone like he loves her. He asks her to stay with him that night.

Alice meets with Margaret for the last time before the pitch. She asks about Cecil, and Margaret says Hayden also asked about him, reminding her that they each signed an NDA. Alice explains that she chased a lead Hayden was already pursuing and assures her that they’re not sharing information. Margaret says she isn’t sick and tells Alice about Cecil.

Margaret wasn’t pregnant, but the media circulated rumors that she was, intensifying the attention on the family, which was already high due to Laura’s ordeal. Laura left for the family retreat in Switzerland to recover in solitude. Margaret and Cosmo continued trying to get pregnant without success. The media attention grew worse, and Cosmo feared that it wouldn’t be fair to bring a child into that life. Margaret suddenly became ill and had painful cramps, so Cosmo rushed her to the hospital. Paparazzi pursued their car, causing a violent crash in an intersection.

Margaret woke up in the hospital, and Cecil returned from Switzerland to be with her. She had appendicitis, and Cecil delivered the devastating news that Cosmo was dead. In her grief, Margaret became angry, blaming the press for Cosmo’s death and making herself a “spectacle” by feeding their desire for salacious stories. Laura didn’t come to be with Margaret, causing a breach in their relationship. Margaret eventually left Nashville and returned to live in the family home. Cecil continued to check on her even when she withdrew from public life. Later, Cecil and Laura married and had a daughter. They stayed in Europe, choosing to raise their child in privacy.

In the 1980s, Margaret reappeared briefly, traveling to London, Miami, and Rhode Island before returning to California to live with her parents and stepdad until their deaths. In 2003, Jodi came to Margaret’s home, claiming to be her niece. Jodi lived on Little Crescent Island and was there to tell Margaret that Laura was sick. Margaret leaves the story there, saying that whoever wins the competition will hear the end of the sisters’ story.

Alice stays up all night reviewing her notes, which are “riddled with holes,” and putting together her proposal. After writing the sample pages and wishing Hayden good luck since he’s going first that morning, she collapses into bed. Later, Hayden arrives with champagne to celebrate his completion of his proposal, but he says little about how it went, claiming that Alice deserves the chance too. After dinner and drinks, they return to her house, and Alice suggests that they write the book together. Hayden says he already asked Margaret, and she said no. They go to bed together, and Alice tries not to think about the future and how much she wants to tell Hayden she loves him.

The next morning, Alice readies herself for her pitch. Hayden sees the mosaic and asks where she got it. “Nicollet” is his mother’s name, spelled the same. Hayden’s mother was adopted but was given the name by her birth mother. She knows little else about her origins. Alice begins to assemble the puzzle, and Hayden can see that she’s disturbed. Alice has no time to explain and races off to Margaret’s, promising to tell him later.

Before meeting with Margaret, Alice reviews her notes and realizes that Hayden’s mom was born in 1967, shortly after Cosmo’s death. She realizes that Margaret invited Hayden here to meet him, which explains why she was less forthcoming with him about her story. Alice barges into the house and presents Margaret with the mosaic, demanding to know the truth. Margaret didn’t have appendicitis; she was pregnant. They were racing to the hospital because Cosmo feared that she was miscarrying. After his death, Margaret decided she couldn’t bring a child into their chaos.

Cecil cared for her during the pregnancy and helped her hide it. Nicollet was adopted, and Hayden is her son, Margaret’s grandson. Margaret hasn’t told Hayden because she wanted to get to know him and hopes to reconnect with her daughter. The book proposal was a ruse to get him to Little Crescent. Margaret has no intention of writing a biography. Jodi sent the email to Alice with the lead, knowing that the only way Hayden would come was if he knew another journalist might scoop him.

Alice is angry that Margaret used her to get to Hayden and that she has been lying to him for weeks. Margaret claims that her time with Alice has changed her mind, and she’s reconsidering writing the book. During his pitch, Hayden turned down the job, and Margaret is convinced she has no chance at a relationship with him or Nicollet. Margaret explains that after she gave Nicollet up for adoption, she began trying to disappear. After her parents’ deaths, she sold Ives Media and donated most of the money to charity. She once hired a private detective to find Nicollet to see if she’d found happiness and confirm that she made the right decision to give her up. Margaret moved to Little Crescent to live with Jodi and Laura when she was 67. She spent the last six months of Laura’s life with her, and Laura’s dying wish was for Margaret to find Nicollet and tell her the truth. However, she has resolved that it’s too late.

Alice insists that Margaret tell Hayden, but Margaret forbids it, reminding her of the NDA. Margaret wants to do the book with Alice and hopes that it will “right some of the wrongs of the past” (392). Alice refuses, saying that it wouldn’t be right to do it without telling Nicollet and Hayden the truth.

Alice is overwhelmed by everything, and when she gets home, she immediately begins packing to leave. Hayden arrives with champagne, but Alice tearfully tells him she didn’t take the job. She isn’t angry with Hayden but wonders if Margaret offered her the job because she was qualified or only because Hayden turned it down. He assures her that she was meant for the job and that he didn’t want to do it. Hayden can see that more is going on, and Alice grieves that she can’t tell him the truth. She begs him to force Margaret to tell him, but Hayden says he wants to hear the truth from her. Knowing that this may be the end for them, Alice asks him to leave. She texts her mom and asks if she can stay at home for a while.

Alice looks for jobs and helps Angie in the garden, but they don’t talk. Over dinner, Angie asks Alice what’s going on; she wants to understand her daughter. Alice admits her feelings, especially regarding her perception that her mom was dismissive of her career. Angie becomes emotional and hugs Alice tightly, explaining that they were closer when Alice was young but that she grew more independent and closer to her father: “He had access to pieces of you I couldn’t get to, and I was okay with that, mostly” (401). Since her husband’s death, Angie struggled to connect with Alice. Alice says her independence stemmed from Audrey’s illness and a desire not to add to the family’s burdens. She regrets not learning more about her father before he died. Using her recorder, Alice and her mom exchange stories about him. Angie invites Alice’s work friends Priya, Cillian, and Bianca to visit, and Alice prepares to write a letter.

Alice and her friends have a sleepover. Their visit is encouraging, and Alice feels better having them there after writing the letter. She tells Bianca she’s thinking of writing a memoir about her relationship with her parents. Even though writing Margaret’s biography didn’t work out, Alice still wants “to write about love” (407).

For the next month, Alice enjoys reconnecting with her mom and working together on archiving their memories of her father. Angie reads Alice’s work and appreciates her daughter’s passion for writing. One night, Alice orders a pizza, and when she answers the door, Hayden is there holding the letter she sent to Margaret. In the letter, she told Margaret that Hayden deserved to know the truth because she loved him. Margaret sent Hayden a letter along with Alice’s letter, explaining the truth, but he’s there to confirm that Alice loves him. Alice says she has loved him the entire time and never wants to be apart. She has decided to stay in Georgia to be close to her mom, and Hayden says he’ll gladly move to Atlanta to be with her.

Hayden and Alice are working together on Margaret’s biography. Hayden’s mom, Nicollet, doesn’t want to be part of it, but wants to meet her biological mother. Angie and Alice visit Margaret often to help in her garden or collect trash for her art. The book is a success, and Alice and Hayden have a daughter, whom they name Laura. After Laura’s birth, Alice begins working on her memoir, a gift to her daughter to “welcome her to this great big beautiful life” (416).