Same Time Next Summer

Sam lies awake staring at the tree of life on her wall. Realizing how bad it looks, she spends the night gluing branches to the painted tree. In the morning, Gracie comments on the tree and asks about Sam’s head wound. Realizing she’s stayed away from home too long, she apologizes to Laurel for avoiding the beach all these years.

Wyatt offers to accompany Sam to her wedding appointments. At Ginnie’s Bakery, Ginnie exclaims when she sees Sam and Wyatt together, convinced they’re the ones getting married. Then they sample cakes, agreeing the chocolate is best. Sam chooses the vanilla because she knows it’s what Jack wants. Afterwards, they decide to skip the linens to nap.

Sam wakes up from her nap and texts Jack. She lies and says they picked the linens. On the porch afterwards, Sam sits and chats with Bill. He tells her that life doesn’t happen in a straight line and that cheating is a form of lying. Sam is confused but keeps listening. Bill opens up about his affair with Marion, insisting he wasn’t in love with her but used her to hide from his insecurities. He encourages her not to lie to herself about her feelings for Wyatt.

Wyatt, Travis, and Hugh join Sam and her family for dinner. Over food, they chat about wedding preparations. Laurel shows Sam some painted options for the invitations, suggesting she attach seashells. Sam and Wyatt like them, but Sam knows Jack won’t. Suddenly, Wyatt dismisses himself to take a call. When he returns, he announces he’s going back to Los Angeles tomorrow. He leaves and Sam follows him outside. He admits he can’t keep helping Sam plan for her wedding with someone else. He confronts her about her relationship with Jack, insisting he doesn’t know who Sam is, because she’s hiding her true self from him. Sam wants to argue, but feels embarrassed and doesn’t have anything to say.

Sam lies in bed feeling angry about what Wyatt said. Then Jack texts saying he misses her, but his punctuation makes her doubt him. In the morning, Sam tells her mom what happened with Wyatt and asks if Laurel thinks she’s “living a lie” (245). Laurel admits she doesn’t know, but encourages Sam to seek out a balance between safety and freedom. Sam notices Laurel’s painted invitations and realizes she wants to feel happy.

Sam and Gracie go surfing. Meanwhile, Sam replays her conversation with Wyatt. Afterwards, she and Gracie go to the inn to choose the napkins. Throughout the day, Sam waits for Wyatt to text but doesn’t hear from him.

On Monday, Sam helps her family close up the house. She takes one last swim before leaving, reflecting on Wyatt and Jack while in the water. Afterwards, she drives back to the city with her family. That night, she and Jack go out for dinner, and she updates him on the wedding preparations. When she tells him she wants yellow napkins and painted invitations, he says she’s been spending too much time with her parents. Sam protests, but Jack insists he wants their kids to grow up differently.

Sam reports to work the next day. The office is freezing, and she feels trapped and restless. Realizing she can’t do this anymore, she tells Eleanor she quits, changes into sandals, and leaves the office. She walks around the park afterwards feeling free.

Sam cooks a celebratory dinner. When Jack returns from tennis, she tells him she quit her job. He gets upset, insisting she should have consulted him first. She reminds him of her plans to teach art, but he argues she’s changing their life plan. Sam realizes Jack doesn’t know or want to know her. She takes off her ring and ends their engagement.

Sam goes to her parents’ apartment and tells them what happened. She unpacks in Gracie’s room but realizes Gracie needs her space. She talks to her mom in the kitchen, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. Laurel comforts her, assuring her she’ll be okay.

That night, Wyatt texts after hearing Sam’s news. He apologizes for leaving the way he did but admits he only went to Long Island to see her. Sam feels happy, but also afraid of what comes next for them.

Sam returns to Jack’s apartment to collect her things. Suddenly overwhelmed, she decides to return to Long Island.

Sam feels better being back on Long Island. The ocean, the scenery, and the air calm her. A few days later, she secures a part-time job at the library “running a reading enrichment program after school” (264). Meanwhile, she and Wyatt keep in touch. Sam tells him how happy she’s been and how much she loves working with kids. Wyatt reveals that he’s having trouble with Carlyle and Missy. He doesn’t want to write for Missy anymore, but Carlyle has threatened to ruin his reputation in the industry if he doesn’t finish the current album. Sam encourages him.

A week into her Long Island stay, Sam texts Wyatt more about her new job. He takes a while to respond but expresses interest in her stories. The next day, she returns home from the library feeling happy. She brings a beer to Wyatt’s treehouse and starts some new sketches. She doesn’t text Wyatt, assuming he’s asleep.

Wyatt returns to Long Island without telling Sam. He leaves his things on the porch and finds her in the treehouse drawing. He tells her he left his life and job in Los Angeles. They curl up together on the futon.

Sam and Wyatt kiss and have sex. Afterwards, they lie together talking. Wyatt reveals that he’s going to write, sing, and produce his own music from now on. Convinced he’s returning to LA, Sam feels heartbroken. Wyatt assures her he’s going to work from Long Island. He shows her the first song he wrote and uploaded for his new album Summer Songs. He’s also using her sketch of him for the cover. Wyatt expresses his love for Sam and admits he rented the beach house when he heard she’d be back that summer. He thought seeing her again would give him closure. Sam assures him she’s happy now.

Sam’s family returns to Long Island on the weekend she was supposed to get married. On the night of the scheduled rehearsal dinner, Travis and Hugh decide to use the inn reservation to get married. Bill asks Sam and Wyatt if they want the reservation instead, but they insist they want to get married on the beach.