Lillian is not surprised when Ryan does not attend Jet’s sixth birthday party. After he missed the Jet’s first birthday, Lillian stopped crying over him. While Lillian watches Jet blow out her birthday candles, she thinks of how Ryan, her parents, and her son are not there with her. He would be 18 years old that year, old enough to find her.

In 1980, on her son’s sixth birthday, Lillian called Zack and asked to meet. She flew to Nashville and told him about their son. To her surprise, Zack did not care. His solo career was taking off, and he was engaged. His indifference proved to Lillian that she made the right decision. Upon returning home, she thought briefly of finding her son but felt it would only bring pain. Instead, she looked forward to returning to Ryan, who was helping her heal.

Now, a few days after the party, Lillian and Jet listen to a voicemail from Ryan wishing his daughter a happy birthday. As she listens, Lillian remembers a time when Ryan sang her happy birthday and danced with her in a park. She misses this Ryan.

Lillian and Shauna follow Jet and Kendi as they walk to kindergarten. As Kendi and Jet jump from topic to topic, Jet suggests they get married because of all their shared interests. Shauna and Lillian listen attentively, and Lillian feels relieved that Jet seems to picture her future relationship as a Disney ideal, not like Lillian’s relationship with Ryan.

Jet is seven when the Waco Branch Davidians are killed in a standoff with the government in Waco, Texas. Lillian tries to hide the news from Jet, but Jet sees pictures on the news. She asks Lillian if any of the kids that died were her age, and Lillian explains that sometimes adults don’t think of how their actions impact children.

Ryan comes to Thanksgiving dinner intoxicated, and Elise tells him to leave the table. Jet looks on with disappointment as Lillian stops him from driving away. Lillian’s father, who was always supportive and proud, was killed by a drunk driver. Despite knowing this and the pain it caused her, Ryan often drives while intoxicated.

Ryan sends monthly checks to Lillian for Jet. Though he makes no effort at reconciliation, they do not discuss divorce. Lillian occasionally dates but accepts that no one can be better than Ryan once was. After Ryan frequently fails to visit Jet, Lillian brings her to the animal shelter, where they adopt a dog Jet names Seth, short for Stethoscope.

Shauna and Kendi join Lillian and Jet at the park for their first walk with Seth, and as the kids play with the dog, Shauna and Lillian catch up. Shauna is in a serious relationship with a doctor, Michael. Jet, who wants to be a doctor, loves him. Lillian realizes that she is jealous that Shauna’s first husband died. With Ryan, there is still hope that they could reconcile, which keeps Lillian trapped.

Barton dies, and though neither Lillian nor Jet ever met him, they make the trip to Memphis, Tennessee, to support Elise and Ryan at the funeral. Ryan seems sober at the wake. Afterward, Lillian picks up sandwiches, and Jet calls Ryan’s hotel room for him to come get one. He takes the sandwich but doesn’t come in. Jet doesn’t care and starts eating, but despite herself, Lillian wants to go after Ryan and support him.

The funeral is sparse, and afterward, Elise and Lillian return to their hotel rooms while Jet plays checkers in the lobby with Ryan. When Ryan brings Jet up, Lillian thinks he wants to speak, but he stops himself from reaching out to her and instead returns to his room.

When Jet is asleep, Lillian goes to Ryan’s room. He admits that he was sober all week, but Lillian is disappointed to see a liquor bottle on his table. Lillian tells Ryan that she still loves him, and when he pleads with her to hate him, she assures him she does. She accuses him of giving up on them and not trying to change, but when she sees a note beside the bottle, from a young Ryan to Barton, thanking him for a present, she sees the many different sides of her husband.

Ryan tells Lillian that he never stopped loving her, and she pleads with him to let her help him. Just as they are about to kiss, Jet knocks on the door. She came to get Lillian. That night, Lillian dreams of a drunk and violent Ryan, torn between pain and hope. The next morning, there is a checkers game set at their door, left by Ryan, and Lillian feels hope.

After Memphis, Ryan is sober for months and spends more time with Jet. One day, while Jet is with Elise, Lillian goes to visit Ryan. When he opens the door, Lillian sees a filthy apartment, littered with liquor bottles. Ryan is drunk, and Lillian feels betrayed. She calls him a liar and decides that she cannot love a man who would lie like this. She leaves, and Ryan stops visiting.

Months go by, and Ryan continues to send money. He even comes to Jet’s spelling bee, and he and Lillian act as though everything is normal. Despite what she hoped in Memphis, Lillian thinks it is over between her and Ryan.

Lillian and Jet go to Shauna and Kendi’s for Saturday Night Pizza and Play, a longstanding tradition, and they are surprised when Shauna announces her engagement to Michael. When Jet and Kendi go out after pizza to ride their bikes, Lillian admires Jet as she takes her first aid materials with her, always ready to help one in need.

She reflects on how quickly Jet is growing up. She and Kendi will be going to their first middle school dance the following Saturday. Jet has a date, and Lillian imagines what the night will be like. Jet will be at the dance, with the thrill of a new experience, while Lillian and Shauna stay at home. She imagines they will discuss Shauna keeping her last name, the legacy of her first husband, and how Michael might even take it to honor Kendi’s father. Lillian thinks of how brave Shauna is to start this new life.

Jet becomes interested in photography, and Lillian sees Ryan in her art. One day, she takes some of Jet’s pictures to Ryan at the gallery. To her surprise, Ryan seems sober. In his office, Ryan tells her that he is impressed with Jet’s work. He asks Lillian if he could display some photos and maybe even sell them. She gives Ryan Jet’s cell phone number so he can ask her himself. Before she leaves, Ryan invites Lillian and Jet over for dinner.

At Ryan’s apartment, Lillian is surprised to find it clean and organized, with no traces of alcohol. The dinner goes well, and Ryan asks Jet if he can sell her pictures, inviting her to visit the gallery for the first time since she was a baby. Ryan also asks Lillian to come back for dinner alone another night to talk. They both agree.

Later that night, Jet asks Lillian why Ryan left them. Lillian explains that he did it to protect them, saying he could be violent when he was drinking. As they talk, Lillian thinks of her own mother and misses her, wishing she had her support during these hard times.

Lillian arrives at Ryan’s apartment, wary of what he wants to talk about. He cooks, and as they eat, Ryan explains the gallery’s growth. As she listens, Lillian finds herself happy that he is now the artist he hoped to be. Lillian also feels pride in herself as she tells him about the bank, pleased with the life she built for herself and Jet.

Eventually, Ryan reveals that he invited Lillian over to tell her that he is nine months sober. He had some early relapses, but through Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and therapy with Elise, he is committed to making a change. She asks why he began drinking, and instead of blaming her, Ryan admits that it was because of his father. When Jet was born, he became so afraid that he would turn into Barton that he drank to prove he could be different.

Lillian assures Ryan that he is not his father because he can change, and she can forgive him. They profess that they still love each other and want to be with each other. Ryan apologizes for all the time they missed because of him. They embrace, kiss, and make love.

Ryan is sober for 20 months, and though they still live in separate apartments, Lillian expects that to change soon. His attention and affection make her feel young and alive.

Lillian remembers when she was Jet’s age and a friend spurned her. She cried over this friend, and her mother carved her and Lillian’s initials into the trunk of a magnolia tree in their yard. She told Lillian that this was where Lillian began—her first love and the first person she needed. She explained that everyone needs people, but people do not need everyone. She wanted Lillian to know that there would be new friends, lovers, and maybe kids, that Lillian had the ability to choose who is in her life. Now, Lillian reflects on how she chose Ryan and, therefore, chose Jet.