On the back patio, Cait watches Luke play Hammerschlagen. Though he seems at ease with Finn and her family, his presence with Nicole irritates Cait. To catch Luke’s attention, she loudly asks Kyle if he’s setting her up with Mukesh. During Cait’s turn at Hammerschlagen, she dismisses Luke’s sexist suggestion that “girls can use two hands” and drives her nail perfectly on the first try (171).

Afterward, Cait asks Luke if they can talk alone. He leads her down the hallway past Nora’s paintings and the framed 1912 plans for the Folly, noting that it was crafted for the Ryan family, their ancestors. When he says that being back feels like old times, Cait asks if he’s referring to when their brothers were alive. In Nora’s painting studio, she demands to know why he brought a date. Luke explains that Nicole is a work colleague with a fiancé in Tanzania; he thought bringing her might ease things with Cait’s parents.

Finn interrupts, needing more nails. After he leaves, Cait asks Luke about the nature of their rekindled relationship. Luke says that he thought they were figuring it out but that Cait is complicating it. Before Cait can answer, Nora announces dinner.

Maggie hopes that Isabel will not board the train, but when the car pulls into Port Haven station, Isabel steps on without a word. As the doors close, Maggie impulsively jumps aboard. She finds Isabel in the back car; she looks resigned but moves her bag so that Maggie can sit. Maggie says that she will ride with Isabel to Penn Station and then admits the truth: She does not want to let Isabel go.

Isabel asks what Maggie expected when she went to Sarah’s house. Maggie says that she was looking for resolution after the abrupt way things ended with Sarah and insists that she had no interest in reconciling, calling it a “shitty” relationship. Isabel points out that Maggie kissed Sarah anyway and will not take responsibility, adding that Maggie kept herself a secret and withheld information throughout their relationship.

The conductor arrives. Maggie realizes that she left her wallet in the car; Isabel pays for her ticket. When Isabel asks about other texts from Sarah, Maggie confesses that she erased the entire thread after the recent message. Isabel worries about Maggie’s recklessness in communicating with Sarah, given that Sarah is married to a Grove board member. Maggie reveals that Headmaster Cunningham has summoned her for Monday.

The train jerks to a stop. An announcement reports frozen tracks; a van will transport passengers to a bus terminal. On the snowy platform, Maggie calls Kyle for a ride, hoping that Isabel will return to the Folly with her.

At the dining room table, Cait watches Luke and Nicole enter laughing. She cuts turkey for the twins, noting that the Benadryl she gave Poppy still seems to be working. When Maggie, Kyle, and Isabel return, Cait tries to assess whether Maggie and Isabel are back together but can’t tell. After saying grace, Cait quickly drinks her wine, feeling a pure hatred—for Luke and herself.

Cait asks Nicole if she knew Luke from Saint Mary’s. Nicole says no but that she was friends with “Danny.” The casual use of Daniel’s nickname startles Cait. Nicole explains that she and Luke reconnected at an investment lunch and that he is now the director of major gifts at her nongovernmental organization, praising him as a brilliant self-starter. Cait snorts. When Nicole asks what’s funny, Cait challenges the claim about Luke being a “self-starter” since he received lawsuit money from the Ryans. Nora matter-of-factly states that the final settlement was $1,034,000, a figure her children have never been told.

Upset with the turn the conversation has taken, Robert slams his hand on the table, silencing the room. James distracts the group with a question about whether the turkey is a boy or a girl. Luke stands, tosses his napkin, and tells Cait that he never wanted the settlement money. He asks Robert and Nora if they know that. After a look passes between Luke and Robert, Robert says they know. Luke asks Cait to speak with him and guides her from the room with a hand on her back. Despite her shame, Cait feels exhilarated at Luke’s public claim on her as they step into the November snowstorm.

Alice is furious that she’s left to manage the aftermath of the chaos caused by Cait, who herself has left the table. Father Kelly excuses Cait’s behavior as jet lag. Kyle prompts him to finish his story, and Father Kelly reveals that his father’s holiday question was always “Are you happy?” (191). Alice finds it a placating question. After an awkward toast, she suggests that they share what they are thankful for. Finn says that he’s thankful for his friends.

Finn asks to be excused, claiming a stomach bug, to watch a movie in the attic. Alice is further irritated by Finn’s refusal to participate in a dinner she planned so carefully. She realizes that every important decision she has made has been in service of her family, rather than her own self. Defiantly, she takes a long sip of wine. Kyle notices and shouts her name, causing an awkward silence at the table. Alice excuses herself on the pretext of checking on Cait, and Kyle follows.

Upstairs, Kyle confronts Alice for drinking while pregnant, and she says she forgot. As she stares at a painting that fell when EMTs carried Topher’s body down the stairs, Alice says that she wants to return to school. Kyle tries to be supportive, but Alice points out that their finances cannot accommodate both her return to school and another baby. Realizing that Alice is considering an abortion, Kyle says they cannot take that decision.

He argues that her worries will vanish once the baby is born. Alice says that she doesn’t want sleepless nights and financial strain, asking why another child is more important than his wife. From downstairs, James shouts that a raccoon is back in the garbage. Kyle tells him to stay away as Robert goes outside. He says that the baby is not more important but that they need to accept what is happening.

Alice recalls Pope Francis offering absolution for abortion during the Holy Year of Mercy and says that she wants it done quickly while it’s still an embryo. Kyle invokes God, saying that if it’s left alone, the embryo would become their baby. Alice asks if God intends to kill her, reminding him of her 40% preeclampsia risk. Kyle says that she’s forcing him to choose between her and their child. Alice tells him that she’s not asking permission; she’s telling him her decision, adding that he’s absolved. He can object to keep the moral high ground while getting what he wants: not having another baby.

In the guest cottage, Luke accuses Cait of inviting him to humiliate him. She retorts that he humiliated her by showing up with a girlfriend. After they both regret the invitation, Luke sits beside Cait and asks her to say what’s really on her mind. Cait asks Luke why he’s there. When he replies that he and Cait always find their way back to each other, Cait accuses him of enjoying their push-and-pull dynamic.

Luke counters that the reason he accepted her invite was that he thought enough time had passed to heal the wounds between the families. He tells Cait that he told his parents not to pursue the lawsuit. Cait wonders why Luke didn’t return the money. He finally reveals that he did offer Robert a check years ago, but Robert refused, saying that Topher made a mistake and that Luke must now put the money to good use. Cait is shocked; she had suspected that her father believed the lawsuit was just, but hearing that he accepted Topher’s mistake releases something in her. She now understands that the look between Luke and her father at dinner meant that Robert was asking Luke not to reveal this conversation. Luke says that he brought Nicole to show Robert that he’s a man of his word, implying that he has made something of himself with the money, as Robert asked.

Luke asks Cait to forgive herself and Topher for the past. Just then, James rushes in to get shells for a raccoon hunt. After he leaves, Luke kisses Cait. As they embrace, a shotgun goes off, followed by a scream.

The sound of the shot has everyone rushing to the front porch. Alice finds Robert in the driveway with his shotgun aimed at the garbage can, shouting that they got the raccoon. She pulls James away from the can. Cait scoops up a hysterical Poppy. Kyle, who has brought back Maggie and Isabel from the station, steps off the porch and asks Robert to put down the gun. Robert stands frozen and then calls James by Topher’s name and tells him to lift the lid.

After a confused silence, Alice tells her father that it’s James, not Topher. Nora calls Robert “Bobby” and asks if he’s all right. Trembling, Robert apologizes, saying that he doesn’t t know why he called James “Topher.” Kyle inches closer and gently asks for the gun. Robert lets it slide through his fingers; it hits the driveway and fires another round. After a collective scream, Kyle confirms that the bullet hit a sycamore and that everyone is safe.

Robert sits on the porch step, ashen, with Alice and Cait on either side of him. He repeats that he does not know why he used Topher’s name. Alice thinks that her father’s state is similar to one she witnessed during a mountain hike when Robert had stopped short in the mist, marveling at being caught in a cloud. Cait and Alice now help Robert stand to go inside.

A police car pulls into the driveway, lights flashing. Kyle assumes that a neighbor called about the gunshots, but the officer reveals that he’s there for another reason. He asks if they are the family of a boy named Finn.

The officer reports that someone saw Finn slip on ice while walking to his friend’s house; he broke his collarbone and got a concussion that prevented him from remembering where he came from. Alice and Kyle rush to the hospital, while Maggie and Cait stay to help clean up. Maggie and Isabel later try to put James to bed, but he keeps asking worried questions about Finn.

As Isabel leaves to get milk and biscuits, a distracted Maggie reads James a story. Kyle texts that Finn’s CT scan is clean but that they must stay at the hospital. After hearing the news, James asks Maggie why his grandfather called him “Topher.” Maggie explains that Topher was his uncle. James says that Finn told him Topher died by suicide, but he doesn’t know what the word means. When Maggie gently explains the meaning, Finn wonders if dying by suicide is like an Irish goodbye—leaving without saying farewell. Maggie replies that perhaps James is right. James wants to know the reason behind Topher’s actions, but Maggie has no reply. James says that he doesn’t want to look like Topher. Maggie feels sad but understand why James would say such a thing. She reassures him that he looks more like Alice.

After tucking James in, Maggie encounters Nora in her coat heading to the hospital. Before Nora can leave, Cait intercepts her for a private chat. Nora emerges smiling from the conversation. When Maggie asks Nora what happened, Nora replies that Cait has shared some big news with her but that it’s too early to go viral. Meanwhile, Isabel emerges from the bathroom, and Maggie decides to focus on their unresolved situation.