Uncle Louie is Jess’s boss at Capodimonte Marble and Stone, their family business since 1924. They live in Lake Como, New Jersey, where the Capodimonte and Baratta families comprise a significant portion of North Boulevard. Jess says Italian Americans know that mothers are the most powerful members of any family; her own mother, Philomena, is evidence of that. Jess usually wears lots of black clothing, and reflects on her name: Giuseppina Capodimonte Baratta. Though almost everyone calls her “Jess,” she still feels saddled by it.

Jess prepares a journal entry, another assignment from Dr. Sharon. She writes about a time when her mother picked her up from school, when Jess was nine. Her sister, Connie, was already in the car. Jess reported that Bobby Bilancia stole her lunch, and Connie claimed that Jess likes him, just like everyone else. Jess’s brother, Joe, got in. When Connie said that some girls were making fun of Jess’s name that day, Phil said Jess needed to “get tough,” which sent her into a panic attack. Jess’s panic attacks started when she was in kindergarten.

In the present, Uncle Louie says he tried to convince his sister not to name Jess after their maiden aunt. This aunt gave up on romance after her father pulled her out of her lover’s arms at a motel one night. She was a devout Catholic who dedicated her life to serving others, and Jess can relate: She thinks it’s no wonder Giuseppina was angry, as “[h]er life was not her own” (17). Jess doesn’t feel her life is hers, either.

Jess and Louie arrive at Saint Catherine’s Church, and he tells her that he wants her to take over the business and go to Italy with him to see the quarries. Jess has always wanted to go.

Saint Catherine’s is full of Carrara marble. Jess and Louie pray, waiting to meet the priest and Jess’s father, an insurance adjuster who handles the company’s claims.

Suddenly, Bobby Bilancia, Jess’s ex-husband, arrives with platters of food for a church meeting. He greets Jess and reports that he bought a house. Louie feels bad about the awkward meeting and asks Joe, Jess’s dad, to give her a ride home. He says that Jess has simple tastes, that she likes books and museums; the Bilancias, however, value money. When they get home, Jess’s mom says they should’ve invited Bobby to dinner.

Jess heads into the cellar. It was set up as an apartment for her grandmother, but Grandma Cap died before living there. Jess doesn’t want to tell her folks that she’s going to Italy with Louie because they might convince her not to go. She reaches out to Dr. Sharon, but the Thera-Me website tells her to reach out to Dr. Raymond and complete her next writing exercise. Instead, she texts Bobby to tell him that she misses him.

Jess prepares the gravy for Sunday dinner. Her mother is expecting 14 people. Jess pulls out her phone to write her next journal entry. She writes about looking at an apartment in Hoboken. When Mrs. Cartegna guessed that Jess was single, Jess reminded herself that she moved home to help her parents—who were recovering from surgeries—as much as for herself. The realtor said the super would paint the place any color Jess wants. At home, Connie chose their bedroom colors, and Bobby preferred black and silver in their apartment.

Phil recalls her to the present, and Jess remembers that she needs to drop off her deposit to Mrs. Cartegna. Her mother cautions her against burning the gravy. Jess considers the way her family members work together to diffuse her mom “before she pulls her own pin and explodes like a grenade” (39).

Louie and his wife, Lil, arrive, and Louie announces that he’s taking Jess to Italy. Phil declares that she and Joe will join them, but Jess says they aren’t invited. She doesn’t want it turning into trip that’s all about them. Louie agrees, saying it’ll just be him and Jess this time. Connie, her husband, Diego, and their three daughters arrive. Joe and Katie, and their sons, come in next.

One of the girls finds Jess’s dream board in the basement, and Jess confesses that she’s in therapy. Connie says Jess deserves to go to Italy; after all, she majored in Italian culture and never got to go abroad. When dinner is ready, Jess serves. When Lil offers to help, Phil says Jess can manage, and Jess feels like Zia Giuseppina again. Her mother points out that the family isn’t on Jess’s dream board. Jess says she’s looking at apartments, so all her major secrets are now revealed.

After dinner, Louie has a heart attack.

At Louie’s bedside, Jess works on her next journal entry. She writes about the time she watched a shipment of Carrara marble arrive at Perth Amboy, a small city on the coast. Louie is always nervous while the marble is unloaded because it can shatter easily if hit just right. After the workers finished, Louie distributed envelopes of cash. He spoke on the phone to Conor Kerrigan, his shipping partner in Italy. Afterward, Jess asked what happened between Louie and her mother, and he said they fell out after he fired her. Phil lacked customer service skills, as rather than work through conflict, she would simply send people to “the Island”—her metaphor for not speaking to them. Their father favored Louie, and this always bothered Phil. Louie also told Jess that she needed new clothes.

Now, Jess can’t imagine life without Louie. She misses Bobby, so she opens her notes app and writes about the time she realized she loved him. It was at the school musical, and one of the nuns asked Jess to run lines with Bobby. She made him laugh, and he kissed her.

Louie wakes up, and he says his father died after his third heart attack. He tells Jess that she is his sole heir, and she’ll inherit everything when Lil dies. She gets the business when he dies. He starts to say his goodbyes. Jess panics because Louie always believed in her and was there for her. He tells her about the woman he fell in love with before Lil, in Italy; her name was Claudia. Her father hated Louie and didn’t think that he was worthy of Claudia. Louie also tells Jess about the “Elegant Gangster,” a secondary corporation he uses to resell whatever marble remains after completing Capodimonte Marble’s jobs. He hasn’t paid taxes on those earnings, keeping the money in accounts in the Caymans, and Jess points out that this is illegal. He says Lil doesn’t know about the extra earnings. Louie tells her where to find the hard drive hidden at his house and dies. Jess texts the family to let them know that he passed peacefully.