These Summer Storms

Alone in the sunroom with her mother, Alice confronts her about avoiding her grief, but Elisabeth insists that she’s “fine.” Alice wants her to admit that she’s grieving and that they’ve all lost something, but Elisabeth won’t. Jack arrives, but Elisabeth waves him off, saying they don’t need his help. Elisabeth exits, leaving Jack and Alice alone. Alice tries to tell Jack what she overheard, but can’t find the words. Jack understands her grief, as he lost his father eight years ago, and they had a similarly complicated relationship. Alice makes it clear that she wants to be with Jack, and he tells her that he wants the same thing, but it’s not the right time. They kiss passionately, but Jack pulls away, and she agrees that it’s too dangerous.

As they exit the sunroom, they see Elisabeth arguing with Greta and Tony. Elisabeth rarely makes a scene, and her behavior concerns Alice. Elisabeth scolds them for leaving the celebration, as the guests surely noticed. She focuses her ire on Tony, calling him foolish for his behavior, and fires him. Astonished, Alice begs Jack to intervene, but he can’t. Alice shouts at Greta to stand up for herself and Tony, but she remains silent, tacitly admitting that she’s choosing her mother over Tony, who adores her. Tony says Elisabeth can’t fire him since he quit on Thursday. He says he already knew the terms of the game and only stayed on the island to protect Greta. Alice is dumbfounded as Greta watches him walk away.

Elisabeth says that everyone has fulfilled their tasks except Alice. Jack corrects her, saying that she hasn’t told the children everything and hasn’t completed her daily task of complimenting Franklin. Elisabeth smirks at Alice and says her father would be proud of her. Elisabeth rejoins the guests, who have been staring at the scene. Alice thanks Jack, as hearing those words meant a lot to her. She wishes they could escape somewhere and be together. Suddenly, Gabi runs to her, saying that Griffin has arrived.

Alice is furious at Griffin’s arrival since he walked out on her, leaving only a note to break off their engagement. When she was dating him, Alice missed all the signs that he was only after her family’s money, but she knows that’s why he’s here. Gabi and Roxanne remain by her side for support, and Emily and Claudie walk up; Alice knows Emily invited him. Gabi and Roxanne see the truth, but Alice reveals to Emily that she and Griffin are no longer together because he left her. Griffin asks to talk to her, but she asserts that their relationship is over. When Griffin roughly grabs her arm, Jack swiftly moves in and punches him in the nose. Tony restrains Griffin. When Griffin refers to Jack by his full name, Alice realizes that they know each other. She asks Tony to release Griffin so that he can explain.

Griffin reveals that Jack came to him in July, offering him money from Franklin if he would end things with Alice. Alice begins to put the pieces together and is angry with Jack for the deception. Jack insists that Franklin was “testing” her and that she should focus on the fact that Griffin gave her up for the money easily. Jack says she deserves better, “someone who would have taken a swing at me for even suggesting he didn’t love you with everything he had” (266). Alice asks Tony to remove Griffin from the island, and she walks away from Jack even as he pleads with her to listen to him. Gabi offers for Alice to leave the island with them, and she considers it.

Alice runs into Mike Haskins as he’s leaving. He tells her that her father knew about her art and tried to get him to fund one of her pieces. Mike laments her and her father’s rift but says she “did the right thing” (270). Alice realizes that Mike was the man her mother was arguing with in the sunroom. Instead of bringing it up, she asks if she can leave with him and Twyla. As they go out to the helipad, Saoirse stops Alice and confesses that she and Oliver took her clothes and locked her in the pantry to prevent her from leaving. Alice says she’s going now, but assures her niece that they’ll be fine because she assumes Sam will be CEO. Sam walks in and shoos Saoirse away. He reveals to Alice that Franklin fired him on the 4th of July, so he won’t be CEO. He emphatically refuses to let her leave, and when she resists, he grabs her and drags her back into the house.

Sam locks Alice in a closet in Franklin’s office, where he stores rare books. Inside, she finds one of her paintings that Franklin purchased, and she’s sickened by “another in a long line of controlling events designed to keep her from making her own decisions and keep her under his thumb” (276). Jack, summoned by Saoirse, lets her out, and they’re alone in the office. Alice is angry with him for thinking he must “save” her once again. She demands to know how much he paid Griffin to break up with her. Jack says it wasn’t enough, but he would gladly do it again if it meant they could be together. Alice admits that she wasn’t in love with Griffin but loved that he made her feel “ordinary,” different from her family. Jack says she should never again settle for someone who makes her feel “ordinary.” He kisses her, and Alice says she’s still angry with him but needs him to be her hero now. Jack locks them inside the office, closing the shades, and they have sex. Despite still feeling like Jack isn’t safe, Alice feels secure with him.

As Alice and Jack cuddle together on the couch, she asks him about his sextant tattoo. He avoids the question by asking her how she became an artist. She shares that she has been painting since she was 13. The painting her father purchased is titled In Progress, and it depicts the ocean view from the island. It’s one of her favorite works, but her father’s treachery taints it. Though the painting is in the vault, Jack says it hung in Franklin’s office in the city. Alice removes the Picasso from above the mantel and replaces it with her painting.

Jack grew up on the water and helped his father run the family crabbing business. His mother died when he was young, and he has no memory of her. It was a tough life, and his relationship with his father was strained at times, but Jack was still sad when he died. He got the tattoo as a memorial for his father. Jack asks Alice if she’s with him to spite her father, but she admits that her attraction is genuine. Jack says she can define their relationship however she wants, a promise that she finds “gorgeous.” Alice asks what’s the worst thing Jack has ever done, and he says he hasn’t “done it yet” (247). He threatened Griffin to stay away from Alice. Jack offers to help Alice leave the island the next day if she wants. He takes her to his room above the boathouse for the night just as a storm approaches.