These Summer Storms

The next morning, Alice runs into Greta getting coffee in the kitchen. Her eyes are swollen and red, and Alice asks what’s wrong. Greta reveals that Franklin tasked her with ending her decade-long relationship with Tony. Greta is 40 years old and has always done her family’s bidding. Alice says it’s time she demands her freedom and refuses to give up on it. Alice says she’ll leave, forcing the game to end and allowing Greta her liberty. Greta gets angry, accusing Alice of being naive to the difficulty of her situation and insisting that they’re all family and must play the game for everyone’s benefit. Though Alice has always known that Greta is a carbon copy of her mother, she realizes now that Greta wants the money more than she wants Tony. Greta offers a silent truce by raising her eyebrows at the fact that Alice is wearing Jack’s clothes. She says that Sila has been “after him,” which is part of why Sam hates Jack.

Elisabeth calls a family meeting and says that all the children must remain on the island and get along with one another. They must all appear at the memorial service on Monday, as she has opened their home to the community to commemorate Franklin. Sam uses his phone to dictate his speech and demands that Greta reveal her task. She refuses, so he turns on Emily. Franklin left Emily nothing to do, which they all find unfair. Alice spies her suitcase hidden in the pantry and accuses Sam of stealing her clothes, which he denies with a smug look. Elisabeth commands her to change and remove her luggage from the pantry, which makes her feel like a child. Greta and Emily leave with Elisabeth to help her with planning. Elisabeth demands that Sam begin his list of projects. Alice goes into the pantry and starts to cry. The door slams shut, and she’s locked inside, knowing Sam is the one who did it.

Greta and Emily follow Elisabeth to her office to assist with planning what she insists they call a “celebration,” not a funeral, for Franklin. Greta is the “good daughter” and, since birth, has “belonged” to Elisabeth, but isn’t her favorite child; Sam is. Greta gave up her life to be a dutiful daughter, always doing what Elisabeth asked of her, never complaining. No one, not even her siblings, can understand the burden Greta has carried as the eldest child. Emily is more like her father, and the tension between the two sisters is evident as Emily wants to help with her mother, but Elisabeth insists that Greta will do it all. The daughters begin calling friends from the list the company sent, but Elisabeth is angry because the people on the list were Franklin’s friends, not hers. Emily invites Mike Haskins (Storm Inc.’s cofounder) and his wife, Twyla. Though he isn’t family, Emily calls him “Uncle Mike,” which infuriates Elisabeth, and she insists that he isn’t welcome. Elisabeth angrily dismisses both daughters.

Greta goes to Tony’s cottage and sits with him on the porch. If she follows her father’s instructions, she has only five days left with him. Wanting to savor the moment, she decides not to tell him. Tony has spoken with Jack, which alarms Greta, but it wasn’t about her. When Franklin was alive, Tony was loyal to him. He reveals that a few months earlier, Franklin offered him an out through early retirement, but he declined. Now that her father is gone, Tony pledges his loyalty to Greta and suggests that they be together, out of the shadows. He doesn’t want to be another “burden” to Greta and longs to help her “carry the load.” She doesn’t speak what she knows is true, that this is impossible.

Alice’s 14-year-old niece, Saoirse, discovers her in the pantry and goes for help. She returns with Jack, much to Alice’s dismay. He easily removes the door from its hinges, freeing her. Alice is still wearing his clothes, a detail that draws Saoirse’s attention. Sam and Sila are making her help with the boat descaling, and she launches into Alice, saying that they deserve the money more than her because her parents need her and her brother. Alice notes that Saoirse sounds just like her mother. Jack hears everything, and once Saoirse leaves, she realizes that he’d been looking for her.

Jack reveals that Franklin left him a task as well. Just as Alice asks what it is, Sila walks in, visibly jealous that Jack and Alice are alone together. Jack lies, saying that Alice needed help with her luggage, and carries her suitcase to her room. They exchange barbs, as Jack thinks Alice should thank her for “saving her,” and Alice wants to know more about the weird vibe with Sila. Jack says that Franklin called Alice “a pain in the ass” (128), and Alice counters that her father wasn’t the easiest person either. Despite feeling that Jack doesn’t like her, Alice enjoys being close to him in her room. He was looking for her to ask her to go sailing with him the next day.

The next morning, Jack takes Alice sailing in Franklin’s boat, named The Lizzie, after her mother. Alice notices how well Jack handles the boat, and he says he enjoyed sailing with Franklin, adding that he grew up around boats. He says Franklin changed his life, and he owes him a debt of gratitude. His task for Jack was to take Alice sailing. She explains that the last time she sailed with her father, on the Fourth of July, was the last time she spoke to him. Jack is quiet, letting Alice talk, which she appreciates. She begins recounting her turbulent relationship with her father.

From the time she was young, Franklin wanted Alice to be his successor and thus controlled every aspect of her life, including who she dated. When she won a scholarship to attend art school, Franklin expressed disdain, and the college mysteriously revoked their offer. Only later did Alice learn that her father had made a large donation to them. Alice was working for Storm Inc. when she discovered that the COO was sexually assaulting women in the company. When she confronted her father about it, instead of doing the right thing, he paid off the women and quietly replaced the COO. Infuriated, Alice leaked the story to the media through Roxanne. When the story broke, Franklin made a public apology but stopped speaking to Alice, along with the rest of the family. Alice moved out of the apartment her father paid for, got a job as a teacher, and began a life of her own. She started dating Griffin, whom she admits wasn’t right for her but was fun to be around, and she knew her father would hate him. She brought him to Storm Island for the Fourth of July, the family’s annual celebration. Her father took her out on the sailboat and derided her for bringing Griffin, demanding that she leave immediately. That was the last time they spoke to each other.

Alice addresses the motel incident. Jack wants her to know that he didn’t want to be with her that night, despite working for her father. Alice suspects that Jack came to ensure she went to the island. The game is about her and no one else. They head to a secluded cove with a private beach. Alice, angry, shifts the sail, jumps overboard, and swims to shore, expecting that Jack won’t be able to steer the boat. However, he’s a skilled sailor, and he anchors it, jumping in after her.