Contents
Chapter 24
Overview
Nine years earlier, Fern asserts her independence by refusing to work at Brookbanks, straining her relationship with Margaret. She returns home expecting to reunite with Will, but he never arrives. In the aftermath, Margaret unexpectedly comforts Fern, reframing the rejection and softening the rift between them.
Summary
On June 14, nine years earlier, Fern arrives early at the resort docks to meet Will after a year apart. She reflects on how Will’s encouragement to claim her own life led her to tell Margaret she would not work at Brookbanks anymore. The call ends badly, cutting off financial support and deepening a new distance between them.
Over the following year, Fern stays in Toronto, scrapes by at Two Sugars, and resists contacting Will despite searching for him online. She declines moving to Banff with Jamie, and he ends their relationship, leaving Fern lonely but determined to shape her own future.
Family visits are tense. At Christmas, Margaret avoids real conversation and works through the holiday, while Peter urges Fern to be patient, explaining that Margaret once dreamed of working beside her. Their bond remains strained.
Back at the docks, Fern waits for hours with a canoe packed for a day with Will, but he never appears. Instead, Margaret approaches, guesses Fern is waiting for someone, and gently draws out that his name is Will. Fern admits she had hoped it could be serious.
Margaret ultimately comforts Fern, insisting Will’s absence is his loss. The moment offers Fern solace and a brief thaw in the mother–daughter tension, even as Will’s no-show quietly alters Fern’s expectations for the future.
Who Appears
- Fern BrookbanksNarrator; chooses independence from the resort, waits for Will, gets stood up, receives unexpected comfort from Margaret.
- Margaret BrookbanksFern’s mother; initially estranged after Fern’s decision, later comforts Fern at the docks, calling Will’s absence his loss.
- Will BaxterAbsent but central; inspired Fern’s independence yet fails to meet her at the docks.
- PeterMargaret’s partner; counsels Fern at Christmas to be patient with Margaret.
- JamieFern’s then-boyfriend; breaks up after she declines moving to Banff.
- WhitneyFern’s friend; supportive but hurt Fern hid her decision.
- AylaFern’s Toronto friend; away on internship, contributing to Fern’s loneliness.