Frankie rests in a hammock near the beach, watching a mother teach her young daughter to surf and briefly remembering her own mother helping her ride a bike. George approaches ready for their hike, and the small exchange over salal berries immediately feels charged because they have spoken little all day.

George asks about Frankie’s self-esteem exercise, and Frankie admits she can barely list good qualities about herself without turning each one into a flaw. Seeing how hard she is being on herself after Nate left her, George climbs into the hammock beside her, tells her not to second-guess every answer, and helps her name strengths he genuinely values in her. When Frankie makes him do the same exercise, the mood lightens, and she finally manages to call herself creative, loyal, and dependable.

George then shifts the exercise toward Nate, arguing that Frankie needs to admit her ex was not perfect. At first George jokes about Nate’s dancing and appearance, but Frankie gradually opens up about more serious incompatibilities: Nate was rigid, sexually opaque in ways she found awkward, and dismissive of the objects that expressed her identity, including her grandparents’ lamp and her beloved mismatched china. Frankie admits she got rid of all her things when she moved in with Nate, and George responds with sympathy and a promise to help her rebuild a home that feels like her once he returns from Mexico.

When Frankie asks why George disliked Nate, George confesses that he was alarmed by how quickly the relationship became an engagement and feared Frankie would trap herself in a marriage she would never willingly leave. He also tells Frankie he has always felt lucky to have her as a friend, which prompts Frankie to admit she has felt abandoned by his years of travel and his distance since Christmas. George apologizes for handling everything badly, insists Frankie did nothing wrong, and says no one matters more to him than Frankie and Mimi. As they prepare to go on their hike, Frankie suddenly understands that her old feelings for George are alive again and realizes, with alarm, that she is in love with him.