At age twenty, Frankie returns to the apartment with groceries and finds Beau Saint James waiting outside. George has invited his estranged father for coffee while Beau is passing through Toronto, and Frankie has prepared herself to protect George if the visit goes badly. Frankie confronts Beau immediately, makes clear that she despises how he has hurt George, and warns him not to disappoint George again before leading him upstairs.

The visit goes better than Frankie expects. Coffee becomes dinner, and Beau stays for three nights. Frankie remains watchful, but Beau appears respectful, apologetic, and sincerely interested in George and in Frankie, which makes it harder for her to reconcile this man with the father who abandoned George and lost everything to gambling.

On the third evening, the three of them share a meal and laugh together. Beau assumes Frankie and George are dating because Frankie has been sharing George’s bed while Beau uses the bedroom. Later, as Frankie and George lie awake whispering, George admits that adulthood may make it easier for Beau to relate to him and avoid the guilt of having failed him as a child. Frankie hears how much hope George is investing in this reunion and tells him she believes it could be the start of something.

The next morning, that hope collapses. Beau is gone without a word, and George quickly discovers that the envelope holding the birthday money Mimi gave him for turning twenty has disappeared from his desk drawer. The theft confirms that Beau has abandoned and exploited George again, and George breaks down crying on the floor while Frankie sits beside him and holds him.

George struggles to meet Frankie’s eyes, ashamed and devastated, but Frankie does not let him withdraw into the hurt alone. She packs his duffel bag and decides they are leaving the city for the lake, where George can recover with the comfort of Old Stone Road, Frankie’s mother’s baking, and Mimi’s care. When George thanks Frankie, she reassures him that she is there for him, reinforcing that her loyalty is the one dependable refuge he has.