Golden Girl

Amy opts to skip the memorial service, and she and Lorna spend the day drinking together at the Cru. She runs into Dennis there after he leaves the Field and Oar Club, and he tells her how he got into a fight with JP. Dennis offers to buy Amy an apology drink for hurting her boyfriend, and she accepts.

The Chief grows frustrated with the lack of progress on the investigation. The tire tracks were inconclusive, and Vivi’s clothes and running shoes are missing—Alexis claims they never made it to the station from the medical examiner.

The Chief goes to meet Joe and explain why Cruz’s car is still impounded. Joe asserts that Cruz is not someone who would lie about a hit-and-run, especially because he loved Vivi as dearly as a mother. Joe questions whether Cruz is being treated this way because he is Black, which discomfits the Chief. As Joe insists that Cruz not be turned into a scapegoat, the Chief “knows in his heart” that Cruz is innocent and promises to release the car later that day (113).

Martha shows Vivi a Facebook memorial page dedicated to her. Among the lovely messages is one from Brett, who has just learned about Vivi’s death and her past career as an author. He expresses his condolences but is also looking to get in touch with Vivi’s family, having read the description of Golden Girl.

A week after Vivi’s memorial service, Willa and Rip move into a tiny, one-bedroom cottage called “Wee Bit” for the summer; it used to be Rip’s grandparents’ summer residence. Willa is eight weeks pregnant and determined for this baby to survive, as it is the last pregnancy Vivi knew about.

Willa goes for a walk and returns to find Pamela’s car parked outside Wee Bit. Willa is a little surprised—she has always despised Pamela, especially because Pamela constantly objected to Rip and Willa’s relationship right until they got married. To Willa’s further surprise, after quickly checking in with Willa, Pamela confides in her that she is sure Zach is having an affair.

The turn of affairs intrigues Vivi, and Martha assures her there is more to come.

Carson returns to work at the Oystercatcher two weeks after Vivi’s death. She drinks heavily and snorts cocaine to get her through the day. During a bathroom break, she checks her phone for texts from a man with whom she is having an affair; she last messaged him when Vivi died, asking him not to come to the service.

Marshall, the bartender from the Field and Oar Club, arrives at the Oystercatcher. It is his night off, and he asks Carson out. Carson considers it, but when she receives a text from her lover asking to meet at midnight, she rejects Marshall’s offer.

After finishing up at work, Carson meets Zach Bridgeman, the man with whom she is having an affair. He reveals that he did attend the service after all but sat in the back. Carson tries to end their relationship again, but Zach claims that he cannot go without seeing her. Zach confesses his love for her; the pair kiss and make plans to meet again the next day.

Vivi is stunned and horrified to discover Carson and Zach’s affair. She wants to use one of her nudges, but Martha warns her that it might not be enough as the two have fallen in love.

Vivi remembers the summer of 1991 when she and Savannah graduated from Duke University. Savannah invited Vivi to stay with her on Nantucket over the summer. The history and grandeur of Savannah’s family’s summer home awed Vivi, but she was dismayed when she discovered Savannah’s parents have a rule about house guests: No one is allowed to stay longer than a week.

Savannah tried to reassure Vivi that she could convince her parents otherwise, but at the end of the week, Savannah’s mother was unrelenting. Vivi decided to use the money she earned from a creative writing award to stay in Nantucket anyway and forge a way herself. In the present, Vivi reflects on how Savannah never forgave herself for that summer and apologized for it numerous times over the years; Vivi ultimately did succeed in making Nantucket her home.

Marissa shows up at Money Pit with a tart as an apology, and Leo lets her back in, in need of comfort. They don’t talk about Cruz except briefly when Marissa expresses her conviction that he is responsible for Vivi’s death based on Alexis’s report.

Carson moves into Vivi’s old room while a lost and angry Leo rejects JP’s offer to come live with him. Leo is grateful for Savannah’s presence, as she handles several things for them, including Vivi’s Facebook memorial page. She brings up the comments from Brett Caspian, but none of the children have ever heard of him. Will and Rip keep checking in; Rip is handling the police investigation as he is used to such logistics because of his work with an insurance company. He even handled Marissa’s claim for her Jeep, which she claims she drove into the saltwater pond because she was upset about her breakup with Leo.

Leo tries to avoid thinking about Cruz even though he is hurt that neither Cruz nor Cruz’s father Joe have checked in on him. One morning, Marissa calls him with news from Alexis: Vivi’s running shoes have turned up in the trash can of the store where Cruz works.

An agitated Vivi asks Martha for reassurance that Cruz is not the one who hit her, but Martha, a new scarf in her hair, reiterates that she cannot tell Vivi this: “Some things [she has] to figure out on [her] own” (155).

The Chief hears about the shoes and decides to talk to Cruz himself. Cruz reiterates that he didn’t touch the shoes or hit Vivi. The Chief confronts Cruz about the lie that he was headed to the Money Pit from his house. Cruz admits that he was headed there from Peter Bridgeman’s house; he wanted to talk to Peter about a picture the latter took at a party. Peter wasn’t home, so Cruz headed straight to Leo’s to talk about the picture, as he knew Peter had sent it to Leo, too. However, Cruz refuses to disclose what the picture is of, and the Chief lets him go.

Amy returns home to find JP crying over photographs of him and Vivi together. Amy tries to be supportive of his grief but lashes out, sensing JP regrets leaving Vivi for her. JP reveals he is heading out for dinner with Savannah but asserts they will have a conversation about their relationship sometime soon.

Lorna is busy, so Amy goes out for a drink and dinner alone. She loses her appetite halfway and decides to leave but stops by Savannah’s house on the way home. Through the window, Amy watches Savannah crying in JP’s arms; Savannah draws back, and believing they are about to kiss, Amy rushes back home. She is now sure that the JP no longer has the engagement ring.

Amy heads back to Gaslight, where she had been drinking, and runs into Dennis again. When he learns that JP is having dinner with Savannah, he invites Amy to dance, and she accepts.

Vivi checks in on Savannah and discovers JP comforting her. She remembers how they didn’t like each other when she was alive, but she can see them bonding over their mutual loss of Vivi. JP confesses to Savannah that he is going to leave Amy; he started his affair with her because he wanted to feel important and adored but regrets it now. Amy was always jealous of Vivi, and she also drove a wedge between him and his children. He reveals he did buy an engagement ring a while back but couldn’t find himself to propose and returned it. JP and Savannah make plans to meet once a week for dinner, and Vivi mentally urges them to be together.

Pamela’s confession about Zach’s suspected affair proves a distraction for Willa. She eventually falls into a rhythm over the summer, going to work and taking walks with Rip on the beach after. She also takes over the Facebook memorial page from Savannah and, intrigued by Brett’s message, reaches out to him.

Willa realizes that Brett is legitimate when he talks about where he and Vivi went to high school and how her father passed away during senior year. He is now a hotel manager but reveals he wrote a song named “Golden Girl” for Vivi, just like in her recent book—Brett has just read it and believes it is based on Vivi’s and his relationship. Willa invites him to come out to Nantucket, and Brett plans a trip in two weeks.

A panicked Vivi wants to use one of her nudges to prevent Brett’s visit, but Martha makes an executive decision and disallows this. Vivi remembers her postpartum period after Carson’s birth: Unlike Willa, who was a placid and self-contained child, Carson was colicky and had reflux, crying or nursing all the time. Vivi was struggling in motherhood, as was JP with his job as a real estate agent; he believed he would be happier starting his own business, but Vivi urged him not to quit as they needed the money.

An exhausted and overwhelmed Vivi was suddenly struck one night with the idea for her first novel, The Dune Daughters, which she wrote over the next eight months. She got in touch with an author who once did a workshop at her school and believed Vivi had promise; he put her in touch with a publishing agent, and eventually, Vivi’s book went for a “pretty penny.” Vivi broke the news to a downbeat JP, who had been toying with the idea of opening a wine shop due to his frustrations with his job; JP was immediately thrilled for Vivi.