Golden Girl

Vivi’s publicist contacts Willa and informs her that Good Morning America wants Brett to come on the show. Brett is surprised to hear about this from Willa but reassures her that he will not talk about the pregnancy on the show; he will only sing the song and talk about his romance with Vivi. Willa texts her siblings about Brett but gets no response. When she goes over to break the news to Savannah, she is surprised to discover JP there and learn that he broke up with Amy. They, in turn, are shocked by Willa’s news about Brett and the show.

News spreads around Nantucket about Brett’s appearance on Good Morning America. On Monday morning, Brett captures hearts around the country when he sings “Golden Girl.” He describes his relationship with Vivi as young and sweet, revealing he lost touch with her after 1987. However, he claims that she was his first love and will always be his “golden girl.” Brett even shares pictures of them together, and as JP and Savannah watch, they marvel that Vivi never told them about him.

Vivi is overcome and grateful for Brett’s grace and Willa’s efforts in keeping her secret. Martha urges Vivi to check the bestseller lists. She looks down on her old office to see that Golden Girl has risen to the top spot on Amazon and BN.com; additionally, people are clamoring for Brett’s song “Golden Girl” to be released as a single. By Wednesday, Golden Girl has hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and Vivi celebrates by herself, silently thanking Brett.

The family gathers at the Field and Oar Club for Lucinda’s birthday dinner. Lucinda invites Penny, JP brings Savannah, Marissa accompanies Leo, and Willa and Rip come together; Carson is alone. Marissa announces to the table that she and Leo will eventually get married, but Carson laughs at this, and Lucinda is dismissive. Marissa storms off, and Leo resolves to end things with her for good after the dinner.

Willa and Rip step away for a short walk, and they notice Pamela and Zach playing tennis together. When they return to the table, Marshall comes over to congratulate Carson about Vivi’s book reaching number one on the bestseller list. She thanks him and promises to swing by and chat once they’re done with dinner.

The Bridgemans come by to wish Lucinda happy birthday, and Carson realizes they are reconnecting. Leo, Carson, and Willa all step away to use the restroom, and Rip mentions to Marissa that insurance won’t be reimbursing the damage to her Jeep. He also mentions that it looks like the Jeep had only sat in the saltwater pond for an hour rather than overnight, as Marissa originally claimed. She denies this, but Rip knows she is lying.

Willa confides in Carson that Pamela knows Zach is having an affair. Carson is shocked but also partially relieved that Pamela doesn’t know who it is. However, Pamela texted Willa earlier that morning, and Willa assumed Pamela had new information.

After the cake-cutting and dinner, Leo takes Marissa home. He suddenly remembers that he saw Marissa and Peter together the night of the party and wonders if they hooked up that night. Carson heads over to chat with Marshall and tells him about getting fired from the Oystercatcher. She also reveals she has been trying to stay sober and heal while reeling from the end of a complicated relationship. Marshall asks to take Carson out when she is ready to date again, confessing the girl at the bar was just a friend who was helping Marshall make Carson jealous.

The Greek tells the Chief to subpoena Peter’s phone records so they can see who else he sent the picture to. The Chief also talks to Jasmine; she doesn’t know anything about the picture but remembers Marissa and Peter hanging out together after Leo broke up with Marissa. The Chief asks what Marissa’s last name is, and he stops in his tracks when Jasmine says it is “Lopresti.”

Pamela calls Willa over to the house and shows her a thong she found in a pocket of Zach’s pants; she doesn’t know whose it is but is convinced that it belongs to Zach’s lover. Willa feels nauseous because even though the tag has been cut out, she recognizes the brand as one that Carson wears.

Amy spends a lazy Sunday with Dennis, which she enjoys infinitely more than the Sundays she spent with JP. She sees a news article about how Vivi’s book Golden Girl and Brett’s song “Golden Girl” have both hit respective top spots—the song is number one on iTunes, and Golden Girl is a New York Times number one bestseller. Amy tells Dennis this, and Dennis responds, claiming that Amy is his “golden girl.”

Vivi sees how well “Golden Girl” is doing and feels regretful about her pregnancy lies, believing Brett would have experienced success much sooner. She asks Martha, who is wearing a scarf as a belt today, to use her powers and see what might have happened to Brett if Vivi never lied. Martha reveals that Brett and the band would have ended up breaking up, “Golden Girl” would have only experienced modest success, and Brett would have ended up with a gambling problem and an unhappy marriage that ended in divorce. Vivi realizes, “Maybe this was the way things were supposed to work out” (339).

Willa is sure the thong belongs to Carson, as Carson has a habit of cutting out the tags in all her underwear. She invites Carson over for dinner, and the latter arrives uncharacteristically on time and sober. Carson tells Willa about how and why she lost her job, and Willa confronts Carson about the affair with Zach. The sisters get into a fight; Willa slaps Carson, and when Carson tries to fend off another blow, she accidentally pushes Willa down the deck stairs.

On Martha’s urging, Vivi softens Willa’s fall. Willa, crying, reveals to Carson that she is pregnant, and the latter immediately helps Willa up. She also confesses Zach and her have ended things, and she has been sober since.

Vivi is upset that her daughters hate each other, and Martha asserts that being sisters doesn’t mean two women will automatically be best friends. She tells Vivi about her sister: Maribeth was four years younger than Martha, and like Carson and Willa, the two didn’t always get along. Martha married Archie, a boy the sisters had known all their lives. During four years of long distance in their relationship before they were married, Maribeth and Archie had an affair that Martha didn’t know about until after her passing. Maribeth eventually married a much older, much richer man who had homes in New York and Nantucket and died early into their marriage. Following this, Martha and Archie visited Maribeth and spent a week in Nantucket. One evening, the three went out sailing; on Maribeth’s prompting, all of them dove into the sea to swim back to Maribeth’s house. Maribeth and Archie made it, but Martha, who was quite drunk, drowned. Maribeth married Archie six months later. Martha’s “Person” gave her one nudge, and Martha used it to reach down and remove all her sister’s designer Hermès scarves.

A week before Leo is due to leave for college, he finally tells Marissa that he is not in love with her. Marissa reveals that she already knows. She shows him the picture Peter sent her: It is of Leo and Cruz kissing. Leo remembers how he kissed Cruz that night, but the moment he realized Peter had taken a picture, he pushed Cruz off, hit him, and pretended that Cruz was the one who kissed him.

Marissa reveals she had always suspected Leo had feelings for Cruz, as she thought his closeness to Cruz “unnatural.” Leo confesses he has loved Cruz all his life but knows it is one-sided. Marissa calls this “disgusting,” and tired of Marissa’s lack of empathy, Leo takes her home. The police are waiting for her in her driveway.

Once the Chief realized the connection between Marissa and Alexis, he was finally able to put together what happened. Alexis and her boyfriend, one of the officers in the department, were the ones who tampered with the evidence, as Marissa was the one who hit Vivi. After she and Leo broke up, Marissa hooked up with Peter before going home. Peter only sent her the photograph in the morning, as evidenced by his subpoenaed phone records. Marissa received his text just as she was heading to Leo’s to make up, and in her distraction, she hit Vivi and rushed off in a panic. When Alexis told her Vivi was dead and Cruz was seen speeding at a stop sign, Marissa, who was angry at Cruz, drove her car into the saltwater pond and told Rip she had done it the previous night. When the police checked her car, Luminol showed traces of Vivi’s blood on the fender.

Vivi finally realizes Marissa is the one who hit her; she is also not surprised about Leo’s feelings for Cruz, having seen her son’s devotion to his friend all their lives. She watches from afar as Leo and Cruz have a conversation and reconcile.

Vivi also witnesses Willa and Carson’s outrage over Marissa’s selfish, thoughtless, and reprehensible actions that lead to Vivi’s death and the blame being pinned on Cruz. However, they think about how Vivi portrays the characters in her books and eventually conclude that Vivi would have forgiven Marissa. Vivi is tearfully proud of her daughters for having arrived at that on their own.

Vivi’s body is finally returned to Nantucket as the investigation closes, and her family buries her on Labor Day. Willa and Rip are the only Bonhams to attend, as they are keeping it small; Carson attends with Marshall, with whom she is planning on going to Portland after the summer; and Leo comes with Cruz and Joe, the boys having resumed their friendship. Savannah will be leaving for Brazil soon, and JP realizes he will miss her; he decides to make his move once she returns after the summer and see what happens.

Amy and Dennis enjoy a drink together at the Oystercatcher on Labor Day and discuss their winter vacation plans. They discuss what a Vivian Howe book about them would be titled and throw out “The Leftovers” and “The Cast-Asides” as options before settling on “Love Story.”

Vivi travels back one last time to the day of Willa’s wedding. Despite how happy and overwhelmed Vivi felt, she was also annoyed at JP’s insistence that the wedding be held at the Field and Oar Club, where they refused her membership, especially as she was footing the bill. Vivi attended with Dennis, and JP brought Amy. Ultimately, however, it was a beautiful and emotional day. Despite all the frustrations and hiccups between them leading up to it, Vivi and JP danced together as parents of the bride. As they remembered all the good times they had together, JP apologized for everything he had done, and Vivi forgave him.

Martha arrives as the sun sets on Labor Day, telling Vivi it is time for her to join the choir of angels. Vivi tries to negotiate for “a few more chapters” of her children’s lives (373), but Martha reveals there are people she wants to meet in the choir, including her father. Frank watched over Vivi just as Vivi did over her children and even used a nudge: He made sure she went to college without shampoo. Vivi remembers this is how she met Savannah: She needed shampoo and ended up asking a girl in the bathroom for some. This turned out to be Savannah, with whom she ended up becoming best friends. Savannah eventually brought her to Nantucket, where Vivi built her entire life.

Vivi watches her children design her headstone; they have chosen an Albert Camus quote that reads, “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer” (374). As Vivi leaves, she wishes she could write a book about everything that has happened this summer; Martha shakes her head and laughs indulgently.