Ash reflects on the chaotic, grief-stricken first Christmas after Paddy’s death and anticipates a smaller, calmer holiday this year with Nina and Arlo, plus Rosalie and Sean on Christmas Day. As dusk falls, Nick Radcliffe unexpectedly arrives at the house, saying he left work early to see Nina and give her a present. Nina is delighted and invites Nick in for drinks, despite not expecting to see him until the New Year.

Ash hurriedly composes herself and joins them in the kitchen, where Nick sets down three beautifully wrapped gifts for Nina, Ash, and Arlo. They joke about having no Christmas tree and using a decorated yucca instead, underscoring how Paddy used to handle the tree. The mood is awkward for Ash, who resents Nick’s intrusion into a night she hoped to spend reconnecting with Arlo.

Arlo arrives mid-conversation. Nick greets him warmly with an overfamiliar, performative bro-style handshake, and Arlo quickly warms to Nick, leaning into the conversation and basking in the attention. Ash observes Arlo’s and Nina’s growing glow around Nick and feels displaced, interpreting the gifts and charm as further destabilization of their fragile family routine.

Determined to surface her concerns, Ash prompts Nina to raise questions about Nick’s past life-coach identity. Nick immediately acknowledges he did life coaching for a few years, explaining he had burned out on restaurants, retrained in the early 2000s, then realized hospitality was his true calling. His easy explanation seems to reassure Nina.

Nick then offers Ash a couple of life-coaching sessions. Initially repelled, Ash quickly recognizes the offer as an opportunity to investigate him more closely and potentially get help herself, given her own uncertainties. The scene ends with Ash deciding to accept the sessions as leverage to dig into Nick’s background.