In midsummer 1986, Lillian delivers a healthy daughter. In the first moments after birth, Lillian feels a fierce, new desire to keep this child and names her Georgette after Lillian’s mother, with Elise as a middle name. The newborn’s presence overwhelms all other sounds and people in the room, and Lillian senses that loving a child means holding something vast that cannot be possessed.

At home during the first nights, Lillian occasionally slips and refers to the baby as "him," invoking her unnamed firstborn placed for adoption, while Ryan gently affirms their daughter as "her." They settle on the nickname Jet, and the name choice becomes a small shared decision amid larger pressures.

Financial strain worsens as the Sundance Gallery barely breaks even. Lillian returns to her old bank and secures a marketing position, and Ryan keeps the gallery open while picking up shifts at Matteo’s. Lillian observes that the arrival of Jet rescues their family life in some ways but does not erase their grief for the miscarriage or the pain of the gallery’s decline. She consciously holds distinct spaces for joy over Jet and sadness for their losses.

One evening Lillian discovers Ryan has set Jet facing his easel and is narrating his painting process to her. Jet quiets only when seated to watch, and Ryan adjusts his colors based on her gurgles in a playful ritual that becomes a favorite nightly routine, deepening their father-daughter bond.

The presence of Jet stirs family reflections: Ryan compares his own efforts with memories of his father, and Lillian’s thoughts turn repeatedly to the child she relinquished in 1974. The physical closeness between Lillian and Ryan feels altered and fragile as they navigate new parenthood and fatigue.

One night in bed, longing for connection, Lillian tells Ryan that she had a baby in 1974. Shocked and hurt that he did not know this after years together, Ryan takes her to the kitchen to talk. Through the night, he asks questions and shows sorrow for Lillian and for not having known this part of her, while Lillian withholds the father’s name. They return to bed after midnight; Ryan holds Lillian until sunrise, signaling compassion and renewed recognition of her full self.

In the aftermath, Lillian’s confession intensifies rather than relieves her shame about the relinquished child, the miscarriage, and leaving Jet each day for work. She doubles down on being the best possible mother to Jet, not noticing that Ryan is hollowing out emotionally under the combined weight of lost dreams and new responsibilities.