Lillian describes a Sunday morning at their apartment as Stock Show traffic and food smells drift through the open window. She and her daughter Georgette "Jet" play on the living room floor amid toys while leftover pancake batter sits in the kitchen.

Six light knocks at the door reveal Kendall Darnell, whom Jet nicknamed "Kendi," asking if Jet can come over for pecan pie. Lillian sees Kendall’s mother, Shauna, watching from their stoop across the parking lot, which is crowded due to church overflow.

Jet excitedly prepares to go, insisting on wearing white sandals with a broken strap despite Lillian’s attempt to suggest different shoes. Lillian cleans syrup from Jet’s face, kisses her, and sends her off, rationalizing the sugary morning with plans to give Jet an apple with peanut butter later.

Kendall and Jet pretend to fly across the lot to his apartment, and Lillian watches until they enter safely with Shauna. Lillian notes that Shauna is also a single mother and that the two families have grown close since Shauna and Kendall moved in a couple of years earlier.

Left alone, Lillian reflects on how quickly Jet has grown—from crawling and diapers to sprinting, using the toilet, and chattering rapidly—as preschool looms in the fall. She recounts Jet’s childlike grasp of time, using "yesterday" and "tomorrow" to mean any past or future moment.

Lillian imagines Jet’s future milestones—graduation, job interviews, and a wedding—contrasting them with memories of infancy. She concludes that parenthood transforms one’s perception of time, suggesting that children may straighten time’s flow by keeping life moving forward like clock hands.