Three months after Xavier’s pneumonia hospitalization, Samantha felt more like herself, enjoying freelance work writing viral animal bios for the rescue where Xavier volunteered. At home, the family’s new care routine for Lisa was working: Samantha resumed makeup and music therapies for Lisa, Tristan reliably covered evenings, and Jeneva and their father shared weekends, giving Samantha two days off.

On the couple’s one-year-since-meeting anniversary, Samantha and Xavier reminisced on a call. They planned a potential visit around an upcoming four-day weekend and exchanged promises of flowers and photos. Samantha reflected on their limited time together—about twenty days a year—and the painful “nevers” of a long-distance relationship.

At Xavier’s request, Samantha took Lisa to the yard to listen to an anniversary playlist. While walking and thinking about their future’s constraints, Samantha was startled when Xavier appeared in person with a bouquet of roses, breaking their informal rule against surprise visits. They embraced and kissed, and Samantha noted how rested Xavier looked compared to his overworked past.

Samantha then noticed Lisa happily petting a dog in the gazebo and realized it was Jake, Xavier’s dog. When Samantha asked why Jake was there, Xavier revealed it was a one-way trip: he had left Minnesota to be with her in California. He explained that after advice from Hank, he recognized pride and fear of his parents’ judgment were keeping him in place, not the business itself, and he chose to let go of their opinions.

Xavier detailed his exit plan: he had timed his apartment lease end, sold his furniture, arranged for Hank to continue part-time while Maggie and Tina found new roles and patients transitioned, and planned to liquidate what he could. He admitted he had no job yet in California, significant debt, and lacked a California veterinary license, but he wanted to build a daily life with Samantha and “make memories.”

Moved, Samantha joked that it was a strange way to propose; Xavier asked directly, and Samantha accepted enthusiastically. They celebrated, envisioning a shared future together. Lisa watched them, beaming, which Samantha read as recognition of love despite Lisa’s dementia, ending with the reflection that love remains the brightest color in a gray world.