At a beloved, expensive clam shack on the Cape, Rocky has a hot flash that prompts a self-conscious, oversharing rant about menopause and the endocrine system, embarrassing Willa in front of Maya. Jamie teases Willa with old memories, and Rocky's frank parenting style about sex and bodily autonomy is gently mocked by her kids before they pause to order. Rocky orders striped bass and fries; Maya orders only a small green salad with dressing on the side, which triggers Rocky's worry about a possible eating disorder, though Maya then asks for more bread.

The conversation turns to logistics for Rocky's parents' upcoming two-night visit from New York. Sleeping arrangements are sorted, with Willa possibly escaping to P-town for a night. Plans for meals together raise concern about Rocky's mother's recent hand tremor: she may not be able to manage a whole lobster, which her mother has dismissed as caffeine. Willa is frightened by the implication of aging or Parkinson's, and Nick deflects with a Katharine Hepburn impression. They settle on a simpler, gentler menu of plain striper, shrimp cocktail, tomato salad, and the traditional stelline pasta with butter and parm.

Over dinner, the kids share updates on their work: Maya is dating a Miocene clam fossil, Jamie has a new account with a start-up called Corporate Salad, and Willa is infecting bumblebees with a stomach bug to study disease transmission via flowers. Rocky is overwhelmed with admiration. Maya teases Rocky about an old Instagram-liking mishap from when she and Jamie first started dating, and Rocky privately recalls an even more recent late-night blunder: accidentally posting a morbid Google search as a comment on a grieving classmate's Facebook post about a suicide.

Rocky notices Maya pushing away her mostly untouched plate, then pulling it back when caught. Rocky apologizes for hovering, and Willa affectionately defends her mother's nature, telling Maya that Rocky simply can't help being the way she is.