On the morning before the wedding, Lila asks Phoebe to drive Gary to his last errands because Gary has hurt his back surfing and Lila does not trust Jim to manage the tuxedo and barber trip. After Lila leaves, Phoebe rereads the speech she wrote for the rehearsal dinner and realizes it is too honest, too cynical about weddings, and barely about Lila and Gary at all. Instead of panicking, Phoebe decides she may be better improvising, which makes her feel unexpectedly capable and alive.

Phoebe picks up Gary, and their easy joking about pain, aging, and music reminds Phoebe how natural their connection feels. After they collect preordered liquor for the wedding, Geoffrey messages Phoebe about the mansion-caretaker position, and Gary insists on joining her for the visit. At the Newcombe Mansion, Phoebe talks confidently about nineteenth-century domestic interiors, research, and literary history, impressing Geoffrey despite having no direct caretaking experience. Touring the house with Gary, Phoebe imagines a future in Newport, and Gary adds his number to her phone so she can call him if she ever sees a ghost there.

After the tour, Gary stops at his office to sign papers before the honeymoon, and Phoebe watches his ordinary professional life with fresh tenderness. At the tailor, Phoebe is briefly treated like the bride as Gary tries on his tuxedo, which sharpens the unreality of their day together. Driving onward, Phoebe wonders whether what she feels for Gary could be a form of love without possession or expectation, even though she knows he is about to marry Lila.

At Gary's old barber shop, waiting in silence opens into a deeper conversation about teaching, performance, and pretending to be certain. Phoebe admits she is pretending not to be confused, and Gary then confesses that he has been unable to stop thinking about Phoebe since their first night talking in the hot tub. Gary says he feels drawn to Phoebe, feels honest and fully himself around her, and does not know what to do with that realization on the eve of his wedding. Phoebe silently shares the feeling, but she tells Gary that the timing is frightening and that he should not be saying this to her the night before marrying Lila.

After the shave, more errands follow, including a bank stop for vendor cash, and Phoebe watches Gary emerge looking unmistakably like a groom. That sight makes the wedding feel larger than either of their private feelings, and Phoebe decides she cannot help destroy it. When Gary asks whether they should finish their conversation, Phoebe shuts it down and drives back to the inn in silence. There, Lila notices Gary's changed face, asks Phoebe to drive with her to the wedding the next day, and asks Phoebe to manage her mother's drinking, pulling Phoebe back into her maid-of-honor role just as her grief and desire crest.