In the days after the intimate call with Gabriel, Lila copes with Bill’s absence and the girls’ questions about Gene by keeping busy, accompanying Eleanor on dog walks and going to classes. Eleanor appears buoyant, absorbed in a celebrity dating app and light anecdotes, which offers Lila some relief from her thoughts. Lila dreads telling Anoushka she cannot write the book as planned and brainstorms unappealing alternatives.

Lila calls Bill daily, but he refuses to discuss Francesca, and their conversations stall after basic updates. At night, Lila mentally argues with Francesca, mourning the mother she thought she knew.

At school pickup, Lila, wearing earphones to drown out her thoughts, realizes the playground is quiet and learns from another mother that she missed a rehearsal. With time to fill, the woman—Jessie—invites Lila for coffee.

In a nearly empty café, Jessie, a single mother who runs an art supplies shop, expresses sincere sympathy about Lila’s situation. They share candid talk about single parenting, exhaustion, and dating. Jessie confesses she sometimes invents trips to secure a night off, and they trade observations about modern relationships.

Jessie admits she is seeing someone but suspects a commitment-phobe dynamic: they talk often but meet only about once a week, with little progress. Lila names the pattern as “breadcrumbing” and urges Jessie not to let the man waste her time, stressing women supporting each other.

When Lila asks who he is, Jessie reveals the man is Gabriel, father of Lennie in year five, an architect whose wife died. Jessie describes a strong connection but says Gabriel prefers privacy and avoids moving forward. Lila, reeling internally, struggles to respond.

Overwhelmed by the revelation that Gabriel is also involved with Jessie, Lila feigns a sudden headache, declines Jessie’s help, and quickly leaves the café, promising nothing and escaping back toward the school.