At Meadowlands, Beth and Leo see a black taxi arrive, and Leo realizes his mother is inside. Louisa surprises him with an unannounced visit, and Leo runs to her in tears of relief and happiness. Gabriel comes out to greet Louisa warmly, and Louisa explains that she can stay only a few days before taking Leo to London for time together. Watching Gabriel, Louisa, and Leo walk toward the house as a family unsettles Beth because it reminds her of the family she once had with Frank and Bobby, so she declines Gabriel's invitation to come in and leaves them alone.

Later that evening, Louisa phones Beth and asks her to meet at the pub before leaving for London. Frank notices Beth's readiness to answer Meadowlands whenever that family calls, and his irritation exposes how strained the marriage has become. Beth knows her repeated visits to Meadowlands, her drinking, and her renewed closeness to Gabriel and Leo are hurting Frank, yet she also knows she has felt more alive in recent weeks than she has in years and does not want to stop.

At the pub, Louisa tries to be friendly and asks Beth for an honest account of how Leo is doing because Gabriel has not told her enough. Beth, torn between protecting Gabriel and helping Leo, admits that Leo is happy at Meadowlands but struggles at school, has few friends, cannot control his anger well, and deeply misses his mother. Louisa wonders if she should insist on taking Leo back to America, but Beth says it is too soon to judge and suggests that regular visits and time may help him settle in England.

Once they have relaxed over drinks, Beth asks what went wrong between Louisa and Gabriel. Louisa says their marriage looked happier than it was: Gabriel proposed when she became pregnant, but she believes he never truly loved her and was trying to love her back while still attached to someone else. Louisa explains that she later fell in love with Michael, Marcus's father, and then states plainly that Gabriel's love for another woman ruined him for anyone else. Beth is shaken to hear that Gabriel never got over her, and although she feels this knowledge is a betrayal of Frank and the life they built, Louisa's final implied message, that it is not too late for Beth and Gabriel, stirs both guilt and dangerous hope.