That morning, Alice knocks on Hayden Anderson’s door, worried about him not collecting the food she left. Hayden answers in a towel, explaining he did not take the items because he did not know their source. When Alice admits she brought them, Hayden thanks her, and they exchange light banter about being neighbors and her snoring before saying tentative goodbyes as Alice prepares to move to a rental.

In the pre-dawn hours, a fire alarm wakes Alice. She grabs essentials and evacuates with other guests. Outside, a drunk man fixates on Alice, gripping her arm and pressing her with invasive questions. Hayden appears, puts a loose arm around Alice’s waist, and poses as her companion to defuse the situation, then suggests they leave to get breakfast while the alarm is handled.

Hayden drives them to Ray’s Diner on the mainland. They take a corner booth, trading playful observations about his preference for protected seating and her vintage nightgown. Between coffee orders—his egg whites and wheat toast, her peaches-and-cream French toast—they lightly spar and laugh, warming to each other.

Conversation turns personal. Hayden describes growing up in a public-facing family with a small-town mayor father, saying he learned to be “perfect,” and noting his brother Louis is a pediatrician married to the school board head. Alice counters that Hayden has achieved a Pulitzer, while sharing her own family dynamic: her sister Audrey is in the Peace Corps, and their mother dismisses Alice’s work at The Scratch as “celebrity gossip” and rarely reads it.

Alice asks if Hayden is excited for his first interview with Margaret Grace Ives. Hayden refuses to discuss anything related to the project, drawing a boundary about professional competition. The exchange ends in a playful stalemate, with physical closeness under the table hinting at growing chemistry even as they maintain professional lines.