After scattering Ned's ashes, Cherry flew back to her new home unaware of the impact her predictions had on passengers' lives. She struggled with grief, finding it difficult as a task-focused person because grief cannot be resolved like a task. A memory of her Auntie Pat advising her mother to try new activities after her father's death inspired Cherry to seek out activities at her local community center.

Cherry tried line dancing, a philosophy club, and a knitting course, but hated them all. She then tried aqua aerobics and loved it—enjoying the water, the music, and the energetic instructor whom she compared to the rock star Pink. In the change room after class, she began chatting with other members, including a woman named Mira, whom Cherry had initially judged slightly for her buoyant figure and habit of wearing high heels to aqua aerobics.

When Mira mentioned a post-class coffee gathering, Cherry looked horrified. Embarrassed, she explained she had recently lost her husband. Mira responded by wrapping her arms around Cherry in a hug, saying she understood what this time was like. Cherry was deeply moved, realizing how badly she needed human connection. Mira became Cherry's new friend, and Cherry reflects that friends can save your life.

They soon discovered they lived very close to each other—Mira was the woman who had waved at Cherry from her back veranda the day of the fateful flight. Both were grieving widows who refused to be "merry widows," instead joking about forming an "Angry Widows Club." Mira shared that her husband had been a workaholic who ran a jewelry store and planned to rest only after retirement, a plan he never fulfilled. She mentioned that her son was following the same workaholic pattern, but her daughter-in-law was trying to convince him to take a year off and move to Tasmania.