By Saturday, July 19, a week has passed. Charlie and Nan attended euchre night and returned triumphant. Alice focuses on her editing backlog and plans for Bennett’s week-long visit in three days, envisioning crafts, dinners at the Tavern, movie nights with Nan, and boat rides. Charlie proposes taking them on the water and gallantly offers to carry Nan if needed, not knowing Nan has quietly been practicing walking down to the lake and back, though it tires her.

Despite Percy and Sam being back in the city, Charlie continues to visit daily. On a cool, rainy evening, he lights a fire while Alice roasts a chicken. They share dinner, scotch, and music, and Alice photographs their time together. Alice reflects that the summer is better than she imagined, feeling lighter and more herself with Charlie. She acknowledges their mutual attraction but accepts their current stance as friends.

After Nan goes to bed, Alice and Charlie each take a mild dose of Nan’s edible and start a unicorn river puzzle by the fire. As the effects set in, they tease and flirt. Alice, feeling open and buoyant, touches Charlie’s face and calls him happy, briefly glimpsing the sadness he often masks. She decides to show him a photograph she took as a teenager: the long-cherished image of three boys by the lake.

Charlie is stunned to realize Alice took the photo of him, Sam, and Percy—a print he has seen hanging in a bank boardroom and once tried to trace to the photographer. Alice explains the shot helped her get into photography school and was her first sale. They share the significance it holds for them; Alice admits she remembers Charlie from that summer, and Charlie says she should have said hello.

Their intimacy intensifies as Charlie touches Alice’s knee and face; she asks him to kiss her. He almost does, but pulls back, saying he shouldn’t, and when she leans in, he retreats, prompting her to flee to her room. Charlie follows to talk. Sitting together on the bed, they acknowledge they were close to kissing and had nearly gone further once before. Charlie admits he wants her but insists he does not want to jeopardize their friendship, even for great sex.

Alice later wakes on the couch, remembering she saw Charlie out and then fell asleep. Over breakfast and sewing a tablecloth, Nan reflects on missing the laughter she shared with Alice’s grandfather and says watching Alice with Charlie reminds her of that connection. Nan observes that Alice is more herself with Charlie and believes they are “peas and carrots,” possibly lifelong friends. When Alice tentatively asks about wanting more than friendship but not a relationship, Nan advises her to see where things lead and suggests it could become a great romance, reminding her that good things happen at the lake.