In her motel cabin the next morning, Katie has a FaceTime crisis with Beanie about a new swimsuit that Rue “gifted” from her shop. Katie articulates that swimsuits make her feel exposed and judged, edging into phobia territory. Beanie frames it as exposure therapy and pushes Katie to wear it and attend the swim class of elderly women.

Katie puts on the red polka-dot pinup-style one-piece, wraps in a towel, and joins Rue and The Gals—Ginger, Benita, and Nadine—by the pool. The group is warm and welcoming, briefly easing Katie’s anxiety. Then Hutch arrives as the instructor, instantly escalating Katie’s panic because she has concealed both her inability to swim and her role filming Hutch’s recruiting video.

Before Hutch can truly register Katie, his massive Great Dane, George Bailey, sprints at her and knocks her across the deck, stripping her towel and embedding splinters in her haunch. Hutch apologetically seats her and, with the women’s help and champagne for “pain,” begins removing dozens of splinters with tweezers while the class swims.

As Hutch works, he chats more than his reputation suggests, teasing lightly about her previous outfit and explaining George Bailey’s rescue backstory: a former puppy-mill dog with past neglect, now thriving but still afraid of thunder (brontophobia). The talk reframes Katie’s humiliation and mirrors her own exposure-therapy struggle.

After a long, painstaking cleanup, The Gals return and tease the pair about their “first date.” Rue asks if Katie will live, and then casually reveals to Hutch that Katie doesn’t know how to swim and needs lessons before Monday. Katie tries to downplay her inexperience as a “refresher,” but Hutch doubts the timeline.

Despite saying he is busy over the weekend, Hutch agrees they can “manage something” for private lessons soon after, and Katie thanks him for both the first aid and the help to come. The encounter leaves Katie exposed but oddly steadier, having survived her worst-case scenario and secured a path to learn.