In 1974, on Evelyn’s thirty-sixth birthday, she dines extravagantly with Harry, Celia, and John at the Palace, posing for photos and indulging in champagne and cake. Evelyn, narrating from hindsight, feels embarrassed by her younger self’s casual excess. Celia has postponed a film in Montana to attend and delivers a heartfelt toast praising Evelyn’s luminosity, while the group’s dynamics show in small details—Harry’s heavy drinking, John’s strict diet, and Evelyn and Celia watching their figures.

As the evening ends and Celia and John step out to hail a cab, Harry helps Evelyn with her coat and notes he is her longest marriage. The moment opens a conversation both have been circling: whether to have a baby. Evelyn, thirty-six and increasingly focused on babies, recognizes the urgency and the likely professional cost—being redefined as a mother in Hollywood, time off work, and a changed body—yet she still wants to proceed.

Evelyn and Harry agree the decision belongs to their four-person arrangement and that they must consult Celia and John. Considering options, they reject adoption for themselves, fearing it would invite speculation about what they might be hiding, and because they both want a biological child. Their shared desire clarifies their plan: if Celia and John assent, they will begin trying.

Harry jokes about the small part of him that has always wanted to sleep with Evelyn, and they agree to keep that between them. They seal the conversation with a handshake, committing to pursue parenthood together, even as Evelyn accepts the professional consequences and the need for the quartet’s consent.