Sam brings Percy to the Florek house and lake. Percy sees how carefully Sam has maintained the property since Sue’s death, and Sam explains that the work has helped him cope while also managing the restaurant and his job. Their conversation fills in parts of the family’s recent life: Charlie stayed in Toronto for his finance career, Taylor lives in Kingston, and Julien supported Sue through chemotherapy and may have stayed in Barry’s Bay partly because of his feelings for her.

At the dock, the familiar setting overwhelms Percy with memories of her summers there and of the person she used to be. Sam lightens the mood by challenging Percy to swim across the lake again, as they once did, and offers her an unspecified present if she succeeds. Percy accepts to prove herself, and the teasing between them quickly turns flirtatious as both notice each other’s bodies and the old ease between them returns.

Percy dives in, but the attempt becomes emotionally charged almost immediately because the swim recreates a formative moment from their past. She tries to focus on the present, but her body gives out before she reaches halfway across the lake when a cramp seizes her toe and calf. Sam reacts with alarm, pulls Percy into the boat, and holds her while helping massage the cramp out of her leg.

Physical closeness in the boat intensifies into near-intimacy. Percy is acutely aware of her desire for Sam, and Sam admits that Percy is still the most beautiful woman he has ever known. Although both are drawn into the moment, Percy remembers Taylor and says that continuing would be a bad idea. Sam does not argue; he visibly struggles, then agrees, and they return to shore in silence.

Back at the dock, Sam changes and rejoins Percy, and the conversation turns softer and more reflective. Percy admits she no longer writes, and Sam encourages her, revealing that he still keeps a copy of a story she wrote for him. Percy then asks the question she most fears: whether Sue hated her after the abrupt break with the Floreks. Sam answers that Sue did not hate Percy, that Sue loved her as family, and then adds that he does not hate Percy either. Percy nearly tells Sam the truth about the past, but loses her nerve. Instead, they move back into playful familiarity, and Sam abruptly throws Percy into the water, ending the chapter on renewed affection and unresolved tension.