It's really not fair.
Come on, Jesse, you got this!
Look, the guy is training for the Olympics, right?
He shouldn't be allowed to throw around his diving skills at parties.
At least he could keep his shirt on. Geez.
He should never have a shirt on.
He has no idea who I am.
How sad is that?
Yeah.
How sad is that?
Here we go. Here we go.
I don't understand what you're asking. You just gotta hold it.
I'm holding it. I thought you used one of these.
Aw, man. You drained the keg.
Uh, yeah. Gotta move fast around here.
- Holy shit. - It's the cops!
The future is so hard to predict.
If I had a time machine, would it even make a difference
to try to go back and explain to my young self what was ahead?
Okay, uh, show me the other one.
This one, I like. Yes. Definitely more affordable.
Larger, but it's not as, like, all-inclusive.
-Right. -So there'd be a lot more...
Okay. Whiskey sours up, everybody.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
Bud Light seltzer for the gentleman.
Thank you for not making me have to say it.
- Oh, my God. - Sorry.
So, I just wanna say,
Sam, Emma,
we are so excited for you.
Thank you for helping our daughter
find a second chance at life.
Welcome to our family, Son.
Thank you.
The downstairs toilet is clogged.
I had to put my arm all the way down. Hey, Michael. Wow.
What? You're welcome.
Thank you. Thank you. Sure.
Well, I also have some-- some words to share.
I am so proud of the life that you've made, Emma.
And I know it hasn't been easy,
and there are a lot of people who would've let that stop them.
But not you.
And, look, I know you and I,
we drive each other nuts sometimes...
- What are you talking about? We drive each other nuts? - Ladies.
What I'm trying to say is that...
even though you're my little sister, I--
I hope to have as big a heart as you do one day.
-Oh. I like that, honey. -Thanks, Mama.
Well, since we're all making speeches
and making each other cry,
I'd like to thank you, Marie,
for pushing me to learn an instrument,
because I didn't end up learning one.
But I did run into an old friend.
My best friend.
All right, we get it.
You like your fiancé. How nice for you.
You are so lucky. You have me.
Wow.
Uh, I guess that leaves me.
I guess you all know that I've been
madly in love with Emma for a few years now, give or take.
-It was eighth grade. -Oh, wow, Colin. Thank you.
Thank you. Yeah, I didn't realize we were keeping track.
Um, I remember meeting her for the first time and thinking,
"That's it. That's the girl."
And then life took us in separate directions,
and when we ran back into each other,
we had both grown up quite a bit, you could say.
But some things don't change.
And, uh, when I look at you now, Emma,
it's like I'm right back in the eighth grade again.
And I'm thinking, "That's her. That's the girl."
And I look at you all and think, "That's it. That's the family."
- To family. - To family.
Cheers, cheers, cheers.
- What are you cheering? - I left my glass over there.
Hi.
Take me home.
Bye, everyone.
Yo!
Who's calling you on Saturday night? I don't know.
Hello?
Sweetheart, it's me, Jesse.
I'm alive.
Can you hear me?
Emma, I'm coming home.
Emma? Honey?
What is it?
What's going on?
Yeah. Gotta move fast around here.
Yes, you do. Holy shit! It's the cops.
Emma, come on.
My ride's gone, and your ride.
Sam.
So, uh, Sam-- he's your boyfriend?
He's my best friend.
Ah. So, he wants to be your boyfriend,
but you're not into it, right?
No, no. It's not-- It's not like that.
Sure.
I mean, maybe it's a little like that.
A little like that? Shut up.
I can't believe I failed my Breathalyzer.
My parents are gonna kill me.
That sucks. Do you ever feel like everyone's always telling you who you are?
All the time.
My parents own the bookstore in town, Blair Books.
Yeah, yeah, I put that one together. Emma Blair.
They think that me and my sister are going to take it over.
And they don't listen when I say
that I never want to do that.
No. Marie wants that, and that is fine for her.
She's always been the perfect little bookseller's daughter.
But... not me. I'm getting out of here.
-Where are you gonna go? -I'm gonna go see the world.
I like that.
You're not what I imagined you'd be, you know?
You imagined me?
Oh, my--
My ex, she-- she thought you had a crush on me.
She said she caught you looking at me sometimes. No, that's not-- That's--
That's-- That's completely un--
I don't know. Maybe for, like, a day, freshman year.
There it is. No, but...
I obviously don't have a thing for you now.
Why don't you?
Why don't you have a thing for me now? I think I do, actually.
As of about an hour and a half ago.
But if you aren't interested-- I'm interested.
You ready?
Yeah.
Whoo! Let's go!
You know, do they even know we're gonna be there?
Well, I know we canceled Thanksgiving with my parents last year
because of your shoot in Peru,
and Marie's being a real Marie about it.
Yeah. Acton for Thanksgiving is a good idea.
We should probably tell them the news in person.
What news?
The past six years
have been the greatest adventure I could've dreamt of.
I wanna spend the rest of my life with you.
Emma Blair,
wanna get married?
No.
No?
I'm sorry, no.
- I'm so heartbroken. - Yes!
Yes, yes, yes!
Yes!
Mmm.
Really? Huh?
Really? You're late to your own wedding?
Get your asses to the altar.
I have the perfect Jane Austen quote. Let's go.
Come on!
She's right. We wouldn't want to ruin her big day.
Mmm. The bookseller's daughter strikes again.
Should we get married? Okay.
Ladies and gentlemen, Jesse and Emma Lerner!
I can't just fly off to Alaska. My Madrid piece is due tomorrow.
I can't not fly to Alaska.
This is my chance to shoot a real documentary.
It's also our first anniversary.
You're right. I'm sorry.
We'll celebrate big when I get back.
Okay? I promise.
We'll get a cheap flight somewhere to, like, uh... Iceland.
-Mmm. -Croatia?
-Mmm. -Bali?
Mmm, maybe just dinner on the beach down the street.
Okay. Dinner on the beach down the street.
-It's a date. -Okay.
-Love you past forever. -Love you longer than that.
Do you know how long that is?
Really long time. So long.
Your husband was on a helicopter
that went down yesterday in the Pacific.
We found the remains of both pilots,
but we've not yet found your husband.
And we do not believe he would have been able to survive the crash.
I'm so sorry. We're still searching.
If we find anything, of course, we'll let you know right away.
We understand this must be a terrible shock...
Emma.
It's your third day out here.
I'm gonna stay out here as long as it takes.
As long as what takes?
He's lost, and he's coming back, and I'm gonna be here.
You-- You can't.
I mean, that won't work.
I'm not giving up on him.
Emma, give me the binoculars. No.
Jesse's coming back. He was a long-distance swimmer.
He was the best in state. He can do this.
He's not coming back.
You don't know that.
Yeah, Em, I do.
It's been a week. They've given up the search.
You just can't stand that I'm no longer in your shadow.
Well, I know my husband, and I know how incredible he is.
And I'm not gonna let you say he's anything less
because you like it better when I feel small.
Emma-- No.
Emma-- Don't console me.
I'm so sorry, Emma.
He's dead. I'm so sorry.
No, he's not.
- No, he's not. - Yeah.
No, he's not.
I'm sorry. No, he's not dead.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry, honey.
I don't know...
I don't know how I can live without him.
I know.
But... you will.
How?
You're gonna come home to Acton,
and you're gonna move in with me.
And I'm going to make your breakfasts
and your lunches and your dinners, and-and...
we're just gonna build you a new life.
But not-- not right now.
Now you get to just be broken,
and-and I'll hold you together.
I'll hold you together.
Hey.
Walking down memory lane?
Sorry. Did I wake you?
No. Not at all.
How are you feelin'?
I can't sleep.
How are you feeling?
I don't know.
But I, uh, ran you a hot shower. The old Sam Lee special.
What's the Sam Lee special?
Well, it's-- it's me turning on the shower.
Oh, hey, honey.
Emma! I don't like that you're understocking the classics.
Obviously, Dad. But not now.
I am not understocking the classics. You are overstocking the classics.
-Colin, focus. -Sorry.
We'll-- We'll give you some space.
So, how are you?
Really?
I don't know how I'm feeling.
I mean, you're probably feeling confused.
-I mean, yeah. But-- -I wasn't finished.
You and Jesse, you had this beautiful life together,
and then he got on a helicopter, and it crashed,
and-and we all thought he was dead,
and you-- you-you picked yourself up
like this incredible person that you are,
and you found love again with a great guy.
Right, and now-- I'm still not finished.
And now what is probably the happiest day of your life
is also the most complicated and probably saddest day,
because no matter what you do or how you feel,
you're gonna break somebody's heart.
You've gained something, and you'll lose something.
So it's okay to feel happy and heartbroken.
Oh, you can talk. I'm done.
Oh.
That was incredibly verbose, but accurate.
Thank you.
Why did I spend my childhood hating you?
Oh. Because I hated you.
-Why did you hate me? -Because you hated me.
Oh, my God, Emma. Um, you can't wear that
to reunite with your long-lost husband.
- Oh, my gosh. - Wow.
You look amazing!
Wow!
The color. The color.
Well, I think this works.
Mm-hmm. Just not so sure about this.
-Yeah. -I'm engaged, and I'm also married.
-I'm not sure what the protocol is. -What does your gut tell you?
To throw up, mostly.
Oh, yeah. You could wear that one.
Yeah.
Or, you could wear both. Yeah.
I just won't wear either.
Okay.
Here we go. Oh. Okay.
Go get 'em.
Hey, Joe. Emma.
-Francine. -Emma.
Wow. You look different.
Our boy is coming home, Frannie.
Oh. We've decided not to tell Jesse
that you've already moved on.
He's been through enough, don't you think?
Let's go. Come on.
Emma!
Hi. Hi.
Do you want to get out of here?
Come on.
Are you okay?
It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.
It's okay. It's okay.
We're coming to you live
from the home of Jesse Lerner...
God, can you imagine?
Your fiancée has a husband. An alive husband.
You know she's gonna go back to him, right?
He came back from the dead.
Tell me it doesn't get any more romantic than that.
Sam's toast.
Totally.
-Morning. -Hey, buddy.
Janis.
Hi. We were just talking about you.
Mm-hmm.
Behind your back. Mmm.
Um, actually, that's my lunch.
I guess now we're even. Um...
I swore if I ever made it back to you,
I'd tell you how sorry I was for leaving.
I'm going to spend the rest of our lives making it up to you.
I'm engaged.
What?
I'm engaged. To be married.
You are married.
No. To someone else.
What?
What is so funny?
It's not. No. It's horrible.
Yeah, it's terrible.
You know, I think that's the worst thing I've ever been told.
-Jesse, I didn't know that you were-- -You thought I was dead.
You didn't know.
There you are.
Oh, you can't just disappear like that.
Come on. Everybody's waiting for you. Come on.
It's too much.
It's okay. Just breathe.
Hey, hey, hey. Hey, I'm here.
It's--
It's been a long time since I've seen so many people.
I--
I should get going.
Okay. I'll stay here tonight,
'cause I figure they need me.
But then I need to be with you. Can we go somewhere tomorrow?
-Of course. -Let's go to Maine, to the cabin.
-Sure. -First thing.
Yeah. First thing.
Bye. Okay, bye.
Hey. You're home.
You're still making me a grilled cheese with dairy-free cheddar?
Yeah, well, I figured just in case you came back,
you know, a little lactose intolerant.
So, how is he?
Still very, very, very, very handsome?
Uh, he seems good.
A little overwhelmed, uh, but good.
Good, mostly. Um--
Good.
Good that he-- that he seems good.
I saw you kissing him.
On the news.
I'm not upset about it.
I just--
Not telling you felt wrong somehow,
so I-- I just wanted you to know.
I'm really sorry, Sam. This has all been so... confusing.
Confusing. It's-- It's confusing.
Hey. It's gonna be all right.
It's gonna be okay.
Gonna be okay.
I love you so much, Sam.
I love you.
I need you.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
Where's your ring?
You're gonna have to choose, you know.
I mean, he's your husband.
I think we should call off the wedding.
What? I mean, can you honestly say
that no matter what happens from this moment on,
that you're ready to spend the rest of your life with me?
You know, if we're gonna have a future,
you gotta go.
You gotta go and do whatever you need to do in order to know.
You could stay at a hotel, or you could stay at Marie or your parents'--
No, I get it.
I need to be on my own.
All packed up?
Yep.
Uh, here.
I don't trust myself not to set it on fire when you're gone, so...
You are a good man.
I'm all right.
How are you?
Jesse wants to go to Maine.
For a few days.
Oh, my.
Would you run the store? Are you able to?
Yeah. I'd be happy to.
Do you think you can be in love
with two people at the same time?
Maybe some people can, but...
I don't even think that's the point, though.
You're a different person with Sam than you were with Jesse.
And maybe it's not about who you love more.
Maybe it's about whether you wanna be
the person you could be with Jesse
or the person that you're becoming with Sam.
Wow. You're good lately.
I just know you.
Thank you.
You look great.
You do.
Oh. You gotta drive the whole way.
My license expired when they issued my death certificate.
-Okay. -Good times.
Uh, hey, do you mind if we stop by the store?
I guess I left some stuff at Marie's last night.
Sure. Your stuff isn't at your place?
No. I'm not currently at my place.
Okay.
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone.
Your parents still recommending Walden Pond to anyone who walks in
and then going, "You know, Walden Pond is just down the road"?
Well, my parents are retired now.
Really? Good for them.
So Marie's finally inherited her birthright?
The bookseller's daughter has become the bookseller?
Actually, I run it.
Oh, yeah. You run it.
No, I'm serious. I run the bookstore.
- Oh. - I know.
I used to hate it, but...
I lost you, and I had nothing,
so I moved back home, and... there it was.
Oh, Em.
What?
Come on. Let's go.
You are a sight for sore eyes.
We're so happy you're okay, Jesse.
I missed you guys too.
Hi.
Oh, my God. A real-life Odysseus back to Ithaca.
Good to see you're still reading, Sis.
Hi, Sophie.
Ooh!
You're hungry? Uh, wait a minute. I want you to meet someone.
Jesse, this my daughter, Sophie.
Sophie, this is Jesse.
Hey.
Okay. Hey.
Welcome back.
Thank you. Good to see you.
Well, I guess a lot's happened since you've been gone.
She is adorable.
-Congratulations. -Thank you.
-Said hi to Mike for me. -Oh, you could tell him yourself!
Hey!
How you been?
Stranded on a desert island, man.
Oh, right.
Must've been nice to get away.
For a bit, yeah.
We should, um, hit the road.
- Yeah, yeah. - -You're gonna head to the cabin?
Oh, just for couple days.
Thank you. Yeah.
Actually, can I drive?
Without a license?
Well, it's a technicality.
Come on. It'll be fun.
-Okay. -Thank you.
Good morning.
Liz, you are a trumpet player.
Please spit out your gum.
The rest of you, let's jump right in.
So, Debussy is considered our first Impressionist composer.
Impressionist-- Can anybody tell me what that means?
-Zoey. -It doesn't have a melody or something?
Right, right.
Debussy was less concerned about a melody and more about, um,
evoking a mood and an emotion.
He used notes like a paintbrush,
painting colors that conveyed an impression.
So, what moods are being conveyed right now?
-Go ahead. Shout 'em out. -Uh, sadness?
Loneliness.
Fear you might lose Emma forever.
Really? Really, Zoey? You got the from the song?
No, I got that from how you were playing the song.
Are we really not gonna talk about your husband-in-law?
-My what? -That guy that's married to your wife, man.
Your brother-husband or whatever.
Marcus, he's not my brother-husband.
My cousin is in a closed quad, and it really works for them,
so I don't see why a triple can't work.
First of all, Dylan, it's called a "thruple," and sec--
Okay, we're not having this conversation, all right?
Let's go. Instruments up.
Hey. "Clair de lune." Come on.
You're trying to give palm readings? No, no, no, no.
Okay, the most romantic place we ever went to.
Ooh.
I know I'm supposed to say... Paris.
But it's Amsterdam.
Yeah. New Year's Eve.
We fought about that stupid bike lock until 11:59.
Yeah. And then the clock turned,
and you said, "I don't care who lost it.
I just wanna spend my whole year with you."
Then you kissed me, and--
and then it felt like nothing mattered except us.
And you were right.
You did lose that lock, by the way.
No. I didn't lose-- You lost the lock by the river.
No, no. I've had a lot of time to think about this,
and I have decided I remember you losing it.
Okay. Agree to disagree.
Okay.
Hey!
Come on. Our cabin awaits.
Oh, come on!
Tuba.
Come on, tuba, get it together.
-I thought I did pretty good. -You are, Marcus.
Yeah. You are. You're-- You're great.
You're...
Great.
We haven't been here since--
Our wedding.
Right. That old thing.
Do you want a drink?
-Please. -Okay, great.
Let's see what we can find here.
So you can build a fire now?
So you get tattoos now?
I guess a lot has changed.
Some things, yeah, sure.
But nothing that really matters.
To us.
Finally.
Whoo!
Smooth.
What does it say?
Oh.
Um, "And so I walked on."
I'll never leave your side again.
All I ever wanted was...
one more day to be with you.
Oh, I missed your face.
I missed your voice. I missed...
God, I missed the feel of you.
Out of control. Got a flagging stick. Mayday!
Hey!
Jesse?
Just... turns on when you need it.
Off when you don't.
Yeah.
Faucets are wild, huh?
What happened out there?
Nah, I just wanna focus on us right now.
I'll tell you what I do need.
I mean, what I really...
really need...
is breakfast.
Oh, you're such a jerk. Mm-hmm.
You know that? Yeah.
-Mr. Lee, just a couple of questions. -Oh, shit.
-Mr. Lee, is the wedding off? -Um...
-Is Emma here? -Um...
Can we just get a little privacy, please?
-We? Does that mean you're still getting married? -No, I--
-It's off? -I honestly don't know.
Are you afraid that your fiancée is gonna leave you and go back to her husband?
Sam, have you talked to Jesse yet?
I feel bad you had to move back to New England. It's cold.
You don't have to feel bad.
Well, I'm just glad that neither of us is stuck anymore,
and we can start living again.
Go traveling.
Traveling? You don't want to settle somewhere safe?
Well, we'd have a home base, sure, but...
I was thinking Venice Beach. Anywhere in California would be good.
That was the best time of our lives.
Mexican food was top-notch.
And you can work from anywhere, right?
Travel writing can be wherever you want.
Well, I don't, um...
I haven't written a travel piece in years.
Really?
I know you do the store.
I just assumed you were still doing what you wanted to do.
The store-- It is what I wanna do.
You know? I like seeing the regulars,
getting a crack at the new releases.
This coming from the girl that wouldn't read The Hunger Games?
Well, it turns out The Hunger Games is actually pretty great.
Hey, how you doing? Uh, can we please have
two bacon, egg and cheese biscuits with home fries, please?
Um, actually I-- I don't eat cheese anymore.
It's, like, a whole thing. Okay.
Uh, one egg and cheese biscuit with home fries, and my beautiful wife?
Um, fried egg on toast.
Yeah. Fried egg on toast.
New normal. Yes.
Emerson and Alcott and Thoreau
were all from Concord.
I had a lot of time to do reading
while you were gone.
A lot of existential dread, you might say.
But you know what? Thoreau, he knows what's up.
And, uh, Walden Pond...
Is just down the road!
Yes, yes.
Oh, and when the leaves change in autumn...
When you died--
When I-- When I thought you were dead,
I had nothing and...
came back here.
My parents and Marie,
they basically nursed me back to life.
They picked out all these books to distract me.
And that's when I read The Hunger Games, by the way.
And Wild.
And Octavia Butler and Joan Didion, and...
that's when I realized that... I wasn't alone.
All these people that had
come before me, they--
they felt this pain that I felt, and...
they found a way through, and...
I could too.
Then this place...
This place put me back together.
You and I, we had this--
We had this idea that our adventures had to be grand.
Right? That we had to go to Madrid
and the Great Wall and... Mm-hmm.
...go everywhere extraordinary, but, uh,
extraordinary is everywhere.
Running a bookstore and being with our families
and raising our kids here, that's--
that's a--
a great adventure.
Kids?
I wasn't sure you ever wanted to have any.
I wasn't sure either.
But I am now.
I could build a family here.
It's home.
Well, I am very thankful
to this place for taking such good care of you...
while I was gone.
Sorry I'm late.
It's all good.
All right, everybody, phones away.
Seriously. Debussy. Let's go.
Put away the goddamn phones!
Sorry. That was, uh-- That was excessive.
I'm going through a real stressful time right now,
and, uh...
Penny, Tom, please explain why you're in my class.
We all wanna be here for you.
In case you explode, we wanted to watch it happen.
And if you do explode,
then we wanna be there for you.
Thank you, but, uh, I'm fine.
And you're not in orchestra, so please get out of my class.
The rest of you, instruments up.
Actually, can-can somebody please tell me
what the hell it means when someone is--
is texting you for 18 hours and-and doesn't hit send?
I mean, what the crap are these dots?
Is she texting me? Is she not texting me?
Is it good news? Is it not good news?
If I want it to be good news, does that make me a bad person?
Is it-- Is it selfish?
Is it selfish to want my fiancée to be my wife?
Apparently, it is.
Well, I'm sorry that I didn't survive a plane crash
and spend four years on some small island somewhere!
I guess that makes me an asshole somehow.
Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be him?
Why is it always him?
I met her first, you know?
I loved her first!
Finders, keepers!
Not that she's some soccer ball on the playground.
Obviously, she can make her own decisions.
As can all of the bright,
capable young women in this class.
But I do think that "finders, keepers" applies here.
No, no, I don't. No, I don't.
That's the patriarchy talking,
and we must all fight it together.
I just...
I just want her to love me more than she loves him.
Well, that was wildly inappropriate.
Um, I'm gonna stop.
No! Man, for God sakes, just keep talking!
Whoo!
Maybe we should go a bit slower.
Really? Yeah.
Come on. It's a little fun, right?
This is not good.
It'll be fine. It's okay.
You don't have your license. It'll be good.
I told you earlier, you don't have your license. Okay, here he is.
Hello, Officer. Uh, how can I help you?
You were speeding. License and registration.
That was an honest mistake.
Truly. And, uh, I'm very sorry.
Maybe we can get off with a warning?
License and registration.
I technically don't have a-- He's been lost at sea.
Maybe you've heard about it.
Um, it's been all over the news.
If I could reach back, I can grab an article to show you.
Here.
This doesn't explain why you're driving, let alone speeding.
He just wanted everything to feel normal for once.
We both did.
-Do you have a license, ma'am? -Me? Yes. Yes, I do.
Okay, Ms. Blair.
Looks like you're driving now.
Please try to keep it under 55, all right?
Welcome home.
Thank you.
You changed your name back.
I thought you were dead.
So you went to the Social Security office and changed your name back?
There's more to it than that.
Okay.
She should be with the person that she loves the most,
not necessarily the person that loves her the most.
'Cause I love her the most. I love her the most.
I know everyone thinks that he must love her the most
because he survived a desert island for her,
but I comforted her while he was on that island.
You know, I sat with her while she cried for him.
And I figured out a way to love someone
with my whole heart,
knowing that a part of her would always love him.
And I did that for her.
Well, you should probably get out of here.
Oh, yeah, like American Lit can hold a candle to this drama.
It's inappropriate to keep you from your classes, Dylan.
On the other hand, there is still a lot to discuss here.
All right. Hit me.
Honestly, you know what the weirdest part about all this is?
Everyone thinks they're the hero of their own story.
Everyone.
Maybe I'm not the hero.
Maybe...
Maybe I'm the bad guy.
Jesse, please.
Jesse, talk to me, please.
I was supposed to come home to my wife, who waited for me.
Jesse, I did wait.
You got engaged to someone else!
Because I thought you were dead!
So you replaced me?
No, I didn't replace you.
I loved you. I still love you.
This fiancé-- You love him too?
Do you love him or not?
Yes.
Yes, I love him.
Do you love him more than me?
Wh-What is it? Is he better than me?
Jesse, no. It's not like that. It-It's...
-Sam and I-- -So he's got a name. His name's Sam.
Sam Lee.
And I bet this was a dream come true for him.
That is not fair. You have no idea what I went through!
What you went through?
I was on a dead rock for four years.
Alone!
Starving and just trying not to die.
And that whole time, you know what I thought about?
This.
You!
I just thought about us!
Right now was supposed to be the good time.
I was supposed to come home to a life I was missing.
My part was to get back to you, and your part was to wait.
I did my part, Emma.
-What did you do? -I had to live my life!
I had to learn how to live without you.
You managed to do that.
Jesse?
They say if you love someone,
you should set them free.
I'm starting to realize that if you-- if you love someone,
you don't let anything stand in your way.
You shout it from the mountaintops.
You race through traffic.
You survive being marooned on a desert island
and swim for miles just to get back to them...
Son of bitch, I'm screwed.
Dear Jesse,
you've been gone more than three years now,
but there hasn't been a day when I haven't thought of you.
At first, I refused to admit you were gone.
I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat.
Even after the search was called off, and they said you were dead,
it was so hard to let go.
Hey, you've tried to call Jesse Lerner.
I obviously have better things to do.
So leave a message, and I'll call you back.
I felt pain that I didn't think was humanly possible.
At times, it nearly broke me.
Hey. I came across this at the store.
It's by Joan Didion, about the death of her husband.
-I hate being given books. -I know.
Just a shot in the dark.
Just in case you wanted to read how someone else got through it.
At least give me a happy book. I don't want to read about people dying.
Okay. I can work with that.
How about Pride and Prejudice?
Or falling in love.
Okay. Wow.
So, no death or love.
I'll make a list.
There's gotta be, like, three books in existence
that don't deal with either.
I used to think grief was chronic.
Just a never-ending cycle of bad days
with the occasional good day.
No "D" or "L." This one's complete.
You were right. I loved it.
What else you got?
Uh, that can have love or death in them?
Tons.
But then I started to think that maybe
the good days could be good weeks or good months.
Oh, just say it.
My baby's finally a bookworm.
Doesn't mean that I wanna let go
of the memories of you or the love I have for you.
But it does mean that I'm ready to let go of the sadness.
I will carry you with me always.
But I cannot define myself by the loss anymore.
And that's four. But you already know that, 'cause you're super good at it.
So let me just play it for you just for fun.
Oh!
-Emma? -Sam?
Here.
Hi. Um, here, let me help you with that.
-Oh, my God. Still works. -Still-- You're good.
Yeah. You don't have to buy it. Oh, my God.
Hi. Hi.
How are you?
I'm-- I'm good.
Have you been-- I mean-- I can't believe--
Yeah, you look, uh-- You--
Yeah. Wow.
Emma Blair. Wow. Can't believe it.
Keep reading.
I'm going out into the world with an open heart now.
And I'm going to go where life takes me.
So, you wanna learn an instrument.
Yeah. We can't all play every single one of them yet.
Hey, I will have you know I'm actually pretty bad at the harp.
-Oh, okay. -No, that's a lie. I'm pretty good.
I don't know why I said that.
Well, I thought I'd start with something easy, like piano.
Oh. Well, if you want my advice--
Yes, your advice is the exact advice I would like.
Uh, you should definitely go for this one.
It's 88 keys. Uh, it's weighted. It's perfect to learn on.
-Great. I'll take it. -Great.
You're a good salesman.
Uh, do you ring me up here or up there or...
Oh. No, no, no. I don't-- I don't work here.
Oh! Oh, my God.
Yeah. I came for a pedal,
and I've just been looking for an excuse to keep talking to you, so...
Jesse's dead.
Yeah. Yeah, I heard.
Um, I'm-- I'm so sorry. I should have called.
Oh, no, no. It's okay. I--
When I started dating him,
I guess I stopped being a good friend to you.
So it's okay. It's on me.
So, what do you do, then, when you're not...
-Oh, when I'm-- -...pretending to work here?
-I teach orchestra at A.B. -Wow. That's crazy.
Yeah. I know. I know.
Um, I'm back in Acton. Running the store.
-Blair Books? -Yeah.
You used to hate it there.
-People change, I guess. -Yeah. Thank God for that.
Yeah. I agree. Thank God.
Uh, well, I'll have to drop by sometime.
Say hi.
I'd like that. That would be nice.
I'm happy to say I've reached a place
where your memory brings me joy.
I have found meaning in life that I never would have guessed.
Wow.
See, the funny thing about this is that you do actually work here.
Well, I'm so glad you stopped by,
because I've actually become quite good at the piano.
-Really? -Yes. You'd be very impressed.
I know "Chopsticks" and "Heart and Soul."
It's like the core of Western music right there. Very good.
Well, uh, show me what you've got.
-Well, I don't have a piano. -Sure, you do.
Anything you can play on the piano, you can play on the counter.
It's an old music teachers' trick. Here, um, give me a song.
Um, Beethoven.
Okay. That's less of a song and more of a person,
but I think we can work with that.
Ready?
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Oh, I know this one.
You wanna take this one?
Oh.
There we go.
-What is your sister doing? -That's more like it.
Living.
Oh, so that's what that looks like.
There. Good.
So, I should probably buy a book,
so it doesn't seem like I came here just to talk to you.
Hmm. This one.
On the house.
-Yeah? -Yeah.
Or you can just-- You can owe me.
Or how about, um, I take you to lunch sometime?
Lunch?
Yeah. Yeah.
I was thinking sometime between breakfast and dinner.
Lunch sounds nice.
Great.
Okay.
Hey.
Tell me everything.
I think if I work hard,
I can have the sort of life that you would have wanted for me.
I can't go on a date, right? Like, that's crazy.
I can call him next year,
maybe, if he's still single.
Shutting yourself off from the world
doesn't prove how much you loved your husband.
You have your whole life ahead of you, so live it.
I believe I can have a happy future,
where I love and am loved in return.
So, we've been dating six months now.
Yeah.
Well, one of the months was February,
so it's a light six.
It's a tight six.
Come on.
Well, long or short...
I think I'm in love with you.
But I don't think I'm ready to say it.
Or hear myself say it.
Hmm.
Well...
don't tell anyone I told you,
but I think I'm in love with you too.
I always have been.
I don't know. It all kinda sounds the same to me.
But I know that you love it, so I appreciate it. Thank you.
Hey, um, you wanna go this way?
Come on. Let's go for a walk.
I'm sorry, my love. We're gonna go down some steps.
What? Okay, yep. And you're gonna keep your eyes closed.
Because you trust me, right? I do.
Okay. One foot-- There we go. That's perfect. You're doing great.
I'm sorry. Are we-- Are we going onto the Green Line?
Uh, we are not going onto the Green Line.
It feels like you're taking me onto the Green Line.
That's not true. Oh, Jesus.
The lighting here is much better. I promise you.
Okay. So, here's the thing.
Yeah? All right? Um--
Where am I going? You're here.
Okay.
I got you. Okay.
So, here's the thing. Um...
I bought something a few weeks ago.
Okay.
And I haven't been able to decide when to give it to you.
I was doing some thinking, and I realized
that it should probably be you that decides.
Okay.
Oh, my gosh!
Your students!
We have been working on this for a few months now.
Um, I'd call it "Your Song," on account of it being yours.
But Elton John kinda beat me to the punch,
so, uh, it's currently untitled.
Uh, guys, actually, can we cut the music?
Sorry. The sound is really traveling in here.
-Sorry, Mr. Lee. -No, you're-- It's fine.
Hey.
Hi. Um...
Emma, I was put on this earth to be yours.
And I am so, so lucky
to be able to call you mine.
I believe in us,
I believe we're good for each other,
and I believe that I'm a better man because of you.
Here it is.
And I don't want you to do anything except hold on to it...
and just keep it safe.
And, um, when you're ready,
if you're ever ready,
I'll be ready.
Oh!
I love it,
and I love you.
Thank you.
I love you so much.
So I'm going to say yes to Sam Lee.
I think that you would like him for me.
He's kind, he makes me laugh,
and he makes room for you.
He accepts the full me.
And he knows the full me includes you.
Sam.
-What are you doing? -I'm proposing to you.
-I'm in my underwear. -I don't care.
Sam Lee,
you are my second chance.
You are the arms that helped me pull myself back up.
You're the life that I never saw coming.
You are my reminder that life can be unexpectedly beautiful,
and I promise I will spend the rest of our lives
trying to be that reminder for you.
-Will you marry me? -Yes!
Yes! Will you marry me?
Yes! Yes!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
I want to be happy,
and I want more love in my life, Jesse.
So I'm asking for your blessing to embrace it.
Your love, Emma.
You know what I thought on our wedding day?
What?
I was putting on my tux.
I was a little nervous, but then I just thought...
"At least I picked the right person."
I always thought no matter how hard it got,
at least we picked the right person.
But you gotta keep being the right person.
You have to change together
so that you can stay the right person.
I want to be with you.
So if staying in Acton for a bit is important, then I will do it.
A bit? As long as you need.
Jesse, I want to stay here always.
I want to continue my life here.
-Because of the store? -Jesse, it's not just because of the store.
How about this: We go on a big, famous bookstore tour of Europe...
No. ...and see the world's greatest libraries--
Jesse, I wanna stay here. I want to be with my family.
You're asking me,
now that I am free,
now that I can go anywhere,
to chain myself to a life that I can't live.
My world is here, Jesse.
I have people I love.
I feel like I belong, like--
like I'm a part of something,
and I have found a piece of myself here that I never expected.
This life that my parents pushed on me,
I left it, and then I lived my own life,
and then life brought me back to them.
And now...
I've chosen all of this.
I've chosen it for myself.
This is who I am now.
You're different.
Not in a bad way.
You just...
changed.
See, the Emma I knew,
she wanted to be
as far away as humanly possible from Blair Books.
And she was--
She was never gonna sit still
until she had seen the entire world.
She loved me
and only me.
That's not you anymore.
No, it's not.
I promise we can live any life you want,
but just not-- not Acton.
You're asking me to be someone that I'm not anymore.
You're asking me to be someone
I always told you I wouldn't be.
We didn't stay the right person.
I could try and be the right person for you.
You can try and make yourself the right person for me, but...
That's not real love.
We should head back.
Do you want to stay here just a little bit longer?
Okay.
You know, there was a game I used to play out there.
I'd just ask myself, "What's Emma doing right now?"
And I'd say something like,
"I bet she's eating tapas in Barcelona"
or "She's on the beach in Malibu."
In Berlin...
But I was always wrong.
You were here.
And I-- And I never guessed here.
I'm starting to see it.
It suits you.
I never stopped loving you.
Do you believe me?
I'm really trying to.
One day you might.
I hope so.
Come on. Let's go.
After all that, we weren't meant to be, huh?
I don't think things have to last to be real.
We can be meant to have been.
Meant to have been.
Yeah.
Thank you.
For what?
The thought of seeing you again.
You saved my life.
I know that for her,
it's sometimes been him and sometimes been me.
For me, it's always been her.
All right, that's the end of the day. I'm out of things to say.
It is what it is.
It's out of my hands now. It's Emma's choice to make.
Mr. Lee,
isn't that exactly what you did in high school?
-What are you talking about? -She's right.
You never just told Emma how you felt.
You hinted at it, but you never said it.
Yeah, this Jesse guy, he never makes it unclear.
He wants her, and he always let her know that.
He puts it all out on the line.
- Yeah. If you're gonna go down, Sam, go down swinging.
Go tell this woman how heartbroken you'll be without her.
Remind her of the life you two could've had together.
-I can't lose her. -Then do something about it.
I gotta go. I gotta go. I gotta go!
Thank you.
Sam!
Sam?
Damn it.
Pick up your phone, man.
Oh, hey, Marie. I, uh--
Hello. Uh, I'm looking for Emma.
Hey. Hey. Um, she's not here.
Any idea where she went?
Um, she, um...
Just tell me.
-I don't wanna tell you. -Marie?
She...
You know, um, she's--
She's with Jesse, right?
Look, I-- I know.
Okay? I know.
And-And it's fine.
Just-Just tell me where they went.
I can take it.
They went to the cabin in Maine.
Mother... Shit!
As friends?
As-As friends, right? Right? It's a simple question, Marie.
As friends? Did they go as friends?
Were they friends? Were they friendly? Are they platonically friends?
I don't know how to answer that.
Sam!
-You're back? -Is Sam here?
Yeah, he was just here. He was looking for you, and--
He was looking for me? How did he seem?
Hopeful? Angry? Devastated?
-Uh, at first, he was hopeful. -Oh, that's great!
And then I told him you went to Maine with Jesse, and he got sorta devastated.
Oh, my God, Marie.
-I've ruined it. -No.
I've completely ruined it. By loving them both--
-Also no. Um-- -I've lost them both.
Don't you think maybe you should be a little more mad at me?
No, I'm not mad at you,
because you were there for me through all of this.
No, I'm not mad.
You're not even a little mad for that day on the dock
when I convinced you your husband was dead, and I was wrong?
No! Marie, I was insane that day on the dock.
If I had spent the last four years
believing he was alive, I would've lost my mind.
No. I did the best I could with the information that I had,
and that led me to Sam.
I can't lose him, Marie.
So don't.
Go tell him what you just told me.
You're right.
This isn't over yet.
Come on! Let's go.
Come on! Come on!
-Come on, come on-- -Pick up. Pick up, pick up.
-Hello? -Sam, can you hear me?
Emma, yeah, I can hear you. Can you hear me?
Sam, I need you back.
Hello?
Jesse was gone, and I was broken--
You're breaking up. Hello?
But then I pulled myself back together, and--
Oh, shit!
And the person that I became chose you!
Sam?
Sam!
Sam, don't hang up! Um, I just hit somebody.
Uh, honey? You hit me.
Holy shit! Are you okay?
No. No, I'm not.
I haven't slept in days.
There's reporters camped outside of our house.
I've lost all semblance of privacy with my students. I'm-- I'm terrible.
Sam-- No, no. I need to say something.
I need to...
I have loved every version of you,
and I will love every version of you that you become.
Get out of the road!
I am madly in love with you, Em.
And I'm in.
I swear to God, with every fiber of my being, I am in.
But I refuse to settle for part of you.
I need you to be in too.
I'm in. I'm in.
I'm so sorry it took me so long to understand that.
Jesse was right for me once, but you are right for me now,
and I promise I will work
for the rest of my days to be the right person to you.
No, you be whoever you want. If you're in, I'm in.
Nothing you do could ever change that.
I went to Maine with Jesse-- No, no, no, no.
I already said that I was in.
Okay? Save the rest for couple's therapy.
Okay.
Our life starts now.
Together.
You're a good man.
I'm all right.
Get out of the way!
Oh, oh, oh. Oh, whiplash, whiplash.
Oh, my God. Are you okay? Yeah, yeah. I just need to sit down for a minute.
Oh, it's a little spin-y.
Okay. Just breathe...
Uh, excuse me. Can somebody call an ambulance?
Yeah, thank you.
Hey, shut up!
Just go around!
Come on! We're fine, thank you.
I love you. Oh, I love you too.
Honey...
Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, no, no. It's fine.
I just wanna be-- I just wanna be close to you.
Emma, I met someone.
Her name's June.
Somehow she's convinced me to get back in the water.
But it feels freeing now.
I'm out there swimming almost every morning.
I can see now that the only way to get my life back
was to move forward.
I know that's what you had to do too.
I get it now.
Loving you got me through my darkest days.
And now I have a future because of it.
A future that I'm discovering every day.
And for that,
I owe you everything.
Love, Jesse.
You okay?
Yeah.
I'm good.
You ready to check out? Okay.