Meet Me at the Lake

In the past, Will takes Fern to a famous graffiti alley, where they smoke a joint. Fern thinks Will is attractive. Will asks Fern why she doesn’t want to return to the resort. Fern dislikes that everyone there knows her and alludes to a destructive past that led to her being in the hospital.

As they emerge into the sun, Will removes his cardigan and Fern stares at his body. When Fern got with Jamie, they had sex all the time for months before Fern moved to Toronto for school. Now it’s been four years of mostly phone sex, which Fern finds awkward to do unless she’s high.

Fern excuses herself for a moment to take a call from Jamie. Jamie explains that he’s just checking in because he missed hearing Fern’s voice. For a while now, their calls have mostly consisted of phone sex. Fern has avoided talking to Jamie because she doesn’t want him to know how she feels about returning.

Will asks if everything is okay, and Fern says it was just a friend calling to check in. Fern asks Will about his girlfriend. Her name is Fred, and she has many artistic pursuits. Will and Fred have only been together five months. Fern feels weird about being jealous of Fred.

In the present, it’s three days after Sunday cocktails. Whitney and her husband, Cam, drop off their baby, Owen, so Fern can babysit. It’s weird to Fern that Whitney is a mother now. Whitney asks if Fern has googled Will, and Fern lies and says she hasn’t. When Fern searched Will’s name yesterday, she saw him with a beautiful woman, and it made Fern jealous.

Owen cries relentlessly once Whitney and Cam leave. Fern desperately tries to comfort the baby and feed him, but she ends up spilling milk all over herself. Fern begins crying too, thinking about her mother. Fern feels like she and her mother were only just getting close again when she died.

When Will knocks at the door, Fern answers in her underwear, having removed her soiled clothes. Will heard the commotion and wanted to come by to help. Fern is a mess, but she lets him in. Will is extremely skilled with Owen, who is quiet by the time Fern gets dressed. They feed Owen and put him down in the crib. Fern asks if Will has any children. He says no at first, but when she pushes him, he admits that he has a niece whom he’s helped raise.

They discuss the resort. Fern isn’t sure if she wants to sell it or stay. Will remembers how much she didn’t want to be here running it. Fern needs time to think about it. She tells Will about her coffee shop dream and jokes about him painting a fern in her new shop. Will admits he hasn’t painted in a while. Will and Fern agree to plan for two scenarios: one where Fern sells, and one where Fern keeps the resort. This way, Fern can make an informed decision about her next steps.

When Whitney and Cam return for Owen, Whitney wants to interrogate Will, but controls herself. After Will leaves, Fern reads her mother’s diaries for the first time since she was a teenager.

One is from right after Maggie finished college. Maggie is excited to travel Europe. Peter has bought her a calendar for her to mark off the days. She mentions a cute new lifeguard and talks about wanting to be more hands-on in the family business. Before Fern falls asleep, she thinks about how Will is once again helping her make plans.

In the past, Will tells Fern about his comic strip and how he got into painting murals. They get food together. Will calls his sister to check in because she had a fight with their dad the previous day. Fern shows Will her favorite Vietnamese sandwich spot.

Fern tells Will about Whitney and how the visit was awkward because she wished she could get Whitney to understand why she doesn’t want to go home. Fern explains that everyone expects her to run the resort, and that going to business school was her mom’s idea. Fern feels like she’s been lying to everyone by concealing her desires. Will feels bad that Fern is carrying this burden.

Will leads Fern to the art gallery, which Fern jokes is basic. Will shows her the exhibits and talks about each one with passion. Some landscape paintings remind Fern of home, and she thinks about the parts of the resort she misses. She cries a little and apologizes to Will. Will tells her it’s okay to be tender.

A diary entry from Maggie details how Peter is now the head pastry chef at the resort. Maggie likes how he’s growing out his beard but says she’s been over her crush on Peter for a while. She adds that Peter doesn’t like Eric, one of the lifeguards, and that she is interested in Eric.

In the present, Fern finds solace in her morning routine of kayaking around the lake. It’s been a week since she and Will agreed to work on two plans. Fern wants to know more about Will, but he’s very private about his life. Fern and Will meet with a real estate agent. When the agent suggests developers might want to buy the place to put up condos, Fern becomes defensive. She wouldn’t want new owners to flatten the property.

Later, Will and Fern take out a canoe together. Fern says Will is nine years late. They’ve avoided talking about their day together, but Will sneaks in references to it. It’s weird for Fern to be on the lake with Will after all this time. Will explains the unpleasant changes Fern would have to make if she chooses to sell. Fern tells Will about reading her mother’s diaries again. Maggie always knew she wanted to run the resort, but it’s harder for Fern to know her desires for certain. Will suggests Fern loves the resort more than she knows—he sees how happy she is when she talks about it. He thinks Fern is doing a good job running the place. They talk about how plans can change.

Will asks about Fern’s romantic life. Fern has been on a hiatus from dating since she caught Philippe cheating. Fern doesn’t talk much about Philippe and changes the subject to Will. Will tells Fern about his grandmother, who meant a lot to him and his sister.

It begins to rain, so they return to shore and take cover in the storage shed. Will and Fern flirt, and Will advances on her. Fern almost gives in to temptation but stops herself. She’s still hurt from Will’s abandonment, which she still doesn’t understand. She asks why he didn’t show up, and Will avoids answering. He only reassures her that she wasn’t imagining things between them. They nearly kiss, but Fern backs away again, saying she and Will don’t know each other.

That night, Will delivers a record to her door along with a note that says: “You do know me. And I know you, too” (135). Fern smiles.

In the past, Will and Fern visit a record store. Will asks Fern what she’d buy if she had a record player. Fern says she’d buy Patti Smith’s Horses album. They go out for drinks, and Fern introduces Will to gin and tonic. Jamie texts Fern that he’s counting the days until she returns to the resort. Fern feels sad that Will is so wonderful and their time is ending. Will invites Fern to a local venue to see his friend’s cover band perform. Fern agrees.

At the venue, Will introduces his friend, Eli, who asks Fern out several times. Fern tries to politely decline until she’s cornered. She admits she has a boyfriend. She can tell Will’s demeanor changes when she says so.

In a diary entry, Maggie details her budding relationship with Eric and how Peter disapproves of him. She wonders why Peter is so protective. She recalls a time where they almost kissed; it didn’t happen, and she was disappointed.