Late summer before the new school year
A Summer of Wishes
seventeen-year-old billy fe works as a lifeguard at a water park and longs for something to break the quiet routine of her summer. sunburned and lonely, she wishes to be swept into a more magical life and feels caught between being a girl and becoming a woman
Before the novel’s opening
The Family Left Behind
Billie and [Annette](entity:character-recall-character-annette-b3ec89943bc2)’s mother has left the family to live abroad, leaving their father to raise the girls and cope with the separation. He works as a doctor, keeps a private journal, and tries to preserve family rituals, while Billie resents the pain her mother’s absence has caused him.
The fractured household gives Billie’s coming-of-age story a second emotional current: her desire for love unfolds alongside her wish for her family to feel whole again.
The winter before the story
Annette’s Broken Romance
[Annette](entity:character-recall-character-annette-b3ec89943bc2)’s long relationship with their neighbor [Louis](entity:character-recall-character-louis-b60a54ea5311) ended when he said his feelings had changed and he wanted other experiences. The breakup hurt her deeply and helps explain why she now kisses casually, as if reclaiming the freedom Louis’s rejection took from her.
Billie understands Annette’s protectiveness, even when it frustrates her. She sees both her sister’s confidence and the hurt beneath it, and hopes to grow into adulthood without suffering the same kind of heartbreak.
The summer before the main story
The Duncan Summer
During an earlier summer, Billie met Duncan Riffle, a Californian tourist who woke her at the water park and later spent a night with her in a dry water slide. They drank wine, talked beneath the stars, and kissed as morning arrived.
When Duncan invited himself along on a trip, Billie panicked and fled with an excuse, afraid of being pushed into adult intimacy. She remembers the encounter as thrilling but too large for her at the time, a contrast to the more consequential choices she will face now.
A late-August evening
The Country Party
[Annette](entity:character-recall-character-annette-b3ec89943bc2) takes Billie to a party under a tent, where Billie hopes the night will finally bring romance. Annette reunites with Simon, the young man who painted the family gazebo, while Billie is left alone among the hay bales and watches a striking blond boy make everyone laugh.
Simon identifies him as [Pierre Forêt](entity:character-recall-character-pierre-for-t-1a0146cb8daf), a celebrated young cyclist. Pierre approaches Billie after noticing her watching him; caught off guard, she admits that she was spying. The brief, awkward exchange electrifies her, even as she tells herself that his beauty and confidence make him irritating.
The day after the country party
A Slush Walk
Hungover and still thinking about Pierre, Billie learns from [Annette](entity:character-recall-character-annette-b3ec89943bc2) that he is a celebrated cyclist. She sets out alone in a red summer dress, carrying [Le Petit Sauvage](entity:object-recall-object-le-petit-sauvage-88fcb7f16ae1) and imagining a freer, more adventurous future for herself.
Pierre crosses her path, whistles a Joe Dassin tune she loves, and follows her into a convenience store. When he calls her Annette’s sister, she bristles; their teasing turns into a walk together over slush and questions about favorite colors. Billie is drawn to him despite his abrupt goodbye, and their small encounter becomes a memory she cannot dismiss.
The last day of summer vacation
The Summer Ends
At the water park, Billie tries to put Pierre out of mind and struggles with the thought that her friends are leaving for the city while she stays behind. Pierre appears at her lifeguard chair, and she brusquely sends him away, embarrassed by her sweaty work clothes and by how much she wants him to see her as beautiful.
When her shift ends, Billie finds Pierre reading against her car. He claims not to have started her favorite book, though she notices a page folded near the end. Their brief exchange leaves her wondering whether he has sought her out deliberately, just as summer gives way to school.
The first day of the new school year
The New School Year
Billie begins college in a mauve dress, missing the friends who have moved away and feeling uncertain about staying in her small town. Her father’s care and her attachment to home compete with fantasies of leaving for California and making a different life.
She encounters Pierre at school and they talk about music and rumors about his romantic life. When he denies knowing the woman Billie has heard he left for a Finnish gymnast, she realizes she has repeated gossip without knowing the facts. A confident student named [Daphné](entity:character-recall-character-daphn-98f69d9eb8f1) then invites Billie to join her, Pierre, and her boyfriend for a night out in [Sherbrooke](entity:location-recall-location-sherbrooke-bc3686cc2560).
The evening of the first school day
The Sherbrooke Invitation
After ballet class, Billie learns that [Daphné](entity:character-recall-character-daphn-98f69d9eb8f1) is pressing the invitation because Pierre wants her to come. Her father initially refuses permission, then allows her to go provided she returns by 11:30 p.m.; Billie promises, already suspecting she will break the curfew.
She drives to the brasserie and joins Daphné and Olivier while Pierre finishes work. Waiting outside, Billie tries to settle her nerves and finds herself increasingly aware that the evening is not an ordinary outing for her.
Later that evening at the brasserie
Pierre’s Question
Once [Daphné](entity:character-recall-character-daphn-98f69d9eb8f1) and Olivier leave them alone, Pierre tells Billie she is beautiful and asks whether she has ever made love. The question humiliates and angers her, and she tells him it is none of his business.
Pierre’s awkward persistence and Billie’s inexperience expose the imbalance between them: she wants closeness and reassurance, while he speaks bluntly and seems emotionally guarded. Still, she goes with the group to [Sherbrooke](entity:location-recall-location-sherbrooke-bc3686cc2560), drawn by the possibility that his attention means more than he can say.
That night in Sherbrooke
The First Kiss
In [Sherbrooke](entity:location-recall-location-sherbrooke-bc3686cc2560), [Daphné](entity:character-recall-character-daphn-98f69d9eb8f1) warns Billie not to fall in love with Pierre: he is intrigued by her and desires her, she says, but has not yet developed a heart for anyone. Billie insists she can keep things casual, though she knows she wants more.
Pierre kisses her at the bar. The kiss excites Billie, but his closed eyes and the lack of tenderness she longs to see leave her uneasy. On the drive home, they kiss passionately in the back seat, and Billie admits to herself that she wants to make love with him even if he never loves her.
After midnight following the Sherbrooke outing
The First Refusal
At the end of the night, Billie and Pierre are alone by his bicycle. She imagines taking their intimacy further, but Pierre says they cannot make love that night because he should not be her first partner. Billie insists she does not care about the distinction, yet pulls back when he asks whether she would sleep at his place and do it then.
Pierre compliments her beauty and legs before they part. Billie has missed her curfew and lies to her father about where she will sleep, feeling both guilty and exhilarated. The encounter leaves her more attached to Pierre, while his refusal remains difficult to interpret.
The following day
The Restaurant Reunion
After seeing Pierre at college, Billie avoids class and returns home, where her father’s displeasure makes clear that her overnight absence has worried him. [Annette](entity:character-recall-character-annette-b3ec89943bc2), delighted by the news that Pierre kissed Billie, persuades her to dress up and go to the brasserie with her.
Pierre is working when they arrive. While Annette leaves for the restroom, he sits beside Billie, asks whether a ketchup heart hurts less when broken, praises her legs and green dress, and brushes her knee. Billie leaves before the moment can be diluted by more conversation, carrying his small gestures as proof that she matters to him.
A few days later
The Cyclists’ Encounter
After a punishing physical-education class, Billie sees Pierre cycling with his team. Exhausted and embarrassed by how she looks, she tries to avoid him, but he stops and introduces her to the other cyclists.
Pierre kisses her cheeks and calls her Billie-Lou. Billie blurts out that she is glad to see him, then grows flustered under his gaze. The encounter intensifies her longing: she wants not only his attention but also to know who he is beyond his beauty and the stories other people tell.
Later that day
The False Invitation
That evening, Pierre contacts Billie online and tells her to come over. She is thrilled and frightened, imagining his room and bed, and turns to [Annette](entity:character-recall-character-annette-b3ec89943bc2) for advice. Annette helps her recognize that she is in love and supports her choice to go, while reminding her she can change her mind at any point.
Billie prepares carefully and drives toward Pierre’s village. Near the brasserie, she calls him and discovers that his drunken roommate Maxime had been chatting in Pierre’s name while Pierre showered. Pierre apologizes and asks her to come anyway, but Billie has already been humiliated and cannot bring herself to continue.
That night after the mistaken invitation
Daphné’s Comfort
Billie calls [Daphné](entity:character-recall-character-daphn-98f69d9eb8f1) in tears and goes to her house, where Daphné offers tea and a place to sleep. Pierre calls repeatedly, trying to persuade Billie to come over with promises of popcorn, jokes, and breakfast, but she does not trust herself to accept.
The failed invitation leaves Billie ashamed and wounded. She spends the night replaying her excitement and disappointment, and the emotional reversal makes it difficult for her to separate Pierre’s intentions from the harm the misunderstanding caused.
The seven days after the mistaken invitation
A Week of Heartbreak
Billie avoids Pierre for a week, moving repeatedly between anger, longing, and attempts to forget him. She writes a poem addressed to him, describing her attraction and resentment, and finds some relief in giving the confusion a shape.
She stops ballet and loses interest in dressing up, while blue raspberry slush continues to bring Pierre back to mind. A brief flirtation with Mathieu, the convenience-store clerk, offers a possible distraction, but Billie remains emotionally caught in the unfinished story with Pierre.
The seventh day after the humiliation
Pierre’s Message
[Daphné](entity:character-recall-character-daphn-98f69d9eb8f1) takes Billie to the [Pub du Mont](entity:location-recall-location-pub-du-mont-21ceaa9ddae2) and assures her Pierre will not appear. Billie drinks with Daphné and her friends, trying to enjoy herself, until Pierre texts that he misses her.
Billie initially refuses to answer, but soon calls him herself. Pierre asks her to come over, and she agrees, choosing desire over the hurt she has been nursing. Daphné gives her directions and warns her again to protect her body and heart.
Late that night
The Blue House
Billie walks uphill to Pierre’s rented room in a blue house, drinking as she goes and wavering between anticipation and fear. Pierre lets her in and goes to his bedroom, where the dark, unfamiliar house and his matter-of-fact manner leave her feeling alone with a decision she is not sure she can make.
Billie undresses and gets into bed beside him. They kiss, and Pierre pauses to ask whether she truly wants to be with him and whether he is the person she wants for her first time. Billie says yes, trying to silence her doubts and proceed.
That night in Pierre’s bedroom
Billie’s First Time
Pierre and Billie have sex. Billie experiences discomfort, uncertainty, and difficulty understanding what pleasure is supposed to feel like; the encounter is long and awkward rather than the romantic experience she had imagined.
Afterward, Pierre asks whether she is all right and offers a little tenderness, but Billie feels unsettled and wants to cry. She dresses and leaves before dawn, choosing the night air and the view over staying in a bed where she does not feel fully understood.
The morning after her first time
The Morning After
Billie waits outside Pierre’s house and calls [Daphné](entity:character-recall-character-daphn-98f69d9eb8f1), hoping Pierre will wake and come after her. He does not appear, and she leaves with Daphné as dawn approaches. The silence confirms that the encounter has not made them a couple or given Billie the emotional security she wanted.
Later, Billie reflects that she is not transformed into a different person, only somewhat older inside. She keeps much of the experience to herself at first, needing time to interpret it before she can share it with [Annette](entity:character-recall-character-annette-b3ec89943bc2).
The day after the first time
The Father’s Bike Ride
Billie’s father tells her he has sold their Subaru, then invites her to look for another car with him by bicycle. The outing becomes a long ride through the countryside, where they talk easily and enjoy one another’s company.
Her father suggests stopping at the brasserie, where Pierre is working. Billie is anxious about seeing him, but her father’s affection steadies her; when he asks whether she is in love with Pierre, she answers yes, and he accepts the truth without demanding more.
Later that day at the brasserie
A Public Reunion
At the brasserie, Billie’s father recognizes Pierre from the newspaper and congratulates him on his cycling success. Pierre serves their food with polite ease and briefly acknowledges Billie, behaving as though their recent intimacy is ordinary.
Billie feels the distance between them and leaves the restaurant quickly after the meal. On the ride home, her father understands that she is in love and offers comfort without forcing her to explain the awkwardness of their encounter.
Late September
Pierre’s Many Hearts
Billie writes in her journal that becoming a woman has not changed much in her daily life. Pierre has not answered her invitation to share slush, and she imagines the honest letter she wishes he would send, admitting that he cannot love her while still acknowledging that she matters.
She thinks of Pierre as containing many different hearts, from the hard one that keeps its distance to the soft one she hopes exists beneath it. The image helps her hold together desire, disappointment, and the uncertainty of whether his attention has ever meant love.
Near the novel’s ending
The Mother’s Letter
Billie finally opens the letter her mother sent from abroad. Dated early August, it says that this is Billie’s first great summer and warns that it may leave a mark on her heart; it also tells her to beware of what shines too brightly.
The letter brings the novel’s two absences together: [Pierre’s emotional distance](entity:state-recall-state-ee0d5deada55) and the mother’s departure. Billie longs for her mother to return, resume familiar domestic gestures, and take an interest in the daughter who is growing up without her.
At the ending
Summer’s Lasting Mark
Billie recognizes that her mother was right: the summer has left a mark on her. She has crossed a threshold through desire and a first sexual experience, but she has not found the uncomplicated romance she imagined, nor has she stopped wanting love.
The novel closes with Billie still longing for her mother’s return and for the comforts of home, while accepting that this summer belongs to her. Its disappointments and brief moments of wonder become part of her emerging sense of herself.
