An Unspoken Romance Becomes a Life-Altering Secret

The discovery that Erik had a girlfriend adds a new possibility to his disappearance and ultimately links Tova’s grief to the family she had unknowingly lost.

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A Friend’s Memory

A Detail From the Past Adam’s Recollection Adam remembers Erik planning to bring a girl to a family cabin after his ferry shift. A New Contradiction Tova had believed no girlfriend was involved, and the recollection unsettles her account of that summer.

The Name Daphne

The Clue Becomes Specific Sandy Speaks Up Sandy tells Tova that Adam remembered the girl’s name as Daphne. A Mother’s Search Tova abandons her groceries and returns to the 1989 yearbook to identify the young woman.

Daphne Cassmore Identified

A Name on the Page The Yearbook Index Tova finds Daphne A. Cassmore in the school’s yearbook and recognizes her as the girl Adam described. A Possible Connection The name connects Erik’s lost story with Cameron’s search for a father, though neither yet understands how.

A Shared Date of Birth

The Dates Align A Sudden Calculation Tova connects Cameron’s birth date with Erik’s last summer and Daphne’s possible pregnancy. Hope Restrained by Doubt She considers that Erik could have fathered Cameron but resists believing the extraordinary possibility without proof.

Avery’s Story Reframes the Night

The Boom Recalled A Woman in Crisis Avery tells Tova about helping a distressed woman who described an accident and a boom. A Possible Explanation Tova imagines Erik being struck by a sailboat boom, allowing her to consider accident rather than suicide without claiming certainty.

At Mary Ann’s farewell luncheon

The following week at Shop-Way

That evening, in Tova’s attic

After Cameron tells Tova his mother’s name

Near the ending, during the late-night conversation on the pier