When Ellen is eleven and her sister Lizzie is about to turn eight, they spend the summer at their family's cabin in Maine with their parents and their family friends, Mr. DeCuervo and his daughter Gisela. The two families spend the summer dancing, eating blueberry pancakes, and swimming in the lake. One night, Ellen gets out of bed to get a glass of water and sees her mother hugging Mr. DeCuervo intimately, her hands under his shirt. Her mother dismisses it quickly, and Ellen returns to her bed, uncertain about what exactly she has seen. A similar incident then occurs a little while later, when Ellen awakes at night with stomach cramps and goes into her parents' bedroom, only to see her mother, father, and Mr. DeCuervo all asleep in bed together. Years later, when Ellen is in law school, her mother passes away. After the funeral, Ellen is sitting with Lizzie, who brings up their mother and Mr. DeCuervo's relationship. Before she passed, Lizzie asked her mother about their closeness, and her mother explained that she loved her husband and Mr. DeCuervo equally but in different ways, just as she did her daughters. Her mother hinted that it may be a polyamorous relationship, where all three adults love and care for each other. Ellen then tells Lizzie for the first time about the encounters she walked in on at the cabin. Soon, Mr. DeCuervo and other mourners gather at their house to offer their condolences. Ellen's father and Mr. DeCuervo both reminisce about her mother, remembering and commenting on which features have been passed down to her daughters. Ellen then reflects on her current relationship with her fiancé, a man named John. When Ellen thinks about how she will explain the events and revelations of the day to John, she realizes he will never understand her mother's perspective. Ellen calls John and ends the engagement, and her father and Mr. DeCuervo comfort her, Ellen more aware than ever of their shared inside jokes and subtle smirks at each other.