This One Summer

Rose’s father Evan returns to the cottage, but he and Alice are not speaking. Evan suggests a bonfire, so Rose and Windy go with him to search for sticks. The panels crosscut through a series of illustrations of the girls inspecting various sticks in the forest, as Evan instructs them on what to look for. Afterward, Alice asks the girls to go to Brewster’s for marshmallows, and outside the store, teenagers are gathered for a party. Rose and Windy wade through them and get what they need, but before they head back, Jenny and her friend pull up with a “SCREEEEEECH” (271) and confront Duncan. Both girls look livid; Jenny starts insulting Duncan, and her friend defends her. Duncan tries to laugh it off, and Rose and Windy leave in awkward silence.

A sequence shows a match being lit and flames blazing from a log pile. Rose and Windy’s families sit around the fire and are small against a wide beach and vibrant night sky. Windy’s mother Evelyn stands up to admire the stars, and Evan tries to joke with Rose, but she cannot muster a smile. Alice stares blankly into the fire as it lights up her glasses, and Evelyn suggests that Windy play some music on the instrument her grandmother gave her.