Through the winter of 1967, Chase visits Kya most weekends. Buoyed by his talk of saving for “their house,” Kya plans a special birthday supper with her first caramel cake, and boats to town for ingredients, imagining a rare, candlelit moment at her table.

On the dock she sees Chase with friends, his arm around a slim blonde. He hurriedly drops his arm and introduces Kya to the group. They greet her coolly and drift away, and Chase, fingering the shell necklace she gave him, reiterates he’ll visit Sunday. In the Piggly Wiggly, Kya encounters the truant officer, Mrs. Culpepper; they exchange a tense, wordless acknowledgment as Kya steadies herself and buys supplies and a newspaper.

Back home, Kya skims an article about a new marine lab, then turns the page to an engagement announcement: Chase Andrews and Pearl Stone, complete with their smiling photo. The revelation collapses her hopes; sobs and shock overtake her as she recognizes the blonde from the dock.

Hearing Chase’s motor approach, Kya slips into the woods and hides while he calls for her and searches, likely having seen the announcement on her table. She waits silent until he leaves.

Afterward, Kya feeds her gulls on the beach and curses into the wind, her grief and fury confirming the betrayal and a decisive break with Chase.