Just for the Summer

Alex and Sarah ride rides in the amusement park and Maddy offers to push Chelsea’s stroller, which gives Justin and Emma several hours in each other’s company. When Alex and Sarah rejoin the group at closing time, Sarah is in a wretched mood. Emma suggests Justin allow her to bring a friend next time. Justin admits that Emma’s presence throughout the day has helped him immensely and asks if there’s any way she’ll be able to renew her contract and stay in Minnesota longer. Emma says it’s unlikely because she promised Maddy the next two picks when begging her to switch their assignment from Hawaii to Minneapolis. When they hug goodbye, Justin is disappointed that they’ll be unable to see each other for at least another five days.

After leaving Justin, Maddy shares that she believes Justin is in love with Emma and asks when the wedding will be. She’s frustrated when Emma automatically dismisses the idea of a long-term relationship and accuses her of “looking for a reason, any reason, to disqualify him” (209). Maddy calls Emma out on her tendency to use travel nursing as an excuse to never get attached to anywhere or anyone. She believes Justin might be The One for Emma. Emma mentions that Justin asked her to stay and Maddy doesn’t approve of Emma using Maddy as an excuse not to stay.

Maddy drives them to the Great Wolf Lodge where Justin is staying. She purposefully forgot her purse in Chelsea’s stroller so Emma and Justin would have the opportunity to share a private kiss without Maddy and his siblings looking on. Emma and Justin meet outside the waterpark, and he kisses her briefly before leaving her wanting more once again.

In a callback to the Reddit AITA post that initially connected them, Emma texts Justin on the ride home to jokingly call him the asshole. She calls him an excellent kisser. Despite his mom going to prison and taking custody of his siblings, Justin manages to smile himself to sleep.

A week later, during a Med Surg shift with Maddy, Emma obsesses over her kiss with Justin. Emma believes sleeping with Justin will relieve their sexual tension. Amber stops by to bring Neil lunch, which hurts Emma’s feelings because she’s been neglected once again. Instead of asking about Emma, Amber spends their conversation obsessing over why Neil hasn’t told the hospital staff that he’s dating her.

After she leaves, Maddy points out that Amber has only asked Emma and Justin to hang out with her and Neil because “it makes her look bad that she ignores [Emma] so much” and “Neil probably mentions it” (220). Maddy believes Amber only expresses interest in Emma to seem like a good parent to others without actually being one. When Emma becomes upset, Maddy defends her attack on Amber by pointing out that Emma is forgiving to a fault and says she’s sick of seeing Emma continuously hurt by Amber’s actions. The truth in her words makes Emma teary-eyed. Justin brings lunch for both Emma and Maddy, lifting Emma’s mood. After work that evening, Emma and Justin talk on the phone. Justin invites Emma to spend the night, but a storm prevents her from leaving the island.

Justin and Emma’s third date includes the historic Stone Arch Bridge walk, eating pizza, and attending a Music in the Park event. They retrace the steps Justin walked during their first video call and arrive at the bridge where many proposals happen. He receives a call from Leigh who informs him that the kids all have lice. Justin fake-proposes to Emma on the bridge where he asks if she’d like to keep him company delousing his family. She accepts and the surrounding crowd cheers, believing they’ve witnessed a true proposal.

After Justin, Emma, and Leigh ensure they themselves are lice-free, Justin helps Leigh comb through Alex and Chelsea’s hair while Emma brushes Sarah’s. Emma pierces through Sarah’s attitude by relating her childhood in foster care to Sarah’s current reality of coping with an absent mother. Insight into Emma’s childhood gives Sarah a new perspective on her situation and a more positive outlook. With Justin’s permission, Emma cheers Sarah up by dyeing her hair blue and purple.

Justin and Emma finish their date with a backyard campout with pizza and music. When he drops her off at Neil’s mansion, their conversation turns to zombie apocalypses. Emma forces Justin to chase her as if he were a zombie to prove that she’d survive an apocalypse. In the chase, she loses her sandals and phone, which allows Justin to tackle her. Their position leads to intense making out, but when Emma suggests casual sex, Justin’s feelings are hurt. He believes their relationship is more serious than that.

Emma admits she can’t have a serious relationship with Justin because she’s leaving and doesn’t want to raise kids. Their conversation is interrupted by Neil storming out of his mansion with a screaming Amber following behind. She accuses him of cheating and throws his medical award at his vehicle, breaking it and denting the hood. When Neil stalks toward Amber, Emma believes he’s going to hit her, but he pulls Amber into a hug instead. Neil spots Emma and Justin and asks Emma to get her mother into a bath while he drives off to grab her dinner. Left alone in the driveway, Justin retrieves Emma’s phone and answers a call from Maddy, to whom he relays the situation. Maddy soon arrives on the pontoon and Justin asks her if he has any chance with Emma long term. Maddy, who knows Emma best, admits that Emma is incapable of love and will inevitably leave.

Emma knows Neil hasn’t been cheating on Amber because they’ve both been working long shifts at the hospital. Over the next few days, Emma becomes “small” and needs personal space. Justin becomes distant after their argument about their relationship and he and Emma only send obligatory “good morning” and “goodnight” texts. Five days after Amber’s outburst, Neil decides to take her on a getaway to Mexico, and Maddy leaves town for her mothers’ anniversary. Emma gardens but can’t decide where to plan the rosebush; the only place where she knows it’ll be loved and safe is at Justin’s. Emma also receives her DNA results in the mail but doesn’t make her profile public to see any potential family members. Sarah begins sending Emma updates on her and her siblings, and Emma’s heart tightens at the small glimpses of Justin she catches in the pictures. Though the kids are the main reason she can’t date Justin long-term, she finds herself wishing to be with them.

One night, Emma becomes very sick with what she believes is a nasty strain of norovirus. She cycles between vomit and diarrhea and cannot keep any liquids down, nor are there any easily digestible foods or sickness medication at the house. After 36 hours the sickness still hasn’t passed, and Emma becomes very weak. She cries thinking about how she’s alone on this tiny island—both literally and metaphorically. Her mother’s phone goes to voicemail, but Emma manages to accept a call from Justin, who’s become worried by her silence.

Justin becomes extremely worried after his phone call with Emma, as she sounds sick and disoriented. He makes arrangements for the dog and kids in his absence and races to Neil’s. With Neil and Amber on a no-contact trip to Cancun, Justin is unable to call and request keys to the yacht. His only option is to take a unicorn floatie from the pool and paddle across the massive lake. After an hour, he reaches the island and kicks in the front door to find Emma sick and bedridden. Justin calls Benny’s sister—an emergency medicine physician named Briana—who agrees to stop by.

When Emma becomes conscious, Justin is changing the batteries in her smoke alarm, which has been beeping constantly, and Briana and her husband, Jacob, are administering her Zofran and fluids. Emma begins feeling better, so Jacob and Briana leave after instructing Justin to keep her hydrated. Briana warns Emma to be careful around Neil, who dated Briana’s best friend for seven years. She calls him an asshole.

Emma naps, and by the time she wakes, Justin has ordered food and groceries to the house and has fixed Emma tea and soup. The next time she wakes, she feels strong enough to shower and returns to her bedroom to find Justin changing her sheets. She sleeps again and dreams of Justin. When she wakes, she searches the cottage and is disappointed when she can’t find him. She’s relieved to find him sleeping on a bench beneath the window in her bedroom and invites him into bed with her. At this moment, she realizes her heart has opened to him and he’s on her metaphorical island. When he kisses her on the forehead before she falls asleep, she feels like she finally belongs somewhere.

The next morning, Justin makes Emma breakfast. Justin claims he hasn’t been texting her much because he believed she’d need space after what happened with Amber. They both admit to missing each other. Justin isn’t hungry and the reason becomes apparent when he becomes nauseous and runs for the bathroom.

Justin falls ill with norovirus and Emma cares for him. Despite the mutual sickness, Emma admits she’s having fun with Justin. When she implies this is their fourth date, Justin doesn’t like the idea of it being their last. All that remains of their deal is for him to open-mouth kiss her as agreed upon, but they agree not to do so while he’s sick. While holding her through the night, Justin wonders how much longer he can hold back his feelings despite knowing she’ll never stay.