Within Arm's Reach

On the night Louis saves Ryan from the fire, Kelly is in her motel room with Vince. Vince suggests that Kelly leave Louis if she is unhappy with him. During their visits in the motel room, they talk about their lives on the condition that they do not talk about the future. Following a kissing session, Kelly and Vince undress and have sex. Kelly feels somewhat guilty about this but wants to believe that her relationship with Vince is right, regardless of her Catholic upbringing. That following morning, Vince cooks omelets. She likes that he cooks for pleasure unlike Louis, who cooks for her to help make her happy. After enjoying the breakfast, she leaves for the house. She decides that she no longer cares about her image and is living for herself now.

When Kelly gets home, she gets a call from Meggy, who informs her that Ryan’s apartment burned down and Louis saved Ryan. She also says that Gracie and Lila were there but not in the apartment. Meggy wants Kelly to make sure everything is fine, which angers her and leads her to say she should not have to do everything. Meggy is offended and says that she has been busy and that she is still more involved than Pat. Kelly then sees Louis’s note that Ryan is okay and being examined at the hospital. Meggy says that Ryan will need to be put in a home, and while Kelly refuses initially, she agrees.

After Meggy accuses Kelly of acting like the perfect daughter, Kelly confronts her about trying to convince Gracie to give up her child, saying it is her grandchild. Meggy then says that Kelly will have to admit that “this family is in crisis” and she has to get involved in the family members’ businesses to fix things (252). Meggy says that she does this with Dina to the point that it angers her, and Kelly says her relationship with her daughters is civil. Meggy sarcastically congratulates her, and Kelly hangs up. Knowing Louis has been more involved in the family than she has lately and saved Ryan despite not caring for him makes her realize he cares and is part of the family. She acknowledges that the family is struggling and, upon seeing outdoor decorations for a birthday party, decides to throw Gracie a baby shower to help bring the family together.

Louis starts examining Noreen Ballen’s house, wanting to help her and her children. During one of the visits to the house, he meets her children. During the visit, he nearly steps on the boy’s pet lizard because he thought it might be a snake. He sees that has overstepped and almost caused harm; he decides he cannot get close to the children anymore. He then goes to the barbershop, realizing he needs a haircut.

There, he talks to Vince about Cynthia, and he soon wonders if Vince has a girlfriend. During the conversation, Louis wonders whether he is good enough for Kelly and whether it would be better for him to leave Kelly. Vince denies having a girlfriend, but as Louis leaves, he hears Vince talking on the phone and knows he does, wondering who it is. He then goes to Ryan’s burned-down apartment building. He reveals that Ryan is now in a psychiatric facility, where Louis is sure he will finally take his medication regularly. He intends to rebuild the apartment and thinks about getting it done. He then watches the recreation center nearby thinking about when Gracie and Lila played sports there. He also sees the children’s summer camp where the children play and do arts and crafts. He waves at the Ortiz children as they leave and then thinks about how if he could, he would go back in time, take his family to church regularly on Sunday, be more hands-on with his daughters, and be more communicative with Kelly.

When he arrives home, he learns that Kelly has arranged for them to have their 31st anniversary dinner on Saturday, a day before Gracie’s baby shower. He now wonders about whether his marriage will end or be revived. Kelly then asks if he will continue to sleep in his den, saying that she does not think it will help him. He tells her he still has nightmares and might kick her. She replies that she will kick him back and continues reading magazines to prepare for the baby shower.

Gracie says that she has been unable to sleep past dawn since her seventh month of pregnancy despite always being a heavy sleeper; to keep her worry from overcoming her, she has had to hold off any worrying thoughts before starting her day. On the morning of her birthing class with Lila as her coach, she makes a cake for her parents’ anniversary. When Lila enters the kitchen, Gracie reveals that Grayson is coming to the baby shower. Lila says she invited Weber as well, making it seem like Catharine was inviting him.

They go to the hospital, where Gracie is to meet Lila by the vending machine. Gracie says that this is the third of three classes, the previous two covering a graphic birth video that disturbs Gracie and a lecture on prenatal nutrition. She gets a bag of Oreos and briefly sees Joel. She considers talking to him but worries about Margaret finding out and does not want Joel involved. During the breathing exercises class, Lila makes a statement that makes Gracie laugh. Then, as they do the breathing, Gracie finds herself struggling, feeling overwhelmed.

After the class, Gracie goes to take the cake and an anniversary card to her parents’ house. She wonders how she will tell Kelly about her upcoming marriage to Grayson, knowing it should relieve the family. To her shock, she sees Kelly embracing and kissing Mayor Carrelli. Gracie spills her water bottle on herself and the floor before choosing to dump the anniversary card and the cake in the kitchen’s trash. She then hurries outside, tripping and beginning to laugh nervously.

Gracie hurries into her car and patrols the neighborhood to save her father from finding out about the affair. He does not appear, and to avoid Mayor Carrelli seeing her as he departs, Gracie returns to her house. There, she considers telling Lila but cannot get herself to. Grayson is waiting for her. She tells him they should get married this week before the baby is born and Grayson agrees. Later, she thinks about the mental images of the birth video and her mother’s affair as she takes a shower, from which she is now emotionally dissociated. As she washes herself, she begins to accept herself fully as she is.

On the day of Gracie’s baby shower, Lila is helping her mother prepare for the party. Lila had done the paperwork at the Registrar’s Office to drop out of medical school and plans to find something she is passionate about that will make money. She finds herself thinking more about Weber. Kelly tells her it is her and Louis’s anniversary, which she already knew and finds interesting, noting that her parents have not been close the past few years. Soon, Catharine, Noreen Ballen, Theresa, Mary, Meggy, and Angel arrive. The family is conversing when Lila sees Gracie arrive with Grayson. Because of the changes in the sisters’ lives, Lila finds herself jealous of Gracie for the first time.

Gracie and Grayson enter the house, and Gracie reveals that Lila will be her birth coach and that she and Grayson are getting married that Thursday. Catharine is unsure about whether Gracie truly loves Grayson, telling her she does not have to marry him. Gracie assures her she does, which Lila believes is a lie. During the family’s conversation about the wedding, Lila hears a car arrive outside and answers the door for Weber. While standing in the doorway, Lila reveals that she invited him to the party and says that she dropped out of medical school for him. He is unsure about her decision having to do with him and says he is not sure if they are meant to be together anymore because of how genuinely angry she was at Dairy Queen. Lila says that she was being a “bitch” and that she is starting to believe that he was right about the two of them. They enter the house, and Lila starts to have hope that her family will help her and Weber reconnect.

Not feeling comfortable around the McLaughlin family as an outsider and wanting them to have privacy, Noreen Ballen leaves quietly. She gets her daughter Jessie ready for a sleepover at her friend’s house. She regrets having to have the babysitter Betty take care of them on a Saturday. She has been trying to be less overprotective and give her children more space and autonomy since she has been caring for Catharine. She admits that she has been trying to hold onto her children a bit too much since Eddie’s death. She also reveals she had been thinking about getting back in touch with her siblings.

They then drive to the Learys’ house so Betty take Jessie to her friend’s house and then pick up Noreen after the baby shower. Before Noreen gets out, Eddie Jr. and Jessie recognize Louis as the man who almost stepped on Eddie’s pet lizard. The children kiss her goodbye and Betty drives away. There, Louis admits that he is the one who has been making repairs to the house and simply wanted to help her and the children for Eddie. Noreen is secretly disappointed that it was not her late husband helping her and tells him that she does not need his help. She asks him if he is in love with her and he says he is not, still loving Kelly.

Noreen then has Louis promise that he will not go to the house or go near her children without her present and he agrees. He walks back inside. Noreen starts to think that Catharine might have been sent to free her but notes, remembering her childhood, that the lack of freedom she had when she was tied to the tree with her siblings also brought security. Shortly after, Meggy comes outside and tells Noreen that the family needs her help. She worries that Catharine might be in trouble and quickly runs inside.

Catharine sees Lila return to the room with Weber, whom she likes, and sees that neither they nor the rest of the family appear happy. She herself finds one of the games Kelly arranged ridiculous and the ghost of her mother appears again, agreeing with her. Catharine is not happy that her mother is there, blaming her for television is coming on and wishing for her father’s calm presence instead. Lila introduces Weber as her boyfriend, which pleasantly surprises Catharine. When Kelly mentions that she saw him “outside the barbershop” (303), Gracie confronts her about why she was there. Kelly becomes visibly uneasy, but the rest of the family—including Catharine—cannot figure out why.

Kelly tries to change the subject, and Catharine tries to make polite conversation as her mother’s ghost interestedly looks at Catharine’s children. As Kelly argues with Meggy and tries to get Catharine to participate in the game, Gracie tells her Catharine does not have to if she does not want to.

As Gracie and Kelly continue their confrontation, Catharine hopes that having more babies in the family will unite the family. Kelly discreetly tells Gracie that she was ending her relationship with Mayor Carrelli, becoming upset, and Gracie tells her not to cry. The family does not react to them and appear to remain oblivious. When Angel asks Gracie about the baby’s sex, Gracie says she believes the child will be a girl, as she saw an apparition of her before. This delights Catharine, as she is starting to notice her children having visions like Patrick did.

She keeps becoming dazed, focusing on Patrick’s and the children’s ghosts. When she regains focus, Gracie starts opening her first present from Catharine. During this, Catharine notices that Noreen is gone and her mother confronts her about setting too high of expectations for her children and not supporting them more emotionally. She also confronts Catharine for not being present with her living family.

Catharine realizes her mother is right and decides to focus on the moment. The first gift is a picture of her and Lila as children, which the two of them and Kelly remember fondly. Catharine also notices the family getting visibly closer. Gracie then opens the second gift, which is a beautiful, soft baby blanket that Gracie loves. Gracie then begins sobbing uncontrollably. This makes the whole family uncomfortable, including Catharine, who then realizes that she should have allowed herself to cry this freely when she lost her children. When Angel and Lila ask her what is wrong, Gracie replies that she thinks the baby is coming. As she goes into labor, Lila starts coaching her and the family rushes to help, with Weber making a call on his radio. Noreen enters the room and helps Gracie after Catharine informs her of her labor. She then sees the ghosts of her deceased family around her living family and marvels at this present moment that has brought her family together.