The Five-Star Weekend

Caroline finds Brooke in the kitchen, still dressed from the previous evening. She leads her to the basement for an interview. Brooke tells Caroline she met Hollis while the women were pregnant, and Brooke could tell she and Hollis would be close friends from the amount of delicious food her mother brought over after Brooke’s twins’ birth. Brooke considers her children’s fourth- and fifth-grade years the “golden age.” No longer wholly consumed with the needs of babies, toddlers, or little kids, Brooke grew to have a close group of friends, including Hollis and Electra. Electra hosted “rock and roll football” parties every Sunday in autumn (307). Brooke attended for years until one week, Electra abruptly disinvited Brooke, Charlie, and the twins from the gathering.

Brooke felt mortified, but now she realizes her sadness from this moment stemmed from the fact that Brooke had a crush on Electra. Hollis’s choice to attend rock and roll football for the rest of the season hurt Brooke. She expected Hollis to stand up for her. Hollis subtly distanced herself from the group by spring break; she and Brooke took their kids on a trip separate from the rest of the group. Caroline remembers rock and roll football weekends and the spring break trip, but she feels more deeply for Brooke in seeing these memories from Brooke’s perspective.

Caroline and Brooke realize the morning is slipping away quickly. Caroline regrets not having enough time to interview Gigi but can’t imagine Gigi having a story that could rival Brooke’s, Dru-Ann’s, or Tatum’s. 

The five stars sit at the grandest table overlooking the ocean at Galley Beach, an upscale brunch restaurant. Again, their outfits are color-coordinated. While drinking wine, Ethan Falcone (the liquor store owner) and his wife, Terri, observe the group and make silent judgments and assumptions about the women. Hollis orders champagne, and the women toast to Sunday. They admire the beautiful views and ambiance of the restaurant.

Tatum texts Kyle but secretly wishes the weekend would last longer. The group will go sailing after lunch, enjoy a pizza party in the evening, and all depart in the morning. Not as hungry as usual, Brooke orders a light lunch and sips a single glass of champagne. Meanwhile, Gigi drinks her third glass of champagne, feeling jumpy. She cannot believe how close she came to telling Hollis about her affair with Matthew. Gigi feels ready for the weekend to end. Unconcerned with being rude, Dru-Ann watches the final few holes of the golf tournament. She excuses herself to the bathroom, watching Posey’s boyfriend, Phineas, get a difficult birdie.

Just as the women stand to leave Galley Beach, Electra storms in dressed in the same colors as the rest of the group. Caroline films the scene as Electra tells Hollis about Gigi and Matthew’s affair. Hollis calls Electra a “sociopath,” and although Hollis doesn’t believe her accusation, Gigi runs from the restaurant, ducking into a cab before Hollis can catch her. Hollis instructs Brooke, Dru-Ann, and Tatum to go with Caroline to the sailboat while she retrieves Gigi.

The group waits as long as possible for Hollis and Gigi before setting sail without them. Tipsy from brunch, the women enjoy the beautiful views of Nantucket from the sea. Tatum and Dru-Ann talk about their animosity, stemming from Hollis’s bachelorette party and wedding years ago. Responsible for the bachelorette party, Dru-Ann picked costly activities she knew Tatum couldn’t afford. During the wedding, Dru-Ann insulted Tatum’s pearl necklace by telling her it looked cheap. Dru-Ann apologizes genuinely and profusely, and Tatum accepts her apology. Tatum confesses to wanting to keep Hollis all to herself. She now admires Dru-Ann and feels happy for their friendship.

Brooke opens up to the first mate, James, telling him she’s gay. James responds positively, and Brooke appreciates the young man’s openness.

Hollis considers the possibility that Gigi and Matthew had an affair. She recalls Gigi confessing to a recently deceased lover, staring at Matthew’s photos in the library, and Gigi’s questions about Hollis and Matthew’s marriage. She realizes that Electra wouldn’t have lied about Matthew having an affair, but she would jump at the opportunity to hurt Hollis. She now understands that Matthew felt distanced and unaffectionate in their final year because of Gigi.

Hollis arrives home to see Gigi standing out front with her suitcase. Hollis demands Gigi come inside for a conversation.

Hollis leads Gigi to the basement, where Caroline conducts her interviews. Gigi confesses to her affair with Matthew, answering Hollis’s questions about where the couple would meet and in which hotels they stayed. Hollis feels beyond betrayed when learning their rendezvous were luxurious and romantic, even more so than Hollis and Matthew’s dates. Gigi explains how Matthew lied about being married for seven months, long enough for her to fall in love with him. She accepts responsibility for staying in a relationship with Matthew, even when she knew it was wrong.

Angry, Hollis confronts Gigi about her decision to attend the five-star weekend under false pretenses. She articulates feeling betrayed after confiding in Gigi about Matthew’s death. Gigi apologizes, telling Hollis the companionship built between the women is genuine, though in honesty, Gigi admits to grieving Matthew and wanting to feel close to him.

Tatum, Dru-Ann, Brooke, and Caroline disembark from their sailing trip. They begin their journey back to Hollis’s house, feeling distracted by their revelations from the weekend. The two social media influencers stop Dru-Ann and apologize profusely for their judgment error. They tell Dru-Ann to check Twitter.

Gigi reveals that Matthew called her to cancel their Christmas plans on the morning of his death. He told Gigi that Hollis and Caroline were his most important people and wanted to work on repairing his marriage. He told Gigi she deserved someone who would put her first always. Hollis checks Matthew’s official accident report, learning that Matthew was driving home, not to the airport, at the time of the crash. Hollis allows herself to visualize the life she would be living if Matthew hadn’t crashed his car.

The other women return home, and Gigi stands to leave. Hollis stops her, asking her to stay. She knows she cannot overcome Gigi’s transgressions so quickly, but she believes she can show her five-star forgiveness. Hollis and Gigi agree to keep their conversation a secret.

In the privacy of the guest house, Dru-Ann checks Twitter and her personal messages. Videos surface of Phineas winning the Open Golf Championship, Posey at his side. Posey receives harsh backlash and criticism for her presence at the tournament days after withdrawing from her tournament for ambiguous mental health reasons. In an interview, reporters ask Phineas about Posey’s condition, and Phineas reassures the reporters that she is fine. Thousands of messages trend in support of Dru-Ann. Critics believe Posey’s lie harms those who do face mental health challenges.

Dru-Ann receives calls and emails from her employers, all apologizing and reinstating her employment. Dru-Ann considers using the incident to leverage negotiating a better airing spot for her talk show. She opens a message from Nick asking for Dru-Ann’s public relations assistance for Posey. Dru-Ann replies that Posey is fired. Nick inquires if they can rekindle their romantic relationship, and Dru-Ann refuses to give him a straight answer.

After a heart-to-heart with Dru-Ann about her love life, Caroline films Hollis making pizza. Feeling guilty, Gigi must force herself to eat. Because everyone but Hollis compliments Gigi on her glamour and graciousness, she feels even more uncomfortable.

The five stars walk out front to an ice cream truck that Hollis arranged. They walk with their dessert to the beach, where blankets and iced buckets of wine await. Hollis organized a fireworks show for a grand finale to the five-star weekend. Everyone feels sad when the show ends, realizing the five-star weekend is over. They all express profound gratitude for Hollis’s immense effort in planning and executing the weekend. Everyone except Tatum goes to bed. Hollis asks Tatum about her biopsy and explains how Kyle let her secret slip at yesterday’s breakfast. Vulnerable, Tatum cries and confesses to feeling scared. Hollis comforts Tatum, reassuring her that all will be okay and that Hollis will support her. Hollis plans to sell her home in Wellesley and live in Nantucket permanently.

Unable to sleep, Hollis sits at her computer and struggles with writing a post about the five-star weekend. She’s tempted to describe the weekend superficially but doesn’t want to be dishonest. Jack texts Hollis, telling her that although he’s back home off-island, he plans on returning to Nantucket in early October. They make plans to catch up more thoroughly then.

The following morning, Gigi attempts to leave quietly. Hollis catches her, and both women agree they wish they didn’t admire each other so intensely. Dru-Ann and Caroline are next to go. Caroline promises to send them all the edited short film as soon as possible and comments on how much she adores the interviews. Brooke leaves next, after coming out as gay to Hollis on the way out. Hollis expresses contentment in knowing her friend will find happiness. Brooke looks forward to sharing her self-discovery with her children.

Tatum calls the hospital to hear the results of her biopsy. While waiting for her doctor to deliver the news, Tatum’s life flashes before her eyes. She realizes she would never have blown the softball championship game if she could relive her life. She would have sacrificed more work to spend time with Dylan while he was little and wouldn’t have let her friendship with Hollis fade. Realizing she’s not ready to say goodbye, Tatum thinks of her loved ones and Nantucket. The lump in Tatum’s breast is a cyst, Tatum’s doctor reports. Crying, Tatum runs outside to share the good news with Hollis, and they embrace.

The narration briefly returns to the plural first-person voice of the Nantucket locals. Sharon, one of Nantucket’s year-round residents, decides to plan her own five-star weekend.

One year later, Hollis lives permanently on Nantucket after selling her Wellesley home. Caroline graduates from NYU and accepts a job in Los Angeles. Hollis and Jack are slowly dating again and decide to visit Rome. Dru-Ann and Nick, a couple again, join them, as do Tatum and Kyle and Brooke and Trinh, Brooke’s girlfriend. On the return flight, the women hear Gigi’s voice from the cockpit and realize she is piloting their airplane. Although Hollis and Gigi no longer speak, Hollis thinks highly of her and wishes her love and happiness.