The Americans Get Philip's Help For A (Chicago) Bear Of An Assignment

After another package of solely Season 6 previouslies, Stan's opening his front door to a downcast Philip, who's on his way to the airport now: Elizabeth's still having issues with that client who made her miss Thanksgiving, so Philip's going to join her to try to help her salvage things. Stan is dismayed. Philip looks over Stan's shoulder toward Henry, in the living room, regretfully noting that Henry came all this way to spend the holiday with his parents and now neither of them is going to be there. Stan softly says Henry will understand. Philip doesn't know. Stan kindly assures Philip that they have enough Thanksgiving leftovers to keep them all fed for a few days, and Philip thanks him, saying that'll be better for Henry than frozen pizza. (Not to say Stan isn't perfectly able and sufficiently gracious to keep an eye on Henry when Philip takes off, but Henry does have an adult sister who could also come stay in her old room for the duration, but this fact is never raised; it feels weird to me that they don't even give Philip a line explaining why she can't.)

Philip takes a deep breath and heads into the living room to give Henry the bad news. Henry is surprised, and disappointed to hear that both his parents will be gone until after he leaves. Henry is, of course, a big boy, and takes it well (not adding that he's about to be back again in less than a month for Christmas, because Thanksgiving is dumb and should absolutely happen in early October LIKE WE MORE SENSIBLY DO IN CANADA), telling Philip to have a good trip and hoping everything works out. His greater concern at the moment seems to be that Stan not miss whatever show they're about to watch together on TV, because it's the past and he can't pause it, and Philip seems to feel like even more of a shitheel given how supportive Henry's acting...though Henry also doesn't look at Philip as he leaves, and the only physical show of affection is Philip's pat on Henry's shoulder, which Henry doesn't acknowledge. For real, am I just from an extremely huggy family? Because these fuckers really seem bad at it.

When Philip heads out, Stan puts on his coat and follows so that he can hesitantly ask, "Is something...going on?" Philip asks what he means. "Look, I can tell something's wrong, okay?" says Stan. "I'm good with these things." Philip doesn't know what "things" he's referring to. "Knowing when somebody's not telling me something," Stan explains. Philip blinks. "I'm your friend," Stan reminds him. "We're like best friends, okay? Something's up with you." Philip swallows hard, nods, and admits, "I'm worried about this work thing." "Okay," says Stan, "but it feels like more than that." Philip helplessly shakes his head. "You know," Stan tells him, "I used to ask myself, 'Why is this guy, his wife, coming home at 3, 4 in the morning? How hard can they possibly work?'"

Philip looks like he thinks Stan is about to expose the huge lie at the centre of his life and is already elated at what a relief it's going to be when he does. "'What's driving them?'" Stan goes on. "Even now, I see you, and I wonder, What is going on with him? I see your stress level, I just-- I say this to you as a friend, okay? Are you involved with something? ...'Cause if something's going on, you can trust me."

Looking ashamed at how little he's done to earn this kindness from Stan, Philip takes a beat, and then says the truest thing he can: "I've been wanting to tell you. The business is falling apart, and I think it might be going under." Stan rears back at this announcement, though he also looks like he doesn't believe it's the whole story. "I'm so sorry," he tells Philip. "I should've told you," Philip shrugs. "It's terrible. And I'm embarrassed." "Is Elizabeth going nuts?" Stan asks. Philip says she is, kind of, but that she's keeping it together. "You should've told me," Stan says sadly. Philip nods. "I'm there for you!" Stan insists. "I know," says Philip. "Thank you for-- for everything." "Of course," says Stan. "I'm here. Anytime." Philip steps forward and puts his arms around Stan, who's surprised -- MAYBE BECAUSE HE DIDN'T EVEN SEE PHILIP DO THIS WITH HIS OWN SON JUST NOW -- but reciprocates, and for a long moment they just hold each other, before conditioning kicks in and they end it with broful back pats. Philip departs, and Stan watches him go...

...thinking.

And then we're in Chicago. A taxi pulls up to a curb; a blond-wigged Philip gets out and walks into the Edison Park Hotel, heading up to meet Elizabeth in her room. "You look surprised," he murmurs. "I wasn't sure you'd really come," she admits. There's a long silence, understandable given how nasty she was to him in their last face-to-face interaction, which she finally breaks by asking about his flight, which he says was fine. "You didn't-- You didn't have to come," she reminds him, but she hasn't even finished the sentence before he's telling her it's fine. She nods. As he glances at the maps on the bed, she asks, "You staying?" He gives her a long look and, by way of answer, sets his bag on the bed. Smiling faintly with relief, she suggests that they get something to eat.

After silently consuming some p dece-looking fries, they return to the room where, as he comes out of the shower, Philip tells her Stan was giving him a hard time, which: not what I saw, nor how I think Philip really took it, but I get why he'd characterize it that way for her. "'Something's wrong, you're not telling me something,'" he summarizes. She asks what Philip told him, and he says that he was worried about the business, and that it worked, not adding that he was able to sell it because it is actually true, as she seems to keep willfully forgetting, and/or ignoring when he talks about it. He flicks off the lamp and they lie side by side for a while with their eyes open, Elizabeth finally reaching over to rest her hand chastely on his arm.

The next day, Philip and Elizabeth walk the route for the Harvest operation as she notes specific places that will be pivotal for their plan, but we still don't get a sense of exactly what's going to happen. Philip's concerned that the streets are going to be "tight": they'll only have thirty seconds to extract Harvest what with all the agents that have been on him. Elizabeth knows there's very little margin for error, but she's been over it every possible way, and feels better about it having Philip there.

And then Stan's in the car, saying he wishes he could drive Henry to school himself. It sounds like Henry's getting a lift back with some kid named Brandon Gardner, whose dad is in finance and drives a Mercedes; Mr. Gardner isn't the one driving them, though; it'll be Brandon's mom, Mrs. Gardner, in her Cadillac. Henry mildly roasts her for doing nothing, when she doesn't have Brandon home to drive around, except observe the dietary theory of food combining (see: 1985's Fit For Life). He then confesses, "Must be nice, though...having your mom at your beck and call." Stan indirectly defends Elizabeth, saying it would probably get old after a while, to which Henry scoffs, "I wouldn't know." "Work has a way of getting in the way, Henry," says Stan loyally. "Yeah, but does Renee ever miss Thanksgiving because she had to work?" asks Henry rhetorically. "Well, your dad was there!" Stan says brightly, though it's pretty clear he agrees with Henry that it was a bit much. Henry allows that Philip makes an effort, but reminds Stan that he took off in the middle of Henry's school break and pawned Henry off on Stan. "Don't be too hard on your folks, Henry," says Stan kindly. "They try. They're not out there food combining." Henry says he thinks Philip's just stressed about work, and each finds out the other knows about the travel agency's problems. "Seems like whatever came up must've come up out of the blue," notes Stan, and Henry nods. "Must be pretty important," Stan adds. "Always is," snorts Henry. "This kind of thing happen a lot?" asks Stan, getting a little too musical in his intonation so we can tell he's trying hard to be casual. Henry says that business comes first: "You know, when they get a call in the middle of the night, they run off to work. You'd think they're brain surgeons." Stan asks if they ever had the kids stay with family, and Henry says it was usually just him and Paige, because they don't have much family. Stan asks about Elizabeth's aunt, remembering the time years ago (in Season 1) when Stan had been working crazy hours for a while on a big case, and that when it was over, Elizabeth was away looking after her. Henry can't believe Stan remembers Aunt Helen, and says he never met her, though he thinks Paige might have. Henry's Final Thought is that "it's important to take care of your family when the chips are down," though I can't tell if he means Philip and Elizabeth were working hard to take care of their family, or that, when the chips are down, they aren't around to take care of their family. "Can't argue with that," says Stan neutrally. But he looks disturbed!

Back in the hotel room that night, as Elizabeth de-wigs, Philip comments, "I don't have that feeling anymore. Pulling things off." "Don't be ridiculous," says Elizabeth, Elizabethly refusing to hear what he's telling her. "I'm serious," he warns her. Elizabeth looks away, and then announces: "I was called to Mexico, beginning of October. They gave me an assignment, and this." She pulls the pendant out of her sweatshirt and opens the locket to show him the suicide pill, telling him, "I can't be arrested." "What was so important?" he asks. "They told me not to tell you," she replies. He asks why. "You quit," she says simply. "You'd understand if you knew." "Well, then, tell me," he says, getting heated. "I can't," she replies. "It's about protecting us." "It's always about protecting us," he says tightly. "No, this is bigger than that," she says mysteriously. "The guy we're here for, he's working on it too. That's why they sent me." Philip sighs. On the outside again. Will The Cucking Of Philip Jennings never end?! He sits next to her on the bed and holds out his hand, demanding, "Give it to me." "What would you do with it?" she asks, a little flirty. "Flush it down the toilet," he tells her. "No," says Elizabeth. "Then why did you tell me you had it?" he asks. "You're always asking me to tell you things," she says. "So I told you." He actually looks a little moved that, in her own stunted way, she's trying. Man, the things Esther Perel could do if she could get an hour with these two.

And then it's time to harvest Harvest. (This is honestly a sequence that must be seen to be appreciated, but I'll give you the broad strokes.) We start with Philip and Norm heading to a fence where a bunch of day laborers are waiting for possible work: Philip says he needs five, and Norm lets them into the back of their truck.

Elizabeth, smoking, watches a lot where a bunch of mini-buses are parked; presently, she makes her way purposefully toward them.

We get our first glimpse of Harvest in his blue hatchback, driving to work, his face betraying no sign that he knows he's being surveilled as he listens to the news on the radio and, I'll just say it, looks like a snack.

We also hear the walkie-talkie communications between the FBI agents taking turns tailing him.

Elizabeth smokes some more, now leaning against the parked bus she liberated; Philip waits behind the wheel, one of the day laborers in the front seat nearest the door.

Marilyn waits at a bus stop and crackles her walkie.

At Marilyn's signal, Elizabeth gets into the bus.

Elsewhere, Elizabeth's other guy, Hank, pulls away from the curb in a delivery van.

So the way they buy the thirty seconds they require is that Norm and the other four day laborers impede traffic on a narrow block, unloading lumber from the truck. Hank stays directly behind Harvest, obscuring Agent James's view of what's happening, which he notes on the walkie, not seeming concerned. Philip pulls the bus up beside Harvest's car and, when traffic has come to a complete standstill...

...Elizabeth jumps out and leans in to yell at his driver's side window, "Mother's expecting you." (Since you can kind of see it here, I guess I'll mention that since Elizabeth arrived in Chicago in the last episode, she's had this mark on her left cheekbone. If it's a bruise, we never saw how she got it, and if it's a blemish, Keri Russell's makeup artist is being VERY passive-aggressive.) Harvest gets it, getting out of the car and climbing onto the bus; the laborer then gets behind the wheel of Harvest's hatchback. Norm ceases his obstruction. James walkies that they're moving. When Hank rolls up, Norm gets into the van with him. James walkies that he has a partial visual on Harvest, the other agent tells him to roll up beside him...

...and after he does a double-take at the identity of the driver, shit starts getting serious. James blocks the hatchback and gets out of his car, identifying himself to the driver with his gun drawn and, on the walkie, describing all the vehicles that were on the block -- both suspect and not -- and where they went.

Philip parks the bus on a residential street, and all three passengers get out and into the back of Marilyn's waiting van. She peels out, but a sedan stops and blocks the way and two agents get out, gesturing for her to stop. Instead, she floors it; one of the agents identifies himself and pulls his gun, and when she shows no signs of stopping, he shoots at the van, hitting her in the head through the windshield and apparently killing her instantly. Elizabeth takes over driving while Harvest shoots at the agents over her shoulder -- and then, when she's passed, out the shattered back window; both agents seem dead by the time the Soviets have gone. Philip is leaning over Marilyn's corpse as Harvest, behind him, barks directions at Elizabeth; at the sound of his labored speech, Philip looks back and sees that Harvest has been shot in the gut. Philip covers the wound with his hands, but gives a brief shake of his head to indicate that this does not look so good for old Harvest. However, Harvest is prepared with a couple of messages for Philip to deliver: in Russian, he says Philip should tell his mother, "I love you. I'm sorry I left like that. I thought of you every day. I never forgot what you did for me. Don't be sad. I had a good life. An interesting life. I did what I wanted." When he's done, he checks, in English: "Remember?" "I will," says Philip firmly. But wait, there's more! He says the sensor schematics are in France, at an air base in Cazaux. He's also got some things he'd like his father to know, back to Russian: "You son of a bitch, I'm glad I never saw you again. I hope you die the miserable death you deserve." Having finished dictating, he asks Philip in Russian, "You won't forget?" Also in Russian, Philip replies, "Not a word." Elizabeth yells back for updated directions, and Harvest tells her to keep going. Philip turns around to see where they're going, and when he looks back at Harvest again, his locket is open, and he's gurgling as he chews and swallows his pill. His face strains and goes red, and Philip, realizing that he no longer needs to put pressure on Harvest's wound, withdraws his hands. In less than thirty seconds, Harvest is dead, and Philip is disturbed as he turns back around and looks into Elizabeth's eyes, frantic, in the rearview mirror.

Sometime later, the van rolls into a parking structure. Elizabeth leaps out with a slim jim and breaks into a parked sedan. Philip is dragging Marilyn's corpse -- looking rather undignified, her wig having come loose -- toward it when he notices a fire axe in a glass case on the wall, and instantaneously hatches a...pretty gory plan. As Elizabeth tries to hotwire the car, Philip gently lowers Marilyn to the ground and smashes the glass to retrieve the axe; Elizabeth is startled to see what he's doing, but quickly figures it out, and they exchange a terrified look before Philip takes the axe. Again: this is a sequence that must be seen, but yes, of course, as we all knew he would, Philip uses the axe to chop off Marilyn's hands, Elizabeth assisting by pulling her cuffs out of the way. And yes, we do see it.

Well, the first one, anyway. Elizabeth then positions Marilyn's head such that she's doing Tyra proud by showing Philip as much neck as possible -- her eyes are still open, which...not that it would be great if they weren't, but it would at least be slightly less awful -- and he brings down the axe. But, you know, this isn't exactly a tool meant for precision work -- not to mention it was probably a lot sharper before he used it to cut two hands off -- and it gets gruesomely stuck partway through Marilyn's neck. Philip has to grunt to try to pull the axe free, which of course is when they hear a door open and a woman cross to her car. Elizabeth keeps her hand on her gun, but the woman takes off, blessedly oblivious to the grisly scene and her supporting role in it. When she's gone, Philip does manage to get the axe out, and takes a moment to look at what he's half-done. Elizabeth is wild-eyed watching him, but knows better than to urge him on when, clearly, he knows he can't change his mind now, and two chops later, we hear the sound of axe striking pavement, and the late Marilyn is fully decapitated. And with the desecration of Marilyn's corpse complete, that's a series wrap on Amy Tribbey. (Seriously though, when you get cast on a show like this, you secretly have to hope you get an exit this memorable, right?)

Philip then retrieves a bag from the van, and he and Elizabeth quickly change clothes. Philip has Harvest's necklace, the locket still open, in his pants pocket, and makes sure Elizabeth sees as he pointedly drops it on top of their discarded garments. But there's no time to discuss it: Elizabeth uses the shirt she was wearing to wrap up Marilyn's head and squeeze it into the bag, then unceremoniously picking up both hands (first dropping one on top of the other, in a grotesque parody of an elegant woman in demure repose) and shoving them wherever they'll fit. The bag goes in the trunk; Elizabeth goes in the back seat; and Philip starts the car and backs out, at least managing not to commit further insult to Marilyn's corpse by driving over it in the process.

And then we're out in the CI bullpen, Agent Loeb catching Stan up on the case, when Aderholt comes storming past them without a word and straight into his office, slamming the door. After a moment, Stan decorously approaches and lets himself in to see what's up; Aderholt just slams the folder he's holding onto his desk and motions for Stan to look. As we barely see the crime scene photos over Stan's shoulder, Aderholt narrates: "Our guys, from the team on Harvest. Harvest in the van. And who the hell knows without the head and hands?" Stan twitches. "You were right," says Aderholt. "All of it." "Aw, give yourself a break," says Stan awkwardly. "I don't need it," says Aderholt. "You said everything we do turns to shit. And now we've got two of our guys dead? And no Illegal." Stan twitches again, and bright-sides, "Maybe the leads pan out." Aderholt squeezes his eyes shut, opening them to repeat, "I don't need it."

Patti Smith's ponderous "Broken Flag" starts playing as we make with the montage. Still costumed, Philip drives the stolen car through dark Chicago streets.

Aderholt enters the Vault to try to rally the troops -- and he's actually got a lot to tell them, starting with a description, from the laborer who'd driven the car, of the two guys who hired him. "Then on the bus," he continues, "it was the white guy, and a white lady."

Hey! Stan knows a white guy and a white lady! "When are we getting sketches?" he asks. Aderholt tells him they're coming. Stan clenches his jaw.

Philip drives to a utilitarian waterfront. Elizabeth gives him a quick look before going to the trunk and retrieving the bag. Philip watches her in the headlights as she fills the bag with stones, zips it closed again, and hurls it into the water.

Philip is more broken than the flag.

Stan pulls into his driveway and parks, but before he goes inside, he looks thoughtfully across the street at the Jennings house, entirely dark. He seems drawn by an irresistible force as he slowly walks toward the house.

After knocking and satisfying himself that no one is there, he walks around back. He sees the flowerpot full of butts, and notes the lipstick on one of the latest. He tries the back door and, finding it locked, pulls out some tools and picks it.

Stan moves through the empty house at a cautious pace, not seeming sure exactly what he's looking for. He stops to look at some family photos on the wall, and we hear my poor, beloved crabcake William as Stan remembers what he said on his deathbed: "Couple kids. American dream. Never suspect them. She's pretty. He's lucky." William, I miss you still.

Stan paws through drawers in Elizabeth's dresser. He sees Paige's bed, unmade, and notes the cross necklace that didn't make it to her college-girl apartment. Hilariously, when he gets to Henry's room he just opens the door and stands there a second before turning back around like, "...Nah."

But THEN! We see him enter The Secret Basement Of Spycraft!!! He opens the dryer and looks for anything amiss. He unscrews a lightbulb and looks inside the fixture. He GETS TO THE SECRET FUSEBOX OF EXTREME CONCEALMENT, but whatever they did to rig it, it's clever enough to keep Stan from getting into it.

Stan ends up in the garage, and even inside the car. But all his investigation has apparently turned up no evidence.

On their flight back, Elizabeth and Philip are disguised as the handsome grey-haired retirees we may reasonably surmise they will never get to be -- which is a shame, because these looks really suit them both. Philip is gazing out the window while, next to him, Elizabeth uses a felt pen to draw it on her napkin. After a moment, he notices what she's doing. She can feel his gaze and explains: "Someone's making me learn." Philip looks from her face to the drawing and back again, but for now, at least, this isn't one of the things he tries to get her to tell him about.

Out of costume, Elizabeth and Philip return home. Philip goes straight for the phone to call Henry. We only hear his half of the conversation as Philip apologizes again for not being able to drive him, and tries to respond to something Henry says about the trip, but it sounds like Henry's hustling him off the phone, and Philip allows himself to be hustled and hangs up. "I've got work," says Elizabeth. For just a second, Philip looks stunned, but then seems too exhausted to fight her on it, and instead just asks when she'll be back. "Tomorrow night, if I'm lucky," she says. "Next week's the summit." Philip shakes his head, but doesn't say anything. Elizabeth closes the space between them, and reaches out a hand to hold his face, letting it slide down to his chest before she has to turn back around and leave again.

And where Elizabeth has to work is the Haskards', which is going to be pretty busy now that Colleen's going to start mysteriously flaking on her shifts and ignoring her phone. Erica is audibly suffering as she works. "That's so good," says Elizabeth, meaning it. "Show me yours," orders Erica between groans. Elizabeth goes to the dresser and brings her sketchbook, the napkin from the plane on top. "What am I looking at?" Erica grunts. Poor Elizabeth, hurt, starts to make excuses, but Erica tells her it's not a trick question. "Just a window and some clouds," says Elizabeth, claiming she copied a picture in a magazine.

It's honestly not bad, you guys. (I would love to find out that Alyssa Monks is drawing all of "Stephanie"'s work, too. Maybe with her non-dominant hand.) Erica agrees with me: "The proportions are good, and the shadows are--" She gasps and resumes: "But why did you draw this?" Elizabeth doesn't know; it was just something that she saw. Erica accepts that, but answers, "You don't know what you see, unt-- You need to bring yourself into it. You don't, what is the point? But if you do, you do, there's a moment when it's not you seeing it, it's-- I don't know, it's-- Something come-- Something comes through." As Erica struggles through the lesson, Elizabeth looks around the room at Erica's work, ending with a long look at that Olympia Dukakis portrait (I know, it's not) from a few episodes ago. "You need to bring all yourself to it, and then that lets you get out-- get out of your own way." Elizabeth nods, thoughtful. Erica mocks herself: "Or it doesn't. You-- I know, you have no idea what I'm talking about." She leans back into the pillows and then starts at a pain. Elizabeth closes her sketchbook and, checking her watch, gets up to prepare a dose of morphine, but Erica protests that she doesn't want it. "It's been three hours," says Elizabeth. Erica says she needs to focus. Elizabeth tries again, bringing it over, but Erica barks, "Shut up, I need to work!" Elizabeth backs down and empties the syringe back into the bottle. Erica sketches and smudges.

Stan lets himself into the Vault with a box. Seeing Aderholt pinching his nose by a cork board, he offers coffee, and Aderholt seems to wake out of a daze, noticing the body he's still inhabiting and commenting that he should start bringing a change of clothes. Stan grins that it might worry Janine if he did, which Aderholt calls a good point. He asks about the box, and Stan explains: "Six years ago, we had a team on a woman in Philly. Wife of an Illegal that got killed. She disappeared right from under us." Take us all the way back to S01.E03 and make us Google this shit, why don't you??? (At least, I think that's what he's talking about.) "All right," says Aderholt. Stan may proceed.

Philip is moping around in his office when he sees Elizabeth walk in the front door. She comes into Philip's office and closes the door behind her. He thought she was working, he says. She tells him she is; she just wanted to check on him: "In the garage, your face, I just--" He nods. She perches on the edge of the desk and tells him she's going over to Paige's later. He asks if Paige was close with Marilyn, and Elizabeth shakes her head, adding, "Still." Elizabeth, who really has a blind and deaf spot about everything to do with the travel agency, asks where Stavos is, and Philip tells her he fired him -- and Steve and Lacey, so I guess that did happen offscreen. Sorry for your imminently shitty yuletide, guys.

Elizabeth takes Paige for a walk outside her building, where instead of volunteering information, she answers Paige's questions: they didn't get the guy out; he died; Marilyn got shot. (What happened to her afterward, obviously, is not information Paige needs to know.) Paige asks about Philip, and Elizabeth says he's okay. "I thought you said this doesn't happen a lot," says Paige, stupidly, and Elizabeth says it doesn't, but that it can, and it does. Paige is like, "What?," so Elizabeth has to go real slow: "You're going to have to make a decision, Paige, to commit to this work or to get out, because sometimes this is what we have to do. And it's not easy, and it doesn't always end well. And it's a commitment you have to make for life." Paige says she understands, and Elizabeth presses, "Do you?" Paige knows there's risk, and that what Elizabeth does is dangerous. "But are you willing to give up friends and relationships and your life, if you have to? Because that's what's being asked of you." "I don't really have any friends," says Paige, which is...either what happens when you go full church nerd or the result when you quit? "I see these kids at school," Paige continues. "They think they're so political. But they don't understand how this whole system is designed to keep them down. To keep us at each other's throats. It's like what you and Claudia say." "They're blind to it," Elizabeth agrees. "And I'm not afraid to die," says Paige. "I know that's easy to say? But that's not what I'm afraid of." Elizabeth asks what she is afraid of, and Paige says, "Being alone? But I tell myself someday I'll meet someone, like you and Dad." "Well, I hope that you will," says Elizabeth guardedly, perhaps making a mental note to see what Tuan's up to these days. "But you know, your father-- He made a mistake when he committed to this life. He was young. Younger than you. If you do this, it has to be forever. That's the kind of work it is." Paige nods. "Paige," says Elizabeth firmly, "it's okay if this isn't what you want." "This is what I want, Mom," she insists. "What I've always wanted. To make a difference." Elizabeth assesses her for a few beats, and declares, "Then it's time for you to apply for an internship at the State Department." Paige nods, looking excited, and turns around to head back to her building. Elizabeth watches her go, realizing she will definitely need to get Paige some decent pants first.

Meanwhile, Philip sits at home, on the couch, hands clasped and face despondent. For a show that rarely does flashbacks, it's kind of a shock to get a second in a single episode: this one, to Philip and Elizabeth's secret for-real wedding last season as if that didn't already eat up enough screen time then. In his memory, Philip and Elizabeth have the rings placed on their fingers and smile shyly at each other. And in the present, Philip blinks at the thought of how many of his life's worst moments happened after, and because, he met her.

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