Bye, Baby

Billie and Alex arrive at Cassie’s dinner party. Cassie and Grant live in a penthouse apartment in Gramercy worth $7 million. Several other couples are there, including Cassie’s friends Ava and Blake, who also have rich husbands and small babies. Billie glimpses a Hispanic woman in the kitchen, and Cassie reveals that Lourdes is her housekeeper and nanny. Billie reflects that Cassie has never mentioned Lourdes in her Instagram posts. When Billie observes that she has only seen Ella once, Cassie takes her into the nursery where Ella is sleeping. Cassie assures Billie she is sure to have a baby of her own someday, and Billie is forced to repeat that she does not want to be a mother.

Billie and Alex feel uncomfortable during the meal, having little to contribute to the discussions. Ava praises Lourdes’s food, criticizing the culinary abilities of her own nanny. When McKay reveals she and her family have arranged a Christmas card photo shoot in Central Park, the conversation turns to the importance of coordinating outfits in family photographs. When Blake asks Billie if she was a bridesmaid at Cassie’s wedding, McKay reminds her that she was the only maid of honor. Billie recalls how, when they were in their mid-twenties, Cassie asked her to be her maid of honor once she found the right man. Alex suggests they should leave when the conversation turns to babies and breastfeeding. Afterward, he expresses puzzlement about Billie’s friendship with Cassie, pointing out that Cassie seems to be a snob. Billie agrees but insists that she used to be like “family.”

Cassie travels with Grant and Ella to visit her parents on their anniversary. While Grant drives, Cassie posts a shot of the Hudson River as they enter Red Hook, inviting her followers to ask her anything. The questions she receives are primarily personal. Annoyed by her constant phone usage, Grant points out that most of her social media content is irrelevant to her business.

Cassie is ashamed of her parents’ shabby middle-class home with its nineties décor. She cannot understand why her parents seem content in Red Hook after living in Greenwich. During dinner, Grant refers to Cassie’s business as “fun,” observing that most new mothers give up work altogether. Mara, a single mother, criticizes Grant’s condescending attitude toward his wife’s business, but Cassie defends him. Surprised to learn that Cassie and Billie are no longer close friends, Mara suggests that Billie is one of the few people who truly knows and loves her sister.

Cassie is relieved to leave Red Hook. On the journey back, she sees a message from the account birchballer6 in response to her photograph of the river. Although she had not revealed her location, the message reads, “Returning to the scene of the crime, are we?” (78). Cassie panics, believing that someone must know her secret.

By junior year, Cassie has broken up with Kyle. Nevertheless, she is jealous when Ashton starts dating him. Billie and Cassie repeatedly watch the movie Dirty Dancing and call each other “Baby” after the film’s main character.

One day, the girls return to Billie’s house to find Billie’s mother slow dancing with Wade. Two years earlier, Lorraine was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, and she is expected to live only a few more years. Lorraine happily declares that Wade has proposed, and they are getting married. When Lorraine leaves the room, Wade gropes Billie under the pretense of giving her a fatherly hug. Cassie shouts at Wade to get off her.

Billie and Cassie retreat to the widow’s walk on the roof—their favorite private spot, despite Lorraine’s warnings that the railings are rotten and unsafe. Billie foresees that Wade will marry her mother, have Lorraine put in a home, and inherit her money. Meanwhile, Billie will have to live with him. Cassie insists Billie should tell Lorraine that Wade sexually assaulted her. However, Billie does not want to upset her mother with information she will then forget. Billie also refuses to tell her father, who has shown no interest in her since having three children with Melody. Cassie tells Billie that she loves her and will do all she can to protect her.

As she grows closer to Alex, Billie realizes it is the first time she has felt this way since her relationship with Remy. After spending the weekend at Alex’s place, she returns to her apartment and checks Cassie’s latest Instagram content. Billie sees a photograph of Cassie’s dinner party and realizes that she and Alex have been edited out.

Cassie is consumed with anxiety over the message from birchballer6. Her efforts to find the sender’s identity have been unsuccessful. After a Yoga Sculpt class, a girl approaches her, claiming to be a devoted follower and asking for a photograph together. Cassie sucks in her post-pregnancy stomach for the picture.

As Cassie sits outside a café with Ava and McKay, she is surprised to see Billie approaching. She tells her friends that she regrets inviting Billie and Alex to dinner. Billie reveals she is on her way back from Alex’s apartment and asks what Cassie has planned for her upcoming 35th birthday. She reminds Cassie of the many birthdays they have spent together, including Cassie’s 30th. Cassie assures Billie that she will let her know if she arranges anything.

When Billie leaves, Ava and McKay insist Cassie must have a birthday party. Cassie agrees but says she does not want Billie to be invited. Ava expresses pity for Billie because she is single and childless. She and McKay refuse to believe Billie does not want to be a mother.

During Billie’s senior year, her mother marries Wade. Lorraine’s short-term and long-term memory are now badly affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Wade continues to grope Billie and enters the bathroom when she has just had a shower.

Despite mediocre grades, Cassie is offered a place at Harvard, where her grandfather was a benefactor. Grandma Catherine agrees to pay her tuition fees, although she refused to do so for Mara, who attends a state college. Billie is accepted by Northeastern but is only offered half of the financial aid she applied for. Billie’s mother has saved money for her daughter’s college fund for years. However, Wade wants Billie to go to SUNY New Paltz so that she can stay at home. Wade claims he will need to use the college fund to provide a live-in nurse for Lorraine. Desperate, Billie calls her father, hoping he might contribute. However, Melody answers and tells her not to call again.

Lorraine cries with pride when she learns Billie has a place at Northeastern and assures her she can pay the other half of the fees. Later, Lorraine sees the acceptance letter from Northeastern and again reacts with joy as if she has only just discovered the news.

Billie’s relationship with Alex is flourishing. However, she hesitates when he invites her to dinner with his best friend and brother. She admits to Alex that she was once in love but ruined the relationship as she could not meet her boyfriend’s expectations. Billie fears the same thing happening again.

Jane reveals that she and Sasha have finally found their dream apartment in Gramercy. She advises Billie not to sabotage her relationship with Alex due to past events.

Cassie cannot focus on work due to her preoccupation with the identity of birchballer6. She becomes angry with Grant when he asks to see her accounts for the last quarter and reminds her of how much money he has invested in the business. Struggling to feel any affection for her husband, Cassie reminds herself that he saved her from life in Red Hook. She remembers when McKay first introduced them three years earlier.

Eighteen-year-old Billie is due to spend her vacation with Ashton in the Catskills. However, she changes her plans when Grandma Catherine offers to take Cassie and Billie to Paris. They stay at the Ritz and enjoy exploring the city together. It is Billie’s first introduction to overseas travel.

Soon after Billie returns home, her mother fails to recognize her for the first time. Wade insists he cannot afford a live-in nurse and college and declares that Lorraine must move to a nursing home. Billie begs him to keep her mother at home, offering to go to SUNY New Paltz instead of Northeastern. Wade agrees, adding the caveat that she must grant him sexual favors. He begins by demanding to see her naked.

Billie visits the grave of her mother, who died seven years earlier. She goes alone despite Alex’s offer to accompany her. Cassie is the only person who has ever visited the grave with her. Many of Billie’s friends send messages of support on the anniversary of her mother’s death. Cassie is the last to text, but Billie immediately sends a grateful reply. Cassie claims she is having a quiet night with Grant and Ella on her birthday.

Grant invites 50 guests to Cassie’s birthday party. However, he forgets to ask Lourdes if she can mind Ella during the event. He and Cassie agree to put Ella in her stroller on the apartment’s wraparound terrace. Grant promises to keep an eye on their baby so Cassie can relax.

When Cassie sees Billie has written an acceptance letter for SUNY New Paltz, she protests, insisting her friend must go to Northeastern. Billie has not told Cassie about her agreement with Wade. When she points out that not everyone can buy a place at Harvard, Cassie storms out.

Cassie avoids Billie for the final year of high school, hanging out with Ashton instead. Wade expects Billie to meet him every night in the basement, where he masturbates or touches her. Billie still believes that her stepfather will put Lorraine in a home if she fails to comply. Wade has employed a day nurse, Sandra, but sends her home each night as he wants to be alone with Billie.

One day, Cassie remarks on how tired and ill Billie looks. Billie cries and apologizes for their argument. The resumption of their friendship is confirmed when Cassie says, “Bye, Baby,” as they go to separate classes. That night, Wade makes Billie touch him intimately and perform oral sex. The next day, Billie tells Cassie about what Wade has made her do.

Billie loves her job, but it bothers her that their holidays cater to the very rich. She suggests that if a percentage of the company’s profits go to charities, they could encourage customers to match the donations. Jane and Sasha are about to leave for Iceland, but their cat sitter is not available until the next day. Billie agrees to feed Jane’s cat, Willie Nelson, that night.

Billie catches up with her old college friends, Esme and Becca. Becca now has young children, her house is chaotic, and she is constantly distracted by her offspring's needs. Billie and Esme leave when Becca starts breastfeeding. Billie checks Jane’s new address and is shocked to realize she has moved to the same apartment block as Cassie. She plans to feed Willie Nelson and then meet Alex for dinner but feels inexplicably nervous.

After several drinks, Cassie is enjoying her party and starts posting pictures and videos. At 9:15 p.m., she realizes that Grant has not yet taken Ella to bed. Cassie goes to the stroller on the balcony and finds it empty. She screams and as someone calls the police, cries that she needs Billie.

When Cassie learns about Wade’s abuse, she insists that Billie sleeps at her house. Wade sends an angry text demanding to know where Billie is. The next day, Cassie offers to sleep at Billie’s house to protect her. The girls are smoking on the widow’s walk when Wade suddenly appears on the roof. Cassie and Wade argue when she accuses him of being a rapist. Wade responds that Cassie thinks she is superior to everyone in Red Hook but will never succeed in leaving the town behind. Wade heads toward Cassie but trips and falls against the rotten railings. Cassie shoves him, making the railings give way, and he falls 30 feet to his death. When the police arrive, Billie and Cassie claim they were studying in Billie’s bedroom when Wade fell.

Billie is due to meet Alex for dinner at 9 p.m. and heads to Jane’s apartment to feed the cat. On the subway, she sees the Instagram posts of Cassie’s birthday party. Jane’s apartment is directly below Cassie’s, and after feeding Willie Nelson, Billie can hear Cassie’s party and a baby crying. Meanwhile, Cassie continues to post on Instagram, unaware of her daughter’s cries. Billie notices a fire escape at the side of the balcony and climbs the ladder. Seeing Ella’s stroller, which is concealed from the view of the rest of the party, she picks the baby up and takes her back to Jane’s apartment. Ella settles and falls asleep when Billie puts the pacifier in her mouth. Billie does not respond to Alex’s message saying he has arrived at the restaurant and is waiting for her. She hears Cassie scream and declare that she needs Billie. As her phone vibrates, Billie experiences a moment of triumph. The gravity of her actions hit her when she hears someone say the police are on their way.