Always and Forever, Lara Jean

Chris comes over to announce she’s leaving the next day for the Dominican Republic because a spot opened up at an eco-hotel. She’s already packed because she’s not bringing much. Her plan had been to go to Costa Rica in August; she is still saying she may come back in six months, but it seems probable to Lara Jean that she’ll be gone for good. Instead of being left behind, she’s getting out. Lara Jean resists telling her that she and Peter broke up because the day is about Chris. Lara Jean mourns the swift exit, wishing the duo had more time to “cement our friendship,” but she realizes it’s all ending (516).

The night before her father’s wedding, Lara Jean goes to Chris’s house to say goodbye. Chris tells Lara Jean not to get emotional, but they both do, especially when Lara Jean gives her a picture of the two of them in a heart-shaped frame and tells her to keep it on her wall wherever she goes “so people know [she has] somebody waiting for [her] back home” (517-518). Lara Jean’s faith returns that she’ll be able to hold onto Chris for the long term.

Back home, Lara Jean works on the wedding cakes while the other daughters prepare other aspects of the wedding. When she can’t sleep, Lara Jean goes downstairs to make tea and notices Trina smoking downstairs; they catch each other and laugh. Drinking tea together, Lara Jean confesses she and Peter broke up. She tells Trina about wanting to give UNC a fair shot, and Peter’s mother asking her to break up with him. She tells Trina she regrets the breakup, and Trina encourages her to try talking to Peter at the wedding tomorrow. Lara Jean thinks he might not show, but Trina says she knows he will—no one plans a bachelor party and doesn’t show up to the wedding. Lara Jean reflects on the fact that just a year ago, Trina was just “Ms. Rothschild” the neighbor and now she’s marrying her father and becoming a stepmother. 

On the day of the wedding, the air smells like honeysuckle. It’s a beautiful, clear day, and Lara Jean thinks it’s a perfect day for a wedding. They had been on schedule, but by now everyone is running around. The sisters compromised on their outfits to fit together nicely; Kitty has on a shirt and pants, and Margot and Lara Jean are wearing vintage floral dresses. Lara Jean reflects on the scene and realizes that “things are ending, but they are beginning, too” (529). Peter hasn’t made contact, but she’s feeling okay if not hopeful he’ll show. The backyard is all decorated for the small group. After the traditional ceremony and exchange of vows, they jump into the reception and onto the dance floor. The sisters and their father dance together to “Isn’t She Lovely”—Lara Jean and her dad have a few moves they practiced for the crowd.

When she leaves the dance floor, she sees Peter. They finally talk out their feelings about UNC, long distance, and how Peter “shut down” on Lara Jean after graduation. Peter admits to feeling scared, and Lara Jean admits she wanted to have sex with him because she loves him—not because she wanted to close a chapter on her life. Peter says he doesn’t want to break up, and he doesn’t think they should do it if their only reason is because other people suggest they should. They dance together to a slow long, and Lara Jean feels very mature. She sees herself as Stormy, telling this story to another young girl years from now. That night, Lara Jean finds her yearbook sitting in her bed. Peter has written up a contract of things he and Lara Jean will do for one another during college, like how often they will call each other and vows to tell each other the truth always.

The night before Lara Jean leaves for UNC, she and Peter drive to the lake to watch a Perseids meteor shower. They spread out blankets to wait for the meteor shower, and Lara Jean considers what it would have been like to meet Peter at age twenty-seven. She realizes she wouldn’t want to give up her youth and teenage years with him: “My first kiss, my first fake boyfriend, my first real boyfriend” (542). Suddenly, Peter tells her the story of the first time he ever noticed her in sixth grade assembly. She thinks he’s making it up, but then he describes her backpack and details about her hair getting caught in her chair. When people ask how their story began, Lara Jean decides she’ll say it started with a letter.