Midnight At The Blackbird Cafe

Gideon comes by for coffee. Bow and Jena reveal they knew about his desire to reunite Hill House and the café, but they are disappointed to hear Gideon offered to sell Hill House to Anna Kate. Jena suggests that Gideon’s dream meant that he and Anna Kate should be together and that Zee did what she could to see that happen.

Anna Kate waits for Gideon to pick her up for the Fourth of July celebration in the backyard. She asks the mulberry trees what she should do about medical school. Gideon arrives and they walk toward the courthouse, discussing what Jena said. Anna Kate spots the gray cat with a sparkler in its mouth. Gideon chases after it but can’t find it. He assures Anna Kate the cat will put down the sparkler before it hurts him. Gideon and Anna Kate continue their walk, then join Natalie and Ollie at the amphitheater. Zachariah Boyd calls out to Anna Kate and tells her the café is on fire.

Jena tells the reporter that the fire at the café was a blessing because sometimes a person has to lose something to understand how important it is.

Anna Kate and Gideon rush back to the café. They arrive to discover the birdwatchers have already put the fire out. There is damage to the back deck, but only the stairs are a complete loss. However, Anna Kate is devastated to see her grandmother’s zucchini bushes destroyed. That night, Anna Kate learns that she cannot reopen the café until the back deck is completely replaced. Gideon comes the following morning to make her breakfast. As they prepare to eat, Jena comes in and hugs her. Bow is with her and tells Anna Kate they are sorry about the fire. Faylene, Natalie, Cam, Josh, Marcy, Zachariah Boyd, Summer, and Aubin all show up with tools to help make the repairs. She learns Lindy Lou and Ollie are with Pebbles and Otis. Doc and Seelie arrive, and Seelie even has a pink tape measure. Gideon makes breakfast, Anna Kate admits she is into him, and Faylene and Jena gently tease her. Anna Kate doesn’t know why they should all fix the deck and reopen the café instead of waiting on the insurance, especially if they will just close it again in a few weeks. Jena tells Anna Kate she knows how happy the café makes her and that they didn’t want her to miss out on the last few weeks. She says they love her and want to enjoy their time with her. Everyone gathers for a group hug, and Anna Kate says she was so overwhelmed with their love that she hardly noticed the brown feather in Jena’s hair.

A few days later, Anna Kate struggles between her desire to stay in Wicklow and her promise to her mother to become a doctor. Seelie arrives unexpectedly and gives Anna Kate a copy of the police report on the car accident that killed AJ. She also shows Anna Kate a blank piece of paper and explains that she meant to write down information from the interviews with different people as she struggled to learn the truth about Eden. Nobody could share very much. She realized that all she needed to do was see what kind of person Anna Kate was. Seelie points out all the good Anna Kate has done since she arrived in Wicklow and says that only a good woman could have raised such a generous daughter. Seelie tells Anna Kate that Eden would want her to do what makes her happy. When Seelie goes, Anna Kate sees a blackbird. Its green eyes suggest it is her mother. The bird moves around the roots of the mulberry tree, and Anna Kate interprets the message to mean that her mother is welcoming her back to her roots.

Anna Kate takes the police report and goes to see Aubin in the cemetery. Anna Kate shows him a picture of the wrecked car where a sweet gum stick, half chewed, lay on the back seat. Chewing sweet gum sticks is a habit Aubin still has. She tells him she knows he was there and asks him to tell her what happened that day. Aubin admits he was with AJ and Eden when they drove to the university. He said AJ had decided he wanted both college and Eden, so he’d gone to the school to arrange financial aid. They even arranged for married housing and decided to marry on Labor Day weekend. On the way home, they had a picnic. Aubin and AJ drank some alcohol with lunch, but Eden declined and insisted she drive the rest of the way home. They were laughing and happy. As they came over a bridge, a cat chasing a bird crossed in front of them. Eden swerved to miss them and clipped them anyway before she hit a tree. Aubin was the only one conscious. He checked his friends and realized AJ was dead, but Eden, though she was unconscious, was probably fine. He panicked because he was afraid he would lose his job for lying about why he hadn’t gone that day. He took AJ’s quilt to control the bleeding from flying glass that tore up his arm, and he ran away from the scene.

Aubin says he later told Eden what happened and offered to go to the police, but she told him not to. She thanked him for revealing the true nature of the Lindens. He gave her AJ’s blanket, which he had cleaned up for her. She left town shortly after. Aubin offers again to go to the police to finally and officially clear Eden’s name, but Anna Kate tells him it’s not what Eden would want.

Anna Kate tells the reporter she thought he would be done with his article by now. The truth is, he’s struggling to convince his editor that a simple article on blackbirds has turned into an essay on love, loss, and forgiveness. Anna Kate tells him he’s welcome to stay as long as he wishes.

Anna Kate and Gideon attend the weekly movie. They sit with Faylene who is there with Zachariah, and Otis who is accompanied by Pebbles. Cam, Marcy, and Josh are there as well, and the Lindens, including Doc. Jena and Bow leave town but promise to be back by Christmas.