The Friend Zone

After dinner, they stay up late playing games. They both feel that their friendly relationship is back to the way it was before they slept together.

Back at Kristen’s house, Josh asks her directly if she has problems with her period. She is taken by surprise and doesn’t really answer; Josh goes on to claim that studies prove that sleeping next to a man might help regulate them. She can tell that this is a ploy to get her to allow him to sleep in her bed. Josh does not want to sleep on Kristen’s uncomfortable guest room futon, so he initiates sex with her even though she says that she is spotting. Tyler would have avoided sex while Kristen was on her period, which sometimes lasts for three weeks at a time. Kristen is impressed that Josh is more comfortable with this aspect of her body, and they end up falling asleep in the same bed.

When Kristen wakes up the next morning, she remembers that her mother is coming for brunch. She only has 15 minutes to shower, get ready, and get Josh to disappear into the garage. Kristen has not told her mother that she and Tyler broke up, and she is not ready to introduce her to Josh. She anticipates that her mother will be judgmental and combative and is not looking forward to seeing her. She goes into her room to get dressed and dry her hair, and when she comes out, she sees that the worst has happened: her mother arrived early and met Josh.

While Kristen finishes getting ready, Josh answers the doorbell when it rings. He finds Kristen’s mother, Evelyn, on the doorstep. He introduces himself as Kristen’s carpenter and invites Evelyn in, trying to play host while they wait for Kristen to come out of her room. Josh is surprised at how different Evelyn is from Kristen. Evelyn is sharp, cold, and judgmental. She is also quite a bit older than he expected her to be, but she is elegant and beautiful in a way similar to Kristen.

When Kristen emerges, she tells her mom that she and Tyler broke up, and Evelyn invites Josh to brunch to fill the empty seat. Kristen protests, but her mother insists. Again, Josh is surprised at Kristen’s meek behavior around her mom; all her usual wit has disappeared. Josh agrees to come to the brunch because he is worried that Kristen will be uncomfortable on her own with her mom.

At the restaurant, Evelyn orders poached eggs for Kristen even though Josh knows that she doesn’t like them. Evelyn also criticizes everything about Kristen’s life and reminds her that she would be better off if she had gone to Harvard and law school like Evelyn wanted her to. Josh also learns that Kristen played piano for years because her mother made her do it. Evelyn’s jabs at Kristen become too much for Josh to take, and he stands up for Kristen while also giving her his breakfast because she does not like the runny yolks of poached eggs. Eventually, he makes Kristen laugh with a Pulp Fiction reference, and the two of them leave brunch early together.

After the disastrous brunch, Kristen and Josh stop on the sidewalk and talk. Josh reassures Kristen, stressing that nothing that her mom had said was true, but Kristen knows that she did disappoint her mom. She knows that her mom did not expect to get pregnant at age 42, and she is keenly aware that her own arrival in the world derailed her mother’s career. Josh insists on buying Kristen breakfast; he knows that she is still hungry, and he delights in feeding her and taking care of her. Kristen feels as if he is her knight in shining armor, as he has rescued her twice in one morning.

At breakfast, Josh gives Kristen all the garnishes from his Bloody Mary so that she can start eating right away. Kristen becomes aware of how selfless he is and what a good father and husband he will be for someone else. While they wait for their food, Kristen explains how lonely it was growing up after her father passed away because her mother grew even more cold and distant. She decided not to go to Harvard so that she could be roommates with Sloan. She tells him that Tyler was the only boyfriend her mother ever approved of because he was sophisticated.

After Kristen explains her childhood experiences, Josh says that the secret to managing difficult family members as an adult is to marry one’s best friend. This way, it is possible to survive challenging holidays and tense dinners by sharing inside jokes and leaving together. This sounds great to Kristen, but she knows that Josh will have to find that kind of relationship with someone else.

In the two weeks since Josh met Kristen’s mother, he and Kristen fall back into a routine that is similar to their “just friends” stage, but they do sometimes have sex. Outside of these sexual encounters, Kristen does not allow Josh to touch her or do anything else that makes him seem like a boyfriend. He still doesn’t understand why she is so adamant about these rules.

One evening, an SUV arrives at the house, and Josh watches as a man approaches the garage, where he is working. The man is Tyler; he is looking for Kristen. Josh is taken aback by Tyler’s good looks and immediately feels protective of Kristen. He is also jealous over the idea that Tyler is probably trying to revive his relationship with her.

The two men introduce themselves, and Tyler thanks Josh for watching out for Kristen while he was away, but in reality, both men are sizing each other up. When Tyler calls Kristen his girlfriend, Josh reminds him that Kristen is his ex-girlfriend. He waits a few seconds before leading Tyler inside to find Kristen.

Kristen is in her living room working when Josh and Tyler enter the house. Stuntman Mike starts barking aggressively. She notices how handsome Tyler is, but she is defensive and does not want to hear his explanation for breaking up with her. He convinces her to go to dinner with him so that he can talk about their breakup. As they are driving to dinner, he asks if she is sleeping with Josh and if they slept together while she and Tyler were still technically a couple. She is angry that he would suspect her of cheating on him.

They go to a seafood restaurant in Malibu that Kristen immediately hates. She has always let Tyler pick where they eat because he so rarely gets to eat the fancy food he likes while in the Marines, but she never likes his choices. Before Tyler starts apologizing, Kristen lists the many reasons she is angry at him: He broke up with her via voicemail, she postponed her hysterectomy for when he’d be home, she’d be paying all of the rent for house they were going to share, and he left her to her own devices for the brunch they had scheduled with her mother.

Kristen declares that Tyler doesn’t really know her because she’s always on her best behavior and agrees to do whatever he wants during the few days he visits. She guesses that he probably wouldn’t even like her if he knew her real self. Tyler tries to soften her stance by asking her if she remembers how they first met. He reminds her how special their connection had been. Kristen agrees that the beginning of their relationship was sweet, but she admits that she is now in love with Josh.

Tyler convinces Kristen to come to his hotel room for a few minutes so that he can show her something. When they get there, she sees that his room is actually a suite with a piano, which is adorned with rose petals, champagne, and glasses. He asks her to play the piano, and she agrees. After the song is over, Tyler kisses her and tells her that he loves her. Kristen says she forgives him, but she still does not intend to renew their relationship. Tyler responds by proposing to her.

While Kristen is at dinner with Tyler, Josh is still at her house, working and worrying about what is happening between them. He is sure that Tyler is trying to restart his relationship with Kristen and is scared that she will accept his gestures. He stays at the house long after he finishes his work, pacing and carrying Stuntman Mike, who is also distraught about Kristen’s absence.

He is relieved when Kristen comes back to the house alone in an Uber. He studies her to see if he can tell whether she kissed Tyler or if she has been crying. Kristen asks him if he wants to do karaoke with her, but first he needs to feed her. She reveals that Tyler had proposed to her, and she said “maybe.” Josh makes her a sandwich while she changes. Later, when they’re in an Uber on their way to a karaoke bar, he asks if she wants to talk about Tyler, hoping to influence her decision.

She explains that when Tyler reenlisted, he accepted a new position as a translator so that he would not be in any danger. If they got married, she would move overseas with him. Josh reminds her that Sloan would miss her. They snuggle together in the car, and Josh savors this closeness because he doesn’t know if he’ll get the opportunity to hold her again. He wants to make this night as fun as possible so that neither of them will forget it.

Kristen is having a great time with Josh at karaoke. They have been drinking, laughing, and singing, and soon she finds herself with her arms around him. She thinks about how much she loves Josh and wishes that he could be her boyfriend. However, then she thinks that maybe she should marry Tyler so that at least he and her mom will be happy.

She has had a lot to drink and opens up about Tyler’s proposal. She tells Josh that there were rose petals, candles, and champagne, and that she was upset because he should have known that she didn’t like big romantic gestures. She describes how big and fancy the ring was, and that it wasn’t her style at all. Josh can perfectly describe the kind of ring she would want.

They get up to dance, and Kristen thinks about how simple and obvious her love for Josh is, as opposed to her confusion about Tyler. She begins to cry, and he comforts her. She admits that she always looked so sloppy when he came over to work because she wanted to keep her distance from him and not let her attraction to him show. He asks Kristen what Sloan thinks of Tyler, and Kristen admits that Sloan does not like him and thinks that Kristen is settling for something less than she deserves. Kristen explains that Tyler doesn’t want kids, and he tells her that the issue of children is too important to compromise and that she shouldn’t marry him; he does not realize that Kristen cannot have children and that he is making her feel worse. He begs her not to marry Tyler. She can see how distressed he is and realizes that even if she doesn’t marry Tyler (which she won’t), she cannot be with Josh either. She feels terrible that she cannot give either man what he wants.