Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in It Ends with Us, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Cycles of Abuse
Naked Truths
Good and Evil
Chosen Family
Summary
Analysis
Six months later, Lily is showing her mother the storefront she bought for her flower shop using her inheritance from her father. Her mother is not as enthusiastic as Lily hoped she’d be. Lily asks if her mother thinks she’s crazy, and her mother tells her it all depends on what happens. Her mother argues that in business, if you make a daring decision and succeed, people think you’re a visionary—but if you fail, people think you’re a fool. Her mother encourages her to be “brave and bold,” which Lily says she will do. Lily’s mother has been living in the outskirts of Boston where she bought a small house. Lily wants to plant a garden there, but she knows she doesn’t visit enough to care for it. Lily wonders if her mother is lonely, even though her father was never very good company.
As a child, Lily gardened to escape her father’s abusive episodes; the flower shop she opens as an adult is a variation on this childhood coping mechanism. Lily doesn’t have the ability to grow a garden now, but her business is an act of defiance against her father, who would never have approved of such a risky decision. That the money from his estate is funding her enterprise makes this victory over his memory even more poignant. This scene also further develops Lily’s mother’s character. When she cautions Lily about failure and how people might judge her for it, she reveals her own timidity and passivity. Still, though Lily’s mother may have much self-doubt, she wants her daughter to have a better life than she’s had.
Themes
As the women discuss Lily’s last day at her marketing firm and what needs to be done to clean up the messy building, a woman walks in. She is impeccably dressed, and Lily worries that the dusty space will ruin the woman’s white pants. The woman introduces herself as Allysa, explaining that she saw a help-wanted sign in the window. Lily’s mother leaves, and Lily explains that it’s the old owner’s sign. She says she is planning on opening a floral shop and won’t be ready to hire anyone for a while. She also internally suspects that, based on Allysa’s expensive clothing, she may not be interested in a minimum wage job anyway.
Lily’s first impression of Allysa is similar to her first impression of Ryle. The contrast between Allysa’s white, stylish clothing and the dirty storefront make her seem out of place there. Though Lily knows that outward appearances can be deceiving, she still makes assumptions about Allysa based on how she’s dressed. This further develops the idea that people aren’t fully bad or good—they can be complex and contradictory.
Themes
Allysa bursts with enthusiasm about the flowers. She studies the space and says she thinks it’s promising. When Allysa asks Lily about décor, Lily says that she’s not sure what her plans are. Allysa says interior design is her favorite thing, and she’d be willing to help Lily out for free. She doesn’t actually need a job, but she wanted something to ease her boredom. Allysa points to different things in the room that she thinks they could repurpose. Allysa’s enthusiasm and creativity intrigue Lily, so she agrees to hire her, though she insists on paying her. Lily says she can start tomorrow, but Allysa wants to dive in now because her brother and husband are at a bar down the street.
Allysa disproves many of Lily’s initial assumptions about her. While Allysa is wealthy and has no need to work, she is adamant about wanting to work. Allysa not only shares Lily’s passion for plants and flowers, but she also has design skills that complement Lily’s business acumen. The ease with which the women connect is especially important given Lily’s lack of friends at the beginning of the novel.
Themes
After two hours of cleaning and categorizing things, Lily feels that Allysa may become her best friend. The women talk as they rest. Allysa asks Lily about her goal for the space, and Lily tells her that she only wants it to be successful. Allysa pushes her to think more about her vision, and Lily explains that she wants her business to be risky and innovative. After some brainstorming, Lily decides that she wants to defy expectations about flowers, selling bouquets that are dark, avant-garde, and stir complex emotions. Lily explains that someone once told her people can be both bad and good, and she wants her flowers to represent the darker side of that balance.
Allysa and Lily’s brainstorming mirrors Lily and Ryle’s first meeting, suggesting that perhaps these characters are connected in some way. Since her initial conversation with Ryle, Lily has come to embrace that that good and bad exist in all people and things. In addition, she has decided the darker side is something she wants to showcase, and in a way, celebrate. This is a significant shift from the black-and-white thinking she demonstrated on the rooftop. In order to implement this concept into her floral arrangements, Lily will need to harness the darker aspects of her own character—a prospect that seems to excite rather than scare her. This suggests that Lily is learning to be more honest about difficult subjects not only with others, but also with herself.
Themes
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With renewed energy and excitement, Lily and Allysa start moving things around to make room for a desk to help Lily continue planning. Lily ends up falling off a stack of crates and twisting her ankle. Allysa calls her husband, Marshall, to ask him to bring ice. Marshall is drunk, so Allysa asks to speak to her brother. He is also drunk, but he agrees to her request. Before long, the men show up, and Allysa ushers them inside. They are confused about her being in a rundown building, and she explains to them that she now works here.
After only two hours of Allysa and Lily knowing each other, Allysa calls on her family to help Lily, which suggests the novel’s themes of chosen family and the importance of forming loving, supportive relationships.
Themes
Lily sees Marshall first and is surprised to find he is wearing a onesie. Allysa explains that a nearby bar offers free beer on gamedays to people in onesies. Lily then sees another man in a onesie, and she realizes she knows him. To her surprise, Ryle is Allysa’s brother. Though Lily has continued to think of him, she doubted she’d ever see him again. Ryle is equally surprised to see her, but the two pretend they have never met when Allysa introduces them.
Part of the draw of Allysa and Ryle’s family for Lily is the levity they bring to her life. She’s not used to humor, as her own family maintained a stoic demeanor. So, the arrival of two drunk men dressed in onesies doesn’t horrify Lily—it delights her. When Lily and Ryle recognize each other, it is noteworthy that they pretend to be strangers, as this conflicts with their supposed, mutual belief in brutal honesty.
Themes
Ryle crouches down to look at Lily’s injured ankle. Allysa and Marshall leave the room to find a container for the ice. As Ryle examines Lily’s foot, he asks her about the building. He is thrilled when Lily explains that she’s making her dream of a floral shop called Lily Bloom’s a reality. He sits in a chair and pulls her foot onto his lap, brushing her skin softly while they talk. He admits he’s had more than a few beers. They joke about his onesie. Ryle tells her that she looks even more beautiful in the daylight.
Despite Ryle and Lily’s choice to hide their first meeting from Allysa and Marshall, their romantic chemistry is as strong as ever. Ryle seems genuinely overjoyed to find that Lily has overcome her fears and is building her dream business. Ryle recognizes his own professional drive and passion in Lily, which only makes him more attracted to her.
Themes
Lily asks if she can share another naked truth. When Ryle agrees, she tells him that she considered trying to find him on the roof again. He tells her that he still wants to have sex with her. Allysa and Marshall walk in then, overhearing Ryle’s comment. Allysa is horrified by her brother’s behavior, especially since it’s directed at her new boss. She tries to apologize to Lily on his behalf, but Lily waves her off. She says she admires people who speak their mind.
Once the initial shock at seeing each other abates, Lily and Ryle slip back into exchanging naked truths. In doing so, they acknowledge to each other (but also to themselves) that their differing romantic goals have not discouraged their interest in each other. Lily slips back into the pretense of she and Ryle being strangers when Allysa enters the room because she does not want to complicate her new friendship with Allysa yet; it’s clear that the women’s relationship is already important to Lily.
Themes
Ryle encourages Lily to test how much weight she can put on her foot. She is able to walk to the table across the room, so Ryle tells her it is only a sprain. He wraps it and tells her to rest it for the next week. Lily is worried because she has so much work to do. Marshall and Allysa leave to go get waters for everyone after Lily promises not to fire Allysa if Ryle says something inappropriate again.
Allysa is out of the loop, so she remains horrified by her brother’s actions and confused by Lily’s nonchalance. Allysa’s reactions suggest she is fully aware of her brother’s typical behavior with women. She doesn’t want him to impact her friendship with Lily, suggesting Allysa has come to mutually value Lily in a short period of time.
Themes
As Ryle finishes attending to Lily’s injury, he asks her if he knows that Allysa has never had a real job before. Lily tells him that she already knows and doesn’t care. She also tells him that she had no idea he and Allysa were related, fearing he might suspect that she arranged the whole thing to see him again. They remind each other that they want different things in life, but the attraction between them makes this difficult to focus on. Lily offers another truth. She tells Ryle that she wants him, but she asks if he can stop flirting with her, so she isn’t tempted to give in to him. In return, Ryle tells her that he hopes they never see each other again because he is also too tempted by her.
Ryle’s brotherly jab at Allysa’s lack of work history and Lily’s immediate defense of Allysa further demonstrates the instant strength of the women’s friendship. Though Ryle and Lily clearly want each other in their lives, they show self-awareness and rationality by choosing to avoid each other moving forward; neither seems able to control themselves in the other’s presence. This is another kind of honesty that they share. Together, they weigh the logic of their needs against the draw of their emotional connection.
Themes
Allysa and Marshall come back, and Lily tells them everything is fine— she’ll just need to keep weight off her foot for the next few days. Allysa offers to keep working on the shop while Lily rests. They help Lily to her car. Allysa tells Ryle to drive Lily home, but he responds that she’ll be just fine. As Ryle walks away, Allysa apologizes again for her brother’s behavior. The women exchange goodbyes. When Lily drives away, she can see Ryle watching her in her rearview. She suspects that despite their conversation, she will end up seeing him again.
Ryle’s decision to walk home shows that, for now, logic outweighs passion in his and Lily’s relationship. However, Lily’s suspicion that she and Ryle’s story is not over showcases the strength of her intuition—and perhaps a deeper self-awareness. Again, Allysa is out of the loop, but her need to apologize for Ryle suggests two things: first, that she is used to cleaning up after her brother; second, that she wants to keep Lily in her life.
Themes
