SYNOPSIS:

Lily Bergstorm, late 20s, is a “lifetime“ lesbian. She knew when she was young and came out. After her family couldnʼt accept her, especially her drunk, abusive mother, she left Stamford, Connecticut. Sheʼs lived away from them and in New York City for the last five years. Lily comes home after the death of her mother. At the wake, she meets Marisa Albano, a 50-something very attractive woman. There is a spark between the two. Marisa is a married professional therapist who never had children. She had a relationship with a woman, Paula Troutman, aka La Troutte, an artist. But, Paula took off for Europe after college and broke Marisaʼs heart. Lily begins to have feelings for Marisa. Lily consults with her BFF, Toby. She thinks she made a mistake, but did she? Lily decides to stay at the family home to cook for the traditional family Swedish-themed Christmas party, a St. Lucia celebration, and for Christmas Eve dinner. Lily is a fantastic cook and the family knows it—theyʼve definitely missed her cooking. At the Christmas party, Lily comes onto Marisa, but when Marisa doesnʼt respond, she abruptly pulls back. Were her feelings wrong? Lily gets drunk. Sally is drunk. So is their father, Martin. The whole family has lived so long turning to alcohol, itʼs natural for this family. The next day, Lily canʼt stop thinking about Marisa. She considers approaching her at the gym, but decides against it. After her stiff husband, August, turns down an invitation to play “Santa“ at the mall, Marisa volunteers for the role. At the mall, Lily “accidentally“ runs into her in the bathroom. She apologizes and tries to broker a friendship. But, now Marisa is having feelings. She has looked up her long lost love, Paula, and meets with her. Paula is a tease, sheʼs danger, when she walks into a room, she owns it. And, she plays with people. Itʼs her thing. Paula doesnʼt quite believe that Marisa has fallen for another woman, maybe Marisa really wants her back. Either way, Paula is suddenly into this new game, her, Marisa, and Lily. On Christmas day, Marisa canʼt stand it anyone. She invites Lily to her house. They make love. Marisa later tells Lily that she came home because of her motherʼs death and to make peace with her family, she needs to be with them. Disappointed, Lily goes home. Paula unexpectedly shows up the next day. Marisa was with Lily, they were talking. But, thatʼs not how Paula sees it. She only sees her game. And, sheʼs ready to play. The two women are unaware of Paulaʼs intensions. Lily wants to know why Marisa wonʼt commit to seeing her, and Marisa is stuck trying to explain that her feelings are still in the air. Lily convinces Marisa to meet her at an inn nearby. Marisaʼs husband, who is a control freak, has been becoming increasingly suspicious of Marisa lately. He not only finds out about Paula, but also about Lily. He canʼt stand losing control of Marisa. He, too, is ready for a fight. Lily and Marisa spend two secret days together, until Lily abruptly breaks it off. What was she thinking, almost falling in love with a much older woman? And, one that was Sallyʼs former therapist! Marisa finally had to admit this little fact to Lily, and she canʼt take it. She returns to New York. In New York, the art gallery Lily works for is getting ready for a January showing by a lesser known artist, La Troutte. Paula indeed is manipulative. She purposely bullied her way into Lilyʼs art gallery for one reason, to show off the nude portrait she had done of Marisa way back during their college days. At the opening, Paula confronts Marisa in front of “the portrait.” She teases both Marisa and Lily, incorrectly implying that she had recently painted to portrait. Lily, nonetheless, is devastated. She was still in love with Marisa. Lily runs away, but this time Marisa goes after her. She catches up to Lily and gives her what she desperately needs, a real shoulder to cry on. Later, Lily decides she needs to go back to Stamford, thereʼs something she needs to do. When she first showed up for her motherʼs funeral, her sister had given her a DVD that their dying mother had made for Lily. Lily had left it in Stamford. Now, she needs to go back and watch it. She does. Her mother unexpectedly opens up and becomes the mother Lily had never known. There is more business to take care of, Lily apologizes to Sally for leaving her alone to take care of their dying mother. Their father, Martin, objects saying he was here all the time. Sally tries to make it clear that Martin was nowhere to be found—except off with his women. Martin, however, fires back—he did love their mother at one time, but she pushed everyone away. She was an alcoholic and hated herself. He never wanted such a sad family, and heʼs sorry for all of his own failings. For this version of the Bergstrom family to succeed, the family decide to air out the truths like they never had in the past. And, Lily demands that they accept Marisa, she is the woman who Lily loves. One year later, Martin has found a woman to love and he marries her. But, the real surprise is a gift from Marisa to Lily—she has been accepted in the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. All of Lilyʼs family have been in on this surprise, especially Sally. She has always known that Lily needs to be a chef in her own restaurant. While flying to Paris, Lily proposes to Marisa. She accepts. The two women were meant for each other, against the odds of an age difference and difficult pasts. Their unusual love won out.

LILY