The romantic drama concludes with the elderly Patrick Turner moved to a nursing home near Tom and Marion Burgess after suffering a stroke. Despite Patrick’s disability, Tom is finally able to express his long-repressed love for him after decades apart, no longer constrained by the societal rules that kept them separated. In the end, Marion willingly gives them space, perhaps recognizing the depth of emotion between them. The bittersweet ending implies Tom and Patrick finally have an opportunity to fulfill the passionate bond denied to them in youth because of bigotry. Though the damage cannot be undone, their reunion as older men offers some solace after a lifetime of being unable to live as their true selves. The conclusion provides a poignant, compassionate portrait of devotion persevering beyond external barriers. Though the past offers no easy resolution, Tom and Patrick’s love endures in defiance of a society that could not accept them.