One-Page Summary

Event-planner Carl loves the idea of romance but has yet to truly find it in his life, until… he attends a one-year-old’s birthday party held on Valentine’s Day. He meets Laurie, a witty, grounded woman visiting from out of town and sparks fly. Carl and Laurie connect instantly, trading sly observations and inside jokes even as the party spirals into chaos. But the timing isn’t right: Carl has a girlfriend, and Laurie lives 900 miles away.

Each year, Carl returns to the ever-escalating birthday party, and so does Laurie. Between balloon animals, bouncy houses, and a growing number of screaming children, their dynamic shifts: their friendship matures, old relationships dissolve, and near-misses accumulate. Carl starts questioning his life’s direction, while Laurie becomes a constant he can’t quite figure out. Each party brings a new wrinkle—a boyfriend tagging along, a marriage proposal, a kiss under the stars—that makes their closeness more complicated and more undeniable.

By the fifth party, both Carl and Laurie are single, but the emotional weight of their history has become as thick as the frosting on the birthday cake. With tensions rising and feelings no longer easy to ignore, the couple reaches the turning point. Whether they’ll finally pursue what’s been building—or let it slip away again—hinges on one chaotic afternoon, a yard full of five-year-olds, and a question that’s been waiting five years to be asked.