Character Relationship Map: Three Birthdays

Characters

• Rob (played by Josh Radnor) — protagonist

  Rob is Kate’s husband and Bobbie’s father, whose marriage is strained by their open relationship. He admits to an affair but initially hides the other person and avoids explaining how Bobbie learned a...

• Kate (played by Annie Parisse) — supporting

  Kate is Rob’s wife and Bobbie’s mother. She worries about Bobbie’s friendship with Joyce, especially Joyce’s driving and lifestyle, while also struggling with the damage their open relationship has ca...

• Bobbie (played by Nuala Cleary) — supporting

  Bobbie is Kate and Rob’s seventeen-year-old daughter, an aspiring writer navigating sex, relationships, friendship, and adulthood. She admires Joyce, has an uncertain sexual encounter with Adam, recon...

• Adam (played by Uly Schlesinger) — supporting

  Adam is connected to Bobbie’s exploration of sex and relationships. Bobbie tells others that her encounter with him was merely okay and that she is unsure whether she experienced an orgasm. Later, Kat...

• Joyce (played by Gus Birney) — supporting

  Joyce is Bobbie’s outspoken activist friend, whom Bobbie considers smart and admirable. Kate distrusts Joyce’s driving and lifestyle because she fears they could place Bobbie in danger. Joyce is also...

• Christopher (played by Guy Burnet) — supporting

  Christopher once babysat Bobbie and later reconnects with her after reading her novel. He is also part of the adult relationship conflict because Kate had been seeing him, a fact that Rob refuses to e...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Kate → Christopher (Romantic Involvement) — Kate's involvement with Christopher becomes part of the conflict over how Bobbie understands her parents' open relationship.

  Rob asks how Bobbie learned that Kate had been seeing Christopher, and Kate recognizes that Bobbie has been left with a distorted picture of the affai...

• Bobbie → Adam (Romantic Casual Sexual Encounter) — Bobbie's encounter with Adam prompts her to reflect on sex and her own experience, but the account does not establish a deeper relationship.

  Bobbie tells friends that an encounter with Adam was merely okay and says she is unsure whether she had an orgasm.

• Kate → Rob (Family Married Couple In Crisis) — Their open relationship and Rob's affair deepen the strain on their marriage, leaving Kate to question whether they should remain together.

  Kate and Rob recall their former birthday tradition, and Kate admits she believes their open relationship is hurting them. Rob reveals that he had an...

• Kate → Bobbie (Family Mother) — Kate is Bobbie's mother and worries about her safety; they later discuss the affair and reach a moment of understanding.

  Bobbie celebrates her seventeenth birthday with her parents, Kate and Rob. Kate worries that Joyce's driving and lifestyle could put Bobbie in danger.

• Rob → Bobbie (Family Father) — Rob is Bobbie's father, but his undisclosed affair becomes part of the distorted picture of her parents' marriage.

  Bobbie celebrates her seventeenth birthday with her parents, Kate and Rob. Rob later says he did not disclose his affair because he did not want to up...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Bobbie → Christopher (Social Former Babysitter And Acquaintance) — Their past babysitting connection resurfaces when they reconnect, with Christopher showing familiarity with Bobbie's writing.

  Bobbie reconnects with Christopher, who once babysat her and has read her novel.

• Bobbie → Joyce (Social Friends) — Bobbie admires Joyce, while Kate's worries about Joyce's influence and safety create tension around their friendship.

  The story describes Joyce as Bobbie's outspoken activist friend. Bobbie sees Joyce as smart and admirable, despite Kate's concerns about her lifestyle...

Story Analysis

A family's tensions over adulthood, sexual relationships, and concealed betrayal are overtaken by fear for Bobbie after the Kent State shootings.

Plot Progression

1. A Birthday at the Threshold — Bobbie celebrates turning seventeen with Kate and Rob while speaking about sex, writing, and her hopes for her father's tenure. Kate's concern about Joyce contrasts with Bobbie's admiration for her fr...
2. Private Lives Unravel — Bobbie talks with friends about sex, describes her encounter with Adam, and reconnects with Christopher. Meanwhile, Kate and Rob revisit their birthday tradition, and Kate says their open relationship...
3. The Affair Comes Into View — Rob admits to an affair but initially withholds its identity. Bobbie then tells Kate that she and Rob were involved for months, and that she believed his assurances about the arrangement.
4. A Family Left Waiting — Bobbie apologizes to Kate, and they reach a moment of understanding despite the fractured family. News of the Kent State shootings shifts the focus to Bobbie's safety, as her whereabouts remain unknow...