You Were Just Here - Full Synopsis
After the tragic and sudden loss of her father, Sam, Vanessa takes his ashes on a cross-country train trip to fulfill one of the items on his bucket list. Following Sam's handwritten itinerary, Vanessa struggles to process her emotions and self-destructive behavior, when an unexpected “plus one” in the form of a nonchalant fellow passenger named TJ joins her.
Reluctantly, Vanessa allows TJ to accompany her, especially in light of her terrible sense of direction and inability to navigate places beyond her own familiar surroundings. Having never been outside of California, she sees TJ's confidence and ease with technology (another of Vanessa's weaknesses) as huge assets to help her complete the trip successfully.
The unlikely pair visit each stop: Durango, Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Corinne, Utah, Seattle, Washington, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, with Vanessa completely in the dark as to what the significance of these destinations were to her father. With each stop, the audience is given a glimpse into the past where a young Sam maneuvers his way through love and life as a black man in 1980s America. This juxtaposition between the past and present allow the audience to learn the truth that Vanessa can barely begin to grasp with the limited information she has.
TJ discovers Sam's secret: he had another family, who was killed in a car crash many years ago. After an emotional confrontation, Vanessa continues her journey alone, leaving TJ in Michigan City, Indiana. Finally reaching her destination at the Big Sable Point Lighthouse in Ludington, Michigan, Vanessa has a heart to heart with Sam. Realizing his life was filled with more grief/loss and complicated matters of the heart than she knew, she knows it's time to forgive the past and cherish the years they spent together. Scattering his ashes, she begins to heal, returning to California and her new normal.
One month later, Vanessa hears TJ on a radio program. She's blindsided when TJ admits he's not only a journalist who had been chronicling their adventures but that through the process he fell in love with her and apologizes for betraying her trust, despite acknowledging that he may never hear from or see her again.
After airing her grievances about TJ's interview with her best friend, Vanessa begins to see past her anger and after several days of mulling things over, she can't help but recall the ups and downs they experienced. Standing in Sam's old office, which is now her home office, Vanessa eventually picks up the phone to call TJ.