Nora Goes Off Script

On Saturday, Nora and Leo take Bernadette to a soccer game, and Leo uses his famous smolder to charm some other moms into helping with sets and costumes for Oliver Twist. Both kids have plans that night, so Leo asks Nora to dinner.

They go to the nicest bistro in town, and Nora feels self-conscious and over-dressed. The whole restaurant gasps when they enter, but once the two are seated and begin to talk, Nora forgets that everyone is watching. Leo gives her another scenario to make into a romance movie, and she tells him more details of her formula: Any parents must be “exceptionally loving and self-sufficient,” and the female character needs “a quirk that would be annoying to most men, but that this particular guy finds irresistible” (97). Leo teases her about her tendency to “schedule her life like a Swiss watch” (97) but admits that he finds this quality irresistible and suggests they go home.

Back at the house, Leo kisses Nora in the dark. They are interrupted by Arthur’s arrival, and Leo leaves for the tea house. Afterward, Nora can’t sleep. She texts her sister and her friend, Kate, but gets no response.