Nora Goes Off Script

by Annabel Monaghan

I ignored him the way you do when you’re trying to stay married.

“What happened to the see-through nightgown?” “I learned my lesson,” I say with a sisterly nudge.

KICKING MY FEET

“Well, this is new,” I say. “It is,” he says and takes my sweaty hand. “I mean, it’s a nice change from my old loop.” “I mean, you’re the first person I’ve ever been in love with,” he says. Just like that. It’s a Wednesday, I think, but I’m not even sure. In a meadow dotted with trees, covered in sweat with birds chirping around us, Leo Vance is in love with me. In that second, my life is like the tea house—I can see all the way through to the other side where there’s an entirely different reality.

“The secret to a happy marriage is that you give a hundred and ten percent to him and he gives a hundred and ten percent to you.”

Two people who love each other and are looking in the same direction can build a wonderful life.

It’s like I suffered temporary insanity.” “Sometimes that’s what love is,”

“I have nothing to hold on to,” I say. “Well, that’s bullshit, because you have me.

And second, that the best things come back. Sometimes it’s right after the commercial, sometimes it takes longer. But time and sunshine bring growth, and life unfolds just the way it’s supposed to.