Dinner and Reconnection

Noah prepares a dinner of steamed crabs and fried vegetables while Allie helps. She tours the restored house, amazed at the work. They talk easily, making up for lost time. Noah tells her about his jobs, the war, and his father's death. Allie talks about college, painting, and her volunteer work at the hospital. Neither mentions their past relationships or Lon. During dinner, they regain the intimacy they once shared. Afterward, they sit on the porch, and Noah recites poetry by Whitman, Thomas, Tennyson, and Browning. Allie closes her eyes, feeling the poetry rather than analyzing it. She realizes that Lon cannot evoke these feelings in her. Noah realizes he has fallen in love with her again, not just her memory. He knows she will leave soon and feels empty. They talk about the letters he wrote that she never received, and she realizes her mother must have hidden them. Allie admits she always wondered what would have happened if they had stayed together. She says there is always something missing in her relationship with Lon. Noah asks if she ever thought about them, and she says all the time. He goes to start the crabs, and she thinks about how she wishes she weren't engaged. She whispers to herself that there is nothing normal about any of this.