Nora Goes Off Script(56)

I don’t see Leo, and I try not to look for him. Or, rather, I tell myself I’m looking for my parents while actually looking for him. I wander around with Martin, meeting everyone he wants me to meet. I feel comfortable in a way I couldn’t have imagined; winning has emboldened me. There is nothing I can do to wipe the smile off of my face as people congratulate me and I sip champagne. “Hello. Thank you. Nice to meet you.” I love this night.

Martin wants me to meet someone named Cayla who doesn’t seem old enough to babysit. “This right here,” he tells me, “is my next big star.” Cayla giggles, and I drain my glass so I have a reason to walk away.

I’m waiting at the bar when my mind starts playing tricks on me. How many glasses of champagne have I had, I wonder. Leo is standing next to me. “You must be Nora,” he says, which makes no sense. This Leo is slightly taller with shorter hair. “I’m Luke Vance. The brother.”

“I really thought I was drunk there for a second,” I say, because my filter is not working. “I mean you really look a lot alike. Wow.” I shake his hand.

“Congratulations,” he says. “You guys really swept it tonight. We cheered you on from the nosebleed seats.”

“Thanks. I still can’t believe it.” There’s more of an ordinariness to Luke, which I find refreshing. Like Luke’s been to Costco. He’s as handsome as Leo, but he doesn’t seem to expect anyone to notice. He has Leo’s way of looking at you as if you have all of his attention, which I find slightly painful. I wonder if this is something they picked up from their parents. “I’m sorry about your mom,” I say.

He’s taken aback, and I resolve not to finish this glass. “Thank you. Leo never talks about it. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he told you.”

A pretty, dark-haired woman rushes over to us and puts her arm through Luke’s. “Oh, I don’t want to miss this. I’m Jenn. I’ve been dying to meet you.” She’s out of place in her normalness, like we’re at a barbecue. I like her immediately.

She congratulates me, which isn’t getting old. She says she likes my dress, which isn’t getting old. And then, “You really got to him. Luke and I never thought it would happen. All these starlets rolling through year after year, and it’s a real woman—a mom even—who does him in.” Luke’s nodding as she says this, like this is the thing they were just talking about on the drive over. And also like this is a fun fact, rather than the saddest thing in the world.

An older man hands Jenn a margarita before turning his smile on me. “Ah, here she is. I’m William Vance, their father. I thought it was a great film, congratulations.” There’s a hairline crack in my heart as I look at Leo’s dad. It’s like looking at future Leo, the one I’m not going to grow old with. Seeing his dad also rounds him out, like he’s a guy with a past and parents. I briefly want him to be held accountable.

“You’re all so handsome,” I hear myself saying as we shake hands.

William laughs. “Well, thank you. Luke and I are just handsome as a hobby. Only Leo makes a living at it.” Luke and Jenn laugh, so I do too. These are some of the easiest people I’ve ever met. They’re grounded and open, like the best parts of Leo. And they don’t think Leo can handle hospice.

Leo appears and gives them each a hug. “Thanks for coming. I see you met Nora.”

“She lives up to your description,” Luke says, and Leo winces. He’s visibly uncomfortable. I wonder if he seriously thinks I’m going to call him out for dumping me, right here in front of everyone. I think we’ve established that I’m not exactly the kind of person who calls people out.

People seem to be inching closer to us as I stand and stare at these two brothers, one who is Leo and one who is not. I must look confused, because Luke laughs and says, “He got drunk at Thanksgiving and told us the whole story.”

“You did?” I’m looking straight at Leo, but he won’t look at me.

“Maybe,” says Leo. “Hard to remember.”

“At Thanksgiving,” I say. What I really want to say is What’s “the whole story”? Can you explain it to me?

“Leo brought a bottle of scotch and finished it. Performance of his life,” William says.

“Wish I could have seen it,” I say, mostly to myself.

“It sounds beautiful, where you live,” Jenn says to me.

“Okay, wow, fun that you guys are here,” Leo says, “but we don’t need to do this. It’s fine. What happens at Thanksgiving stays at Thanksgiving, right?”

“I taught Leo how to grocery shop,” I say. “I was like a counselor at Camp Normal Life, and he did pretty well.” I’ve had exactly the right amount of champagne to want to keep this going, as it turns out.

Now he’s looking right at me, hard. “Please,” he says.

A flourish of yellow appears out of the corner of my eye. My parents are standing a few feet away, unsure if it’s okay to approach. The only thing in the world that could make this situation more awkward is Leo meeting my parents. This certainly isn’t how I dreamed of it happening. My dad makes eye contact and approaches, dragging my mom with him.

“Leo,” he says, extending his hand more formally than I’d expect. “Charlie Larson. Nora’s father.” There’s something in the way he enunciates the word “father” that makes it sound like a threat.