Normal People
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Connell and Marianne are in a groove.
Marianne has to move out of that glamorous Dublin flat.
its a given that she will stay with him, so he can take care of her.
Hes written a story so great Marianne is completely jealous of it.
She takes all that energy to the pool to swim laps multiple times a day.
All is well and calm and good and then: Connell gets an email.
A university in New York (!)
is offering him a place in their creative writing MFA program.
Marianne is stunned; she didnt even know he applied.
She expresses her shock before she says congratulations which is not ideal but is understandable, considering.
Connell is super-embarrassed about the whole thing, which was a long shot.
Why didnt he tell Marianne he was applying?
(For one thing, the therapy in the book was a bust and didnt really take.)
Connell is concerned about uprooting his barely stable life, one that is only recently free of panic attacks.
He swears hes not going.
Marianne advises him to think on it.
Connell invites Marianne to his place for Christmas.
Well, really it was Lorraines idea (see above re: Connell initiating literally anything ever).
They drive home with a car piled high with presents and Lorraine greets them as a Christmas miracle.
She has to retreat just to get some air from the overwhelming niceness of it all.
Walking down the street, they pass Mariannes mom.
Lorraine is gracious to her former employer but Mariannes mom walks away without speaking to them.
Hot, mean Rachel hugs her like theyve always been friends.
whenever they see someone from home.
In the morning, Connell is helping Marianne move out of her moms house for real.
Site of their first kiss but otherwise not really a place Marianne is too keen on remembering.
Theyve both been thinking about New York.
(I love how she says Its New York!
Shh … protect their Irish innocence, no one tell them what its really like.)
I want to live the life Im living, she says.
Its only for a year.
Well, in theory its only for a year.
Maybe Connell will love New York and never want to come back to this place.
We have done so much good for one another, she tells him.
He says Ill go and she says And Ill stay, and well be okay.
