Nora wakes rested in a gentle life and drives a shabby Hyundai to a modern dog rescue center. Pauline, a friendly colleague with a Yorkshire accent, assigns her to the dog shelter, making it easy for Nora to ask questions and learn routines. Name badges help her navigate unfamiliar coworkers.

She walks Sally, a newly arrived bullmastiff with cigarette-burn scars, who fears almost everything but briefly trusts Nora. Cleaning kennels, Nora meets Diesel, a three-legged Alsatian who proves agile at catch. Feeling herself to be a kinder version here, she notices her thoughts are softer and reflects on compassion as a guiding principle.

At lunch, Dylan sits with Nora and chats about her food and the dogs predicting rain. When Dylan puts his arm around her, Nora startles; he apologizes, worried he hurt her. She learns Dylan is her boyfriend, a former Hazeldene Comp student two years younger, connecting him to a distant school memory.

They discuss dinner plans. Nora lies that Gino’s is fully booked, and Dylan eagerly reserves a table at La Cantina, noting its vegan options. Conversation reveals they have been considering moving in together. He suggests watching the Ryan Bailey film Last Chance Saloon, while Nora privately contrasts this with a life where she had dated the actor.

As a crisp packet drifts across the field, Dylan tidies it away, reinforcing his gentle nature. Nora understands why the Nora of this life cares for him. Though still adjusting to borrowed emotions and startled by sudden intimacy, she finds solace in the routine, the dogs’ trust, and the calm morality of this compassionate existence.