On the way to the station, Nora passes La Cantina and the closed String Theory. She reads a handwritten notice—Neil’s—announcing the shop’s closure, identical to the one she had seen with Dylan in another life, and notes it was posted three months earlier. She feels sadness for what String Theory meant to people, acknowledging she hadn’t been working there when it struggled, while recalling she had sold many instruments in this life.

Approaching St Paul’s Square, Nora reflects on teenage jokes with Joe about Bedford being a prison. Bathed in sunlight by the John Howard statue and river, she realizes she had misjudged the town and reframes it with gratitude and wonder, concluding that what matters is how one sees, not merely what one looks at.

Driving back to Cambridge in her expensive Audi, Nora longs for the real, now-deceased Mrs Elm and wishes for one last chess game. She worries about Leo in a police cell awaiting Doreen, and repeats to herself that this is the best life and she will stay. Despite her determination, Nora senses time running out and feels the life slipping beyond her control.