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Landline: A Novel
Landline: A Novel
Landline: A Novel
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Landline: A Novel

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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#1 New York Times bestselling author! A New York Times Best Seller! Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Best Fiction of 2014! An Indie Next Pick!

From New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell, comes a hilarious, heart-wrenching take on love, marriage, and magic phones.

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it's been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply-but that almost seems beside the point now.
Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they're supposed to visit Neal's family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can't go. She's a TV writer, and something's come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her-Neal is always a little upset with Georgie-but she doesn't expect to him to pack up the kids and go without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she's finally done it. If she's ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It's not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she's been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts. . . .

Is that what she's supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

Editor's Note

Humor & a magic phone…

In her return to adult literature, Rowell uses her signature humor and a magic phone to explore whether young love like in “Eleanor & Park” can survive the everyday pressures of caring for family and achieving career goals.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 8, 2014
ISBN9781466850378
Author

Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell is the award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and the Simon Snow Trilogy, plus several other novels, short stories, and comics. She lives in Omaha, Nebraska, just like most of her characters.

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Rating: 3.6225627097493036 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

1,077 ratings115 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It's very different from her other books. but somehow I just loved it!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Cute premise, but I never really liked the characters.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Georgie and Heather's mother is an absolutely dreadful character. I mean COME ON, if your daughter is telling you that she and her husband are not separating, don't tell her that she will move on and be okay in every conversation.

    Other than that, great book!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Rainbow Rowell can write dialogue that is clever and raw. She has a distinct style and I find it captivating. She has a gift for connecting the reader to her characters. I love the hidden gems of Omaha in her novels. Landline is a quick read about a wife in the middle of a marriage crisis with her husband. To figure things out she recalls how they met and how they worked through their first fight.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Better than Fangirl, not as good as Eleanor & Park.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I nearly gave it 4 stars but it just wasn't in me. It never really grabbed me like I had hoped. I did like the ending actually, and how it all tied together but was hoping for more from it. I do love how vividly she paints every character, you feel like you know all about them down to facial expressions. Such descriptive, great writing, but didn't love it
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Rainbow Rowell, most well-known for her Young Adult novels, branches out into the realm of Adult Fiction for Landline. Georgie McCool, a comedy writer in Hollywood, struggles to juggle her hectic work and family life. When an important script deadline falls during the Christmas holiday, Georgie must stay behind while her upset husband, Neal, and their two young daughters travel to Omaha to celebrate with his family. Georgie soon discovers that Neal will not answer her phone calls, so she must find another way to try and save their marriage…

    Landline is hardly a science-fiction novel, but in a bizarre turn of events, Georgie finds a way to speak with her husband in the past. (This is not a spoiler, I swear, as it’s mentioned on the back cover.) While this method of communication originally fascinates as a plot device, it loses its charm as the narrative drags on. Once Georgie discovers the device, she becomes obsessed. She uses it so often that the narrative turns into a mess of entirely predictable events and dull character choices.

    Speaking of character choices, Neal and Georgie are both absolutely insufferable. Georgie possesses a bizarre sense of self that jumps back and forth between obnoxiously egotistical and annoyingly insecure. Through her various flashbacks, Neal is portrayed as a miserable, uncommunicative jerk. Who do you root for when you don’t like anyone? Their relationship is also so toxic that it terrifies me to think that anyone would want to pursue anything close to resembling it.

    Furthermore, the writing is dull and plodding. I listened to the audiobook and it felt like I was listening to a train-wreck of an acquaintance ramble on and on about how much she hated her life. The first person perspective just added to my frustration. Unfortunately, Georgie’s life story never gets more interesting, even when she remembers the past. It keeps going on and on and on like the Energizer bunny without the charm. The only moments that grabbed my interest were the occasionally humorous references to the eighties and nineties peppered throughout the narration.

    Landline by Rainbow Rowell is quite a let-down when compared to her other novels. Unfortunately, the plot, the characters, and the dialogue never feel up to par. It’s a difficult novel to get through, despite its rather short length. If you’ve never read Rowell before, I would skip it. It definitely does not do her justice.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    While I enjoyed this book when I was reading it I never really got sucked in. Maybe if I was in a 15 year relationship I would feel differently. Just a bit too much angst for me - There is a whole section in the book where I just thought "ok come on just move this along". And also was I the only person who had a mental image of the protagonist being just a complete slob?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Imagine having a "magic" phone line to the past. That's what happens when Georgie, a TV comedy writer, stays home to work over the Christmas holidays while her husband and two daughters leave for Omaha to visit family without her. The guilt & seemingly frostiness of her husband begin to eat away at her. When her cell phone dies and she's forced to use the landline at her mother's house in an attempt to call her husband, something weird happens and she realizes she's talking to him in the past. She then convinces herself that she's supposed to somehow change the past in order to save her marriage.This is my first read by Rainbow Rowell, but I suspect this is not her best novel. It's a fairly quick read and I enjoyed it more than I didn't enjoy it, although the story line was somewhat farfetched and predictable. What I liked most was Rowell's ability to write enjoyable and convincing dialogue and banter between the characters. That was by far my favorite part of the novel, and where I feel Rowell's strength lies. I do look forward to reading some of her other novels, as they seem to have more positive reviews.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Rainbow Rowell is a new author for me. I'm sorry to say I didn't like Landline even though it won Goodread's Best Fiction for 2014.I thought this book was boring but I stuck with it hoping it would get interesting. It didn't. The plot was not enjoyable with a troubled marriage where both the husband and wife were self-centered. The wife always put her job before anything else, including spending Christmas with her family. Her husband's personality, or lack thereof, had me wondering why any woman would even consider marrying him.The premise of a magic phone with conversations from the past was not for me. I wanted to like this novel but I just didn't get it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Interesting story with a bit of magical realism. Quirky and fun, perfect for when you're looking for something just a little bit different from the norm.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Rowell's trademark deft and real characterizations ring true again in this, her frist novel for adults about a woman who is given a chance to reevaluate her marriage and the course of her life. Humor and emotion combine.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very enjoyable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Overall, more unique, quirky goodness can be found in Rainbow Rowell's newest work. Having also read Fangirl this year, I'm really getting a sense of Rowell's style. I like and can identify with her nerdy, somewhat nonconventional main female characters.

    At first, Landline reads like a slice-of-life of a marriage with young children that is on the rocks. There's a real sense of struggle and sadness in the story. Of wanting to do what's right for family but also wanting to advance career goals. Later, magic phone calls add an element of fantasy. For me, the magic calls were really downplayed. I assumed the story would center on the awesomeness of this power, but I really have to stress that the focus of this story is maintaining and strengthening marriage. I was expecting a little more of a romantic comedy, so I also have to stress that the story is fairly serious. It has funny moments, but also has lots of stress and family disfunction.

    Most of all, I enjoyed the sweet holiday ending. It was classic Christmas movie worthy.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I read Carry On and Fangirl (twice) and wanted to read another book by Rowell so I read this one. I love her writing style--she can get in a character's head so clearly and convey an inner monologue so well. But I didn't like this nearly as much as Fangirl or Carry On. Mostly because I didn't connect well with the main character. She seemed kind of annoying to me and I sided more with her husband than her when he left her. I wasnt' really into the magic phone/time travel thing. I think the story would have been more effective if it was implied that Georgie was imagining it all--that somewhere deep down she had all these thoughts and emotions that were coming out under stress and she figured out what she needed to do on her own. But, since there was a scene when Heather talked to Neal on the landline, the only explanation was that it was a magic phone which just seems lame to me. I liked Cath's and Levi's cameo at the end (because I still am in love with Fangirl) but that was just a simple plot device. I wish that connection was developed a little more--Georgie could have had a real heart-to-heart talk with them during the car ride and their young love could have provided a good foil to Georgie and Neals' stale relationship and they could have offered a nice perspective on love to Georgie. Over all, it was enjoyable because of the writing but not as well developed character-wise or plot-wise as I would have liked.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    There can't be all that many novels about women TV writers trying to move up to their own show and being a show-runner, so it's odd that I read two so close to each other. This one is also a bit of magical realism. And it was adorable. I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't a story about a marriage on the rocks, let alone one about a phone from the twilight zone that enables the heroine to call her husband in the past. I love that the fantastic element is acknowledged to be weird, but that it isn't ever explained. Anyway, the marriage and the stresses therein felt real, as well as the desire to reconnect and make things better.


    Library copy
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    DNF.

    I'm a huge fan of Rainbow Rowell's YA books, but I wasn't able to connect with this one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Cute and feel-good. A nice Christmas story about perseverance in love and not taking your person for granted.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It's a Rainbow Rowell book so it's obviously great, but it felt slighter than her others. The story was as long as it needed to be, but thus is more of a light confection compared to Fangirl or Eleanor and Park. Sort of a grown up version of The Future of Us.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I dunno. It had some cute parts, but this book just made me angsty and frustrated. And kinda depressed. Maybe because Georgie and Neal and all the characters are just at a completely different point in their lives than me. I mean. Georgie had a 7 year old kid! She had been married for over a decade. A decade ago I was a freshman in high school. I'm not ready for a midlife crisis. And I didn't find it very fun to be thrust into someone else's. I did like that not everything was as 1st person absorbed as YA tends to be. But for real. This books was frustrating because Georgie was frustrated and there was nothing she or I could do about it. I had to set it down several times because I just couldn't take any more.

    I liked that these characters, while being super animated larger than life Rainbow Rowell creations, did have realistic struggles and feelings. I liked the concept of a time travel phone. I liked the backup characters a lot. Georgie's mom. Scotty. Noomi, the daughter who thinks she's a kitty. Come on. That's just the kind of ridiculous thing a kid would do. Adorable and kinda annoying. I just didn't like the feelings this book made me feel. Like all the worst "no one understands me, I can't get through to anyone even though I won't talk to anyone" angst that made the first half of Goblet of Fire and all of Order of the Phoenix so tough to slog through.

    Maybe I'm just not ready to plunge into the genre of mid life crisis fiction. Whatever. I'm gonna go get my degree in oceanography now.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    well done time travel
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It's finally happened: a major network has expressed interest in the show that Georgie and her writing partner Seth have been working on since their college days. The problem is that the network executive wants to meet with them on December 27th . . . and Georgie and her husband and daughters have plane tickets for a Christmas visit to Omaha. When Georgie breaks the news to her husband Neal, she proposes rescheduling the trip, but instead, Neal and the girls go to Omaha without Georgie, leaving her to write scripts with Seth and contemplate whether her marriage is in danger of disintegrating. She'd feel better if she could just talk to Neal, but she's having a hard time getting to him on his cell. In a fit of desperation, she tries the land line (she memorized the number for his mother's house years ago, though she hasn't used it in years). Neal finally answers the phone, but not the Neal who packed himself and the girls off to the airport two days ago. Instead, Georgie finds herself talking to Neal of fifteen years ago, from the last Christmas they spent apart. The Christmas when Georgie thought that he had broken up with her. The Christmas when he turned up on her doorstep after a week of silence with an engagement ring. Now Georgie is inexplicably connecting with this past iteration of Neal. Is she being given a second chance? Is she supposed to save their marriage? Or is she supposed to save Neal from their marriage?I binge-read this book in one evening. It has all of the charming elements I've come to expect from Rowell's works: lovely writing, great characters, gripping plot, delightful touches of humor. This book doesn't have quite the emotional punch of Eleanor and Park, nor did I connect with Georgie on he same level as I did with Cath in Fangirl, but I still love it wholeheartedly and definitely recommend it!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A friend of mine suggested this book. I had it on my list and when it came available in audio I decided to give it a try. The story was a little on the "make-believe" side. At times I had difficulty believing what was going on in the story. I have a hard time feeling sorry for ladies that can not function without a man. The story did entertain me a little so I am happy I gave the book a try. The ending did not surprise me. I have another of this author's books on my list, so I will give her another try later this year,
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I just love Rowell's dialogue and there are so many wonderful observations about marriage in this one, too. Plus, ya know, Omaha. So what there's a magic telephone? I'm okay with fantasy in this instance.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Georgie tells her husband that she needs to stay in LA over Christmas - something has come up at work - and hopes he will agree to stay with her. He doesn't, and takes the kids to visit his mother, leaving Georgie wondering just how much trouble her marriage is in.She's desperate to talk to her husband, but when she picks up the phone, what she gets is a chance to talk to Neal of 15 years ago. Neal as he was before kids, before marriage, before university graduation...This could make for an oddly lopsided love story, because Neal of the past gets more of a say than his present-day self, whose presence is felt more through his absence. However, I thought it actually worked really well: 20-something Neal is grappling with a lot of the same questions as 30-something Georgie: What sort of sacrifices and compromises does staying together require? Can they deal with the pressure Georgie's career puts on their relationship? Is love enough?Georgie's inexplicably magic (time-travelling) phone gives her is not so much a chance to pretend to be 22 again as a chance to talk with Neal honestly about themselves. Without being able to hide behind chatter about their girls, or what's going on at work, or current events. And, in getting to know past!Neal better, she gets to understand her Neal better.Rowell's really good at writing this sort of story. I loved the conversations and the descriptions and the characters and everything.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have enjoyed all of Rainbow Rowell's books. They have all been quick, fun reads and this one is no exception. I was intrigued by the concept of a phone that could call into the past. However, I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped. It reads more like a YA book, but because of the age of the main characters, it didn't work as a YA. I did enjoy it and think it was well worth reading, but I have enjoyed the other Rainbow Rowell books so much that it didn't quite meet the high expectations I had for the book.

    Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book through the GoodReads First Reads program.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    This was not a very good book. I thought that it was YA but I don't actually think it was. There was too much use of the f word. YA books will use just about all the other cuss words in the English language, but they don't usually use the f word. Plus the main characters were thirty-something. Late thirties even, and in YA books the characters are rarely over the age of twenty-four.

    The book just didn't hold my interest. I wouldn't have even finished it if I hadn't been listening to it on audio book. I didn't care that much about any of the characters. I felt bad for Georgie's kids because it's hard to have a parent who acts like the most important thing in their life is work. I felt bad for Georgie because her husband, what was his name? That's a record, for me to forget a character's name less then five minutes after I finished reading it. Anyway, I felt bad for Georgie because her husband wasn't very nice to her. I felt bad for Georgie's husband because she acted like her job was way more important then him or their daughters. There's nothing wrong with loving your work, but she was more in love to her job then him. I felt bad for Georgie's best friend, who's name I also don't remember, because he was in love with Georgie and missed his chance to be with her. So I felt sort of bad for all the characters in this book, but I never really cared about what happened to them. I also felt that it was sort of weird that Georgie didn't tell her husband that she'd been talking to his past self and find out that he had never realized that when he was talking to her that weekend that he was talking to her fourteen years in the future.

    Even though I felt bad for the characters, I never really cared for them. It was really more like I felt pity for them. I think the only thing that I really liked in this book was that it was shown that marriage really is hard. You have to work at it, and I guess I liked that it looked like Georgie's marriage wasn't going to end (at least at the end of the book, who knows what will happen in the years out past that unless Georgie stops neglecting her family for her work. But mostly I really didn't care about this book or its characters. I was trying to decide whether I'd give the book one star or two, but I think I'll just give it one. I saw in other people's reviews that they thought Rainbow Rowell's other books were better, so maybe I'll give some of the other ones a chance yet, but I do not recommend this book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Rainbow Rowell is becoming one of my favorite authors. I've read all of her books and have enjoyed each of them. In Rowell's latest novel, Landline, we meet Georgie McCool and her husband, Neal Grafton. They've been married for 14 years, have two beautiful girls, Georgie works her dream job and Neal stays home with the children. They are about to embark on a trip from L.A. to Omaha for a visit with Neal's mom for Christmas. Right before the trip a major player in the television show arena, approaches Georgie and her best friend Sean, to develop their own show. This is a dream come true for the two of them, this is what they've wanted since college. What's a great opportunity without a catch? They must come up with four scripts and they have to be done over the Christmas holiday. As the story unfolds, we see Neal going to Omaha without her. Georgie staying in town to work with Sean on the scripts. She reflects on how they first met, how they got married, and then the impossible happens. Her phone dies and she finds the old landline that was in her room when she was younger. She tries calling Neal, but the unexpected happens. The landline puts her in contact with Neal, not in the present, but in the past. Can Georgie fix her marriage by talking to Neal in the past? Will she convince him he should've never married her? What lengths will she go to, to keep the man of her dreams? To find out the answers to these questions, you've gotta pick up Landline by Rainbow Rowell!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I LOVE Rainbow Rowell. I only discovered her this year with Carry On and this my 4th book by this amazing author since then. She is excellent at capturing all of the angst that goes along with adolescence and young adulthood, from navigating a first love to all of the social landmines of high school and college. But unfortunately, Landline is the story of a rocky marriage between adults. Not only that, but adults with 2 children. I find it hard to believe if someone is deciding whether or not a marriage is worth saving, that the focus would still be on the cute dimples that appear whenever he smiles. Still, there's definitely a feel-good vibe about this book, with a plot that is very similar to that Christmas classic, It's a Wonderful Life. Enjoyable, but not her best. Will I read more by this amazing author? Definitely!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a fun read, if a bit predictable, but I have to admit that I wanted something more. It seemed like it veered away from some of the conversations it brought up which, if explored, might have offered a bit more weight and depth. It just sort of stopped short of going there, seemingly wanting to keep the book light. As a result, it didn't engage me as much as I might have, and while it made me laugh and entertained me... I often wanted more. I probably will read more of Rowell's work, but I'll expect a heavier dose of humor than depth.

Book preview

Landline - Rainbow Rowell

TUESDAY

DECEMBER 17, 2013

CHAPTER 1

Georgie pulled into the driveway, swerving to miss a bike.

Neal never made Alice put it away.

Apparently bicycles never got stolen back in Nebraska—and people never tried to break in to your house. Neal didn’t even lock the front door most nights until after Georgie came home, though she’d told him that was like putting a sign in the yard that said PLEASE ROB US AT GUNPOINT. No, he’d said. That would be different, I think.

She hauled the bike up onto the porch and opened the (unlocked) door.

The lights were off in the living room, but the TV was still on. Alice had fallen asleep on the couch watching Pink Panther cartoons. Georgie went to turn it off and stumbled over a bowl of milk sitting on the floor. There was a stack of laundry folded on the coffee table—she grabbed whatever was on the top to wipe it up.

When Neal stepped into the archway between the living room and the dining room, Georgie was crouched on the floor, sopping up milk with a pair of her own underwear.

Sorry, he said. Alice wanted to put milk out for Noomi.

It’s okay, I wasn’t paying attention. Georgie stood up, wadding the wet underwear in her fist. She nodded at Alice. Is she feeling okay?

Neal reached out and took the underwear, then picked up the bowl. "She’s fine. I told her she could wait up for you. It was this whole negotiation over eating her kale and not using the word ‘literally’ anymore because it’s literally driving me crazy. He looked back at Georgie on his way to the kitchen. You hungry?"

Yeah, she said, following him.

Neal was in a good mood tonight. Usually when Georgie got home this late … Well, usually when Georgie got home this late, he wasn’t.

She sat at the breakfast bar, clearing a space for her elbows among the bills and library books and second-grade worksheets.

Neal walked to the stove and turned on a burner. He was wearing pajama pants and a white T-shirt, and he looked like he’d just gotten a haircut—probably for their trip. If Georgie touched the back of his head now, it’d feel like velvet one way and needles the other.

I wasn’t sure what you wanted to pack, he said. But I washed everything in your hamper. Don’t forget that’s it’s cold there—you always forget that it’s cold.

She always ended up stealing Neal’s sweaters.

He was in such a good mood tonight.…

He smiled as he made up her plate. Stir-fry. Salmon. Kale. Other green things. He crushed a handful of cashews in his fist and sprinkled them on top, then set the plate in front of her.

When Neal smiled, he had dimples like parentheses—stubbly parentheses. Georgie wanted to pull him over the breakfast bar and nose at his cheeks. (That was her standard response to Neal smiling.) (Though Neal probably wouldn’t know that.)

I think I washed all your jeans…, he said, pouring her a glass of wine.

Georgie took a deep breath. She just had to get this over with. I got good news today.

He leaned back against the counter and raised an eyebrow. Yeah?

Yeah. So … Maher Jafari wants our show.

What’s a Maher Jafari?

"He’s the network guy we’ve been talking to. The one who green-lit The Lobby and that new reality show about tobacco farmers."

Right. Neal nodded. The network guy. I thought he was giving you the cold shoulder.

"We thought he was giving us the cold shoulder, Georgie said. Apparently he just has cold shoulders."

Huh. Wow. That is good news. So— He cocked his head to the side. —why don’t you seem happy?

"I’m thrilled," Georgie said. Shrilly. God. She was probably sweating. He wants a pilot, scripts. We’ve got a big meeting to talk casting.…

That’s great, Neal said, waiting. He knew she was burying the lead.

Georgie closed her eyes. … on the twenty-seventh.

The kitchen was quiet. She opened them. Ah, there was the Neal she knew and loved. (Truly. On both counts.) The folded arms, the narrowed eyes, the knots of muscle in both corners of his jaw.

We’re going to be in Omaha on the twenty-seventh, he said.

I know, she said. "Neal, I know."

So? Are you planning to fly back to L.A. early?

No, I … we have to get the scripts ready before then. Seth thought—

Seth.

All we’ve got done is the pilot, Georgie said. "We’ve got nine days to write four episodes and get ready for the meeting—it’s really lucky that we have some time off from Jeff’d Up this week."

"You have time off because it’s Christmas."

I know that it’s Christmas, Neal—I’m not skipping Christmas.

You’re not?

No. Just skipping … Omaha. I thought we could all skip Omaha.

We already have plane tickets.

"Neal. It’s a pilot. A deal. With our dream network."

Georgie felt like she was reading from a script. She’d already had this entire conversation, almost verbatim, this afternoon with Seth.…

It’s Christmas, she’d argued. They were in their office, and Seth was sitting on Georgie’s side of the big L-shaped desk they shared. He’d had her cornered.

"Come on, Georgie, we’ll still have Christmas—we’ll have the best Christmas ever after the meeting."

Tell that to my kids.

I will. Your kids love me.

"Seth, it’s Christmas. Can’t this meeting wait?"

We’ve already been waiting our whole career. This is happening, Georgie. Now. It’s finally happening.

Seth wouldn’t stop saying her name.

Neal’s nostrils were flaring.

My mom’s expecting us, he said.

I know, Georgie whispered.

And the kids … Alice sent Santa Claus a change-of-address card, so he’d know she’d be in Omaha.

Georgie tried to smile. It was a weak effort. I think he’ll figure it out.

That’s not— Neal shoved the corkscrew in a drawer, then slammed it shut. His voice dropped. That’s not the point.

I know. She leaned over her plate. But we can go see your mom next month.

And take Alice out of school?

If we have to.

Neal had both hands on the counter, clenching the muscles in his forearms. Like he was retroactively bracing himself for bad news. His head was hanging down, and his hair fell away from his forehead.

This might be our shot, Georgie said. Our own show.

Neal nodded without lifting his head. Right, he said. His voice was soft and flat.

Georgie waited.

Sometimes she lost her place when she was arguing with Neal. The argument would shift into something else—into somewhere more dangerous—and Georgie wouldn’t even realize it. Sometimes Neal would end the conversation or abandon it while she was still making her point, and she’d just go on arguing long after he’d checked out.

Georgie wasn’t sure whether this even qualified as an argument. Yet.

So she waited.

Neal hung his head.

What does ‘right’ mean? she finally asked.

He pushed off the counter, all bare arms and square shoulders. "It means that you’re right. Obviously. He started clearing the stove. You have to go to this meeting. It’s important."

He said it almost lightly. Maybe everything was going to be fine, after all. Maybe he’d even be excited for her. Eventually.

So, she said, testing the air between them. We’ll see about visiting your mom next month?

Neal opened the dishwasher and started gathering up dishes. No.

Georgie pressed her lips together and bit them. You don’t want to take Alice out of school?

He shook his head.

She watched him load the dishwasher. This summer, then?

His head jerked slightly, like something had brushed his ear. Neal had lovely ears. A little too big, and they poked out at the top like wings. Georgie liked to hold his head by his ears. When he’d let her.

She could imagine his head in her hands now. Could feel her thumbs stroking the tops of his ears, her knuckles brushing against his clippered hair.

No, he said again, standing up straight and wiping his palms on his pajama pants. We’ve already got plane tickets.

Neal, I’m serious. I can’t miss this meeting.

I know, he said, turning toward her. His jaw was set. Permanently.

Back in college, Neal had thought about joining the military; he would have been really good at the part where you have to deliver terrible news or execute a heartbreaking order without betraying how much it was costing you. Neal’s face could fly the Enola Gay.

I don’t understand, Georgie said.

You can’t miss this meeting, he said. And we already have plane tickets. You’ll be working all week anyway. So you stay here, focus on your show—and we’ll go see my mom.

But it’s Christmas. The kids—

They can have Christmas again with you when we get back. They’ll love that. Two Christmases.

Georgie wasn’t sure how to react. Maybe if Neal had been smiling when he said that last thing …

He motioned at her plate. Do you want me to heat that back up for you?

It’s fine, she said.

He nodded his head, minimally, then brushed past her, leaning over just enough to touch his lips to her cheek. Then he was in the living room, lifting Alice up off the couch. Georgie could hear him shushing her—It’s okay, sweetie, I’ve got you—and climbing the stairs.

WEDNESDAY

DECEMBER 18, 2013

CHAPTER 2

Georgie’s phone was dead.

It was always dead unless it was plugged in—she probably needed a new battery, but she kept forgetting to deal with it.

She set her coffee down at her desk, then plugged the phone into her laptop, shaking it, like a Polaroid picture, while she waited for it to wake up.

A grape flew between her nose and the screen.

So? Seth asked.

Georgie lifted her head, looking at him properly for the first time since she got to work. He was wearing a pink oxford with a green knit vest, and his hair was especially swoopy today. Seth looked like a handsome Kennedy cousin. Like one who didn’t inherit the teeth.

So what? she said.

So, how’d it go?

He meant with Neal. But he wouldn’t say with Neal—because that’s how they all got by. There were rules.

Georgie looked back down at her phone. No missed calls. Fine.

I told you it’d be fine.

Well, you were right.

I’m always right, Seth said.

Georgie could hear him sitting back in his chair. She could picture him, too—long legs kicked up, resting on the edge of their shared desk.

You are very occasionally, eventually, partially right, she said, still fiddling with her phone.

Neal and the girls were probably already on their second flight by now. They’d had a short layover in Denver. Georgie thought about sending them a text—love you guys—and imagined it landing in Omaha before they did.

But Neal never sent text messages, so he never checked them; it was like texting a void.

She put down the phone and pushed her glasses into her hair, trying to focus on her computer. She had a dozen new e-mails, all from Jeff German, the comedian who was the star of their show.

Georgie would not miss Jeff German if this new deal went through. She wouldn’t miss his e-mails. Or his red ball cap. Or the way he made her rewrite entire episodes of Jeff’d Up if he thought the actors who played his TV family were getting too many laughs.

I can’t take this. The door swung open, and Scotty slunk in. There was just enough room in Seth and Georgie’s office for one other chair—an uncomfortable hammocky thing from IKEA. Scotty fell onto it sideways, holding his head. I can’t. I’m terrible with secrets.

Good morning, Georgie said.

Scotty peeked through his fingers. Hey, Georgie. The girl out front said to tell you that your mom’s on the phone. Line two.

Her name is Pamela.

Okay. My mom’s name is Dixie.

No, the new PA, her name… Georgie shook her head and reached for the black desk phone that sat between her and Seth. This is Georgie.

Her mom sighed. I’ve been on hold so long, I thought that girl forgot about me.

Nope. What’s up?

I just called to see how you were doing. Her mom sounded concerned. (Her mom liked to sound concerned.)

I’m fine, Georgie said.

Well… Another sigh. A fortified sigh. I talked to Neal this morning.

How’d you manage that?

I set my alarm. I knew you guys were leaving early—I wanted to say good-bye.

Her mom always made a big deal about plane trips. And minor surgery. And sometimes just getting off the phone. You never know when it’s going to be the last time you see somebody, and you don’t want to miss your chance to say good-bye.

Georgie propped the phone between her ear and shoulder, so she could type. That was nice of you. Did you get to talk to the girls?

"I talked to Neal, her mom said again. For emphasis. He told me you guys are spending some time apart."

Mom, Georgie said, bringing her hand back to the receiver. Only the week.

He said you were splitting up for Christmas.

Not like that—why’re you making it sound like that? Something just came up for me at work.

You’ve never had to work on Christmas before.

"I don’t have to work on Christmas. I have to work around Christmas. It’s complicated. Georgie resisted checking to see if Seth was listening. It was my decision."

"You decided to be alone on Christmas."

I won’t be alone. I’ll be with you.

But, honey, we’re spending the day with Kendrick’s family—I told you that—and your sister’s going to her dad’s. I mean, you’re welcome to come to San Diego with us.…

Never mind, I’ll figure it out. Georgie glanced around the room. Seth was throwing grapes in the air and catching them in his mouth. Scotty was sprawled out miserably, like he had menstrual cramps. I have to get back to work.

Well, come over tonight, her mom said. I’ll make dinner.

I’m fine, Mom, really.

Come over, Georgie. You shouldn’t be alone right now.

There’s no ‘right now,’ Mom. I’m fine.

It’s Christmas.

Not yet.

I’ll make dinner—come. She hung up before Georgie could argue any more.

Georgie sighed and rubbed her eyes. Her eyelids felt greasy. Her hands smelled like coffee.

I can’t do this, Scotty moaned. Everyone can tell I have a secret.

Seth glanced up at the door—it was closed. "So? As long as they don’t know what the secret is…"

I don’t like it, Scotty said. I feel like such a traitor. I’m Lando on Cloud City. I’m that guy who kissed Jesus.

Georgie wondered if any of the other writers actually did suspect something. Probably not. Georgie and Seth’s contract was up soon, but everybody assumed they were staying. Why would they leave Jeff’d Up after finally dragging it into the top ten?

If they stayed, they’d get raises. Giant, life-changing raises. The sort of money that made Seth’s eyeballs pop out like Scrooge McDuck whenever he talked about it.

But if they left …

They’d only leave Jeff’d Up now for one reason. To start their own show. The show Georgie and Seth had been dreaming about practically since they met—they’d written the first draft of the pilot together when they were still in college. Their own show, their own characters. No more Jeff German. No more catchphrases. No more laugh track.

They’d take Scotty with them if they left. (When they left, Seth would say. When, when, when.) Scotty was theirs; Georgie had hired him two shows back, and he was the best gag writer they’d worked with.

Seth and Georgie were better at writing situations. Weirdness that twisted into more weirdness, jokes that built and built, and finally paid off big after eight episodes. But sometimes you just needed somebody to slip on a banana peel. Scotty never ran out of banana peels.

Nobody knows you have a secret, Seth told him. Nobody cares. They’re all just trying to get their shit done so they can get out of here for Christmas.

So what’s the plan, then? Scotty propped himself up in the chair. He was a smallish Indian guy, with shaggy hair and glasses, and he dressed like almost everybody else on the writing staff—in jeans, a hooded sweatshirt, and stupid-looking flip-flops. Scotty was the only gay person on their staff. Sometimes people thought Seth was gay, but he wasn’t. Just pretty.

Seth threw a grape at Scotty. Then another one at Georgie. She ducked.

The plan, Seth said, is we come in tomorrow as usual, and we write. And then we write some more.

Scotty picked his grape up off the floor and ate it. I just hate to abandon everybody. Why do we always move as soon as I make friends? He shifted to sulk in Georgie’s direction. Hey. Georgie. Are you okay? You look weird.

Georgie realized she was staring. And not at either of them. Yeah, she said. Fine.

She picked up her phone again and thumbed out a text.

*   *   *

Maybe …

Maybe she should have talked to Neal this morning before he left. Really talked to him. Made sure everything was okay.

But by the time Neal’s alarm went off at four thirty, he was already out of bed and mostly dressed. Neal still used an old Dream Machine clock radio, and when he came over to the bed to turn it off, he told Georgie to go back to sleep.

You’ll be a wreck later, he said when she sat up anyway.

Like Georgie was going to sleep through telling the girls good-bye. Like they weren’t all going to be apart for a week. Like it wasn’t Christmas.

She reached for the pair of glasses hooked over their headboard and put them on. I’m taking you to the airport, she said.

Neal was standing outside his closet with his back to her, pulling a blue sweater down over his shoulders. I already called for a car.

Maybe Georgie should have argued then. Instead she got up and tried to help with the girls.

There wasn’t much to do. Neal had put them to bed in sweatpants and T-shirts, so he could carry them out to the car this morning without waking them.

But Georgie wanted to talk to them, and anyway, Alice woke up while Georgie was trying to slide on her pink Mary Janes.

Daddy said I could wear my boots, Alice croaked.

Where are they? Georgie whispered.

Daddy knows.

They woke Noomi up, looking for them.

Then Noomi wanted her boots.

Then Georgie offered to get them yogurt, but Neal said they’d eat at the airport; he’d packed snacks.

He let Georgie explain why she wasn’t getting on the plane with them—Are you driving instead? Alice asked—while he ran up and down the stairs, and in and out the front door, double-checking things and rounding up bags.

Georgie tried to tell the girls that they’d be having such a good time, they’d hardly miss her—and that they’d all celebrate together next week. We’ll have two Christmases, Georgie said.

I don’t think that’s actually possible, Alice argued.

Noomi started crying because her sock was turned the wrong way around her toes. Georgie couldn’t tell if she wanted it seam-on-the-bottom or seam-on-top. Neal came in from the garage and whipped off Noomi’s boot to fix it. Car’s here, he said.

It was a minivan. Georgie herded the girls out the door, then knelt down next to the curb in her pajama pants, kissing both their faces all over and trying to act like saying good-bye to them wasn’t that big of a deal.

You’re the best mommy in the world, Noomi said. Everything was the best and the worst with Noomi. Everything was never and always.

And you are the best four-year-old girl in the world, Georgie said, smashing her nose with a kiss.

Kitty, Noomi said. She was still tearful from the sock problem.

You are the best kitty in the world. Georgie tucked Noomi’s wispy yellow-brown hair behind her ears and pulled her T-shirt smooth over her belly.

Green kitty.

The best green kitty.

Meow, Noomi said.

Meow, Georgie answered.

Mom? Alice asked.

Yeah? Georgie pulled the seven-year-old closer—Here, give me all your hugs—but Alice was too busy thinking to hug back.

If Santa brings your presents to Grandma’s house, I’ll save them for you. I’ll put them in my suitcase.

Santa doesn’t usually bring Mommy presents.

"Well, but if he does…"

Meow, Noomi said.

Okay, Georgie agreed, holding Alice in her left arm and scooping Noomi close with her right, if he brings me presents, you take care of them for me.

Mommy, meow!

Meow, Georgie said, squeezing them both.

Mom?

Yes, Alice.

The true meaning of Christmas isn’t presents anyway, it’s Jesus. But not for us, because we’re not religious. The true meaning of Christmas for us is just family.

Georgie kissed her cheek. That’s true.

I know.

Okay. I love you. I love you both so much.

To the moon and back? Alice asked.

Oh my God, Georgie said, so much farther.

To the moon and back infinity?

Meow!

Meow, Georgie said. "Infinity times infinity. I love you so much, it

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