This Life

Natalie will learn the results of her latest scan - the first scan done since she started the drug trial - at the end of the working day, the results which could provide some clue as to her prognosis. As such, she is a bit anxious as she tries to take her mind off the appointment. Of her two offspring that know about the appointment, she has told Emma and Romy that they need not accompany her. Emma has to work anyway, and Romy is still secretly trying to eke out an independent life if and when her mother passes. Beyond the bittersweet task of returning Jude to his rightful owner, Natalie, in mapping out her day, has decided to help Matthew in the move to his new apartment, and in a separate visit talk to Nicole about an issue in light of her and Matthew's separation. But it's an unexpected stop in her travels for the day that may bring the issue of the scan home for her. Meanwhile, Maggie confides in Raza her concern about Oliver, that concern based on what she saw of his apartment. What Maggie is unaware of is how desperate Oliver is in making good on the one window of opportunity he has found in making a go of his art career in Montréal. Maggie's concern for her brother takes a back seat to a last minute item in her day: a lunch invitation which Raza has accepted for the two of them with her parents. Janine's efforts to place Maggie and Raza's marriage into a context she can understand and accept may not sit well with her rebellious daughter, especially based on what Maggie saw of her own parents' marriage while she was growing up.

Natalie begins to think about Maggie's assertion that she focuses too much of her life on her children, while she should spend more time thinking about herself. Natalie may disagree. Something that Natalie does not yet know is that Caleb is contemplating going to Africa for the summer on a work term, while figuring out what to do about his relationship with Ariel. Emma has just started a triathlon program - something that Natalie feels will take up too much of her precious time - while she adjusts to being in the same class as Romy. Gifted Romy may have problems adjusting to the social aspects of her new school situation. And her unofficial fourth child, Maggie, has just found out that Simon, her new sex partner, wants to continue their relationship despite he already having a girlfriend, about who Maggie didn't know before sleeping with him. Natalie may change her mind about Maggie's assertion when she meets Emma and Romy's new principal, Andrew Wallace. And Natalie decides to broaden her horizons by joining Maggie in her new aggression therapy. This all may change for Natalie when she learns that her cancer has returned in a much more aggressive form than the first time...