He looks a bit like he's just tasted something that disagrees with his palate, and she realizes that she can relate. Normal is a hard pill to swallow, these days.

"Normal is good, John," she says, though she sounds like she's trying to convince herself. "Normal is normal. Sometimes the rest of us mere mortals need that." She doesn't mean to sound bitter, or even to steer the conversation away from talks of pet pros and cons. But she doesn't think she's wrong, either. Normal is good, and sometimes it's good to be reminded of that.