Evening

Where's Harris?

(GULLS CRY)

WOMAN: Mom.

Mom.

Mom.

Hello?

Hi, Mom.

She keeps saying, "Where's Harris?"

Who's Harris, Mom?

Harris was my first mistake.

Do you remember your first mistake, honey?

Shh.

Mom, you were dreaming, that's all.

Your first mistake is like your first kiss. You never forget it.

Shh. Just rest now, OK?

You've never told us about somebody named Harris.

I guess I wanted it to be a surprise.

You used to like surprises.

Is he an old boyfriend of yours?

Mine and Buddy's.

Buddy loved him too.

Harris and I killed Buddy.

Mom, what are you talking about?

Nina, she didn't murder anyone.

Mom, look at me. Look at me. Try to focus.

Buddy!

-Hey, beautiful.

-Hey.

Mwah.

I've been on a bus for seven hours. I'm not even remotely beautiful.

But you're never anything but.

It's up to you to stop the wedding, you know?

Me?

You're Lila's last hope.

I'm not anyone's last hope.

Shh.

Everything's OK.

Honey, you're such a good mother.

I wasn't much of one myself.

No, you've been a very good mother, sweetheart.

Oh...

Come on, Mom.

I'm nobody's sweetheart.

It was a mistake to name that star after me.

(CAR HORN BEEPS)

-(WOMAN LAUGHS)

-Hi, sweetheart.

Honey, are you OK?

Course I am.

My wedding.

Come on, I'll show you to your room.

I wasn't expecting anything quite so grand.

It's just a very old dream my family can't seem to wake up from.

I don't really look very Newport, do I?

No, you look wonderful.

-Where did you get this blouse?

-Oh...

You always find the most unusual things.

Come on.

-Great dress.

-Oh!

Bride of Dracula.

It's probably better if they're more afraid of me than I am of them.

Oh, no, my family is not scared of vampires.

They don't have enough blood to be of interest.

Come on, I'll show you round.

(BIRD CRIES)

(DOGS BARK)

BUDDY: Trouble is, I need a first sentence.

I can't believe that other guy got "Call me Ishmael" before you did.

(LAUGHS) I know, it's my luck, right?

But what do you think about this?

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

-No good. No.

-Yeah, no, I'll keep at it.

-So your family owns this cliff too?

-Mm-hm.

Known locally as the 'Plunge'.

I fully intend to amount to something despite my advantages.

Hey, look.

Come on. I want you to meet somebody.

Harris!

Buddy.

Buddy. Come here.

Hey, the 'Fish' is a wreck. Who's been taking care of it?

Nobody probably.

Ann, this is my big brother, Harris Arden.

Dr Harris Arden. The only one around here who actually has a job.

I'm not his brother. I'm one of the servants.

Oh.

Ha. I'm Ann Grant.

Prone to inappropriate apparel.

If the family's not gonna take decent care of the 'Fish',

they should sell her to someone who will.

What's wrong with it?

Mould, barnacles, the planks are leaking.

Can we still take her out?

Sure.

Hey, Ann, you wanna come for a sail?

Oh, I think I have bridesmaid things to do.

Watch the sail.

Pippin Fitzgerald. I didn't even know that he was coming.

Uh, nine's good.

-Ann, darling.

-Hi, Mrs W.

Oh, lovely to see you.

Oh, Ann, dear,

it seems that half the people I have seated together at this reception

are either mortal enemies,

have had disastrous affairs,

or both.

I hear you're gonna honour us with a song at the reception.

Oh, I don't think anyone's all that likely to feel honoured.

Have you made your selection? There's some lovely Schubert songs.

That's not really the kind of thing that I do.

I can get through 'Time After Time' without going flat.

Hmm.

So, what are we gonna do?

Oh, why don't we move Ellie and Joe Mortimer

to table four with the Fairfields?

No?

The tennis thing... summer before last?

Oh, my Lord.

At least one of us has powers of retention. (CHUCKLES)

Ann, did Buddy take you down to the beach?

Oh, yes. I met Harris.

What are we gonna do with those Mortimers?

Oh, um...

Here's a card from somebody named Peach.

Peach Howze Lamont. You know who that is?

Sounds like a stripper.

I don't think Mom knew any strippers.

It's hard to say who Mom knew, isn't it?

Well, what's with this fixation of yours, anyway?

What fixation?

Well, she mentions a couple of names and suddenly you're Nancy Drew.

Well, she keeps going on about people we've never heard of.

She says Harris was her only love

and then she tells us she and Harris killed somebody.

She's not exactly in her right mind, in case you haven't noticed.

I have a feeling, that's all.

Who was supposed to speak to Lila about green?

Hi, Ann.

It's nice to see you.

I'm sorry, I'm having a dress crisis.

-Oh.

-It looks better on Ann.

Oh, Ann, darling. Wherever did you get those shoes?

Oh, I don't know.

The Village somewhere.

You got them in a village?

Oh, no, Greenwich Village. In New York City.

Ah.

Champagne's gonna be beautiful with your hair.

Thank you, Peach.

-This is gonna be fun. (LAUGHS)

-(LAUGHS)

(LAUGHS) I can't wait.

(SINGS) # What good are words

# I say to you? #

You're on, baby.

I don't wanna go on. I wanna go back.

Sorry. No can do.

I've made a mistake.

Mistakes are beautiful, baby.

Mistakes are part of the fun.

But I'm wearing the wrong dress.

I can't go for a sail in this.

I just think Mom's trying to tell us something.

I think Mom needs to be left in peace at this point.

Well, when I'm on my deathbed

I hereby give you permission to ask me a question or two about my life.

Nina, if you won't give Mom a break, how about giving me one?

This is probably not the best time for us to have a fight.

We don't need to have a fight, but really,

I'm not gonna let you torture Mom anymore.

-Not at this point.

-Excuse me?

Torture her anymore?

Sorry, bad choice of words.

So I torture Mom and you make her happy

by getting the husband and the kids and the big-ass house?

Nina, don't ask me to apologise for my life again, OK?

(DOOR OPENS, VOICES CHATTER)

Hey, look. Here comes your life now.

Ethan won't stop looking at me.

Hey, Luc, why did the monkey fall out of the tree?

-Why?

-Because it was dead.

Come on, kids. Let's go up and say hello to grandma.

-Is she dead?

-No, honey. She's resting is all.

She'll be so happy to see you. Come on, let's go.

You see? She's sleeping, that's all.

But she'll be dead soon.

Well, she's had a good, long life

and she loves you two more than anything.

Can I touch her hand?

Of course you can. Just be very gentle.

(GASPS)

What? Is it time to go on?

No, it's nothing, Mom.

Oh, where's my dress?

Shh. Just go back to sleep now. OK?

When you were little,

you used to cry whenever I put that dress on.

Do you remember?

It meant you were going out.

I never went very far, though, did I?

I never went for that sail.

I should have.

Oh, I should have gone for that sail.

(GULLS CRY)

(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS)

(SONG) # I've got the world on a string

# I'm sitting on a rainbow

# Got that string around my finger... #

It's a little early, isn't it?

(LAUGHS) This is Newport. It starts at noon.

-Want one?

-No, thank you.

# I've got a song that I sing

# And I can make the rainbow

# Any time I move my finger... #

-Who's Harris?

-Harris.

Harris is our old housekeeper's son.

You're joking.

OK, this is not our family's summer cottage.

This is our family's summer mansion

and, yeah, Harris is our old housekeeper's son.

In the summers when we used to come up here,

Harris and his mother lived in an apartment off the kitchen.

Really?

OK,

it's time to shut up and dance.

# I've got the world on a string

# I'm sitting on a rainbow

# I've got that string around my finger

# Oh, look at me

# Can't you see I'm in love... #

(BOTH LAUGH)

(LAUGHS)

All right, if fist-fights break out during the reception,

it won't be because no-one worried about the seating arrangements.

Great.

You will turn down that a little bit, won't you, dear?

Is your suit pressed for this evening?

Mm-hm.

And you need a haircut.

# I'd be a crazy so and so

# If I should ever let it go

# I've got the world on a string

# I'm sitting on a rainbow

# I got that string around my finger

# Oh, what a world, what a life

# Oh, what a world, what a life

-# What a world, what a life

-(SINGS) # What a world, what a life

-# Cos I'm in love

-# I'm in love. #

# Mmm, I'm in love. #

(ANN LAUGHS)

We'll just feed them and get them to bed and I'll be back later, OK?

Mommy, Ethan's farting! He's farting!

-Argh!

-Chloe, sit down, baby.

'Bye.

-Ooh. (SIGHS)

-Sobering, isn't it? (LAUGHS)

Did you say something a while ago about wanting one?

Well, after a bottle of champagne, as I recall.

And in answer to a question from you, as I recall.

Yeah, I mean it.

Darling. (SIGHS)

Can we discuss this sometime when my mother isn't dying?

Yeah, sorry.

Just seems like...

..maybe...

..maybe this is a good time to talk about some new life.

Mmm, I know.

Listen, what if I didn't... I didn't want to?

I don't mean just for now.

I mean...

..ever.

Oh, honey, it's time to shut up and dance.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

-How's she doing?

-Hmm, I don't know.

Not so good.

We just want to keep her out of pain now.

As much as we can.

She keeps saying strange things.

They do sometimes in end stage.

Medication can make 'em very dreamy.

She's been talking about...oh...

..people from her past, I guess,

people my sister and I have never heard of.

They might be real people

and they might not be.

You never really know.

So, Mom...

..is this all just a dream you're having?

Hello, Harris. How are you?

Hello, Mrs Wittenborn.

Seriously, Lila is making a big mistake, don't you think?

-It's a little hard to say.

-Oh!

All right, what do you like best about Karl?

-Um...er...

-Come on.

Yeah? Mmm? Go on.

Yeah, Karl's...

..tall. (LAUGHS)

But, you know, Buddy, if this is what Lila wants...

No, no, no, this is what Lila thinks that she's supposed to want.

-There's a difference.

-Well, maybe not, for Lila.

You know, I think...

I think that she should marry Harris.

Do you?

He's the one she's really in love with,

has been, like, ever since we were kids, you know?

Is Harris in love with her?

Oh, everyone's in love with Lila. I'm in love with Lila. Aren't you?

-She's one of my best friends.

-Right.

So talk to her.

Huh? Heh?

I wanna sit the next one out.

-What? No.

-Yeah.

-I'm on fire here.

-My point exactly.

-KARL: Hi, Ann.

-Hi.

Sis, you know, you got the looks AND the brains.

(CHUCKLES) I mean, probably the talent too.

I don't mind. I'm just mentioning it.

Buddy, why don't you sit down?

Plenty of virtues are left for the little brother.

You know, stalwart, cheerful, good in emergencies.

Oh, Karl, man.

You... You're so tall.

Thanks.

Oh, yeah.

Ann, did Lila tell you

that Harris was the first guy that she ever kissed?

I was 15.

I guess I had a thing for older men then.

And Harris has the shrapnel from Korea right here.

Wrong place at the wrong time.

I'm not a hero or anything like that.

Course you're a hero.

So, Buddy tells me you're a singer.

Well, I sing.

-I try to sing.

-No, she's great, she's great.

She's gonna sing in Carnegie Hall one day.

I'll be glad if I can pay my light bill one day.

As I recall, I lured you down to the beach.

You'd got into your father's Scotch.

Well, I had to.

I mean, I was leaving for school the next day.

-Drunken abandon was my last hope.

-You passed out.

Oh, well, all right, it's time for a full confession.

When you wouldn't kiss me back, I pretended to pass out.

Oh.

It was the only thing I could think of to do.

Well, you were very convincing.

And you carried me back up to the house.

And... (SIGHS)

..I'm not gonna humiliate myself any further

by telling you how deeply I believed

that I was Catherine and you were Heathcliff.

Harris is a doctor of medicine.

-He told me that.

-Yeah. In Shel...

Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.

Yeah. Which is where he grew up.

He went back to practise medicine among his own people.

-That's very impressive.

-Only to Buddy.

Harris, would you consider dancing with the bride-to-be?

My pleasure.

Ann, Buddy, come on. Let's dance.

I think I'm gonna sit this one out.

Harris served in Korea, came back here to practise medicine

in this dying little mill town where he grew up

like some goddamn knight or something.

He's Lila's only love

and she is about to wreck her goddamn life.

That's enough.

Never seems like enough.

It's enough. Trust me.

(PIANO MUSIC PLAYS)

(INAUDIBLE CONVERSATION)

She keeps talking about somebody named Harris.

He might have been the love of her life or he might just be a fantasy.

Now, at the very end, that's who she's talking about.

-Nina.

-Mm-hm?

You seem to be...

..er, OK,

the love of my life.

I don't know why, you're a mess, but I, er...

..I seem to love you.

Luc, that's so sweet.

'Sweet'.

I didn't mean it like that.

I love you too.

I just...I still need some more time.

You know, I...

..er...

..I can't do this much longer.

You know, I can't be hanging around your mother's deathbed

wondering if I should even be here or not, I...

There's something I have to tell you.

I have to tell you

this may be it.

I mean, this may just be me.

All unsure and confused and...

..messed up.

So if you're hanging in,

waiting for me to metamorphose into the woman you want,

I've gotta tell you you might be waiting a long, long time.

(SNIFFLING)

Lila, is that you?

I'm fine, Ann.

Open the door, OK?

Honey!

What is it?

Nothing.

It's nothing.

It can't be nothing.

Just jitters.

Lila, are you sure you want to go through with this?

So Karl announces quite proudly that when he grows up

he's not going to marry Mom after all.

He's going to marry Jean Harlow.

Well, he's done a lot better than Jean Harlow, in my humble opinion.

Welcome to the family, Lila.

Thank you.

I hope you know what you're getting yourself into.

Hear, hear, hear.

(CLEARS THROAT)

-Well, as the very proud father...

-BUDDY: Hey, sis. Hey, sis. Sis!

You know what you've got, sis?

You have got a talent for love.

You're like the love genius.

And there's too many statues of generals and politicians

and there's not enough statues of someone like you.

You know?

But... (CHUCKLES)

..in this world, in this world,

there's so much of what looks like love

and sounds like love

and it calls itself love...

..but it isn't.

It's just...people

saying and doing what they think

that they ought to say and do.

And you...

You're the greatest.

(WHISPERS) You're the greatest.

So here's to love.

And here's to you.

MR WITTENBORN: Buddy, how about if we put you to bed?

-The party's not over, is it?

-Come on, son.

We were just gonna go for a little walk, weren't we? Buddy and me.

A walk would be just exhilarating right about now.

Lila listens to reason. We've got to talk her out of it.

I guess we would be the ones.

-(CHUCKLES)

-Yeah. Come here.

-Oh. Oh!

-Buddy. Buddy!

Let's sit you down.

Yeah, maybe that's a good idea.

-No. No, no, no, no, no.

-Ooh!

(HARRIS AND ANN LAUGH)

You beauties.

(SIGHS) Buddy.

(LAUGHS)

Why do I feel like he's been this way since he was about 10?

He didn't actually start drinking till he was 12.

(LAUGHS)

Oh...

He's a total disaster, really.

(SIGHS)

And yet I seem to love him.

Yeah, I love him too.

OK, he's all tucked in.

You've been doing this a long time, haven't you?

Before he settled down, he showed me the star he picked out for you.

Oh, that.

It's a nice little star.

It is. It's very nice.

It's one of the Seven Sisters.

Oh, see? There she is.

Right there.

This isn't too personal, is it?

No. No, not really.

I met Buddy in college and within three weeks

he'd picked me out a star,

he'd declared my flower to be the peony,

my bird to be the swift,

my tree to be the sycamore.

The list goes on.

-He was in love with you.

-No.

No, he was my best friend's little brother.

But as we would walk around campus,

and he'd go on about how the swift was my bird,

the onyx was my stone,

I finally asked him why he kept doing that

and...

..do you know what he said?

He said he did it so that I would remember him

whenever I saw peonies and swifts and sycamores and all that.

As if he just thought he would disappear one day.

Isn't that sad?

See that star over there?

Where?

The medium-sized.

Right there, the one...near Orion.

Yes.

Hey.

That's our star.

It's the one we were looking at when you were a beautiful young girl

and you were kissed by some strange older guy

who had no right to kiss you,

and after the weekend, you never saw him again.

I'm supposed to slap you, you know?

Go ahead. You should.

You have such hopes

but you wear the wrong clothes, you say the wrong things.

Before you know it, you can't tell

what was your life and what were your mistakes

and you start to feel like you're made of wrongness.

What if there were no such thing as a mistake?

You wouldn't say that if you'd met my husbands.

I have met them.

Oh.

Well, you wouldn't say that if...

..if you'd seen me in a maxiskirt.

I have seen you in a maxiskirt.

Who are you?

I'm the night nurse.

Well, you dress rather strangely...

..for a nurse,

if you don't mind my saying so.

I don't mind in the slightest.

But you're a real nurse? I mean, have you had training?

Oh, my, yes.

I can do just about anything you need me to.

Can you tell me where my life went?

I can tell you that your star is Alcyone...

..your stone is the amethyst,

your bird is the thrush.

No.

My bird is the swift.

I'm afraid that's not accurate.

Uh-huh.

Really?

Yes, really.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Come in.

You're up.

It's my wedding day.

-It's perfect outside.

-Isn't it?

-Hey.

-(SOBS)

Oh, honey.

There, there.

La, la, la.

(SIGHS AND LAUGHS)

Lila, do you really, REALLY want to marry Karl?

Mm-hm.

-(SOBS)

-Honey.

OK, I'm...I'm just gonna say it.

I don't think that you're in love with Karl.

I think you're in love with Harris.

That's ridiculous.

Is it?

I'm not in love with Harris

and Harris is not in love with me.

Are you sure?

Yes.

Do you want to know how I know?

Yeah.

Because I asked him.

You did?

Last night, in the middle of my rehearsal dinner,

I told him that since I was 15...

..that I'd turned down every other guy who came along

who wasn't him,

who had the bad taste not to be Harris.

I mean, I more or less offered to sneak out with him

and do anything and everything that he might want me to do.

Well, to be perfectly honest, I find that impulse understandable.

I don't think I could do half of the things that I said I could.

-(LAUGHS)

-I mean, you know, anatomically.

Honey, what exactly did you say?

I humiliated myself.

Completely.

I mean, do you...

Do you understand that? Do you know what I'm saying?

Yes.

I had to know if there was a chance for me with Harris,

and I got my answer.

And now I'm gonna get married.

OK, maybe it isn't Harris for you.

But you don't have to marry Karl if you're not sure.

Send everybody home?

Tell them that the bride has changed her mind?

Yes.

-I'm 24 years old.

-So?

It would kill Karl.

He'd recover.

No. No, he wouldn't.

He's not...he's not the kind of person

that would recover from something like that.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

MRS WITTENBORN: Lila. Lila, dear, are you up?

Just a minute, Mother.

-We've got a lot to do.

-I know.

(FOOTSTEPS RECEDE)

I need you to be a proper bridesmaid.

I need you to be very, very nice to Karl.

Can you do that for me?

Is that what you really and truly want me to do?

He's a good man.

And he'll be a wonderful husband.

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH)

It's time to hit the deck, dear.

-Good morning, Ann.

-ANN: Good morning.

Everything seems like a good idea at the time.

One thing led to another and...

But now when I look back on it all...

What do you see?

Waste.

Failure.

Only that?

Oh, pretty much.

Why don't you think of a time when you were happy?

Don't patronise me, please.

Why don't you just close your eyes

and think of a time when you were happy.

It's best really if you choose something ordinary.

An ordinary moment during an ordinary day.

(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC)

Mommy, I wanna go home.

-Oh, honey.

-Everybody's a critic.

No, I'm a terrible mother.

-(SOBS)

-Connie, sweetheart, I'm so sorry.

Your mommy just can't afford a sitter today and tonight.

(CONNIE CRIES)

Hey, you know, I think I should take her home.

We gotta rehearse, baby.

(SIGHS)

Give her to me.

I've had three. I know what I'm doing.

-(GRUNTS)

-(CHUCKLES)

Here. Looky here.

This is a piano

and you and me are gonna play it,

and your momma's gonna sing for us.

Here we go.

(PLAYS PIANO)

(SINGS) # Time after time

# I tell myself that I'm

# So lucky to be loving you... #

Look at momma.

# So lucky to be the one you run to see

# In the evening

# When the day is through... #

What happened to your dress?

What dress would that be?

-Hey, Luc.

-Hey, Annie.

How's the band?

You know, working our way up from dumps to dives.

Connie, did you like my song?

I'm Nina, Mom.

Connie went home for a little while.

It wasn't right, me dragging you round to clubs like that.

Are you OK, Mom?

Are you in much pain?

We should let her rest a little, I think.

Yeah, I wanna stay a minute, OK?

Just me.

-Don't overtire her.

-Yeah. Five minutes.

Hey, Mom.

How are you doing?

Honey, let's not talk about me.

How are you?

I'm OK.

-I'm Nina, right?

-Of course you are.

You look a little peaked, frankly. Let me feel your forehead.

I'm fine, really.

-No, you're not fine.

-I'm fine enough.

I'm not the one who's sick.

You're not the one who's well.

Can I tell you something?

Of course.

I'm pregnant.

Oh, darling.

That's wonderful.

With Luc. Luc's baby.

Our baby.

I haven't told him.

I haven't told anybody.

And, Mom, I don't know what to do.

I can't imagine getting rid of it. I don't think I could do that.

But I can't exactly imagine being with Luc all my life either.

I mean, we've been together three years

and I've never felt sure.

And now I'm two months along.

I'm afraid having the baby

would be something I'd regret for the rest of my life

and I'm afraid not having the baby

would be something I'd regret for the rest of my life.

A baby is a wonderful thing.

You said Harris was your only love.

That's how I want to feel.

Harris showed me how much it can be.

Yeah, go on.

Will you promise me something?

Like, tomorrow, after sis marries Dwight D. Eisenhower...

Stop that.

..we can drive to New York together,

just you and I,

and we'd go on a bender, you know?

We can hit a million clubs,

just hang around with criminals and degenerates.

I sing for criminals and degenerates

Thursdays through Sundays.

They lose their fascination.

Hey, hey. Look. Look.

Do you think there's a message inside?

Sure. How can there not be?

I'll bet you Karl threw a dozen of them in the water last night

for Lila to find this morning.

Nah. It's for us. It's for you and me.

Just you wait.

There'll be a note in there that says something like,

"Lila, I'll love you forever."

(LAUGHS)

I was thinking more like,

"Whoever finds this bottle gets to make three wishes."

So you start thinking of wishes.

And?

It's wine.

It's really old wine.

Don't drink it.

Annie, I'm not that far gone.

Oh, no, I'm sorry.

No, of course you're not.

-(YELPS)

-Whoo!

Hi.

Look what I found.

Oh, my God.

The queen-of-the-night dress.

Do you remember her wearing this?

Just barely.

Whenever I think of Mom, I see her in this dress

going off to work.

She loved it so much.

In her masochistic way.

In a real way.

Singing at the occasional wedding is not what she had in mind.

Do you remember when she took us to hear Peggy Lee

at the Algonquin?

-Oh, it was awful.

-No, it wasn't.

Mom cried...hard.

Because she was moved.

Because she was sitting there with two little girls in party dresses

and Peggy Lee was the one up there on the stage.

Just how unhappy do you need Mom to have been?

Uh, translation, please?

Let's let it go. We're both exhausted.

No. Let's not let it go.

(SIGHS) Great.

All right, it seems to me that you're counting on Mom

to have been as unfulfilled as you are and I'm not gonna let you do it.

How dare you!

I'm not gonna let you badger her on her deathbed

about supposed old miseries

that are probably in fact just fever dreams.

Who are you to tell me I'm unfulfilled?

Whatever the hell that means.

Oh, OK, so you're fulfilled, I'm not.

The fulfilled one has the career and the husband and the house and garden,

which just happen to be three towns away from Mom.

-Mom needed someone close by.

-The cleaning women.

-Variously depressed au pairs.

-You don't know how frail she's been.

Family dinners at least three times a week and no more sex

because even if you weren't too tired,

the children will probably hear you.

Stop this!

So I hope you'll understand if I tell you

I don't look at you and say to myself,

"Hey, that's one fulfilled woman over there."

-Let's talk about your life then.

-OK, let's.

You've had four different careers.

Go-go dancing didn't count as a career.

You were going to be a real dancer.

Do have any idea how hard it was for me to admit I was not good enough?

I don't think you really tried. Not really.

Luc is your umpteenth boyfriend.

-How many exactly is umpteen?

-And you're about to dump him.

I look at you and I think, "In five years

"she'll have a different job and another new boyfriend,

"and five years after that

-"she'll have another new job and another new boyfriend."

-So?

Nothing gets its hooks into you. You just drift.

Well, something has.

I'm pregnant.

-You are?

-Uh-huh.

Oh.

Oh, sweetheart.

(SIGHS)

Sit down.

I'm two months gone, I can stand.

A little slip-up

can happen to even the most determined 'commit-a-phobe'.

Come on. Sit down.

OK.

I'll sit if it will make you any happier.

It will.

You could be a great mother.

You really love your kids, don't you?

More than anything.

Got that.

That doesn't mean they don't drive me crazy.

It doesn't mean I don't wonder sometimes

if...I should be a surfer chick

with seven stupid boyfriends.

Got that too.

Will you not get mad if I say something?

(SCOFFS)

I'll do my best.

If you go on being the bad girl,

if you insist on

screwing up everything and everyone that comes your way,

there's a very real chance you'll end up alone.

Oh...

..Nina, I'm sorry.

See?

At least I'm not mad.

(WHIRRING AND GROANING)

Hello, there.

What am I doing here?

-Who are you?

-I'm the night nurse.

Remember?

Oh, you said you'd met my husband.

No, I'm afraid I haven't.

I married Ralph Haverford.

He was the best man. Isn't that strange?

Do you think I took it literally?

That I couldn't say.

I left him on the sidewalk like a piece of chewing gum.

Some maid of honour, right?

Are you feeling better now?

Then I married Phil, Nina's father.

He had such nice hair.

Nice hair is nice.

Are you married?

Yes, I am.

And do you love him in that crazy way?

We've been married almost 40 years.

Oh, I've been married 40 years. More than 40.

To Harris.

Just haven't seen him the whole time we've been married.

Well, maybe that's the best way.

Is there anyone special you'd like me to call?

Oh, sis.

-You nervous?

-Yeah, a little.

You look fantastic.

-Just breathe.

-Thank you.

Yeah, OK.

All right.

MAN: Peach.

Do you think maybe Peach and Pip could be next?

Pip's a little stuffy.

Well, Peach likes stuffy.

Hey, we're on.

Then there's the question of Buddy for Lizzie.

Do you really think that everybody from your wedding party

should just marry everybody else?

No, but it would be nice if my wedding inspired another one.

MAN: Ann.

Are you ready, sweetheart?

Yes, ready.

(ORGAN PLAYS 'BRIDAL CHORUS' FROM WAGNER'S 'LOHENGRIN')

(JAZZ PLAYS, PEOPLE CHATTER)

We are such stuff as dreams are made on.

She's made a good choice.

Are you ready?

I guess so.

-I'm gonna sing 'Time After Time'.

-OK.

'Time After Time'.

Hi, everybody.

(LAUGHS) Hi. Um...

When Lila asked me to sing at her wedding,

I told her that I usually only sing for drunks and tourists.

MAN: And we're not tourists.

(ALL LAUGH)

But she wouldn't take 'no', so...

Lila, this is for you.

(PIANO PLAYS GENTLE INTRODUCTION)

(SINGS) # What good are words

# I say to you?

# They can't convey to you

# What's in my heart

# If you could hear instead

# The things I've left

# Unsaid

# Time after time

# I tell myself that I'm

# So lucky to be loving you

# So lucky to be

# The one you run to see

# In the evening

# When the day is through

BOTH: # I only know what I know

# The passing years will show

# You kept my love so young

# So new

# And time after time

# You'll hear me say that I'm

# So lucky to

# Be loving

# You. #

-Where did you go?

-I snuck out.

-I felt like a fool.

-No, you were nothing like a fool.

You were a hero.

You were the hero. I hit most of the notes.

No, honestly, I didn't sound that great.

I don't mind that.

There was something about being up there just now

and singing that song for Lila.

I... (SIGHS)

I don't know.

I've always thought of myself as just sort of

singing into the room, I guess.

But, I mean, doing it...

..specifically for her...

..it was so different.

You got a gift, kid.

You know, honestly for the first time right now, I feel like...

..maybe I do.

I wanna be good at this, you know?

Not just...all right,

but really, really good.

-I wanna sing on Mars one day.

-(LAUGHS)

You sing on Mars, I'll shut down my practice and fly up to see you.

Do you think we need another star for this?

Yeah, I do.

I think it should be close to the one that you picked out last night.

Uh...

..there's a nice one just south of it.

Oh.

That's rather modest, don't you think?

Well, there's lots of stars. This is only your second one.

Hey, there.

Whoops! I'm interrupting something?

No, Buddy.

Tonight it's all about love, right?

In all its forms and guises. (LAUGHS)

(SINGS) # Time after time

# I tell myself that I'm

# So lucky... #

Come on, let's dance.

No, no. All three of us. Come on.

Hey, I finally had an idea for my novel.

Shoot.

Oh, it's about a gangster who's in love with a rich girl.

Honey, that's 'The Great Gatsby'.

Damn.

Well, in my version they'll get married and live happily every after

and it will be 'The Fun Great Gatsby'.

-Why not?

-Harris, isn't Ann great?

Yeah, she's OK.

Cos we've been friends since college.

Ann and Lila and me.

And now that Lila's a wife...

..it's just Ann and me.

-Oh, Buddy.

-Oh, Ann.

-Hey.

-Hey, Buddy, boy.

-Maybe it's time to go.

-Mmm? Oh.

Oops.

Terribly sorry, old chap.

It's the wine. It's the wine.

-Hey, Buddy. Come back.

-No. As you were, as you were.

It's just a little battle fatigue. I'm off to the front line again.

He won't remember that in the morning.

I'm not so sure.

Ann!

Ann Grant, maid of honour, at large.

Now, we don't have to tell you about the birds and the bees, do we?

Sorry! Bad bridesmaid.

Lila, you're perfect.

Carriage awaits.

Mrs Karl Ross.

(LAUGHS) Mm-hm.

Ann, you didn't mention anything...to anyone?

I mean, about this morning.

What?

You know, the bride's brief bout of hysteria.

-Oh, no, of course not.

-Good.

I don't want people to get the wrong impression.

Lila, if you want me to, I'll take you out of here right now.

I will. I'll do all the talking.

I'll put you in a car and just drive you away.

-Ann...

-I'm serious.

It's... It's not too late.

You just say the word and I'll take you away.

Come visit us in Boston...

..when we get back.

You promise?

Sure.

-OK.

-I promise.

Well,

off I go.

Yeah. Come here.

ALL: We love you. 'Bye!

(CAR HORN TOOTS)

(ALL CALL OUT AND CHEER)

You know what it's time for now.

-Oh.

-The Plunge.

-Hey, come on.

-I think I'm gonna skip the Plunge.

You can't. It's a tradition.

You don't have to jump

but you have to come cheer for the fools who do.

I'm one of the fools. You'll cheer for me, won't you?

-Have you seen Buddy?

-Yeah, a while ago. Come on.

You know, I'm gonna come in a while. You go on ahead.

-You sure?

-15 minutes, tops.

-I'll be there.

-OK.

There you are.

I kissed Harris.

I know you did.

The thing is... (CLEARS THROAT)

..I'm not...that way.

It wouldn't matter if you were.

Oh, yeah. Isn't it pretty to think so?

Hemingway got that line first.

Buddy, it's all right.

You know, Lila and I, we've both always had this sort of...

..crush on Harris.

You know, Lila's been in love with him pretty much all her life

but, uh, it wouldn't do for her to...

..you know, get involved with one of the servants.

That's ridiculous.

Not to some people.

You wanna see something really ridiculous?

OK.

What's this?

It's a note you passed me junior...junior year.

Introduction to philosophy.

I can't read it.

No, it's cos the ink is so faded. It says, um...

.."Wittgenstein, Schmittgenstein. What's for lunch?"

That's it?

Yeah, that's it.

You... You brought it to the wedding?

No, no.

I've had it in my pocket for, let's see...

..four years now.

What?

Yeah, I just jammed it in my pocket that day in class

and then that night in my dorm room I took it out, put it on my bureau

with my keys and my loose change

and everything and, um...

And then the next morning...

(LAUGHS) ..for some reason

I put it back in my pocket with my keys and my loose change and um...

..I've been carrying it around ever since.

I don't... I don't understand.

Yes, you do.

Buddy, you've had a lot to drink.

I'm not even sure who to be jealous of. (LAUGHS)

You're not even gonna remember this in the morning.

What if you and I

just sang and laughed together...

..for the rest of our lives?

Hmm?

What if we had a few goofy kids

who got our jokes and taught us some new songs, huh?

(LAUGHS) It wouldn't work.

(CRIES)

Not for you.

No, honey.

Not for me.

I'm sorry.

Can I have the note back?

(SCREAMS AND LAUGHTER)

WOMAN: Come on, Pip!

ALL: (CHANTING AND CLAPPING) Pip! Pip! Pip! Pip!

ALL: Pip! Pip! Pip! Pip!

(CHEERS AND SCREAMS)

You're just in time. I'm next. (LAUGHS)

-Oh, what fools we mortals be.

-Oh.

Oh.

Ann, hey.

Hey, Ralph, do you think you could help me keep an eye on Buddy?

Well, I'd rather help you keep an eye on me.

Yeah!

Finally, a girl with some guts.

ALL: Peach, Peach, Peach! (ALL WHOOP)

(LAUGHS)

Whoo-hoo!

Yeah!

Hey. Could you help me get Buddy to bed?

Will you do something for me?

Forget about Buddy... for five minutes.

ANN: I would be glad to.

WOMAN: (CHANTS) Buddy! Buddy!

Yeah!

Come on, Buddy. Whoo!

ALL: Buddy! Buddy! Buddy!

MAN: Whoo-hoo!

ALL: Buddy! Buddy! Buddy!

Buddy!

-Buddy!

-Buddy!

-Buddy!

-Buddy!

MAN: Move. Move!

Buddy!

-I don't see him!

-No, nothing!

Where is he?

Do you see him?

No.

-Buddy!

-Please, Buddy, be OK.

MAN: Buddy!

(WHISPERS) Please, Buddy, be OK.

Somebody lose something?

MAN: Oh, jeez.

-WOMAN: He's up here.

-(SPITS)

It's kind of salty.

-Ow!

-You're not a hero.

You're pathetic.

-Oh, hey.

-Have some guts!

-Go live your own life.

-What, this isn't it?

Write a first line and then write a second one.

Kiss men if you want to. Horrify your parents.

-Annie.

-Be a man!

Just leave me out of it.

Don't carry around some...

..some stupid note I wrote you years ago.

You're not interested in me.

You just have this idea of me.

Have the nerve to admit it

and just...

..leave me alone.

Oh, hell. I got the note all wet.

Ann. Ann.

-Take me out of here, OK?

-OK. Where do you want to go?

Just somewhere far away from all these people.

OK, I got it.

Follow me.

-Where are we going?

-It's a surprise.

(BREATHLESSLY) Ann, I just...

I just got one more thing...

Just one more thing I want to say.

(PANTS)

(CAR APPROACHES)

-(SMASH!)

-(TYRES SCREECH)

Welcome to my hide-out.

'Gray's Anatomy'?

I've known I've wanted to be a doctor since I was eight years old.

You are the most serious man I've ever met.

I guess I'm not a lot of fun.

I didn't say you weren't a lot of fun.

Look, your shirt's wet.

What's this?

It's just what's in the air.

Has it always been like this?

Oh, yes.

I don't think I like it.

Shh.

-What a night!

-Where's Ann?

-Where's Harris?

-(GROUP LAUGHS)

-WOMAN: I'm in front!

-Ohh!

-Come on!

-MAN: Whoo!

Follow that car!

(ALL CHATTER HAPPILY)

-MAN: Now there's a pretty sight.

-WOMAN: I'll get him.

Tell you what, old man, time to call it a night.

Oh, my goodness.

-What?

-Blood - it's all over.

Oh, my goodness.

Jesus.

-He's breathing.

-I'll go call a doctor.

-Wait, Harris is a doctor.

-WOMAN: Where's Harris?

-(SHOUTS) Harris!

-Harris!

Harris!

-Harris!

-Harris!

-We gotta get him to a hospital.

-We can't move him.

Hang on, Buddy, just hang on. Everything is gonna be OK.

He's holding something in his hand.

What is it, Buddy?

It's just gunk - wet paper or something.

Let's go.

Legs, legs, legs.

-My God.

-(GIGGLES)

Buddy's right, you know.

-About what?

-About you.

You're brilliant.

You're gonna be famous.

(SIGHS) Hardly anyone gets to be famous.

You're famous to me.

Hey, Mom,

I found your dress.

It's still as beautiful.

It's just like I remember it.

I actually hated you sometimes when you put on that dress.

And I didn't really understand

until...

..I had Ethan and Chloe about...

..well, how it seems like you break your children's hearts

no matter what you do.

Whether you sing in clubs at night or just stay home.

And you start to wonder

which mistakes of yours they're gonna forget

and which ones they'll still be talking about

for years after you're gone.

(INHALES SHARPLY)

I've been meaning to tell you what I've learned

about how it must have been for you.

And now I'm afraid I may have waited too long.

So...

..do you think you could be your old self again?

It would mean so much to me.

I want you back.

(EXHALES)

We're in trouble now.

Maybe we should just keep going.

Where could we go from here?

The boat - we could sail to Barbados.

-I've never been to Barbados.

-See? Me neither.

We should probably stop in and say goodbye to the Wittenborns though,

since we'll be stealing their boat.

Had a funny feeling suddenly.

What?

I don't wanna go back into that house, I don't. Not for one minute.

Hey, it's just a formality.

-Kiss me.

-Gladly.

(WAILING)

Oh, Buddy.

(SHRIEKS)

(SOBS)

(MRS WITTENBORN SOBS)

-You'll come back for me then?

-MAN: Yes, ma'am.

Hello.

Are you Ann's daughters?

-I'm Nina.

-I'm Constance.

I'm Lila Ross and I'm an old friend of your mother's.

Hi.

Um, I got a telephone call from her nurse.

She said your mother was very, very ill

so I came right away.

-I hope it's not inconvenient?

-No, not at all. Come in.

(SIGHS HEAVILY)

Just in here.

Ann?

Are you an angel?

Because, frankly, I don't want any damn angels in here.

Oh, hardly.

It's Lila.

(GASPS) Oh, my God!

(LAUGHS) Oh, dear.

Oh, gosh.

Oh, it's...

..been a long, long time.

Years and years and years.

Mm-hm.

Yes.

(STUTTERS AND SHIVERS)

Lila...

(GASPS)

Terribly hard, being so sick.

We watched Karl go through it.

Is... Is Karl...?

Gone.

Seven years now.

Oh.

Mmm.

We have three children.

-Three? I have two - two girls.

-I know.

-Oh, yes.

-I saw the girls downstairs.

They're so lovely.

Do you still know Harris?

In a Christmas-card sort of way.

He met a girl in Shelburne Falls, a nurse.

Yes, I know.

-He wrote me a letter.

-Mm-hm.

-Oh.

-I know.

I thought there'd be so many chances.

There were some.