"No matter what happened, we would meet on the fifth day of the fifth month of the fifth year of the new millennium at Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School." " Yeah?" " It's back." " It's really strong today." " Oh." "And I'm not the only one who smells it, either." "My neighbor, Tim, he was over about an hour and a half ago," " he smelled it, too." "Loud and clear." " Right." "I had the pest control guys out." "They said there's no droppings, no nothing to indicate that rats or squirrels or anything had been peeing in the walls." "I've had the plumbers out and the hardwood floor guys." "The toxic mold people wouldn't even come out." "So you know what I'm doing now." "Baking soda." "I've coated the floor in about a good solid inch and a half of baking soda." "Why?" "Because it absorbs odor." "Other people have had loved ones come back as odors." "I was reading about it on the Internet." " There's a story of a guy that..." " I gotta go." "There's a guy who..." "Frank?" "You okay?" "Frank?" "This is 911." "Are you reporting an emergency?" "Yeah." "Car accident?" "Yeah." "Bread truck." "What is your location, sir?" "The old 99." "Just south of Gorman." "How many cars involved, sir?" " Sir?" " One." " Any injuries?" " Bad." "Is the victim conscious?" "I have an appointment." "Yeah." "I have an appointment." "This is very important, sir." "Keep him talking until the EMTs get there." "Yeah, but..." "You bake it or deliver it?" "Baker." "Mostly." "I've..." "I can figure a guy in a minute." "It's a skill." "It took me a lifetime to perfect it." "Your name Keane?" "Keane, yeah." "You been baking since 1903?" "No." "Your father and his father, and your father's father's father." "You're the entrepreneur who brought the business here." "I told you I could figure you." "My name's Steve." "Steve Mills." "Not much of a talker, are you?" " You have an appointment?" " Yeah." " I..." " You shouldn't move." "I have an appointment." "I gotta get out of here." " Will you help me out?" " They said you..." "Buddy, I made this appointment..." " Yeah, but..." "...almost 40 years ago, and I'm gonna get there, one way or another." "Who with?" "The appointment." "Lisa Gobar." " A girl." " Yeah." "You know, man, I can still see her face like it was yesterday." "I bet it's changed." "What?" "Her face." "Or maybe not." "I mean, my wife was..." "My wife was..." " Tell me about the girl." " Lisa?" " So you wanna know all about Lisa?" " Yeah." "She had long blond hair and freckles and a little button nose." "We were just kids." "When?" "In 1962." "Pez were cool." "Zagnuts, Bomb Pops and Good  Plenty were very cool." "The gum in the baseball cards still tasted good." "Kennedy was president then." "Bay of Pigs, nuclear testing in Nevada, the Red Scare." "McDonald's only had a million served." "I was 12 years old, and I hated girls more than liver." "I mean, they weren't good at any of the really important things." "They always lost in the cafeteria hot dog eating contest." "Tommy Tanksley, he could unhinge his mouth like a snake or something." "And in rope-climbing, they all got rope burn." "They claimed their hands were different than ours." "And they couldn't spit worth a damn, either." "In an atomic explosion, class, look for this sign." "It can be..." "But worse than not being able to spit, not being able to climb rope or not being able to eat hot dogs as fast was that they were traitors." "Miss Parkinson, Miss Parkinson, they're passing notes." "And your body..." ""Smelly turnip doo-doo." ""Cheesecake cheese dick." ""Enema wiener wart." ""Boner baby with hollandaise sauce."" "That's why Peter, my best buddy, and I had a blood pact, swearing and making girls cry was the most important thing." " Cauliflower boner lug nut." " Crusty Jell-O cheese dick." "The game was British bulldog." "You had to run across the field without being tagged, and it was fun." "It was like war." "We saw all the war pictures:" "Bridge Over the River Kwai, The Longest Day," "Guns of Navarone, Hellcats of the Navy," "The Naked and the Dead, Men in War, The War Lover," "The Great Escape, Battle Cry, Pork Chop Hill." "Come on." "I'll get you, you butthead." "To most guys, it was more than a game." "Kenny Dulin." "Come on, Dulin." "Hurry up, you dickweed." "He was kind of an idiot." "The story had it that his dad was changing the oil in the car, the jack let out, and the car rolled over his head." "That's how come he was such a boner." " British bulldog!" " British bulldog!" "British bulldog!" "But this day was different from all the rest." "When suddenly, something happened." "Something happened that had never happened in the history of British bulldog." "Lisa and I wanna play." " No!" " No way." "Lisa Gobar and Kate Collmary." " British bulldog!" " British bulldog!" "Steve, help me!" "What about the battalion?" "I gotta save the battalion!" "Screw the battalion, you dorkface dickweed." " Save me!" " Screw you!" "I didn't really mean to do that." "But it was war, right?" "Would you stop crying?" "Yeah!" " Look, I'm sorry." " God, you didn't have to hit her." "That's how come girls don't play." "Don't you think you've done enough already?" "We hate you!" " Way to go." "They'll never play again." " Come on, let's go." " Danish duck farts." " Creamed corn shit bricks." " You guys want another round?" " Yeah!" "Buddy, I made this appointment almost 40 years ago, and I plan to keep it, one way or the other." "You here for the dance class?" "Ayisha Lebaron." "I'm the sign-in lady." "Name?" "Frank." "Frank Keane." ""Frank, Frank Keane."" "Well, it's good to have you, Frank." "You go on in." "Go on." " Excuse me." "Is your name Lisa?" " No." " Right." " Sorry." "I fell." "Down the stairs." "It was crazy." "You fell?" "I got it on sale." "I have to show it to you." " Do you wanna see it?" " Yeah." "Where do you have it?" "Let's go." "She's trouble." " What?" " Meredith." "Stay away from her, or you'll be sorry." "Are you Lisa?" "No." "Tina." "Nice to make your acquaintance, Frank." " You know my name." " I made it my business to know your name." "Right." "The first class can be a little bit overwhelming." "So hang tough and avoid that breath." "Honey, she could stop traffic with that breath." "Girls on the pink line, boys on the blue." "Freeway?" "Welcome, everyone, to Thursday Nights with Marilyn Hotchkiss." "As my beloved mother, Marilyn, cannot be here with us this evening," "I will, with your permission and by the grace of God, proudly conduct her class." "Marilyn passed away in 1978." "Tonight we have a new student." "His name is Frank Keane." "Welcome, Mr. Keane." "Tonight's class will begin with a review of the lindy hop." "Most of you will remember this energetic rhythm dance, which incorporates elements of the West Coast swing and the Charleston." "Those of you who don't, watch me closely." "Mr. Ipswitch, would you care to assist me in demonstrating?" "Mr. Keane." "May I have this dance, sir?" "Well, go on now." " May I have this dance, sir?" " Yes." "And rock step, triple step, triple step, rock step, triple step, triple step, rock step." "The lindy hop was so named after Charles Lindbergh's flight to Paris in 1927, when the newspaper headlines read," ""Lindy Hops the Atlantic."" "Rock step, triple step, triple step, rock step." "In Harlem, the lindy hop was breaking out wherever people were dancing." "...triple step, triple step, rock step." "But it wasn't until the opening of the Savoy Ballroom that the lindy hop got its home." "Lift." "The lindy hop got hotter and hotter as the people danced to the top big bands in the land." "And as the popular Saturday night competitions pushed good dances to greatness, new steps were born every day." "Lift!" "Yes, Mr. Keane." "Very good." "Good, Mr. Keane." "When it looked like it couldn't get any better, a young dancer named Frankie "Musclehead" Manning created the first air steps, and the lindy hop soared." "One." "This was 1935." "Two." "The lindy hop became." "Three." "A dance craze worldwide." "Four." "Known as the jitterbug." "Five." "But the authentic style." "Six." "The original style." "Seven." "Will always be." "Eight." "The Savoy style from Harlem, USA." "And rock step, triple step, rock step, triple step, triple step." "Everyone partner up." "Can't dance." " Are you Lisa?" " Natasha." " Lisa?" " No." "Linda Sue." " Are you Lisa?" " Sally Ann." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I can't dance." "Hi!" "Lisa?" "Are you Lisa?" "Where's Lisa?" "Are you..." "Are you Lisa?" "Lisa?" "Are you Lisa?" "Lisa?" "Are you Lisa?" "Are you Lisa?" "Is your name Lisa?" "Are you Lisa?" "Are you Lisa?" "Lisa?" "Lisa?" "Lisa." "Is your name Lisa?" "Where's Lisa?" "I'm sorry." "Are you sure you're all right?" "Yeah." "You look tired." "I went dancing." " Yeah?" " Yeah." "When?" "Before work." "You went dancing earlier tonight before work." "Yeah." "Well, did you have fun?" "No." "She'd want you to, Frank." "She'd want you to be happy, Frank." "We have a lot of bread to bake before dawn." "Right about..." "No, not here." "All right." " There you go." "Here." "Got it?" " Got it." "Morning, Baguette." "Morning, Rita." "Good dog." "The usual, Frank?" "Your frequent buyer card." "For every 10 mugs you buy," " you get one free." " Business has been off." "Thanks." "Bye." "A lot of women have hair on their upper lips." "Janet had hair on her ass." "Gabe, you're mad at her." "You feel that she's abandoned you in death, and you're very angry." "Rafael, I tried to do what you said, okay?" "Stay with the positive." "But I keep coming back to the ass whiskers." "Okay, Gabe, let's put a pin in that." "Now, Kip, did I hear you say that the odor went away?" "Yeah." " I put her rings back." " Back?" " In her drawer." " Had you moved them?" "Only to the safety deposit box." "And you think that upset her?" "Yeah, big time." "The house stunk." "You don't think she wanted you to move her things." "You think she's trying to control things?" "Yeah." "You know, she was like that." "Like what?" "Like you said." "You know, controlling." "And you think she's carried over this behavior into death?" "Yeah." "How does that make you feel, Kip?" " Scared." " Well, get over it, Kip." "She's dead, okay?" "She's not coming back." "Not as a ghost, not as a stench." "She left." "She's gone." "If the guy smelled her, he smelled her." " At least he loved her." " And what's that supposed to mean?" "You figure it out." "Hey, Matthew, you have no idea what I feel, okay?" "I hear you bitching every week." "Oh, here we go." "Okay, we're putting our feelings on the table here and we're challenging each other." "It's hard to feel." "It's so..." "It's so hard to..." " I..." " Kip." "Okay." "Anyone else?" "Frank?" "I went to a dance class." "Oh." "Did you and Rita use to dance together?" "No." "Then why a dance class?" "A man gave me a ticket." "And did you enjoy it?" "Frank?" " I don't think so." " You don't think so." "Something happened." " What happened, Frank?" " "What happened"?" "I'll tell you what happened." "The guy's wife is dead, and it hurts bad, like a knife in the gut that rips a little bit more every time you move." "I'm talking to Frank, Blake." "Frank, what happened at the dance class?" "I danced." "You danced." "Oh!" "Frank, what are you doing?" "Hey, hey, hey, hey." "You can scream and argue in here, you can cry and curse and carry on, but you can't get out of your seat." "Unless you have to pee." " What's going on, Frank?" " Are you okay, Frank?" "Frank, I know of no therapy that can work unless you're willing to talk and to open up and to face your demons." "The lindy hop." " What'd he say?" " I don't know." "The lindy hop got its name in 1927, after Charles Lindbergh's flight to Paris when the newspapers proclaimed, "Lindy Hops the Atlantic."" "I didn't know that, Frank." "A-one, two, one, two, three." "One, two, spin." "One, two, one, two." "One, two, spin." "I'll tell you right now, if this turns into one of those West Hollywood things, I am out of here." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Two, three..." " Hey, you called in?" " Yeah." " He a friend of yours, huh?" " No." " Then you just passing by?" " Yeah." "Hey, hey, hey." "Hang two up in the truck, will you?" " Got you." " Two large bore, normal saline." " Is he gonna make it?" " His body was practically cut in two." "Hey, hey, you the friend?" " Yeah, he's right here." " No..." " Come here, come here." " I'm not the friend." "Just go talk to him, okay?" "Just go talk to him." " I'm not the friend." " Come here." "There." "Go." "Keep him talking." "If he's talking, he's conscious." "We need him conscious." "It's the bread man." "Hey, bread man." "Did you ever look back at your life and think how it might have been different?" " Yeah." " It's a pity you only get one." "Some guys get a great ride, but for most of us, you can't help but wonder how it might have been different." "I know." "I know." "Yeah, I believe you do," "Mr. Son of the Son of the Son of the Son of a Baker Man." "Son of the son of the son." "I reached my fork in the road when my mom died." "I could have gone right, but I went left." "I spent the rest of my life wondering where that right might have led me." "When did she die?" "1963." " A year after you punched that girl." " Hey." "I've done a lot of things in my life I'm not proud of, and if you pin me down I'll own up to it," "but hitting Lisa was an accident." "Oh, I see." "And Rodan could kick Godzilla's butt any day, and you know it." "No way." "See, Godzilla is so big and strong, and Rodan just runs around saying, "See, I'm a retard."" "Oh, no way." "Oh, the only thing that Godzilla does is blow, like, fire and stuff." "Yeah, and he's got Mothra and the little crab guy." "What's Mothra gonna do, eat a giant sweater?" "No, he blows smoke through his nose, and whoever he touches he turns to ice." " Hi, Mr. Cranwinkle." " Hi, Mr. Cranwinkle." "Stay out of the roses." "We never really screwed up his roses." "We only threw his lawn furniture in the pool every once in a while." "Bye, boys." "Cranwinkle was another real boner." "I nailed him." "At the Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School, your sons and daughters will become the finest gentlemen and young ladies." "What is this?" "This could be your son or daughter." "Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School, Hometown, USA." "6:00, dinner time at the Johnson household." "Let's look inside, shall we?" "Etiquette, manner, grace." "That is the real question." "Can it be learned?" "Father, please pass the au gratin potatoes." "What a geek!" "Thank you, sir." "You're welcome, Son." "Vapor cheese." "May I have this dance, miss?" "I'd be enchanted, sir." "At Hotchkiss, even one night of training can change your son or daughter forever." "Cotillions of a common thread that separate the class from the middle class." "But can you stop my son from swearing?" " I don't swear much." " Sure you do, dickweed." "The swing." "And the razzle-dazzle." "Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School." "The cavalcade of cotillion graduates goes on and on:" "Woodrow Wilson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Busby Berkeley, Linus Pauling," "J.P. Morgan, Alexander Miller, Donna Reed, Joseph McCarthy, John Glenn..." "John Glenn?" "... Bo Schembechler, and the 35th President of the United States," "John Fitzgerald Kennedy." "Chunky barf soup." ""Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School"?" "It's a good thing our parents don't stink enough to send us to that." "Ma, please don't make me go to this." "I promise." "I'll change!" "Ma, it's 1962!" "Kids don't go to charm school!" "Why, Ma, why?" " Etiquette, Steven." " Steve." "I'll pick you up at 9:00." "Where's my jacket?" "I need my ticket." "It's in my jacket." "Where's my jacket?" "The ticket's in the..." " Got it?" " Yeah." "...jacket." "Where's my jacket?" " It's in my pocket." " Get in." " Come on, come on, come on." "Get in." " It's in my pocket." " It's in the..." " Get in now, sir." "Sit down right here." " Here, sir." " The left pocket." " You take it." " What?" "You go in my place." " To where?" " Hotchkiss." " No, no, no." "You'll make it." " It's tonight." "The fifth day of the fifth month of the fifth year of the new millennium." "We promised each other that no matter what happened, we'd meet each other." "You go, please." "Tell her I tried." "I wanted to be there." "I should've taken a right turn at the fork." "Thanks, man." "Thank you." "I think we should all take this moment to recognize the progress that we've made and to give ourselves a pat on the back." "Frank, would you like to start?" "Well," "I cleaned out Rita's closet." "You toss it?" "Her clothes, everything?" "Yeah." "Kip." "I, myself, am a cleaner and not a preserver, and I say bravo, Frank, bravo." " Bravo." " Thanks." "Matthew." "For the rest of my life," "I will be able to describe to you the shape of the fillings in Mia's teeth," "but I didn't keep one memento." "Not even her ring?" " Not even her ring." " Wow." "And that's good?" "That's good?" "I mean, you throw away your past and that's good?" "Frank, how do you feel?" "Good." "You'll go for me?" "Well, what happened next, Steve?" "Did Peter have to go, too?" "Lisa." "Lisa." "Was Lisa there, Steve?" "Was Lisa there?" "They were all there." " Good afternoon, girls." " Good afternoon, ma'am." "That's right." "Sign right there." "You look lovely today." "You look like a couple of princesses or something." " Thank you." " Thank you." "Hello, young man." "Just sign right there." " Stay on the line." " Okay." "Okay." "Now, look at you." "Now, isn't it nice sometimes to dress up in a suit and a tie and a white shirt, huh?" " Kind of." " Yeah." "Next." "Oh, is your name on that list, young man?" " All right, Steven." " Steve." "Steve." "Thank you." "Well, look at you." "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School." "I am Miss Hotchkiss, your teacher, instructor, friend." "Now, everyone, repeat after me." "Good evening, Miss Hotchkiss." "How are you?" "Good evening, Miss Hotchkiss." "How are you?" "Oh!" "Fine." "Thank you." "Now, shall we begin?" "Gentlemen on the blue line, ladies on the pink line." "In my class, you will learn some of the latest dance steps:" "the waltz, the swing, the cha-cha-cha." "This sucks." "But tonight, you will learn my favorite, the box step." "And boys, when we are serving punch to our ladies, be sure to keep your fingers out of the cup." "It is very improper." "And ladies, when the young gentlemen ask you to dance, dance with them, even if you don't want to." " Dickweed." " Fart face." "It's only for two minutes." "Good evening." "I am Miss Hotchkiss." "What is your name?" " Eric." " Nice to meet you, Eric." "You have beautiful freckles." "Good evening, sir." "British bulldog!" "Dickweed!" "Yeah!" "Hit him!" "Sorry about your eye." "Steven?" "Steven." "Steve." "Steve, not Steven." "Oh." "All right." " Good evening." "What is your name?" " Glen." "I am Miss Hotchkiss." "Nice to see you." "It's nice to meet you, Miss Hotchkiss." " Hello, Mike." " Hello." "Kenny." "You will get your jacket and brassiere back after the class." "Just a minute, pal." "Meredith, I am afraid, is off-limits." "Frank Keane." "And you are?" "Not interested." "Thinks he's Michael Flatley." "The Lord of the Dance." "He's not even Irish." "Girls on the pink line, boys on the blue." "Freeway?" "Welcome, everyone, to Thursday Nights with Marilyn Hotchkiss." "As my beloved mother, Marilyn, cannot be here with us this evening," "I will, with your permission and by the grace of God, proudly conduct her class." "Mr. Keane?" "Would you like to assist me in a brief demonstration of the lindy hop before we move on to the cha-cha-cha?" "Yes." "Freeway." "And, rock step, triple step, triple step, rock step, triple step, triple step, rock step." "That's very good." "All right." "Again." "Rock step, triple step, triple step, rock step, triple step, triple step, rock step." "Excellent, Mr. Keane." "All right." "Rock step, triple step, rock step, triple step, rock step, triple step." "Triple step." "Excellent." "Very good." "Mr. Keane!" "Mr. Keane, please." "Mr. Keane." "Mr. Keane, please." "Sorry." "I'm so sorry." " Meredith!" " Sorry." "Mr. Keane." "You are disrupting my class, Mr. Keane." "Sorry, I..." "I don't know what happened." "I just felt something." "I don't know what happened." "Dance is a very powerful drug, Mr. Keane." "If embraced judiciously, it can exorcise demons, access deep-seated emotion and color your life in joyous shades of brilliant magenta that you never knew existed." "But one must shoulder its challenges with intrepid countenance if one is ever to reap its rewards." "Are you up to it, Mr. Keane?" "Yes, I am." "Very well, then." "Girls to the pink line, boys to the blue line." "Let's dance." "Freeway." "And..." "Thank you." "Hi." " I work over at the Flight Centre on..." " I bake bread." "...Colorado." "On Colorado." " I bake bread." " Good night, Frank." " Good night." "Tough break, baker man." "You really think he did it?" "Well, I don't have any proof, do I?" "Why?" "It's Meredith." "You think she's his girlfriend?" "I think he hit her." "Shit, man, maybe you should find another class." "Why not?" "Dance is powerful, Kip." "I need to shoulder its challenges with intrepid countenance if I'm gonna reap its rewards." "What?" "Maybe we should have stayed in Pasadena." "After Mom died, we moved to Dallas." "My father couldn't stand it anymore." "The memories, everywhere he looked." "It's hard." "The memories." "You love them and you hate them." "I was very angry with her for leaving me." "I thought maybe she'd come back." "But she never did." "How did she die?" " My wife?" " Your wife." "She killed herself." " God, I'm sorry, man." " Why?" "I don't know." "I bet you never thought your day would end up like this, huh?" "No, I didn't." "You got bread in that truck back there?" "A few loaves." "What kind?" "Twelve grain, French, Irish soda." "Nothing better than the smell of fresh bread." "Yeah." "She hated it, huh?" "The lonely nights with you away at work." "The menial effort of it all." "The provincial notion of a family trade." "I'd like to hear more of your story." "Why?" "Too close for comfort?" "Because it's not about me." "Steve, Lisa." "Lisa." "You danced." "You danced with Lisa." "Lisa." "First I had to learn how to greet her." "Now, ladies and gentlemen, let us practice our introductions." "How do you do, miss?" "Fine, thank you." "And you?" "How do you do, miss?" "Fine, thank you." "And you?" "How do you do, miss?" "Fine, thank you." "And you?" " How do you do, miss?" " Fine, thank you!" "And you?" "Would you care to dance, miss?" "Would you care to dance, miss?" "Would you care to dance, miss?" "I'd be enchanted, sir." "May I have this dance, miss?" "May I have this..." "Do I have to do this again, Mrs. Hotchkiss?" "May I have this dance, miss?" "Please excuse me for being so forthright, miss, but that is the most beautiful dress that you are wearing." "The waltz, ladies and gentlemen." "Style, form, grace." "Can it be learned?" "Yes, it can." "Sy and I will now demonstrate." "Cranwinkle?" "What a boner." "May I have this dance, Miss Hotchkiss?" "I would be enchanted, Mr. Cranwinkle." "Now, ladies and gentlemen, it's your turn." "Oh, now, now, now." "Mr. Cranwinkle, will you lead the gentlemen in a large circle?" "And, ladies, will you follow me in a small circle?" "Follow me, please." "Boys." "Oh, very nice." "On your toes, ladies." "Very quietly." "Great big circle, now." "Follow me, boys." "And now let's combine circles." "Smile." "Think of the handsome gentleman you're going to be dancing with." "And round and round we go." "And let's dance." "Keep the back straight, boy." "That's some shiner." "Steve sure hit you good, didn't he?" "Two, three, four." " I didn't mean to hit her, you know." " Yeah, sure." "May I have this dance, sir?" "I'll lead." "Three, one," "two." "Morning, Rita." "Morning, Baguette." "Welcome to the Flight Centre." "We get you where you wanna go." "Where do you wanna go?" "Hi." "I'm looking for Meredith." "She's on a break." "Out back." "Hi." "Hey." "Mind if I join you?" "Nice suit." "Think so?" "Yeah." "Freeway." "Welcome, everyone, to Thursday Nights with Marilyn Hotchkiss." "As my beloved mother, Marilyn, cannot be here with us this evening," "I will, with your permission and by the grace of God, proudly conduct her class." "Amen." " Where's the mother?" " She's dead." "Tonight we have a new student." "His name is Blake Rische." "Welcome, Mr. Rische." "Freeway, Nuestra Canción, cut number dos." "Thank you." "Welcome." "Tonight we are going to attempt the merengue." "Good." "As many of you know, the merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic." "This popular dance originated with slaves, who were chained together and therefore forced to drag one leg as they cut sugarcane to the beat of drums." "Okay, let's begin." "Freeway, the merengue, s'il vous plaît." "Mr. Rische, shall we?" "Five, six, seven, and drag, together, drag, together." "Back, together, back, together." "Forward, together, forward, together." "Turn in place, five, six, seven." "And drag, together, drag, together." "Drag, back, drag, back." "Drag, forward, drag, forward and around in place." "Five, six, seven and drag." "I do not tolerate tardiness in any of my classes." "If you cannot come on time, please do not come at all." "I couldn't get out of work, Miss Hotch." "Good evening, Miss Morrison." "Hi." "Pink line, Miss Morrison." "Blue line, Mr. Ipswitch." "Freeway, music, por favor." "Partner up, everyone." "Let's dance." " May I have this dance, Miss Morrison?" " Yes, thank you." "I'm sorry about your truck." "You know about that?" "And switch." "And seven, eight." "And switch." "Randall did it." "Why?" "He has trouble expressing his feelings." "Gets protective." "His inability to express his emotions overwhelms him with rage." "He should get some therapy." "You don't understand." "And switch." "Okay!" "You've got it." "Drag that leg." "Cut that cane." "And switch." "I know what you're thinking, but Randall is not my boyfriend." "He's not?" "He's my stepbrother." "Stepbrother?" "It's complicated." "And switch." "And switch." "Either way, he doesn't own you." "And seven, eight." "Pick your arms up." "I know." "Does he?" "Thank you, everyone." "I expect to see you all here next week." "And until then, remember what Gene Kelly always said" " and practice, practice, practice." " Practice, practice, practice." "Thank you." "I warned you, baker man." " You, let's go." " Mr. Ipswitch." "For the last 72 years, my mother and I have maintained a policy of zero tolerance for violence in all of our classes, without exception." "Your mother." "Your mother, your mother, your mother, your mother." "Go home, Mr. Ipswitch." "Go home and don't ever come back." "But I love this class." "Well, you are not welcome here any longer." "I didn't see it coming." "But I should have." "I don't know." "Maybe I didn't want to." "Maybe I was just too scared or just too weak." "Don't." "Don't blame yourself." "Anger is one thing, but guilt is a worthless emotion." "It's not the guilt." "It's the emptiness." "Emptiness?" "I feel like" "I'm drifting" "in an endless, monotonous ocean, all my thoughts just blending together like water." "Water, huh?" "No form, no definition, no beginning, no end." "Loss." "Loneliness." "Two old pals of mine." "You see your whole world just slipping away and you can't do anything about it." "Or you don't." "You know what you should do, but your mind screws with you and you wind up doing the wrong thing" "or nothing at all." "Love's always a total mess." "Maybe next time." "Next time." "Is there ever a next time?" "I hope so." "So, you don't eat meat?" "No." "I don't eat anything with a face." "Right." "Anything whose dying eyes might plead with me as its life is extinguished for my consumption." " Is bread all right?" " Bread's good." "How's that lip?" " A bit salty." " Oh, I'm sorry." "That's all right." "I like salt." "You're a good man." "How come you're not married?" "I was." "She died." "Oh." "I'm sorry." "Me, too." "What was she like?" "I don't know." "Thought I knew." "Now I'm not so sure." "That's the thing that always gets me." "How much you don't know the people you know." " Like Randall." " Yeah." "When we were kids, we had a motorboat." "It was a fishing boat." "But mostly, James, Randall's dad, used it for drinking." "If we were bad or just bothering him, he would throw us overboard and chase us with the boat, telling us to move our worthless butts." "How old were you?" "Six," " seven, eight." " You must have been terrified." "Yeah." "A couple times, I almost drowned." "What about your mother?" "She didn't know." "She didn't wanna know." "But with Randall..." "He just..." "He..." "He feels guilty, because he was older" "and it was his dad, and..." "He just..." "He couldn't protect me." "He's not helping you, you know." "Yeah." "That's the sad part." "It's sad for you both." "Sorry about your eye." " Hotchkiss is a real cheese barf." " Yeah." ""Chesterfields, 21 great tobaccos and 20 great smokes."" ""Winston taste as good" ""as a cigarette should."" "Do you like Marilyn Monroe?" " I don't know." "She's kind of old." " Yeah." " But DiMaggio, he's cool, right?" " Oh, yeah." "Suppose there was this guy, and this guy, he had a best friend, and he kind of liked a girl." " Would that make him a traitor?" " Oh, yeah." "He'd be a rat." "Yeah." "Yeah, of course." "I hate British bulldog." "Me, too." " Kate?" " Lisa?" "Stop it, I'm serious." "Did you see John Glenn in Life?" "Yeah, he's dreamy." "I still kind of like boys." "Yeah, me, too." "I still kind of like Steve." "I still kind of like Peter, too." "Morning, Baguette." "Miss those licks, buddy." "Freeway." "Wow." "You go, girl." "Welcome, everyone, to Thursday Nights with Marienne Hotchkiss." "We have several new students tonight." "Kip Kipling." "Welcome, Mr. Kipling." "Rafael Horowitz." "Welcome, Mr. Horowitz." "Matthew Smith." "Welcome, Mr. Smith." "Gabe DiFranco." "Welcome, Mr. DiFranco." "And Cameron McGee." "Welcome, Mr. McGee." "Everybody got to dance with Lisa, except me." "Even Dulin." "Dulin!" "One more time." " May I have this dance?" " Yes, thank you." "Eighteen rounds of the circle choice method later," "I found myself in front of Lisa." "But I had nothing to say." "Baseball trivia." "No, no." "I thought of something!" "You know, with your eye, you kind of look like the Tareyton man." "It was an obscure reference to cigarettes, and she got it." "Sorry." " You know, you dance well." " Thanks." "Time to switch." "Circle up." "Let's dance." "One more time." "Take a hike." " May I have this dance, miss?" " I'd be enchanted, sir." "All right, everyone." "Let's partner up." "Let's dance." "May I have this dance, Miss Morrison?" "I'd be enchanted, Mr. Keane." "Two." "That's it." "One, two." "The waltz is a beautiful thing, Miss Hotchkiss." "You may call me Marienne, Mr. Rische." "And you can call me Blake, Marienne." "Yes, perhaps I could." "This was my place!" "I belonged here." "I danced here." "And I, unlike you, am a very, very good dancer." " You took that away from me." " Stop that!" "My passion, my respect," "all of it." "And all because of you," "I'm banned from the thing that I love most in this world, my dance class." "Now where do I go?" "Clubs?" "I hate clubs!" "Mr. Ipswitch, please." "It's for your tires." "That should cover it." "Miss Hotchkiss, you look really good tonight." "Very well, then." "Let's dance." "Look, I think I'll talk with him." "Do you mind?" "It's a free world." "Well, maybe not so free." "I'm sorry if I stepped on your toes." "Well, you did." "I came here as a favor, to find a woman named Lisa and to give her a message from another man." " There is no Lisa." " I know." "I never found her." " Well, I could have told you that." " Yeah, but I did find something else." "Meredith?" "Meredith, yeah." "And, as Miss Hotchkiss put it, maybe even a way to exorcise my demons," "access some deep-seated emotion and color my life in shades of magenta I never knew existed." "I get what dancing means to you, Randall." "I really do." "When I go back, I'll negotiate your return, but you gotta promise me one thing." "You're never gonna hit Meredith ever again." "Or me." "Or anyone else." "Okay." "Okay, what?" "I promise." "Take this." "What is it?" "You paid me too much." "I didn't get the steel-belted." "Got the nylon plies." "I got those on my Vette." "Excuse me." "Excuse me, Miss Hotchkiss." "I'm sorry." "Randall's told me he's sorry." "He's made his peace." "And now he wants to come back to the class." "Can we work this out?" "Do you have something to say to me, Mr. Ipswitch?" "I'm sorry, Miss Hotchkiss." "I'm sorry I brought my baggage to class." "There are rules, Mr. Ipswitch, in life, just as there are rules in dance." "Those rules may seem arbitrary at times, they may seem impossible at times, they may seem unfair or onerous, but they are rules nonetheless." "And they must not be broken." "I understand." "Very well, then." "Welcome back, Mr. Ipswitch." "Freeway, music, s'il vous plaît." "Oh, hell." "For about two seconds there, I was the BMOC." " Let me lead you." " However you want it, sweetheart." "One, two, three." "One, two, three." "One, two..." "May I have this dance, ma'am?" "I'd be enchanted, sir." "...two, three, four." "You dance well." "Thanks." "So do you." "One, two, three." "One, two, three." " Divine." " One, two, three." "One, two, three." "One..." " Fart face." " Dickweed." "I hate dancing." "I hate being charming." "Hate girls." "Hey, Karen, wait up." "They're not so bad." "You smell great." "Thanks, Kip." "I like to think of my smell as a work in progress." "So you're like a dead wives club?" "Well, I don't think you could call it a club, per se." "But all of your wives are dead." "No, unfortunately for me, mine is still alive and kicking." "Oh." "That's okay." "Number eight." "All right." "Sign right here and keep your name right on the line." "Oh, what a pretty signature you have." "Bye-bye." "Come on, you guys." "Let's go." "My mom wants me to sign up." "Well, Peter?" "My mom wants me to sign up, too." " Yeah, mine, too." " What a bunch of geeks." "There you go." "Number nine." "Right." "Come on." "You're a good man, Frank Keane." "I did it as much for me as for Randall." " One thing bothers me, though." " What?" "What color is magenta?" "Reddish." "Reddish purple." " That clears that up, then." " Yeah." "Well, did you like it?" "No!" "Jeez Louise." "Well, did you sign up for next week?" "Yeah, you wanted me to." "Gosh, Ma, what do you think?" " What are you sitting back there for?" " Just 'cause I want to." "For the following 128 consecutive Fridays," "I didn't miss one minute of Hotchkiss." " May I have this dance, miss?" " I'd be enchanted, sir." "McDonald's has sold billions and billions of hamburgers by now." "Kenny Dulin, he's still a boner." " Enema booger lips." " Broccoli butt breath." "And I still swear a lot." "I've changed my mind about one thing, though." "Girls." "But I still hate liver." "6:00." "You got it?" "You'll go, right?" "Steve, what if she's not there?" "She's gonna be there." "Man, the..." "What should I say to her, Steve?" "Steve, what do you want me to say?" "He's gone." "If you're selling religion, go away." "I'm an atheist." "I'm not a salesman, ma'am." "Whatever you're selling, I don't want any." "I'm sorry to bother you." "I must have the wrong house." "Who you looking for?" " Lisa." " Lisa who?" " Lisa Gobar." " Yeah, that's me." "What do you want?" "Are you the Lisa Gobar who went to the Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School with a guy called Steve Mills in 1962?" "How do you know about the Marilyn Hotchkiss School?" "The thing is, you promised Steve Mills that you would meet him" "on the fifth day of the fifth month of the fifth year of the new millennium, and you were gonna meet him at the Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School." "I did?" "According to Steve." "Well, isn't that romantic?" "What were we thinking?" "That old bag Hotchkiss must be long dead by now." "Her daughter, you know, Marienne, she teaches class now." "Well, guess I missed it, then." "Well, Steve..." "Steve didn't make it, either." "He would have done anything to be there, but he died on the way." "He just wanted you to know that it was very important to him, the promise that he made to you all those years ago." "He was sorry to let you down." "Bye, Lisa." "I have to tell you that" " I haven't..." " It's okay." "It's okay." " I..." " It's okay." "You all right?" "Yeah." " I did something wrong." " No." " You sure?" " Yeah." "Then why are you crying?" "'Cause I'm thinking I get 65% off on all excursions to the Iberian Peninsula between September 15th and November 1st, and I never have anyone to go with." "I'll go with you." "Wait." "That's Sampson." "Who?" " He'll be here in a minute." " Who?" " The bathroom, quick." " All right." "Hey, Frank." "Hey, Frank." "Hi." "What's going on here?" "I..." "I have company." "Here?" "We were thinking of making an Italian panettone." "I let Rita's ashes go." "Where?" "Off Suicide Bridge." "Seemed appropriate." "Well, I bet she's happy to be out of that urn." "She never did like being confined." "Yeah." "Hi." "I'm Sampson." "I heard you had a craving for a panettone." "Yes, I guess that I did." "Well, you've come to the right place, then." "This is Meredith." "Nice to meet you, Meredith." "I bet you're a dancer." "Oh, yeah, I guess." "It's fate." "Yeah, right, fate." "It..." "It's too perfect." "Nothing's perfect, Mills." "Nothing." "They're gonna let me out of here with 24 hours to spare." "If I drive straight through, I can make it in by 3:00." "Gives me time to shower, shave, score some clothes." "Couldn't be more perfect." "Yeah, but you're not allowed to leave the state." "Did I ever tell you the story?" "Only about 4,000 times." "And, man, let me tell you, it is one boring fucking story." "What?" " 'Cause nobody gets shot?" " Or laid." "We made a pact that no matter if we lost touch, no matter if we got married..." "Or if we got thrown in jail for armed robbery." "No matter what happened, we would meet on the fifth day of the fifth month of the fifth year of the new millennium at Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School." "Do you really think that you made such an impact that after 40 some-odd years, some chick is gonna haul her ass to Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School just to see you?" "Yes." "You were that good when you were 12?" "I know." "You watch." "When Lisa and I see each other, all time will dissolve away between us." "It'll be a new beginning for me." "A fresh start."