"Hi, sis." "Now, Michael, if I could just get you to sign this right here which gives you the contents of the safe deposit box." "Fine, thank you." "And this one, please, which clears the bank of responsibility for the contents." "This is exciting." "Maybe we'll find out that your mother had secret millions." "Why don't we get started?" "Now, your mother is interred at the Cedar Heights Funeral Home until arrangements can be made." "l thought it was arranged." "There's a problem." "What problem?" "Your mother left explicit instructions to be cremated." "l don't understand it either." "When did she decide this?" "Well, apparently, just before her death." "This is crazy. I don't know anybody who gets cremated." "Lots of people do." "No one in my family did." "Dad bought cemetery plots at Prairie Hills, one for him, one for Mom." "The will clearly states-- l don't care what it says." "Maybe Mom was delirious." "She didn't know what she was saying." "If she wanted to be cremated why did she let Dad buy two plots?" "She was very specific." "She wanted her ashes to be thrown off Roseman Bridge." "What?" "!" "Bizarre." "Are you sure Mom wrote all this?" "It was notarized and witnessed by Mrs. Lucy Delaney." "Maybe you could ask her." "Who the hell is she?" "l remember her." "I don't care if it's legal or not." "We're not going to cremate her and throw her ashes off some bridge where we can't visit her because she'll be blown all over the place!" "Not to mention people driving all over her...." "We're not doing it." "I'm not even sure it's Christian." "Maybe it's an Italian thing." "She was Italian." "Doesn't matter." "Move on." "We can come back to this." "Why don't we open the box?" "Look at these." "Have you ever seen these pictures?" "It was in this envelope from 1965." "She's not wearing a bra." "That's the Holliwell Bridge." "In case anyone's interested." "Why are there 2 deeds?" "This is for the additional acres he purchased in '59." "And this?" "Those were bills of sale from equipment your mother sold." "This is for the original parcel of land." "That's a beautiful picture of her." "What?" "Could you come here?" "What?" "Where're we going?" "She say anything in there about me?" "About leaving me anything?" "No." "What's going on?" "We were just wondering if it might be better if Carolyn and I looked at this stuff ourselves." "We don't want to keep you waiting." "I'll contact your office about the legal work." ""l struggle to..." ""...put it together..." ""...in a way that allows me to continue..." ""...knowing that we're on separate roads." "But then..." ""..." "I look through the lens of my camera and you're there." ""l start to write an article and I find myself writing it to you." ""lt's clear to me now..." ""...that we have been moving towards each other..." ""...towards those 4 days, all of our lives."" "I don't want to hear anymore." "Burn the damn thing." "I don't want to hear it." "Throw it away." "What's he saying now?" "He just goes on about how if Mom ever needed him he could be reached through the National Geographic." "He was a photographer." "He promises not to write again." "And then, all it says is:" ""l love you, Robert."" "Robert." "Jesus." "I'll kill him." "That would be some trick." "He's dead." "That's what this letter is." "From his attorney." "He left most of his things to Mom." "And requested...." "What?" "That he be cremated and his ashes thrown off Roseman Bridge." "Damn him." "I knew Mom wouldn't've thought that up herself." "It was some damn perverted photographic mind influencing her." "When did the bastard die?" "'82." "Wait, that was three years after Daddy." "You think?" "I don't know." "I'm completely in the dark here." "That's what I get for moving away." "We were kids when this happened." "I can't believe it." "Do you think that she had sex with him?" "It must be nice living inside your head with Peter Pan and the Easter Bunny." "Don't talk to me like that." "She was my mother!" "Now I find that she was...." "She was a...." "A what?" "Don't say that." "What am I supposed to think?" "I can't believe she never told me." "We spoke once a week." "How could she do that?" "When did she meet him?" "Did Dad know?" "is there anything else in that envelope?" "No, I don't think so." "You read it." "You read it." ""January, 1987." ""Dear Carolyn:" ""l hope you read this with Michael." ""l'm sure he wouldn't be able to read it by himself..." ""...and he'll need help understanding all this." ""First and..." ""...most of all..." ""..." "I love you both very much." ""And although I feel fine, I thought I'd put my affairs..." ""...excuse that word, in order."" "I can't believe she's making jokes." ""After going through the safe deposit box..." ""..." "I'm sure you'll find your way to this letter." ""lt's hard to write this to my own children." ""l could let this die with the rest of me, I suppose." ""But as one gets older..." ""...one's fears subside." ""What becomes more and more important..." ""...is to be known..." ""...known for all that you were during this brief stay." ""How sad it seems to leave this earth..." ""...without those you love the most..." ""...ever really knowing who you were." ""lt's easy for a mother to love her children, no matter what." ""lt just happens. I don't know if it's as simple for children." ""You're all so busy being angry at us for raising you wrong." ""His name..." ""...was Robert Kincaid." ""He was a photographer and he was here in 1965..." ""...shooting an article for National Geographic on the covered bridges." ""Remember when we got that issue, how we felt like celebrities?" ""Remember when we started getting the subscription?"" "That's Roseman Bridge." "That must be Robert Kincaid." "And that's Mom's medallion." ""l don't want you to be angry with him." ""l hope after you know the whole story..." ""...you think well of him, even grateful."" "Grateful?" ""lt's all there, in the 3 notebooks."" ""lt was the week of the Illinois State Fair." ""The two of you were going with Dad to exhibit..." ""..." "Carolyn's prize steer." ""lt was the Sunday night you left." "I know it sounds awful..." ""...but I couldn't wait for you to leave." ""You were going to be gone until Friday." ""Four days." ""Just four days."" "Richard!" "Dinner!" "What did I tell you about the door?" "Sorry." "Okay, so...." "Would you like to say grace?" "Grace." "More sauces." "A piece of bread." "Thanks." "That was the Shangri-Las." "Moving up to number nine this week is "Baby, I'm yours."" "Damn drawer." "Here." "You can't get mad at it." "Sorry." "Didn't mean to yell." "I want you to stay away from anything too spicy." "And you promise me." "I swear." "Only filters." "No more than half pack a day." "l've got my orders." "Doc Reynolds said so." "I know, I'm only kidding." "Are you sure you don't want to go?" "l'm positive." "What are you going to do as a woman of leisure?" "Same thing I do as a hired hand, except with less help." "I won't be able to sleep, you know." "I can't sleep without you next to me." "It's only 4 days." "Oh, God, where have you been?" "You missed them?" "They left." "Why do you love me so much?" "I don't like you." "Get down." "You like that song?" "It's just you and me." "Just you and me." "Hi." "You know, I get the distinct feeling that I'm lost." "Are you supposed to be in Iowa?" "Then you're not that lost." "I'm looking for a bridge." "One of those covered bridges in this neighborhood." "Roseman Bridge?" "That's it." "You're pretty close. lt's only about two miles from here." "Which way?" "Well, you go that way and at Cutter's turn left." "To Cutters?" "Cutter's a farm." "Small house, close to the road." "Big, mean yellow dog." "Mean yellow dog, okay." "Then you go along that road until you come to a fork." "It's only less than half a mile." "And then where, after the fork?" "The right." "And then you...." "No, no, not that fork." "Excuse me." "You pass Peterson's." "Peterson's." "Peterson's a farm." "And past the old school house you turn left." "It would be easier to tell you if the roads were marked." "It certainly would." "I can take you if you want." "Or I can tell you." "I can take you or tell you." "It's up to you. I don't care." "I wouldn't want to take you away." "No, I was just going to have some ice tea, and then split the atom, but that can wait." "Okay." "I'll just get my shoes." "I wasn't expecting company." "Where to?" "Out, then right." "Out then right." "Wonderful smell to Iowa." "Kind of particular in this part of the country, you know?" "No." "It's hard to explain." "It's in the loam of the soil." "It's got that kind of rich, earthy alive, well, maybe not alive." "You don't smell it?" "Maybe it's because I live here." "I guess so." "Smells great though." "Are you from Washington?" "Yeah, I lived there till I was in my mid-20s." "I moved to Chicago when I got married." "When did you move back?" "After the divorce." "How long have you been married?" "A long time." "A long time." "Where're you from?" "Do you mind me asking?" "No, I don't mind your asking." "I'm from...." "l'm born in Italy." "Italy?" "From Italy to Iowa." "Where in Italy?" "We lived in a small town on the eastern side...no one's ever heard of:" "Bari." "I know Bari." "No." "Yeah." "Really?" "Yeah." "I was once on assignment to Greece and I had to go through Bari to get to Brindisi." "I was looking out, it looked like pretty country." "So I got off the train and stayed a few days." "You got off the train because it looked pretty?" "Yeah, I did." "Excuse me." "Cigarette?" "Sure, I'll have one." "So tell me, how long have you lived in Iowa?" "Long." "You just got off the train and stayed without knowing anyone there?" "Yeah." "That's it." "It's beautiful." "This is great." "I won't shoot this today." "I'll just do a little prep work." "Shoot it tomorrow." "The light's no good right now." "So I'll just wait." "I don't mind." "Go on down here." "I think this is a good place to start." "Beautiful bridge." "Beautiful." "Do you come here much?" "No." "Always this hot around here?" "Oh, yes." "This time of year." "There's some sodas in the truck if you'd like one." "Would you like one?" "Not now." "I'll go get one." "2 and a half." "There you are." "You caught me." "I was picking you some flowers." "Men still do that, don't they?" "I'm not out of date, am I?" "Picking flowers as a sign of appreciation?" "No." "Except those are poisonous." "I'm kidding. I'm sorry." "I'm just kidding." "I'm so sorry." "Are you sadistic by nature?" "I don't know why I did that." "Here." "They're beautiful." "I'm sorry." "You're looking for something specific?" "There's not much selection." "I had a station out of Chicago earlier." "Played good blues." "It's 1410." "There." "That's nice." "Care for another cigarette?" "Sure." "is that the mean yellow dog?" "is it white?" "Yellow." "I want to thank you for all your kindness, Mrs. Johnson." "Francesca." "Robert." "Would you like some ice tea?" "Yeah." "Yes, sit down." "You like lemon?" "Sure." "Maybe a little bit of sugar?" "You bet." "If you want more...." "Thanks." "Aren't you afraid to have those in here?" "I'm so sorry I did that." "I don't know why why I said that." "Where are you staying?" "Some place with small cabins." "Something or other Motor Inn." "I've got it written down, but I haven't checked in yet." "How long are you here for?" "I don't know, maybe four or five days, a week at most." "As long as it takes to do the work." "Where's your family?" "My husband took the kids to the state fair." "My daughter is entering a prize steer." "How old?" "A year and a half." "No, I meant the kids." "Michael is seventeen." "And Carolyn is sixteen." "That's nice, having kids." "They're not kids anymore." "Things change." "They always do." "One of the laws of nature." "Most people are afraid of change, but if you look at it as something you can count on, then it can be a comfort." "There's not many things you can really count on." "I guess." "I'm one of those people it frightens, I think." "I doubt that." "Why do you say that?" "From Italy to Iowa, that's a big change." "But Richard was in the Army there." "I met him when I was living in Naples." "I didn't know anything about Iowa." "I just cared that it was America, and of course, being with Richard." "What's he like?" "He's very clean." "Clean?" "Yeah." "No. I mean...." "He's other things too." "He's a very hard worker very caring honest." "He's gentle." "He's a good father." "And clean." "Clean." "And you like living here in Iowa, I guess?" "Yeah." "Go ahead. I'm not going to tell anyone." "I'm supposed to say:" ""lt's just fine. lt's quiet and the people are real nice."" "And all that's true." "Mostly." "It is quiet." "And the people are nice." "In certain ways." "We all help each other out." "If someone gets sick or hurt, all the neighbors come in." "They pick the corn, harvest the oats or whatever." "In town, you can leave your car unlocked, and let the kids run around." "Don't worry about them." "There are a lot of nice things about the people here." "And I respect them for those qualities." "But...." "But?" "Well, it's not what I dreamed of as a girl." "I scribbled something down the other day." "I often do that when I'm out on the road." "Kind of goes like this:" "The old dreams were good dreams." "They didn't work out, but I'm glad I had them." "I don't know what it means." "I thought I might use it someday." "Well, anyway, I think I know how you feel." "Would you like to stay for dinner?" "There's not much in town." "And you'd have to eat alone." "So would I." "I'd like that. I'd like that." "I don't get a home-cooked meal too often. I'd like that a lot." "Okay." "This is ridiculous." "Do you mind if I put some film in the fridge?" "No, go ahead." "This heat here isn't too forgiving." "Anything I can do to help?" "To help what?" "Cook?" "Yeah." "Men cook." "Okay, sure." "What can I do?" "You can scrape the carrot." "Scrape the carrots." "And grate them." "Make a nice salad." "All right." "Scrape the carrots." "Like that." "How's that?" "Good." "Very nice." "Not bad, huh?" "Don't forget to pick off the end." "Pick off end." "Let me get these...." "Excuse me. I can take the ends off of these too." "Yes." "That's a good idea." "Like this?" "That's good." "But don't use your fingers." "Then they smell like...." "l'll get you some lemon." "Would you like a beer?" "l've got some in the car." "l would love a beer." "Anything to get out of a little work." "Very nice." "No, wait a second. lt gets better." "You must picture this:" "I have 3 cameras around my neck and I've got a tripod and my pants are around my ankles." "I'm behind a bush and then suddenly I see this gorilla." "A huge gorilla, staring right at me with the most lascivious look you've ever seen." "More than you've seen on any creature with that much hair." "I freeze, of course, because that's what you're supposed to do." "And then it started coming towards me." "And what?" "What?" "My God!" "I can't...." "You're blushing." "It's a very painful subject." "A very sore, sore subject matter, really." "What happened?" "We became engaged." "You should really...." "You should write these stories down." "I would, except this is a female gorilla and it had on eye shadow and a little lip gloss on her lips and it was so nice and...." "We still write." "I don't want to put this stuff down." "I'm afraid...." "l'm afraid my writing's a little too technical." "The trouble with being a journalist too long is you stop giving yourself permission to invent." "I'll just stick to making pictures." "Making pictures." "I like that." "You really love what you do." "I'm obsessed by it, really." "Why is that, do you think?" "I don't know." "I don't think obsessions have reasons." "That's why they're obsessions." "You sound like an artist." "I wouldn't say that." "National Geographic likes their photos in focus and not too much personal comment." "I don't mind really." "I'm no artist." "That's one of the curses of being too well-adjusted, too normal." "I don't think you're so normal." "Really?" "I didn't mean it that way in the way that it sounded." "That's all right." "We'll just chalk it up to a compliment and move on." "Did you love teaching?" "Sometimes I did." "When there was a particular student who can make a difference...." "They're all supposed to, but they don't." "It's not true." "You tend to single out one or two who you think you can contribute something to." "And did you?" "I don't know, I hope so." "One went to medical school." "Why'd you quit?" "My children, my kids." "And Richard didn't like it." "But you miss it, obviously." "I never think about it." "What's the most exciting place that you've ever been?" "Unless you're too tired to talk about it." "Most exciting...." "You're asking a man if he's tired of talking about himself?" "You haven't been out much, have you?" "Sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like some dumb statement." "Maybe it's a little dull for you telling this to some housewife in the middle of nowhere." "This is your home." "This isn't nowhere." "And it's not dull." "Let's see... I guess I'd say that the most exciting place I've ever been to was Africa." "'Cause it's another world." "It's not just the cultures and the people." "That's great, but it's the air." "The colors from dawn to dusk." "There's something tangible about it." "The cohabitation of man and beast, and beast and beast." "Who'll survive and who won't." "There's no judgement about it." "You know?" "There's no imposed morality." "It's just the way it is." "It's beautiful, really." "Just nothing like it. lt's a voyeur's paradise." "I'd love to see that." "There's safaris." "You can ask your husband." "Yeah." "It's a beautiful evening." "Would you like to take a walk?"