"Good morning." "Could you prepare the bill for 321?" " Sure." " And could you send up some breakfast... coffee and fruit?" " Okay, I'll call room service." " Thank you." "Hello." "Oh, I like this one." "You have more like this?" "Yes?" "Yes." "Take this one." "Yes." " How much?" " One dollar." "Come on, come on, come on." "Give me your hand!" "Give me" "Give me your hand!" "Can you reach me?" "Take my hand." " All right, hold on." " She's not breathing." "Think she's gone, dude." " Get back, get back!" " Everybody get off the boat!" "Come on." "Roll her over on her side." " Breathe, breathe." " Vomit it out." "Good, vomit." "Turn her back around." " Are you okay?" "You okay?" " Yeah." " You're okay." " We got you." "Slow." "Slow down." "Marie." "Come in and have a seat." "I'll go talk to my brother, okay?" " No, I'm okay." " Okay." "Sit, sit, sit." " Hey." " How could you do this to me?" " What?" " You know I don't do this anymore." "Just one time." "This guy's a real important client of mine." "I need this." "Come on." " This is it." " I know." " This is it." " I know." "Okay." "Mr...?" "Andreou." "Christos." "Christos." "Okay." "I'm gonna hold your hands just until I get a connection, and then... just for the purposes of the reading, confine your answers to yes or no." "Give me your hands?" "A woman close to you has passed?" "Yes." " In her middle age?" "Was she in her fifties?" " Yes." "Was this woman your wife?" "Yes." "And I'm picking up you were together for a long time." "Yep." " But it wasn't always easy." " No." " Now I'm picking up she was sick." " Yep." "She was sick for a long time." "Did she have difficulty moving?" "Yes." "Was she bedridden?" "Yes." "She had multiple sclerosis." "I'm sorry." "She wants to apologize to you for ruining the marriage." "That's not true." "She feels bad that you had to care for her, even as a young man... and wishes that you'd find someone now, before it's too late." "Because you're not getting any younger." "Or slimmer." "No." "She's got quite a sense of humor." " Yeah." " She's really funny." "Okay, wait." "Now she's telling me to pay attention." "Okay, she has something important she needs to say." "Okay, she's trying to give me some kind of a date." "June." "In June?" "Did that mean anything to you?" " No." " Is that when you were married?" "June?" " Is that when she passed?" " No." "I mean, she's being very specific about June." "Yeah, June." "Hm." "Well, maybe I'm wrong." "That happens." "I don't even do this anymore." "Guess I'm rusty." "Thank you." "I can't thank you enough." " Hey." "Thanks, baby brother." " Okay." "I owe you." "That was incredible." "Your brother, I'm telling you, he's for real." " I know." " No, no, no." "He's really for real." "I gotta tell you I was skeptical before I came." "All this psychic shit is... mumbo-fucking-jumbo as far as I'm concerned." "He was telling me things I'd never told anybody." " He could make money." " He did." "Good money." "Had an office, website, newspaper articles, even had a book written about him." "Yeah?" "So, what happened?" "Couldn't cope." "Turned his back on the whole thing." "He told me, he said, "A life that's all about death is no life at all."" "He works at a factory and makes 2 grand a month." "He says he's happy." "Who knows?" "He wasn't gonna do this again." "I had to persuade him to make an exception." "Well, I appreciate it, man." "I mean, this was...." "I owe you." "All right, I'll talk to you Monday about that thing?" "Yeah." "Great, Christos, thanks." "Hey." "What was with June, if you don't mind me asking?" "June Menendez was my wife's nurse." "Took care of her for 15 years." "For 10 of those years, I was in love with her." "And I felt so guilty I couldn't tell anybody." "Least of all June herself." "Right." "All right, I'll see you." "We might have gone about half a mile... and my pocket handkerchief was quite wet through... when looking out, to my amazement, I saw Peggotty burst from a hedge." "She jumped up into the carriage." "Not a single word did she speak." "She squeezed me until the pressure on my nose was extremely painful... crammed some pieces of cake into my pockets... and a purse, which she put into my hand." "Then she got down and ran away." "Presently, I noticed one of her buttons rolling around on the floor." "I picked it up and treasured it as a keepsake for a long time." "Okay, you two." "Yeah." "Oh, lovely." "Come on, you guys." "Which one of you two is the oldest?" " Twelve minutes." " Really?" "Do you know, I think I could tell." " And you're Marcus?" " No, he's Marcus." " Right." " The quiet one." "Uh-huh." "Oh." "Aw." " I was gonna say the handsome one." " I'm Jason." "Jason, yeah, all right." "The oldest." "The chatterbox." "The smartass." "Lovely." "Think we're done." "Okey-dokey." "What did you guys do, rob a phone box?" " Thank you." " Go on." " Bye." " Cheers, bye-bye." " What's the matter?" " I don't understand it." "Can I copy yours?" " No." " Please." "It has to be in tomorrow." "Tough bananas." "She can see it in the morning." "Good night, Jase." "Good night." "Shit." "Jackie?" "Are you in there?" "Come on, open up." "Come on, wake up." "Open up, please!" "Boys, it's no use." "We know you're covering for her." "Wake her up." "Make her look better." "Social Services." "Mom!" "Mom, wake up!" "Jackie, you in there?" "She's not here." "She's gone to the shops." "Mom, come on!" "We're gonna wait." "Boys, it's no use." "We know you're covering for her." "Come on, Mom." "Get up, please!" "Come on." "You're wasting our time." "If she's not here in five minutes... we'll call the Police Child Protective Unit." "Come on." "Open up." "He means that!" "Five minutes!" "Thanks." "I've got it." "Jason, open the door." "You can come in and wait for her if you want." "Have a seat." "Thanks." "Hope she won't be much longer." "I'm home!" "Hello." "I didn't know you were gonna be here." "Hi." "I completely forgot you were gonna be here." "Jason, go put the kettle on." "Marcus, go and get a plate." "Let's get these biscuits out." " Have you been here long?" " A while." "Sorry." "It's all right, Jackie." "Why don't you sit down?" "You know what I'm thinking?" "I'm thinking that is the best present in the whole wide world." "Absolutely love it." "Thank you." "Thank you." "My boys." " Marcus, will you do something?" " Yeah." " Get the red box in the cupboard." " Yes, Mom." "Thank you." "Now, I want you to go down to the chemist." "Give this to the nice man." "Then he'll know what to do, okay?" " Yes, Mom." " Thank you, baby." " I'll do it." " Why?" "Marcus hasn't done his homework yet." " Go on, then." " Call me on this and I'll talk you through it." "Yeah, but not long, okay?" "I haven't got any credit." "Take care, Jason, okay?" " I will." " I'll see you later." "And why haven't you done your homework?" "Come here, you." "Look at your silly little face." "An angel." "Okay." "It's okay." "Forget about your homework." "You can copy mine." "I want you to look up naltrexone and hydrochloride." "Okay." "Hang on a minute." "Found it." "I think this is it." ""Naltrexone blocks the effects of heroin and of opiates." "Detoxification can last between a week and a month."" "Does that mean she's stopping?" "Yeah, I think that's exactly what it means." "This is great." "She's never done this before up till now." "It's just been promises." " Yeah, I knew it was just a matter of time." " There you are." "Thank you." "Just think." "It'd be like living in a normal family for once." "That kid's got a mobile." "Hey, little one." "Hey, come here, lad." "Leave me alone!" "Give me your phone, mate." "Give me that back!" "Jase?" "What do you got pills for?" "You're a little freak." "Get your phone, brother." "Get your phone." " Grab him!" " Wait a minute, little prick!" " Come here!" " Little prick!" "Come on, little prick!" "Come on, you little dickhead, where you going?" "Jase?" "Marcus!" "Jason?" "Jason?" "Please, Jason." "Jason, come on." "I need you." "Please." " Come on." " Come on." "Jason!" "Jason, come on." "Please, Jase." "Jase." "Good evening, everyone." "Two right-wing newspapers claim Sikhs were out in the streets... burning cars, looting shops." "Others say the unrest was triggered by elements within the nationalist parties... to cast negative suspicion on racial minorities." "What do you think about the story on the Sikhs?" "What?" "The story on the Sikhs, what do you think?" "It's very good." "Listen, I've got to work late and finish some things." "See you tomorrow." "Hey." "You see that meeting going on?" "On the first floor?" " The head office guys and the union?" " No, no, I didn't." "Yeah, well, they were in there all afternoon." "Kind of makes you think the rumors are true, huh?" "What rumor?" "That they're gonna let 30 percent of the workforce go." "You heard that, right?" "Yeah, right." "Right." "What's the matter with you today?" "No, I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." "Well, see you tomorrow, all right?" " Yeah, yeah." "I'll see you." " Yeah." "Down the end of the hall, on your left." "Hi there." "Welcome, all of you, to this 10-week course in Italian cuisine." "My name is Carlo." "Some of you know me already." "You've done some of my other courses." "Those of you that don't, buonasera, and you can call me "Chef."" "We'll be working in pairs throughout the course... so one of the first things I want to do today is to pair you all up." "All right?" "Don't be shy." "Grab a partner." "I see some of you have come in twos already." "Others have worked together before." "Okay." "Now who's left?" "Excuse me." "God." "I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry I'm late." "The roads were closed for some reason... plus this jerk in registration took an age processing my application." "Am I too late?" "No." "No, no." "Not at all." "What is your name?" " Melanie." " We were just pairing people off." "Why don't we put you with...." " What is your name?" " George." "Melanie with George." "And, Alice, you're with...." "Tony." "How you doing, Tony?" " Sorry." " All right." "Now, in exercise class, you warm up with stretches." "We're gonna warm up with a glass of Barbaresco... a beautiful wine from the Piedmont region in northwestern Italy..." " made from the Nebbiolo grape." " Hi." "George." "Take a sip." "Mm." "Mm." "And some music." "Because cooking is all the senses, right?" "The nose, the eyes, the palate and the ears." "And tonight, we're gonna start at the beginning." "The cornerstone of so much of Italian cooking... the classic tomato sauce from Toscana." "And in preparation, we're gonna need chopped tomatoes, so let's get chopping." "Take your time." "Doing all right?" "Look at these beautiful tomatoes, huh?" "Ah, the music." "Is this beautiful?" "God, some of them are really good." "Is this your first time?" " Yeah." " Yeah, mine too." "I read in the brochure that the course builds to a competition." "I saw that." "To be iudged by a local restaurant critic." "Yeah." "I don't think we should get our hopes up." "Heh, heh." "Well, we still have 10 weeks." " Well, that's true." " And we haven't cut our fingers off yet." "That's a good attitude." "Which one of us is using the wrong knife?" "Am I using the wrong knife?" "Yeah." "You're using that." "The woman next to me brought her own knife." " Really?" " Very intimidating." "So I'll see you next week." "Great." "Yeah." "See you next week." " George Lonegan?" " Yeah." "I hate to bother you." "I'm Mr. Andreou's neighbor." "The Greek guy, mid-fifties, who lost his wife." "I believe you recently did a reading for him." " I'm just gonna stop you." " Candace." "Okay, Candace, I don't do readings anymore." "You did one last week for Mr. Andreou." "He's an associate of my brother's." "It was a one-time thing." "Please, I give you my word." "I won't tell anyone." " I'm sorry." " Listen, listen, listen." "I brought money." " I don't want your money." " Everything I have." "I lost my child." "My only child." "Just a baby." "I just wanna talk to her." "Please, I wanna talk to my baby." "I can't help you." "I don't do that anymore!" " Please!" " Mr. Lonegan!" "I got money!" "Mr. Lonegan." "Please." "I wanna talk to my baby." "Go, girls!" "There you go!" "Kick it!" "So another person came to see me for a reading." "Thanks to your friend Mr. Andreou." " What?" " Yeah." "Told that Greek jerk to keep his big mouth shut." "Go, girls!" "Kick it back!" "You gotta kick it back!" "Well, obviously he didn't." "I'll talk with him, make sure nothing like that ever happens again." "Okay." "And?" " And what?" " Did you do it?" " What?" " The reading." " Did you do the reading?" " You still don't get it, do you?" "You think just because I can make money doing this... just because I can that I should do it." "Yeah." "Yeah, I do." "I also think you have a duty to do it because you have a gift." "It's not a gift, Billy." "It's a curse." "You have no idea." "It ruins any chance I have at a normal life." "Feel like a freak." "Freak?" "Freak or not, Georgie, it's who you are." "It's what you are, you know." "You can't run from that forever." "To divert his thoughts from this melancholy subject..." "I informed Mr. Micawher that I relied on him for a bowl of punch... and led him to the lemons." "His recent despondency, not to say despair, was gone in a moment." "I never saw a man so thoroughly enjoy himself... amid the fragrance of lemon peel and sugar, and the smell of burning rum... as he stirred and mixed and tasted... and looked as if he were making, instead of punch... a fortune for his family to last for all posterity." "Death is not final." "It is merely the beginning." "Gateway to an afterlife that reflects our conduct here on earth." "God, in his infinite generosity, has created heaven... which is where Jason is now... surrounded by all the angels and saints, looking down at us." "And so we commit Jason's body to dust, his soul already in God's care." "Jason's ashes will be available at the back... but if you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to leave through the front door." "Morning." "Please come in." "Thank you." "Morning." "Good night, Jase." "It won't be for long." "It's a short-term placement." "Just until your mum feels better." "The couple we have in mind have a lot of experience and live close to where you live." "Of course you'll stay at the same school." "I don't wanna go with anyone else." "I wanna stay with you." "Where are you going?" "Just give us a minute, will you?" "Look, I need a little time to sort myself out." "But I'm not running away, I promise." "I could stay with you now, and I want that so much." "But chances are I wouldn't make it, because I'm not strong enough." "I don't expect you to understand." "And I know for me to leave you now... it must feel like the worst thing in the world." "But I promise you I'm not gonna let you down, okay?" "I promise you." "I'm so sorry." "I love you." "Come here." "Come here." "Be a good boy." "Come on." "Okay, does everyone have their blindfolds on?" "Okay." "Now, if you wanna be a good cook, first we need to work on your palate." "To stimulate your imaginations, your senses." "No good being an expert chopper, dicer, roaster, toaster... if you can't give names and colors, and even shapes, to flavors." "Okay." "Now, spoon number one." "Now, look, this isn't easy." "So don't worry if you don't immediately identify it." "Let's start by trying to describe it." "What is the texture?" "Okay, you ready?" " What is the consistency?" " Open." "Very good." "What?" "I have no freaking idea what this is." ""No freaking idea." Okay." "But, um...." "It's not a fruit." "It's kind of nutty." " But it's kind of sweet too." "I think." " Okay." ""A little nutty."" ""Kind of sweet."" " Did she get it?" " Yeah." "So how are we gonna do this?" "What?" "Well, we could make up a whole load of crap, or we could... cut to the chase and be honest with one another." "About?" "About why we're both doing night-school classes?" " All right." " Open." "Everybody okay?" "How we doing?" "Mm." "There's, um...." "There's something oaky about that." ""Oaky." Okay." " Yeah." "Nutmeggy?" "I think." " Okay." "You're not gonna tell me it's because you wanna make... the perfect spaghetti vongole, right?" "No, not entirely." "Okay." "I'll jump in." "I'm doing this because I'm new to San Francisco." "Because I'm looking to make new friends." "And who knows?" "If I'm lucky, maybe even meet the man of my dreams." " Here, open." " Okay." "So why'd you move to San Francisco?" "Uh...." "Because I got dumped by someone in Pittsburgh." "Sorry." "Not quite at the aisle, but pretty close." "Down payment on the wedding dress, honeymoon booked." "That kind of thing." "I mean, it's okay." "You know, I'm...." "I'm over it, just about." "Not at all, actually." "What'd that taste like?" "Oh." "Um...." "I don't know." "I mean, I really" " I don't...." " Wanna try again?" " Yeah, okay." "Okay." " Ready?" " Uh-huh." "Okay." " Is that a bean?" " Yeah." " Really?" " Yeah." "You know what color it is?" "It's like...." "Tastes like a black bean." " Am I right?" " Yes." "How we doing?" "Don't be shy." " Here we go." " Oh, well... like you, I recently made a big change to my life... and I just wanted to reevaluate things and change my priorities." "What was--?" "What was the change?" "Divorce or...?" "Oh, no, no, nothing like that." "No." "A job that I needed to put behind me." "It was making any kind of life impossible." "Definitely a nut." "You're not gonna tell me, you know, what the job was?" "Would you mind if I didn't?" "I mean, don't worry, I wasn't like a criminal or anything." " Okay." "So open up." " Okay." "No hitting on Alice." " Peppers." " Yeah." " Wasn't that great?" " Yeah, fun." "God, it's made me so hungry." "Yeah, me too." "Do you wanna get something to eat?" "Yeah." "There's actually a place nearby that everyone's talking about." "Place nearby, are you kidding me?" "We're practically experts ourselves." " I can drive." " Yeah." "Oh, yeah, great, okay." "So you been in San Francisco long?" "Born and bred, yeah." "Oh, nice." "You can just leave all that." "I'll get it." "You just get comfortable." "No, I'm your partner." "Remember?" "I have to...." " We have to do this together." " Okay." "Oh, my gosh." "Are these...?" " This is you?" "As a kid?" " Yeah, that's me and my brother, Billy." "Let me tell you, you got the looks." "Well, he got everything else." "Are these his kids?" "Yeah." "My nieces." "Hm." "Who's this?" "Is this some kind of ancestor?" "No, that's Charles Dickens." " Oh." " I'm a fan." "I'm a huge fan." "You know, people go on and on about Shakespeare and it's" "I mean, he's great, of course, but Dickens...." "No, no, I'll get that." "I got it." "There's a" " There's a little trick." "Hey." "It's Billy." "Just to say I finally caught up with our Greek friend." "Told him to keep his mouth shut." "Okay?" "Just relax." "There shouldn't be any more freaks... knocking on your door asking for readings, you know?" "I gotta say though, this guy... he made a big point of saying how brilliant you were... and with so many fakers out there, someone who had a genuine gift." "I don't know" "Sorry about that." "Uh...." " What gift?" " Oh, nothing." "Don't worry about it." "No, I mean, I'm interested." "Well, the job I had before, it was as a psychic." "I know, but...." " What?" " But it's true." "I had an illness as a child... and I had an infection, which turned into a fever... which turned into inflammation of my brain and spinal cord." "It's called encephalomyelitis." "And they had to operate, in the back, here." "It was a complicated procedure." "It was eight hours." "And they nearly lost me." "Actually, technically, they did lose me... and bring me back on a number of occasions." "Anyway, they cured the illness... but they must've messed up something else while they were back there, because... not long after, I started to have these migraines." "And then nightmares." "And then these connections." "And one day I'm sitting with a friend, and I had a vision of a woman... a crystal-clear vision." "And I described her to him." "And turned out it was an exact description of his mother, someone I'd never met... who'd died the previous week." "And you're not laughing yet." "No, I'm not." "Well, anyway, I assumed it was some kind of a coincidence." "But as time went on, I began having more and more of these things, connections." "So the doctors ran a bunch of tests." "They told my parents that I'd developed something called passive schizophrenia." "They gave me a bunch of pills and, you know, the pills stopped the visions... but they pretty much stopped everything else also... so I had this choice." "I was either gonna live my life with these hallucinations... with apparently no way of switching it off." "Or I could have no life at all." "Oh, my God." "See, there, now I've been neglecting my duties." "Could I ask you a question?" "You know, these are probably ready to go in." "George?" "Would it be okay if I told you the answer was no?" "You don't even know what I was gonna ask." "Yes, I do." "You're gonna ask me if I can do a reading for you." "Look, Melanie, I barely know you... but I like you a lot." "Really, a lot." "Is there any way we could pretend that maybe we go back in time... and just forget about the phone ringing, and my brother's message..." " and we never had this conversation?" " Why?" "If we open the door and go down that road... any chance that we had of having something normal will just be gone." "It just will." "Believe me." "I have enough experience of that now." "I mean, sometimes, I mean...." "You know, knowing everything about someone, it's" "You know, it seems nice, but, really... maybe it's actually better to hold stuff back." "I hear you." "But you can understand." "I'm curious." "No, of course." "I mean, yeah." "Yeah." "Please?" "Okay." "Come on." "Here, take a seat." "Okay." "I'm gonna take your hands for a second, to get a connection... and then I'll let go, and I'll just ask you a couple questions." "All right." "Okay." "Give me your hands." "Okay." "Okay." "There's a woman." "And she's tall." "Thin." "She has brown hair." "Do you know who I'm talking about?" "Is this woman your mother?" "Yes." "And I'm feeling a pain in my chest." "Yeah." "That's how she died." "Of a heart attack." "I'm sorry." "Okay." "You ready to eat?" "There's not something else?" " No, there's nothing" " No, no, no, I can tell." "Please, there is, I can tell." "I mean, what's the matter?" "You don't think I could handle it?" "All right, um...." "When you touched me before, there was a...." "There was a man." "Dark hair." "My father." "He passed away not too long ago?" " Last year." " And...." "All he kept saying, all I kept hearing was" "Was what?" "How sorry he was." "What for?" "For what he did to you all that time ago." "And he hoped that you could one day forgive him." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry. for pressing you like that." "Maybe we shouldn't have gone there." "I don't know what to say." "Except if I...." "If I go now... if we draw a line under this... pretend it never happened... we'll be okay." "I'm sure." "Good." "Good." "We still have the competition to win." "Right?" "Right." "I should've listened to you." "You know, too much knowledge and all that." "I'll see you next week." "Yeah, you betcha." "The old, unhappy feeling that had once pervaded my life... came back like an unwelcome visitor, and deeper than ever." "It addressed me like a strain of sorrowful music... a hopeless consciousness of all that I had lost... all that I had ever loved." "And all that remained was a ruined blank and waste... lying around me, unbroken to the dark horizon." "All right, son, out you get." "All right." "Lovely, thanks." " Hello." " Hi, Marcus!" "Hi." "I'm Angela." "This is Dennis." "All right, mate?" "I call him Dennis the Menace." "Now, I'll show you the kitchen." "Just keep walking through there." "So this is where we eat our breakfast in the morning." "What do you like to eat in the mornings?" "We're porridge eaters in this house." "Do you like porridge?" "Or cornflakes?" "This is your room." "Our last boy, Ricky, moved out about a month ago." "Just turned 18." "Got his first job, security guard." "Go on, mate." "It's all yours now." "Do you think it's possible to get another bed?" "Two secs, Marcus." "We're gonna need another bed." "Upstairs?" "Should I take yours?" " You all right?" " Yeah." "Good night, Jase." "Who agrees?" "A and D. "Rowan is an old Roman word for a mountain ash."" ""A mountain ash lives over 100 years."" "And does anybody else think it's anything else?" "Marcus, could you take the hat off, please?" "Thank you." "So now let's move on to number six." "On the next page." "So you're gonna need to look at the extract, "Wings of Courage."" " Thank you very much for coming in." " You're welcome." "And...." "We'll be in touch when we've made the appointment." "Yeah." "Okay, great." "Let's get it sorted as soon as possible." "Thanks." "All right, Marcus?" "See you soon, mate." "Be a good little man." "It's lunchtime, Marcus." "You gonna go?" "The angel of death comes to you... and will find you, no matter where you are hiding." "Even if you are hiding in, like a rich man in a castle... the angel of God will find you." "Hello." "A number of us are probably too frightened to ask:" ""What happens to us when we die?"" "But the good news is, if you believe in Christ, you have nothing to fear." "Excuse me." "I don't understand." "Ah." "What wouldn't we give to know exactly where she's gone?" "But from what you wrote in your letter, perhaps you know already." " Claudia Rousseau." " Marie Lelay." " I'm so happy to meet you." " Me too." "You know, I really need to talk about the vision I had." " Sure, go ahead." " Yeah." "It was a very peaceful sensation." "Everything was quiet." "Darkness everywhere." "And a light was catching my eyes." "And I was hearing the sound of a gentle wind." "Mm-hm." "A feeling of weightlessness?" "Yes." "A 360 perspective?" "No sense of linear time or motion?" "Yes." "But all-knowing, all-sensing?" "Exactly." " Would you care for some tea?" " Thank you." "You know, as a scientist and atheist... my mind was closed to such things." "Oh, absolutely." "Afterlife, near-death experiences." "Like everyone else, I thought people saw bright lights..." "Eden-like gardens and so forth... because they were culturally conditioned to do so." "But after 25 years in a hospice... working with people, many of whom were pronounced dead... but then miraculously survived... the account of what they actually experienced were so strikingly similar... it couldn't just be coincidence." "And add to that the fact that when they had these experiences... they were almost all unconscious... a state in which my enemies agree the brain cannot create fresh images." "So you think I really did experience something?" "Oh, yes." "I think you experienced death." "It's all here." "I'm afraid if your journey is anything like mine, it won't be an easy one." "It's a lonely field to plow." "People get quite irrational around this subject." "Quite hostile, even." "But the evidence is irrefutable." "I tried." "You know, perhaps someone like you... in your position, and with your influence, can change that." "I hope you can." "Thank you." "Good luck." "I'll send it back when I'm done." "Like to see you upstairs." "George, have a seat." "You're probably aware there's been a lot of talk about cutbacks." "Yeah, I heard." "Yeah." "Anyway, seems the suits got together with the unions... and came up with packages for anyone willing to consider voluntary redundancy." "Voluntary redundancy?" "Look, if you ask me, the deal is pretty good." "You get six months' pay in your pocket with health insurance for two years." "So, what does this have to do with me?" "It's a freaking scandal." "You worked there three years?" "You never missed a day, never called in sick." " He said it was nothing personal." " That's B.S." "He's trying to protect the guys who have wives and kids." " You should hire a lawyer." " I can't afford a lawyer." "If you need help getting another job, I'll help you with that." "I'll make calls." "I'll make it happen." "But you know what I think you should do, right?" "Yes, I do." "You know, the website's still up." "Waiting." "It'd be different this time, George." "We could control it." "That's how it would be different." "We'd only do two clients a day, three, tops." "Keep it small." "Don't give out your phone number." "We won't talk to the media." "We learned our lesson with that the last time, right?" "Just think about it, all right?" " Doing all right, George?" " Yeah." "Look a little bummed out." "Listen, I'll step in and partner with you." "Me and you could win this thing, you know?" " Why not?" " Yeah." "Great." "Watch your fingers there." " Hello?" " Clare?" "Dennis." "I think you should come over." "Yeah, of course, Dennis." "I'll come now." " How much was in here?" " Two hundred pounds." "We called the school." "He never got there." "What happens now?" "Well, we don't want to involve the police." "No, that's really a last resort." "Will you let us know if he comes back?" "We will be in touch." "I'll see you out." "There you go." "I'm afraid our sensitive, Mr. Hewitt, is very busy." "Earliest he could see you is six weeks' time." "Oh, dear." "Mrs. Joyce, our senior sensitive... is doing a public reading tonight if you're interested." "In the lecture hall." "All right." "I'll try my luck." "Thank you." "Can I help you?" "Oh, no, thanks." "I'm getting a strong feeling over this side of the room." "Someone whose name starts with a "J."" "Does the letter "J" mean anything to anyone?" "Anyone?" "Anyone?" "Oh." "Don't be shy." "Tell us your name, please." "Marcus." "Marcus." "Marcus." "Come on." "Come up here where I can see you." "Good boy." "There's a good boy, Marcus." "That's right." "I'm not going to hurt you." "That's lovely." "Now, Marcus, you've lost someone recently." "Was it someone very close to you?" "He's telling me his name." "It's Joe, or Jack." " Jason." " Jason, that's it." "He was very close to you, wasn't he?" "Was he part of your family?" "Is it your dad?" "Well, Daddy says please don't be sad... and to look after Mummy for him, will you?" "Will you do that for him?" "Give Marcus a round of applause, ladies and gentlemen." "Lovely boy." "And as I go into a trance... my spirit guide will speak to you through me." "Oh." "Who summons me from the spirit world?" "Say your name." " Marcus." " Marcus." "Welcome, Marcus." "My name is Yoshi." "What I'm doing is I'm adjusting the level of the microphones." "Do you do physics at school?" "Good." "Then you know that all matter vibrates at different speeds." "But in the spirit world, operates at far higher levels." "So we can't hear them." "Not with our normal hearing." "So, what we really need is an omnidirectional... supercardioid condenser microphone." "Like this beauty." "Right." "I think we are ready." "And...." "Jason?" "Are you there?" "Your brother, Marcus, is here." "Is there a message for him?" "It was the ancient Greeks who first discovered it." ""Psychomanteum," they called it." "The reflective surface being the conduit to the afterlife." "Nowadays, we call it "mirror gazing."" "You might not be able to speak to him, but you will see him... if you really want to, that is." "Did you see him?" "No." "Hello." "Clare speaking." "There's no sign of him." "I'm gonna call the police." " But that will not help." " Well, I don't care what" "Hang on." "He's here." "I'll call you right back." "I'm sorry." "Ah" "Leave him be." "Watch out!" "Anyways, I thought this would be a good group reading room." "Group reading?" "Yeah, where you could read more people at once." "Up to 20 people or more, it's up to you." "They'd pay lower rates that way." "This would be your personal consulting room." "And right next door, George, this is gonna be my room." "I'm gonna make sure everything gets taken care of." "You won't have to worry." "I don't understand." "What about your other businesses?" "Oh, yeah, of course." "They're gone." "Once this thing takes off, forget it, you know?" "Let's get you home." "You need rest." "You got a big day tomorrow." "You already have three appointments." " All right?" " Yeah." "Come on." " You Billy Lonegan?" " Yes." "Before he went, your brother asked me to give this to you." "Went?" "Went where?" "I have no idea." "Dear Billy..." "I'm sorry." "I guess there's nothing I'll ever be able to say to persuade you... that what I have isn't a gift, but a curse." "I know you feel what I have comes with a duty to help others." "But right now, the person I most need to help is myself." "So I've decided to take some time out." "I don't know what the future will bring or when I'll be back." "So don't wait up, so to speak." "Love to Jenni and the kids." "Your baby brother, George." "You know the recovery rate in substance abuse cases like this." " Yeah." " Yeah." "Very low." "So, what's the best way forward?" "Are you okay for a little bit longer?" "Yes." "But not too long, please." "We're running out of ideas, and it's beginning to take its toll." "Taking him to see our previous child, Ricky." "Who knows, you know?" "One kid talking to another." " Marie Lelay?" " Yes?" "This is Richard Aronson of Aquarius Books in Santa Fe, New Mexico." "Excuse me?" "Aquarius books in Santa Fe?" "A few months ago, you sent us your book." "I'm just ringing to say how much we liked it." "Sorry it's taken so long, but we loved it, and we'd like to publish it." " Really?" " In fact, we'd like to print it... in time for a book fair in London in the spring." " You're based in Paris?" " Yes." "So, if we were to ask, going to London wouldn't be inconvenient?" "No." "No, no, no, not at all." "That would be a good opportunity to do some publicity." "Maybe a reading." "It's an incredible story." "Thank you." "And here we are." "48 Doughty Street." "Charles Dickens' home in London... where he lived with his wife Catherine and their children." "Anyone know how many children?" "Here we are in the main hallway." " This is the view that greeted the author..." " Ten." "as he walked in each time." "Everything has been preserved exactly as it was." "So just follow me up the stairs." "We'll start at the top of the house." "Now we move in to Dickens' study." "And directly in front of you, you'll see an original copy of A Christmas Carol... arguably one of Dickens' most famous books." "But over here, the thing I expect most of you have come to see." "Dickens' desk, where he wrote most of his books." "On this wall we have several illustrations for The Mystery of Edwin Drood... the novel Dickens was writing at the time of his death." "And on the far wall here, a painting loved by Dickens fans." "It shows the author asleep at his desk... with characters from his novels floating in the air around him." "Anyone know its name?" "Dickens' Dream." "It's called Dickens' Dream." "This way, please." "Just gather again at the front of the building." "Does anyone have any questions?" "What is the date today?" " Fourteenth." " It is the 14th." "Yeah, okay." "I think you'll like Ricky." "He was about your age when he first came to us, and just as shy." "Now he's a grown man." "With a job and his own flat." " He's in here somewhere." " He said he'd meet us at the front." "Where is he?" " Where is he?" " Hey." "Look at this." " Hey." " Heh, heh, heh." "Oh, my God, I hardly recognized you." " You gonna arrest us?" " Yeah." "Not if you behave yourself." "Marcus, this is Ricky." "You all right, mate?" "Fancy a coffee first?" " Yeah, that's a great idea." " Yeah, great idea." "It's an amazing place, isn't it?" "Can I have a look around?" "Yeah." "But meet us back here in one hour, yeah?" " Good lad." " Okay?" "It's been nearly a year." "He hardly speaks to us." "Neither did I, remember?" "This one's different." "He's not like you." " Let's have that coffee, yeah?" " Yeah." "Oh, lovely." ""'She is, I do assure you, the winegariest person.'" "Mr. Plornish, with a modest disavowal of his merits... opened the room door for her readmission... and followed her in with such an exceedingly bald presence... of not having been out at all... that her father might have observed it without being very suspicious." "In his affable unconsciousness, however, he took no heed." "Plornish, after the little conversation, took his leave." "Making the tour of the prison before he left... and looking on at a game of skittles... with the mixed feelings of an old inhabitant... who had his private reasons for believing... that it might be his destiny to come back again."" "Thank you." "Thank you." "Now, if any of you wish to purchase a CD, I am at your disposal." " Thank you." " Thank you." " Hello." " Hi." "George." " To George." " Yeah." "George Lonegan." "To George." "I'm a" " It's-- This is an honor, Mr. Jacobi." "I'm a really big fan." "You have no idea." "Thank you." "You're a long way from home." " Yes." " Yes." " Did you enjoy it?" " Very much, yes." " There you are." "Thank you." " Thank you so much." "Thank you." " Good luck." " Thank you." ""I felt connected to another world... a place of utter peace and tranquility." "Whether what I saw was a genuine glimpse of the afterlife... or just a concussed fantasy, I'll probably never know." "I arrive at the end of my journey with as many question as I started with." "I certainly never imagined I would be exposed... to that kind of prejudice and close-mindedness." "We obviously still have a long way to go... before we will be able to deal with death and what follows... in anything approaching a sensible fashion."" "Okay, so if you want to buy my book, I can sign it." "You're welcome." "Thank you." " Hello." "What's your name?" " Hello." " Maria." " Maria." " Thank you, Maria." " Thank you very much." " Michael." " Michael." "Okay." "Thank you." "Honora." " Thank you." " Thank you." " My name's George." " George." " To Penny." " Sorry?" " Penny." " Penny." "Wait a minute." "I recognize you." "Sorry?" "You're that psychic." "No, no." "Um...." "No, you got me mistaken with someone else." "Yes, you are." "You're George Lonegan." " I don't even know who that is." "No, I'm not." " You are George Lonegan." " You got me" " I need to talk to you." "No, you got me mixed up with someone else." "Please, I need to talk to you." "You're a psychic." "I'm not." "I'm not who you think I am." "I saw it on the Internet." "You are a psychic." "What?" "What is it?" "What do you want?" "If it's a reading, I have news for you." "I don't do it anymore." "Now leave me alone." ""When I look back on this, it was insane." "The rudder cables became useless and I lost my ability to steer." "I was helpless amid the swirling maritime mass of industry." "The sea had turned malevolently dark." "What had once seemed friendly was now a violent monster trying to kill me."" "Did you see a Frenchwoman who was here just a few minutes ago?" "She's gone." "She left already." ""You realize you're in danger... and dwell on how things might end." "I spent every second...."" " Hi, can I help you?" " I'm looking for someone." "Come on, please." "Move along." "Hill cuts it back nicely, perhaps almost too far." "But it's gone in!" "It's gone in!" "Andy Fisher!" "You have to question that play...." "Okay." "We better get you inside." "Come on." " What's your name?" " Marcus." "Okay." "Couple of ground rules before we get started." "I'm sorry about the woman." "What woman?" "The woman at the book fair." "I could tell you liked her." "No, I didn't." "Yes, you did." "So I'm sorry for taking you away." "I don't have any idea what you're talking about." "Here, sit down." "Okay." "Let's do this." "Okay, I'm gonna grab your hands because it seems to help... and then I'll let go." "Don't worry, I'm not gonna go into any stupid trance or anything like that." "I just gotta grab them to get a connection, then I'll let go." "Okay?" "Now, I want you to answer yes or no to everything I ask." " You understand?" " Yes." "Okay." "Let's see them." "Okay." "Okay, someone close to you has passed away?" "Yes." "A male?" "Yes." "He was young when he died." "Yes." "This person your brother?" "Older brother." "But not by much, he says." "Only by a few minutes." "I'm sorry, kid." "I gotta concentrate." "This guy...." "This guy talks a lot." "Talks fast." "Got a really weird laugh." "Okay." "Ahem." "He says... there's so much he wants to tell you." "You wouldn't believe how it is." "How you can be all things... and all at once." "And the weightlessness." "He says that's cool." "Now he's laughing." "He's got a funny laugh." "Um...." "Okay." "He says how you always looked up to him... and relied on him to make the decision... how maybe you used that as an excuse." "Is that true?" "Okay." "He says can't do that anymore." "Now you're on your own." "Okay, now, hang on, okay, now." "Now he's saying something about a hat." "The cap?" "A cap." "Okay." "He says to take it off right now." "Take it off." "He doesn't-- He's telling you not to wear it again... because it was his." "And that's why he knocked it off your head that day?" "At the tube?" "Do you know what he's talking about?" "Okay." "He says good thing he did too." "And that's the last time he's ever looking out for you." "I'm sorry." "I'm, uh...." "I'm sorry, I'm losing him now." "He's leaving." "He wants to leave." "No, Jase." "Don't go." "You can't." "Don't leave me." "I don't wanna be here without you." "Please, Jase, don't go." "I miss you." "Okay, he came back." "He's here." "He says... if you're worried about being on your own, don't be." "You're not." "Because he is you and you are him." "One cell." "One person." "Always." "I miss you." "Please, Jase, don't go." "Please come back." "I miss you so badly." "Okay, wait." "He's leaving again." "Hold on, hold on." "I'm sorry." "Well, where's he gone?" "I'm sorry, kid." "I don't know." "But you've done all those readings." "I still don't know." "Sorry." "Okay." "We better get you home." " Hello?" " May Fair." "What?" "The hotel where she's staying." "The woman you like?" "What are you talking about?" "Well, I rang up the publisher and said I heard her speak... wanted to drop off a letter saying how interesting it was." "Anyway, that's the name." "May Fair." "Okay, well, that's really interesting, but what does that have to do with me?" "Hello?" "Well, I'll be." "I must be crazy." "Morning, sir." "Okay." " Here's your room key." "Enjoy your stay." " Thank you very much." "Hi." "I'm looking for a guest." "Marie Lelay?" "Okay." "Okay." "No, there's no answer from the room, I'm afraid, sir." "Would you like to leave a message?" "No." "Actually, you know what?" "I would, I would." "Do you have a pen and paper?" "Sure." " Pen, paper." " Thank you." "You're welcome." "Thank you." "This is it." "Marcus?" "Good luck." "Come here." "I missed you so much." "Oh, Marcus." "Come here." "I missed you so much." "Marie?" " Hello." " Hello."