"Audrey, darling, it's time for bed." "I'm not sleepy yet." "You must be sleepy." "It's 10:00." "I'm not." "Your uncle richard" "Is coming over tomorrow night." "If you go to bed now, you may stay up late when he's here." "I'll be up in a minute" "To tuck you in." "But I'm not sleepy." "Night-night." "I remember being audrey's age as if it were yesterday." "Clear as a picture," "I remember your fourth birthday party, edith." "So, how old must I have been?" "Isn't that funny" "How those things start coming back to you?" "Um..." "If I was..." "Yeah." "Uncle richard." "Hmm?" "If I was four, then you would have been exactly audrey's age" "Seven and a half." "Right." "But what's under the sheet?" "Can I look under it?" ""may I look under it?"" "Go ahead." "It's for you." "Holy moly!" "What have you done?" "Where did you get this?" "Well, it was strange." "Yesterday afternoon," "I was showing a house for sale to a buyer" "Over on rochester place." "Yeah, you know the one," "Edith, past the mariner building." "Yes." "Um, and the house was empty" "Absolutely cleaned out" "Except for this dollhouse." "Well, that doesn't make any sense." "Why would somebody leave this behind?" "Apparently, the people left in a hurry." "Just..." "Up and disappeared." "This was all they left." "So, rather than throw it away," "I thought I'd bring it over and give it to audrey." "They're the geezenstacks." "They want to play with us." "Oh." "Really?" "The geezenstacks." "That's their names." "They're our new family." "Here's mr." "Geezenstack." "Here's mrs." "Geezenstack." "Here's little audrey geezenstack." "And here's uncle richard." "Just like us, eh?" "Now, I hope you're all going to be very good," "So I never have to punish you." "I don't understand it." "Where's your mother?" "It's not like her to be late." "Ooh, nice." "Did mrs." "Geezenstack" "Buy it for something special?" "Does the coat have a velvet collar?" "Does it have shiny buttons?" "Ooh, nice." "Isn't it divine?" "I know, I know." "Don't tell me." "It's true." "I have a closetful of coats," "But look at this, sam." "I saw it in the window of simon's on my way home." "Audrey..." "Look at my new coat." "It's nice, mommy." "I like it." "I just couldn't resist." "I ran into simon's," "And I bought it." "A wild impulse." "It's amazing what a new coat can do." "I feel like a new woman." "Isn't it divine?" "It seems that, uh, he and an Woman, maybe 20..." "Was seen Left that bar earlier in the day." "They were seen by a witness leav..." "The bodies were found by a..." "A maid." "Wait a minute." "Audrey, uh," "Right before your mother came home, didn't you say" "That mrs." "Geezenstack had just bought a new coat?" "I don't know." "that'd be a funny coincidence." "edith!" "This tv is driving me crazy." "...And a prostitute." "Did..." "Did your mother mention that..." "That she was going to buy a new coat?" "Is that it?" "Dinner will be ready in a minute." "So, uh..." "Tell me about this new coat you got here." "Oh, sam." "Now, don't be angry." "I-I just saw the coat in the window," "And it was so pretty, and..." "I don't know- something came over me." "You shouldn't take it so seriously." "Poor mr." "Geezenstack." "Is he very, very sick?" "All right, fine." "Should I take his temperature?" "Should I call the hospital or cook him some chicken soup?" "That woman" "Has always got something bad to say about someone." "Edith, we got to get a new tv." "I mean it." "Well, he has to stay in bed." "Sick people have to stay in bed." "I will." "He has to." "I mean it." "Not a word." "That's an order." "But you can't believe everything you hear." "No work for you tomorrow, mr." "Geezenstack." "No." "I'm sorry, but that's final." "I understand." "You have a bad," "Bad cold, and you have to stay put" "And drink medicine and eat chicken soup." "Oh, honey, no." "If I don't go see that client today," "They're going to fire me." "Don't be silly, sam." "No." "Come on, put this under your tongue." "Three minutes, no talking." "All right." "Bye, daddy." "Honey, wait just a second here." "I want..." "I want to..." "I want to have a..." "A talk." "I want to talk to you about..." "I'm sorry." "I want to talk to you about the greezensacks." "Geezenstacks, daddy!" "Now, how do you know that mr." "Geezenstack is sick?" "How do you find these things out?" "Who tells you?" "Is he..." "Is he sick today?" "He had a sore throat and a bad cough" "And a stomachache and a bad head," "But he's better today." "Well, now..." "Mr. Geezenstack is a doll," "And-and dolls don't really get sick." "Little girls and little boys just pretend." "Isn't that right, audrey?" "I don't know." "Well, uh, we do know" "That mr." "Geezenstack is feeling better." "He went back to work this morning." "Oh, good." "Hey!" "That's good news." "Bye, daddy." "Bye-bye, hon." "I'll see you tonight." "Sam, please." "Stay in bed." "Honey, I..." "Edith!" "Please." "I'll be back at noon with some soup." "In bed, sam." "I..." "That's an order." "Now, I hope you're going to be good." "No more monkey business, or someone is going to get hurt." "I don't want to hurt you," "But I will if I have to." "If I have to, I'll spank you." "Hard." "You know, I think there's something odd" "About audrey's dolls." "It's in their faces." "You know, their..." "Their eyes are..." "You know, what's with these conversations" "With audrey all the time?" "Well, you know how kids are." "Yeah, but, I mean, haven't you noticed..." "Something a little odd about them?" "I mean, a little..." "A little weird." "Mmm, not really." "Mrs. Geezenstack buys a coat," "And the same day, you buy a coat." "And then, mr." "Geezenstack gets sick" "And misses a day of work." "And the next day, I get sick." "I miss a day of work." "Oh, come on, sam." "In my entire life, I've never met anyone" "With as active an imagination as yours." "Except, perhaps, audrey." "Well, did I imagine that I was sick?" "Did I imagine you bought a new coat?" "Oh, sam, darling." "It's winter, it's cold, and I like to shop." "It's winter, and it's cold," "And half the population of this town is sick with flu." "There's nothing more to it than that." "Well, you're probably right." "Of course, I'm right." "Audrey, come finish your breakfast." "Now, or we'll be late for school." "He could have called me." "After a decade of marriage, you'd think" "He might have learned to pick up the telephone" "And tell me he'll be late." "I don't even like pork roast." "I made it because he likes it," "And I felt he needed cheering up." "Never, never again." "Sorry I'm late." "I had a horrible day." "I feel lousy." "You should have called me, sam." "You know I'm right." "All you had to do was pick up the telephone," "And then dinner would not be burned." "Oh, I apologize, okay?" "Apologize to the burned roast." "Roast?" "Did you make a roast?" "Did you make a pork roast?" "Yes." "Mommy, daddy, guess what?" "Guess what?" "Something bad happened to the geezenstacks!" "Oh, really?" "That's a shame." "Do you wanna know what happened?" "Sure." "Not now, audrey." "Why not?" "Mr. Geezenstack" "Hit mrs." "Geezenstack!" "He hit her in the head- hard!" "Audrey told me mrs." "Geezenstack..." "Audrey, stop it." "You know I don't like this..." "I have just about had enough of those dolls!" "I'm sick and tired of hearing about them!" "Just because you are over one hour late" "Is no reason to raise your voice at audrey." "This is your fault, sam," "Not audrey's." "This has nothing to do with audrey or her dolls." "It's entirely your own doing." "Did mrs." "Geezenstack" "Get a cold compress?" "I hate doctors and hospitals do smell." "Edith tells me everything's going well at the office." "Oh, yeah." "Fine." "And you're feeling better." "Feeling better?" "Why, what did she say was wrong with me?" "The flu, I think she said it was." "Richard, those dolls..." "What dolls?" "The dolls, the dolls that you gave audrey." "There's something wrong with those dolls." "There's something evil." "Where did they come from?" "I don't understand." "I know that..." "What you told me about the empty house" "And the sudden good-bye and everything." "I know what you said, but..." "What really happened?" "Truthfully?" "It happened just the way I described." "But why, why the sudden urgency?" "Dinner's ready." "Don't you start with me." "Sam?" "Daddy?" "Sam just hasn't been feeling very well lately." "There've been stresses at the office and, and that flu." "I don't want to pry, but I felt last night" "As if sam wasn't quite himself." "As if he were a little stressed physically" "And..." "Mentally." "You know, I think maybe sam..." "Has gotten some strange ideas about those dolls I gave audrey." "He seems to have gotten a little..." "Fixated." "Well, I don't know what you mean." "I'm so confused." "I've wanted to pretend it wasn't happening," "But it is happening." "Sam's gotten all wound up about those dolls." "What should we do?" "I don't like it when people get in bad moods." "It makes me mad." "It makes me very, very mad when people misbehave." "So, sam, darling, how was your day?" "Is everything all right at the office?" "Um, richard, did sam tell you about the new man at the office?" "Tell richard about mr." "Clemens." "But you can't go away." "I don't care what she said." "And never, ever for that long." "Out the window?" "Does he break all his bones?" "Does he smash to death?" "Should we have a funeral?" "Poor mr." "Geezenstack." "No!" "Wait, no!" "Sam!" "Sam?" "No, audrey, listen to me." "Audrey, now, don't do it." "I want you to promise that you will never let any of your dolls" "Jump out of a window." "Promise me" "That you will never, never pretend" "That one of your dolls hurts himself or dies." "No funeral, audrey." "There is not going to be any funeral" "Because none of your dolls is going to die." "Don't worry, everything's going to be all right." "He didn't mean it." "Your daddy's fine." "It's just that sometimes," "Sometimes people get confused about dolls." "About dolls and real people." "That's dumb." "Dumb or not, I'm afraid you're going" "To have to say good-bye to the geezenstacks," "Because tomorrow, I'm giving the dolls and the dollhouse away." "You don't have to do that." "Even if they are my best friends," "They're about to take a trip" "A long, long trip." "Sam?" "Edith?" "Audrey?" "The house was empty" "Absolutely cleared out except for this dollhouse." "Apparently, the people left in a hurry." "Just..." "Up and disappeared." "I'm afraid you're going" "To have to say good-bye to the geezenstacks." "They're about to take a trip- a long, long trip." "Sam?" "Edith?" "Edith, wake up!" "Edith!" "Edith, wake up!" "Edith!" "Edith!" "Sam!" "Edith!" "Audrey!" "Audrey!"