"FLIGHT ATTENDANT ON PA:" "Ladies and gentlemen, we shall shortly begin our descent to Quebec City Airport" "Would you please extinguish all cigarettes and make sure that your seat is in the upright position and your safety belt is securely fastened" "We hope that you've enjoyed your flight with us today and look forward to seeing you again in the future Thank you" "(PASSENGERS WHISPERING)" "(FLIGHT ATTENDANT SPEAKING FRENCH ON PA)" "MICHAEL:" "I like girls Almost all of them" "That's why it was strange with Gabby I stopped looking at anyone else" "It wasn't only the fact that she was beautiful, it was something else" "Something sort of mysterious I didn't have a name for it" "But it always kept me wanting her" "And then she left in the middle of the semester" "She didn't even say goodbye" "When I called her, she told me it was because her granny was sick" "Very sick" "Although I knew her family meant a lot to her, when she didn't come back, I began to think it was something else" "Then, just when I sunk to my lowest point, she came to her senses" "She called me up and asked me to Quebec City for Christmas" "Meeting the family" "The significance of this request did not escape me" "I was about to spend the best week of my life" "(WOMAN SPEAKING FRENCH ON PA)" "WOMAN ON PA:" "Your attention, please" "This is the last call for Air Canada 55 for Toronto" "All passengers must proceed to Gate 24 immediately Thank you" "Flight 244, destination Paris via St John's, Newfoundland" "(PEOPLE CHATTERING)" "(WOMAN SPEAKING FRENCH ON PA)" "WOMAN ON PA:" "Last call for Air Canada 535 to New York, La Guardia All passengers" " Guess who?" " Gabby!" " Hi." " Hi." "Everyone's really looking forward to meeting you." " They're all at home?" " Yeah." "The family." "'Cause I called and nobody answered." "Oh, yeah, sometimes they don't answer the phone." " But didn't you think it might be me?" " What?" "No, nothing." "Here we go." " You look beautiful." " What?" " You look beautiful." " Oh, thanks." "(INAUDIBLE)" " How's everyone at school?" " They all miss you." "Me the most." "I missed you, too." "We're having a problem with the lights." "(DOG BARKING)" "Great place." " You okay?" " Yeah!" "Great door!" "GABBY:" "Hello!" "(MOANING)" "(DOOR OPENS)" " Oh, Michael, this is Mama." " Hello, Michael." "You must be tired after your journey." "(DOG BARKING)" " Oh, it's just Beowulf." " Beowulf." " Beowulf." "Beowulf." "This is Michael!" " Beowulf." " IRENKA:" "Gabby!" " I'II..." "Be a sec." "(OPERA MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO)" "(MR. D'ARC SINGING)" "My husband is doing the cooking." "SIMONE:" "Are there any more matches?" "GABBY:" "Simone, that's enough." " It's still incredibly dark." " Daddy, this is Michael." "Hi, Michael." "Come in." "(GABBY GIGGLING)" "Hi, Michael." "I'm Irenka." "(SINGING) Anybody else?" "Father Walter?" "No, no." ""The parrot wipes its beak although it is clean."" "GABBY:" "Oh, Daddy!" "SIMONE:" "Where's the salt?" " On the table?" " "...wipes its beak although it is clean."" "(BOTH SPEAKING FRENCH)" "GABBY:" "Daddy's writing a book about Pascal's Pensees" "Oh, okay." " He can't work with his clothes on." " Michael, Daddy's an atheist." "Simone, it's nothing to joke about." "The girl's lack of respect doesn't..." "Doesn't surprise me!" "Come on, Michael." "Sit down." "How was the flight?" " Well..." " Pretty hairy, I'll bet." "Air travel, it's the bane of my life." "Do you know the problem with those jets?" "Once the engine cuts, that's it." "Straight down." "They're built like rockets." "Propeller planes, now, they're built on the principle of the glider." "But jets?" "Bang!" "End of journey." "(GIRLS EX CLAIMING)" "Illumination!" "(SPEAKING ITALIAN)" " Well, that ought to do it." " What was it?" "Take Nick, here." "He flies the damn things." "Courting death, if you ask me." " Nick." "Hi." " Michael." "Nick, we got a problem with this blender." " Lives in a world of its own." " Well, I'll see what I can do." "God only knows, if it doesn't disappear, it gets broken." "SIMONE:" "Nick, come here." "NICK:" "Well, you shouldn't leave it outside." "Have a bite." "(BOTH MOANING)" "Up, up!" "Up, up, up!" " Up, up!" "Up, up, up!" " SIMONE:" "Michael, put your hands up." "(ALL SINGING) Bon appetit!" "(BARKING)" "(BARKING)" "IRENKA:" "Nick, you're filthy!" "NICK:" "Okay, you fix it." "You do it next time." " I'm sorry for helping out." " Don't get mad." "SIMONE:" "Soup's great." " Nick, wash your hands." " GABBY:" "He's such a slob." "MR. D'ARC:" "How do you know that?" "I'm really sorry to hear about your mother." "(WHISPERING) Gabby." "Sorry." "IRENKA:" "Mama?" "Mama?" "IRENKA:" "He didn't mean anything by it." "MRS. D'ARC:" "No, I suppose not." "It's just been so upsetting." "She didn't recognize me." "IRENKA:" "My own mother." "(FATHER WALTER SPEAKING FRENCH)" "(MRS. D'ARC SPEAKING FRENCH)" "MRS. D'ARC:" "I feel so..." "I wish she stayed here with us." " We'll go see her tomorrow." " She's going to be fine." " Maybe." " Yes." " She'll be fine, just fine." " MRS. D'ARC:" "I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry." "(SPEAKING FRENCH)" "Are you Catholic?" "No." "(GROANING)" "MICHAEL:" "Finally, we were alone" " Unbelievable." " Oh, boy." "(MUTTERING)" "(CLEARING THROAT)" "(MUTTERING)" "I'm not in love with you anymore." "I thought I should tell you." " Have you met someone?" " No, no, it's not like that at all." "It's just..." "It's been worrying me, you know." " When you came, I just knew." " That didn't take very long." "I mean, I only just got here." "Don't be like that." "(SIGHING)" "Oh, Gabby." "Please, Mikey, don't, okay?" "Then why did you invite me, then?" " I mean, if that isn't a dumb question?" " Look, look..." "I am glad that you came." "Well, couldn't we wait and just see how things turn out?" "I just don't see how it's going to be any different." "That's reassuring." " Don't be like that." " How do you want me to be?" "I don't know why you're getting so angry at me." "All I wanted to do was to see you." "And I'm glad that you came." "You didn't have to come." "(CLOCK CHIMING)" "I'm going to bed." "I don't believe this." "You called me up, invited me over, kiss, kiss, for Christmas, kiss, kiss, and you're surprised that it pisses me off?" "Look, I told you and I don't want to talk about it, okay?" " Yeah, well, maybe I do." "I do!" " (WHISPERING) Mikey... (SHUSHING)" " Maybe you're right." "Maybe..." " Ah!" "Can I have a quick word with you?" "(PHONE RINGING)" "MRS. D'ARC:" "I don't want you to think that we are interfering, but your father and I heard you going upstairs with Michael." "Yes?" "And I don't think that you should go into your bedroom together." " But I was only just coming upstairs..." " Gabriella, men sometimes in a bedroom can't control themselves." "Something comes over them and regrettable things could happen." "I'm not saying that Michael is one of those." "But it's just one of those things that you should..." " Don't worry." " We do worry." "Don't we, Ego?" "Ego?" " Excuse me?" " Don't we worry?" "Of course we do." "Especially now with Granny being so ill." "I have so many things to think about, my Gabriella." "Good night, Mikey." "(TONIGHT, TONIGHT PLAYING ON RADIO)" "Tonight, tonight, where is the promised land?" "Tonight, will the sun ever fade?" "Don't fall in love with tomorrow" "But tonight" "(ACCORDION PLAYING OFF-KEY)" "Kept the light I had for the sun" "Let our lives be ruled by peace" "(SIGHING)" "Forever peace" "Tonight, tonight, I need your helping hand" "Tonight, tonight, we're sinking in the sand" "Tonight, tonight, gonna make you understand" "Tonight, tonight, where is the promised land?" "(IT JUST GETS BETTER PLAYING)" "Sorry to disturb you." "Is the dog here?" "No, I don't think so." "My husband cannot fall asleep if she's not in the room." "(THUMPING)" "(ORGAN PLAYING)" "Father Walter once asked me to marry him, but I didn't love him like that." "And he became a priest." "He was always my mother's favorite." "And afterwards, she blamed my husband for having eroticized me." "Women sometimes can be very susceptible." "(BELLS TOLLING)" "MRS. D'ARC:" "Give her my love." "GABBY:" "Goodbye, Mama." "Goodbye." "I'm freezing." " Do you tell Father Walter everything?" " What do you mean?" " Well, confess everything." " No." "No." "Dad doesn't really think we should go to confession at all, so..." "Irenka and I, we decided that we'd just tell him certain things." "You know." "Well, is that right?" "I mean, aren't you meant to confess everything?" "Well, it's not really a question of what's right." "It's just what we've decided." "Come on." "MICHAEL:" "Gabby seemed to have completely forgotten about the night before" "That was okay with me" "I had a theory:" "Territoriality This was their environment" "Like a lion's den No one was welcome but the lions" "I was the intruder, the hyena That's always difficult" "Especially when someone in the family is dying" " You don't know what I'm talking about." " Yeah, I do." "Yes." "(CHATTERING)" "(LAUGHING)" "Are you sure this is the right way?" "(MAN YELLING)" "(SHOUTING)" "(MAN SPEAKING FRENCH)" "Michael!" "Michael!" " Granny!" " Granny!" "Mike..." "She knows my name." "No, Granny, this isn't Michael." "It's not your Michael, Granny." "(SPEAKING FRENCH)" " Michael!" " Oh, no!" "Granny..." "Granny..." "(SHUSHING)" " Where is Michael?" " Granny, he's gone." " Michael!" " He's not your Michael, Granny." "(WOMAN CHATTERING IN FRENCH ON PA)" "MICHAEL:" "How come she knew my name?" "I've never met her." "It was weird." " What's going on?" " That's not always so clear." " Vaguely." " Vaguely?" "She seems to think she's living, like, 20 years ago, when her husband was still alive." "His name was Michael." "She's, you know, got kangaroos in the top attic." " That is weird." " It's fucking weird." "Weirdness surrounds them." " IRENKA:" "Sorry we were so long." " That's okay." " NICK:" "How's she doing?" " Oh, I don't know." "You okay?" "She didn't seem to recognize us." "It was weird." "(SPEAKING FRENCH)" " Granny's dying, you know?" " No." "Yeah." "It's horrible." " Mommy just pretends that she isn't." " Wait, wait." "You'll freeze." "Don't be mad." "Just leave me alone, okay?" " You want to get a drink?" " IRENKA:" "We're going home, Nick." "Mike..." "Michael..." "(SIGHING)" "I hope Granny gets well again." "She calls you up out of the blue, right?" "Invites you here for Christmas." "(REGGAE MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO)" "And once you get here, she says that she thinks she doesn't love you anymore?" "No..." "Not exactly that." " A cigarette?" " You're wrong." "No, thank you." " Peanut?" " No." "Hey, don't get me wrong." "I'm not making a joke out of it." "It's just, you got to realize, these people got no respect for anyone but themselves." "Hey, calm down." "I'm getting out soon." "Soon as spring comes." "I'm going to go up north and train to fly helicopters." " Sounds great." " It will be." "It'll be great." " What about Irenka?" " I don't know." "We'll have to see." "(SIGHS)" "Hey, don't tell anybody, okay?" "It's just, she doesn't exactly know yet." "Hey, I'll tell you what." "See if you can get Gabby to go up to the country." "Things are better up there." "Things will settle down and work out." "I think I know her pretty well." "I mean, everybody has their ups and downs." " What?" " Ups and downs!" "Oh, God, you wouldn't believe the shit I've seen." "(SIGHING)" "(CLOCK TICKING)" " Gabby?" " No, it's me, Irenka." "Sorry, I thought..." "Boy, it is cold in here." " It is?" " Yeah." "It is, you're right." "I remember from before, when I was awake." "I was talking to Gabby about what was going on." "Do you think there's any hope?" "Do you mean, do I think she's going to die?" "Oh, no, you mean with you and Gabby." "Well, I don't think you should leave." "We're all just getting to know you." "You know?" "I only just got here." "Well, I know." "I mean, I know Gabby." "She really likes you." "She has a strange way of showing it." " Michael?" " Yeah?" "I don't want you to go." "(STUTTERING) None of us do." "(CHUCKLES)" "Okay, I think that's all I wanted to say." "Yeah, okay." " (WHISPERING) I'm sorry I woke you up." " That's okay." "Leave your birthday present on the bottom of her bed tomorrow morning." " Okay." " (LAUGHING) Here's my alarm clock." "Thanks." " Good night." " Good night." "(RINGING)" "(MOANING)" "Quickly!" "Come on." "Come on, bring it here." "Bring it here." "(SNARLING)" "Come on, come on." "(SNARLING)" "Drop it!" "Quiet!" "Quiet." "Quiet, quiet." "Come here." "Quiet." "(RINGING CONTINUES)" "(WIND HOWLING)" "(EX CLAIMS)" "(BARKING)" "(RINGING CONTINUES)" "(CLOCK CHIMING)" "(BEOWULF BARKING)" "Hi." "Happy birthday." "Irenka told me about leaving the presents." "You're so sweet." " I'm so horrible to you sometimes." " No, you're not." "Just for a minute?" "(EX CLAIMS)" "Just for a minute." "(DOOR OPENING)" "(DOOR SLAMMING)" "(SIGHING)" "Who was that?" "Your mother." "Oh, fuck!" "(DOOR OPENING)" "(DOOR CLOSING)" "MRS D'ARC:" "But first we want to know what Michael has to say" "(CLOCK TICKING)" "I agree with you." "I think the first time is very important." "And it should only be within marriage." "(CLEARING THROAT)" " You can trust us." "Please." " I don't know." "I feel like I have been let down, that the things that I tried to teach you... (STAMMERING) Well, I think you have taught her so well." "GABBY:" "Nothing has happened." "Yeah, that's true." "And I do love Michael." "MRS. D'ARC:" "Well, I don't want you to think that we are interfering, but caring about one's daughter is not interfering." "These things lead on." " Don't they, Ego?" " They do." " They do, indeed." " Okay?" "Very well, have a nice lunch." "Thank you." "(CLANKING)" "The closet." "MICHAEL:" "It was clear to me" "I was out of the running for guest of the year" "Still, it was Gabby who worried me most" "Wine?" "I had a theory:" "I was trying too hard" "There's nothing women hate more than that" "What I had to do was back off and let her come to me" "These things lead on." "(GIGGLING)" "Even if she got down on her hands and knees and begged me for it," "I'd say, '"No, no, thank you" "'"No Thank you very much, but not right now '"" "My theory was, this would drive her wild" "(CHUCKLING)" "(BOTH MUTTERING)" "Hello!" "Hello?" "(MUMBLING)" "Mikey, come on, then." "MICHAEL:" "Well, maybe if she begged" "(DJ CHATTERING IN FRENCH ON RADIO)" "(COMFORT OF STRANGERS PLAYING ON RADIO)" "I'm jam packed full of movie clips and other junk" "TV shows and videos and another whole bunch of stuff" "It's like a snippet of a song that no longer belongs" "And I'm looking to the comfort of strangers" "It's noisy and disjointed in this tangled mess" "I'm jarred and jangling on a raw and jagged edge" "It's like a picture that has faded" "The colors have all blurred" "And I'm drawn to the comfort of strangers" "And I see myself" "(PHONE RINGING)" "Lying in your arms" "When I close my eyes at night" " Wait." " Why?" " It's probably your mother." " Don't be paranoid." " Hi, Mama." " I knew it." "Yeah, we had a very nice time." "(KISSING)" "Okay..." "Yeah, sure, I can do that..." "Off." "Yeah, all right." "So, I'll see you later, then?" "Yeah, I will." "I will." "Bye." " They left the oven on." " So?" "I'll be right back." "I don't believe this." "Do you believe this?" "(SCOFFS)" "(GROWLING)" "(BARKING)" "(SHRIEKS)" "What you people are trying to do to me!" " No!" " Get back!" "Shit!" "(GROANING)" "ALL:" "Surprise!" "Gabby, happy birthday!" "Surprise!" "(ALL SINGING HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN FRENCH)" " Where's Mikey?" " I don't know." " He was just chasing me." " Probably went back upstairs." "He didn't have anything on." "(SPEAKING FRENCH)" "(GUESTS LAUGHING)" "(WATER SPLASHING)" "MICHAEL:" "Finally, I was alone" "(SIGHING)" "I decided to lie very still in a dark corner, from where I could see all the doors and windows, and, once safe, to take refuge in alcohol" "It was going to be a long night" "(DOOR OPENING)" "(UNZIPPING)" "(SPUTTERING)" "What the fuck are you doing here?" "You're sick!" " MICHAEL:" "Simone!" " You're sick!" "Simone!" "Simone!" "Shit!" "(WATER SPLASHING)" "(OPERA MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO)" "(PEOPLE CHATTERING)" " IRENKA:" "Hi, boys." " Hi." "(LAUGHING)" " Are you okay?" " Sure, I'm just a little... (CHUCKLES)" "Well, it's not every day you make such a dick of yourself, you know?" " Yeah, I do know that." " Yeah." "Well, Nick warned me it could be a bit overwhelming." "Did he?" "Oh, God." " What else did he say?" " Nothing, really." " He's very critical of us, you know?" " Maybe I should sit down." "You should sit down." " May I ask you a question?" " (SIGHING) Sure." "You think I look pretty in this dress?" "Yes, you do." "I was just..." " What?" " I was thinking about you and your dress." "Oh, that you'd..." "You'd like to pull the bow?" "Yes!" " How did you know?" " (SOFTLY) I could just tell." "You know, you are not at all what I thought you were going to be." "Is that good or bad?" "Good." "(CHUCKLING)" " MR. D'ARC:" "Good night." " Good night." "(DOOR CLOSING)" "(SCATTING)" "(CLOCK CHIMING)" "(SCATTING)" " What are you doing?" " Just taking my things off." "What for?" "Simone..." "What are you doing?" "Simone, I said what are you doing?" "I thought you wanted me." "What?" "(STAMMERING) Wanted you?" "Mmm-hmm." "For what?" "Whatever you want to do." "I saved one of these just in case you needed one by now, what with everything." "Okay, okay, I'll take it." "It's okay." " You think I'm ugly." " (WHISPERING) No!" "Simone, I think you're very beautiful." "It's just that..." "It's just that I'm not as beautiful as my sisters." "No... (DOOR OPENING)" "(SHUSHING)" "(DOOR CLOSING)" "Simone, Simone, Simone," "I think you should go back to your room now." "No way." "(SIGHING)" "No, no, don't get up." "(WOMAN CHATTERING IN FRENCH ON PA)" "Gran..." "NICK:" "Where is she?" " She probably went to the john." " NICK:" "Oh, I suppose we have to wait, huh?" "(SPEAKING FRENCH)" "She's here but you can't visit her." "There are visiting hours, you know?" "Not anymore, there aren't." " Hey, leave that!" " Nick, put it back." "We'll wait quietly." " We really want to see her." " Perhaps you..." "GABBY:" "I don't see what the problem is." "I mean, we've been here before when it wasn't visiting hours." "And I don't know what the deal is, why you're making such a big fuss!" "DOCTOR:" "This is a hospital, not an hotel!" "GABBY:" "But why are you getting so upset?" "(WOMAN SPEAKING FRENCH)" "DOCTOR:" "I'm not upset." "NICK:" "You look upset." " You look very upset." " I'm not upset!" "You're touching your nose." "(SPEAKING FRENCH)" "She went to the bathroom." "MICHAEL:" "Irenka." "(BOTH SPEAKING FRENCH)" "Yeah, I didn't know it, either." "(SPEAKING FRENCH)" "(IRENKA SPEAKING FRENCH)" "(SPEAKING FRENCH)" "She's gone!" "They let her go!" "(BOTH ARGUING IN FRENCH)" "(SPEAKING FRENCH)" "MICHAEL:" "Gabby's grandmother had done this before" "She'd slip out past the porters and head straight north to a place called St Emilia, where she used to live with her husband, Michael" "But it was summer then" "It was so cold out there" "What was she trying to find?" "But at least we were out of the house" "Maybe Nick was right" "Maybe things would be better up there" "She's not here!" " What are you doing?" " I'm getting something to eat." "No, Nick." "We've got to go look now." "If she's out there, she's probably lost." "It's getting dark, it's cold." "We've got to go look." "Well, we'll find her now that I got something to eat." "You're disgusting." "If she dies, it is on your head." "So, down here, if I go down by the lake, you can go this way." " All right." " All right?" "I think it'd be better if we split up." "Yeah." "(GRUNTS)" "Shit." "(EX CLAIMING)" "(ECHOING) Granny!" "Hello!" "Granny!" "Granny!" "Hello!" "(GABBY SPEAKING FRENCH)" "(MAN SPEAKING FRENCH)" "(BOTH SPEAKING FRENCH)" "(GRUNTING)" "(SIGHING)" "Granny!" "Where are you?" "Okay." "All right." "Hello!" "Definitely lost." "God." "(GRUNTING)" "(EX CLAIMING)" "(PANTING)" "God." "I don't believe it." "(GRUNTING)" "(WIND HOWLING)" "(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)" "(FOOTSTEPS FADING)" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "GRANNY:" "Don't be afraid." "Don't be afraid." "Michael." "(SNICKERS)" "Michael!" "Michael." "Granny." " It's nice to be home." " It's great that you're back." "Let's warm you up." "They'll all be really excited." "(SIGHING)" "Irenka and Gabriella will be back soon." "Granny, I think you should come back here." " Granny?" " What?" "Come on." "It's going to get you warm." "That's it." "Look, let's get this off." "(MUMBLES)" "God, you're so wet." "Yeah, let's take this off, too, okay?" "Can you see and try and get the..." "Yeah, the button." "You're not doing very well." "I've missed you." "I'm not who you think I am." "We met at the hospital." "I'm just a friend of one of your granddaughters." "I'm no one." "You've been away for so long." "And we've been looking for you." "Let's get you turned around for the fire, okay?" "Can you try to do the buttons on the..." "You think..." "I'll do it." "Okay." "Let's turn you around." "There we go." "All right." "Okay." "Oops!" "Okay, there we go." "You're wet through." "(CHUCKLING)" "All right, there you go." "(STAMMERING) We might as well take the pants off." "I'll get them." " Easy." " Okay." "(SOFTLY) Okay, there we go." "Just pull this up." "All right." "Careful, watch your step." "You're going to sit next to me?" "The week before we were married, I wasn't allowed to see you." "I remember watching you and the boys in an old car driving up the mountain." "They were all drunk, and you were playing the trumpet." "Gabby, what are we going to do?" "Fuck." " GABBY:" "Oh, my God, she's here." " What?" " She's here!" " What?" "My God!" "Granny?" " Granny!" " Where have you been?" "I have been..." "Oh, Granny!" "(GIRLS SIGHING)" " We've been so worried." " You have been so bad." "I'm going to take care of you, now." "Mikey, you are brilliant." " I know that what I said earlier was hasty." " About not being in love with me?" "I've thought about it, and I know now that I'm right." "I don't love you anymore." "I felt that it had to do with Granny, but now that we found her, I know for sure." "Well, shouldn't I be the one who's upset?" "You're so sweet." "(MOANING)" "IRENKA:" "Gabby!" "Yeah?" "Come see Granny." "She's sleeping and she looks so sweet." " Really?" " Come on." "It's just like she always used to look." "She's all bundled up and she kind of looks like..." " You know, all bundled up." " I don't believe this." "GABBY:" "Well, show me!" "(GRUNTING)" "(LAUGHING)" "(DOOR SLAMMING)" "(SHUSHING)" "(LAUGHING)" "Okay." "Are you okay?" "Sure." "GRANNY:" "When Michael died..." "When Michael died, in his will he wanted us to scatter his ashes in the lake." "And with your mother and father, we took out our little boat." "I tipped the urn over the side and just then, the wind blew the ashes all over us." "Nobody said anything." "I laughed." "Then we all laughed and rowed back to the shore, brushing off the ashes." "On..." "On the last day of summer," "a young girl left her summer shoes" "in the branches of a tree." "They were wonderful shoes." "Wonderful shoes." "I just wanted to come home once more." "GABBY:" "Sleep now." "IRENKA:" "What are you doing?" "Keeping warm." "I got some water." " Were you cold upstairs?" " No." " Just when I came down here." " Move over, then." "When Beowulf was a puppy, when we first got him," "Mama made him sleep downstairs." "And, well, he cried and he whimpered all night, and I couldn't sleep, so I brought my blanket down for him." "And in the morning," "Daddy found us asleep in front of the fire, and he was all curled up around my chin." "(SIGHING)" "You know, I'm glad Granny came up here, even though we tried to stop her." "I know." "Seems so simple." "You know Nick's been unfaithful to me?" "No." "I didn't." "He has." "I always wanted to be able not to mind, but I just do." "See, I always thought that kissing someone meant just as much as making love to him." "It's the idea." "Kissing?" "Kissing." "Okay, bye." "I've got to go back to bed." "(SIGHING)" "(EX CLAIMING)" "No!" "No!" "(GRUNTING)" " Hi, Irenka." " Hi!" "Hi, Gabby!" "NICK:" "Jesus, you'd think they hadn't seen each other for years." "(LAUGHING)" "I don't want to stay here." "I want to get back." "SIMONE:" "Can I get on your back?" "(MR. D'ARC GRUNTING)" "Mush!" "Mush!" "Come on, you huskies." "Oh, God!" "(GUFFAWING)" " Hell of a journey." " Michael." " Snow like you wouldn't believe!" " Did you get everything?" "I think so." "MR. D'ARC:" "What a day, though!" "(CHATTERING)" " So, she's here?" " Upstairs." "Good." "You know, I never feel better than when I'm up here." "As soon as I get 50 degrees north, I feel good again." "Oh, man!" "(BARKING)" "I've reached an absolutely critical stage on Pascal." "Hey, Nick, stoke up the fire." "First some skiing, then off with the clothes and on with..." "Daddy, I'm not going to go, okay?" "I'm really tired." " I hate it when Granny does this." " MR. D'ARC:" "Let's hit the trail." "I'd love to." "I want to take Granny back, though." "Mikey and I'll take her." "I got some things I got to sort out, anyway:" "A little wild goose chase?" "I would like to go with Michael and I would like to go soon." "Communist," "I'll pray for you." "NICK:" "Simone's taking me to the gas station." "I'll see you in a while." "IRENKA:" "Come on, Gab!" " You ready?" " Hey!" "Let's go for it." " Will you be all right?" " Sure." "MR. D'ARC:" "Come on, Gabby!" " I'll take good care of her." " GABBY:" "Okay." "IRENKA:" "Come on, Gab!" "Granny!" "Granny?" "Granny!" "Granny!" "Granny!" "Granny!" "(ECHOING) Granny!" "(PARLEZ MOI D'AMOUR PLAYING ON PHONOGRAPH)" "What are you doing?" " My summer shoes." " Yes." "I found them just like you said." "My wonderful shoes." "Keep them." "I don't need them for the winter." "Come on, you mustn't get cold again." "You don't believe in God, do you?" "Not really." "GRANNY:" "It's a pity because I think you are missing a lot." "I always thought that." "I thought I should tell you." "All I ever asked was that they bury me in a well-pressed dress." "And you said to me that you'd check for me, and if there were even the slightest wrinkle, you'd straighten it." "That's what you promised." "You do remember?" "Yes." "I do." "(PHONOGRAPH ENDS)" "(WIND HOWLING)" "(LEE AND MOLLY PLAYING ON STEREO)" "There's more to know than you can see" "Lee and Molly" "White guy in love" "NICK:" "You know, I've never been faithful to anyone in my life." "I just told Irenka about someone and she did not take it too well." "They had to go along" "If there's trouble, I just feel trapped and miserable and I just want to go." ""If you have to choose between grief and nothing, you'd choose grief."" "Know they can't bargain" " What's that got to do with anything?" " Just something William Faulkner said." "Yeah, well, fuck that." "This is me we're talking about." "I'd choose nothing." "Grief's fucked." "It's just depressing when these things end, you know?" "Lee and Molly" " There, that'll keep you warmer." " Thank you." "How are you doing?" "Just fine." "Christ, man, feel that." "Granny, you okay?" "Granny?" "Granny?" "A little cold." "I got another jersey in my bag." "Okay, man, here we go." "(CAR HORN BLARING)" "What are you doing?" "Here you go." "Jesus Christ." "(TIRES SCREECHING)" "I'm getting up front!" "(CAR HORNS BLARING)" "All right, hang on to the wheel!" "Grab the wheel!" " Grab the fucking wheel!" " All right." "I got the wheel." " Take the wheel." " All right, I got it." " We got it." " Granny!" "We're going to be okay, man." "We're going to be okay." " Fuck, man!" "Granny?" "Granny?" " We're going to get there." "NICK:" "We're gonna make it." " A couple more blocks." " MICHAEL:" "Come on, come on, Granny." "Granny?" "Granny?" "Granny?" "NICK:" "We're going to make it, we're almost there." "Come on, Granny." "We're almost there." "We're almost there, Granny." "Come on, Granny, stay with me!" "Come on!" "MICHAEL:" "Come on, Nick!" "Go, Nick!" "Come on!" "Come on, Granny!" " Let's bring her round, here." " And support her head." " Support her head." "Come on." " Grab her around there." "MICHAEL:" "You got her?" "You got her?" "You got her?" "All right." "All right, let's go!" "Go!" "Open the door!" "(BELLS TOLLING)" "(SPEAKING FRENCH)" "It's okay." "I'm going to go with Nick and Irenka, all right?" "Okay." " I'm going to go with you guys." " Good." "I'm not real good at this sort of thing." "You know, like after." "So, I'll just meet you back at the house, okay?" "(INDISTINCT)" "I'm going to get in the car." "I don't really want to go right home." " Okay." " I don't know, I..." "I feel old." "Let's go to my studio." "There's something I want to show you." "This is interesting." " But that's not what I wanted to show you." " What?" "(MOANING)" "(MOANING)" "I like you a lot more when you're not trying with me." "You only say that because I'm going tomorrow." "Maybe." "People will always like you when you least expect it." "Which is the most yourself." "Which is..." " Reassuring." " Yeah." "You haven't had a very nice Christmas." "I'm sorry that this didn't work out." " I'm not very good with things like this." " Don't worry about it." "Gabby, there's something I need to tell you." "GABBY:" "What?" "It's about Irenka." "What about her?" "Well..." " (STAMMERING) Something happened." " What?" " What did you do?" " Nothing, really." "It's okay." "I know." "You do?" " What?" " That you slept with her." "She told me she was going to when we were in the country." "(CRACKLING)" "(BEOWULF BARKING)" "MICHAEL:" "Christmas morning Irenka and Gabby were inseparable" "Nick had gone, no one knew quite where" "Someone else's Christmas Weird" "MR. D'ARC:" "Michael, what a great gift." "That's really very thoughtful of you." " Thanks." "I'm glad you like it." " Oh, yes." "Thank you." "Do you think I'd look good in this?" "Let's see..." "Sure." "This is going to look great on you." " So, what did you get from your family?" " Oh, just some things." "But nothing like this." "When are you going to call them?" "Simone, why don't you just leave him alone?" "Maybe he doesn't want to." "No, it's okay." "I'm going to." "I'm going to." "Excuse me." "I gave the picture to her." "GABBY:" "It's beautiful." "MICHAEL:" "So I left the house and walked through the quiet streets" "The only place I found open was a flower stand" "I guess maybe I took that as a sign" "I decided to say goodbye to Granny" "(WIND HOWLING)" "WOMAN:" "Did you know her well?" "No, I didn't." "I thought you knew her." "No." "I'm just a friend of one of her granddaughters." "I'm nobody." "I met her once." "Twice." "I must be mistaken." "I'm sorry, I..." "I thought you were someone else." "No, wait." "I did know her." "I don't know why I didn't tell you." "I loved her." "But I don't know you." "Doesn't matter." "You can go home now." "(CLOCK TICKING)" "Oh." "Well, you'll have to excuse me." "I can't work with my clothes on." "I just want to get a glass of water." "Sit down, why don't you?" "Please." "(CLOCK CHIMING)" "So, how many of my daughters have you slept with?" "One?" "Two?" "Three?" "Since I've been here?" " One." " One?" "Nearly three, but in the end, one." "What happens when you stay with people for a long time?" "They'd all end up dead or pregnant." "You know, I've worked on this book for five years." "The Life and Work of Blaise Pascal:" "The Definitive Biography" "They'll fly me all over the world, pay me money, interview me on television, all on one condition:" "That I continue to convince them I'm a genius." "Every sentence I write has become a chase." "I keep thinking that somehow I'll conjure up this dead man's essence." "I reach the bottom of the page, he's gone." "If anything, he's further away than ever." "Look at me." "A grown man without his clothes on!" "It's silly." "There's gotta be another way." "I've been married to my wife for 27 years and I don't understand her at all." "Not at all." "That's what I meant about my daughters." "It's the same with them, just as ineffable, unknowable." "If you lived with them for 200 years, you still wouldn't know them" "My wife loved her mother very much" "But she seems happier now that she's dead" "I've never seen her so happy" "I don't understand that." "Do you?" " Granny was a remarkable woman." " She hated me." "I would've loved her." "But she wouldn't have me." "She couldn't stand the intrusion." "I can still feel her power." "Then Father Walter saddles us with this." "You know, she was even more terrifying when she was young." "Ridiculously certain in her judgments." "Simone will be just like her." "So, you're leaving us." "Yes, I'm going home." "MR. D'ARC:" "Mysteries." "Mysteries going on all the time, every moment," "right under our noses" "MICHAEL:" "Gabby told me that she wasn't coming back to college" "I'd miss her" "But I knew it was for the best" "By the end of that week, I had come up with a new theory:" "That all my theories were bullshit" "I had been consistently wrong There was no getting around that" "What I came away with was the memory of Granny sitting in the ruined chapel under the winter sky," "surrounded by her past, talking to me about God" "(WOMAN CHATTERING ON PA)" "Goodbye." "(SIGHING)" "Don't look so sad." "(WOMAN CHATTERING IN FRENCH ON PA)" "Goodbye, Mikey." "Goodbye, Gabby." "All right, now, don't wait for me." "I'm just going to go on through." "IRENKA:" "Come on." "(GIRLS LAUGHING)" "MICHAEL:" "As I sat waiting for my plane, I felt certain of one thing, that wherever my journey took me, I wouldn't go alone" "WOMAN ON PA:" "This is last call for Air Canada 55" "{{{the end}}}"