"When I was a girl and we drove past the coal mines, it looked like a story book to me." "It seemed an army of men was doing something so important it could change the world." "That's when Mama would say," ""Every time you light a lamp to read,"" ""you can thank a coal miner."" "I was born and raised in the hills of Virginia when coal was king." "Life was simple in Big Stone Gap." "You went to Zackie's for your jeans, you went to Gilley's for your engagement ring." "And you went to my family drugstore when you were sick." "On Friday nights you rooted for the Vikings, and after the game, you went for burgers at Carmine's to celebrate, because we never lost." "Every year we put on The TrailoftheLonesomePine , the story of a mountain girl and the mining engineer who loved her." "You either acted a part or played in the band or worked behind the scenes, like me." "One year was a lot like the last, and before I knew it, it was 1978 and I turned 40." "Almost overnight," "I was the old maid in Big Stone Gap." "It seemed like happiness was for other people." "Morning, beautiful." "I don't know why you're honking the horn," "I'm standing out here black as night, I know you can see me." "Oh, good, you got Miss Weston's stuff right for the first time." "Yeah, I'm gonna give you something else if you don't leave me alone." "Morning, Nan." "Cherry pie was just wonderful." "Thank you." "It was rhubarb." "Them last ones you brought over here blocked me up." "Doc Daugherty swears these won't." "You just need to take them with some buttermilk in your stomach." "I got coffee on." "Biscuits and gravy." "Well, I can't stay." "I've got two more hollers to hit." "Oh, come on." "One cup won't keep you." "Jeepers Christmas, Jack!" "Put some clothes on." "Yes, ma'am." "Morning, Jack." "Morning." "You'll have to excuse my son." "He was out till all hours last night with that Sweet Sue Tinsley." "That ain't a girl built for heavy lifting." "Woman has a man around doesn't have to do a lot of heavy lifting." "Well, I don't know what he's thinking." "Sure you do." "Sweet Sue Tinsley?" "Come on." "She's a catch." "Prettiest girl in high school." "She made a bikini in Home-Ec and it won the blue ribbon." "Modeled it in front of Assembly." "Brought half the crowd to their feet at least." "I'll bet." "Beat the heck out of my apron." "Well, she's a flaunter, all right." "And she's got a big mess over there with that divorce and all them kids." "You ever want you some young'uns?" "No, it's not gonna happen for me." "It is never too late." "My own mamaw was an old maid, too." "Almost 43 when she had my daddy." "She had a baby one week, then done went into the change the next." "Anything can happen." "What are y'all whispering about?" "Ooh, I got to scoot." "Eula Belcher's all seized up and in dire need of her muscle relaxers." "Oh..." "See her out, Son." "All right." "Thank you very much and that's all right, I'll see myself out." "No, no." "Best not to argue with Mama." "Here, let me help you." "Here you go." "Easy." "You have very soft hands for a coal miner." "No, I got calluses." "That's how I follow the seams in the rock to the coal." "Hey, hold on!" "Come here, I want to show you something." "Like my new truck?" "1978 Ford pickup." "Four-wheeler, fully loaded." "Right fancy." "Nobody ever accused me of being fancy." "It's a pickup, not a Caddy." "Hey." "You going to the party on opening night?" "Of course I am." "Theodore's taking me." "Are you ever gonna marry him?" "You been talking to Fleeta?" "Just one of the girls, ain't you?" "I always took you for the strong, silent type." "You ain't scared of them strays, are ya?" "No." "Who are you afraid of?" "Howdy, Mama!" "Did you eat?" "Oh, not a bite all day." "Oh, I pack up a dinner for you." "Who has got time to eat?" "The whole town is a-flutter with our final dress rehearsal." "Oh, you know, I cast everybody from here to Keokee whether they have talent or are lacking." "You choose them, they have talent." "I know this." "Oh, so, the box office." "You sell the tickets?" "No idea." "Whole town's in the dang thing." "There's nobody left to set for it." "Johnny Wood, he made the announcement on the radio," "WCYB." "Well, I have to say that the poster in the pharmacy window is gorgeous and we did manage to paper Scott, Dickenson and Lee Counties." "That'll bring 'em in some." "I know this." "You're gonna get a good crowd." "I work you too hard." "You're exhausted." "You need to sleep." "Don't worry about me, carissima." "Dr. Daugherty said the new pills, they work." "I'm sewing the last seam on the last costume." "Ave, let's go!" "And do not forget my costume!" "Oh, Aspetta." "Theodore's costume." "Thank you." ""And I shall rise on the third day."" "Come..." "Ave, where are you?" "Let's go!" "You are the director!" "You cannot be late!" "Oh, aspetta!" "Tayloe!" "Tayloe's costume!" "Say "break a leg," just like a professional." "Break a leg." "I'm coming, I'm coming!" "Costume looks great, Mrs. Mulligan!" "This is The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, and my name is June Tolliver." "I left here a poor mountain girl, and have returned..." "I have returned..." "A lady?" "A lady." "I don't fit in." "All right, just stop." "My teeth hurt." "Tayloe, learn your lines!" "All right." "Yes." "Everybody, thank you so very much!" "Will you please leave your costumes on the rack?" "Hey y'all!" "We're officially sold out for opening night!" "Where's Spec?" "Right here." "This is bigger than a four alarm fire!" "I need you real bad, Spec." "We're full up!" "Order another keg." "Consider it done, Iva Lou." "Long as I get the first dance." "You're the sexiest librarian in four counties, Iva Lou!" "Okay, Sweet Sue, you're on." "Come down the aisle." "Up." "Up." "Up." "Lam going over to Carmine's for a burger." "You want to come?" "Uh, not right now." "I have to run lines with the star." "Uh, I know my lines." "Good job on the timing of that cue." "Thank you." "And I do suspect that little Penny Coomer has a crush on you." "You're it!" "Appears she's already over me, ma'am." "Jack, honey!" "I swear, sometimes we make music like we belong in the Grand Ole Opry." "Hardly puts me in the mind of Minnie Pearl, you displaying that leotard." "Why, thank you." "Okay, Pearl." "I don't care if everybody goes home naked..." "Ave." "I need you to come here." "You need to come with me." "You gotta get Duke McMillan." "I'm staying late." "He knows CPR." "Darling, it's not a Rescue Squad run." "It's your mama." "Come on." "No one worries about you like your mother." "And when she's gone, the world seems unsafe." "You can't turn to her anymore and it changes your life forever." "Hey, Miss Ave." "You probably don't remember me, but my name's Bobby Dinsmore from over on Skeens Ridge." "Well, sure I do." "I used to play the sax in the band." "Mmm-hmm." "Your mama made me this here uniform, 'cause they didn't have one big enough to fit me at the factory." "I bet you nobody knew it was homemade." "Well, it still looks right nice on you, Mr. Bobby." "All of you look right pretty, as a matter of fact." "Since our almighty God has called our sister, Fiammetta Onicelli Mulligan from this life, to himself, we commit her body to the earth from which it came." "Give her eternal rest, O Lord, and may your light shine on her forever." "Don't cry, Fleets." "When are you gonna cry?" "I can't." "Why would you put a rose on your daddy's grave after he treated you like such dirt?" "Maybe he'll do something kind and look out for Mama when she gets there." "I do not like that sign." "The N fell off." "My brother kept this building pristine." "You've let the place go to hell!" "Why Aunt Alice, I can't believe you haven't heard." "In honor of Mommy's memory," "Mutual's has officially gone Italian." "From now on, everything around here is gonna end in a vowel." "My brother Fred'd be ashamed!" "Sail on, Alice." "Alice, sail on." "Thank you for the pineapple upside down cake." "It was delicious." "I did not send it." "It was not mine." "Mine was a Texas sheet cake, which I hope you froze." "I did, right next to my emotions." "Well, you know, Alice Lambert wouldn't have a reason to mess with you if you had a husband." "You know, I know Theodore's a Yankee, but, hell, at this point, you just gotta take whatever you can get." "I like being the town spinster." "It has cachet, Fleeta." "Yeah, well, you can't hug cachet." "Well, thanks for stopping by, Doug Kilgore." "You tell that peanut farmer that I say, "Hi."" "Thank you, Spec." "You take care, now." "Mr. Broadwater will see you now, Ave." "Tell your mama and them I said, "Hi." I will." "Come on in, darling." "Take a seat." "Yeah." "Ave, how long I been a lawyer?" "Long time." "And what I learned is this." "When people die, that's when all the secrets come out." "Earl, shut the damn door!" "I swear that boy hasn't got the sense that God gave a screwdriver." "Anyway" "A while back, your mama came in to see me about doing her will, which I did." "And when I was gonna notarize it, she added the letter." "I don't understand." "You will when you read it, darling." "You best take a deep breath." "I'll send the rest of the files to you, Miss Ave." ""...too ashamed and never told them about my angel girl." "Mama."" "How did this happen?" "She was already pregnant when she left Italy." "And she was too ashamed to tell her family." "Came and found work as a seamstress, so..." "Fred Mulligan felt sorry for her and married her." "Which explains why he never liked me." "'Cause I'm not even his." "This is my father." "Well, this sure explains your nose." "Ave, he's pretty suave." "Yeah." "Very." "You gonna go find him?" "Why would he want me?" "No man ever did." "I do." "Hey!" "Ave!" "Pull over!" "Pull over!" "Wise County Bookmobile." "Next stop, Shawnee Avenue." "Wait!" "Don't go!" "I got two check-outs for you." "Don't go." "Okay." "This is my favorite book on Chinese face reading." "No, no." "I've read the face of every man I've ever known." "It's never been wrong." "You really think face reading's true?" "It never fails." "I gotta say." "I'm not one bit surprised you're out here crying, all tore up and all alone." "You got a perfect little cupid's bow on your lip, which means you are proud and private and romantic." "See?" "Yeah, but all that information is useless if you don't love." "Now, that's where old Charlotte Bronte comes in with her Jane Eyre." "Miss Bronté can write her a love scene." ""Yearning and longing."" ""Longing and yearning."" "Nothing will take your mind off your tragedy than a good romance." "I haven't seen this since I was a girl." "Yeah, well, it's time for a revisit." "And take notes, honey." "Please, take notes." "Call you later!" "My book report, but I hate Moby Dick." "My gosh, I love those shoes." "May I borrow them for my barbecue tonight?" "Why, thank you." "Bobby's gonna be there." "So I'm gonna pick up some lipstick for that, too." "Totally." "Hey, Miss Ave?" "Got my prescription ready?" "Not yet." "She's so slow." "I don't understand what takes her so long, right?" "Hey, ladies!" "Put that lipstick down." "And do not touch any more magazines, because our patrons like them untouched." "Virginal." "If prescriptions didn't take so long, we wouldn't read 'em, Fleeta." "Don't make me call your mother." "It's Pearl Grimes." "Look at her!" "She is the ugliest thing I have ever seen." "So sad." "Well, you know she's a mess." "I mean, that clothing." "You know it's from Goodwill." "Think about all the people that have worn that before, and she's putting it on her daughter..." "Tayloe Slagle." "Your birth control pills are ready over at the counter." "Your birth control pills are ready." "Thank you so much for trading at Mutual's." "Hope to see you soon." "I can't believe..." "Can you believe she just..." "Let's go!" "Come on, girls." "From now on" "I'm getting my pills in Appalachia." "They're not very bright." "I'd rather be pretty and stupid like them than what I am." "Mmm, no, you wouldn't." "Pretty fades, honey." "Stupid, it's annoying." "They got talent, too." "They baton twirl." "It's not a talent one calls upon later in life." "Well, I ain't got no talent." "And I ain't good at nothing." "Mmm..." "You know, it's just Fleeta and me around here." "We could use a hand." "Me?" "You want to give me a job?" "What do you say?" "We ain't got no car." "I mean, how am I gonna get here?" "I run all over these hills, hon." "Wouldn't be nothing for me to pick you up." "You could start by tackling that big pile of junk sitting there, and take some of that out back for me?" "That'd be a big help." "Okay." "Thanks." "So, this is your idea of the new employee?" "You know, she don't keep herself very nice." "You just don't like Melungeons." "No, I don't." "But she'll do." "This is the box office speaking." "We are sold out!" "If you don't have a ticket, then you do not have a seat." "I repeat, if you don't have a ticket, then you do not have a seat." "I've asked you a dozen times, it is the penultimate moment in the play." "I mean, have you ever seen West Side Story?" "It's like, if Chino died of an epileptic seizure." "What is supposed to happen is very simple." "Point the gun at me." "Thank you, Virgil." "No." "Wait a minute." "Is that a prop?" "You know what?" "Point it away." "It's supposed to be a shot and then blood." "But what we have here is a shot, no blood!" "Okay, Mr. Tipton, let me tell you." "I'm gonna take this here tube and I'm gonna rig it right up your pants..." "I can't act with a tube in my pants!" "Oh, for crying out loud!" "I am so sorry, honey." "Just go make sure that Sweet Sue has her underpants on." "Now, you listen to me!" "These temper tantrums may have gotten you results at the Bucks County Playhouse, but around here we do peaceable on opening night." "We do peaceable on opening night because you cannot train amateurs to be professionals." "And let me tell you something." "At the Bucks County Playhouse, we had a prop master." "I had a prop master." "And then they added a night shift to the Quik Mart and he had to resign." "Naturally." "I am doing the best I can." "You could put a broom up my ass and I would sweep the floor at the same time." "Now, we will use two squibs." "If one doesn't go off, then the other one will." "Okay." "Sounds reasonable." "Excellent." "Michelangelo said, "Genius is eternal patience."" "Another know-it-all Italian." "Five minutes to curtain!" "Final touches and places, everybody." "Places, all right, let's go." "Final touches!" "Wait." "Someone's locked me out of my dressing room!" "Okay." "Places, everyone!" "Good job." "Music." "Mr. MacChesney just winked at you." "No, he didn't." "He's got something in his eye." "Yes, he did." "I saw him." "Well, look." "I believe I need a seat." "I believe you're drunk, sir." "That's my Jade East cologne." "Do you like it?" "Even if I did, we're sold out." "I didn't catch your name." "Lyle Makin." "How did you hear about our outdoor extravaganza?" "Well, I came to see Jack Mac." "We grew up together." "Well, now I live up in Crackers Neck Holler." "Well, I should visit Crackers Neck often." "And Holler." "On..." "And on the third day" "I shall rise from the ashes of regret" "like a phoenix!" "Oh, no!" "Howard, shoot him again!" "Shoot!" "Shoot him again!" "Like a phoenix!" "Have a heart attack!" "Have a heart attack!" "Get struck by lightning!" "Good job." "Everybody dance!" "Ow!" "Watch it, Sue!" "You're too late!" "The opening night party is for cast and crew only." "Everyone else is welcome to use their two-for-one coupons at Carmine's." "Leave in an orderly fashion." "Oh, my God." "You are a wildcat." "You know it." "Come to Ding Daddy!" "Happy to!" "Oh!" "Ladies, meet Lyle Makin." "Hello, Lyle." "He got the last seat in the theater." "Really?" "Mmm-hmm." "Then where was you setting?" "On his lap." "Mmm-hmm." "Where can I get something to drink?" "That way." "Ladies." "Iva Lou, I'll see you at the keg." "There's something to this one." "I think he wants more than a rendezvous at the High Knob with a fifth of Night Train and a sack of Cab's donuts." "And you got all that from setting on his lap?" "No, ma'am." "Chinese face reading." "He's got the chin of an emperor." "Iva Lou?" "Hmm?" "You don't need a book to learn what to do with a man." "Now, me and Krifflum, we are still having intimate relations." "Even though I'm in the middle of the change." "And I'll tell you something else." "This is an old toaster." "But when he plugs it in..." "What a magnificent opening night!" "Give yourselves a hand!" "I have wonderful news." "In a few short weeks, Mr. John Warner, candidate for senator of Virginia, will be making a campaign stop in Big Stone Gap, with his movie star wife," "Elizabeth Taylor!" "My God!" "We have to feed 'em and entertain 'em." "And if you'd like to help there are sign-up sheets for committees in the Tolliver House." "Theodore Tipton, you're in charge of the show!" "Now I'm gonna turn the stage over to Sweet Sue Tinsley, the president-elect of The Foxes, our volunteer ushers." "Probably gonna do a cartwheel." "Thank you, Nellie." "Ava?" "Ava Marie?" "As president of The Foxes, we would like to thank you for being such a good director." "Well, thank you." "Nobody hands out programs like The Foxes do." "Hey, Ave." "It ain't good to drink alone!" "Who you gonna share that bottle with?" "Ave Maria needs a man." "Hey, hey!" "Excuse me!" "She has her own man." "What just happened?" "You just kissed me." "No, you kissed me." "Let's eat." "Something to eat?" "Uh, no." "I'm not hungry." "I've got band practice." "And, um..." "And with Elizabeth Taylor coming to town," "I'm gonna have to put on a doozy of a show, so..." "I'll call you later?" "Yeah." "Okay." "That oak leaf is a particularly good one." "There." "You do realize that every time you smash it like that, you rub all the glitter off, don't you?" "And why would you order something that looks like..." "I could've picked these up off the ground." "I like the idea of adding these going vertical like, 'cause I think for the close passerby, they're very interesting." "This is more of a sophisticated look." "Whatever you want." "I'm just gonna say," ""I'm so sorry I didn't know I was doing such a bad job."" "I've been doing this windows for," "I don't know, since you was little." "Hey, Fleeta..." "That's the Wence Mine." "Carmine, over here!" "Hey, get in there!" "We need to get him oxygen!" "It's okay, pal." "We're right here." "There you go." "That's a good one." "Everyone's accounted for." "Lucky day." "Could've been a lot worse." "Spec, show me that." "Don't wait on me, honey." "Leola's here checking on her cousin." "Okay." "I'll catch a ride with her." "Jack?" "You worried about little old me?" "You thought I bought the farm, didn't you?" "All right." "I like this." "Can I give you a lift?" "Uh..." "Don't be proud." "It's just a 1973 un-American 3-speed transmission." "Oh." "Thank you, ma'am." "Mind if we stop at Mutual's first?" "I need a box of Clairo I so I can rinse these ma'am's out of my hair." "Well, I don't see any grays." "You haven't changed a bit since high school." "Is that a good thing?" "I think so." "Take it from one who's changed." "You haven't changed at all." "Shoot." "Girls still after you." "Good at sports." "Kind to your mother." "Gary Cooper of Big Stone Gap." "Hey, you had your share of suitors." "Wayne Rutledge had a crush on you for years." "Wayne Junior's not one to be real proud of." "He's doing 7 to 10 for robbing his podiatrist 'cause his feet hurt." "Yeah, Wayne." "I heard he's still got all his hair." "After 30 you've got to put that in the plus column." "There you are!" "Jack!" "Hey, hey!" "Honey." "Are you all right?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I'm fine." "Lordy." "Are you all right?" "Yeah." "She's such a fawner." "Are you all right?" "Yeah." "Son, I heard everything on the police radio." "You done good." "You saved a man." "Your daddy would be so proud of you." "You're a hero!" "No, no." "Hi, Ava." "Sue!" "It's Ave, okay?" "Ave." "Not Ava, like Ava Gardner." "But Ave Maria, like the prayer." "You know, we went through school for 12 years together and you never once got my name right." "Well, law me." "Sorry." "Let's go." "Peewee football team right here, junior baton twirlers here, and Liz Taylor lookalikes here." "Coca-Cola cake, 7-Up cake, or Betty Cline's blackberry cobbler?" "Cobbler." "I think I have put together a show that's gonna top her entrance into Rome in Cleopatra." "I'm gonna use the outside of Fraley's Coach House..." "And turn it into downtown Rome." "We're going to have a choir and festoonery and Cleopatra, the majorette." "I think I forgot to get coffee." "How could you be out?" "People always dropping off their grief pies." "Oh, here's some." "It may be old, but we'll do what we can." "Oh, my lord." "Iva Lou, these are in Italian." "I think these may be letters from my father to my mother." "It's bad luck to read other people's private correspondence." "Especially when that person just passed away." "Oh, read 'em." "What does it all mean?" "Not that it matters." "Everything sounds better in Italian." "Keep going." "Bliss." "Pure bliss." "Oh, If Lyle Makin could speak Italian," "I'd never let him out of my trailer." "Would you two please pay attention?" "I'm under a lot of pressure here." "I've gotta be the Bob Fosse of Big Stone Gap in a parking lot." "Ave's life is important, too." "Elizabeth Taylor will come and go, but we're here forever." "All right, girls." "I'm going." "I cannot work in an environment of frivolity, when I have to dazzle the world's biggest movie star." "Oh, but the cobbler's not even thawed yet." "I'm sure there's plenty more where that came from." "Bye." "Bye." "I don't know what his problem is." "He's wound tighter than a tick." "Well, he's an artist." "He pours himself into his work." "He loves music and the theater and marching bands." "Sometimes I think he like them little soldiers more than he likes you." "How is it going in the romance department?" "He wants more time." "Lordy mercy!" "I never heard of a man who wanted to wait." "Go out on that truck, you pick a book." "Any book." "Read between the lines." "What does Chinese face reading say about Theodore?" "His forehead says he's stubborn." "That book of yours have a follow-up, 'cause that I already know." "Tell me something new." "Honey-O." "People are talking." "You've been best friends with a man for years without getting married in this town." "That makes you a lot like Mount Vesuvius." "People are just standing around waiting for you to blow." "But there's more." "No, there's not." "I didn't want to pile on, but my Lyle's clerk in the court in Pennington Gap, and he told me Alice Lambert filed papers against you in Lee County." "But I want you know I didn't just sleep with him to get that information on your behalf." "That is so big of you, Iva Lou." "I like his mind." "I'm sure you do." "Now, get." "Love you." "Oh!" "Are you okay?" "Yeah!" "I don't care what you say, Ave." "If there is the slightest chance that Elizabeth Taylor is gonna be riding right down here on Main Street, she might have to stop and get herself a diuretic." "She'll come in here and see all the signage." "That's what I want." "Where's that Cleopatra wig you called me about?" "It's in the box right there." "Ah!" "Yes!" "Fleeta!" "Yes." "Where's the black hair dye?" "In my pocket." "You getting the last box." "Oh!" "But, I just want to warn you, when you wake up tomorrow morning, you still gonna look like you, except with really dark hair." "All my life I wanted to look like Elizabeth Taylor." "And now I will." "Charge it." "You gonna be in for a shocker when you see what you look like." "Okay." "I'll have to deal with this rat's nest later." "I am late for rehearsal." "Rome has to be built in a day." "Why would you feed into this lunacy?" "We should make Liz Taylor makeup kits." "These women been watching Liz Taylor up on the silver screen all their lives." "Now they believe Liz Taylor's come here 'cause she wants to watch them." "Hey, Fleeta?" "Get ready, babe, you're next." "For what?" "I don't see any Diahann Carroll color up in here." "History tells us," "Cleopatra was a black woman." "Afternoon, Miss Fleeta." "It's Sweet Sue Tinsley's boys!" "Look, Jack, a clown!" "Jared, that's not nice." "You apologize." "Sorry." "I need a tissue." "They're in the back, Miss Ave." "Can I have some candy?" "Now, you know candy's very bad for your teeth." "But it is very good for your stomach, so you go on and take as much as you want." "What do you say?" "Thank you." "You're very welcome." "Come on, Jared." "That's compliments of me and the clown." "Jack Mac likes Ave Maria." "Girl, you know less about men than you do about cosmetics." "If Ave would just give him a chance, she could have him." "Little girl," "Ave Maria don't stand a chance next to Sweet Sue." "Sweet Sue is a saber-toothed divorcee in need of cash." "And Jack Mac's got him a steady job." "He got no dependents." "And when his mama passes, he gonna get that house across the bridge." "And don't forget, since he was 18, he got that pension from the miners." "Now, when you look at a situation like this..." "Mmm-hmm." "You realize that money in the bank means love in the heart." "You sure been seeing a lot of that Sweet Sue lately." "Seems things are getting serious." "Son, have I been a good mother?" "Yes, ma'am." "Good answer." "Why do you ask?" "Something wrong?" "This is one of them moments when I wish your daddy was alive." "Just say it, Ma." "I don't want you to marry Sweet Sue Tinsley." "I haven't taught you the difference between love and lust." "See, true love energizes you." "Lust and all them other kinds of love just exhausts you." "All right." "No, now listen to me." "I mean, clearly, I failed you." "Of course, anything and everything that goes wrong with children is always the mother's fault." "But let me embrace my failure." "Why don't you marry some nice girl instead of that hotsy-totsy flaunter?" "I'll marry whomever I please, Mama." "Well, then explain this to me." "Explain what you're doing with your life." "Mama, look at me." "Everything's passed me by." "That's not true." "You're a good man." "I want what you and Daddy had." "When I was young, I had a handle on things." "I knew who I was and what I wanted." "But I work in the dark." "And I have for 22 years." "When I come out of that mine," "I don't want complications." "I just want simple." "Well, that is the word I'd use to describe Sweet Sue." "I know you don't like her, Mama." "But I love her boys, and she's nice to me." "Well, you told me." "So, if that's your choice," "Sweet Sue will never know my true feelings." "Can I fix you some supper?" "No, ma'am, I already have plans." "Okay." "I found the tissues." "You're too late." "I see that." "How about some apple butter?" "Mama just put this up, wanted you to have some." "Oh, that's very kind." "Thank you." "Would you like to come in?" "Yes, ma'am." "Well, how about I make you a deal?" "Okay." "If you quit calling me "ma'am,"" "I'll get you a beer." "Deal." "I remember the first time I was in this house." "Daddy fixed the electric here, one summer." "I don't remember you being here." "Your mama made us red pepper sandwiches." "Yeah." "Um..." "This talking about food's made me hungry." "You want something to eat?" "Sure." "Don't believe I got that kind of time." "What made you want to go into the mines?" "Well, I couldn't wait." "When I was a boy, my daddy used to tell me stories." "He used to describe the mine, and what it was like, how quiet it could be, how dark it was," "how if you left it set long enough, that black coal would become diamonds." "That seemed almost magical to me." "Do you get scared?" "Sure do." "But you do it anyway." "I'd never do much of anything if I didn't do the thing I'm afraid of." "Well, look who's at Carmine's." "Evening, Earl." "There's a special on banana pudding tonight." "Ooh." "I highly recommend it." "Y'all have a good meal." "Well, reckon you better give Sweet Sue a call before Earl does." "You think I'm a two-timer?" "I broke up with Sue." "I guess I felt alone when I was with her." "What is this?" "It's a bowl of soup with a coal miner." "Oh, that's a milk glass moon." "You want to see it up close?" "I would dearly love to." "You got us a rocket ship?" "Oh, I got a better way." "Take this." "Your mama sewed a new lining in it for me a couple of years back." "She always used satin inside coats." "It was a signature." "These are the best two seats in this whole theater, seats 5 and 7, row G," "to see the moon." "You know your numbers and your letters?" "Almost all." "Thanks, Miss Callahan." "She did a right good job with you." "She tried, but I was distracted." "See, I was sitting next to this pretty Italian girl." "I always appreciated that you said my name right." "Well, that's because you matter to me." "Ave, I've got a good job." "I'm in pretty good shape." "I mean, I eat too much sometimes and I drink beer, but my heart's good, and I'm strong." "I've got some money saved." "And I got a new truck." "And I think we should get married." "Are you serious?" "You don't have to answer right away." "I don't want to just get married." "I'd like to have some fun." "I mean, heck, I thought I was fixing to." "We got here, I was like, "I'd like to make love to that man."" "Well, that's good." "Well, then you had to go and ruin it by asking me to marry you." "I mean, my hopes were high an hour ago." "Well, let's get 'em back up there then." "Come on." "Jack." "Well, you've been kind enough to tell me a little about yourself." "I'll tell you something about me." "Is that all right?" "Yeah." "Well, I'd like to be kissed." "I'd like to be kissed like Rhett Butler, in fact, kissed Scarlett O'Hara while Atlanta was burning." "I'd like to be held the way Heathcliff embraces Catherine on the Moors." "I'd like a passion so explosive it could burn Thornfield Hall down." "I'd like a man to look at me with the whole world in his eyes," "and know exactly what to do with the rest of him to please me." "Not just an old house and a pack of stray dogs and a good pension and a new, old truck." "So, you can take your moon and your bowl of soup and your marriage proposal and shop 'em around to some other girl, 'cause it ain't me." "Good Lord." "Oh, come on." "Get in the front." "Ave, come on!" "I'm not gonna ride through town with you in the back." "Please." "Fine." "Be that way." "Oh!" "Hey." "Are you all right?" "Ah!" "Look who's here!" "Finally." "You're late!" "Again!" "That's enough from you." "On the road." "I want you to hit your marks and do not screw this up for me." "Now, get over there!" "It's here." "That bus!" "Everybody, come on, storm the Bastille!" "Come on." "Everyone, get in place." "Cleopatra!" "Cleopatra!" "You need to bring it down just a touch, Earl." "Oh, dear." "I'm sorry." "Damn it, John." "This was supposed to be fried chicken, in and out." "Yes." "Let me have this." "Is everyone in place for the show?" "Tayloe?" "Maggie the Cat!" "Maggie the Cat!" "Here she comes." "Here she comes." "Oh!" "Sorry, sorry." "Miss Taylor!" "I want to be your next husband!" "No, don't!" "Miss Taylor, Miss Taylor, Johnny Wood, WCYB-TV." "You've been married 9, 12, 10 times." "Why so many husbands?" "You should always take a chance on love." "Fried chicken, Miss Taylor?" "Spit it out!" "Where's Doc Miranda at?" "Elizabeth Taylor's choking on a chicken!" "Oh, my God!" "Elizabeth Taylor's visit to Big Stone Gap, Virginia, ends not with a bang, but a choking." "While sampling the local fried chicken," "Liz Taylor swallowed bone and is being taken to Lonesome Pine Hospital." "This is Johnny Wood, live for WCYB-TV in Big Stone Gap, Virginia." "Good luck." "Talk less." "At least you're not the biggest disaster of the night." "What do you say we go home, and I'll let you beat me at rummy." "That's the last thing in the world I want to do." "Have you seen Theodore?" "He's despondent." "Honey-O, I got some news." "Marty Gilley from the jewelry store told me Jack Mac bought a ring." "One karat, two baguettes for Sweet Sue." "You look awful nice." "You gave Sweet Sue Tinsley a ring?" "I know it seems sort of sudden." "Sudden?" "I'd call that lickety-split." "What'd you do, get some out of a gumball machine that's adjustable, try it on every finger in town till somebody said yes?" "Now you're just being unkind." "Unkind." "Man of few words, it doesn't take many to find the right one." "I tried with you!" "Tried?" "Like tried, like what?" "On a job?" "I'm a coal miner." "That's a lot easier work than you." "Can I ask you something?" "Mmm-hmm." "Are you happy?" "Darlin', happiness is a myth." "I got married when I was 15-years-old." "I got me five kids." "One a bigger disappointment than the next." "My grand kids ain't much better, neither." "'Course when you plant corn, you get corn." "If you could live your life over, what would you do different?" "I'd marry me Twyla Johnson instead of the wife I got." "Twyla was the one that got away." "We all got one, you know." "You know." "That person that we ought to be with, we know we ought to be with, but circumstances have a way of" "working out where you get sidetracked and end up settling." "Do you ever see Twyla?" "We do have lunch every Tuesday." "My Tuesdays are content." "One out of seven days," "I live the dream." "What you gonna do with yourself, girl?" "Come here." "Come on here with Spec." "Give him a big hug." "Mmm!" "We don't want no trouble, Ava." "What are you doing here?" "This is my family home." "I want you to leave." "The truth has come out." "Now I know your mama done come clean with you." "You ain't our kin." "You never been blood." "I know what you are." "And that's a bastard." "When I think what your mother done to my family, it almost killed my mama when Fred came home with a wop." "He married her out of pity, 'cause she was knocked up." "My brother done educated you, clothed you and fed you like you was his." "You lived like a princess here in my family home, with trips to Monticello and so forth, while I never done got as far as Roanoke." "I'll see you in court." "You give me my key." "Come on, Wayne." "We just want what's coming to us." "Can I have a grilled cheese sandwich, tapioca pudding and a coconut cake?" "Black coffee for me." "Thanks." "I'm sorry I left you stranded last night, Ave, but we need to talk." "Okay." "About what?" "Well, I was gonna wait to tell you this, but, um..." "I just got offered the band director job at the University of Tennessee." "Chattanooga, so don't get too excited." "That's amazing." "Well, what's gonna happen to us?" "We can't do this anymore." "No, we can't, can we?" "We can't go around pretending we're just..." "We're like other people." "Yeah, exactly." "Oh, my God, it's exhausting." "It sure is." "Oh, Ave." "You don't want me." "I'm a bad bet." "I have quirks." "You know, I'm persnickety and I'm churlish." "I'm moody, cranky, impossible, I'm..." "And you know I have a terrible background." "Half my family drinks, and the other half hit the people who drink." "Theodore, do you like men?" "And there's that, too." "Hope y'all are hungry!" "Don't forget the coconut cake." "Coming right up!" "Did you see that Liz Taylor sent a check to the hospital to thank 'em for saving her life?" "I did and I felt so bad for her." "But I tell you what, I voted for her husband." "First time I ever voted Republican." "And he won." "Which just goes to show you, every vote counts." "Hey, Miss Ave." "Do you need help with any of those..." "She ain't in her right mind." "I'm worried about Ave Maria." "Iva Lou says she ain't been sleeping, and I can see she ain't been eating." "She just don't look good." "Jack?" "Bring down that last tree." "You have to put it in the front hall." "Now, Mary Beth, grab them balls." "This is the best Christmas show ever, Mrs. MacChesney." "Ma'am?" "This show'll be spectacular." "Feeling all right?" "Ave Maria, I almost gave up on you." "Hey, ladies." "Start stringing these extra lights." "Listen." "You gotta do something." "Sweet Sue is planning a New Year's Eve wedding to my son." "They're gonna get married right in front of that fireplace while the tree is still up." "Now, he is the marrying kind, and he will never leave her once that ring is on his finger." "He's just like his fool daddy." "You can love him or beat him." "But either way he'd stay." "Now, please help me give her the big heave-ho." "Do you hear me, Ave Maria?" "You're gonna miss your chance with my son." "Ave?" "Ave, are you okay?" "Doc, what's happened to her?" "This is what we call an old-fashioned nervous breakdown." "What, do we take her up to Lonesome Pine?" "No, her vitals are normal." "There's no reason to take her to the hospital." "Then why's she laying there like a bag of rocks?" "That's for her to figure out." "I'll come and check her in the morning." "Just let her sleep." "Might be a good idea if you don't smoke around her." "Okay." "There comes a time in every woman's life when she's gotta face her fear." "I know." "I know." "All right, whose time is it now?" "It's mine." "It's my time." "Good." "Now." "A woman with a purpose is worth 10 men with the same, okay?" "Now, I'm not gonna tell you exactly what to say to him, but I am gonna tell you how to say it, all right?" "You're gonna march up to Jack MacChesney, and you're gonna say," ""I need to talk to you, sir."" "And he's gonna hem and haw and "yep" and "nope" and look right past you, like the shower after the shift is more important than the information you need to relay." "But you are to ignore all of that." "All right?" "All right." "Men are bad at communicating, but they actually have ears." "So you just need to state your piece, you know, get into that little brain of his, 'cause he's actually a pretty smart guy." "I happen to know that, 'cause he checked out Quo Vadis, from the Bookmobile and that there's a door stopper." "You just think of Ave Maria, and all she done for you." "And that'll fuel your ambition to tell him what's what." "Okay?" "Okay," "All right now, scoot!" "Get your books on the way back." "Mr. MacChesney." "Mr. MacChesney?" "See you later, Mr. MacChesney." "We're gonna save you some water, Mr. MacChesney." "Please do." "Please do." "What is it, Pearl?" "It's about Ave Maria." "She's still asleep." "Well, I'm sorry to hear that." "She loves you." "She say something to you?" "No, sir." "And she don't know it yet." "But according to the ancient art of Chinese face reading..." "Oh, come on." "According to the ancient art of Chinese face reading, the bridge of her nose and yours match which makes you besotted, true lovers." "You handled her all wrong." "Pearl, I appreciate your interest, but you're wrong." "She don't want me." "She done told me herself." "And if there's one thing I know about women, it's when they tell you something, they mean it." "Thank you." "No!" "Not Ave Maria." "She buries her feelings." "Doc thinks that's why she had that nervous breakdown." "Well, what do you want me to do about it, Pearl?" "Well, I don't know." "I was hoping you could think of something." "Go on, get on." "So?" "I don't know, Miss Iva Lou." "He seemed awful angry." "Passion in the pit." "That's the good news!" "Let's go." "Ave Maria." "Ave Maria." "Carissima, Ave Maria." "By the time you read this, I will be gone." "Please know that of all the things I ever had to do, leaving you here without me is the most difficult." "High in the Italian Alps, you have a family." "Your father is there, and my sister." "I was too ashamed and never told them about you." "But you deserve every good thing in this life." "All the things I could not give you, for my own reasons." "Papa!" "She's up!" "Good God almighty." "She's up!" "Come here!" "Ave?" "She's awake!" "What happened?" "Fleeta, she's awake!" "Ave!" "It is so cold here." "Honey." "Here, bundle up." "You're back." "You done come out of your deep sleep." "Oh, Spec." "Spec, I'm leaving." "I'm going to Italy." "I'm going to Schilpario, way up in the Italian Alps." "I've been telling you for years to go on vacation." "No." "I saw my father in a dream." "And I have to go find him." "You know, you need to calm down a little bit." "Take a deep breath." "I don't know what pills Doc Daugherty been giving her, but it's making that girl crazy." "Listen up, Ave." "Before you leave for Italy, we've gotta get everything out of your name." "Even that old Cadillac." "All right, hand me the pen." "Howdy, Miss Grimes, you remember me?" "Sure do, Miss Ave." "How's your soap coming?" "Good, good." "I'll have my Pearl bring you some." "Well, if you'd let me, I'd love to sell some at Mutual's." "I think people'd like that." "That'd be right nice." "She home?" "She out back." "Coming, Mama!" "She been trying any of that miraculous face cream on you?" "Yes, ma'am." "I used to be pretty, 'fore I lost my teeth." "They say little things don't matter, but they matter if they your teeth." "You could get you some new teeth in town." "Someday, right, Mama?" "Sure." "Can I have a word, Pearl?" "Mama, can I go?" "Yes, ma'am." "Do you happen to have a dollar?" "Um, yeah, you just paid me." "I got 46." "Here, you need anymore?" "Just the one'll do." "Okay." "Congratulations, dear." "You just bought yourself a drugstore." "Miss Ave, I don't understand." "Spec said I had to sell Mutual's or it'd be took from me." "So, I looked around and I thought," ""Who deserves a good turn?"" ""Who knows not just what a customer needs"" ""but what she secretly wants?"" ""Who has just the right touch with that insecure lady,"" ""who's worn red lipstick all her life and could be pushed to try the hot pink?"" ""Who treats her mommy like the treasure she is?"" ""Who knows everybody on those ridges and is willing to walk"" ""to take them their medicine when I can't get there?"" "You're the best person I know, Pearl." "And I hope you'll keep using that head of yours the way you have been because" "that store will be enough to get you through college and make you a good life." "But, Miss Ave, what about you?" "I'll tell you a secret." "An elegant guest knows when to leave the party." "Mama!" "Who is it?" "Fleeta." "Well, I just want to make sure it was you, 'cause it is time to negotiate." "'Cause if I'm gonna have to work for this little girl, and a Melungeon at that," "I feel I should be, well, compensated for my duress." "You sure about this number?" "Yes, ma'am." "Then they are gonna have to carry me outta here." "Thank you." "I want you to look after Pearl." "You know this business better than anybody." "Just teach her proper." "I will." "Happy?" "I'm very happy" "I'm gonna buy Krifflum a horse." "Come on in." "Wise County Bookmobile." "Next stop, Mutual's Pharmacy." "I have news!" "Iva Lou!" "Lyle Makin asked me to marry him and I said, "Yes!"" "Oh, tra-la." "Tra-la, tra-la." "Will you be my maid of honor?" "No." "Oh..." "Not you." "Ave Maria." "Honey, I would love to stand with you." "Honey." "So, you're pregnant?" "Lyle, keep it together." "You wouldn't know about me and Iva Lou, now?" "Yep" "Come on, you, it's time!" "Oh, you look beautiful." "I hate wearing white." "Do I look washed out?" "You don't." "You don't." "You're not exactly blushing, but you're, uh, ruddy." "I can't do this, Ave." "Hey" "Shoot." "Iva Lou, you been drinking?" "Is he drunk?" "Groom's drunk." "Ave!" "Hold him up, Jack." "Then the two shall be one." "Amen." "Hang on!" "Don't make me go in there." "Hi, Miss Nellie." "Think pink!" "Oh, how could we not?" "Not yet, not yet!" "I'm not ready!" "No!" "You okay, Lyle?" "All right, darling." "Let's get you married." "Lord have mercy." "Is anybody at this wedding sober?" "Doesn't look like it." "Where is he?" "Where is he?" "He's right here." "No." "Preacher, I think we're ready." "Let's do this, we got them." "Hurry!" "I now pronounce you man and wife." "You know, this was the dumbest wedding I've ever seen." "I mean, every..." "People that old just ought to elope." "I heard it was touching." "Sure, it was touching, if you like wrestling." "Hey, Mama." "Hi, Miss Fleeta." "How you doing?" "Mama, show Miss Fleeta." "What?" "Let me see." "Oh, those look good, girl!" "Those look good!" "Well, now I'm seeing that being pretty has its benefits." "That's right. 'Cause you know, every woman's beautiful." "Now, some is prettier than others." "But all women are beautiful." "Hey." "Would you care to dance?" "Um..." "Well, I think I bruised my hip in the fall and in these shoes my feet are a couple of bloody stumps." "So, no thank you." "You want a bag of ice?" "Where is she?" "Where is she?" "Where is she?" "I'm right here, Aunt Alice." "You may think you won, but you ain't, Ava Marie." "You are not gonna ruin this wedding reception, Aunt Alice." "It ain't like anybody's gonna remember it anyway." "You gave my brother's pharmacy to Pearl Grimes." "I sure did." "That belongs to me and my family." "Not anymore." "Well, that may be gone." "But I want this house back, and I'm gonna get it." "Oh, Aunt Alice." "You're just awful." "You're about to ruin my surprise." "Pearl!" "Get in here, hon." "It would not be right for you to own a business in town and have to tote yourself all the way back and forth from Insko." "And I don't want you to be away from your mommy that much." "This house is yours." "Oh, my God!" "Miss Ave?" "You giving us the house?" "Oh, I hope you live here in joy and peace." "You sweet little thing." "You done give my house to that Melungeon?" "My mama's Melungeon." "That's right." "Mine is too." "I married a Melungeon." "I'm a Melungeon." "I'm a Melungeon, too." "I think it's time for you two to turn tail and leave." "You've done about insulted everybody here." "Including the Melungeons." "The newly married." "The newly married." "The black folks." "Blacks." "The educated." "Mmm-hmm." "The bachelors." "Them, too." "Come on, now." "Scoot before the Cherokees get a vote." "Come on." "You're a gall-damned Italian thief!" "Oh, Aunt Alice!" "For once and for all, it is not." "I-talian!" "It's Italian." "That's right." "You tell her, honey." "Come on, now, scoot." "Scoot." "Go on!" "Bye-bye." "Bye, Alice." "Go on, get out!" "I never worried about Alice Lambert." "Her face reading?" "Tilt of her nose says she'd never win." "You did the right thing." "Come on, everybody, let's dance." "Hi, Ava." "Sweet Sue." "It's Ave." "I love this cake." "I gotta find out who the baker is because I want to have it for the renewal of my vows." "I got back together with Mike." "I didn't know that." "It happened around the time of your mental collapse." "He loves me." "And he's crazy about the boys, and well, I hate being alone." "I need to work off all this cake." "Mike, let's do the hustle!" "What happened to your pink dress?" "Um..." "It was cutting off my circulation." "You gonna stay mad at me forever?" "I'm not mad at you." "No?" "If I were mad at you, it'd suggest I was angry." "And if I were angry, it would mean I had feelings for you, and you're a reasonably nice person, but see?" "No feelings." "For somebody who don't have any feelings, you sure talk about it a lot." "Aren't you the expert?" "All I'm saying is I don't believe you." "It's your choice." "It means that much to you, to hang on to your judgment of me?" "I must scare you." "Uh..." "Oh, no, sir." "Then you'll come with me?" "Where?" "I've got something for you in my truck." "I bet you do." "Put your cake down." "Well, that's not gonna happen." "Put your cake down." "I'm busy." "Put your cake down." "Come on." "Come on." "Where in the world did you find this?" "It was an ordeal." "Had to figure out how to spell it first." "Schilpario, A Life in the Mountains." "This is my father's hometown." "I special ordered it from Richmond." "I figured it'd be of some use to you when you go to Italy." "Thank you." "You're entirely welcome." "I owe you an apology" "For what?" "I haven't been very nice to you." "Well, why is that?" "I don't know." "I have an idea why." "Well, why do you think?" "You don't want anybody or anything to keep you here." "That's partly right." "I'm also just being honest with myself." "I've given everything I have to this place, and it hasn't made me happy." "You think happiness is out there somewhere?" "If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be going." "Do you think you'll ever come back?" "You know 'm the Outdoor Drama when Jack Hale, the mining engineer, sends June Tolliver, the poor girl from the mountains, off to be educated?" "She goes to the Bluegrass of Kentucky and she learns how to talk, and culture, manners, how to dress." "And then when she comes home, she doesn't fit in anymore." "I'm hoping that's what'll happen to me." "I want to see and do so much that it changes me." "Mmm-hmm." "And then I won't want to come back." "At least that's what I'm hoping." "Well, what if I told you that I wanted you to stay?" "Long time ago you asked me if I was scared of anything and I didn't answer." "I knew even then what I was afraid of." "I'm afraid I'm gonna spend my whole life without you." "I better go back inside." "Thank you so much for the book." "Howdy." "Hey." "Looks different, doesn't it?" "Mmm-hmm." "I hate goodbyes." "I'm gonna miss you, Spec." "I'm gonna miss you, too." "I've never been friends with a woman." "I didn't think it was possible." "But you changed that." "I could tell you whatever I was thinking." "And I just want you to know that I will treasure that." "And you." "Aw..." "Have I arrived in time to see Spec Broadwater weep melancholy tears of sadness and regret?" "You have not, fancy pants." "I've come to pick up a chair." "All right, well, I guess I will help." "Where does the rest of this stuff go?" "Furniture's all going to Sacred Heart Church, and anything left in the kitchen to Reverend Mother's Food Pantry." "I'm taking this with me." "It suits you." "Ah, and then I'm gonna take you out for hot dogs at the Hob Knob, and if you're a really good girl, for some donuts at Cab's." "Can I have it frosted?" "Yes, you may have it frosted." "And then you have to get a good night's sleep, because we have a very big day planned for your last day here in Big Stone Gap." "We don't have time for this." "No, no, come on." "Come on, your flight doesn't leave until tonight." "Just one more stop." "Besides, you just can't leave without saying goodbye to the Outdoor Drama." "Come on." "Come on." "Let's go." "Everybody, settle down now." "We've got an announcement to make." "Honey-O." "There's somebody we want you to meet." "Papa." "There's more, darling." "Uh-uh, I can't take more." "I know you can't, but we got it for you." "We found your mama's sister." "This is your Zia Maria Luisa." "Ave Maria!" "Thank God I'm wearing my waterproof Great Lash." "How did you find me?" "I was just fixing to come look for you." "I received a letter." "From, uh..." "Jack MacChesney." "He told me about your mama and the kind of lady she became." "He told me about you, the kind of girl you were, and the kind of lady you became." "And he said that the one thing that could bring you peace" "was to know your father." "He sent the tickets." "He made all the arrangements." "How did you do that, Jack MacChesney?" "You're a coal miner, not a king." "I sold my truck." "You love that truck." "Yeah, but I've loved you since the sixth grade." "So Ave Maria and I got married." "We made a home and built a life." "We had two beautiful children." "I worked in the mines till they closed, and Ave Maria delivered medicine until the Jeep wore out." "We held on when times got bad, and didn't let go when they got worse." "Life was good in Big Stone Gap." "But it wasn't perfect." "Well, you know how that goes." "Life's only perfect in the movies."