"You were freaked." "What are you so scared of?" "I'm a lifeguard, and I'm suddenly afraid to go in the water." "Mom, what are you telling me?" "He has lymphoma, Mitch." "Death is going to be the topic of conversation, isn't it?" "Dad..." "Maybe this time I explore my other talents." "Did she tell you that he wants me to take over his business?" "Once I got my timing down, my dives were unbelievable." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "It's like I had total command of my body, you know?" "It's like this feeling of..." "Power." "Yeah, exactly." "Well, you've come a long way from your rookie school pier jump, I'd say." "Oh, I can't believe that." "I was so wigged." "I couldn't even move, let alone jump." "Oh, I don't ever want to have that feeling again." "That's why diving is so important to me, because I did it, you know." "I conquered my fear." "Good for you, honey." "Oh, I'll get that." "Okay." "Mom, there's an emergency." "I've got to go." "Behind the truck there, okay?" "All right, everybody's here, huh?" "Is it the kid who fell in the storm drain?" "Yeah, yeah." "If they'd got to us a little earlier, maybe we wouldn't be here right now." "Newmie, make sure everyone's got the right gear." " This about where he ended up?" " Yeah, we think he's somewhere in this area here." "Do you think that's the boy's parents?" "Yeah." "Looks like it." "It must be so horrible just standing around waiting for them to recover your kid's body." "I don't know." "How old was he?" "Twelve." "Thanks." "Thought you had an important dinner with your parents tonight." "Ah, Hobie will let them in." "Tell you the truth, I'm not that anxious to get there." "What's it about?" "I don't know." "Mom said she had something important to tell me." "Maybe it's good news." "I don't know." "I've never seen a dead body before." "I just don't want to have to look at his face." "Well, hopefully, we won't be the ones who find him." "How's your diving coming?" "Oh, pretty good." "I hit a double twisting one-and-a-half today." "Great." "Ready for a little synchronized swimming?" "Okay, everybody, listen up." "The body is trapped somewhere between here and the bridge." "We swim, dive, and surface in unison." "Newmie and I will take the center." "Everybody else spread out." "Keep an eye on the lifeguard next to you." "Beacons on." "Sticks?" "Okay." "Let's do it." "Looks good." "I'm rolling." "Yeah." "Okay." "One, two, three." " On three." "Ready?" " Ready." "One, two, three." "One, two, three." "One, two, three." "They want to interview you for the 11:00 news." "It's up to you." "I'll tell them no if you want." "Yeah, while you're at it, why don't you tell them to leave those poor people alone?" "Their kid just died." "Try and think about all the lives you've saved, huh?" "You all right?" "I'll be okay." "I'm more worried about Summer." "Have you seen her?" "No, no, but I'm sure she's around here someplace." "Cheerleader, you're a cheerleader." "Uh, no." "No." "A bird." "Some kind of a bird, right?" "Where's your father?" "He was supposed to be here an hour ago." "Oh, Al, he can't answer that until we guess what he is." "He's a flamingo." "Uh, you..." "You... boy?" "Boy." "Kid." "Flamingo Kid." "All right!" "We got it!" "Why don't you go hug your granddad." "He's the one who got the hard part." "What is "The Flamingo Kid?"" "It was a movie." "With Matt Dillon." "The marshal on "Gunsmoke?"" "What was "Gunsmoke?"" "It was a TV show." "What was it about?" "What was what about?" "Gunsmoke." " Hi, Mom." " My dear." "It was a Western, where if somebody told you they were going to meet you at high noon,"" "they'd be there at high noon." "Sorry I'm late." "We had an emergency." "Dinner smells great." "And if a cowboy was late for dinner, his meat would be as tough as beef jerky." "He's made his point, hasn't he?" "I love beef jerky." "Mom?" "Mom, you home?" "More coffee?" "Yeah, why not?" "I'm sure glad you're here, Grandma." "It's nice to have somebody..." "So, Mom said there's something you want to talk to me about." "You want to wait for Mom?" "No, no." "Oh, what the hell." "I've decided to retire." "Great." "Dad, that's great." "You deserve to enjoy the rest of your life." "If people got what they deserved, there would be justice in this world." "I built my firm from a one-man operation to 150 employees, from designing bus stops to skyscrapers." "You're a great architect." "And so were you." "No, I wasn't." "Yes, you were." "And you had the potential to be even better than I am." "Dad, you always loved architectural design, and believe me, I always hated it." "Oh, but you love running around the beach all day putting designs on pretty girls and deepening your tan." "If you still think that that's all my job entails, then fine." "Yes, I do love it." "Mitch, you're not a teenager anymore." "You're a 37-year-old man." "It's time for you to consider your future in the long term..." "Hobie's future!" "My what?" "Your future." "Let's go in the den, huh?" "Yeah." "Hey, Dad." "What about my future?" "Ask your grandma." "She reads tarot cards." "Come on." "I know where there's a deck upstairs." "Whoa, let us ascend and I will reveal to you the mysteries of the universe." "Okay, let's cut through it." "You want to retire because you want me to take over the business." "Is that it?" "You make it sound like I'm trying to shove garbage in your face." "I'm offering you a lifetime of work on a silver platter, Mitch." "Dad, "your" life, "your" work." "I got a life, I got a career." "No, no, you have a job, not a career." "I'm offering you the baton, Mitch." "Grab it, run with it." "I did that already, remember?" "I got my architectural degree for you." "I worked at the firm." "After two months, we were miserable with each other." "Well, this time I won't be around so much to make you so miserable." "Oh, come on, Dad, I..." "I appreciate the offer." "I really do." "Now, Hobie and I are happy here in Los Angeles." "We don't want to just pick up and move to Phoenix." "Because there's no ocean?" "Because there's no reason." "Fine, you're right." "It's my life." "Who am I to impose it on you?" "Dad!" "Irene, it's time." "Let's go!" "Irene!" "Mommy!" "Summer!" "Summer, honey, wake up." "Oh, baby." "It's all right, honey." "You're having a dream." "No, Mom, it wasn't a dream." "Yes, honey, it was a dream." "Remember the emergency rescue I went on tonight?" "Yes." "A little boy drowned." "He was only 12." "No." "But, see, were doing a body search and I totally freaked out." "Oh, baby." "Oh, no wonder you had a nightmare." "Mom, see, the thing is, I didn't find the body." "It's just as soon as I went under water, I freaked out." "Honey, you were afraid that you "would" find the body." "Now, that's understandable." "I just don't know though." "I mean, I really feel like it's something more than that." "No, honey." "No, it's okay." "It's okay." "I know why you love this so much." "Why can't Dad understand it?" "We lived on the beach the entire time when you were growing up." "It was someplace that he visited when he wasn't working." "Yeah, he never loved it like you do." "Yeah, well, sometimes I think he never loved me." "Don't you dare talk about your father that way." "He loves you deeply." "It's as hard for him to show it as it is for you to recognize it when he does." "I know, I recognize it." "I'm sorry, Mom." "It's just that..." "I mean, I know he loves me." "Why does he want me to take over a business that's not going to make me happy?" "Because... it's the only thing he has to leave you." "What?" "Mom?" "What are you telling me?" "He has lymphoma, Mitch." "Well, that's treatable, isn't it?" "They've tried, but..." "it's gone beyond that now." "How long have you known, Mom?" "A little over a year." "Over a year?" "And you didn't tell me?" "You know your father." "He was so sure he would beat it." "He started working on that design for the university complex that he was always going on about." "He wants that to be his legacy." "Of course, now he realizes that... that he can't complete it." "That's why he wants you to follow in his footsteps, so you can pick up where he leaves off." "Why didn't he tell me himself?" "Because he wants you to do it out of love, not obligation." "Aw, geez, Mom." "I'm sorry." "That flotation device is very dangerous!" "Please bring it out of the water!" "Summer!" "You all right?" "Sit down." "Listen to me." "This is why inflatables aren't allowed in the ocean, okay?" "Okay." "I want you to bring it over to your towel" " Yeah." " And let the air out of it." "All right." "All right?" "Yeah." "All right." "Thanks." "Come in, Summer." "What's going on with you?" "Nothing." "I was going to wave him in, and then you just ran out there." "No." "No, you were freaked, just like last night." "What are you so scared of?" "I'm not scared of anything." "Look, Matt, are you still going kamikaze biking after work?" "Yeah." "You want to come and watch?" "Should I bring my pom-poms?" "No, Matt, I want to do it." "You want to bike straight down the side of a mountain?" "I told you I'm not afraid." "I'll prove it." "Look, relax." "Come on." "You don't need to prove anything to me." "I know what I need, and I know what I want, and I want to go kamikaze biking." "I'll meet you out front of the headquarters." "We got a new fish tank?" "Then where are the fish?" "There are no fish." "You got a turtle?" "There are no turtles." "Hobie, this is a suboceanic city" "I designed when I was in college." "Tested at 12 atmospheres." "You built "this?"" "Built it, designed it, everything." "Grandpa sure must have been proud of you." "Yeah, he said if I kept at it, someday I might build a real city on the ocean floor." "Why didn't you?" "Because I'd have to work in an office for a few years in order to do it." "But look what you'd have built when you were done." "Yeah." "Oh, get the door." "That's Grandma and Grandpa..." "I'll be upstairs." "Yeah, sure." "Hey, Grandma!" "Hello, sweetheart." "What's my boy been up to today, huh?" "Uh, just talking with Dad." "Look what he built." "Oh, my goodness, do I remember that." "Oh, look at..." "Mom." "I told him that you know, and that it's time for the two of you to resolve your differences." "I'll be with Hobie in his room." "I'II, uh, tell him about his granddad if you want me to." "No, no, that's okay." "I'II..." "I'll talk to Hobie after I talk to dad." "Mom, I don't know how to talk to him." "Come from love, Mitch." "Come from love." "Okay." "I can't believe you kept this." "Yeah." "You want a Pepsi?" "Coffee if you have it." "Yeah, no problem." "If you haven't got any made, it's all right." "No, Dad, it's no problem." "You sure?" "Absolutely." "Aw, Mitch." "Oh, you have talent, Mitch." "You have real genuine talent." "I "had" some talent, maybe." "Now, talent is God-given." "It's there from birth to death." "If you don't put it to use, you might as well not have lived." "Well, there's all kinds of talent, Dad." "What do you say we take a little walk, you know, and get some air while the coffee's brewing?" "Sure." "Good idea." "I bet you want to be buried at sea, right?" "Probably." "I want to be buried in the foundation of a building I designed in limestone so that my body dissolves, becomes part of the building itself." "Interesting, isn't it?" "What?" "Oh, the way people want to be buried." "You suppose baseball players want to spend eternity buried beneath the position they played all their careers." "I don't want to talk about where people want to be buried." "Come on." "What else do you want to talk about?" "Death is going to be the topic of conversation, isn't it?" "Mine in particular." "Dad..." "I've come to grips with it, son." "It's really, it's, it's... it's not as scary as I thought it would be." "How long..." "Oh, I don't know... your mother discussed that with the doctor." "I don't want to hear ten, nine, eight, seven." "No, no, no, no." "How long before you retire?" "Why do you need to know?" "Well, I've been thinking about it... that, uh, maybe it "is" time" "I explore my other talents, you know..." "I mean, if I have them." "It "is" time, and you have them, Mitch." "Long after I'm gone, long after you're gone, our work will endure in glass and stone and steel and brick and wood." "It's a tangible legacy..." "something to really leave behind, Mitch." "Maybe you're right, Dad." "Maybe you're right." "Remember when you had to hold my hand just so I could jump off the pier?" "Do you want me to come up there with you?" "You know, I learned that facing your fear isn't enough; you have to defeat it." "And I defeated it and you kamikaze biking, so just keep your hands to yourself, Matt Brody." "You okay, Summer?" "Oh, just take me home, please." "Hey, you." "Hey, come on home, baby, it's getting cold." "Mom, what am I going to do?" "I mean, I'm a lifeguard and-and I'm suddenly afraid to go in the water." "Oh, well, I don't know, but I know that whatever it is," "I know that you're going to get over it." "Now, come on, it's cold." "Oh..." "Honey, what is it?" "What's wrong?" "It's that color." "The water is always this awful color green." "Oh, my God." "Mom, what's the matter?" "Oh, this is all my fault." "Mom, what do you mean?" "Oh, honey... you were so little, I never thought..." "Mom, what are you talking about?" "Summer, something happened to you when you were really little." "You couldn't have been more than five." "What?" "Oh, honey, I..." "Your stepfather, he got mad at you because you were throwing stones into our redwood hot tub." "So he threw you in." "And he put the lid on it." "That lid was too heavy for you to move." "Honey, the pump was on, the heat was off." "But the water..." "it was green and bubbly." "I pushed the top off." "I pulled you out." "Honey, that night I took you and we left." "Why didn't I ever remember this?" "I don't know." "I was just so grateful that you seemed to forget." "I never realized it would have this kind of effect on you." "I'm so sorry." "It's not your fault." "This all started the night in the canal." "Those green light sticks must have triggered my memories." "Oh, baby." "My girl." "Mm..." "My sweet girl." "Hey, it's past midnight." "Catch." "Aren't you tired?" "Not really." "Are you?" "No." "No, not really." "Um..." "I wanted to talk to you anyway." "Yeah?" "Hobie, your grandfather, um..." "Dad..." "Grandma told me about Grandpa." "She said you wanted to, but I knew there there was something wrong, so I asked her." "Well, she told me." "Did she tell you that he wants me to take over his business?" "Yeah." "That means we'll have to move to Phoenix." "How do you feel about that?" "I'd miss my friends and all, but if you wanted to, I would." "Do you?" "No." "No, I don't." "But I think it's the right thing to do." "Then maybe we should." "Maybe I'll become an architect, too, someday." "You're going to be whatever you want to be." "Dad?" "Yeah?" "I just want to be like you." "Come here." "I love you, Dad." "I love you, too, pal." "Honey, I'm hot." "Let's go in the water." "Wait, honey." "You think that's such a good idea?" "The doctor said it'd be fine until at least six months." "Come on." "Okay." "There, there you go." "Come on." "Oh, hey, Summer." "These are my grandparents." "Hello." "I'm Irene Buchannon." "This is my husband, Al." "How do you do?" "Hi." "It's nice to meet you." "You son's a great guy to work for." "He's a great guy, period." "Oh, I was just about to go talk to him." "Does he know you're here?" "No." "Actually, it's a surprise." "Oh, you'd better be careful." "He's right there in Tower 15." "Thank you again;" "lovely to meet you." " Thanks." " Bye, Summer." "Bye." "This place is an architectural nightmare." "I mean, how could Mitch work here?" "Look out there, and you'll see." "Isn't that pretty?" "The ocean." "Help!" "Wow!" "You guys, hurry up." "Dad's going on a rescue." "You can watch through these." "Come on." "Right over there, see him?" "Let me see." "Hobie, uh, may I, please?" "Yeah, sure." "Gaines, get over here." "Good job." "Thanks." "When Dad was my age, were he and Grandpa really close?" "Sometimes it takes an entire lifetime to get close to someone you love most." "Thanks a lot." "Dad, what are you doing?" "You shouldn't walk all the way out here." "I need the exercise." "Whoa." "She going to be all right?" "The one you rescued?" "Yeah." "Yeah, she's going to be fine." "It was only a cramp." "Thank God." "She was pregnant." "So you actually saved two lives." "Oh, Mitch..." "I'm sorry." "No, Dad, don't." "No, listen, no, listen, no, no, before this I never really comprehended what it is you do down here." "I've been talking to you about leaving buildings as a legacy, and you're leaving lives." "I mean, that woman could now give birth to a child that might not have been born if it weren't for you." "That's the greatest legacy any man can leave." "It's your legacy, too." "I'm your child." "Aw, Mitch." "Listen, you take care of Hobie and make sure he does whatever makes him happy." "Okay." "All right?" "He wants to be an architect." "Really?" "Does he have talent?" "I don't know." "Let's go find out." "Wait, wait." "Dad, this is, uh, this is my office." "I can't leave." "Oh, yeah, really, why, of course." "You stay here." "I got a project for Hobie." "I'll have him redesign that dreadful thing." "What?" "If you're going to keep working here, you've got to have at least a decently designed headquarters building." "That thing has no function or form or anything."