"Morning in the city of angels." "Everybody lonely, nobody happy, circus is in town and nobody's going." "Life is short and then you die." "That's why they play love songs all day long." "To make you miserable." "It's enough to push you over the edge." " Alison, you're back." " No, I'm in Seattle with Keith." " You had your chance." "You blew it." " I know." "I'm sorry." "We need to talk." "It's too late." "In five minutes I'll wake up with Keith, then he'll make me breakfast." " What a guy, huh?" " Alison, wait!" " Goodbye, Billy." " Alison." "Alison!" "Rashes, cortisone, moles and acne." "One more week of Dermatology rotation," "I'll quit and become a full-time apartment manager." "You can take over for my manager after I kill him." "The apartment would have to collapse before he'd even show up." "My kitchen sink's been broken for a week." "I'm gonna look for a new place." "Wait a minute." "Did you ever think of having a roommate?" " What?" " Billy, you met him at Christmas." "He's got a two-bedroom place, and I keep the plumbing tight as a drum." "I don't know, Michael." "I'm a little old for a roommate." " Besides, I don't know this guy." " We'll go out to dinner." "You two can talk and see how it goes." "Think about it." " Your wife coming too?" " Yeah, her too." "Come on, we better get back to the skin game." "Carrie, you around?" " Oh, hi, Rhonda." " Hiya, baby." "Hi, sweetheart." "Checking up on the decorator?" "I was showing him some of the selections." "Yeah, I noticed all this lilac wallpaper and blue paint everywhere." "We decided to go with earth tones to match the wood." "We did, but I had a dream last night." "I saw Terrence standing in a beautiful lilac field with his arms outstretched up to the sky, on the most beautiful day of the year." "I was inspired." "I had to go with it." "What can I say?" "I'm an artist." "You should've checked with us." "Don't worry." "Flowers are OK with me." "I'm easy." "But I gotta go, so keep up the good work, all right?" " See you at my restaurant tonight?" " I wouldn't miss it." "What?" "I invited Carrie to have dinner with us at the restaurant." "She hasn't had the best continental cuisine in LA Can you imagine?" "Bye-bye." "All right, it's not Shangri-La." "But as far as West Hollywood goes, it's pretty close." "The neighbors are tolerable." "I keep the pool spotless." "Fuses are replaced in a snap, and did I mention we have a laundry room?" " Yes, you did, Michael." "Twice." " Cool." "All right." "Billy, I don't think you'd do better for a roommate." "I know, you were looking for a guy." "But if Kimberly's open, think about it." "She's a professional." "You never have to worry about rent." "And she's smart, easy to get along with, easy on the eyes, and she has a great sense of humor." "Turn it down a little." "They're not getting married." "Just trying to get the apartment occupied here, Jane." "So..." " Do you have any furniture?" " Yes, I have an apartment full." " Do you want to elope?" " When?" "Here it is." "Casa de Empty." " You certainly have room for furniture." " Yeah." " Here's the kitchen." " Yes, all that cooking I do." "This is Alison's bedroom, which of course would be yours." "Nice." "Looks like it gets lots of sun." "This is my room." "That's the bathroom, which we would share of course." "I always leave the lid down." "But that would not be a problem because you'd work out a schedule." " Isn't that what you did with Alison?" " Not exactly, but it doesn't matter." "So, what do you think?" "Give her some time." "She just saw the place." "Hello?" "Mom?" "Whoa, wait a second." "Slow down." "What happened?" "OK." "All right." "No, everything will be all right." "I'll be right there." "Bye." "Billy, what's wrong?" "My dad had a heart attack, and it's bad." "Oh, man." "Jesus, let us come with you." "No." "No, thanks." "I gotta go." "Oh, Billy." "We were at the club, dancing." "It was so nice." "We hadn't been out in months." "Then suddenly he got tired." "I said, "Sit down."" "And I got him a glass of water, and then his arm hurt, and he couldn't breathe." "It's all right." "He's gonna be fine, OK?" "He's a stubborn old horse, and he'll just have to rest for a while, OK?" "Where's the doctor?" "It's your father's doctor, Dr Stevens." "He came right when he heard." "He's wonderful." "Jumped right in, took over." " He knows your father's history." " Good guy." "I'm gonna go find him." "You wait right here." "I'll be right back." "OK?" "All right." " So how's he doing?" " Just a second." "Let's sit down first." "He won't rest." "I told Dr Stevens that, didn't I?" "He'll be right back at that shop before I can stop him, and he won't keep to a diet." "I'm going to need some help with that." "Joan, Billy..." "The heart attack was massive." "There was nothing anyone could do." "He never regained consciousness." "I'm very sorry." "Oh, no..." "Hey, Bill." "Hey, listen." "I was sorry to hear that your father's in the hospital." " Thanks." " Is he going to be all right?" "No." "No, actually, he died last night." "Oh, man." "I'm sorry, I didn't..." "I just have to get some clean clothes and a shower." "Yeah, you look like you could use a little sleep." "Yeah, I was up all night with my mom." "Look, if there's anything I can do for you..." "Thanks, but I have everything handled." "Call me." "Call me if you need anything." "Hi, Billy." "This is Celeste." "I spoke to Mom." "She said you'd be picking me up at the airport." "It's Northern States Air, Flight 236." "I'll be in at 3:20 this afternoon." "Hope you're OK, little brother." "Mr Campbell?" "This is David Breitman, Breitman Mortuary." "We have an opening for burial tomorrow." "Call us as soon as possible." "We can make the arrangements." "If I'm not around, please speak to my assistant." "Hey, Billy." "Called the hospital and checked on your Dad." "I'm sorry, buddy." "I don't know what to say." "Thanks." "I'm sorry." "If there's anything we can do, get groceries, some take-out..." "I'm fine, really." "Did your dad have a history of heart trouble?" "I'm not sure, Michael." " Hey." " I'm sorry." "Yeah, we heard." "Anything we can do?" " Can we make phone calls or something?" " No." "Look, guys." "I'm fine, really." "I couldn't be better." "I just need to take a shower." " And that's what I'm gonna do." " Billy..." "OK." "You've been getting a lot of rain here." "Hope it's not like this for the funeral." " Is it supposed to clear up?" " Yeah, I think so." "So everything's all set for the burial tomorrow?" "What about flowers?" "Mom will want tons of flowers." "Roses especially." "I think a nice standing arrangement would be best." "I'll give you the number of the florist." "You can check." "Yeah, that's a good idea." "I'll do that." "I told Dad a million times to sell that store and retire." "He was waiting for you to take over, but I knew that you wouldn't." "I told him that too." "God, he was so stubborn though." "We're really going to miss him, aren't we?" "Poor Mom." "I think I could do a good job with that store." " I'll skew it younger." " You're talking crazy." "No, I'm not." "Let's get through this without a brawl, little brother." "Stop calling me that." "I'm sorry." "This isn't easy for any of us, you know." "I know." "Here we are back in your old room, Celeste." "I'm sorry there's no room in your closet." "Your father uses it for his work suits, and files and things." "I'm so glad you're here." "You don't know..." "Mom, you look so exhausted." "Well, actually, I do need a little nap." " Billy will help you set up." " OK." "It's all right." "You don't have to stay." "I can take care of things." "OK, thanks." "Look at these suits." "They're all the same." ""A customer likes familiarity." Remember?" ""Look at McDonalds, look at the Holiday Inn."" "Yep, Campbell and Son's never became a household name." "Celeste, I'm sorry I yelled at you at the airport, but I'm serious about the store." "You know, on the flight out here, I kept seeing my wedding day over and over." "Dad really gave me away." "I mean, he took it literally." "Right after the service, it was like I wasn't his daughter anymore." "I belonged to another man, and that's it, "bye."" "But, you know, in a way he's right, Billy." "We're born to leave home." "You can't fix it." "Let it go." "This is something I want to do, OK?" "For me and for Dad." "I think I can make the store grow and make Dad's dream come true." "Damn it, Billy." "Our father died." "Stop talking business!" " I'm sorry." " I'm sorry." "I've been thinking about this roommate thing." "Yeah?" "I don't think I want to move in with Billy." " Is that all right with you?" " Sure, but why?" "I don't know." "I mean to move into his apartment after all that's happened..." "I don't want to sound cold, but last night reminded me that if you share an apartment with someone, you end up involved in their life, and that's just not worth it." " Thanks." " Unless you're in love with them." "So, what are you going to do about your water pipes?" "I don't know." "Find a handyman, I guess." "Well, I've got the tools." "I can take care of it." "I'm sure you can." "I just can't believe he's gone." "So you miss your Dad?" "Yeah." "I do." "I don't think it's the same thing, though." "I mean, he's still alive." "Just don't know where he is or if I ever want to see him again." "I don't think he ever thought that much of me." "Yeah, well, I'll never know what my Dad thought of me." "'Cos I'd be damned if I was going to ask him." " You want another beer?" " Yeah." "Two more please." " You ever hear from Alison?" " Oh, no." "Who cares?" "You know what this whole thing boils down to?" "I mean, my father's death." "It's just the wake up call, you know?" "It's time to grow up, time to be more responsible." " Who says you're not?" " I do." "My sister's got it all figured out." "She says sell the store and be done with it." "And then she's taking my mom to move with her to Minnesota and..." "I don't know." "That store's a piece of my dad, and he wanted me to have it." "Well, if it's what you want to do, do it." "Thanks." "Thanks for..." "Get some sleep, all right?" "Hi, Billy." "I've been waiting for you." " Are you doing all right?" " I'm fine." "What are you doing here?" "I heard about your father, and I had to see you." "I knew that if I called you probably wouldn't want to talk." "And I wanted you to know how sorry I am." "Yeah, I'm sorry too." " Look, I just gotta go to bed." " I know." "I'll let you go." "But even though we broke up, I'd still like to be your friend." "I mean, I'm here if you need one." " Have you heard from Alison?" " No." "That's too bad." "Then again, she did move away, didn't she?" "Look, it was nice of you to come by, but I gotta go to bed or I'm gonna fall over." "So I'll see you later." "Do you need me to stay with you tonight?" "I'd like to." " I don't think so." " Well, you shouldn't be alone." "It might be good for both of us." "I think it's better to be by myself." "OK." "Remember, I'm thinking of you." "Goodnight." "Goodnight." "Hi, Billy." "It's Alison." "Jane called me and told me about your father." "And I wish I could be there for you." "I know how much you cared for him and how much pain you must be in." "I'm here if you want to talk." "Please call." "In Seattle, the number is:" "206-555-4139." "I'm thinking of you." "Take care." "Hello." "Hi, Keith." "Is Alison there?" "No." "No message." "No big deal." "Yeah, thanks." "Everything's fine." "Bye." "Our journey on this planet is short, but what gives it sweetness are those we take the journey with." "Our family and our friends." "These are the precious gifts." "This love is the real wealth." "And so, finally, we give William to you, heavenly father, that he may find everlasting life at your side, and that you may cherish him in heaven as we did here on earth." "And now shall we each in our own way have a moment of silence?" "Amen." "Hello, Alison." "It's good to see you." " Amanda." "How are you?" " I'm all right." "So tragic, isn't it?" " Did you know Billy's father?" " I met him once." "He was a nice man." "I guess he'd have to be." "Look at his son." "So are you back to stay?" "No, I just came down for the funeral." "I wanted to be here for Billy." " That's sweet of you." "How's Keith?" " Fine, thanks." "This has been so hard on Billy." "Last night, he was exhausted." "Emotionally and physically." " How are you doing?" " I'm OK." "It was a beautiful service." "Well, I guess I should be going." "It was good to see you, Alison." "And like I said, if you need anything call me, OK?" "Sure." " Thought you broke up with her." " I did." "So you need a ride?" "Thanks." "Well, my sister went a little wild with the flowers." " I thought they were very pretty." " Yeah." "Roses always gave my Dad sneezing fits." "He hated them." "Celeste sent potpourri every Christmas, and it was the first thing he threw out." "They waited till he couldn't do anything, and then they covered him with them." " He's probably sneezing in his grave." " Billy, the funeral's over." "Let it rest." "Thanks for coming." "I can't believe you came." " You didn't have to." " I know." "I wanted to." " So where are you staying?" " Jo offered her couch." "That's crazy." "You should stay in your old apartment." "There's plenty of room." "Stupid roses." "Didn't you see him?" "There was no expression on his face at all." "Everybody handles grief differently." "But he just seems so closed down, and distant." "He'll pull through it." "It just takes time is all." "You know, I haven't been at the hospital all day." "I better check on some patients." "Can't it wait until tomorrow?" "I'm a doctor, Jane." "Unfortunately, I have to be responsible." "Be back in a couple of hours or so." " Pipe wrench." " Pipe wrench, Doctor." "Thank you, Doctor." "You know, you should have your apartment manager sued for neglect." "This was very nice of you, Michael." "OK, there." "That should do it." "Put the water on, please." " Really?" " Done." " Thank you." " You're welcome." "Anything else around here that needs attention?" "Yes." "But I don't think you're available for that kind of work." "Very funny." "You know, I just happen to have a beautiful piece of meat in the fridge." "And I was thinking that maybe we could stick it in the broiler open a bottle of red wine and eat." "Sounds delicious, but..." "But..." "But you have to go home to your wife." "Yes." "Then you better get going." "Quick." "Thanks for the house call." "You're welcome." "Look, I'm sorry." "But I was not looking at the decorator, honest." "I guess I just like women fawning over me." "Yeah, I guess you do." "See, when a man like me gets his eyes set on a prize, he doesn't waver." "He waits for his opportunity, and when he sees it, he grabs it." "And you do have pretty big hands, don't you?" "Oh, boy, I do love a jealous woman." "Terrence, this is not funny, OK?" "This woman is after you." "I'm not just gonna stand around and let that happen." "So I want you to fire her tomorrow, or you can just kiss me goodbye tonight." "Well, I'll tell you what." "She's all yours." "You fire her." "Well, thank you." "I will." "Now, weren't you about to kiss me?" "So how's everything in Seattle?" "And Keith?" "It's fine." "Beautiful city." "Next week we are going to see the Olympic Peninsula." "Keith says it's an ecological wonderland." " That's exciting." " It's all right." " Have a seat." " No, go ahead." " You sure?" " Yeah, the floor's fine with me." "I admit." "It's been weird since you left." "No furniture and all." "Honestly are you seeing Amanda at all?" " No." " What was all that at the funeral?" " I don't know." "Got me." "So you're telling me you don't miss LA at all?" "I don't know." "Maybe a little." "So how are you holding up, anyway?" "You've had a pretty tough couple of days." "Yeah, I'm doing all right, considering everybody thinks I should be falling apart." "I'm thinking of taking over my dad's store." "What?" "You're gonna sell furniture?" "That's what you're gonna do?" " What's wrong with it?" "My dad did it." " I'm sorry." "I don't think there's anything wrong with running a store." "I just can't believe that that's what you want to do with your life." " What about writing?" " Like it makes a difference to you." "It does!" "Alison, you're going back to Seattle, OK?" "Don't come down here and act like you all of a sudden give a damn." "I mean you showed how much you cared when you split." "Just go back to Keith and your seal-infested city and just leave me alone." "You don't really think you can scare me away that easily, do you?" "I know you." "And you know I care." "I wouldn't be here if I didn't." "Let's just get out of here." "I'm going stir-crazy." " I knew you were some kind of crazy." " Yeah." "OK, kid." "OK, OK." "Calm down before you put a hole in my backstop over there." "Here." "You win the big bear." " Now get out of here?" " Thanks." "I didn't know you could throw like that, Billy Campbell." "Heck, forget furniture or writing, get into spring training." "You know what stinks?" "He never got to see me be any kind of real success." "He saw me succeed with crap like that." "He'd bring me down here as a kid." "I'd knock down a bunch of milk bottles, and he'd get all proud." "Then he'd squeeze my shoulder." "But he never had a reason to be proud after that." "I don't know." "We fought." "And I'd look at him, and he was just in my way." "He was my father, and I never told him that I loved him." "As an adult, you know?" "I just wanted to be..." "I just wanted to be bigger than myself, you know?" "So I could be somebody that he would be proud of to have love him." "Oh, Billy." "Of course he was proud of you." "And you are one hell of a guy." "Come here." "It seems so much goes on unsaid, but so many times we hear it." "Love does that, I think." "It's like an invisible line connecting people." "Maybe you didn't say "I love you,"" "but he heard you anyway." " Oh, I missed you." " Oh, I missed you too." " Oh, hi." "Alison just went for a jog." " No, I came to see you." "Oh, well, here." "Here's a present for you." "Alison said that she took the coffeemaker to Seattle, and so there you go." "It's not the fancy kind." "There's no clock in it, but it'll do the job." " So I hope you like it." " Thanks." "What's the occasion?" "I've never really heard of death presents before." "I know you don't want to be bothered." "And if anyone should understand that it would be me." "But I've always felt like there was a tension between us." "Oh, well, that's partly my fault." "Come on in." "And so I thought, since we've both lost parents that we have something in common." "And maybe I can be like a sounding board or something." " Sure." "You want some coffee?" " Sure." " I was hoping we could just plug it in." " Well, nothing's ever that simple." "I think there's real coffee in the cupboard there." "All right, sounding board, let me ask you a question." "Shoot." "What do you think happens when someone dies?" " I mean, to their soul." " I don't know." "But I don't think of it so much as the soul as much as energy." "Yeah, but what I keep thinking is that birth is this miracle, right?" "And life is too." "But death has to be part of the whole thing." "So it can't just end." "There has to be something." "I mean, something has to happen." "Yeah, I think that the energy releases and envelops us." "Like after my mom died, I could still feel her close." " You know, almost closer." " So the energy would be transferred?" "Well, do you believe that there's a heaven?" "Well, I haven't thought about it really, lately." "But when I was a kid, I thought it'd be like summer camp, and my mom would get a swimsuit and an inner tube, and she'd jump into the lake and swim around that raft in the middle, with all those other dead people," "drinking sodas and laughing a lot." "That sounds like a great place." "I hope so." " Thanks." " Thank you." "Look, Matt..." "Before you look at the menu, tell me what's on your mind." "I was just thinking that we hadn't seen each other in a while, Dad." " What is it?" "What's wrong?" " No, everything's fine." " How's work?" " Come on, son." "You don't care about that." "So talk to me." "Just tell me what's going on." "Nothing, honest." "I just feel like that at Christmas that we broke through somehow." "I'd like to really start to get to know you." "Time goes by awfully fast, and I don't want to miss out on this." "Most of the time when we talk, it's about me and my work, and I really wouldn't mind hearing about you or your contracting business" " or whatever's on your mind." " Well, all right." "I mean, I'll bore you to death with bids and bull-headed architects." " But first, let's order lunch." "Deal?" " It's a deal." "But I don't want to make this a special occasion, OK?" " What do you mean?" " I mean, I'd like to do this a lot." "I'd like to try and be friends." "I think we can manage that, son." "I know we can." "Now let's eat." "Let's eat." "Alison, it was so thoughtful of you to make the trip down." "It was nothing." "I'm glad I could make it." "It was a beautiful ceremony." " Were the flowers overdone?" " Oh, no." "They were beautiful." "Really." "Please sit down." "Billy..." " I want to discuss the store." " Alison doesn't want to hear that." " I take her to the airport soon." " This won't take long." "I hope you don't mind, Alison." "We consider you part of the family." "Anyway, I have given this a lot of thought." "And I know how you feel, and that's very important to me." "But I have decided to sell the store to the employees." " They're gonna keep the name." " I thought we were gonna discuss this." "You're presenting it like you've already done it." " I have." " I wanted to do something." "Don't you understand?" "I wanted to do something for Dad." "And for you." "Guess you don't need me to do anything." "We do." "We need you, Billy." "I need you to be a writer." "To do something with the wonderful gift you have." "Your father was very proud of you." "He wanted to be sure you knew what you wanted." "It's OK." "Just forget it." "You made your decision." "That's that." "Alison, would you do me a favor?" "Would you read this?" "I don't think I could get through it." "William wrote it last year." "I found it when I was cleaning out his desk at work." "It's to you, Billy, but I'd like everyone to hear it." ""Dear Billy." "You are the sunshine of my life." "OK, it's a song, but so what?" "I'm not a writer." "I'm a furniture man." "But that says what I can't." "My problem is that I don't know how to say it to you." "We don't talk." "We fight." "You don't know from furniture, and I don't know from writers." "But I know I am proud of you." "This is one of lots of letters I've written to you." "Someday I may even mail one to you." "Well, I'll sign off now." "I'm worried that I still haven't said what I want to say." "How do you express yourself to a son?" "If I were smart, I'd let you write it, and I'd sign it." "That'd be a good one, huh?" "What I'm trying to say is that I love you, Billy." "Every night I thank God for sending you to me." "I mean it, Billy." "Gotta go now." "A customer is waiting." "Love, Dad."" "Thanks Mom, for finding it and saving it." "Thanks." "I've taken you to the airport a lot these days." " Yeah." " Thanks so much for coming." "If you hadn't, I'd still be bouncing into walls." " No, it's good for me too." " We should work out some way to visit." "Sounds weird, but I could fly there, you could come here." " It doesn't sound weird at all." " Cool, we should do that." "About my father..." "It was great getting that letter, but the love was there all the time." "You were right." "It's that line connecting people." "I guess not everything has to be said." "I guess it's time for me to go back to that ecological wonderland." "Another one of our famous goodbyes." "But we'll see each other." "Right." "Bye." "Bye." " Take care of yourself." " You too." " Billy?" " What?" "Nothing, nothing." "You know I don't give a damn about the Olympic Peninsula." "And I miss you." "I'm all alone up there with no friends and no job prospects." "Keith doesn't care." "He goes on about single-celled things in tide pools." "And I hate it." "And it was stupid to move up there, and I did it." "And I'm tired of it, and I'm lonely." "And I don't know what to do." " Stay here." "That's what you do." " But I just got there." "Well, I begged you once before." "But now I'm telling you." "You belong here." "You're right." "Are you serious?" " You mean it?" " Damn right." "Take me home."