"When the shadows" "Of this life are gone" "Uh, Fanny Tatum gave me a very interesting piece of information regarding Curt's younger sister, Vanessa, and your Jason." "Jason, you're so sweet." "And this place is so lovely." "So peaceful." "On Walton's Mountain, the marriage vows once pledged usually remained enforced, until the contract was ended by the death of one of the partners." "Divorce was a taboo word spoken in whispers." "And then, one day, a young woman who had left her husband appeared on the mountain with serious consequences for my brother, Jason." "Now, you send me a postcard from your travels, now, you hear?" "Well, I'd love to, ma'am, except I don't have your address." "Well, I have yours, so I can write to you." " Hi, honey." " Hi." "Oh, nice to see you." "Good to see you." "You look fine." "Oh, thank you." "Oh, Vanessa, the Waltons." "Oh, now which one did you marry?" "This one." "How do you do?" "You did real fine for yourself, honey." "And married life seems to with you." "You never looked better in your entire life." "Where's Taylor?" "Oh, I didn't bring him along." "No, I have left that man." "Curt, honey, I just couldn't take it no more." "I pity Taylor, stuck back there in the cold and the mud." "I gave him a chance." "I said "Come on, sugar, let's find us a new world and make us a new life."" "And he just couldn't bring himself to leave." "But I had to." "What did Taylor say about that?" "Well, he said he wouldn't stand in my way." "I tried to explain to him that I just couldn't live out my whole life and die in that little, old gray town." "You know, how lively I am, and love everything bright and full of color." "Which way do we go, sugar?" "Oh, right over there." "I just felt 100% better the minute I left that gritty, grimy, little, old coal town." "Mary Ellen, it must be crazy there." "You must get awfully busy." "Oh." "Oh!" "Flowers." "Bet you did some scrubbing, didn't you, Mary Ellen?" "I did do some cleaning." "I remember the first time I had company, when Taylor's mama came to visit," "I pretty nearly ironed the pages of the Bible." "What can we do with these suitcases, Curt?" "Put them in the bedroom." "Ain't this the prettiest little house you ever saw?" "Mary Ellen, you sure have done a nice job of fixing it up." "Well, thank you." "Honey, why don't you let us get you settled in, unpacked and everything." "Mary Ellen and I have a couple of patients we just got to see." "Oh, well now, that's all right, honey." "You go on and do what you have to do." "I can take care of myself, you know." "I'm pretty good at it." "I'm just glad to be here in all this greenery, breathing all this nice, fine country air." " Well, I'm sorry we have to leave." " See you later." "It's all right." " Come by and visit us." " See you later." " Bye-bye." " Honey, I'll take my guitar." " Goodbye." " Bye." "Hey, John-Boy, are those population figures for the county right?" "Yeah, they're the latest government figures." "Then why is the circulation of The Chronicle so much less?" "Well, Ben, the figures represent total population." "Now, total population means babies and little kids." "There's no reason for a family to buy more than one newspaper." "Well, if you divide the entire number by five, which is what you say the size of the average family is around here..." "Why, where'd you get that idea?" "That was from your article." "John-Boy, even then the circulation is so much less than the number." "Well, Ben, I guess everybody doesn't like to read the newspapers." "And you know why?" "'Cause everyone already knows what's going on around here." "You got to give people something interesting." " Come on, just go ahead..." " You have to entertain them." "What do you mean, "Entertain people"?" "This is a newspaper, Ben." "Hey, John-Boy, why don't you do something for me?" "Why don't you start writing short stories for people who want something more than just the news?" "I don't have time to write short stories." "I got a newspaper to run." "I got a novel to write." "Well, why don't you use part of your novel?" "What do you mean?" "You mean, prints parts of the novel in the newspaper?" "Well, that's what I said." "Just for entertainment." "Of all spring vegetables," "I favor mustard and turnip greens the most." " Give me a scallion." " These are for Mary Ellen." " I know." " Bye, everybody." " Where are you going?" " To work." "Will you take these and drop them off at Mary Ellen's on your way?" "Sure, Mama." "See you all later." " See you." " Bye." " Hey, Jason." " Ben." "Hey, Grandpa, you're about to be immortalized in print." "How is that?" "Well, John-Boy is gonna start printing excerpts from his novel in The Chronicle." "Congratulations, Pa." "Well, now, I think he's made an excellent choice." "It'll be the first time we get to see any part of that novel." "Now, what's it about?" "Well, I guess it's about you." "One of your exploits." "Hmm, I wonder which exploit it could be." "About the time the bear chased me down the mountain?" "Or maybe the time that I saved Yancy from being swallowed by that catfish." "Grandpa." "Mary Ellen?" "Mary Ellen?" " Hello?" " Come on in." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Who are you?" "I'm Jason Walton." "Mary Ellen's brother." "Another Walton?" "How many of y'all are there?" "Eleven." "Children?" "No." "No, there's, there's seven children." "And then there's Mama and Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa." "Sure is a house full." "Are you Vanessa?" "That's right." "Well, I came by to drop these off." "Oh, we are very much obliged." "Curt and Mary Ellen had some errands to make." "But I've been having myself a fine old time." "Thought I'd catch up on some of the local news, and I read something called the..." "Called The Blue Ridge Chronicle from cover to cover." "And when I was all through, I found out it was three weeks old." "Then you're all caught up." "There are a lot more happenings around here than where I come from." "Was that you playing the guitar?" "I heard somebody playing as I was walking up." "I was just practicing a few chords." "I'm a singer." "Well, I'm gonna be, anyway." "And if you want something bad enough, you're bound to get it." "That's what I think anyway." "See, now, if you just look on the bright side, and know it's gonna come true..." "That's what I do." "You just might be right." "Uh, it's getting kind of late." "I have to be getting to work." "What you do, sugar?" "Well, I play guitar and piano at a little roadhouse on Route 39." "A place called the Dew Drop Inn." "You do?" "Well, I think that's a real fine ambition." "And you have achieved it." "Well, you must be real proud of yourself." "I am." "You ought to stop by sometime." "Oh, I'd like that." "I'm just crazy about good music." "Well, good." "Remember, the Dew Drop Inn." "Bye." "Bye." "And you come." "Bye." "And I will." "All right." "See you there." "Bye." "Bye." "The Dew Drop Inn." "Come in." "It's me, Grandpa." "Oh, come on along." "What you doing?" "Oh, spring planting time, you know." "Seeds and my old catalog." "I like these." "Ah, it's a little too early to plant them." "Zinnias and morning glories." "We can plant these, though." "Nasturtiums." "Can I ask you a question?" "Well, sure, why not?" "See, it's about Vanessa, Curt's sister." "Vanessa, yes." "Vanessa and her husband are separated." "But Vanessa's happy." "How can that be?" "Well, now, that's a hard question to answer." "Yeah." "You know, when Daddy was away working," "Mama wasn't happy 'cause they were separated." "That's true." "And now Grandma's away at the hospital, and you aren't happy 'cause you're separated." "No, indeedy." "It's hard to be cheerful." "Especially come nightfall." "You know, I don't think separation is a particularly happy word." "That Vanessa, she may appear to be happy and rosy and everything, but underneath I think she feels real hurt." "Let's not you and me ever get separated." "Never." "Never, never, never, never, never." "Tell me a story." "Oh, well, I cocked this trap and I put..." "Now, don't you tell me that..." "Here you are, boys." "Thelma?" " You wouldn't dance with me." " Who said I wouldn't?" "Well, let's go." " Hi." " Hi." "That was nice piano playing." "I truly enjoyed that." "Thank you." "Can you stay and sit down?" " Sure." " Okay." "Want some popcorn?" "Thank you, honey." "See you later, here?" " My pleasure." " Mine, too." "Oh, that was good music, Jason." "Such good dancing music." "Thelma, I want you to meet Vanessa." "This is Curt Willard's sister." "Vanessa." "Curt's sister." "How do." "What can I get you all?" "I'll have a beer, please." "A beer?" "Are you old enough to have a beer?" "Thelma, I've been married longer than I can remember." "Oh, well, and I suppose you would like your ginger..." "I'll have my usual." "Your usual." "Okay." "Where did you learn how to play music like that?" "Oh, I taught myself some." "Had piano lessons for a while." "Right now I go to the Kleinberg Conservatory of Music." "I do envy you, going to a real music conservatory." "Oh, there's so much I need to learn." "I wish I knew just a little more about playing the guitar, so I could play along with my singing." "I could help you with some chords if you wanted." " You could?" " Sure." "Oh, I truly would appreciate an act of kindness like that." " Here you are." " Thank you." "Uh, I heard you were coming, but nobody mentioned the reason for your visit." "I have left my husband." "I have left the town where I was born and grew up." "I wanna do something with my life." "So do I." "You already are doing something just wonderful." "To music." "To music." "Whoa, whoa, careful." "Do you bring all your girls here?" "No." "This is where I come when I wanna be completely alone." "I've never shown it to anybody." "I'm flattered." "This spot has helped me a lot with my music." "To be good at something like singing, you have to be willing to try different things, to explore what you can do." "You have to be willing to be terrible." "Jason, you're so sweet." "And this place is so lovely." "So peaceful." "Morning, when this life is over" "I'll" "Fly away" "To a land on" "God's celestial shore" "I'll fly away" " What's next?" " You might fall." ""When the shadows."" "When the shadows" "Of this life are gone" "I'll fly away" "In the morning" "That's right." "When I die, hallelujah, by and by" "I'll fly away" "I'll fly away, oh, glory" "I'll fly away in the morning" "When I die, hallelujah, by and by" "I'll fly away" "Just a few more weary days and then" "I'll fly away" "To a land where joys will never end" "I'll fly away" "I'll fly away, oh, glory" "I'll fly away in the morning" "When I die, hallelujah, by and by" "I'll fly away" "I'll fly away" "Yes." "I'll fly away" "Didn't I tell you she was good?" "Honey, you're terrific." "Oh, my darling." "You are terrific, honey." "You work here every weekend, will you?" " You mean it?" " Oh, you're just wonderful." "Oh, thank you." "I just love looking at all those stars." "Thousands and millions of them." "Back home you're lucky, if you can see the porch light." "Yeah, I remember." "You sure have found yourself a beautiful spot here." "Curt?" "I really have enjoyed being here." "Honey, I've really enjoyed having you around." "So has Mary Ellen." "But we're not the only ones." "I kind of think Jason likes having you around, too." "He's such a talented man." "Funny." "And gentle." "Whatever is between you two could turn into a pretty serious thing for him." "It might turn into a pretty serious thing for me, too." "Maybe you ought to think about that." "Think what?" "You really think you could be satisfied in a place like this?" "Curt, you have your whole life cut out for you." "A new wife, a house, your medical practice." "A job doing what you really wanna do." "But I'm just starting out." "Do you really know anything about me?" "Well, I think I do." "You know, I can sing." "And when I get fixed up, I'm not bad looking." "Maybe life didn't give me all the nice things it gave you, but I sure know how to take them." "Hey, Elizabeth, why don't we play hooky from school today?" "That's fine with me." "School." " Did you put apples in here?" " Yes, I did." " Bye." " Be good." "Okay." "No books." "Jim-Bob, you took the wrong book." "You're not going to class today?" "I have to miss it." "Can we talk?" "I'm not gonna tell you what to do." "All right." "I just want you to think about what..." "Go on, we're having a private talk." "I just want you to think about what you're doing." "What am I doing?" "You're getting yourself involved with a married woman." "She left her husband." "She is still married to him." "Mama, you'd never accept anything that wasn't marriage, and home and children and church, every Sunday." "Jason, what's bothering me about you and Vanessa is her taking her marriage vows so lightly." "Taking people lightly." "That can't be right." "Well, isn't that what you're doing?" "You're taking us lightly." "You're taking our feelings for each other lightly, just because..." "Because on a piece of paper somewhere it says she's married." "Jason..." "All I ask is that you go slow with this girl." "Vanessa is not a girl." "She's a woman." "And she's taught me that sometimes you can't take things too slowly, or your whole life will get away from you." "I thought we could only get to your spot by water." "This is another way." "You shouldn't have missed your composition class." "But I'm glad you did." "I had to." "Our assignment was to write a short piece in the style of Johann Sebastian Bach." "I don't think my teacher would have accepted this." "I had it in my head last night, so I just had to work on it." "It's called Vanessa's Song." "There's a place" "Up in the mountains" "Where I go to be alone" "And I bring you here" "My darling" "To share my love" "With you alone" "Red birds flying through the valley" "Crickets singing in the dew" "Rivers rolling through the valley" "They all know my love for you" "They all know my love for you" "I have never been so honored in my entire life." "I'm glad I found you." "Vanessa's a married woman." "It could be you're worried about something before there's any need to worry." "It's getting close to home." "Jason's taken with her." "You can see that." "Taken with and tied up with, there's some difference." "One can lead to the other." "There's a place up in the mountains" "Where I go to be alone" "And I bring you here, my darling" "To share my live with you alone" "Where's my Thelma?" "Oh, my gosh." "Country Joe Martin." "Hi, darling." "Hi, darling." "I've been saying it's gonna be about time old Country Joe Martin to come around here." "Yeah, I want you to meet my new manager of the band, Lou Rhymer." "How you doing, honey?" "Nice to meet you." "Heard a lot about you." "How'd you get tied up with such a trashy fellow as this?" "Just lucky, I guess." "Thelma, I thought you were in love with me." "Well, I am in love with you, but I just get tired of waiting in line, that's all." "You're gonna give Lou, here, the wrong impression of me, Thelma." "You're gonna get the wrong impression of me, if I don't ask you to have a drink." " Sit down, here." " Two beers, Thelma." " Two beers." "You got it." " Two beers." "Thelma, bring me another beer." "Okay, okay." "Say, didn't I see you down at the Colonial Theater in Norfolk?" "Yeah, we played that." "Me and my band hit most of the big cities." "We did two weeks in Chicago." "Where are you boys headed now?" "The big time." "Yeah, well, this tour here will end up in Nashville." "We're gonna do some music at the Grand Ole Opry." " Grand Ole Opry!" " Yeah." "Hey, little darling, don't let me stop you." "Come on, let's get on with it." "Yeah!" "Hey, hey!" "Come on!" "There's a place up in the mountains" "Where I go to be alone" "Pretty interesting little lady." "Oh, she's, she's real interesting." "You bet." "You here, my darling" "To share my love with you alone" "Yeah!" "Come on, come on." "Sit down here with us." "Come on, you sit down here with us." "Come on." "Lou, go get her." "Go get her down here." "Come on, you two." "Come on." "Come on." "Here, let me help you off the stage." "Sit right down there." "Vanessa, I want you to meet the famous Country Joe Martin." "Right there." "How do you do?" "Nice to meet you, little girl." "This is Jason." " Nice to meet you, Jason." " Pleasure to meet you." "And that's his manager, there." "Mr..." "Lou Rhymer." "Glad to meet you." "You're real cute." " You're good, kid." " Nice to meet you." "Right, right." "Did I hear you say you were going on tour?" "We received a warm reception everywhere we went." "Just played Richmond." "Had a sell-out crowd." "Sure did, sure did." " Country Joe." " Yeah, yeah." "Oh, wow." "Jason Walton, I feel like I'm living in a dream world." "Oh." "Wasn't tonight the most exciting night of your whole entire life?" "No." "An afternoon not too long ago in our spot was the most exciting day of my life." "Oh, Jason, you're so sweet, but I didn't mean that." "Wasn't I just terrific on Vanessa's Song?" "Oh, Lord, I love that song." "You were terrific." "I just knew I was gonna be." "I just had this feeling it was gonna come out right." "And Joe seemed to like it." "I'm sure he did." "You really think so?" "Maybe he was just being generous." "No, I think he really like it." "Oh, he did, he did." "I just know he did." "Oh." "Well, I'll see you tomorrow." "The usual time to work on our music." "Right." "Usual time." "Good night, Jason." "Good night." "Come on, we've got grass right over here." "There you go." "Here you go." "Here you go." "Do you wish you ate grass, honey?" "I was kind of wondering, do you think Myrtle ever gets lonesome because she doesn't have another goat with her?" "I don't know." "I never heard of a lonesome goat." "Maybe, it's better that she doesn't have a husband." "That way they'll never have to be separated." "You know, I practically taught John-Boy how to write." "He teach you how to shoot pool?" "Well, he was just a little shaver," "I used to sit around the kitchen table and show him how to make his letters before he even knew how to say the words." " It's your shot, Zeb." " I know that." "Do you know if John-Boy's gonna be one of them fiction writers?" "Selling make-up stories and stuff?" "That's right." "Looks to me like he's got the right teacher." "He got you there, Zeb." "John-Boy is writing an autobiography which means it is bound to be the truth." "Your shot, Zeb." "Yes, I know that." "I'm playing." "Quiet, will you?" "Are you sure?" "Why, I am simply appalled." "You just buy the paper tomorrow morning and you'll find out." "Don't be such a cheapskate." "Fanny, I can't talk now." "I'm gonna have to call you back." "John-Boy always did have a good head on his shoulders." "Still your shot, Zeb." "I know it's..." "In those days, John-Boy would sit around and listen to my stories." "Nowadays, all I get is someone trying to interfere with my game." "Excuse me." "Uh, Fanny Tatum gave me a very interesting piece of information regarding Curt's younger sister, Vanessa, and your Jason." "Uh, now, it's my shot." " Morning, Jason." " Morning." "Vanessa inside?" "She's not here right now." "Oh." "We were supposed to practice our music this morning." "I reckon I'll just wait." "How come you're not in school?" "Well, this is more important." "Well, I'm gonna be my usual blunt self, Jason." "And..." "I'm gonna risk hurting somebody I think a whole lot of." "I know my sister, and I think you ought to know what you're taking on." "Well, I know her, too." "You have to understand what she's been through." "Don't get me wrong, Jason." "I love my sister." "I love her for all the wonderful things she is, but you have to remember with Taylor and Vanessa, all we've heard is her side of it." "That's all I have to hear." "Taylor has a side, too." "Vanessa is not an easy person." "She's..." "She's restless." "And she's full of discontent, she always has been." "But I love her spirit." "The way she wants to make something of her life." "I'm just telling you the way I feel." "If you're telling me not to fall in love with her, you're too late." "See you later, Jason." "The whole world seems to know about Jason and that girl." "Now, Liv." "You know the way Corabeth goes on." "I can't believe how small-minded some people are." "Honey, it's not like you to pay attention to what other people are saying." "I guess I can understand why they feel the way they do." "And what's bothering me is I feel about the same." "Jason!" "Thanks for the ride, sugar." "Vanessa." "What are you doing here, Jason?" "You were over an hour late." "I missed school to come see you." "Well, I had to go into town to pick up some things for Curt and Mary Ellen." "They've been so nice to me." "The least I could do was carry my weight by helping out." "You could have gotten the things at Ike's." "Well, I didn't." "We had an arrangement." "Jason, you don't own me." "I am not your personal property." "I have a good mind, then, not to come back this afternoon to help you with your music." "Well, why don't you just forget about this afternoon, then?" "All right, this afternoon is canceled." "There are other things I can be doing with my time." "Listen, I sure wanna thank you for helping me deliver these papers today." "Old Ben was falling-down tired." "I found myself with a free afternoon." "Might as well put it to good use." "Yeah." "So this is the Grandpa edition?" "That's it." "It starts off real good." "Thank you." "Thank you." "You're a good writer, but you're a rotten driver." "I didn't build the road." "Okay, I tell you what." "Why don't you put a couple dozen in the hotel newsstand and then a couple dozen right up there." "See that stand?" " All right." " I'll meet you around the block." " All right." " Thank you." "Yes, little darling, I remember those lonely nights and roadhouses and bands not being paid." "Tough saloons and going hungry." "I know what you're going through." "It's not gonna be forever." "You don't have to worry about nothing." "Everywhere in this lonely town, your guitar string broken, no money, lonely." "Oh, here it is." ""Grandfather and the Intruders." ""Chapter from a novel." ""He was a solidly built man," ""and you could see by the lines of his face" ""what a handsome figure he must have cut in his youth."" "Boy." ""He prepared to take life at an even pace" ""but he could be aroused" ""when his family or his beloved forest were threatened," ""relying on vast resources" ""of vulpine cunning, which..."" "Vulpine?" "What does that mean?" "Where would John-Boy get a word like that?" "Well, you know how he's always increasing his vocabulary." "Well, here's a dictionary." "I'll just look it up." "M, V, V, V-O, V-O." "Vul..." "Vulpine!" ""Of a fox." ""Crafty." ""Machiavellian."" " Machiavellian?" " Oh, I know what that means." "What does it mean?" "Well, to be sort of..." "Well, I have heard of it." "M-A..." "M-A..." ""Machiavellian."" ""Double-dealing." ""Duplicitous."" "Duplic..." "D..." "D-O..." "D-U..." "D-U..." "Duplic... "Duplicitous." ""Double-dealing, conniving," ""deceitful."" "Well, I don't have to look that one up." "John-Boy is calling me a liar." "Right here in print." "To the whole world." "To Ep Bridges, Corabeth, to Ike, to the Baldwin sisters, to Zack." "Fordwicks." "Esther." "Grandpa." "Grandpa, John-Boy would never do a thing like that." "He has." "And in print." "Jason." "You got troubles, have you, son?" "Yeah." "I guess I expected it." "Your mother and me have been kind of worried about you, she being a married woman and all." "The fact that she was married had nothing to do with it." "I think maybe it does, son." "You figure she's on the run." "Maybe something you should have known." "She's bound and determined to get someplace." "We had something, very real and special between us." "Jason, remember the time you were a little fellow, you found a mallard duck down by the pond?" "You fed it and tamed it, you thought she was yours?" "And, one day, that flock of ducks came over, and she flew away." "Well, it's as natural for her to fly away as for you to want her to stay." "Daddy, I love Vanessa." "I know, son." "I have never been so insulted in my entire life." "Insulted." "What do you mean, insulted?" "To have my own grandson call me a liar, but more than that, to do it in public print." " I am deeply..." " What a minute." "I never called you a liar." " Oh, yes, you did." " I most certainly did not." " It says so right here in the paper." " Where?" " Right here." " Where did I call you a liar?" " You call me a vulpine." " Vulpine." ""The cunning of a vulpine."" "Where did you ever get the idea that I was underhanded and deceitful?" " It doesn't mean that." " Oh, yes it does." "It says so right here..." "All right, in one sense, it means that, yeah." " But that's not the way I meant it..." " In the dictionary." " I meant it in a different sense entirely." " Scheming and lying..." "There's another word for it, Grandpa." "Smart." "Smart." "Did you read the story?" " No, I quit." " All right." "I did not want to be insulted any further." "All right." "Volpus in Latin means fox," " all right?" " Yeah." "Vulpine means foxy." "I mean, I admit it, it can mean deceitful, yes." "But it implies intelligence." "Very definitely, intelligence." "Don't sound like the same thing to me." "Do you remember the time that that rival lumber company started cutting timber up on the mountain?" "And we got into a race with them to see who could finish that contract first?" "And you fooled them." "You remember that?" "You fooled them into taking their lumber downstream." "Yes, I got them stuck on a raft." "We sure outfoxed them." "Yes." "You outfoxed them." "Vulpine." "Foxy." "But you outfoxed them, not by lying to them, but by tricking them up with their own greed." "Now, Grandpa, you have a quality that we all admire." "Everyone around here admires it." "I do as well as everyone else." "You have a quality of natural shrewdness." "Cunning." "Natural intelligence." "That's all right." "If I've offended you, I'm terribly sorry." "The last thing in the world I intended to do was offend you." "And if you'd like to, you just say the word, and I will strike that phrase from the novel, if and when it ever gets published." "Now..." "Now, John-Boy, the way you put it sounds pretty good." "Vulpine." "Foxy." "Foxy." "No, I don't think I'd have you change a word of it, John-Boy." "Good." "If you need any help with the bed, just give me a call." "Now when elevator boy" "Gets to close the door" "And you go tumbling down the shaft" "About 27 floors" "When you reach the bottom" "And you're lying there inert" "Some fool is sure to ask you" "Buddy, are you hurt?" "Foolish questions" "Your answer is I know" "No, I was in a hurry" "The elevator's too darn slow" "Foolish questions" "Jason?" "What is there to say?" "Foolish questions..." "Jason, won't you talk to me?" "I apologize about this morning." "I was being cranky, I guess." "I saw you today." "Going into that hotel." "Oh." "Oh, I'm sorry." "So am I." "Oh, Jason, I didn't mean to hurt you." "I'm sorry." "Oh, I'm sorry we even ever met, now." "Well, let's just say, we didn't." "Well, if that's the way you want it." "Oh, I wish you would understand." "I have to do what I'm doing." "I came here to say goodbye." "I'm going to Nashville." "I'm gonna be singing with Joe Martin's band." "I get it." "Now, it's not that simple." "I love you, Jason Walton, and I still do." "I think you're the finest, kindest person I've ever met." "And I hate what I'm doing, but I can't help myself." "'Cause..." "'Cause I'm so frightened about getting somewhere." "Or not doing something with my life." "If I didn't, I'd just suffocate." "And the thought of that suffocating life just terrifies me." "Your life would terrify me." "Well, I'm not saying it's great." "It's just what I have to do." "Jason." "If you really love me, can't you accept me as I am?" "Can't you even try?" "Not right now." "I wouldn't ask you to wish me good luck." "Good luck." "At 20, it's hard to believe that time heals most pain." "Even that of a badly wounded heart." "But time did work its wonders, and as each day passed, the hurt in Jason's eyes showed less and less." "Until finally it wasn't there at all." " Good night, Mama." " Good night, Elizabeth." "Night, Erin." "Erin asleep already?" "No, I was just thinking." " About what?" " Jason." "About what a fool he is." "All right, that's enough." "Now, go to sleep." "I guess I have to admit, I was kind of naive." "I'll have to teach you how to be more vulpine." "Come on, everybody." "Let's go to sleep." "English"