"(eerie music playing)" "(theme from the twilight zoneplays)" "(heartbeat)" "(piano playing dramatic piece)" "(music stops abruptly)" "bravo." "who the hell are you, and how did you get in here?" "my friends call me the prince." "fine song you're playing." "just what the second act needed." "too bad you're not going to be able to finish it." "oh, yeah?" "who says so?" "in that condition, i doubt it." "well, i've looked better." "heart attack, second and final." "couldn't it wait?" "we've got an opening in two weeks." "the second act needs three new songs and god gives me this for aggravation?" "we'll spare you that, mr. bluestone." "when your body's found there will be some rather tacky grand guignolwith the mortuary people-- a rubber bag and your ex-wife crying buckets into a handkerchief." "oh, yeah, fat chance." "she buys them at bergdorf's-- belgian lace." "for me, she'll use a kleenex." "maybe for the reading of the will, she'll bring out a handkerchief." "story of my life." "yes, isn't it?" "hard that a man renowned for his romantic soul has had so many bad marriages to his discredit." "what, suddenly we have a barbara walters special here?" "prince of darkness?" "you're not here to schlepp me down to... oh, no, not that." "we're known familiarly as "topside"" "and "below decks," mr. bluestone." "we adore your music below decks." "so before the final disposition of your case is made, i'm here to offer you a small gift in the hopes that you might consider visiting us down below now and then." "what kind of gift?" "oh,carte blanche, mr. bluestone." "carte blanche." "the past, present, or the future-- to do with as you will." "strings attached, right?" "not even a thread." "anywhere?" "anyplace?" "anytime?" "anywhere, mr. bluestone." "all of time and space... are at your call." "so think it over." "choose wisely." "i want to make it with mary ellen cosgrove." "that's it?" "you have the entire universe at your command and all you wish is to make it with mary ellen cosgrove." "i've missed a lot of things in my life and mary ellen was the first." "mary ellen was... i know." "wheat-colored blonde hair, thick and shining in a long pageboy, good legs, sorority pin bobbing provocatively on her tight sweater." "married a jock named bob balling-- currently intoest,vodka, and vague malaise about what she imperfectly recalls as her "golden years."" "not mary ellen now... but then." "october, 1948." "it was the beginning of our senior year." "there was a party at her house, and i kissed her... for the first and the last time." "mortals." "it's always the same, isn't it?" "well, mr. bluestone, may you and your hormones be very happy together." "cheers!" "(music and party noises)" "(doorbell rings) oh, it's you." "mary ellen!" "who else would it be?" "honestly, binky." "don't just stand there like a lump." "come in." "(coughs)" "blausty!" "good, the entertainment's here." "nelson, nelson baxley." "very good, blaustein." "cognitive association." "after this, we'll try your hand at long division." "so here we are, blaustein-- senior year." "kind of makes you wonder what the future will hold for us, doesn't it?" "for you, nelson, korea." "bronze star, purple heart, lacerated groin." "later, television production." "bad marriage, two emmys, one duodenal ulcer." "see you around." "big night, blaustein." "hey, miller's folks are out of town, and i got some grade-a hooch-- bourbon, blaustein, bourbon." "meet me in the kitchen." "if you got a note from your mother, i might put some in your coke." "unless aspirin's more your speed." "see you later." "hey, binky." "laura!" "skip the bourbon, it's grade c." "try the scotch." "it's hidden under the sink." "uh, sure, but how did... prince?" "you know, this all seems pretty kinky." "doesn't it bother laura having you "in residence"?" "no, it's all rather split screen." "on her side, she's drooling over that varsity jock in the blue sweater." "and how's your mary ellen?" "i don't know." "i seem to remember her as being a lot more polished somehow." "i mean, even her body, which i seem to recall as being a cross between betty grable and wonder woman." "it seems sort of unformed." "she's just a kid." "no." "really?" "no wild, passionate tryst, then?" "no, i'd feel like a child molester." "prince:" "someone you know?" "bluestone:" "sort of." "teresa golowitz, i think." "mary ellen used to always have a few plain girls at these things to make herself look good." "i guess tonight's teresa's turn." "she's a friend of yours, then?" "no." "i... uh... i always avoided her." "poor kid." "she always wore the wrong clothes, said the wrong things." "she was everything i was trying to escape, everything i didn't want to be, you understand?" "did it ever occur to you that maybe she wanted to escape just as much as you did?" "no, i guess not." "you're big on futures, prince." "what happened to her?" "prince:" "don't you remember?" "bluestone:" "ten to one she married a dentist from larchmont, am i right?" "she committed suicide." "oh, my god!" "(partygoers speaking indistinctly) now i remember." "it was the big scandal at school for a day or two." "when?" "tonight." "she took the bus back to town, reflecting on all of the grief and loneliness of her past 16 years... and on the fact that no one here even said hello to her-- not even blaustein." "she got off the bus, multiplying this night by so many others and so many more to come." "and when the next bus came, behind schedule and traveling too fast... she stepped in front of it." "excuse me." "laura has to go to the little girls' room." "(partygoers laughing)" "teresa, how's it going?" "since when do you care, blaustein?" "since now." "you and me, we got a lot in common." "you sing in the school choir, don't you?" "a little." "so, who's your, uh...?" "blaustein, make yourself useful." "tickle the old keys for us." "not now, bob." "maybe later." "okay, okay, so you're not the world's greatest pianist." "but right now, you're all we've got." "play, blaustein, play." "what will it be?" "you're a big show-tune man, blaustein." "how about something from broadway?" "(partygoers laughing)" "(plays romantic flourishes)" "binky's been practicing." "(partygoers murmuring)" "(tentatively):" "?" "i like new york in june ?" "(brassy voice joins in):" "?" "how about you?" "?" "(singing solo):" "?" "i like a gershwin tune ?" "?" "how about you?" "?" "?" "i love a fireside ?" "?" "when a storm is due ?" "?" "i like potato chips ?" "?" "moonlight and motor trips ?" "?" "how about you?" "?" "?" "i'm mad about good books ?" "?" "can't get my fill ?" "?" "and franklin roosevelt's looks ?" "?" "give me a thrill ?" "?" "holding hands in a movie show ?" "?" "when all the lights are low ?" "?" "may not be new ?" "?" "but i like it ?" "?" "how about you?" "?" "(murmurs of approval)" "terri, you're beautiful." "look at old blaustein, the wolf." "it's a love match." "(echoing):" "of course she was beautiful... it was her requiem." "i've got to go." "i've got a bus to catch." "i know people in new york." "i'll call them about you." "new york?" "who are you kidding, blaustein?" "you don't know from new york." "maybe not yet." "but i know music, and i know, and i know talent and i know that you've got more to give in 32 bars than most people give in a lifetime." "yeah, sure." "one night, one party, a few songs, and suddenly i'm somebody?" "just come over here with me." "get in." "slide over." "okay." "all right, listen." "for 16 years, nobody looks at me twice." "nobody even knows i'm there." "and now, just 'cause i sing, just 'cause somebody thinks maybe i got some talent, suddenly i'm worth noticing?" "is that how it works?" "yes, that is how it works." "i mean, i-it's like me." "nobody paid any attention to me until they found out that i could play the piano." "and that's fair?" "yeah, it's fair." "i mean... your singing and my music-- it is a part of us." "and if you keep that part of you hidden-- the best part-- can you really blame anyone else for not noticing you?" "look..." "let me meet you tomorrow." "let me work with you." "let me make it all real for you." "please?" "blaustein, don't ask." "i want you to promise me." "why?" "you want to be loved, golowitz?" "so does the world." "they'll knock your damn door down, but it takes time and paying your dues and maybe even a little trust." "so..." "let me see you tomorrow." "and we'll work." "okay?" "blaustein, you're such a noodge." "i-i've got to go." "good night." "let her go, mr. bluestone." "you've done all you could." "now... a little trust." "believe it or not, i have a few million things to do tonight." "so... have we reached a decision?" "do you... perform the act with miss cosgrove, or don't you?" "(partygoers laughing in distance) mary ellen:" "how many times do i have to tell you?" "damn it, bob, i said stop!" "for god's sake, what's the matter now?" "on-off, on-off." "you're a real tease, you know that?" "you don't have to be so crude about it." "hey, bobby boy?" "why don't you try a little conversation first?" "(chuckles) blaustein, look, just get out of here!" "he's right." "just go home!" "you're just a sex fiend." "(chuckles) all right, but i won't be back." "bet?" "(to herself):" "geez." "what a jerk." "i don't care if he ever comes back here again." "i wouldn't see him if he was the last boy on this earth." "he is, for you." "what?" "oh, i was just saying you should take it one day at a time, mellie." "much easier that way." "binky, are you my really, really, truly close friend?" "i guess i am." "you're nice, bink." "just sometimes you're a jerk." "thanks, mellie." "it was a swell party." "hey, blaustein." "terri, you're still here." "terri, i thought... i thought you'd left." "oh, i felt so good i figured... one for the road." "i missed my bus." "but laura schoop's gonna give me a lift home." "but you didn't go. you... don't change the subject." "the big question is... what time tomorrow?" "i'll find you." "believe me, i'll find you." "(piano music playing) uh... that's my cue." "tomorrow, terri." "hey, terri?" "terri, come on back." "tomorrow." "come on in!" "come on!" "prince:" "three husbands... four children... three grandchildren... six million-dollar albums." "all this from a girl who was supposed to be a statistic at 16." "not bad, eh, mr. bluestone?" "you knew." "you knew all along." "you took me back so i could keep that girl... i took you back to what you chose to do." "it was your decision, mr. bluestone." "i only provided the transportation." "oh, yeah?" "well, what's in it for you?" "i'm an artist, like yourself." "a sculptor of possibilities." "mozart dies of fever in his 30s." "gershwin, before he's 40." "but to lose a terri golowitz, at 16... no." "the world is threadbare enough." "(symphony intro)" "?" "you and i are the best of friends ?" "?" "with a love that soars through space and time ?" "and what about me?" "?" "you and i... ?" "am i ready to go topside?" "no, no, no, no." "not yet, i'm afraid." "the administration topside has never quite understood the concept of creative history." "and the way we played mary hob with the grand scheme... (chuckles) i don't think you'd be very welcome just now." "you've got a...!" "you wanted me and my music below deck the whole time." "that is a bonus for us, of course." "but only temporary, i assure you." "until my, uh, celestial brother cools off, as it were." "dead one day, and already i need a lawyer." "we'll hide you out in one of those outer celestials." "some say it's rather like, uh, queens." "(sighs) well, just how long do i have to lay low before i get to go topside?" "oh, just a couple of years." "just long enough for them to... just long enough for them to adjust their records." "unless you want me to put things back the way they were?" "no. no. no." "i mean, how bad can it be?" "i've been to queens." "that's the spirit. yes." "we actually have quite an art colony down there." "you'll enjoy it." "wilkes booth keeps saying how he'd like to do a musical." "yeah?" "oh, yeah." "(chatting) terri:" "?" "you and i are the best of friends ?" "?" "with a love that soars through space and time... ?" "?" "you and i... ?"