"Oh, God." "Mr. Morrison, you are here because you are in contempt of court." "The Building Commission has documented repeated efforts to give you an opportunity to bring your house to code." "There are 26 violations against the structure and they're requesting that your house be bulldozed." "It has also come to my attention that you have violated a court order expressly prohibiting building on the site until those matters have been resolved." "Do you understand the gravity of these charges?" "That you could go to jail?" "Yes, I do." "Are you a baseball fan, Your Honour?" "Excuse me?" "When I was 11 my father took me to Boston to see a game." "It was a doubleheader between the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees." "Dad pulled a baseball out of his pocket and he said to me," ""You go down there to that dugout and get Babe Ruth to sign that ball. "" "I'm going to tell you right out of the bush I was scared to death." "Anyhow, so down I go." "Babe Ruth said to me, "Why sure, Sonny, I'll sign your ball. "" "Then, at the other end of the dugout," "Lou Gehrig was looking at some bats." "He signed her, too." "Well, sir, that ball is famous even today." "Lelands wanted to put it in their auction down in New York." "They wrote about me and that ball in the St. John paper." "I still have the article." "Who's Babe Ruth, Grampy?" "Just the greatest sportsman that ever lived." "Hey, how old are you, anyway?" "Nine." "You mean to tell me you're nine years old and no one's told you who Babe Ruth is yet?" "No." "How old are you?" "Eighty-seven." "Do you know who Drake is?" "Who?" "Then we're even." "The little bugger reminds me of his father." "He reminds me of someone else I know." "Doesn't seem like a day for a funeral, does it?" "No." "Then again, I don't imagine too many days do." "Do you think much about dying?" "Probably not as much as I should." "When I was young, I looked at old people and thought, "If you live long enough, you probably had time to figure out dying. "" "But I'm no closer now to the great mystery than when I was ten." "See that as a problem, do you?" "We'll find out soon enough." "Speak for yourself." "I plan on beating the odds." "Shall we bow in a moment of prayer together?" "The TSX hit a record again yesterday reaching 14,660 and shattering last year's high of 14,625." "That represents a..." "Good morning, ladies." "Oh..." "We should have put the beds in these years ago." "Your oldest daughter thinks we look like trailer trash." "It's installation art." "Do you see the cows?" "Yes, dear, I see the cows." "I wonder who they belong to." "They're ours." "You know that." "Ho!" "Ho!" "Come on now, come on." "Ha!" "Ha!" " Hey, Dad." " Ruthie." "How'd the checkup go?" "Clean bill of health for both of us." " Really?" " Mm..." "Doctor didn't say anything about her memory?" "I forgot to ask him." "You're kidding, right?" "No, really, I forgot." "Maybe I should be asking about my memory." "Huh..." " Where's Mom?" " She's out in the truck." "She didn't want to come in?" "No, she was content to stay put." "Maybe we should buy our milk at the store." "How's Ruth?" " Hey, Dad." " John." "Need anything in Sussex?" "I'm going over to pick up some fencing." "Not right now." "I heard about the cows." "Everybody's heard about the cows." "Well, I'm done with them." "What, really?" "Unless, of course, if you want them." "Well, you know, with the beef market the way it is, it's not really a hobby I can afford, so..." "Fair enough." "Really?" "Now?" "How many miles you got on them tires, Craig?" "You know, this is what happens when you're too cheap to buy new ones." "I heard the boys bought themselves a new tractor." "Sure surprised they gave the old man the keys, though." "No wonder those cows escaped." "I would have replaced some of those fence posts years ago." "How's that strawberry crop of yours doing there, Chester?" "Oh, goddamn global warming." "I haven't seen a spring with this much rain ever." "That's funny, I got more berries than I can handle." "So you know anybody who's looking for work picking... you send them my way." "Well, aren't you a smug bastard." "What if I was ten minutes later?" "Goodness, Craig, what did you do to our kitchen?" "I didn't do anything to the kitchen." "You left an oven mitt on the stove." "Oh, don't be ridiculous." " I didn't." " Yes, you did!" "Well... we've been talking about it." "Who's "we"?" "Well, your first mistake was having seven children, so..." "She has her good days and her bad days, that's all." "She's fine." "Do you smell smoke?" "I was burning some brush out back today." "Some of it must have blown into the house." "I want to see you." " It's been a while." " Has it?" "Take off your clothes, old man." "I'm sorry." "What for?" "Nothing." "I'm just sorry." "It never gets old, does it?" "No, it doesn't." "We always did the passion part well." "Remember that hotel in St. John... when we were first married?" "Remember the drive to St. John before the hotel?" "Jeez, you always seemed so prim and proper." "I was... until I met you." "Who would have guessed it?" " Oh, strawberries are A-1 this year, boss." " Yes, they are, Gus." "We'll take off another load this afternoon once it cools down." "Roger that." "Mr. Morrison, didn't expect to see you again this year." "Oh?" "Why's that?" " Didn't you get my letter?" " Hmm..." "Not that I recall, no." "We sent it back in February on account of new regulations." "We only buy from growers who ship their products in refrigerated trucks." "These were on the plants not two hours ago." "There's no heat of the day in them at all." "Well, it's a head-office decision." " Any wiggle room on this?" " Afraid not." "Well, that just means I'm shit out of luck." "I can't afford a refrigerated truck for less than an acre." "Yeah, I know." "I'm sorry, I wish there was something I could do about it." "Yeah." "Me too." "It seems like there's some kind of regulation for everything nowadays." "Never understood why you can't just double the recipe." " We could make a whole lot more." " It doesn't work that way." "No." "Old wives' tale." " Craig..." " Hm?" "Just because you have a field of strawberries," "I'm not going to make 10,000 jars of jam." "Give them away." "Goddammit." "Here we go." "This reminds me of my milk delivering days." "Back before I knew you, I had a horse and a wagon." "Took over the route from old man Lefebvre." "I know." "The water in the toilet froze last night." "My bet is it's going to freeze again tonight." "We've already been through three cords of wood this winter." "Barely keeping this place warm." "Truth is, may not be much longer before this place doesn't work for us anymore." "The view's not all that great either." " You sound like Ruth." " Oh?" "No, I'm not moving into town." "And you'll have to shoot me before you find me in a retirement home." "The only view there is of the slow shuffle into the ground." "That's not what I meant." "I was thinking of building us something smaller, more manageable, on that plot of ours across the road." "One level." "We don't have the money." " This place isn't worth a thing." " Mm." "And we're not taking a mortgage." "If I did the work myself, we could afford it." "With the strawberries and the cattle gone," "I seem to have a lot more free time." "Promise me one thing." "Mm-hmm." "We won't move until we have to." "Fair enough." "Dad!" "Well, it looks like you got another project in mind." "Are you the official spokesman for all your brothers and sisters, or just here by yourself?" "A bit of both." "Well, that's nice." "No, we just felt awful if it wasn't mentioned that you could get someone else to build it for you." "No." "Don't have the money." "Dad, you're sitting on 2,000 acres." " Sell off a piece." " You know as well as I do, if you're going to live here you need a big land base." "Big land base, yeah." "Besides, nothing's stopping me from doing the work." "Except that you're in your eighties." "Well, Son, way I look at it, age is just an abstraction, not a straightjacket." "The truth is..." "I'm sort of looking forward to it." "I haven't had a big project like this in quite a while." "Fair enough." "Is there anything any of us can do to help here?" "Sure." "Need a bit of work with the backhoe" " if you've got the time." " Yeah, no problem." "Um..." "Can you at least promise me that you'll be careful?" "What?" "You know, if you... cut your hand off with the circular saw in a fit of geriatric stupidity, my sisters, my wife, they're not going to let me forget about that, so, uh..." "Wow!" "Must be tough waking up every morning afraid of tripping over your own shadow." "Aw..." "So the living room will go right here." "Don't want to make it too big." "I figure if the house faces in this direction, that should give us the best view." "I bet on a clear day you can see half the county." "Irene?" "What do you think?" "What are we doing, Craig?" "Irene, we've been over this before." "We won't move in until we're ready." "That's a promise, okay?" "Okay." "Thank you." "So it's true." "You know, I didn't believe it when I heard it." "I figured they'd have to carry you out of here in a pine box before you'd spend money on a new house." "Who you getting to build it?" "Chester, why do you ask questions you already know the answer to?" " You got a permit?" " A permit?" "Why would I need a permit?" "This is my land." "Ever since they did the Royal Commission two years ago, you got to have an official stamp if you want to take a crap." "Trust me." "You definitely need a permit." "Yep." "It just seems funny to me that I should have to pay $400 to build the house on a piece of property I already own and pay taxes on." "Yeah, we get that quite a bit." "It's an administrative fee." "As you're building the house, we come out and check on you and make sure it complies to code." "Well, I suppose someone needs a job, but it's completely unnecessary." "In case you haven't noticed, there are a lot of houses in Saint Martins that are well over 200 years old." "They're still standing." " Where was your code then?" " Yes sir." " I think you're missing the point, but yeah." " I sure am." "But if that's the way it's going to go," "I guess I'll just have to hand over the $400." " There you go." " Thanks." "And I'll just need to see your plans." "Plans for what?" "For the house." "I don't have any plans." "Well, how are you going to build a house without any plans?" "The way I've been doing it all my life." "I know what I want." "Well, how do you know?" "Because it's in my head, that's how." "Well, that doesn't solve our problem." "We need stamped blueprints." "But..." "I'm not an architect." "I don't know how to draw out plans." "This is just going to cost me a whole lot more money." "Sir, we have to have them." "Well... okay, I'll see what I can do." " We'd appreciate that." " Hmm..." "Hmm." "You have yourself a nice day." " You too." " Hmm." " Jeffrey?" " Yeah." " I'm going to put a big window right here." " Yeah." "And, um, there'll be another one against that wall." "And one or two more small ones along the back." "All right." "You don't happen to have the dimensions of any of these windows, do you, Gramp?" " Not for the big one, no." " No?" "I'm not sure whether I'm going to go with a bay or not." "I suppose I could commit to where they're going right now," " I mean, if we really need to." " Yeah, we really do." "Uh, any idea about doors?" "Yep." "We're going to have some of those too." "There's decency to be considered." "Yeah, that's hilarious, Gramp." "Two of them are already built." "I'll have the measurements for you in the morning." "You do realize I'm an engineer, not an architect, right?" "Oh, come on, Jeffrey." "How hard could it be?" "Okay." " Jeffrey?" " Yeah?" "I really appreciate the help." "I know how busy you are." "Gramp, you gave me the land for my house." "In comparison, this is no big deal." "The pitch is delivered and..." "Aw, jeez, they stink." "Yeah, they need a new manager." "It's not a management problem, it's a hitting problem." "Oh well, there's always next year." "We're just into May." "The season has barely begun." "Why would you say that?" " Where are you going?" " Upstairs to bed." " We start on the foundation tomorrow." " What foundation?" "For the house, Irene." "Goddammit." "You're absolutely certain you want to do this, old man?" "I sure am." "Say, how's that chest cold of yours?" "Sure you don't need me to work the backhoe?" "Walking pneumonia, Dad." "Where I come from, if you can walk, it's not pneumonia." "If the rest of us could rely on strength of character instead of universal healthcare, the world would be a better place." "So now, how do you want to do this?" "I think we should just start in the east, work our way back." "Well, sounds like a plan." "All right then." "Here we go." "'Morning, Grampy." "Well, 'morning there, Gavin." "Aren't you supposed to be in school?" "Summer vacation." "Oh." "Oh, right." "So, uh, what are your plans for today?" " Don't have any." " Ah." "I hear you're pretty handy with numbers." "I guess so." "Well, I could use a good man with a tape measure," " if you think you're up to it." " It depends." "On what?" "Is this a paying job?" " Depends." " On what?" "If you're any good or not." " You sure this is the right length?" " I'm sure." "Good." "That's what I like." "A man with the confidence to measure once and stick with it, regardless." "Everything all right?" "Just a little sore, that's all." "Oh!" " Dad, are you all right?" " Oh, yeah, I'm fine." "Should have braced it better." "Why don't you let me call Darryl?" " He can come and he can help you." " No." "I can manage." "Your husband has enough to keep him busy on the farm." "He doesn't need to be out here with me." " Farm's not going anywhere." " Well, that makes two of us." "All of us working together, we could finish this in two or three weeks." "What?" "I'm enjoying myself." "I wasn't sure when I started I still had it in me." "But I don't need this to be finished in two or three weeks." "And more importantly, neither does your mother." "Oh, damn it!" "Don't you ever get bad cards?" "Well played, Irene." "Come on, she got lucky, again." "Have you seen that place they're putting up on 17?" "At first I thought it was a hotel, but I hear it's just for one family." "Well, how many kids do they have?" "Oh hell, if that damn place were an orphanage, they still wouldn't know what to do with all that room." "Who's for another hand, hmm?" " Yeah." " Last one." " Yeah." " Yeah, yeah." "I suppose it's too much to hope you're here on a social visit." "I don't tend to do much socializing in St. Martins." "Now, why doesn't that surprise me?" "I suspect you saw that Stop Work order I left here yesterday." "Oh yeah." "I thought that was your handiwork." "Did you understand it?" "Yeah, seemed pretty straightforward to me." "Then why are you still building without a set of approved plans?" "Uh... well, that's the thing." "See, the plans aren't quite ready yet." "And, well, the weather is just about perfect." "Jeffrey - that's my grandson - he's been kind of buried over at the refinery." "One of the distilleries went down." "Otherwise, he'd have had them done by now." "But you weren't supposed to start in the first place." "I thought that was very clear." "Well, you said you needed plans." "You didn't say anything about not starting to build before you had them." "Well, if that were the case, what would be the point of them?" "Now you're talking." "Those are my sentiments exactly." "Mr. Morrison, no matter what you may think, no matter what you may believe, a building permit is not optional." "And just so you and I are perfectly clear, that Stop Work order," " that's a legally binding document." " Yeah, yeah." "Ignore it at your peril." ""This notice shall not be removed. "" "Well?" "Well, you want me to tell you what you want to hear or what I think you should do?" "When did we become a country of bureaucrats?" "Look, save yourself the trouble." "It's not worth it." "Just don't build until Jeff finishes the plans." " The whole thing will blow over." " You know they're asking me to pay another $300 just to get the damn things approved." "I imagine you won't go bankrupt." "Open up your wallet, welcome the moths to the 21 st century." "Well, okay." "If you're telling me that's the way the world works, I'll do it." "But I still feel I'm being asked to pay for other people's mistakes." "You better put this back up." "Craig!" "Irene?" "What's wrong?" "Where were you?" "I called you, but you didn't answer." "I didn't know where you'd gone." "Easy, easy." "I told you I was in the shop." " How could I have forgotten that?" " I'm sorry." "I wasn't gone that long." "Don't do that again." "Okay." "Okay." "Well, you better be careful up there." "You know, it's my feeling that a man over 70 should never be up on a ladder in the first place." "It's tempting fate." "Chester, don't you have someplace else you're supposed to be?" "Aw, looks like you got company." "Oh, Jesus, what now?" "Just stay out of it." "Mr. Daigle." "I thought you and I were square." "We were... until I did the framing inspection." "It says here that the wood I'm using to frame my house is not stamped?" "As noted in my report, there are a number of building code violations." "Most of them can be fixed, but I'm not sure how you're going to remedy the fact that none of your wood was stamped by a certified inspector." "And your joists and trusses were not engineer-approved." "I realize you're probably a very busy man, Mr. Daigle." "Would you mind humouring me for a moment?" "In order to qualify for your job, did you have to have any kind of expertise in lumber?" "Or at least a working knowledge of the subject?" " Yes, of course." " Well then, in that case, huh... forgive me for stating the obvious to a man of your training, but I'd hate to think there was any kind of misunderstanding." "All of the wood in this house is old-growth spruce... that's been air-dried for at least two years." "I'd also like to point out that there's not a single stud or sill plate that's warped or twisted." "Go ahead, see for yourself." "I believe you, I looked at them myself..." "Okay, okay, so then we have no argument there, then?" "Now as for the floor joists and the roof trusses..." "I built them the way my father taught me to build them." "Do you have any idea what he did for a living?" " No, I don't." " He was a shipwright." "St. Martins was the third largest shipbuilding centre on the Eastern Seaboard at that time." "Over 500 sailing vessels came out of those yards." "So, like most of the men who worked around here, he knew a thing or two about joinery." "I'm sure he did." "But that's not the point, sir." "Well, then, what exactly is the point, sir?" "To maintain safety standards, we need to have wood that is stamped." "And I'm sorry, but you are not an exception." "Have you not listened to a word I said?" "!" "Look around!" "Take all the time you need to evaluate my work, and then you tell me whether or not I'm building a sound house!" "I paid $400 for your permit," "I went to the trouble of having plans drawn up, and now you're telling me that my material is sub-standard?" "!" "Ha!" "I may not be the most sophisticated man in the world, Mr. Daigle, but there is one thing I do know, and that's lumber." "Look, I don't have the time or patience to argue with you, because there is zero leeway on this!" "Deal with the violations or I will pull the permit and bulldoze this place." "Is that a threat?" "No." "It's the law." "Not a word." "Irene." "Irene..." "Craig..." "Don't move." "Don't move." "I fell down the stairs." "Yeah, you did." "How are you feeling?" "Not so bad." "Did I break anything?" "No." "What's wrong?" "Nothing." "Are you going to tell me?" "I'm just worried that our luck's beginning to run out." "No, I don't think so." "Oh really?" "How do you figure that?" "By all rights, I should have broken my hip." "It's got to count for something, doesn't it?" "What are you doing?" "Oh..." "Just in case you forget, I put these gates up." "Oh..." "I won't forget." "Of course you won't." "But... just in case." "I don't think it's a good idea for you to be on the stairs right now." "Oh, and the bathroom is outside, just for now." "Where's the bathroom?" "On the porch." "I love you." "My handsome man..." "Where are you going?" "In town, for some groceries." "I'm going to make us dinner tonight." "Did I bump my head or lose my mind?" "You're cooking?" "Well, if you can read, you can cook." "That's what my father always used to say." "Well, it's certainly taken you long enough to test his theory out." "Hey, Dad." " Hi, Ruthie." " Where's Mom?" "She's taking a nap." "Is that the, uh... porta-potty from Linda's wedding?" "Yeah." "It sets the porch off nicely." "It, uh... goes well with the freezers." "Well, that's one of the advantages of growing old." "You don't care so much about keeping up appearances." "Dad, I know what happened." "My friend Jeannie's a nurse at the hospital." "You should have called." "You know, I never did like Jeannie." "As I remember, she was always sticking her nose in other people's business." "Would you have told us?" "No." "Why not?" "!" "Well now, Ruthie, don't take this personally, but I imagine that you and your brothers and your sisters would have come to a different conclusion about what to do next." "Well, it's been obvious for a while now that Mom is getting worse." "You think I'm not aware of that?" " That's why I'm building the house." " But a house isn't going to fix it." "No, but it will make everything a lot more manageable." "I've been looking into some programs that I think would be good for her." "No!" "It's not what your mother would want." "You haven't even heard what I have to say!" "Besides, I'm not so sure she even knows what she wants anymore." "Yes, she does." "Okay, then, if you're good here I'll go up and see Mom." "Bed's been moved to the living room." "'Afternoon, Craig." "Hello, Margaret." "Didn't expect to see you around here today." "Well, I brought you some dinner." "Who died?" "I heard about Irene." " Yeah." " I'm going to say something." "I want you to hear me out." "Whether you like it or not, once a week, I'm going to be dropping off a casserole." "I want my dish back." "Do you understand?" "We're fine, Margaret." "Honestly." "Matter of fact, I made us a stew just last night." "Julia Child must be rolling over in her grave." "You're getting a casserole!" "We don't need it." "Uh-huh." "Just like we didn't need a winter's worth of beef and all the fuel tanks filled up in '73." "I'm pretty sure we'd have lost the farm and ended up in St. John if it weren't for you." "Yeah, and Chester's been mad at me because of it ever since." "That's Chester's problem." "Look, if the roles were reversed," "Irene would do the same and you know it!" "Besides, I never liked you." "It's your wife I'd walk over hot coals for." "Fair enough." "Craig?" "Craig, are you upstairs?" "Um, it's easier for me to keep track of her when I'm out here." "We all do what we have to do." "I'll go in and see her, hmm?" "What if Dad has it under control?" " Are you completely delusional?" " Ruth, Ruth, Ruth, I'm not the enemy here." "Seriously, they're sleeping in the living room and they're shitting on the front porch." "Part of me just wants to go ahead and hire a nurse without even asking." "Yeah, and how long do you think that would last?" "Then talk to him." "Will you just try and make him see" " that it's not working anymore?" " I have." "He's not budging." "Why aren't we allowed to be a part of it?" "She's our mother." "He's her husband." "And what if, in spite of what you or I think, he's making the right decisions?" " He's not." " You can't know that!" "You can't be certain that you or I have a better alternative!" "You know, there is another way of looking at this." "Mm-hmm." "What's that?" "If he was asking us to tuck him in at night, we'd be phoning Brock Reid and telling him to warm up the hearse." "And until then?" "Guess we hope he doesn't give them both food poisoning." "Are you awake?" "I am." "Why is our bed in the living room?" "Because you fell down the stairs last week." "Did I hurt myself?" "No, mm-mm." "Nothing serious." "It's funny, I can't remember it at all." "Well, you bumped your head." "Probably has something to do with it." "Still, I should remember, shouldn't I?" "I wouldn't worry about it." "But I am worried." "So you can't remember a couple of things, so what?" "We're still here." "We have each other." "And isn't everything else a bonus?" "I hope so." "You know what scares me?" "No, what?" "What if I forget everything?" "You'll still be my Irene." "Promise?" "I've never broken a promise to you yet." "But you almost did." "With Bernice... what's-her-name?" "Punchard." "Bernice Punchard." "But my darling heart, she was an extraordinary woman." "How close did you two come?" "You know, jealousy has never been one of your more endearing qualities." " Jealousy has nothing to do with it." " Uh-huh." "I would have left you so fast if I ever caught you with another woman." "So I've been told..." "So I've been told." "Can we go to sleep now?" "I still will." "What?" "Leave you if you cheat on me." "Oh, Jesus." "Okay, okay." "Now let it go." "So whatever happened to..." "lovely Bernice what's-her-name?" "Punchard." "She died 30 years ago." "That's terrible." "Now I feel awful." "So you should." "You're a mean woman." "...and, in fact, Mr. Morrison's done exactly the opposite of what the Commission is suggesting." "He's tried to address every single one of their concerns." "He hired Mr. Folkin, an accredited wood inspector." "Found absolutely no fault with the lumber and stamped it as such on 30 June." "He enlisted Jeff LeBlanc, a certified engineer, to redraw the joists and truss specs." "And Mr. Morrison's already added the reinforcements to comply with the Commission's recommendations." "These are the photos of those improvements." "Additionally, Mr. Raymond Debley - you'll recognize that name, Mr. Daigle - one of the most successful and respected builders in New Brunswick inspected the house on 10 July and those are his findings." "As you'll read, it's quite a glowing report of Mr. Morrison's construction." "Is that all, Mr. Fulton?" "Yeah..." "Except, sorry, uh..." "You know, it's worth remembering that the National Building code is not a set of rules, it's a set of standards." "And it's our belief that Mr. Morrison's not only met those standards, but... in most cases, he's exceeded them." "It is the opinion of the Building Department that Mr. Morrison has still not satisfied the concerns raised by the inspection of his house." "Therefore, until such time that a workable solution to all 26 violations has been accepted, the Stop Work order is still in effect." "Make no mistake, Mr. Morrison, violating a Stop Work order is a serious offence and will force us to take further legal action." "Do you understand?" "Jesus, what a mess." "You ever wonder if their minds are already made up?" "That no matter what we propose, the answer will still be the same?" "Well... they just have to come around, that's all." "Nothing else makes any sense." "I got enough work in the shop what with the doors and the trim and all." "I suppose I could keep going for at least a couple of weeks." "Sure." "Hopefully, by then, the wind will have shifted in our favour." "At 11,542.58, a fourteen-month low." "In the energy sector, crude is down 13%" " from just six weeks ago." " You hear that?" "I sure hope the refinery doesn't shut down." "Jeff's carrying far too much debt for that to happen." "...and the third month in a row that auto sales are below last year's levels all point to the possibility of a double-dip recession triggered largely by the subprime..." "Irene?" "Irene?" "Irene?" "Irene?" "Hey, Dana, did you happen to see Irene out and about today?" " No, I can't say that I have." " Huh..." "I don't think I've seen you smoke in 50 years." "You haven't?" "No." "Where'd you get the cigarettes?" "I don't know." "Isn't that funny?" "I was worried about you." "I went back to the house and you weren't there." "I've been looking for you for hours." "I'm sorry." "Didn't I tell you I was going out for a walk?" "We should come down to the beach more often." "C'est beau." "Yeah, maybe we should." "Craig, look." "Someone's building a new house." "Oh, they picked a nice spot for it." "Oh, they'll have a beautiful view of the bay." "Something I wish we'd have had." "Irene." " Irene." " Mm?" "I'm sorry, honey, I can't let you stay out here." " It's... it's too cold." " My legs hurt." "Come on, come on." " Oh!" " I gotcha." "No." "No." "I'm staying." "I'm staying out here." "Irene, come on." "Those same legs got you into town just fine today." "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "I'm sleeping... right here." "Oh, Jesus, really?" "!" "Now?" "!" "You can't do that and you know it." "Now come on." "Come on, let's go." "Get your damn hands off me!" "Irene, please." "Ow!" "Goddammit!" "That hurt!" "Come on!" "Now, come on!" " Hey!" "Let me go!" " No." "Come on." " Come on." "No." " Let me go!" "No!" "No!" "Oh!" "Every night I would make sure there was nothing on the floor." "I forget once." "She trips over her damn shoe." "Hey, Dad, could have been anything." "I was mad at her." "We had a fight." "She wanted to sleep out on the front lawn, I wouldn't let her." "I dragged her into the house." " I mean, you had to get her inside." " No, I didn't." "Not like that." "You don't... drag someone." "Roses?" "They're from an admirer." "You never bought me roses, never before." "You never broke your hip before." "I broke my hip?" "How?" "Because your husband is a fool." "The surgery went very well." "So when can she come home?" "We'll keep her here for a few more days, then she'll be moved to the rehab wing for four to six weeks of therapy." "Four to six weeks?" "Your son and daughter have told me a bit about your situation." "Mr. Morrison, your wife will require some follow-up therapy." "And some home care." "Now, given her physical and mental health, I..." "I don't foresee a time when it would stop altogether." "Okay." "You comfortable with that, Dad?" "Your mother and I have been together 61 years." "Never spent more than a handful of nights apart." "But... if that's the way it's got to be... then that's the way it is." "I realize you and I sort of got off on the wrong foot... but, uh... this doesn't have to get personal." "I apologize." "I..." "I didn't mean any disrespect." "You have certain... violations against your house." "Could you please tell me what to do and I'll do it." "Mr. Morrison, this office does not have the resources to spend to teach people the fundamentals of how to build." "They either know how to do it or they hire someone who does." "You've seen my report." "You know what needs to be done." "Yes, I do." "Are you sleeping, okay?" "No." "You?" "No." "Not really." "Remember when we met?" "Yes, of course." "You were drunk." "No, not drunk, tipsy." "You threw up on my sister, Pierrette." "I ate something that didn't agree with me." "Flask of whiskey is what you ate." "Oh..." "Yeah." "She and I never did get back on solid ground after that." "My sister, Pierrette, was an elephant when it came to remembering slights against her." "I don't blame her." "It's a beautiful dress you ruined." "She missed the rest of the dance and her best friend ended up marrying the boy she was hoping to enchant that night." " Is that why she was a spinster?" " Mm-hmm. 'Cause you threw up on her." "Gee..." "I'd hate me too." "What do you think would have happened to us if we'd never met?" "Or if I'd thrown up on you instead?" "Oh, we probably would have found someone else." "You think?" "No!" "But the law's the law, am I right?" "I mean, that's..." "Oh, here he is now." "You're treading in dangerous waters, my friend." "'Morning, Owen, Marty." "What are you on about, Chester?" "I couldn't help noticing you started building again." "Seems pretty clear you're asking for a whole heap of trouble." "Well, thanks for the legal advice, Chester." "You charge by the hour?" "The Building Department bulldozed a house in Upperton last month for pretty much the same damn thing!" "Owning 2,000 acres doesn't put you above the law, Craig." "Goddammit, Chester, that's got nothing to do with it." "For once in your life, why don't you mind your own goddamn business?" "Anybody in there?" "Hold on, I'll be with you in a second." "Are you Mr. G. Craig Morrison?" " I am." " You've been served." "Do you remember when I built our dining room table?" "We'd been using a sawhorse and planks for so many years, I..." "I had all but given up on ever getting a proper one." "My father helped me mill the boards." "I put 12 coats of finish on that table." "Which still didn't help when Ruth split ink on it." "Oh, I wasn't that upset." "Ha!" "You were very table-proud back then." "No." "It's a very nice piece of carpentry." "Do you know how much a harvest table would have cost you in a store?" "The first few years... every nick that table absorbed..." "I took it personally." "It's all I could see." "The dent from a fork, scratch from a skate blade... the ghost of someone's handwriting pressed through a single piece of paper." "I forgot about that." "I mean, how hard can it be for a kid to remember to put a few extra sheets under their homework?" "Well, there were a lot of times I regretted not making that table out of oak." "But... as the years went by and... the scars added up... the imperfections turned that table into something else." "That's the thing about pine... holds a lot of memories." " 'Morning, Craig." " Gary..." " Seems like you've been busy." " That I have." " Tried to call, but there was... no answer." " Did they serve you yesterday?" " Oh yeah." "Seems like there's a first time for everything." "You understand you're going to have to appear in court on Tuesday?" "I certainly do." "Craig, they're remarkably mad at you." "If we're going to have a chance of winning, you've got to stop building." "Irene broke her hip, Gary." " What?" " She'll have to get around with a walker." "Our old house doesn't work anymore." "I'm sorry." "Why didn't you tell me you started again?" "Well, I..." "I just didn't want to risk you talking me out of it, convincing me there was a better way." "No, I couldn't convince you." "Oh, at that point, yeah, maybe you could have." "At least now, whatever happens, it'll be finished by the time Irene's ready to come home." "Not hungry?" "No." "Don't seem to have much of an appetite these days." "I should get going." "I've got to get to the hospital before visiting hours are over." "You look beat, Dad." "Why don't you take the night off?" "No, she's expecting me." "I'll get it." "Hello." "Uh, just a second." "Hello?" "Speaking." "My name is Marty Κlinkenberg, with the Telegraph Journal." "I already have a subscription to your newspaper." "Uh, no, it's not about that." "I'm a reporter and I heard you might be having a few problems with the Building Department." "Well, that would be a gross understatement." "Say, how did you ever hear about a case like mine, anyway?" "Must seem like small potatoes to most people." "It's funny." "One of your neighbours, Chester Jones, started phoning me about two weeks ago." "He kept calling till I had no choice but to look into the matter just to get him off my back." "Chester?" "Chester Jones?" " Are you sure?" " Yeah." "Do you have time for a few questions?" "Yeah." "Yeah, sure." " Dad?" " Huh?" "Are you all right?" " How are you feeling?" " Oh... everything aches." "This may be the start of my slow decline." "Well, it's about time." "Can I get you anything?" "I need to tell you something." "All right." "The Babe Ruth baseball is in the kitchen cupboard in an old flour tin." "Uh..." "Yeah, I already knew that." "Mom told us." "Jesus." "Your mother never could keep a secret." "I got a call last year." "A guy offered me $40,000 for that ball." "Can you imagine?" "$40,000 for a baseball." "All these years, were you ever tempted to sell it?" "Mm, sure." "The thought crossed my mind once or twice." "So why didn't you?" "I sleep better knowing it's still there... in case I ever get myself in a really tight squeeze." "Well, I tried to get them to postpone, but... they're not budging." "Have you seen the Telegraph-Journal yet today?" "Uh, no, no." "Why?" "Well, your father made the front page." "Hi." "I've been looking for you." "Have you?" "Where were you?" "I came this morning." "Wasn't supposed to be back till tonight." "Came from where?" "The house." "What house?" "Hmm..." "It doesn't matter." "How was your day?" "Fine." "Hello?" "Chester died." "Oh..." "Oh, Margaret..." "I'm so sorry." "Are you praying?" "Trying to." "Since when did you get religion?" "I'm not sure I have yet, but I figure this might be a good time to hedge my bets." "For what?" "I don't know." "A miracle, I suppose." "I've..." "I've missed you." "I miss you too." "How you doing?" "I've been better." "Yeah... me too." "Hey, Dad." "Ruthie." "I, uh... stopped by the new house last night." "You and Mom are going to like it there." "You think?" "Yeah." "Definitely." "Hmm." "You planned it out well." "Thanks." "I sure hope so." "Gary, I want to ask you something." "How long have you been my lawyer?" "Twenty-six and one half years." "And would it be fair to say that you've done as much work for me on this case as you have in all those years combined?" "Probably, yeah." "More, maybe." "So, uh... why haven't I gotten a bill yet?" "Well, that's a good question." "Since you know, I make it a practice never to work for free, but..." "Craig, I've misread this situation consistently, given you the wrong advice throughout." "This whole mess may be just as much my fault as it is yours." "It doesn't sit right to have you pay for my mistakes." "Do you really think, if you hadn't made those mistakes, things would have turned out differently?" " No." " Me neither." "Look, if it's all the same to you, once you finish your arguments, do you think I could say a few words?" "Losing faith in me?" "It's too late now." "No, there's just some things I'd like to get off my chest, win or lose." "What's this?" "It's a deed to five acres of land." "Just about the nicest that I have, not counting my own, of course." "It's got my name on it." "Why?" "Why not?" "Are you a baseball fan, Your Honour?" "Excuse me?" "I've been one all my life." "I've always appreciated how you could compare a player in one era to a player from another," "how what Babe Ruth was able to accomplish is just as understandable and awesome right now as it was back in the day." "How the traditions of the game have been maintained through the years." "There's a... kind of religion of the rules." "And, just like in baseball," "I've always believed in the tradition of building... and the religion of rules." "My father taught me how to see lumber in a living tree." "Truth in a wall that was plumb or a corner that was square." "I don't mean to put myself above the law, and I never have... until now." "I'm too old for this nonsense." "My house is sound." "My wife is due to get out of the hospital next week, and, uh... options are limited." "We're going to move into our house." "So... it looks like... either I'm going to jail... or I'm going home." "Either way, I can sleep with a clear conscience." "# And after the storm" "# I run and run as the rains come" "# And I look up" "# I look up" "# On my knees and out of luck I look up" "# Night has always pushed up day" "# You must know life to see decay" "# But I won't rot" "# I won't rot" "# Not this mind and not this heart" "# I won't rot" "# And I took you by the hand" "# And we stood tall" "# And remembered our own land" "# What we lived for" "# And there will come a time you'll see" "# With no more tears" "# And love will not break your heart" "# And dismiss your fears" "# Get over your hill" "# And see what you find there" "# With grace in your heart" "# And flowers in your hair" "# And I won't die alone" "# And be left there" "# Well I guess I'll just go home" "# Oh God knows where" "# Because death is just so full" "# And man so small" "# Well I'm scared of what's behind" "# And what's before" "# There will come a time you'll see" "# With no more tears" "# And love will not break your heart" "# And dismiss your fears" "# Get over your hill" "# And see what you find there" "# With grace in your heart" "# And flowers in your hair" "You know, I'd have been way ahead of the game if I'd just gone ahead and built that house without ever asking for a permit." "Yeah, and I would have been much happier if I'd just stuck you in an old folks home." "That's funny, I was just about to propose the same thing to you." "I could check into some options, if you don't mind." "Yeah, we should go in together and get a group rate." "Now you're talking." "So... you got another project in mind?" "Maybe." "Do you want to talk about it?" "No." "Is it big?" "Might be." "Jesus, Dad." "What else do you want me to do, sit around all day?" "Time enough for that when I'm dead." "Oh... look at this hair." "How long since your last haircut?" "Oh, it's... it's been a while." " The usual?" " Yes, ma'am." "Irene?" " Yes?" " Are you cutting my hair?" "Of course." "Look at this hair." "How long since your last haircut?" "It's been a while." "It's been a while."