"I'd like to think that fate had a hand in what happened that summer." "That it was the pants' destiny to find us." "Where they came from and why they chose us well, that will always be a mystery." "But perhaps that was part of their miracle." "That they sensed in that moment how much we needed them." "How much we needed some little bit of faith to hold onto when it seemed like everything we believed in was about to slip away." "But wait a minute, I'm getting ahead of myself." "Beautiful dress!" "Love it." "We'd been a foursome for as long as I could remember." " Where are we going?" " We're going over there." "In fact, we were a foursome before we were born." "And seven." "Anyone feel any kicking?" "Our mothers met at a prenatal aerobics class." "They really didn't have anything in common except their due dates." "One, and relax." "Good work." "The first one out of the gate was Bridget." "Ladies, let's keep it together." "The rest of us followed within the week." "Bridget liked to take charge." "Way to go, Lena." "I'll handle this." "And you know what?" "Sometimes, that worked in our favor." "Oh, my God." "And that's how it always was with us:" "Give and take." "But mostly give." "Lena, I don't think he's coming back this time." "It's gonna be okay, Carmen." "I'll come over first thing tomorrow." "And Tibby and Bridget too." "Just stay on the phone with me until you fall asleep." "What Were They Thinking?" "Take seven." "We were there for each other to understand the things that no one else in the world could." "What were they thinking, having another baby at their age?" "And what was I?" "Just some experiment from their hippie days and now it's time to start their real family?" "Go ahead." "They're out of their minds." "It sucks." " Totally." " Cut!" "Lena, don't you realize this is tragedy?" "Can't you give me a bit more enthusiasm?" "There were some things we would never make sense of." "Grief is never an easy burden to bear." "And we were there for those too." "And as we mourn the loss of this beloved wife, mother and friend it only makes her choice that much more unfathomable." "What measure of despair compels one to commit such an act?" "We can only take comfort in the fact that she is in a better place now than she found here among us." "My deepest sympathies." "Bridget." "We were there for the things we couldn't face alone." " Hey." " Hey, Bee, you okay?" "Yeah." "I will be as soon as I get out of these stupid heels." "Here." "Hold them for me, will you?" "Think I'll run home." "Or the ones we didn't want to face at all." "Together, it was as if we formed one single, complete person." "Wild, unstoppable Bridget." "Shy and beautiful Lena." "Tibby, the rebel." "And me, Carmen, the writer." "Can't buy anything new at a vintage store." "We were 16 and had never been apart." "And all that was about to change." " How about this one?" " It's great." "If you wanna go to Greece looking like Laverne De Fazio." " Who?" " '70s TV icon." "Am I the only one who's not culturally deprived?" "Tibby forgot to take her happy pill this morning." "Actually, I'm saving them for when I'm stuck doing time at Wallmans while the rest of you jet off on your little adventures." "Boo-hoo, Tibby." "You are such a drama queen." "I am going to South Carolina." "That is only, like, three states away." "It's abandonment, nevertheless." "I hate you all." "You're the one who wanted to stay here all summer and angst it out making your documentary." "Yeah, it's gonna be a huge hit." "Thrilling footage on how to stack deodorant." "I think I'm gonna start my own genre, call it the "suckumentary."" "Lena, look at this!" "Oh, my goodness." " They're perfect." " I can't wear a bikini." "Don't you know all the beaches in Greece are nude?" " What?" " She's just kidding, Lena." "God, I envy you." "You get to go to a place where there's actually guys." "I thought you were looking forward to El Campo de Futbol." "She sure was until she found out it was girls only." " No boys allowed." " Don't talk about it." "Hey, pierce alert, pierce alert." "Sorry, young lady, no more holes." "Take those out right now and try these on." " Look." "Here you go." " Put them on." " Go, go, go." " Okay, Carmen..." "Carmen." "Tibby, you're a babe!" "Tibby, you look amazing." "Turn around." "Look at you!" " Carmen!" " You look wonderful." " It looks good." " It looked great on you." "Please buy them." " You try them on, then." " But I don't wear jeans." "Yeah." "Or bikinis or miniskirts or anything else that might actually show you have a shape." "I do not." "Tibby, those look so great on you." "Why can't you just admit it?" "Because I'm wallowing in self-pity." " Lena!" " Are you serious?" " You have a body!" " Look at that." "Lena Kaligaris has a body!" " Stop it!" "I do not." " When did this happen?" " You look good in them." " Look at you." "You look good!" "Little Lena." "You're the one who loves jeans so much, why don't you try them?" " Maybe because I'm 3 inches taller than you." " Fair's fair." " Hey, how can they be perfect on you too?" " That is a little weird." "I don't know, but it's really starting to freak me out." "Okay, Carmen, it's your turn." "Carmen, you try them on." " Oh, come on, honestly." "Are you serious?" " You have to." "You think that a pair of jeans that fits all three of you is going to fit all of this?" " Put them on." "Now." " We'll help your thighs get into them." " Tibby!" "Come on, now." " I'm just kidding." "Will you help me get out of them?" "Carmen, we all tried them on." "Just try them." "All right." "My thighs." "Sassy britches." "Get over these thighs." "Okay, here we go." "What?" "I told you guys." "I'm just gonna take them off and we're gonna pretend like this never happened." "No, Carmen, come over here and look at yourself." " They look amazing on you." " Look at them." "Call me crazy, but it's scientifically impossible that a pair of pants could fit me..." " And me." " And me." " And me." "This is crazy." "Look, Tib, something happened today that I can't explain and you can't explain." " Whatever, let's just ignore it." " We can't just ignore it." " Why?" " Because it's a sign, the pants..." " Be quiet, you're gonna..." " You know what, Tibby?" " Sometimes you're much too much." " Be careful." " I'm fine, Lena." " Oh, my God." "You're gonna fall." "It makes our butts look good." "That's enough for me." " That's right, amen." " Get up there." "Go on." " There is more going here than Lycra." " But there's probably Lycra." "All right, guys, are you ready for this?" "In the name of the Father, the Son..." " Here we go." " Carmen, this isn't church." "You guys!" "But it's still a sacred place!" "I mean, this is where our moms met, right?" "Anyway, look, we're gathered here today to honor a gift that has been sent to us." " So why do we have to pay for them?" " Tibs." "Carmen, go ahead, just finish what you have to say." "Tonight, on the eve of our separation magic has come to us in a pair of pants." "And I'm proposing that we share them equally and that this summer they travel among us and they'll link us in hearts and spirits even though we're far apart from each other." "I think that tonight we're the sisters of these pantalones." " Sisters of the Pants?" " Yes!" "We need rules." "Every sisterhood has rules." "Thank you." "A manifesto." " Okay." " Good point." "I love it." "Okay, rule number one:" "Each sister is going to keep the pants for...?" " A week." " A week." "Lena should be first because Greece is the furthest away." " Okay." " Tibby, you next." " What's your rule?" " I don't have a rule." " Yes, you do." " Tibs, come on." "No picking your nose when wearing the pants." " Honestly." " That's not..." "You can casually scratch while really picking a little." " Thanks for the allowance." " Good rule." "When sending the pants, we'll write a letter detailing the most exciting thing that happened while wearing them." "That's good." "So most exciting thing that happens to you." "And what if nothing exciting happens?" " It will." "It has to!" " No, I really doubt it." "And when it happens, and we reunite we will document it on the pants themselves." " That's good." " That's rule number six." "Rule number seven:" "Any removal of the pants must be done by the wearer herself." "Yes, you." "Touché!" "He works, you know." "So he may not have that much time to spend with you." "So if you get lonely, come home, okay?" "I'm gonna be fine, Mom." "We will never, ever wash these pants." "Carmen, that's so unnecessary." "Why not?" "Because you can't wash the pants." " Why?" "Why?" " Carmen, we have to." "What?" "Are you gonna wash the magic out of the pants?" "The magic's not sanitary." "No, I have a better one." "No double cuffing." "Double-cuffing the pants at the bottom, it's tacky." " The '80s are over." " You know what else is tacky?" "Tucking in your shirt and wearing a belt at the same time." " I don't do that anymore." " Good one." "I did that one time." " Forbidden to cuff or tuck." " Okay, okay." " No cuffing or tucking." " My turn, my turn." " Okay." " Yes, Bee?" "You can never say you look fat while wearing the pants." "You can't even think it!" "All passengers, this is the final boarding call..." "Take care, and be sure to write, huh?" "You too." "Bye." "You better get going." "Looks like they're starting to board." " That's nine." " So we need one more." " We need a final rule." " Final rule." "Okay, pants equal love." "Love your sisters and love yourself." "To the pants." "And the sisterhood." "And this summer and the rest of our lives." "Together and apart." "You know, Papou, I really wouldn't mind walking." "I'm sorry that my Greek isn't so good." "Mom said that I'd pick it up in no time." "You know, with all the talking, just with you and with Yia Yia." "Lena!" "Lena!" "It's the evil eye." "Lena." "I think I'll die and never see my Lena." "I think I'll never see you, my Lena." "You like your room?" "And your bed?" "I have put the most special sheets and lace." "And from this window, the most beautiful view." "She's precious." "Like a jewel." "We guard you like a jewel." "You need rest." "When you hear your name called and the color of your team run over and join your coach." " All right." " Alma, Megan, green." "Anderson, Alice, green." "Adissa, Jessica, red." "Bo, Natalie, red." "Come on, come on, rapido!" "Please, God, let me sprain my ankle as soon as possible." "Come again?" "This whole thing was my mother's idea." "She couldn't wait to get rid of me." "God, mine has been sobbing all week, "What am I gonna do without you?"" "I'm like, "Get a life, Ma," you know?" "What's yours do?" "Nothing." "Hey, who's that?" "Don't even think about it." "It's against the rules to have flings with the coaches." "Marsden, Olivia, red." "Come on!" "Vreeland, Bridget, red." "Hey, baby." "Here it is." "I asked the school to postpone sending this because, Dad, I wanted to surprise you." " Ta-da!" "Straight A's." " That's fantastic." "Dad, I brought my tennis gear and I have been practicing like crazy so serve to me your absolute hardest." " I'll do that." "You know, I was calculating it on the train." "I haven't spent more than four straight days with you since I was 10." "I mean, I love it when you come for Christmas but a whole summer and just the two of us?" "Mom taught me how to make arroz con pollo." "I'm gonna cook that for you." "And platanos too." "Wait, where are we?" "I have a surprise for you." "I moved out of Charleston." "And into a development?" "Dad, you hate developments." "When did I say that?" "At the Frederick Law Olmstead exhibit at the Smithsonian." "You said, "There's city and there's country, and everything else is a wasteland."" "I was 9 years old." "You came to D.C. For one day to visit with a plastics company." "You remember everything!" "I don't remember you telling me you moved." "Who is that?" "Is that your neighbor?" "Actually, we live together." "Hey!" "You must be Carmen." "Your daddy has told me so much about you." "I just know we're gonna have the most wonderful summer together." " Kids!" "Kids, come on out here!" " Kids?" "They're not kids, they're teenagers, just like you." "They live with you?" "Carmen, this is Krista and this is Paul." " We're gonna be bridesmaids together." " Excuse me?" "I hadn't quite gotten to that part of the surprise yet." "Oh, sweetheart..." "We're getting married." "August 19th." "Say, you're a real natural with that thing." "Took me weeks before I got the hang of it." "Yeah, well, we all have our special talents." "Tibby!" "I thought I made it perfectly clear that employee headsets are to be worn at all times." "Don't make me mention it again." "Excuse me?" "Where are the shampoos?" "Aisle seven." "Somebody help!" "Girl down." "Somebody call an ambulance!" "You've got a price sticker on your forehead." "I'm sorry I don't speak Greek very well." "Well, we'll have to work on that, won't we?" "Thanks for lending me a shirt." "Looks good on you." "Sorry if it smells like fish." " Is this your boat?" " My grandfather's." "Yeah." "All the ones with the blue flags are his." " Do you work for him?" " No, just in the summer." "I go to the university in Athens." "Kostas Dounas." "Lena Kaligaris." "Lena Kaligaris." "Then you are Greek too, eh?" "So how do you know English so well?" "Well, I lived with my parents in Chicago until I was 12." "Oh, my parents moved to the U.S. Too." "But I'm just here for the summer." "I'm staying with my grandparents." "I have to throw the small ones back." "Would you like to help?" "No." "That's okay." "Okay, here, I'll show you." "Give me your hand." "Put your hand on my hand." "Put your hand close." "Good?" "Luck was on his side today." "I have to go." "I should go." "But thank you again for saving my life." "Do you dance better than you swim?" " Excuse me?" " Saturday night." "Meet me." "I'm sorry." "I can't." "Pick it up!" "Hi." " Hi." " I'm Bridget." " Eric." " I know." "So I hear you go to Columbia." "Yep." "Well, what have you heard about me?" "Your high school won Nationals." "MVP." "I play forward." "So I've noticed." "I'm 17." "Come on, I'll race you." "That's it." "Seven miles." "Oh, God, don't you love to run?" "Yeah." "It's the best high there is." "Exactly, it's..." "It's like you're just in this place where nothing bad could ever happen, you know?" "Like if you just push a bit further, if you just keep moving..." "Nothing can touch you." "Of course, the endorphins don't suck, either." " So Tami's feeling okay?" " Yeah." "Is she gonna do baton twirling with you?" "We don't know yet." "She might just have to hold the banner." "Sweetheart, why don't we say grace before we start eating dinner?" " I would love to." " All right." "Bless us, O Lord, for these, thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord." " Amen." "Dig in." " This looks great." " I will get that." " Oh, it's okay." "We don't answer the phone during dinner." "Except that one time." "Tell us again how you guys met." "We've told that story so many..." " You wanna tell it?" " I don't." " Want me to?" " All right." " I dialed the wrong number." " And I answered." " Lydia answered." " During dinner." "Just that one time." "And Lydia agreed to go out with a stranger." " Is that not what happened?" " Oh, no, come on." "No, I did not." " That is exactly what happened!" " We went bowling." "It was so much fun." " Do you remember you bowled a two?" " A two is a bad score." "At least I didn't get the ball stuck on my thumb." "The water in the toilet is blue." " Blue?" " Yes, Mom, blue." "And by the way, doesn't Dad hate bowling?" " Bowling?" " Well, he's down here bowling." " And he says grace." " Grace?" "He says grace, Mom." "He gives thanks to God before he eats." "We couldn't get him to go to church with us once." "Who is this guy?" " I don't even..." " You need to talk to him, Carmen." " Just tell him how you feel." " I do talk to him." "I talk to him all the time." "Yeah, like you talk to me?" "No." "This is important, Carmencita." "What he did was wrong." "I'm gonna get on a plane and I'm just gonna come down there." "Look, you'd never want him to be happy, and that's why you blame him." "And this is gonna work out great." "It's going to be fine." "Dear Tibby I think we may have been very, very wrong about the pants." "The one time I wore them I almost drowned and then got plucked onto a fishing boat by a guy who made me touch a live fish." "It was disgusting!" "At least I'm getting some good sketching in." "I love everything about this island." "Oh, except that you're not with me." "Infinite X's and O's, Lena." " How was town?" " Fine." "I have found this in the laundry." "Is it yours?" "No, actually I sort of borrowed it." "When I went down to the harbor, I went swimming and someone just lent it to me." "Oh, someone." "Someone who?" "A boy?" "Which one?" "I know everyone." "Don't mind them, they're your cousins." "They're cousins too?" "How many do I have?" "Plenty of them." "Don't change the subject." "Out with it." "Out, out." "His name is Kostas Dounas." "Dounas?" "He's a Dounas?" "You must never speak of them." "They are liars!" "They are thieves!" "They are barbarians!" "Your grandfather would die if he know about this." "You must never see this boy again." "You understand?" " Yes." " No, that's not enough." "You have to swear." "I swear." "Okay." "What am I supposed to be saying here?" "Oh, just, stuff about your life." "Well, there ain't nothing too interesting." "We're not really looking for interesting." "It's just real, you know." " That's the point of a documentary." " A what?" "A documentary." "Like a movie, only boring." "Hi, I think this is yours." "They delivered it to my house by mistake." "They must've got the numbers screwed up." "See, this says 721 and I'm 271." "I'm Bailey Graffman." "Yeah, you're the one that fainted the other day, right?" " At Wallmans." "I was there." " Oh, yeah." "You're the weird girl with the price sticker on your forehead." "Wait here, I got something for you." "It was lying next to you." "I opened it to see if there was an ID." "So you ripped off my wallet?" "That's kind of like a thank you but different." "I think I had more than $4 in here." "Do you seriously think I would steal your money?" "I opened it to see if there was an ID in there." "Okay?" "There wasn't." "There was a school photo and a pathetic picture of a kitten." "So, what's in yours?" "A Wallmans' employee card or a license to ride a bike?" "Excuse me, I get my learner's permit next week and..." "How old are you, like 10?" " Twelve." " Whatever." "Same difference." "No, when I was 10 I didn't have an iPod." "You're so cool." "What are you listening to, Teletubbies Hit Parade?" "You woke her up." "Thank you." "Must suck." " What?" " Having to babysit on your day off." "Why are you working there, anyway?" "It just so happens that I need some extra money for new video equipment." "When I finally got around to looking for a new job, Wallmans was the..." "Why am I telling you this?" "Don't you have somewhere to be?" "Not really." "Looks like you got a lot already." " Are you making a movie or something?" " More like an ode." " To what?" " Lives of quiet desperation." "Human existence at its lamest." " Fascinating." "Maybe you need an assistant." " Maybe I don't." "You wouldn't have to pay me or anything." "I could carry equipment and stuff." "Hi, honey." "I'm sorry I'm late." "Who's your friend?" " She's not my..." " Bailey, Bailey Graffman." "Well, I gotta go." "See you around, Tibby." "There you are." " Hi." " Hey." "We should play tennis tomorrow." " Really?" " Yeah." " In the morning?" " Yeah." "Are you ready for this, old man?" "You think your knees can take it?" " You actually think you can return my serve?" " I do, Dad." "I do." " Like to put money on that?" " I'll put money on it." " Sweetheart?" " Yeah." "I gotta meet the caterers at the hotel." "Mind stopping by Paul's game?" "Sure." "Well, he's an unbelievable soccer player." "We'll just stop for one second, okay?" " It's right on the way." " Yeah." "Yeah, okay." " Hey." " How are you?" "Good." "Didn't think your team was scrimmaging till later today." "They're not." "I just came out early to check out the competition." "Well, you're looking at her." "You're awfully sure of yourself, huh?" "When I know what I want." "You got it!" "Take it down!" "Take it down!" "What's that?" "!" "Overtime!" "All right!" " Overtime, yes." " Which one of those is yours?" "Paul, Paul Rodman." "So you're the golden boy's dad." "He's a good player." " Yeah, he is." " AI!" "Okay." "Pass!" "Pass, Vreeland!" "Now!" "Yep, nice shot." "We're not worthy!" "We're not worthy!" "Sub!" "Vreeland, you're out!" "This is a scrimmage, Vreeland, as in practice." "Everyone on the team needs to get some." "We know you're a superstar, okay?" "We got it." "Now save it for the championship." " Who do we got, Deanna?" " Katie, you're up." "Okay, Katie, let's go, let's go!" "Same thing!" "Nice!" "Get up, Wendy!" "Get there!" "Yes!" "The hotel that's doing our wedding had a water main break." " The whole place is flooded." " The repairs won't be done for months." "Oh, my God, the place was just so perfect." "I'm never gonna find another place in time." "We will find a place." "I'm sorry." "Lydia never had a real wedding." "My dad died just before my first and..." "Come on, let's get you home." "We'll work this out." "Hey, Paul, you wanna play tennis with Carmen?" "Great shot, Paul." " What?" " Lydia needs me, sweetie." "It'll be a chance for you to get to know each other." "Dad, Paul doesn't talk." "Yeah, he's a little shy." "Go on." "It'll be fun." " We'll play tomorrow, okay?" " Okay." "Oh, my God, are you okay?" "Oh, my gosh!" "Are you okay?" "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry!" "It's swelling." "I'm so sorry." " It's no big deal." " We should just stop." "I'm tired anyway." " Kalimera, Lena." " No." "I thought..." "I didn't..." "Well, here's your shirt." "Thanks again." "Lena, wait." "I was just about to take her out." "Come with me?" "No." "I shouldn't even be here at all." "They told you, didn't they?" "You think this is funny?" "Our grandparents hate each other." "You knew my name." "Why didn't you say something the other day?" "Well, because the arguments of old men have nothing to do with us." "Well, they're not arguing about nothing." "What was the fight about?" "What everything here is about:" "Money and fish." "My grandfather says your grandfather cheat him." "Your grandfather says my grandfather sold him fish that make his whole restaurant sick." "So, what's the truth?" "The truth is that it's a beautiful day and..." "Why should the rest of it matter?" "Because it does." "Tibby." "Tibby." "Tibby, now, I have had another complaint of receipt withholding." " This is your second offense and..." " You're gonna have to dock my pay." "That's right." "Also, the dress code strictly prohibits blue jeans." "Great." "What are you doing with my stuff?" "Your mom gave it to me." "I told her I was your assistant." " You what?" "Wait..." " She seemed to think it was a good idea." "Okay, look, you seem like a sweet kid." "No, you seem like a pain in the ass." "But look, I have my own friends." "Three best friends." "Even though they left me here to rot this summer I'm not looking for new ones." " Neither am I." "I just think it'd be cool to learn about filmmaking." "Besides, I think I found a good subject for an interview." "His name is Brian McBrian, king of "Dragon's Lair."" "I've heard he's broken every record there is." "Okay, he's definitely not what you'd call lame but I figured he'd be a good contrast to all the loser types in the movie." "Start setting up." "Stand next to him." "Pretend you're a fan, like you watch him all the time." " Right." " And action." "Video arcade wizards are fixtures at most convenience stores." "Brian McBrian is a fixture at this one." ""Dragon's Lair," he says is his calling." "So, Brian, you spend a lot of time here?" "Sometimes all day." "So you prefer to spend most of your time here at the Quick Mart instead of out in the real world?" "Well, maybe he finds the world of "Dragon's Lair" more interesting." "Tell us about it, Brian." "Well..." "Basically, you're Dirk the Daring in the year 1305 A.D." "See, the goal is to rescue Princess Daphne who's being guarded by Singe, the dragon." "See, chamber number one is the Snake Room." " See, snakes slither from the ceiling." " Really?" "You don't even get to see the dragon until chamber number 23!" "Yeah!" " Come on, come on!" " Yeah!" "Faster!" "Faster!" "Go!" "He's right behind you!" " Go, go, go!" " Yeah, I got it." " Watch this, ready?" " Run fast!" "Oh, you must have run out of tape." "What about the rest of the interview?" "Well, we could always come back tomorrow, I guess." " I mean, if that's cool with you." " Yeah." "You all right?" "Is she speaking Spanish?" " Oh, is that okay?" "Is that all right?" " Oh, sure!" "Sure." "It's just that nobody understands it, sweetie." "Oh, come on, Dad, you know that is not true." "He and my mom, they used to speak Spanish all the time." "Especially when they started being all gushy and they didn't want me to understand." " Wow, it's 9:00?" " But I totally understood them." " I gotta drop that check at the caterers." "Carmen, you're not gonna believe this." "We have decided to have the wedding right here at home." "With a big party in the back yard." "Dancing under the stars." "It's gonna be perfect." "Where's Paul?" " Oh, he had an appointment." " At the hospital?" "Why would you say that?" "We were playing tennis the other day, and I hit him, but it was an accident..." " No, no." "He's okay." " He's fine." " He just..." " He just had to do something." "Yeah." " Dad, Dad, Dad." " Yo." "What's going on?" "Where exactly is Paul?" "He's in Atlanta, honey." "Visiting his father." "His dad's in a facility." "He's an alcoholic." "Every month, Paul takes a bus to visit him." "Krista refuses to see him." "She's not ready for that." "Lydia doesn't want to upset her by talking about it so we just say Paul's out for the day." "Okay." "Natasha." "Olivia." "Bridget." "Polly." " Janna." " Oh, tampons!" "That's special, Mom." " Jo!" " Now, welcome to camp." "Diana." "Shampoo." "Very, very practical." "Hamburgers." "Did you guys hear?" "Actually, they're finally giving us Saturday off." "Hallelujah." "Can you say "Cantina"?" "Hey, where's the Cantina?" "I don't know." "I think somewhere up the road." "Why?" "He wants me to go." "What?" "He wants me to go." "Why else would he have said that right in front of me?" "This is my favorite part." "When he takes the big risk and launches the catapult." "Bailey, come on, I'm trying to see if there's something we can use from this." "Just one thing." "What was in the package?" "Just some..." "Just those pair of pants over there." "I'm sharing them with my friends for the summer." "These?" " What's so great about an old pair of jeans?" " Nothing." "They just happen to mysteriously fit us all perfectly." "Really?" "I wonder what they'd look like on me." "On the off-chance you'd ever let me try them on." " Like now, for example." " Go ahead, do whatever you want." "I need some quiet." "Tibby?" "I need you to take the baby!" "My Carma-poochie-ay, I'm writing from the post office and this express mail costs more than I make in two hours at Wallmans so these jeans better get to you tomorrow." "Here we are on a typical Bethesda corner where generations of young entrepreneurs have proved the old adage:" ""When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."" "So the question on my mind is is this fresh-squeezed or powder?" " Does it matter if it's good lemonade?" " Let me ask the questions." "I'm sad to report that nothing of consequence happened while wearing the pants." "I spilled a Sprite and my rat-faced manager accused me of receipt withholding." " Receipt withholding." " In rat-faced manager lingo that means forgetting to give a sales slip." "You know, I was reading that Bill Gates when he was younger, he ran a lemonade stand." " You don't know that, that's not..." " Yeah, I do." "I read it in a magazine." " Where did you read that?" " In a magazine." "Other than that, the only thing that I have to show for the pants is the kid that delivered them, some wise-ass pain in the neck who's decided to permanently glue herself to my hip." "She's just tired." "She's been there a really long time, all day." "What is she doing right there?" "Tell me." " She's just thinking." "She's strategizing." " I think she's trying to grow a brain." "Too bad you can't express mail 12-year-olds." "And I wish you the very best of luck on this endeavor." "Hey." "Hey there, sleepyhead." "Hey, Carmen." " Honey, time to wake up." " Hi." "Hi there." "Good morning." "Sorry to wake you but I was just wondering if Maria could grab your sheets." " Maria?" " Yeah, our housekeeper." "I told her you usually slept late but I don't think she understood me." "Her English isn't real good." "Okay, right." "Could I..." "I'll just wash my own sheets." "No, no, no." "Don't be silly." "Maria can certainly do your sheets, not a problem." " Lydia, it's really..." " It's a beautiful day." " You shouldn't be washing sheets." " Oh, it's not a problem at all." "I usually do it myself anyway." "I do it all the time." "I'm so used to it." "People wash their sheets all the time." "Okay." "Been here long?" "Kostas." "What are you doing here?" "It's a fish market." "This is where I sell my fish." "Right." "But you already knew that, eh?" "Excuse me?" "Lena, no one sits near a smelly fish market unless they're waiting for someone." "Well, I don't know what you're talking about." "I just came to sketch that old church over there." "May I?" "Well, it's..." "It's not finished." " You didn't tell me you were an artist." " I'm not, really." "Lena, you are." "My parents were married in that church before they left for the United States." "Why did they come back to Greece?" "They didn't." "They were killed in a car accident when I was 12." "I come back to live with my grandfather." "I'm sorry." "What made you choose to paint this?" "I don't know." "I liked it because, when you first look at it it looks kind of forgotten, and then..." "But then you realize that that's why it's beautiful." "It's perfect in all its loneliness." "You see?" "Lena Kaligaris you are an artist." "And you should finish it." "Well, maybe some other time." "I mean, I really should go." " Lf my grandparents saw me here, they'd..." " They'd what?" "Is it really them you're afraid of?" "Or is it something else?" "What do you mean?" " You don't even know me." " I'm trying to." "Or can't you see that?" "He's right, Car." "I am afraid." "There's a part of me that wants to let him in but then I feel myself put this wall up and I don't understand why." "Maybe that's what strikes me most about Kostas." "That despite everything he's suffered he can still look at life in the most uncomplicated way." "I've never known that kind of faith." "It makes me so sad that people like Kostas and Bridget who have lost everything can still be open to love while I, who have lost nothing, am not." "She's at the doctor's." " Who is?" " Little girl next door." "I don't know why, though." "I heard they were stopping treatment." " Treatment?" " She has leukemia." "Found it a couple of years ago, poor thing." "Is that her?" "Yeah." "What is that?" " It's my mom!" " Your mom?" "Let's go." "Hi." "What are you doing here?" "You shouldn't be here." "I'm not drinking." "But if you don't dance with me, I might have to start." "Bridget." "I can't." "I can't do this, I'm sorry." " Is it blue like this?" " No, not at all." "Not at all?" "This is the foot brake." "Now, you're gonna let it out very slow." "Very slow." "Relax." "All right." "Don't forget to steer." "That's good." "Look out for the donkey." "No donkey." "So, Roberta, what do you like best about working here at Wallmans?" "Pays the bills." "Well, most of them, anyway." "I also work part-time over at the Sweet Shoppe across the way." "They've got one of them blending machines, you know, for the mix-ins and whenever I get bored I do experiments." "Experiments?" "That's so cool." " Here, plug that in." "Sorry I'm late." " It's okay." "What's your best one so far?" "Gee, I don't know..." "Oh, there was one the other day and it turned out really good." "It had pralines, blueberries and a whole bunch of graham crackers." "Awesome." "You know Baskin-Robbins?" "They hire these ice cream scientists whose job is to invent three new flavors a month." " Really?" " Yeah." "You know who would be good at something like that?" "You." "You think so?" "Oh, jeez!" "I gotta get back to work." "Duncan's gonna have a hissy fit." "See you later." "Sorry." " I know you hate it when I butt in." " It's okay." "I didn't mean to mess up the whole interview." "You didn't." "You were good." "So who told you?" "Told me what?" " You found out, didn't you?" " We still have time for one more interview." "It's called leukemia." "Yeah, and I would like to come with you." "But are you just asking because you feel sorry for me?" "I don't know." "Maybe." "Okay." "Okay." "We'll just take the hem up and it'll be perfect." " You look beautiful." " I love it, Mama." "Carmen?" "Carmen, you're next, sweetheart." "I beg your pardon?" " I look like a tramp." " Oh, dear." "I'm sure Barbara can work on this for you." "Here you go." "Well, let's see here." "Well, we need to let this out here." "Right, right." "Way out." "And hopefully we can dig up some extra fabric." "And this..." "Yes, this needs some serious work here." "Frankly, I think we're better off just starting from scratch on this one." "Okay, good." " Can I take this off now?" " Sure." "Certainly, darling." "Go ahead." "Barbara, I'm so sorry." "I had no idea her father would be so off when he guessed her size." "Usually a roughly constructed prototype works as a starting point, but in this case..." "We could add a long-line corset for her?" " Yes, that'll cinch it in." " Right, beautiful." "It is a wedding, and I do want it to look uniform." " I mean, will she look like Krista?" " Definitely." "You know, then just never mind." "We will fix the hem on Krista's and we'll just start over on the other one." "Carmen." "The other one's name, it's Carmen." "Carmen." "You know what?" "Just forget about the dress." "We can tell everybody that Carmen's Puerto Rican." "And it never occurred to you she might be built differently." "Or that, unlike you and your daughter, she has an ass that the tailor didn't have enough bolts of material to cover." "Or better yet, just tell everyone there is no Carmen." "Carmen doesn't exist." "Carmen, honey." "Carmen!" "One, two, three!" "Okay, ladies, time to call out the cavalry." "We've secured a spot in the playoffs, we're gonna shake it up a little." "Wendy and Karen to midfield, Bridget to sweeper." " What?" " You heard me." "I don't wanna see you go past midfield, got that?" "Dear Lena, when I got your letter I screamed for about 10 minutes." "So you found a hottie after all, huh?" "Well, me too." "His name is Eric." "Did I mention he's one of the coaches and 100 percent off-limits?" "But I don't care." "I've never wanted anything this much in my entire life." "I'm still waiting for Carma-poochie-ay to send me the pants." "And in the meantime, I'm throwing all my pent-up energy into soccer although that only seems to get me into more trouble." "What can I say?" "I'm obsessed." "And as we all know, obsessed girls cannot be responsible for our actions, can we?" "Pass, Vreeland!" "Hey." "Hey." "Saw you watch me play today." "What did you think?" "I don't know if I've ever seen anyone with that much intensity ever." "Well, I might've been showing off for you just a little bit." " Just a little bit?" " Yeah." "No." "You know, it's more than that." "You scare the hell out of me." ""Single-minded to the point of recklessness."" "What?" "It's what the school shrink called me." "After my mom died, a few of the teachers thought that, I don't know, I needed to be evaluated or something." "So I met with a guy." "I talked and he wrote." "I've never told anyone that before." "Okay, Bridget." "No, don't say anything." "Not now, okay?" "Hey, come on, I'll race you." "Here you go." " You got a key, honey?" " No." " Doesn't look like anybody's home." " They're probably out looking for me." " But I'll be fine, thank you." " All right." "It is very good." "Hi, this is Tibby." "Here comes the beep." "Hopefully you know what to do with it." "Tib, it's me, it's Carmen." "I'm coming home." "Everything got screwed up, and I snapped." "And I don't care, and..." "I'm just fed up, and I can't be here so I called you, because I knew you..." "Knew you'd understand." "You know what I like most about the stars?" "You look at them, at all of them up there and you just know there's gotta be something more than..." "Life?" "There has to be." "Are you scared?" "Not of dying, really." "It's more that I'm afraid of time." "And not having enough of it." "Time to figure out who I'm supposed to be to find my place in the world before I have to leave it." "I'm afraid of what I'll miss." "What?" "Nothing." "Bridget just lights everything up." "She makes everything more fun." "And Carmen is brilliant, but she doesn't know it." "And Tibby..." "Well, Tibby kind of marches to her own drum." "I'm kind of jealous of her." "Why?" "Well, because she knows who she is." "Don't you?" "I don't know." "I think I know who I wanna be." "What you were saying the other day, about me being afraid?" "Well, it's hard to explain." "All my life, everybody's always kind of seen me a certain way." "And I didn't..." "I don't..." " No, it's all right, I understand." " Do you?" "Yeah." "Some people show off their beauty because they want the world to see it." "Others try to hide their beauty because they want the world to see something else." "And what do you see?" "Everything." "Dear Bridget I guess I was kidding myself to think that when the pants arrived they were gonna make everything better." "I mean, I don't blame them for what happened, but..." "Anyway, I do hope that they bring you better luck than they did me." "And even more than that, Bee, may they bring you good sense." "I know it sounds boring but trust me, from recent experience a little common sense, it's not such a bad thing, Bee." "Wear them well." "Love you, Carmen." "Your dad called." "He wanted to make sure you got home okay." "I'm so sorry, baby." "I knew this would happen." "Mom, please." "Now you know why I was so afraid of you going there." " I don't want to say I told you so, but..." " Then don't." " Morning." " Don't you ever sleep?" " What for?" " This just came for you." "Oh, my God, they're finally here." "What's here?" "Do you guys realize what this means?" " That you're hugging a pair of jeans?" " These aren't just jeans." "They make things happen." "Sweet." "I felt like I was living in some freak show known as "The Land of the Blonds."" "And guess who was the freak." " I'm sure it wasn't that bad." " It was." "It was horrible." "Okay, Paul, he doesn't talk." "He didn't say a word." "And Krista, she's this perky little nightmare." "And her and her mom, they're like Sunshine Twins on uppers except when, God forbid, something happened with the wedding plans." "Because, Tibby, I don't think there was a single conversation that didn't revolve around flowers, or hors d'oeuvres menus or guest lists, or tablecloths or..." "I'm sure they were just excited." "No, Tib, can you pretend to be on my side?" "It's not about sides, Car." "There are worse things than your dad getting married." "Sure, he probably could have handled it better..." "Tibby, he didn't handle it at all." " Tell him that." " Why should I have to?" "You shouldn't have to throw a rock at him, either." "I didn't throw a rock at him, I threw it at them!" "They're the problem, Tibby." "They're the ones who ruined everything." "And why are you giving me this hypocritical lecture about treating people decently when you walk around screaming, "Screw the world" because that's easier than feeling something?" "I think she's getting too much sun." "You're probably right." "Maybe I'll go for a walk, get some fresh air." "Can't you stay another week?" "My classes start on Monday." "I have to go." "I just..." "I feel like..." "I know." "Me too." "I love you, Lena." "What are you doing?" "Stop!" " Lena!" " Kostas!" "Lena!" "He makes you drunk." "It was nothing!" "We were just dancing!" "You made promise to me." "Does that mean nothing to you too?" "It does not mean nothing to break the hearts of those who love you?" "You call that nothing?" "I'm sorry." "In this life family is the most precious gift we are given." "The most sacred." "Turn your back on them and that is when you truly have nothing." "It happened just how I always imagined it would." "So why do I feel this way, Lena?" "How can something that's supposed to make you feel so complete end up leaving you so empty?" "I just wish so much I could talk to my mom." "I need her and that scares me." "Mom, I told you, I can't babysit today." "Bailey and I have an interview..." "Bailey's in the hospital, sweetheart." "Her mom called." "Honey, she's not doing well." "It's Bethesda Memorial." "I tried calling you." " Come on, I'll drive you over to see her." " That's okay, I'll..." "I'll go by there if I have time." "But, I mean, if you're, like, shooting squirrels or something like that..." "I am mad at my dad." "I am mad at my dad." "Why is that so hard for me to say, Tibby?" "I have no problem being mad at you." "I noticed." "I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry, Tibby." "What I said, it was not nice." "It was awful, and I'm sorry." "Well, maybe sometimes it's easier to be mad at the people you trust." "Why?" "Why is that?" "Because you know they'll always love you, no matter what." "Well, your mom told me about your friend Bailey." "Yeah." "Bailey." "Yeah, she's not really my friend." "Well, you know..." "I mean, yeah..." "Yeah, a little." "But, you know, she's 12." "Your letters, they made her sound like..." "She drives you crazy." "We'll be doing interviews, right?" "Talking to people and she'll just jump in and start asking these questions." "She'll ask them anything she wants about their lives like she's trying to get to know them or something." "Well, is she gonna be okay?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "Lena Kaligaris?" "Papou." "I need to say something to you." "You can pretend that you don't understand me, but I know you do." "People have always said to me that I take after Yia Yia that I have her face and her smile but what no one ever sees is that there's this whole other part of me that is just like you." "Quiet and stubborn and afraid of showing too much." "And then I met someone who changed everything and he showed me I can take a chance, even if it's only for a moment." "Lena..." "You had that same moment once, when you met Yia Yia." "And you risked everything for it." "That was your chance, Papou." "And I'm asking now to have mine." "Go." "Kostas!" "Kostas!" "I thought I'd never see you again." "I love you." "What do you get in this box?" "I'll be right back." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Dad, it's Carmen." "I'm glad you called." " I just..." "I want..." " It's all right." "You don't..." "You don't have to apologize, sweetheart." "You were upset." "I know." "No, Dad, you don't know." "That's just it, you've never known because I've never been able to tell you." " Tell me what?" " That I'm angry with you, Dad." "This entire thing." "About you, and Lydia and the kids..." "It's my fault." "I should have told you about them before, and I'm sorry." "Yeah, you should've warned me, but it's more than that." "It's the fact that you've found yourself this new family and I feel like some outsider who doesn't even belong to you anymore." "It's like you traded me and Mom in for something that you thought was better and I wanna know why." "Are you ashamed of me?" "Are you embarrassed?" "Just tell me, Dad, what did I do wrong?" "Why did you leave?" "Why did you have to go?" "And then tell me that we were gonna be closer?" "But that never happened." "Dad, why does Paul visit his alcoholic dad every month but you only visit me twice a year?" "And I know..." "You just seem so happy about being Paul and Krista's dad but you never even had the time to be mine." "I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry." "I wish that were enough, Dad." "Where's your little friend these days?" "Kind of got used to having her hanging around." "Couple of weeks ago, she saw I was having a bad time of it asked me if I wanted to talk." "She's kind of special that way, huh?" "Dear Tibby, my heart is too full to write about it just now." "And you won't believe I'm saying this but I really think the pants did bring this to me." "We were right all along, Tibby." "The pants are magic." "And I know that if you let them, they'll bring you some too." "All my love, Lena." "It's about time you showed up." "What's that?" "It's "Dragon's Lair."" "Brian came by yesterday and dropped it off." "He said it wasn't as good as the real thing but at least it'd keep me practicing." "He helped me get to level 10 the one where the castle's under siege." "That's cool." "He's a pretty decent guy, Brian is." "Yeah, he is." "Oh, man, you were right, and I was wrong, but I'm..." "I'm wrong about most people, so..." "The important thing is you always change your mind about them." "I brought something for you." "The Traveling Pants." "Yeah." "I just got them back." "From Lena." " The one in Greece?" " Yeah." "She said that we were right all along, that they really are magic, and..." "Well, I don't know the details, but I do know Lena and for her to say that means that it must be true." "So I was thinking, you know, maybe you could have them for a while." " They didn't fit me, remember?" " Yeah, I know." "I know, but that doesn't really matter." "You know?" "None of it really matters." "Listen, you have to take them, Bailey." "Okay?" "You have to let them help you." "Please." "I know that you're tired, okay, but you can't give up." "These pants will give you a miracle." "You just..." "You have to believe." "But, Tibby the pants have already worked their magic on me." "They brought me to you." "I want you to do something for me." "What?" "Finish your movie." "Why?" "Because you can." "Hello?" "Oh, no." "I'll let her know." "I painted the porch." "Say, what do you say we go to Mario's to celebrate your homecoming?" "Maybe later, Dad." "I'm pretty tired from the trip." "Hey, it's me, Bailey." "You don't have to use this in your movie or anything." "Although, now that I think of it fainting in Wallmans does kind of qualify me as a loser." "But then again wearing a price sticker on your forehead probably makes you one too." "You know, I don't know, Tibby." "Maybe the truth is there's a little bit of loser in all of us, you know?" "Being happy isn't having everything in your life be perfect." "Maybe it's about stringing together all the little things like wearing these pants or getting to a new level of "Dragon's Lair" and making those count for more than the bad stuff." "Maybe we just get through it and that's all we can ask for." " Hello?" " Carmen, it's Lena." "I have to talk to you about something." "Don't you answer your phone anymore?" " Carmen, I really don't have time..." " Tib, Bridget needs us." " Tib, God." "Just open it." " That's what I'm trying to do." "I told you the smell of junk food would wake her up." "We have invited ourselves over for a sleepover." " But it seems you are already asleep." " Yeah." "I feel so tired." "Well, then you should talk to us." "So that we can fix this." "This is the perfect pizza." " It's the bacon." " I think it's the olives." " Bacon." " Honestly, you two." " Maggie." "What...?" " Hey, Maggie." "Maggie, no!" "Hey, do you know who would have loved this P, Bee?" "Your mom." "Yeah." "I remember this one time she decided that she'd make one herself." "She always woke up starving after one of her episodes." "I was just sitting in the kitchen doing my homework and she just walked in and just started making this thing." "You know, I don't even know if you could call it a pizza." "It was more like the entire contents of our refrigerator on a round crust." "Craziest part is we actually ate it." "Of course you did." "We ate every single bit of that pizza in like 10 minutes." "Yeah." "And we were laughing the whole time." "It was great." "I remember thinking that maybe there won't be any more bad spells." "Maybe she'll just be happy like this forever." "It's okay to miss her, Bee." "I mean, as hard as it is to be sad about it don't you think maybe it's harder not to be?" "You don't understand." "Bridge..." "I can't." "It hurts too much." " I know." " No, you don't know." "I just want to feel good and happy and alive." "Because if I feel alive then it doesn't seem like she's dead." "And if I'm not sad then it proves that I'm not like her." "Bee, you don't have to prove that to anybody." "I mean, you have a strength in you that your mom never had." "As much as she wanted to, she couldn't find it." "Yeah, and you have something else too." "What?" "You have us." "And we're not gonna let you go anywhere, okay?" "Thank you." "Come here." "Come back." "Bye." "Miss you too." "Not now, Maggie." "Maggie!" "Maggie!" "Morning." "Get back here, now!" "I mean it!" "Maggie." "Excuse me." "Mags!" "Sorry." "Maggie." "Did you lose these?" "Yeah, I think I did." "Thanks." "So, what are you doing here?" "I was looking for you, actually." "Yeah, we're on Hobart Place, not Street." " It's really confusing." " Yeah, that would do it." "That would do it." " So I'm on my way back to Columbia." " That's not exactly nearby." "No, it's not exactly nearby." "I just wanted to say that what happened between us was my fault." "Fault?" "Not fault." "My responsibility." "I should've known better." "It's just..." "Well, I didn't exactly tell you to slow down." "Problem is I wanted it for all the wrong reasons." "And all the things that I was trying to run away from just ended up catching up with me that much sooner." "Anyway, friends?" "Okay, friends." "When you're 20 and probably a soccer star at some huge college and there's a million guys after you promise me you'll give me a shot." "Deal." "All right." " Thank you." " Take care." "You too." "That's pretty impressive." " Oh..." " My..." "Oh, my God, Lena, look at you." "You're all here." " I missed you so much." " I don't believe you." "Bee, I am so sorry." "When I found your letter, I tried to come sooner." " Do you forgive me?" " Forgive you?" "Who the hell are you?" "I wasn't sure I'd see you here." "I thought you'd change your mind about your dad's wedding." "Nope." " We decided we'd change it for her." " Yeah, how about a little road trip?" " What are you talking about?" " Come on." " What?" "No." "No." " Come on, you got to." "It's your father's wedding." "It's important for you to be there." "If it's that important then my dad would tell me that himself." "Maybe he's still recovering from the last conversation you had." " I'm not sure that's entirely helpful." " I'm just saying parents screw up." " It's what they're good at." "They do." " It's up to us to see things they can't." " He's gonna throw me out of the wedding." " No, he's not." " That's so overdramatic." " Lf he does, we'll be there for you." "What aren't you guys understanding?" "I am not going." "Why aren't you understanding you are going?" "So this is the view from my window." " It's beautiful." " And these are my cousin's donkeys." "This is George and George Junior." "My grandparents, caldera." " Forget the caldera." "I wanna see the guy." " Where's the boy?" "I'm sneaking in the back once the ceremony begins." "You know, the caldera is actually the top of a volcano." " Okay, Lena, seriously." " Once the ceremony's done, we're leaving." " Look." "Cute." " Oh, my God." "Lena." "I know." "Isn't he gorgeous?" " I was referring to you holding a fish." " Oh, you know what?" "No fair attacking the driver." "Is it fair to bribe the driver to go back home?" "With what money?" "Tibby's the only one working this summer." "Hey, I actually stacked my last shelf at Wallmans, thank you very much." "Does this mean there's gonna be a ceremonial burning of the smock?" "No, actually, Duncan took the smock, but I do have my nametag." "Can we burn it?" "Hey, how did your suckumentary turn out?" "Well, it actually evolved into something quite different than I expected, so..." "What are you gonna call it?" "Bailey." "Carmabelle, come on, we're gonna be late." "What is she doing in there?" "Carmen?" "I changed my mind, guys." "I can't do this." " Yes, you can." " No, Lena, I can't." " Carmen?" " What?" "Carmen, please come out." "I promise you everything's gonna be okay." "Bee, how do you know that?" "Because of what I'm holding." "Wear them." "They'll make you brave." "Bee, I can't wear a pair of jeans to a wedding." "And besides, your week isn't up." "Well, rule number 11:" "In the event of an emergency the pants will automatically go to the sister in need regardless of the schedule." " Bee, there is no rule number 11." " Well, I think there should be." "And I'm invoking it now." " That sounds like a really good rule to me." " Yeah." "So are you gonna put them on yourself, or are we going to have to do it for you?" "Dearly beloved we are assembled here, in the presence of God and these witnesses to celebrate the joining of this man and this woman in the unity of marriage." "Sorry, could you..." "Hold that thought for one minute." "I'm sorry." "There's an important member of our family who should be up here with us." "My daughter." "Carmen." "Dad, I'm not dressed, I..." "I need you." "I'm sorry." " I gotta get married." " Okay." "Sorry." "You can go ahead." "Dearly beloved we're assembled here, in the presence of God and these witnesses to celebrate the joining of this man and this woman in the unity of marriage." "There are no obligations on earth sweeter or tenderer than those..." "It would be easy to say that the pants changed everything that summer." "But looking back now I feel like our lives changed because they had to and that the real magic of the pants was in bearing witness to all of this and in somehow holding us together when it felt like nothing would ever be the same again." "Some things never would be." "But we knew now that no matter how far we traveled on our own separate paths..." "Somehow we would always find our way back to each other." "And with that, we could get through anything." "To us." "Who we were, and who we are." "And who we'll be." "To the pants." "And the sisterhood." "And this moment, and the rest of our lives." "Together and apart." "{{{the end}}}"