"I think I like it better in the morning." "Why's that?" "Because it gets my day started with such a bang." "You're crazy, you know that?" "You're crazy, and you're passionate..." " Beautiful?" " And you're beautiful." "Keep going." " Who the hell is that?" " Find out." "I don't answer the phone before 8.00." "Nobody's that important." "That's why God invented the answering machine." " Exactly." " It's Jake." "I'm not in." "Leave a message, I'll call you back." "Hi, Jake, it's Peri." " Who's Peri?" " Nobody." "Call me as soon as you get this message." "555-9378." "It's important." " Who's Peri?" " Bad news." "Let me rephrase the question." "Who's Peri?" " An old girlfriend, all right?" " I was just asking." "Last time I saw her, she was mainlining cocaine." "You think I should call her back?" "I think you should come back to bed." "Now where were we before we were rudely interrupted?" "Something about you being a morning person." "Oh, yeah, exactly." "D  D Advertising, may I help you?" "We're not going to make a decision." "Not until we consider everyone who's there." "This is important to us too." "Fine, call me in an hour." "Goodbye." "What the hell are you doing here?" " I'm back." " So I see." "For how long?" "More or less... permanently." "You left two weeks ago, Alison." "What happened?" "I..." "I realized I'd acted hastily and that I made a mistake." "And I guess I'm here now to beg for my old job back before I go looking for something else." "Oh, Alison." "I gave you plenty of time to think about this." "In fact, I begged you to reconsider." "I know, I know, and you were right." "It was just one of those things." "I thought I knew what I was doing." "You think you can waltz back in and have your old job back?" "No, no." "Not at all." "I'd hoped to have a chance to prove myself again." "I've worked hard for this company, Lucy." "I'm ready to work even harder." "I'm the first to admit that I made a mistake." "Sorry." "It's not going to be that easy." " Is the position still open?" " It is." " Can I at least interview?" " Yes, but not with me." "I've turned hiring over to someone else." "Whatever it takes, and whoever I have to impress," "I'll do it." "Amanda." "Alison." "What are you doing here?" " I'm back." " So I see." "You come for a little visit?" "No, actually, I'm here to get my old job back." " You've got to be kidding." " No, I'm serious." "Lucy told me you're interviewing for the position." "Yes." "Well, maybe I can make your life a little easier." "I can start today." "Alison, sit down." " What happened to Keith?" " Things didn't work out." "Personally, I never thought it would." " So are you back together with Billy?" " Back to sharing an apartment." "Funny, I always thought it was more than that, but I realize you're both so scared of a real relationship, the only thing either one of you can commit to sharing" " with another person is the rent." " Amanda, that's not fair." "In my book, the only thing fair in this situation is that you're out of a job." "Come on, Amanda." "Can't we just put all this behind us?" "I mean, we used to be friends, remember?" "You're right." "I'm still committed to interviewing a number of people this week." "But, in the meantime, let me try and convince Lucy to put you back on the phones." "Back on the phones." "Thank you, Amanda." "That sounds wonderful." "Remember that Harley I've been working on?" "The one they brought in in pieces?" " The one I said wasn't worth fixing." " Yeah, well, it was." "The owner came to pick it up today." "Kissed me like I'd pulled his kid out of a coma." "Promised to send the guys in his bike club to me." "Well, Dr Jake." "Why don't you take me someplace fabulous for dinner to celebrate?" "Actually, there's a wonderful little taco stand that just opened up a couple blocks from here." "Well, do we have to make reservations?" "Look at that, they just keep rolling in." "We're closed!" "Why haven't you returned my calls, Jake?" "Get a clue, Peri." "I don't want to talk to you." "Yeah, well, I think you better." "Jake's Bikes." "Don't tell me you own your own business." " As a matter of fact, I do." " How'd you ever come up with the cash?" "Hi, I don't think we've met." "I'm Jo Reynolds, his business partner." "Jake always was on the lookout for a rich business partner." "Look, whatever you've got to tell me, why don't you come right out and say it." "No, this is a private matter." "Strictly private." "What you decide to do with that information is up to you, but for now, we talk alone." "I'll see you back at the building." " It was nice to meet you." " Likewise." "So, what's on your mind?" "Let's get out of here." "Oh, great, my stuff came." "Well, you've been at work all day." "That's a good sign." "Who says I've been at work?" "What happened?" "I've been demoted." "Back to the phones until Amanda can figure out who she wants to hire for my position." " What's wrong with you?" " Well, I'm a contender." "I think I may be a little too tight with my boss' ex-boyfriend to cinch the job." "I'm sorry." "Oh, that's life." "I think I'll be able to repair the relationship." "I just can't believe I have to brown-nose Amanda" " to get my old job back." " You gotta do whatever it takes." "Don't let any misguided sense of ethics get in the way." "I've been doing that." "It's been holding me back." " What are you talking about?" " Well, I've decided to apply my creative writing skills to my resume." ""Master's in journalism, Columbia University." "Six months, junior copywriter, D  D Advertising."" "You gotta give the people what they want." "And besides," "I got a tip that there's a job opening at a really cool magazine." " I'm gonna do whatever it takes." " You put me as a reference!" "But look at the title I gave you." "Senior ad exec in charge of West Coast accounts." "Pretty spiffy, huh?" "Well, you knew about the cocaine, but that was just part of it." "I was pretty screwed up there for a while, Jake." "Heroin." "Did you know I was shooting heroin before we hooked up again?" "No." "Yeah, well, it was pretty fashionable for a while, but everybody who does that ends up in a rehab sooner or later." "That's where I've been the past few months." "So you're clean?" "Clean..." "Not exactly." "It was weird." "I got the drugs out of my system, and that felt great." "I vowed to start a whole new life, you know." "Macrobiotics and exercise." "The whole bit." "But..." "But then I got sick." "I got the flu, and that turned into pneumonia." "And I called the doctor, and he put me into the hospital and..." "He said that..." "He told me that I have AIDS." " Oh, my God." " It's probably from sharing needles." "I mean, I thought I was careful, but maybe there was a time when..." "What does this mean?" "For me, I mean." "Well, if I recall correctly, we did have our fun." " Have you ever been tested?" " No." "I never had any reason to." "Well, you do now." " Hi." " Hi." " When'd you get back?" " Just a little while ago." "Come on in." "Don't tell me there's another kid you don't know about, Jake." "No, no, it's nothing like that." "Peri just..." "She's been having some hard times, and she needed some money." "Then I guess she doesn't know you too well, does she?" "You may not believe this, but seeing you with her brought out the jealous possessive nature in me." "Oh, come on, Jo." "Jealous of her?" "Please." " Why not?" "She's gorgeous." " So are you." "You know, if you don't mind, I'd kinda just like to go to bed." "Great idea, I'll join you." "Not tonight, OK?" "Yeah, sure." "Jake, is everything all right?" "Fine, really, it's fine." "I'll see you in the morning, all right?" "Yeah." "Sleep well." " Good morning, Amanda." " 'Morning, Alison." " Can I talk to you?" " I have a lot of calls to make." " It'll just take a minute." " Shoot." "I just want you to know how fond I've always been of you." "From the first day we started working together," "I've always admired and looked up to you as both a friend and a mentor." "And I hope things work out because I look forward to learning from you." "I know that together we can continue to make a really great team." "How sweet." "And I want you to know that no matter who I ultimately decide to hire for this position, I hope I can continue to be an inspiration to you." "Thank you." "My 9.30 interview should be here any minute." "Get him coffee, have him wait, and I'll be with him as soon as I can." "Right." "Good morning, Escapade Magazine." "Yes, I have a delivery for Nancy Donner, managing editor." " She still with the magazine?" " Yes, of course." "Leave them here." " I'll make sure she gets them." " Sorry, this is a singing delivery." " I have to deliver them in person." " OK." "Down the hall, third door on your right." "Deadline's Thursday." "If he's not going to deliver the piece, let me know so I can be sure to never use him again." "And I have to go because somebody just delivered me flowers." "I don't know." "OK, keep me posted." "These are beautiful." "Isn't there a card?" " No, actually, they're from me." " You?" "And who are you?" "My name is Billy Campbell, and here's my resume, along with a few tear sheets of a column I wrote for the defunct Melrose Weekly." "I'm here to interview for your editorial assistant position." "You think this is the best way to get a job here?" "I'm tired of being reduced to a faceless resume on some editor's desk." "I'd do anything for the opportunity to meet you in person so I could let you know what a asset I'd be for your magazine if you'd just give me the chance." "I see, well, sit down." "Mr Campbell." "Well, an MBA from Columbia Journalism doesn't hurt." "And a year as a copywriter at D  D Advertising." " Right." " I'll tell you what I'm willing to do." "I'm gonna read your column." "If I like what I see, I might check references." "If all that goes well, we might have something to talk about." "I hope so." "And... journalistic ethics prohibit me." " Give 'em to your girlfriend." " I appreciate you considering me." "You bet." "Well, I never expected to hear from you again." "Sit down." "What kind of scam are you trying to pull this time?" "This is no scam, Jake." "Which part are you having trouble believing?" "We haven't fooled around in over a year." "Why should I have anything to worry about?" "Jake, I don't know how long I've been HIV-positive." "My God, if either of us had the brains to get tested..." "Don't put the blame on me." "I didn't do anything wrong." "Tell me you never had unprotected sex with another woman before we met." "For all I know, you could have given it to me." "Oh, yeah." "It doesn't matter anymore." "The fact is, I have it, and I'm doing something about it." "Look, I've carried out my part of the bargain." "I've warned you." "You're at risk." "Now it's up to you to get tested." "And to be safe, I'd bring your girlfriend with you." " Leave her out of this." " No, Jake, I won't." "And for her sake, you better not either." "If you'll excuse me," "I don't think there's anything further we have to say to each other." "Peri." " Thank you, thank you, thank you." " For what?" "I got the job at Escapade Magazine." "Yeah." " I start tomorrow." " Oh, that's great." "Yeah." "Well, she really liked my work, and she liked my spirit." "She said you raved about me." "What did you tell her?" "I lied through my teeth and said you were brilliant." " I deserve a commission." " You've gotta help me celebrate." " Oh, no, I can't." " Oh, why not?" "I'm happy for you, but I'm in no mood to celebrate." "Not after eight humiliating hours of fetching coffee for every bozo" " who interviews for my job." " Everything is gonna work out." "I warned you not to get involved with Amanda." " Now it's my fault?" " If you had listened to me," "I wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place." "It wasn't my idea to quit your job and move to Seattle." " You made those mistakes on your own." " Thank you." "Now I feel wonderful." "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "You're gonna come out and celebrate with me, whether it kills you." "OK, OK." "Come on, it can't be that bad." " Hi, Matt, how's it goin'?" " Good." "Can I join you, or did you come here to get away from it all?" " No, no." "I'm just waiting for Jo." " Beer, please." "I'm gonna ask you something." "If you think it's too personal," " I want you to forget I mentioned it." " Shoot." "Have you ever had an AIDS test?" " Yes." "Definitely, yes." " Why?" "I mean, if you got this time bomb ticking away inside you, waiting to blow up, what good is it gonna do to know?" "Jake, don't be stupid." "Nothing's ever scared me." "I mean, really scared me, until I started thinking about this." "Jake, what's going on?" "I'm just curious, I guess." "Thank you." "You know I had a lover who became sick and died of this disease." "I was so terrified and so much in denial that I never once called him when he was sick, and I didn't go to his funeral after he passed away." "But you can't let fear run your life." "So finally, I went down and took the test." " Ready to live with any result." " And are you OK?" "What I realized was that either way I'd be OK." "Look, testing positive isn't a death sentence." "Ignorance is." " Hi, guys." " Hey." "Hi." "So is this a prelude to a fabulous night on the town when you tell me how wonderful I am and apologize for being so weird?" " Yeah." "Something like that." " Are you gonna join us?" "I don't think so." " Come on." "Thanks for the talk." " Anytime." "OK, Jake, what's going on?" "Jo..." " Jo, we have to talk." " Then talk." "I can't deal with this anymore." "This obviously has something to do with you and Peri." "I wish you'd stop acting weird and just tell me!" " She has AIDS." " What?" "She was just diagnosed, and now she's telling everyone who..." "Wait, what does this mean?" "Jake, did you and Peri have sex without using anything?" "Yeah, we probably did." " Oh, Jake." " Truth is, I never thought about AIDS." "I knew it was out there." "I never thought it'd be part of my life." "Neither did I. It's one of the benefits of being married." "Remember the first time we had sex?" "We had too much to drink." "We couldn't keep our hands off each other through dinner." "We stumbled back and went for it." "Yeah, and I thought about asking you to use a condom, but I figured, what the hell, I'm on the pill." "I didn't wanna spoil the mood." "And I had one." "But I thought, "What the hell." "She's been married." "And there's no possible way that I could give anything to her."" "I was wrong." "I may have given you AIDS." "If I did I'll never be able to forgive myself." "Jake we'll get through this together." "OK." " Come in." " You wanted to see me?" "Oh, Amanda, yes." "Come on in." "I know I told you that you could hire whoever you wanted to replace Alison." "I can't stand the sight of seeing her kill herself at the telephones every day, when, as far as I can tell, there's no reason why we shouldn't give her her old job back." "Well, for one, we don't get along." "Amanda, this is not a sorority." "It is an ad agency." "I suggest you solve your personal problems." "Learn to function as a team." " Would you send Alison Parker in here?" " Are you saying I have to hire her?" "Amanda, Alison is smart, she works hard, she knows this company." "Professionally, I can't think of a single reason not to bring her back." "Come in." " Hi, you wanted to see me?" " Yes." "Hi, Amanda." "Amanda told me she's come to a decision about who she wants to hire." "Welcome back, Alison." "It looks like we're a team again." "Oh, that's wonderful." "I can't thank you enough." "No need." "But please, let's get one thing clear." "In the past, we let friendship get in the way of our professional relationship." "Let's not make that same mistake twice." "Absolutely not." "Well, I guess there's nothing more to say." "Let's get to work." "Before you take the test, it's important for you to be informed about the test itself." "A small amount of blood'll be taken from your arm." "That blood'll be tested to see if it has come into contact with the human Immunodeficiency virus, or HIV." "The virus which causes AIDS." "This test'll tell you if you have HIV in your body." "If you've become infected, this test will find HIV antibodies in your blood." "Does testing positive mean I have AIDS?" "No, it means that you have been infected with the HIV virus" " and that you may develop AIDS." " What's the point of knowing?" " Maybe it's better not to." " That's up to you, of course." "Even if you have the virus, there are drugs you can take to prolong life and keep you healthy." "You're sure there's no way anyone can find out these results?" "No." "This is an anonymous test." "Your blood sample cannot be traced to your name." "A coded number only you know is used to identify it." "If you have any questions, any concerns, please don't hesitate to call." "If you'll wait here, someone will be here to take your test shortly." "Twenty-four hours." "I don't know how I'm going to make it." "Some places make you wait a week." "I could throw out my number and forget the whole thing." "Well, that's up to you." "I'll put it out of my mind until tomorrow." "That's a good idea." "I'm going to go back to the shop." "Working on bikes never sounded so good." "Let's make a deal." "We don't talk about it, don't think about it until we get our results." "Good idea." "I liked your features." "Unfortunately, you won't be starting here as a writer." "Well, what exactly does an editorial assistant do?" "Here at Escapade, it's a fancy title for fact-checker." "You take a story and authenticate, corroborate, substantiate all relevant facts and statistics." "I see." "Journalism 101, it's where everyone starts." "I didn't tell you, but the girl buzzed me before you came in with the flowers." " She thought you were a male stripper." " No." "Really?" "Something you said about making a personal delivery." "Two points for creativity." "I don't blame you." "You need every edge you can get." "Cameron, meet Billy." "He's gonna be your associate." " Nice to meet you." " Pleasure." "I'll leave Billy in your capable hands." "Start him on the Mitchellson column." "Get out your translator, the man's dyslexic in 12 languages." "That's how you learn." "By the way, who ended up with my flowers?" "Oh, nobody." "I..." "I just threw 'em out." "Good thinking, if I can't have them, nobody should." " Don't beat 'em up too hard." " Kid gloves." "So... your desk, see if it fits." "Oh, cool." "Where'd you go to school, anyway?" " Columbia, School of Journalism." " No kidding?" "When'd you graduate?" " 'Ninety." " I graduated Columbia in '88." " Really?" "What a coincidence." " Yeah, it's funny we never met." " Well, yeah." "Well, it's a big school." " No, actually, it isn't." "Anyway, you better get started." "You wanna make a good impression your first day." "Alison, this analysis you wrote is both lazy and sloppy." "I wouldn't dream of showing it to Lucy." "Amanda..." "I'm sorry." "I actually think I helped clarify what the client is looking for." " Well, I find it thin." " Really?" "Well, if you don't mind, I think I'd like to have Lucy look at it." " I think it's fine." " It's fine when I say it's fine." "You work for me." "Get that straight, or you may find yourself out of a job." "Hey." "So how are you doing with your end of the bargain?" "Oh, I'm blowing it big time." "I just can't stop thinking." "What if I got this?" "What if my life is over?" "I know how you feel." "Let's get out of here." "Jake, there's nowhere we can run to feel better." "I know a place, come on." "Mike, close up." "Taking refuge in the desert." "If it weren't for these marshmallows," "I'd say there was something vaguely biblical about this experience." "It's true." "There's something spiritual about this place." "The stillness." "The vastness." " I feel alive out here." " It's beautiful." "I always meant to bring you here, but I was always too busy." "Wondering, too busy doing what?" "Life has a funny way of rearranging priorities." "I think about the years I spent being miserable when all I had to do to be happy was to simply appreciate being alive." "God, it's so basic." "How hard we all try to make it seem so complicated." "I could tell you the times" "I've risked my life pulling one stunt or another." "Now I sit here and think, "What a privilege." "Just to be young and healthy."" "I've taken it all for granted." "You know, the truth is, somewhere in the back of my mind..." "I never thought I'd live past 30." "That's how old my mother was when she committed suicide." "I felt touched by that fate." "That somehow, inevitably, my life would be drawn to the same end." "She was sick." "Manic depressive." "She was in so much pain." "She just had to escape living." "But I am not my mother, Jake." "I'm never going to kill myself." "If I do have this disease, I'm gonna fight it with everything I've got." " Jo, maybe everything will be fine." " Maybe." "But it won't be the same." "And that's good." "Because I do have this clarity about my life that I've never had before." "Me too." "There's one thing I've been clear on for a long time, but I've been too afraid to tell you." "What's that?" "I love you, Jo." "Thank you." "I love you too." "I have the results of your test." "Please confirm the number in your hand is the number on this piece of paper." "It is." "I'm sorry." "You have tested positive." "What?" "Are you sure?" "There must be some kind of mistake." "What does this mean?" "It means you have been infected with the HIV virus." "You may develop AIDS." "Are you all right?" "Nightmare." " It's all right." " Maybe." "Come on, come on." "There's a great diner on the way back." "Makes the best chilaquiles you've ever had in your entire life." "Chilaquiles?" "What's a chilaquiles?" " You've never had chilaquiles?" " No." "You've been leading a sheltered existence." " Well, excuse me, Mr Hanson." " It's OK." "I'm going to introduce you to chilaquiles, and then you're going to introduce me to something wonderful I've never experienced before." " What are we waiting for?" " C'mon, let's go." " You, put your shoes on." "Come on." " Hey, Jake." "Jake!" "Amanda." " Hi, can we talk?" " What's on your mind?" "Look, I'm grateful for the job, but there's only so much I can stand." "I refuse to be your whipping post." "If you're upset about something, maybe there's some unresolved jealousy over the situation with Billy, let's have it out right now." "What're you talking about?" "Jealous of whom?" " You know." " Just because Billy and I aren't living together doesn't mean we don't see each other." "I was there for him when his father died." "Where were you?" "I was there for him too." "You were there too late." "Billy hasn't mentioned you since I've been back from Seattle." " I'm not surprised." " Oh, really." "And why is that?" "Think about it, Alison." "Excuse me, I've got to get back to work." "I have the results of your test." "Would you please confirm the number in your hand is the number on this piece of paper." "It is." "Your test results are negative." "But please keep in mind, a negative result does not mean that you are immune to the virus." "You must continue to practice safer sex by using a condom to protect yourself against becoming infected." " But I'm fine?" " You appear to be." "But since it does take up to six months for the HIV infection to test positive in a blood test, we recommend you repeat the test in six months and any time after that you feel you may have come into contact with the AIDS virus." "Yeah, I see." " Are you OK?" " Yeah." "Are you OK?" "I'm sorry I had to put you through this." "No, I'm glad we got tested." "We should've been doing this in the beginning." "You just gave us a little push, that's all." " I'll say." "Boy, do I feel lucky." " Let's go out and celebrate." "There's someplace I've got to go first." " You wanted to see me?" " Yes, Billy, come on in." " How's everything going so far?" " Great." "I put the restaurant review on your desk last night." "Yes, I thought you did a nice job." "The piece could've been crisper, but that's not your fault." "Just give me a shot." "I can do better." "Slow down." "You're right where we need you for the moment." "Now this next piece might be a bit more difficult to prove." "It's a historic perspective on L.A.'s Hispanic roots." "We have some good contacts at UCLA." " Cameron has the numbers." " I'll get right on it." "Oh, and Billy, one more thing." "I want your advice on this." "I was working out at my gym last night." "I do five nights a week without fail." "There was this guy next to me who looked exactly like you." "As a matter of fact I thought it was you, but it wasn't." "I wanted to say hello to him so badly." "I was afraid he might not want to go out with me after watching me sweat for half an hour on the StairMaster." "So I didn't say anything." "I mean, how would you react?" "As a man, I mean, if you saw a woman like me next to you on the StairMaster?" "I don't know, I guess..." "Would you be attracted?" "Well, sure." "I should've said something." "I was too shy." "Well, next time I will." "Thank you, Billy." " Let me know when you've finished." " Sure." "OK." " What are you doing here?" " Can I come in?" "I just want to talk." "Whatever it is you have to say, make it quick." "I don't have much time." "I..." "I took the test." "I'm negative." "So is Jo." "Congratulations." " What, did you come to gloat?" " No..." "I want to help you, Peri." "Please, Jake." "I may be sick, but I don't need your pity." "I appreciate you warning me." "I'm glad I took the test." "It's something I should've done." "I'm sorry for the way I reacted." "I didn't mean to dump on you." "I don't blame you, Jake." "You had somebody to take it out on." "I wish I had that luxury." "But you can't get angry at a disease." "So... how you feeling?" "I'm OK." "I have my good days and my bad days." "But..." "I'm on medication, so for the most part I'm OK." "Is there anything I can do for you?" "Well, you could loan me ten thou for medical bills." "Other than that..." "I'm handling it." "So thanks for stopping by, Jake." "And..." "I'm glad you're OK." "You know, Peri..." "For a moment I had to consider the fact that I had this thing." "In that moment, I came to the realization that the bitterness" "I had towards life was a lot of wasted energy." "So, look we may have made a lousy couple but we never gave friendship a try." "What do you say?" "Yeah." "Let's give it a try."