"Oh, smell that fresh air." "I mean, there's nothing like it." "Agreed." "You've gotta drive a lot further from the city to find it these days." "Yeah, the air's bad, the water's bad." "Well, at least the ocean's hanging in there." "Yeah, partly." "You can't eat the fish coming out of the bays around here." "What is the matter with people anyway?" "Why do they mess up their own backyards?" "Money." "As long as they get theirs, they don't care what happens." "Yeah." "Think they'll ever wise up?" "Oh, probably, people generally do." " When it's too late." " Yeah." "Come on, let's change the subject." "We got a little time off, let's enjoy it, right?" "You got it." "Well, first thing I wanna do is stop off and see my old pal Gary Douglas." "That surprises me." "I thought the first thing you'd wanna do is eat." "Oh, yeah, you're right." "I am kind of hungry." "So I'll see Gary tomorrow." "I mean, what's another day, huh?" "Daddy." "Honey, this isn't my first time..." "Now, that is something your daddy would say." " Yeah." " Yeah, Daddy's funny." "Naturally, he gets his sense of humour from me." "Mommy, do I have a sense of humour?" "You?" "You crack me up." "Good." " Who can that be at this hour?" " No, no, sit, I'll get it." "If it's the Girl Scouts, they already got me for two boxes." "Four boxes?" "All right." "That will last about two days around here." "Hank." "Tom." "What's the matter?" "Well, Lorraine..." "It's not good." "Gary's been hurt?" "It's worse than that." "He was shot tonight." "How bad?" "Oh, no." "No, please." "Oh, God." "Oh, God, no." "How you doing?" "All right?" "Yeah." "Thirty-three is too young to die." "It sure is." "Gary was a good guy." "He was a good cop too." "I'm not saying that just because I trained him." "He just had this way of making everybody feel great." "You know what I mean?" "People like that are rare." "Yeah, they sure are." "It's gonna be hard on his family." "He's got a little boy named Stevie." "I think he's about 7 now." "Man, I'm glad we don't have an assignment." "I feel a lot better having you along." "This is our assignment." "Ten-hut." "Front arm." "Right oblique." "Prepare to fire." "Ready." "Aim." "Fire." "Aim." "Fire." "Aim." "Fire." "Recover." "Left oblique." "Order arm." " Gary will be missed very, very much." " Thank you." "Thanks, chief." "Lorraine." "Mark." "Mark, is that you?" "How are you doing, kiddo?" "I've been better." "Hi, Joe." "My thoughts have been with you." "Mark, it's good to see you." "Oh, this is my friend Jonathan Smith." "This is Lorraine and Joe Douglas." "I'm very sorry about your loss." "Well, thank you for coming." "Where's Stevie?" "I left him with a neighbour." "I just didn't see any reason to put him through this." "It's hard enough on the boy." "Anyway, will you come back to the house?" "We're having just, you know, a little gathering for friends from the force." "We'll follow you." " No, thanks very much." " You're welcome." "Thank you." " Thank you." " Thanks for coming." " Thanks very much." " I appreciate this." "Okay." " Thank you." " Yeah, bye." "Great, thanks." "I'm glad this day is almost over." "They say the day of the funeral is the hardest." "That was quite a tribute they paid to Gary." "Oh, yes, the police department's real good with tributes." "Yeah, I guess so." "Anyway." "Look at this mess." "Look, why don't you two sit down and relax." "Mark and I can clean this up." "No way I'm gonna sit down while you clean my house." "Rule number one:" "Never try to talk Lorraine out of anything." "Rule number two:" "Never try to talk Lorraine out of anything." "I'll get a plastic bag." "I just feel like I have to stay on top of everything, especially now." "I mean, there's so much I have to take care of for Gary." "Hey, look, I'd be happy to give you a hand with the pension stuff, insurance." "I had to go through it, you know, when I left the department." "Mark, I couldn't ask you to do that." "You didn't, I offered." "Now, come on, I really wanna help." "Well, okay, but I insist you stay with us, then." "I've got two beds up in the guest room." " Hi, sweetie." " Hi, Mommy." "Thank you, Betty." "Listen, your timing was perfect." "Everybody just left." " Was he a good boy?" " He's a doll." "You're gonna be a real heartbreaker, you know that?" "Now, you take care." "If you need anything, just pick up the phone and holler." "Thank you, I will." "Don't tell me this is Stevie." "Stevie, this is Mark and Jonathan." "They wanna say hello to you." "I remember you when you were a little baby." "How are you doing?" "Good to see you." "Hi." "Let me tell you something, he's been a brave little trouper." "You bet he has." "He's a big boy." "What do you got there?" "It's a picture of Amazing Man, see?" "Amazing Man." "Hey, that's beautiful." "Well, he looks like a good friend." "He is." "He's the best." "Can I go to bed now?" "Bed?" "It's too early, isn't it?" "I just wanna go to bed." "All right, sweetie, go ahead." "I'll be up in a few minutes." " Stevie?" " Yeah?" "You wanna sleep in Mommy's room tonight?" "No, I wanna sleep with Amazing Man." "Joe, did you give him that doll?" "No." "I never saw it before tonight." "Hey, look at this." "Amusement World has a new ride." "Spider Wheel." "I bet Stevie would love that." "He's too young for those rides, Joe." "Oh, I think he'd get a kick out of it." "You know, get his mind off stuff." "Not that way." "Mother knows best." "Stevie and I are off to school." "Gonna introduce me to his teacher, aren't you?" "If you want me to." "Thank you for taking him." "I would've take him, Jonathan, but I have to see the dentist this morning." " I know how you feel." " Yeah." "Come on, pal." "We're on our way." "We'll see you later." " Hi, partner." " Hi, partner." "Bye, partner." "Bye, partner." "You got our schedule worked out for today?" "Yeah." "Everything except the pension office." "It's funny, isn't it, Mark?" "I bet you never thought when you were training Gary that you would be here helping his widow." "It's gonna take some time, but you'll be okay." "Hey, if you don't get going, you're never gonna get your business done." "Okay." "Oh, Joe, I forgot." "We have to drop you at the dentist." "Don't worry about me." " I'll take the bus." " Oh, no, you don't." "Hey, it's only two miles." "Anyway, I like the bus." "I always meet interesting characters." " Okay, we'll see you later." " Yeah." "It's really sad." "I saw all the reports on the news." "Well, I'm sure his classmates have seen them too." "We just may have to deal with that." "If the subject comes up," "I'll try and handle it in a way that's comfortable for him." "Mrs. Douglas will appreciate that." "I'd better be going." "Thank you very much." "Sure." " Mrs. Blake?" " Yes, Jason?" "Was that Stevie's father who got killed on TV the other night?" "Oh, yes." "That was Stevie's daddy." "He was a policeman and he was very brave." "He was a hero." "And we all want Stevie to know that he and his family are in our prayers." "Stevie?" "Honey, dinner's ready." "He's been up in his room all afternoon." "Lasagne's great." "Remember the time Gary brought it to the station for the guys?" "You know, I think that's how he got his promotion." "No, Gary got his promotion because he was gung ho." "There's nothing wrong with being gung ho." "As a matter of fact," ""gung ho" was the slogan of our marines during the big war." "It all depends on how you look at it." "There's only one way I wanna look at it." "My son was a hero." "We're not gonna agree on this, Joe, so why don't we drop the subject." "Well, Jonathan, how did everything go at the school today?" "Oh, yeah, Mrs. Blake was very understanding." "I still think Stevie's gonna have a tough time." "You know how cruel kids can be." "I know." "It's tough, but he's strong and he's gonna have to deal with it." "Where is he, anyway?" "Stevie." "Dinner's ready, honey." "Will you please come down?" "What have you been doing?" "Nothing." " Did you wash your hands?" " Yes." "All right, come sit down." "Stevie, please sit down." "Your dinner's getting cold." "I have to finish setting the table first." "Your place is already set, sweetie." "I have to set a place for a friend." "Oh, yeah?" "Who's your friend, Stevie?" "Amazing Man." "Will you look at this?" "The tag's still on it." "He never even wore it." "Somebody will get a lot of use out of it." "Mark's taking the first load down to the thrift store." " You got any more boxes for me?" " We're coming along." "Mommy, I'm home." "Oh, great." "I didn't want him to see this." "Well, you're home early." "We had an assembly." "How you doing, Stevie?" "What are you doing with Daddy's clothes?" "We're giving them away to the poor people." "Oh, do you have to?" "Yes, sweetie, we do." "I want you to go in and get going on your homework, huh?" "Can't I stay?" "Well, no, sweetie." "Sorry, there's really not enough room in here." "Please." "No way, Jose." "But I wanna stay in here." "No, I'm sorry, you can't, all right?" "Now, let's go." "You never let me do anything." "All right, now, that's enough." "You go to your room." "You're mean." "I'll be right back." "Stevie." "Stevie, I'm sorry I snapped at you, honey." "Mommy just has a lot on her mind." "I have a lot to do before I go back to work next week." "Stevie, are you listening to me?" "Stevie, put that thing down so I can talk to you." "It's not a thing, it's Amazing Man." "Stevie, I expect you to look at me when I talk to you." "I don't wanna." "Now, just a minute, mister." "Now, this Amazing Man business has gotten all out of hand." "You eat with it, you sleep with it, you take it to school with you." "He's my friend." "Well, I want you to put your friend aside" " and I want you to do your homework." " I'll do it later." " You'll do it now." " No." " All right, give me the toy." " No way." "Amazing Man doesn't have to listen to anybody." "He told me he wants to fly." "Is that right?" "Well, let me tell you something." "When I see that you've done your homework, you can have him back." "Amazing Man is very mad at you." "He'll get over it." "And I don't want you taking it to school with you anymore." "Amazing Man." "I knew you'd come." "Boy, it's been a long time since I walked these hallways." "And everybody looks so young." "Listen, this pension stuff shouldn't take too long." "I mean, it's pretty straightforward." "Here." "Do you believe this?" "They said they'd be open all day." " They're probably having lunch." " Well, maybe they're eating in here." "Hey, if they're chowing down in there, they're not gonna answer the door." "Boy, the guys with the inside jobs really have it made, don't they?" "Come on, Lorraine, take it easy." "Yeah, sure." "Hey, I tell you what." "Why don't we go sit on a bench and take ourselves a break, huh?" "Lorraine, come on." "Mark, why the hell did he have to be a cop?" "Why?" "He loved being a cop, you know that." "What I know is, that everybody in this place could always count on Gary to take the overtime, to pull a shift for them." "It's that kind of job, you know?" "People here have to look out for each other." "Really?" "Is looking out for everybody else but your own family what it's all about?" "Of course not." "We needed him at home too." "Lorraine," "Gary loved you and Stevie and Joe very, very much." "Now, you know that." "A lot of good it does us now." "Okay, Amazing Man, you stand in front of me, and when the bad guys come, I'll blow them away into little pieces." "Amazing Man, there's too many." "I need your help." "Crush them, quick." " What are you doing?" " I'm playing." " What are you playing?" " I'm playing with Amazing Man." "Who's that?" "He's an interspace crime fighter." "Where is he?" "He's over there." "Why can't we see him?" "Because he only lets me see him." "Oh, yeah?" "Then what's he look like?" "He's real tall." "He has big muscles and he can fly." "Oh, Superman." "No way." "He's much stronger than Superman." "Kryptonite can't hurt him." "Amazing Man can eat kryptonite and he wouldn't even know it." "No one's stronger than Superman." "That's why he's called Superman." "Superman used to be the strongest, but that was before Amazing Man." " That's dumb." " You're dumb." "There isn't any Amazing Man." " There is too." " There is not." "Is too." "We play together all the time." "He even takes me flying." "We're best friends." "Oh, yeah?" "Then he'll probably get mad if I take your hat." "Give me that." "No, if you want it, have Amazing Man come over here and try to take it away from me." "Come on, come on." "You're all dumb." "You're all dumb." "I got Stevie's hat." "I got Stevie's hat." "I got Stevie's hat." "I got Stevie's hat." "Mrs. Blake?" "Oh, Mrs. Douglas, thanks for coming." "Well, thank you for waiting for me." "Listen, I have to tell you," "I was a little concerned when you called." "Oh, I'm sorry I worried you." "It's just that Stevie's having some problems, and I thought we should talk." "Please, come in." "Help." "Help." "Somebody help me, please." "Hold on, Grandpa Joe." "I can't hold on much longer." "Don't let go of the cliff, Grandpa Joe." "Amazing Man's coming to save you." "Amazing Man, you are strong." "Well, Grandpa Joe, you're okay now." "Yeah, well, how are we gonna get out of this jungle and back to civilisation?" "I know." "Amazing Man will fly us back." "Good idea." "Okay, Amazing Man, fly us back to our house." "Amazing Man, you rescued us again." "You are amazing." "Yeah, he's the best." "What are you doing?" "Well, we're being rescued by Amazing Man, that's what." "Right, amigo?" "Yeah, he got us out of big trouble." "You are in even bigger trouble with me, young man." "Let me tell you something, I just got finished talking to your teacher." "She said that you're spending all your free time with this Amazing Man of yours." "That you're not doing your school work, that you're getting into fights." "Is that true?" "I don't know." "Well, I do know." "Now, I want you to get upstairs and get busy doing the work that you're supposed to be doing." "But, Mommy..." "No "but Mommy" me." "Now, go." "And I don't want you talking to Amazing Man." "I want you doing your work." "Joe, I do not want you encouraging him in this Amazing Man business." "Now, listen, Lorraine." "I kept my mouth shut while the boy was in the room, but I gotta say something." "I think you're coming down on him too hard." "Well, I think he needs structure, Joe." "I think he needs to deal with the real world." "There'll be plenty of time for that." "Look, he's my responsibility now." "I will make all the rules for him." "I'm sure you will." "But I wanna make one point." "Regardless of what you and the teacher say, kids do have imaginary playmates." "I remember Gary had one when he was a kid." "I thought it was kind of cute." "I bet you did." "I'll bet he was a cop." "What do you mean by that?" "Joe, weren't you the one that was always encouraging him to be a cop?" "We're getting on that, huh?" "Listen." "Being a cop was Gary's decision." "Now, I'm proud my son was a cop." "And there are a lot of other people who are proud he was too." "Good, why don't you tell him that, Joe." "Why don't you tell your son how proud you are of him." "How you doing, Joe?" "Relaxing, huh?" "Around here?" "You gotta be kidding." "What's the matter?" "Is something wrong?" "Not with me, there isn't." "I can't vouch for her, though." "It's great, isn't it?" "My own daughter-in-law blames me for what happened to Gary." "Oh, I'm sure, no matter what she said, she didn't mean that." "I'm taking a walk." "Amazing Man." "Nobody believes that you're real." "Not the kids at school, and not even my mommy." "And you are real, and you're my friend." "Okay, here's the last of the envelopes." " Okay." " Boy," "I can't believe we're almost finished." "Sign these forms, I'll run them by the post office." " Okay." " Hey, how's it going?" " Oh, good." "Mark's a real whiz." " Oh, shucks." "Hey, listen, I have a feeling Stevie here could be talked into going to the park." "I wouldn't mind taking him." "Jonathan, you don't have to do that." "I mean, I'm sure Joe will take him when he gets back from the senior centre." "Yeah, but then I wouldn't get a chance to play." "You wanna go, honey?" "I guess so." "All right, pal, come on, let's go." " Right there." " Okay." "So you wanna play some catch?" "I don't think so." "How about monkey bars?" "No, I wanna play with Amazing Man." "You really like Amazing Man, don't you, Stevie?" "Oh, yeah." "How come?" "Because he comes whenever I call him and he never tells me what to do." "He's a lot better than regular people." " And you know what else?" " What?" "He never lies." "Oh, do regular people lie to you?" "Yeah." " You're kidding." "Who lies to you?" " My dad." "He said he would come home after work for dinner, and he didn't." "Stevie, I know your dad wanted to come home to you, but he just couldn't." "But Amazing Man could." "Because when the bad guys shoot at him, the bullets don't stick." "They just bounce right off." "Amazing Man can never die, huh?" "That's right, he can't ever die." "You really miss your daddy, don't you?" "No." "This is some tree." "Yeah." "You know, trees are really special things." "Just think about it, they give protection to squirrels and to birds." "They always seem to be around when you want something to climb into." "I tell you, this tree's been here a long, long time." "But someday it's not gonna be here anymore." "Why not?" "Well, I mean, I wish it could be here forever, but it just can't." "You see, trees are like all living things, someday they're gonna die." "That's not fair." "Oh, I know it doesn't seem fair." "Especially if it's a person who dies, and it's someone you love very, very much, like your daddy." "I'm wanna go play with Amazing Man." "Joe, if you can't rinse the dishes any better than this," "I'd just as soon do it myself." "Well, that's just fine with me." "You do it." "Oh, hi, Jonathan." "Hi." "Did you and Stevie have a good time at the park?" "Well, let's say we tried, but he's having a hard time at it." "Why?" "Did he say anything?" "No, it's what he didn't say." "I think Stevie's feeling a lot of pain now and he just can't get it out." "And I think he's afraid to get it out." "What do you mean?" "Stevie's gotten the message that it's not all right for him to talk about how sad he feels right now." "Well, we sure haven't stopped him." "I'm sorry to say, I think you have." "Well, beginning with the funeral." "I mean, not letting him go to his own father's funeral had to make him feel like an outsider." "I mean, it's as though he didn't have a right to grieve." "Jonathan, he's just a child." "Yeah, but he's got feelings." "Come on, since the funeral, have either one of you sat down and talked with him about what he's going through?" "No." "No, because it would just upset him." "Upset him or you, Lorraine?" "I think you're not talking to Stevie because Gary's passing is too hard for you to deal with." "Really, Jonathan, that's ridiculous." "Oh, it is?" "Well, I think that's why you two are on each other's case all the time." "It's a lot easier for you to argue than talk about how much you're hurting inside." "Stevie's taking his lead from you." "He's hiding from the pain." "Disappearing into his imaginary world with Amazing Man." "Well, we were just trying to protect him." "You can't protect yourself or him from the pain." "Lorraine, you lost Gary." "You have to allow yourself a chance to grieve, so you can heal." "I loved him so much." "Oh, I know that." "But keep his memory alive, then." "Go to your son." "Well, I guess that's just about it." "Mark, thank you." "Thank you for everything." "Listen, next time you come back, you won't have to work this hard either, I promise." "How's he doing, Joe?" "He's all cried out, I think." "Is it all right if I go upstairs and say goodbye to him?" "Yeah, sure." "I won't be long, Mark." "Hi, Stevie." "Amazing Man?" "How you doing tonight?" "Did you come to play?" "No, not this time." "I thought maybe we could talk a little bit." "What about?" "Well, I understand you went someplace special today." "Yeah." "I went to the cemetery to visit my daddy." "Do you wanna tell me about it?" "Mommy and Grandpa Joe took me." "I put flowers on Daddy's grave, and cried a lot because I wanted to hold him." "Yeah, I know." "I wanted to talk to Daddy, but I knew he couldn't hear me." "Hey, why do you say that?" "Because he's gone." "Oh, no, he's not." "Your daddy's not gone, Stevie." "See, part of your daddy is still inside you." "Always will be." "And his love can always hear your love." "Does that happen every time?" "You bet it does, every single time." "What do you wanna say to your dad?" "It's okay." "Well, I wanted to say..." "It's all right to tell Amazing Man, you know." "I love you, Daddy." "I love you and I miss you." "I'm sorry I got mad at you for not coming home." "Hey." "Hey, it's okay to cry." "I'm okay now." "You bet you're okay." "That's why I'm able to go." "See, I've got another assignment." "Where do you have to go?" "Oh, it's a long, long way from here." "I gotta fly a long ways to help another little boy who's scared just the way you were, till you found out your dad was still in your heart." "Well, I guess it's all right, if someone else really needs you." "There's just one thing I would like." "If you could." "Yeah, you name it." "You mean that?" "Anything?" "Anything." "You guys don't know how to dribble." "Now watch me." "I can go under my legs." "You know, spin on my finger, you know." "Hey, come on." "Hey, you know" "What was that?" "Who was that?" "What was that?" "Amazing Man?" "Amazing Man?" "It was just a dream."