"Çeviri :" "Murat The Third" "Benden daha az tecrübeli olanlar.." "...Size kýzlar hakkýnda söyleyeceklerim var." "Temel olarak, çok iðrençlerdir." "Anlýyorsunuz ya, bu taraftan her þey oldukça siyah beyaz kadar farklý görünüyor." "Eskiden, 1 ilkokul 1 yada 2 sýnýftayken.." ".. erkekler arasýndaki en yaygýn düþünce, baþkalarýna bit bulaþtýrdýklarýydý." "Biiit!" "Bana dokundu!" " Bitler!" " Dokunma bana!" "Bitli!" "O artýk bitlendi!" "Aslýnda, bit ne demek, bilmiyorduk bile!" "...but the general feeling was, if a girl touched you some very, very bad things were gonna happen." "How right we were." "This is me now." "I've been in love for two and a half weeks and it's a pain I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies." "I'm not gonna dress this up pretty." "Just about everything I know about women, love and the birds and the freaking bees I've learned in the past two and half weeks." "But when you're 10 years old..." "Rosemary!" "...two and a half weeks can be a lifetime." "Okay, here's the deal:" "If you came to hear some great New York love story keep walking." "You want a real love story?" "I'll tell you a real one." "My parents, Camp Anawana, Catskill Mountains, 1984." "My father was 19 and the star sports counselor." " Shoot it." " My mom was a C.I.T." "People say she reminded them of Sissy Spacek." "What happened under that harvest moon that summer, that's the stuff of legend." "In my family, it's what we like to refer to as ancient history." "These days, my dad's sleeping on the couch." "Due to this unusual quirk in the New York state divorce code neither one of my parents can move out of our apartment until their settlement is signed, sealed and delivered." "Needless to say, it doesn't make for the greatest living environment." " Did you drink my Pepsi?" " It was my Pepsi." "It had my name on it." "Especially since my mom's recently decided to start dating again." " Hello." " Leslie?" "Is there anything worse than being mistaken for your mother?" " No, this is Gabe." " Hey, sorry, big guy." "You two sound so much alike." "Is your mom around?" "This is Ronny." "I got it, honey." "You can hang up." "Now, that's a real love story." "This much I know firsthand:" "Love ends." "You want proof?" "Check out my parents' refrigerator." "Why did I ever have to discover this ridiculous pain inside of me?" "Because two and a half weeks ago, before all this love nonsense..." "And I'm not just saying this either." "No, before all this, I was happy." "No!" "Truly happy." "I'm serious." "My life was filled with song." "And sport." "And constant adventure." "Oh, Rosemary." "Rosemary, Rosemary, Rosemary." "Why did you ever have to come into my life?" "Who am I kidding?" "She's been in my life for as long as I can remember." "For one little stretch there during kindergarten you might even say we were friends." "What are you kids doing under there?" "That was before first grade, when the iron curtain came down." "Girls on one side boys on the other." "Oh, she was still there, of course." "I have the class pictures to prove it." "I just didn't see her." "I lived in a world of men." "So who wants to go to Duane Reade?" "Man, I am not helping you steal Kit Kats again, Max." "Watch it!" "But you got no trouble eating the candy I provide for you, do you?" "I'm not doing lookout." "I'm sorry, guys." " Hey, guys, it's 5:00." "I gotta roll." " I thought we were gonna shoot some 21." "No, I'm meeting my dad for football practice." "See you guys later." "The two of you are so nuts, man." "See, my father and I have this sort of plan." "I'm gonna be the Tiger Woods of the place-kicking world." " Yeah!" " And he's gonna be my Earl." "See?" "If you dedicate yourself to one goal and one goal only at a ridiculously young age history has taught us we can achieve anything." "Get back." " One, two, three..." " You see?" "Before Rosemary Telesco I had a very fulfilling life." "Nice." "How did it get so late?" "Your mother's gonna have dinner waiting for you." "What do you say we stop by Patsy's and get a couple of slices?" " Can I take karate?" " Karate?" "It's a martial art." " What's karate have to do with place-kicking?" " It can't hurt." " Well, how much is it?" " I can?" "If it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg." "It might help your flexibility." "Sure." "Mistake number one was ever taking that godforsaken class." "Karate is not about strength." "It's about skill." "It's about focus." "It's an art of determination." " When she showed up that first day..." " Sorry, my tap class ran late." "...I was actually kind of glad, you know." "A familiar face and all that." "I didn't know anybody else in the class." "If you can master the art of karate, you can master anything." "Come on!" "About face." "Middle punch, kiai." "You're each gonna progress through this course at your own pace." "Those of you who pass the test to get your yellow belt will be given yellow." "Those who pass red, red." "It's about finding your personal best." "Come on." "Now, I want you to pair up." "Everyone gets a sparring partner." "Oh, the painful dance of pairing up." "Twenty seconds of pure torture." "Now, I didn't want a girl for a sparring partner." "Would you?" " Hey." " Hey." "Okay, let me tell you something about Rosemary Telesco." "Rosemary wasn't the prettiest girl in our class." "That was Madison Shaw." "And she wasn't the second prettiest either." "That was Vanessa Muir." "No, Rosemary was third." "But, boy, could that girl do karate." "Keep it tight." "Don't get the wrong idea." "We weren't really friends." "We were just karate friends." "Back at school, nothing changed, of course." "As far as the rest of the world was concerned, the real world that iron curtain was still solid." "But when we put on those white robes we could see past our many differences and fight like equals." "There was just one tiny problem." "I pretty much sucked at karate." "We all congratulate Rosemary Telesco on being the first in the class to earn her yellow belt." "Thank you very much." "Talk about an assault to everything I knew about the world." "Girls mature faster than boys." "That's completely made up." "Boys are much more mature." "This isn't a matter of opinion, Gabe." "There were studies." "Girls speak first, they walk first." "I see it in my little sister's class." "The boys her age all seem retarded." "There's absolutely no reason I shouldn't be able to get my yellow belt in a week." " You don't take it seriously." " I take it seriously." "You're not focused." "You think you're this natural." " You don't practice." " I practice." " When?" " All the time." "You should practice with me." "You'd get better." " Fine, let's practice." " Name the time." " I don't care." "This afternoon." " Fine." "Great." "Oh, I forgot." "I have this one errand." "I'm supposed to be this flower girl in a couple of weeks, and I have this fitting." "But it's gonna be, like, five minutes." "I promise." "Classic female move." "The bait and switch." "My mother's tricked me into many a shoe store with that one." "Is there anything worse than dress shopping?" "I'm serious." "I'd rather have my toenails peeled off one by one with pliers than spend five minutes in a dress store." "Okay, what's going on here?" "What the heck is this?" "My God, what's this feeling in the pit of my stomach?" "Who is this..?" "This amazing creature before me?" "What do you think?" "You are going to be the prettiest flower girl there." "I'm definitely gonna be the oldest one." "Who..?" " Who's getting married?" " My mom's sister." "Oh." "Cool." "It's kind of weird because she's, like, seven months pregnant." "In that one moment, Rosemary Telesco leaped past Vanessa Muir past Madison Shaw." "I looked at Rosemary and just felt so confused." "She's a girl." "I'm supposed to despise girls, not feel nervous talking to one." "Not be all tongue-tied." "I mean, this was Rosemary Telesco." "I knew her since kindergarten." "Just a little rock." "I mean, it's..." "It'll be fine." "Just gonna grab my scooter." "I'm really cool, honestly." "As she took me to practice karate at her place, one thing became clear." "Rosemary went to P.S. 87 because her parents believed in public education." "See, believing in public education wasn't really a luxury my family could afford." "Don't go to Taos." "Not without me." "Mr. And Mrs. Telesco, her parents they, like, started this soap opera, Santa Fe, that's on, like, every day so you know they had a few bucks." "Oh, look at that." "You see that?" "I knew your folks were gonna keep them together." "Didn't I say it?" " Let's go practice in my bedroom." " Okay." " Will you have me, Kate?" " What do you think I'll say?" "Come on." "He is no good for you." "Get back in the truck." "If karate is all about focus..." " Good one." "...my focus was all over that pink room." "I mean, there I was, in the inner sanctum, alone with her." "Smelling her smell." "What is that?" "Strawberry?" " So, what made you take karate?" " Made me?" "Daryl Kitzens." " Daryl Kitzens made you take karate?" " Yeah, have you seen the guy?" "He's insane." "Daryl Kitzens is without a doubt the scariest kid in the Upper West Side." "He's a fifth grader but he's supposed to be in seventh." "He is a giant." "Held back two grades out of his first five." "At the rate he's going, he'll graduate from high school at age 27 and will have terrorized an entire generation of Upper West Siders." "Are you afraid he's gonna beat you up?" "No." "No, no." "Of course not." "I just, you know, wanna be ready when that day comes, you know." "Who was I kidding?" "I was petrified." "Kitzens hangs out a lot in front of the subway station on 72nd and Broadway." "I haven't walked past that corner since October." " Well, we should practice more." " Yeah, sure, let's go." "We need to start working on those maneuvers he taught us." "Well, I kind of meant some other time." "It's getting kind of late." "Oh, yeah, that sounds great." "It's getting kind of late anyway, so..." "Yeah." "How could I have said that?" "Okay, just shake it off." "Keep it together." " Are you okay?" " That's the..." "The door." "Look at her, living this perfect life up here, with a view of the park and everything." "Yet she's so humble." "Suddenly, Rosemary's whole world seemed very attractive to me." "Her parents, with all their success the nanny who's been with her since she was born and the adopted 3-year-old sister rescued from an orphanage in Beijing." "And me, my family's on a one-way ticket to The Jerry Springer Show." " Hi." " Hey." " Is Leslie around?" " Yeah." "Les, your date's here." "She's coming." "I'm her husband." "Only 20 more minutes of video, okay, hon?" "Bedtime soon." " All right." " Good night." " Adam, Ronny." "Ronny, Adam." " Yeah, yeah." " You guys met?" "Okay, good." " Yeah, we met." "Shall we?" "See, this divorce thing..." " You guys have fun." " Thank you." "...it's a very difficult situation for everyone." "This isn't anybody's fault, you know." "It's not anybody's fault." "It's just that your father and I are a lot more different than we thought." "They're just very different people." "Even though I was just 9 and a half, I totally took it like a man." "Now, I'm not saying I'm some latchkey kid." "I mean, I don't wanna make it seem like my parents are irresponsible either." "But for a year now, I've been able to roam the city." "Well, okay, not really the city." "Nine square blocks." "The planetarium to the north, Riverside Park to the west Central Park to the east." "And 72nd street to the south." "In those blocks, I own this town." "Rosemary lived on 81st Street, near the park." "A few yards north of my territory." "When I started, you know, casually riding past her building I was heading into some uncharted waters." "It was summer break." "Our next karate class wasn't for three days." "Do you know how many Telescos there are in the Manhattan phone book?" "Two." " Telescos'." " One's a butcher shop down in the Village." "Rosemary?" "No, there's no Rosemary here." " And trust me..." " This is Frank." "...the other was not her either." "Hi, is Rosemary there?" "You the kid that called a half an hour ago?" "What was I to do?" "Except loiter and hope?" "Her doorman's looking at me." "Oh, my God, there she is." "I didn't have a contingency plan for if I actually saw her." "Just go up to her." "Go, go." "Say hi to her." "She looked so busy." "I'll talk to her another day." "Coward." "You fool." "How could you be so weak?" "I'm not weak." "I'm only human." "What was I gonna say? "I was in the neighborhood"?" "That's pathetic." "No, you're weak and you're pathetic." "And you're gonna be alone your entire life." "Who cares?" "I'd rather be alone than endure this misery and torment." " Watch it, child." " Gabe?" "Oh, hi." "How's it going?" "I'm just, you know, in the neighborhood." " Don't you live in the neighborhood?" " Well, 73rd and West End." "I guess it sort of depends on how the neighborhood is defined." "Could I sound like any more of a loser?" "So, what are you guys up to?" "Well, my sister's got a birthday party in the park." "I'm just bringing my book." " Wanna come?" " Come?" "Sure." "Stop it." " Sorry you came?" " Not yet." " Bubble." " Bubbles, yeah." "Look." "Look, there's my point." "Those two kids are the same age." "She's, like, talking, using her hands, telling stories and he's drooling over a cupcake." " They're not the same age." " How much you wanna bet?" "A buck says he's six months younger than her." " Buy me an ice cream?" " No, you're buying me one." "Excuse me." " Is that your son?" " Yeah." " How old is he?" " He's two and a half." "And that little girl, do you know how old she is?" "She's three months younger." "That proves nothing." "Man, look at her." "Have you ever seen anyone more beautiful?" "So smart too." "She's just my type." "Wow, I didn't even know I had a type." "Now, if I could only shake the nanny, we'd be in business." " So should we get that ice cream now?" " Now?" "Well, I mean, sure, if you want one." " Birdie, could we go get an ice cream?" " Yeah, hurry back, now." "Oh, no, thanks." "Unfortunately, this one's on me." "My first date." "The big spender." "Haagen-Dazs all the way, baby." "So how come I have nothing to say to her?" "And why isn't she looking at me?" "Am I that hideous?" "Do I smell?" " You come here often?" " Central Park?" " Yeah." " What kind of question is that?" "I hate myself." "I live across the street, you know." "You?" " Me?" " Are you more Riverside?" "Yeah, I'm more of a Riverside guy." "That's really the park." "But Central Park's pretty cool." "I've done my time here." "Hey, Strawberry Fields." "You know what it's named for?" " Some Beatles song, right?" " Close." "It's actually the name of the orphanage in Liverpool where John Lennon used to play with his friends." " Really?" " Yeah." "I didn't know that." "Neat." "I took Rosemary on a tour of the park that would make your head spin." "This was my Central Park, my New York." "Yeah, they used to have herds and hundreds and hundreds of sheep grazing these fields." "And then they gave the sheepherder a job on the zoo at the lion house." "Oh, yeah, didn't the sheepherder live up in Tavern on the Green?" "It was a sheepfold back then, but yeah." "See those buildings up there?" "When I was younger, I'd pretend they were pirate ships, and I'd fight them." " I never took you for a pirate guy." " Well, I outgrew that eventually." "That's where my aunt's getting married next week." "Oh, the Boathouse." "Of course." " Flower girl." " Oh, I'm so looking forward to that." "My aunt asked me to be her flower girl when I was 4." "But little did any of us know it would take seven years for her boyfriend to pop the question." "That's hilarious." "I was charming and suave." "Everything you could hope to be on your first real date." " Maybe we should practice more karate." " You need it." " I am this close to becoming a yellow belt." " Try this close." " What's tomorrow like for you?" " Saturday..." "I've got cello in the morning." "And then the afternoon, I've got tap." "Tap?" "What time does tap end?" "I'm sorry, after tap I've got this Indian princess thing I do with my father." "Jeez, it was easier scheduling Arab-Israeli peace talks than making a date with this girl." " What's Indian princess?" " It's this Daddy-and-me thing." "Don't ask." "I just do it so he won't feel guilty working late all week." " How about Sunday?" " Sunday's good." " Morning?" " In the morning I have a tutor." "But how about the afternoon?" " Tutor?" "What kind of tutor?" " It's for the ERBs." "My parents want me to go to Ethical Culture next year, or Trinity." "Private school?" "Really?" "I probably won't get in anywhere." "Maybe I'll throw the test." "What exactly did that mean?" "Was that some kind of sign?" "She'd throw her test for me?" "Does she "like" like me?" "You nearly gave me a heart attack." "Where were you, girl?" " I'm sorry." "We were..." " "Sorry" ain't good enough." "You're 11 years old." "This is New York City." "You can't go off running by yourself like that." "You want Birdie telling your parents on you, huh?" "Now, you two say your goodbyes now." " Sunday afternoon?" " Sounds good." " Maybe I should come to your place?" " My place?" "See, ever since my dad moved onto the couch I've been uninterested in having friends over." " Perfect." " See you then." "Come on, let's go." "Here." "Running off like that." "You know better than that." "Never had I felt so alive." "I had a date with Rosemary." "Was there any better age to be in any better city in the world?" "Sunday couldn't come fast enough." "What was today?" "Only Friday?" "Oh, the eternity." "Hey, watch where you're going!" " Get off the sidewalk, you maniac." " Sorry!" " Hey, how goes it, Mr. Gabe?" " Pretty fine, Ralph." "How's it coming along with that place-kicking?" "Place-kicking?" "I'm more into karate these days." " Karate?" " Yeah." "You gotta watch the show Xtreme Martial Arts with this guy Mike Chaturantabut." " Mike?" " Mike Chat." " Mike Chat." "All right." " Yeah." " Cool, I'll check it out." " Hold the door, please." "Oh, sure, no problem, Lina." "That's what I'm here for, right?" "Thank you so much, Ralph." " Thank you." " Sure." "New au pair in 3G." "She's from Stockholm." "Got you." "Mike Chat knows that showmanship is huge in the martial-arts tournaments." "In fact, Mike's the Tony Hawk of martial arts." "The guy who changed the game." "And he's Matt's teacher." "Mike pioneered XMA, Xtreme Martial Arts." "He's rooted in the fundamentals..." " Hey, Mom?" " Hey." " I was thinking I kind of need a haircut." " A haircut?" " Yeah." " Okay, I'll do it in the morning." "See, this was a sensitive subject around our house because up until now my mom's actually given me every haircut I've ever had." "Not to say she hasn't learned a thing or two over the years." "But lately it's been occurring to me that she's not exactly what we might call a professional." "Actually, I was, you know, kind of thinking maybe we could go out for one." " Out?" " Yeah, you know, like, to a barbershop." " You mean, pay for it?" " Well, not an expensive one." "Don't be ridiculous, honey." "I can cut your hair." "Hey, Dad, I really think it's time that Mom stops cutting my hair." "Don't you?" "The thing about Giambi, I don't trust that damn guy." "I don't trust him going to that bag." "He's got bat, no doubt about that." "What do you think we ought to do with this guy?" "Could you take it higher over the ears, please?" " No problem." " Thanks." "Best $12 I ever spent." "Look at me." "I was hot." " Our ball." " What the heck?" " Hey, man, it's a legitimate foul." " Dude, you just totally hacked me." "No." "Look, I don't need you losers." "Okay, maybe I was a little excitable but I didn't wanna get bruised up before my big karate practice." "Hey, Rosemary." "Hey there, pretty lady." "How's it going, girl?" "Hey, Rosemary Telesco." "I got it." "Mr. Gabe, I got a Rosemary down here for you." "Send her up, Ralph." " I loathe myself for feeling like I did." " Hey." "I mean, this is crazy." "She's a girl, for God's sake." "It's not like she's a New York Knick or something." " Hey." " Hey." "My mom dropped me off." "She's gonna pick me up at 5:15 if that's okay." "Yeah, sure, whenever is fine." "All right, let's go." "So do you remember the old place?" " Yeah, it's been a long time." " Yeah, it has." "Mom, this is Rosemary Telesco." "You remember her, don't you?" "From kindergarten, of course." "I haven't seen you in forever." "Look at you, Rosie." "You're all grown up." " Hi, Mrs. Burton." " We're practicing karate." "Excuse me." " Yes." " Ronny's here." "Should I bring him up?" "Oh, okay." "I didn't know you were having a play date or I wouldn't have made plans." " Should I stay?" " It's not a play date, Mom." "It's practice." " Do you need snacks?" " No, we're fine." "Don't worry about us." "Okay." " Who's Ronny?" " My mom has got a date." "Hey." "Hey, big guy." "Ronny, this is Gabe's friend, Rosemary Telesco." " Nice to meet you, Rosemary Telesco." " You too." "You want me to hold this for you?" "Oh, thank you." "I'll just get my coat." "Is there anything more excruciating than you and your date and your mom's date all hanging out with absolutely nothing to say?" "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." "Okay, kiddo?" "Okay, that's more excruciating." "I'll be back in time for dinner." " Okay." " Okay." " Bye." " Bye." " I didn't know your parents were divorced." " Well, they're not officially." "See, it's kind of this long-term project they've been working on for, like, a year and a half now." "And my mom's decided that she's finally gotta move on with her life." " That sucks." " Well, it is what it is, you know." "Hey, you wanna see something funny?" "See, this is a list of all the 45-year-old men in New York who are looking for wives." "Most of them are looking for their second or even third." "These are the ones my mom picked out." "They all look like the same guy to me." " Yeah, she's kind of got a type." " Oh, my God, there's Ronny." ""I'm a real live wire who tends to take everything in life up a notch." "I like being quiet and contemplative, but rowdy and spontaneous."" "Enough of my mother and her romantic dead ends." "Today was about me and Rosemary." "She was in my house, all alone." "It was time for us to fight." "Sparring that day, I was channeling none other than the great one himself my master, my inspiration, Mr. Mike Chat." "It's a dance, Gabriel." "You lead her, not she lead you." "Kiss her." "Kiss her." "I can't, that's disgusting." "Trust me, not disgusting." "How could you let her do that?" "Girls mature faster than boys." "Baloney!" "Don't let her brainwash you with that." "Boys stronger." "I had absolutely no idea what she was thinking." "She was this total mystery to me." "Did I want to kiss Rosemary Telesco?" "Yes, I guess I did." "I wanted to." "More than anything on earth." "Do you want some Gatorade?" "Who was I kidding, anyway?" "Was I really gonna kiss her?" "I mean, come on, she's 11, I'm 10." "Well, 10 and three-quarters, actually." "She's May, I'm September." "What do all the different names mean?" "Oh, it's my mom's stuff and my dad's stuff." " Isn't that hard?" " Oh, no, not really." "I mean, I can choose from either of them." "No, I mean, having them still living together?" "I might be falling in love with the woman." "Doesn't mean I'm in the mood for soul-searching." "Don't you think it's gonna be so much better once it's all over?" "What do you mean?" "I don't know." "Like, getting your life started again." "I guess so, yeah." "Well, who do you think's gonna move out?" "I don't know." "My dad, I guess." " Has he looked at any places yet?" " I don't think so." "Hey, maybe we should look for him." "Turns out Rosemary's parents, their favorite hobby was looking at apartments." "They never actually buy anything but every Sunday for as long as she can remember they dragged her to open houses." "She knew what everything meant." " "WBF"?" " Wood-burning fireplace." "That's good." " How much?" " Way too expensive, that's how much." "Yeah." "Estate condition is scary." "It means it has to be gutted." " This is nice." " What?" "Romantic treetop view, attic loft, hardwood floors." "It's a little downtown, but there's two bedrooms so you can stay over whenever you want." " Should we call?" " Call?" " Hello, Isaac Properties." " Yes, Isaac?" "We wanted to arrange to see the "romantic treetop view."" "Something right in the range of your place." " Yes." " Maybe it is true." "Maybe girls do mature faster than boys." "Could I talk like that?" "How's tomorrow afternoon for you?" "Tomorrow, for me?" "Let's see..." " It's good." " Yes, that'd be perfect." "Three o'clock?" "See you there." "Three o'clock tomorrow." "All right." "Quick." "Here." "Here, hurry." "Hurry!" "G-man, you back here?" "I got some new kicking tees." "They're titanium." " How's it going?" " Good." "Dad, you remember Rosemary Telesco, right?" "From kindergarten." " Sure." " Hey." "Hi." "Long time, no see." "She's in my karate class, Dad." "Cool." "But she wasn't just in my karate class anymore." "Oh, no." "She was in my life." "We were going out to look for an apartment for my father tomorrow." "These are things boyfriends and girlfriends do." "What other things do boyfriends and girlfriends do?" "Someone need a ride?" "So I'll see you tomorrow, 2:30." "Yeah, see you tomorrow." "Are there any more beautiful words in the English dictionary than "see you tomorrow"?" "Oh, the plan was perfect." "She would tell her friend Libby to say Rosemary was over at her house." "Just from, like, 2:30 to around dinnertime." "See, Libby had a grandmother who took care of her and who was literally deaf and would never hear the phone if it rang." "So her story was solid." "Let's try Anagrammed Birds for 200." "I would tell my friend Max Kovinsky to cover for me." "The only possible flaw in my plan was that I didn't actually have the guts to tell Max that I was hanging out with a girl." "So, you know, I, like, never actually had the conversation." "Luckily, I knew Max was going to Six Flags for the entire day." "I got this." "So I knew he wasn't gonna accidentally call looking for me or anything." "You ride the subway a lot without any grownups?" "Actually, no." "I..." "I do it all the time, you know." "It's much more fun this way." "I didn't have the heart to tell her I'd never been south of West 72nd." "I felt she needed my leadership." "Greenwich Village might as well have been 1000 miles away." "I think we might've gotten off a stop or two early." "Do you..?" "Do you want to ride?" " Do you think we can both fit?" " We can try." "Come on." "Get on." "With that girl's arms around me, there was nothing I couldn't do." "I think it's this way." "With the possible exception of finding that apartment we were looking for." "Deja vu." "Maybe we should ask for directions." "No, I think it's just right up this alley right here." "You are so like all the guys in my family." " That your girlfriend?" " Excuse me?" "Is she your girl?" "Yeah, my girlfriend." "I had a girlfriend once upon a time too." "She trampled my heart." "Left me bleeding on the floor." " Run." " What?" "Run while you still can, brother." "Take my advice." "Make like the wind." "You were close." "One block, a left, and then another left." "Let's go." "Are you Isaac?" "I'm Rosemary." "We're here to see the apartment." " Am I getting Punk'd?" " No, it's for my dad." "And will Daddy be meeting us here?" " He will if I give him the high sign." " Trying to make a commission or not?" "We do a nice business in two-bedrooms with divorced fathers." "This place will be gone in a New York minute, I promise you." "Wood-burning fireplace." "Yeah, I noticed." "I didn't know what we were looking for exactly." "What do you think?" "I like it." "It's nice, amazing." "But I knew one thing for certain." "Yeah." "It was the most romantic treetop view I ever saw." "We came home up the bike path along the Hudson." "Sixty-seven blocks." "The most physically grueling experience in my short life on this planet." "But I barely felt it." "I never felt so ridiculously wonderful." "This was New York the way I always want to remember it." "A place where anything is possible." "The city of dreams." " What's this?" " Oh, this?" "You don't know about this?" "It's the smallest park in New York City." "Some commissioner died and left his whole townhouse to be knocked down for a park." "How come I didn't know about this?" "Nobody on your side of Broadway ever comes over this way." "That's what's so cool about West End." " Do you come here a lot?" " Actually, I..." "I haven't been here in quite a while." "Hey, Mini Me." "What are you doing in my park?" "Oh, no way." "Not Daryl Kitzens." "Not now." "It's a public park." "What's she doing?" "Inciting him?" "Didn't she know that wild animals need to be placated?" "I think this park's big enough for all of us, right?" "Who were we kidding?" "A white belt and a yellow belt facing off against the Darth Maul of P.S. 87." "We were gonna get creamed." "You picked the wrong park, little man." "Get the hell out my park." "You're dead!" "Come on." "Run, run, hurry." "Hop on." "Go, go, go." "He's coming, he's coming!" "Go faster, he's coming!" " Make the light." " Hold on." "We were both still flushed from our day of adventure." " Well, good night." " Good night." "I could do battle with Daryl Kitzens so why can't I just lean in to her?" "Do it." "Do it, you wimp." "Do it!" "That was fun." "Yeah, it was." "Scared he's gonna hunt us down?" "I just have to keep a low profile for the rest of the summer." "And, of course, transfer to a military school in the fall." "I just have to keep a low profile for one more week." "A week?" "Well, next Sunday, after the wedding, I'm going to camp." "Camp?" "For how long?" " For six weeks." " Six weeks?" "She might as well have said she's dying." " That's fantastic." " Yeah." " I better get inside." " Yeah." " Good night." " Good night." "What if she goes to camp and I never get to kiss her?" "That's the way it's gonna be." "It's so obvious." "Every opportunity I have will go the same way:" ""Good night." "Good night."" "No, I will not let that happen." "I will kiss her before she gets on that bus to Maine." "I will, I will, I will!" "Gabe?" "That's him, there he is." "Oh, thank God." "If they don't kill you, I'm gonna." "So it turns out Max Kovinsky didn't go to Six Flags after all." "He got sick." "My mother actually ended up running into his mother at the Fairway and, well, they got to talking." "What?" "Gabe, come here." "Come here." "Don't you ever go anywhere again without us knowing where you are." "Do you hear me?" "You had us scared half to death." "My punishment?" "No phone, no TV no leaving the apartment for 48 hours." "It was the first thing my parents agreed on in a long time." " Please." " Do I have to call Rosemary's mother?" "No, don't call anyone." "I thought we had an understanding on the nine square blocks." " We do." " That's the only way that this can work." "I had to throw myself on the mercy of the court to get special permission to go to karate class." "I'll do anything." "I'll wash dishes for the rest of the summer." "I promise I will." "It just wasn't an option to miss that class." "You scared the hell out of us today." " I know, I'm sorry." " Yeah, what does sorry mean?" "Sorry means I'm not gonna do it again." " Right, never again." " Right." " Right?" " Right." " Dad?" " Yeah?" "Are?" "Are you gonna move out?" "Eventually, yeah, I am, Gabe." "Well, I..." " I found an apartment for you." " You what?" "That's where I went today." "To look for an apartment for you." " Do you want me to move out?" " No, no, of course not." "But, you know, maybe we can't get our lives started again until you do." "Where do you get such big ideas?" " I don't know." "I just get them." " So where is this apartment?" "It's a two-bedroom on Grove Street." "In the Village?" " Yeah, wood-burning fireplace." " No way." " Why not?" " It's too far from you, champ." "I wouldn't move more than a three- or four-block radius from you." "You're gonna have to go college to get farther away from me." " Okay?" " Okay." " Go to sleep." " All right." "So, what's the deal with this Rosemary?" "Rosemary?" "How do you mean?" "Nothing, I'm just not used to..." "We do karate together, Dad." "She's my sparring partner." " Okay, great." " I didn't even pick her." "Whatever you say, kid." "That night, I had this dream." "All right, yeah!" " I'm open, man!" " Gabe." "I'm open, Gabe." "Over here." "I'm open here." "I'm open, man." "Where are you?" "Gabe." "Gabe." "Gabe." "Where you going?" "You're ditching us for her?" "Come on!" "Disgusting." "The next day, I couldn't get to class fast enough." "I was gonna be near her again." "Grapple with her, smell her hair." "That day, the gates of hell opened, and Tim Staples walked right through." "So we're gonna shift sparring partners to make sure everyone's with their level." "That means, Tim, you'll be with Rosemary." "Could this be?" "My woman getting ripped from my hands like this." "I could see where all this leads." "Do you, Rosemary Telesco, take Tim Staples to be your lawfully wedded husband?" "No!" "Rosemary!" "And, Gabe, your new sparring partner will be David Betanahu." "This is my level?" "David Betanahu?" "How could this happen?" "She's with Ashton Kutcher over there and I'm with the sweatiest" "The kid's practically had a mustache since nursery school." "Everything I took for granted, stolen in a New York minute." "Somehow, karate wasn't quite the same without Rosemary." "So how was that class for you?" "Was it a good one?" "I'm having a little trouble with this maete zuki maneuver." "Yeah, yeah." "Me too." "I couldn't resist." "I needed more and more pain." "So how's that Tim guy at the maete zuki?" "He's a lot better than me." "But he wants us to practice together." "Oh, really?" "Well, that's terrific." "You know, hey, when can we get together?" "Well, I've got cello this afternoon, so not today." "Cello?" "But I thought cello was on Saturdays?" "Tuesday and Saturday." "She can't cancel a freaking cello lesson?" "Doesn't she know our days are numbered before that bus to camp?" " How about I'll call you?" " Sure, sounds great." "So that's it?" "Just a lousy "call you"?" "Not even an "I'll call you."" "A "how about I'll call you?"" "What on earth does that mean?" "When?" "You have no new messages." "What choice did I have but to return to my old, miserable life?" "Wait a minute, you were happy." "Oh, please, I was miserable." "I just didn't know how miserable I was." "Heads up!" " Watch it!" " Sorry." "Where's your head today, G-man?" " My head?" " Yeah, it's not with the ball." "What was that?" "It's not my head, Dad." " It's my leg." "I hurt it in karate class." " Karate." "See, guys like us, we weren't built for kicking bricks." "Let's keep our priorities in line." "Eyes on the prize." "Head down." "Go, sweet spot, one, two..." "He was right." "My priorities were all screwed up." "I was an athlete." " I just had to shake it off." " Yeah." "Look at me." "I can bounce back." "I don't need some girl in my life for me to be happy." "Hello." "Yeah." "You know, I really hate it when people call me at home and try to sell me stuff." "That's okay." "Okay, bye." "Hello?" "Hi." "Yeah, he's right here." "Gabe?" "It's a girl." " I got it." " Got it?" "I got it!" " Hey." " I said I was gonna call." "Did you?" "I don't even remember." "Smooth under pressure, that's me." "If only I could do something about the beating of my heart." "Could she hear that through the phone?" "So, what are you doing tomorrow night?" " Tomorrow night?" " Yeah." "It's summer, so it's not, like, a school night or anything." "I'm free, totally." "Because my parents got these special tickets to this concert with this guy who's supposed to be the greatest singer in New York." "Do you wanna go?" "Me and your parents?" "And me too." "My mom said I could invite anyone I want." " Sounds awesome." " Great." "She called." "She said she was gonna, and she kept her word." "This was not just some figment of my imagination." "Our love is a two-way street." " You're looking sharp there, tiger." " Like I even care." "Nice." "I especially like the hair." "Come on, mess it up." "Don't take all your romantic advice from him, Gabe." "You look very nice." "I'm gonna wait downstairs." "Do you want us to come say hi to her parents?" "No." "Excuse me." "They said they'd have you home by 11." "And if you're gonna be one second later, I'll need a call." "Okay." " Our little boy is growing up, huh?" " Yeah, he is." "Pretty snazzy." "Big night?" "Just some date with some girl." "You know, nothing..." "Nothing big." " That girl who came by here the other day?" " That would be the one." "She was a nice girl, that girl who came by here." "All right, Mr. Gabe." " Gabe." "Nice to see you." " Hey, you too." "Thanks for joining us." " Hi, Mrs. Telesco." " Hello." "How are you?" "Good." "Welcome to The Carlyle." "Ma'am." "Mickey took me here on our third date." "We had to stand right over there by the bar because we couldn't afford a table." "From that moment on, there was no turning back for us." "You're gonna love this guy." "No one sings like Loston Harris." "This guy is New York." "I can't tell you what that first song was about." "Something about love and a boy and a girl." "And this boy can think of nothing but holding that girl's hand in the darkness." "I'm not sure how I got the courage." "Maybe it was the buzz in the Shirley Temple." "Maybe it was Loston Harris the greatest singer this little town has ever known." "But I knew our relationship had to get to the next step or Rosemary and I would just remain karate friends forever." "Never had I been so keenly aware of the ability of my palm to manufacture sweat." "But I was determined to hold that girl's hand for every single second." "What does this mean?" "Does she hate me?" "Is she grossed out by me?" "Am I pushing everything way too fast?" "All those ridiculous songs about love, I finally understood." "Forget the second stop." "We're gonna walk from here too." "Thanks." "Thanks." "Well, you guys say your good nights now and Daddy and I are gonna get some milk for breakfast tomorrow, okay?" "So..." "Good night, Mrs. Telesco." " Oh, thank you for coming, Gabe." " Oh, thank you." "Your parents are cool." "Everyone says I'm gonna hate them in a few years." " Think you will?" " Probably." "If people say so." "This is the time." "I know it." "She knows it." "My God, even her parents know it." "Why can't I kiss her?" "What's stopping me?" "Is it cooties I fear?" "So, big wedding this weekend." "Yeah, right." "I forgot about that." "I wish you could come." "It's gonna be really boring." "Yeah, I really want to see you do your flower-girl thing." "Part of me is sure I'm gonna tr..." "Did..?" "Did I do it right?" "I don't know." "I've absolutely nothing to compare it to." "My God, was I even close?" "I..." "I should go." "Yeah." " Good night." " Good night." "Hey, how was your night, little Romeo?" "It was good." "It was great." "Fine, I think." "But I had no idea." "I kept playing the moment over and over and over in my head." "Was it too fast?" "Too hard?" "Too gross?" "Did she actually want me to kiss her?" "I gotta go." "I gotta go." "I gotta go." "Or did I scare her away?" "I had it bad." "This new feeling deep in the pit of my stomach." "This horrible lovesickness." "Maybe this is what cooties are." "By the next day, I was a wreck." "I purposely didn't call her." "Okay, except for one hang-up." "Because I knew I would see her in karate." "I got to class 10 minutes early." " Hey." " Hey." "Okay, I knew what I was doing here early." "But what was he?" "One thing was clear." "This business had to be settled right here and right now." "Staples." "If only life was so simple." "Three-oh-nine." "She's not even coming." "She doesn't even wanna see me." "She's blowing off class." "She hates me." "Your fist should be like a hammer." "She came." "She's here." "She loves me." " Sorry I'm late." " Miss Telesco, nice of you to join us." "Wait a minute." "What was that?" "Was that a smile?" "Or is she, like, mad at me?" "Why would she be mad at me?" "I only kissed her." "Why the heck did I kiss her?" "What was I possibly thinking?" "There are very few things more painful than watching the woman you love grapple with another man." "Actually, I take that back." "There are no things more painful." "The answer lies within you, Gabriel, and you alone." "You must find your strength." "Your focus." "Your determination." "Poor David Betanahu." "He was just an innocent victim in all this." "Collateral damage in this love affair." "One, two, three, four." "I couldn't take my eyes off her." " High block." " She loves me." " Middle punch." " She loves me not." " Side kick." " She loves me." "Loves me not." "She loves me." "Not." "Not." "Loves." "Not." "By 3:51, I had descended fully into madness." " Who wants to take their yellow-belt exam?" " Me!" "Ah, Gabe, the moment of reckoning is upon us." "Okay, maybe I was a little overeager." "But it was my only way back to her." "Luckily, I had the great master of masters in my corner." "Very nice, very nice." " Let's see your maete zuki now." " Gabriel, switch." "Hit, hit, sweep." "Very nice." "Very nice." "You've come a long way." "Excellent, Gabriel." "Excellent." "Now, time for the break." "All that stood between me and the woman I loved was a half-inch piece of plywood." "Be the board, Gabe." "Be the board." "At that moment, I was the board." "The pain!" "The pain!" "Oh, my God!" "I don't remember much after that." " Gabe." " Damn." "They said I blacked out." "Hi." "I guess this is the end of karate, huh?" "I'm a place-kicker." "If you work hard, you can achieve anything." "I really believe that, Gabe." "Whatever." "Hey, I came as soon as I got the message." "What happened?" "He went a little too hard for his yellow belt." "Sounds like we're gonna need some ice cream on the way home, huh?" "No, thanks." "Was this it?" "Was this the end for me and Rosemary?" "Two and a half weeks was all the time we were going to be allowed?" "I was not gonna call her." "That would be weak." "And I resolved that night to be weak no longer." "Hello." " Hello, Mrs. Burton?" " No, this is Gabe." "Who cares if she thought I was my mother?" "It was her." " Hello?" " No, Mom, I got it." " Who is it?" " Mom, I got it." "Hang up now." "Okay, hon." " Hey." " Hey, how's your hand?" "My hand?" "Oh, it's fine, barely hurt." "I just got so worried when you lost consciousness." "Yeah, that was only like for a second or so." "What color cast did you get?" "Plain was the best of my choices." "My cousin got this Hulk one." "Yeah, they had that too, but I'm not at all really into the Hulk." "This was no time for small talk." "It was time to lay things on the table." "To reach through that phone line and dig deep into that woman's soul." "So when can we hang out?" " It's a really crazy weekend for me." " It is?" "It's Thursday night." "She's going to camp Sunday morning." "Who cares how crazy the weekend is?" "Rehearsal dinner tomorrow night." "Wedding on Saturday, camp on Sunday." "Sure." "Right, of course." "Where's "wish you could come to the wedding"?" "Where's that Rosemary?" "The Rosemary I loved." "Not this alien with her crazy weekends." "Your new sparring partner, is he coming to the wedding?" " What?" "Tim?" " Oh, is that what you call him?" "Are you calling him after you call me?" "What are you talking about?" "I'm talking about you and Tim Staples sitting in a tree." "K-I-S-S-I-N-G." "First comes love, then comes marriage then comes Tim Staples and a baby carriage." "You sound crazy, you know that?" "Why don't you have time this weekend?" "I'm sorry, Gabe." "I haven't even started packing." " You know what, I hate you." " What?" "I hate you." "Why do you even care?" "I hate you!" " Well, I hate you too." " I hate you more." "How can you say something so mean?" "I hate you!" "Oh, Rosemary." "Rosemary!" "You want to, or should I?" "Rosemary." "It was the pain that had no name." "Why did Rosemary Telesco ever have to walk into my life?" "Why, why, why?" "Maybe not everything is supposed to last forever." "Certain things are like..." "Like skywriting." "Like a really beautiful thing that lasts for a couple moments and then... you know?" "Oh, sweetie." " Mommy." " I know, honey." " Love sucks." " Yeah." "Look at them all." "Rats in their cages." "Their lives destroyed by love." "I'm done with it." "I won't be like them." "The fools." "I remember my first girl." "We met on the Jersey shore." "But she was from Philly, I was from Brooklyn so we knew right from the start we were cursed." "Ralph, not right now." "I'm not in the mood." "Okay." "It's amazing how quickly time moves." "Just yesterday, I thought I loved her." "But now I don't even care about her at all." "The next morning, this kind of amazing thing happened." "The sun came out again." "See, life is about so much more than Rosemary." "I had my family, my health, my kicking career." "I really had no room for a woman in my life." "How about some rocky road?" "I guess." " Dad?" " Yeah." "What's the deal with girls?" "I mean, why are they the way they are?" "You're talking to the wrong man." "Well, how come all love has to end?" "Let me..." "Let me tell you something about me and your mom." "Once upon a time, we really loved each other." "But as time went by, there just got to be all these things..." "Little things." "Stupid things that were left unsaid." "And all these things that were left unsaid piled up like..." "Like the clutter in our storage room." "And after a while, there was so much that was left unsaid that we barely said anything at all." "Well, why didn't you just say them then, Dad?" "I don't know, Gabe." "I kind of wish I had." "Who was I kidding anyway?" "I wasn't gonna get any real comfort here." "I mean, the old guy meant okay." "Let's knock over a hot dog stand on the way home." "Drown our sorrows in pork shoulders and nitrates." "No, I think that's all right." "I'm just gonna, I don't know, hang out here for a while." "Okay, champ." " See you at the homestead." " All right." "You kicked good today." "I'm telling you, the trajectory you're on to the moon." " Or at least the Big Ten." " Thanks." " It felt good." " Good." "I'll see you at home." "Somewhere a million miles away the girl I once loved was going down her road and I was stuck back on mine." "I couldn't escape them, all the little things I left unsaid." "I was drowning in them." "Suddenly, I knew what I had to do." "Love isn't about ridiculous little words." "Love is about grand gestures." "Don't go to Taos." "Not without me." "Love is about airplanes pulling banners over stadiums." "Proposals on Jumbo Trons." "Giant words in skywriting." "Love is about going that extra mile, even if it hurts." "Letting it all hang out there." "Love is about finding courage inside of you that you didn't even know was there." "What are you doing here?" "You're going to camp tomorrow." "I had to say goodbye." " But I thought you hate me." " I don't." "I lied." "I wasn't gonna be like my father." "I wasn't gonna let all these things left unsaid smother me." "Rosemary I love you." " You what?" " I do." "I'm sorry, but I love you more than anyone has ever loved." "I love you." "I love you." "I love you." "How's that for letting it all hang out there." "And hang and hang, and hang." "Do you think you might wanna love me too?" "I don't know what I think, Gabe." "I'm only 11." "I don't think I'm ready to be in love." "Well, I'm not ready and I'm doing it." "But it wasn't that easy." "I guess love never is." "Maybe I was wrong." "Maybe girls don't mature faster." "No, they do." "They do." "You know they do." "You even said so at the park." "We at least mature at the same rate." "I don't know what mature is anymore." "But I'm really happy you came." " Do you wanna dance, Gabe?" " Dance?" "Sure, what the hell." "As I held on to Rosemary Telesco for dear life we both knew the truth." "She was going off to camp and eventually private school." "We were on different roads, she and me." "Two ships that passed in Sheep Meadow." "See, this is just like I told you." "Same thing I knew getting into this whole mess." "Love ends." " Hey, Mr. Gabe, how goes it?" " Hey, Ralph." "Hold the door, please." "The truth is, you come into this world alone and leave it the exact same way." "I'm home." "Who are these strangers laughing in my mother's bedroom?" "I'd only seen them in pictures." "Hi." " Everything okay?" " Yeah." "We were just talking about how horrible our honeymoon was." "Yeah?" "Key West." "Everything that could possibly go wrong..." "An unmitigated disaster." "It wasn't even a tropical storm, it..." " Remember that?" " Like yesterday." "It was awful." "We lost our luggage." "God, you were so sick." "God, I'm hungry." "What time is it?" " We should get something to eat." " All of us?" "Yeah, we should..." "Why don't we go down to the place on the corner." "Yeah, the place on the corner sounds good." " It's getting cooler out there." " Yeah, we're gonna need jackets." "I just cleared some old stuff out of the storage room." "You wanted a New York love story?" "There's a New York love story for you." "I told you it wasn't gonna be pretty." "Love is an ugly, terrible business practiced by fools." "It will trample your heart and leave you bleeding on the floor." "And what does it really get you in the end?" "Nothing but a few incredible memories that you can't ever shake." "The truth is, there's gonna be other girls out there." "I mean, I hope." "But I'm never gonna get another first love." "That one's always gonna be her."