5 Flights Up

---

When Ruth and I first moved to

Brooklyn, it was like an outpost.

To our friends in Manhattan,

we might as well have moved to Nebraska.

It was out of fashion,

but a good place for a

struggling artist like me.

And we liked it, which was good,

because it was

all we could afford.

Morning, Mr. Rahim.

Good morning, Mr. Carver.

Good morning, Dorothy.

So tomorrow's the big day.

You ready to move?

I don't know.

I would get out of here

in a minute if I could.

Where would you go?

Where would I go?

New York is the best city in the world.

Hello. Hello.

Ruth.

It's like talking to someone

in the wreck of the Titanic.

Ruth!

Ruth.

Ruth.

What am I looking for in here?

The Times.

Um...

I'm losing you.

Alex, stop moving around.

Are you near the door?

Listen to me.

Yeah. It's in the rack.

Lily's coming, so I got to go.

Yeah, she's here.

So I'll talk to you later. You'll be fine.

Honestly.

Aunt Ruth, I don't know

how you and Alex do it.

I'm 40-whatever.

And look at me.

Jesus, I got to join a gym.

Excuse me.

Where is The Times?

Aunt Ruth. Hide this.

We're gonna see

a lot of action tomorrow.

Your mother gave that to me.

Well...

I wish she hadn't

smoked so much.

I guess people don't really give

ashtrays as gifts anymore,

do they?

I don't know if people

even make them anymore.

So the shades all have to be up.

Light is money.

Remember that.

How many people will come,

do you think?

Who knows?

But what we want are the serious ones.

You always get the lookers.

The people who just come to

see how other people live.

It makes them feel

better about their lives.

Or worse. Who knows?

So when you're trying to sell,

you don't want any clutter.

Less is more.

All the books gotta go away.

Chekhov.

The Lady with the Dog.

This was my favorite

story to teach.

The girls loved it,

but I remember

the boys not so much.

Did you get Uncle Alex

to change his mind?

He's still on the fence about it,

but you know artists.

Too much practicality

overwhelms them.

I'll get him there.

Because you're looking at

maybe a million dollars.

Give or take.

Two years ago,

it would have been even more.

It was a feeding frenzy then.

The neighborhood's

changed a lot.

It's cool now,

filled with hipsters.

And gentrifiers.

Mothers with baby strollers

that cost as much as a Chevy.

And their banker husbands,

their heads buried

in their smart phones.

Crossing the street while

you're trading stocks and bonds

doesn't seem that smart to me.

Hey!

Hey! Watch where you're going.

The neighborhood's just

got itself a Whole Foods.

All it needs now is the ultimate

sign of modern civilization.

An Apple Store.

But as much as it's changing,

I'm gonna miss this place.

Come on, Dorothy. Come on, baby.

Come on. Come on, now.

Come on. That's a good girl.

Good morning, Mr. Carver.

Hi, Erica.

Are you all ready

for the open house?

I guess so.

It's not the same market it

was a few years ago, you know?

Well, we're just

testing the waters.

What you're gonna want to do tomorrow,

first thing,

when you wake up...

...turn this on

and let it simmer.

It gives the whole

apartment a homey feel.

Okay.

It works every time.

Let's hope a lot of people are

gonna love this apartment tomorrow.

This is a young people's building.

You know? The stairs.

Come on.

I know you're tired.

So am I. Come on.

I know. Come on.

Here, let me try.

I know how to

put a key in the door.

Give it here.

I got it.

What are you doing?

What does it

look like I'm doing?

I'm carrying my bride

across the threshold.

What bride? We've

been married two years.

You still like it?

Like it?

I love it.

Look at all this light.

Hi. I'm Alex Carver.

My wife and I, we just moved in.

Hey, Alex.

Hey.

Hey, Dorothy.

Did you have

a good walk, sweetie?

Big day tomorrow.

You all set?

Yes.

What is that smell?

That's cinnamon.

It gives the place a homey feel.

It smells like a whorehouse.

Is that a fact?

Yes.

And what does a whorehouse smell like,

sir?

Well, it smells like this.

So, I'm gonna be bringing the first

couple, the Schuylers, by at 9:00 a.m.

9:
00 a.m. Why not 6:00?

Come on, Alex,

please, you promised.

So we could be getting a lot

of people here tomorrow,

and if you could tidy up your studio,

it would be great.

Because it's such

a wonderful room,

but it looks smaller than

it is with all the clutter.

Anyway. That's great.

So it's gonna be great.

Good. Thanks, Lily.

I can hardly wait.

Bye, Lily.

You could be nice to her.

She's done a lot of work for us, honey.

She talks too much.

Well, I can't

disagree with that.

This room has been my

studio for more than 40 years.

What room will I be

painting in next year?

Will it have a view?

Will it even have a window?

I think these could

go over here, honey.

All right, here, here.

Here, I'll take it. I'll take it.

All right.

Are you okay? Okay.

I got it.

Ruth.

What?

We're making a mistake.

What do you want me to do, Alex?

I mean,

it's already in the paper.

I just don't want Lily to railroad

us like she did her mother.

That's because

Sarah was sick, please.

Where would we go?

I think... Well, with a million

dollars, frankly, we could go anywhere.

We might get a million dollars.

Anyway,

it'll cost a million dollars

to get another place like this.

Not to mention the cost

of moving and selling.

Well,

then we'll go where the houses are cheaper.

There's no way

we can leave New York.

We're not going to

leave New York. No.

All we need is a place for

you to paint and an elevator.

I handle the stairs

better than Lily does.

Sure, you do now, honey, but...

What about later?

I don't know.

You know, I...

I've read about

these open houses.

People steal things.

Okay, I will nail the

furniture to the floor. All right?

I don't like the idea

of all those people in here

poking through our things.

You don't have to be here.

You do not have to be here.

You can take a walk.

You can go see a movie.

Well, I might do that.

We're just dipping our toes into the water.

That's all.

Nobody's making

any commitments. Nobody.

What's the matter, sweetheart?

What happened?

What's wrong?

Alex. Something's

wrong with Dorothy.

What?

What's the matter?

She's shaking. I don't know.

She's shaking,

and then when I picked her up she screamed.

What's the matter, girl?

She screamed.

I don't know,

I think she's in pain.

Maybe we should

take her to the vet.

It's probably nothing.

No.

Remember last year?

It cost us $700 to

find out she had gas.

Don't try to go so fast, Ruth.

You don't want to fall down these steps.

I'm not gonna fall down.

She's shaking,

because she's upset.

I think we could use an elevator.

Don't you? At this point?

Well, I guess we could,

but we don't have one.

What happened?

We think it's her back.

You want a cab?

Yeah. Please, please.

Taxi!

Thank God.

Is there a fire?

They say that

there's a gasoline truck

stuck on

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes