And Then Came Love Page #3

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I'm Julie.

And you are...?.

A total loser.

Okay, but what does

your mother call you?.

I'm quoting my mother.

I'm sorry.

Paul.

Paul Cooper.

Are you some sort of angel or something?.

Hardly.

Yeah, my father's a bigtime

corporate lawyer.

JULlE:
Really?.

-Yeah.

For the weak and oppressed.

Plea bargains, golden parachutes,

billion-dollar bailouts.

Swell, huh?.

So naturally, I went to law school, Yale.

Right out of college.

While my friends spent a summer

kicking around Europe...

...I took the LSATs.

Rocked them, too,

but my dad, he wrote the application.

I think he wrote it when I was

in eighth grade. Can you believe it?.

I mean, he couldn't help himself,

and I was a freaking English Lit major.

JULlE:
Wow.

-Yeah, it was his alma mater, you see?.

So being second generation?.

A huge deal to him.

Massive.

JULlE:

Right.

But I hated it.

I mean, law school, that scene?.

It wasn't me, it was him.

And I didn't wanna be him, I hated him.

Sometimes I used to wish I was one

of those inner-city kids with no dad.

That's messed up.

I know. I was pretty angry back then.

Back then when?.

When you were like, um, 6?.

Six, no. Like high school.

What were you like

when you were 6?.

-You serious?. Six?.

-Yeah.

Well, I think the formative years

say a lot about who we are now.

I mean, like me, I was a teacher's pet.

Okay.

Six.

-Did you like baseball?.

-Yeah, I like sports.

-Were you a good eater?.

-What?.

Uh, sorry. Um....

Uh, did you get in trouble in school?.

Okay, what is this?.

An interview or something?.

No, no, no. I just think you're fascinating.

-You do?.

-Yeah, sure, why not?. So 6.

I used to get in trouble.

I mean, nothing bad, really.

I just gave the teacher a hard time,

kind of a wiseass.

Too smart for my own good.

-That sounds about right.

-Huh?.

Oh, no. Nothing, nothing.

I have a 6-year-old.

You like kids?. You have any?.

No, I ain't that kind of guy.

Well, actually...

...now, I'm only telling you this

because I'm drunk and I don't know you...

...but I did donate sperm once.

-Ohh.

-Look, don't get all judgmental or anything.

I got recruited by a sperm clinic.

At Yale.

They were short on lvy Leaguers,

so the brothers weren't stepping up.

Signed a few forms, took a blood test...

...they gave me a dirty magazine

and some fast money.

They wanted more,

but it weirded me out.

-So you couldn't cut it in law school?.

-I could cut it, I didn't want to.

What about the notion

of helping people...

...and maybe protecting

the under-served?.

Yeah.

Sure, but law school

isn't about helping people.

So then what?.

I transferred to business school.

Another bad idea.

So I tried vet school.

I like animals.

See, I just hadn't found it yet.

-Found what?.

-Flow.

-You ever hear of Csikszentmihalyi?.

-The psychologist?.

Yes, exactly.

I was a psych minor, philosophy too.

Anyway, I'm sitting in the middle

of Wildlife Epidemiology when it hits me.

-What?.

-How to achieve it, flow.

Acting.

[LAUGHlNG]

Are you for real, or just another way

to piss off the old man?.

No, seriously.

I mean, that was a nice perk.

One year,

I did summer stock in Williamstown.

I loved it. It's the only time

I've ever really been happy.

Felt part of something.

It was like the only way I could feel good

about me was to be someone else.

I understand that. I love the theater.

My best friend's a critic.

We go all the time.

-So, what's your problem?.

-The problem is it ain't happening.

I mean, I finally figured it out

and I'm failing, miserably.

I got cattle calls, bad auditions,

no auditions.

I mean, I knew it wouldn't be easy,

but I've been doing it for six months.

Six months of classes, workshops,

and nothing.

Not one acting gig.

I can't even get a student film.

-Six months?. That's it?.

-Yeah, but I can see the writing on the wall.

My girlfriend dumped me because she

doesn't wanna be with a struggling actor.

Not that I blame her. I no longer have

anything in common with my lawyer friends.

And every actor I meet, they're all....

Well, you know.

I'm getting old.

No, seriously, I mean, look at me.

What am I doing?.

Here I am with all these advanced degrees

and I'm washing dishes to pay rent.

Barely.

Maybe I should just go back, be a lawyer.

Uch. Blah, blah, blah.

I've heard enough.

Get over it.

Be the hero in your own life.

Heroes don't seek approval.

Especially from their dads.

-lt just gets really hard.

-lf it wasn't hard, they wouldn't call it work.

-lf it was easy--

-Everybody would be doing it.

And if you're so old, why don't you grow up

and take some responsibility?.

Jeez, where do you get off?.

You're right, I don't.

Well, wait. I'm sorry.

I just had a really bad day.

It's my birthday.

I had this suck audition.

I'm all alone.

-Happy birthday.

-Please, stay a little longer.

Sorry.

TED:

Hey, sport.

Hey, so glad you're back.

How was Sri Lanka?.

Missed you, as always.

Hey, sport.

-Well, say hi to Ted.

-Hi.

Yeah, hey, look what I got

for the big baseball fan.

-The Yankees.

-That's right.

-Official Yankees merchandise, my friend.

-No way.

How about your first real ball,

bat and mitt, huh?.

It's a catcher's mitt.

Yeah, I know.

It was the most expensive one.

How's the bat?.

It's a little big for him.

-Cool jacket.

-Hey, great. How about a game?.

A little, uh....

Yeah.

Uh-huh. This is a nice spot. Huh?. Huh?.

-I'll set up first base.

TED:
Yeah.

I told you.

No.

I mean, uh....

Let's use something else. Hey.

Take my jacket.

Not Uncle Ted's

incredibly expensive camera bag.

Cute.

Here we go.

Uncle Ted bringing the heat and....

Oh-ho-ho-ho!

Nice. Nice. Nice for me.

Bring it on, okay?. Ready?.

Underhand this time?. Okay, here we go.

Oh-ho! In your face.

In your face, brother.

Maybe you should move in a little.

-Jake, keep your eyes on the ball.

-Just give me a good pitch.

Oh.

Ooh! My camera. My God, oh, my God,

oh, my God.

-Got another ball?.

-Uh, no.

It was just the one.

It was signed.

JULlE:
Well, here we are.

TED:
Ohh.

Hey, you'd think six weeks in the jungle

would toughen you up for days like this.

-Sorry, babe.

-Well, no problem.

You were great with Jake.

I think he's really starting to....

You wanna come up?. Spend the night?.

Yeah?. Sleep over?.

Mm-hm.

Uh.... Yeah.

Thanks again for today.

Well, I thought it would be good

to do something together.

The three of us.

It's good to feel part of a family

for a change.

Yeah, it was.

I, um, got this message

while I was away.

Old friend of mine,

well, a colleague, died.

He was a war photographer.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

Where was he?. Baghdad?.

Phoenix. Home alone.

If he wasn't late on his alimony payments,

they never would've discovered his body.

He was dead two days

when he was subpoenaed.

-Jules.

-Yeah?.

Let's get married.

Ted.

I don't wanna die alone.

Well, hey, who does?.

-Wait, are you serious?.

-Absolutely.

I know it's good for you and the kid.

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