Before We Go Page #5

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too much to drink tonight.

Then I realized that if one can

ask oneself that question,

then the answer

must definitely be no.

- Right?

- Danny studied philosophy.

And my latest theory is

that not all women at a wedding

who are taken

are actually taken.

You know what I mean?

Oh, it depends on

your definition of taken.

Hey, Brooke, are you sure

I can't get you a drink?

I'm fine, thank you, Danny.

- I'm sure.

- All right.

Dave! Dave!

You shifty bastard.

How you doing, man?

Your wife lost a lot of weight.

Jesus!

Do you want me to step outside?

Don't move.

Hi.

Wow.

Hannah Dempsey, Brooke Dalton.

Hey, nice to meet you.

Hi, so nice to meet you.

Um, traffic was so bad

all the way from Philly,

I-I thought I had missed you.

You did?

I mean, you did. You did.

You did miss me.

But you're here now, so...

Yes, yes.

I actually thought

I was gonna miss you, too, um...

which I did...

till now.

We could keep this banter up

for minutes.

- Hours.

- We're only this quick

when we're together,

though, so...

Otherwise, I'm almost boring.

Um, so are you...

are you working or...?

Oh, no, this...

Yes.

He's auditioning

for Duke Terry tomorrow.

Nick!

Well...

That's... that's amazing.

He played with Lucas Wells

in D.C.,

and Lucas loved his sh*t.

I bet he did.

Okay, spill it.

Tell me all about it.

Here you go, babe.

Oh, um... Cole, this is Brooke.

- Hey.

- Hey.

- Brooke.

- Good to meet you.

- And this is Nick.

- Nick.

Hi.

Nick is auditioning

for Duke Terry tomorrow.

Oh, yeah? Oh!

- The jazz guy. Yeah, yeah.

- Yeah.

We saw him live in Philly

a bunch of times.

That's amazing, great.

Thank you.

Um...

Hey, I know it's getting

kind of late, but would you guys

want to go get a cup of coffee

somewhere or...?

Um, you know, I wish we could.

We're late for something,

though. I'm sorry.

- We were just stopping in.

- Right, right.

Well, I...

we don't want to keep you.

But, um, if something frees up,

I'm at the, the Soho Grand.

Okay.

Um, it was really

nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, too.

- Pleasure.

- Okay.

- Bye.

- Bye, Cole.

I don't know why we had

to run out of there.

Who's running?

That was running.

Trust me, I know.

I'm the poster girl for running.

Running is easier.

God.

I haven't seen her in six years.

You were fine.

No, I wasn't.

That was awful.

It was embarrassing.

I'm sorry you had to see that.

You'd think after six years

of rehearsing that moment,

I'd have something

more interesting to say.

I don't think she noticed.

And she probably

rehearsed it, too.

Six years?

How'd you guys meet?

Sophomore year.

Georgetown.

I was pre-med

if you can believe that.

I don't.

But I have a good imagination.

Oh, my heart was

never really in it.

Spent all my free time

playing music

and going to shows.

Hannah was the first one

to recognize that.

Made me stay true to it.

Good girl.

And she got into...

graphic design.

Which was the first thing

that she really loved.

Well, she loved you, too, right?

Sometimes I wonder

about that part.

But rarely more

than 50 times a day.

So, what happened?

She got a job offer.

In Philly.

And being the pre-med genius

that I was,

I thought it was the perfect

time to... you know.

Oh, no.

So I bought a ring.

Cost me a fortune.

I was clutching

this thing all day.

My hand was cramping.

We got home

to our apartment in D.C.

And my heart was pounding.

It was beating out of my chest.

I was sweating.

It wasn't nerves, you know.

It was...

excitement.

I was really excited.

I was really...

I was really happy.

And I walked in

and I saw her and...

I just knew something was...

different.

I think it's like

that French word of yours.

- Dpaysement.

- Yeah.

She said...

she thought it was

a good time for a break.

That's terrible.

What did you do?

What could I do?

Beg? Cry?

Didn't.

Didn't do any of it.

Just... sat there.

Devastated.

God, I was so completely...

Blindsided.

Yeah.

That was it.

Till tonight.

It's funny.

I got to the city at noon and I

just couldn't leave the station.

I just couldn't do it.

Stuck in the middle

till you got stuck with me?

Am I stuck with you?

Sorry to tell you.

Sounds bad when you

put it like that.

I'm sorry.

For what?

For letting you sit out here

and talk about it for so long

and not making you go back.

Oh, no.

No, that's not happening.

You didn't come

all the way to New York

for a sign to do nothing.

Yeah, well, I thought

she'd be alone.

Not like in a depressing way.

In like a romantic way.

A girl like that is never alone.

So you can't use that

for an excuse.

And there was

something between you.

You saw it and I saw it.

That doesn't mean anything.

It means something.

It means you have a chance.

For what... to get slammed?

Haven't you felt slammed

every day since the ring thing?

And you don't know the odds.

Could be one in a trillion.

It could be one in two.

Anyway, this is about regret.

And those odds are always 100%.

There was a spark, Nick.

And that guy she was with?

Cole?

I've seen that guy all my life.

You're worth a thousand Coles.

What happened to a trillion?

He was tall.

She might not even be with him!

She said, "I am staying

at the Soho Grand."

You're not gonna

ask her to marry you.

What if I ask her

to get married by mistake?

God. Why is it

that any one decision

always seems too small to be the

biggest decision of your life?

I don't know.

But sometimes you have to just

make the choice and jump.

You're right. You're right.

I'll do it.

Oh, God.

Are you planning on holding

my hand the whole time?

No.

Give me your trumpet.

So?

She's happy I came back.

We're going to lunch tomorrow.

- See?

- The three of us.

She invited that guy?

Of course not.

She invited me?

Nope.

Nick, will you stop

and talk to me?

She's pregnant.

But it's good, though,

you know why?

You know what she said?

She said she's happy

I'm auditioning for Duke

'cause she always

believed in me.

I'm so sorry.

Sorry you're an idiot?

Well, me, too.

Are you okay?

Well, because if you're not,

I really don't know

what I'll do with the guilt.

Well, then I'm miserable.

It's probably the most okay

I've been since she's left.

Because at least I know

something concrete, you know?

Instead of having years

of fantasies and...

possibilities...

I know it's over.

So... thank you for that.

Okay.

I'm still waiting

for the other shoe to drop.

She said she's

never been so happy.

But I guess I got

to be grown up.

Got to be okay

with not being okay.

Which completely sucks.

So... thank you for that, too.

Well...

what do you want to do now?

We've covered every

crucial topic in our lives.

What's left?

Small talk.

Come on.

It's past my bedtime.

I think we're both running

on fumes at this point.

I know and I feel bad!

You have your audition tomorrow.

I feel like you should

be sleeping

- or practicing or...

- Nah.

I don't think

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