Bernard And Doris Page #6

to poach that.

Ah!

That salmon's been here

longer than I have.

It'll be fine.

That salmon's leftover from

when Jesus fed the 5,000.

That's how old it is.

It'll be fine.

Try to open up

your lower back a little bit.

I'll tell the chef to poach it.

This Marine Conservation Project

seems very interesting,

but I don't see the annual

fiscal report anywhere.

It's late.

Well, no report, no money.

- What's this now?

- The AIDS research.

They've asked for

a 10% increase over the last year.

It's not unreasonable.

All right, done then.

What else do we have here?

Some salmon, Mr. Taft?

It's, um...

Bon appetit.

The minister

from the Baptist church

in, I think it's

Canton, North Carolina...

Reverend Washington?

I love that man.

What does...

what does he want?

Well, apparently there was

a fire at his church.

They've raised $1 million

but they need another $600,000.

Give him whatever he wants

and I'll write a personal note.

What else?

What else do we have?

You're not hungry, Mr. Taft?

Um...

no.

How about a nice glass

of Peu Chimay?

No, thank you.

I never drink when I'm driving.

Lafferty, why don't you

fix Mr. Taft some...

coffee?

All right. Sure.

- Peu Chimay, ma'am?

- No, just some coffee.

What's this now?

- The literacy program.

- Oh yes, the literacy program.

- How are they doing?

- Doing great work.

You know, I'm confused

because I saw this State Senate report

that made it seem

as if there were some problems.

Oh.

You know,

when I first came to America

I could hardly

write my own name.

And then I took one

of those literacy programs,

and now look at me.

F***.

No one wanted to tell you.

We know how fond

you are of him.

Petrus '89, '90, '91... all gone.

Christ.

Chateau Margaux '86,

only the Premier Grand Cru.

Well, he has excellent taste,

you got to hand him that.

All the sherry...

maybe 100 bottles.

Jesus.

You want me to

do something about this?

Pack your bags.

You're fired.

Dear Miss Duke,

as always, I found it difficult

getting used to being in rehab.

But I have managed

to stay dry for two weeks now

and I think it's time

I came home.

Dear Lafferty,

I don't believe people

should be punished

because they suffer

from an illness.

That is why I haven't fired you,

as I probably should have.

But I'm not yet ready to have you back

as a trusted member of my household.

You will stay in rehab until

I am ready to forgive you.

Doris.

Doris, you okay?

Doris, you okay?

Doris?

Doris?

Dr. Armenza, please report

to ICU, STAT.

Dr. Armenza,

please report to ICU, STAT.

She's had a...

a sizeable stroke,

but I think she will get over that.

It will take time. She's gonna need

rehab and physical therapy.

But I am concerned about

her underlying condition,

which has always been

an issue,

in terms of her heart disease.

She's got a degenerative heart problem,

and also the liver issues.

Her liver function tests are not normal.

She'll need round-the-clock

care for now.

Here we go.

That's it.

What I did was unforgivable.

I'm so ashamed of myself.

You've taken me into your life,

you've been extremely

generous towards me.

I know I've let you down.

I can only say I'm deeply sorry.

I hope you can forgive me.

That's a good speech.

You learn it in rehab?

I wonder if you could help...

I'd very much like to keep my job.

Please.

Mr. Taft is calling

for Miss Duke, sir.

Okay.

Excuse me, Nancy.

- Mr. Taft.

- Lafferty.

I'm at the front gate, let me in.

I'm sorry, sir, Miss Duke's

not receiving visitors today, sir.

I want to talk to her.

Put her on.

She's not taking calls either, sir.

- Put her on.

- I'm sorry, sir.

I'm only following

Miss Duke's orders, sir.

- I know what you're up to...

- Mr. Taft,

Miss Duke appreciates your concern,

but her priority right now

- is to avoid all stress.

- Put her on right now.

And if you're truly her friend, you'll

respect her wish to be left alone.

- Lafferty, for crying out loud.

- Yes, sir.

- Thank you, sir, goodbye.

- This is ridiculous...

What are the police doing here?

We're just trying to

establish the facts, Doris.

I'm old, I have a bad heart,

my lungs are for sh*t,

end of story.

Did Mr. Lafferty try to control

your behavior in any way?

Well yes, he certainly has.

He's... no visitors,

no phone calls, lights out at 9:00.

If devotion beyond the call

of duty were a crime,

he'd be a candidate

for Death Row.

That's what you call it?

"Devotion beyond the call of duty?"

Sorry to disappoint you, big guy.

Thank you, Miss Duke.

I'm sorry, Doris.

For all I knew, you might have been

locked in the attic like Baby Jane.

That's Blanche.

Baby Jane had the keys.

It worries me,

you being out here alone.

Let me get you proper care...

round-the-clock nursing.

- I'll think about it.

- They'll cluck around you

- like mother hens.

- Stop it.

They'll be patronizing you,

treating you like a child.

Blah blah

blah blah blah.

"It's time for

your bath now, Doris.

- Have we taken our medicine today?"

- Oh stop it.

- They'll drive you nuts.

- Just stop it.

- I'm still being punished, is that it?

- It's not about you, Lafferty.

I've tried to think of everything

I can to win back your trust.

I've ceased to exist

outside this house,

I've renounced my own life in order

to give you the care that you need.

- And now you discover it's not enough?

- The nurses are coming

- in the morning.

- It's the nurses or it's me.

- Oh, don't make idle threats.

- It's not an idle threat, ma'am.

Well then, stop it!

For God's sake.

Would you bring in the nurses

if it meant losing me?

- I won't be put on the spot.

- Answer me, please.

It's a simple question, ma'am.

Just yes or no.

I don't want you to go

if that's what you're asking.

So you would do

without the nurses?

I want you to stay.

In my current capacity?

Oh for God's sake, Lafferty.

I choose you above all others.

Mm.

Is that what you want?

And you are not to prevent

Mr. Taft from seeing me, ever.

- Agreed?

- Agreed.

We can still bring the nurses in

if you think it's necessary.

Oh no. You wanted me,

now you got me.

My daddy had pneumonia

and my mother sent away

all the maids

so she wouldn't have

any witnesses.

And then she stripped him naked

and opened up the windows,

because that's the way they do it

in Macon, Georgia, she says.

Of course,

this was New York.

The coldest October in history.

I was only allowed

to see him for a few minutes

every day after school.

You could see your breath

in the room.

The man froze to death

in his own home.

She thought that

she would get everything,

but my daddy knew what

kind of woman she was

and he left it all to me.

My father died

when I was three.

My... my mother died

when I was eight.

Oh.

I was coming home

from school one day

and there was an ambulance there

at the end of our road.

A crowd was rubbernecking.

She was sitting up against a car.

It might have been the same one

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