Dad Page #2

That's very important.

I have a list of pills

for you here.

When did he get so bad?

I saw him a year ago.

No, you didn't.

What're taking about?

I was here for Christmas.

Annie,

I think I ought to know.

All right,

I saw him two years ago.

A lot happens in two years.

Why didn't you tell me?

I told you.

You didn't hear me.

We tried moving

him to our place

but he wasn't comfortable.

It's an hour away, and we're

both working during the day.

At least here

he has his garden

and his greenhouse.

He knows the environment.

I can only stay a few days.

What do we do after that?

You can't stay longer?

No. I have a meeting

in Toronto, Tuesday.

I may have to go to Boston.

It's just not possible.

We're just gonna have

to bring someone in.

At least we have the time

to find the right person.

Dad just got old, John.

Yeah.

Well, Dad, maybe we ought

to hit the sack, huh?

Johnny.

I can't find my pajamas.

I don't know where

Mother keeps them.

Here you go.

Why don't you

put them on, Dad?

I'll do it.

You okay?

I miss your mother.

Well, she's getting

what she needs.

A good rest.

She'll be home soon.

Good night.

Good night.

Leave the hall light on.

I will.

Sleep well.

I don't usually eat that much

in the morning, Johnny.

It was good, though.

Thank you, Dad.

You do much cooking

at home, do you?

Not too much.

Since Sara and I split up,

mostly I eat out.

Yes, she was a nice girl.

Still is.

How's Billy?

Billy's fine.

He's up in Santa Cruz.

Freshman in college.

He came to visit one time.

Well, then you've seen

him more than I have.

Oh, look at this, Johnnie.

It's double coupon

day at Ralph's.

Tuna at two cans for $1.38.

You can't beat that.

What do you pay

for tuna in New York?

Tuna?

I don't know.

Not two for $1.38, I'll bet.

No, I don't think so.

No way, Jose.

Listen, Dad,

I'd like to talk to you

for a minute about Mom.

There's something you should

really try to understand.

Mother is sick.

It's not cancer, is it?

No, no, it's not cancer.

That cancer is a killer,

you know.

Your Uncle Ben

had five operations.

Didn't do one

damn thing for him.

I tell you,

if you have cancer,

you might as well

pack your bags.

Well, it isn't cancer.

It was a heart attack.

A serious one.

She'll be okay?

Yeah, she's gonna be okay.

But she's never

gonna be able

to work as hard

as she used to.

She has to learn

to take it easy

and you have

to learn to help her.

I'm always telling her

that she works too hard.

Johnny, she works too hard.

You're gonna have to

learn to do a lot of things

around the house

by yourself.

You see,

Mother's convinced herself

nobody can take care

of you except her.

We're gonna have

to prove her wrong.

That's right, Johnny.

I'm going to learn how

to do all those things.

You'll see.

We'll fool her.

Okay, Dad,

the first thing we have

to do here is, let's see,

"Separate the colored articles

of clothing from the whites. "

That's so the colors

from the dark stuff

don't get on the white stuff.

Oh, that's right.

I think that's the way

Mother does it.

Oh, good.

Good.

Then we know we're

on the right track here.

Al right, let's start off

with the coloreds, shall we?

Oh, that's colored.

Color.

White, colored, colored.

White.

Colored.

Colored.

What about this one?

That one?

That is white.

Okay, it's colored.

Dad, it's gotta be

one of those.

Maybe we should call Mother.

I'm going to make an

executive decision here.

I think It's colored.

Okay?

All right.

Let's see here.

What do you think we have?

"Uh, normal.

Delicate. Permanent Press. "

I'm going to go with "Normal. "

What kind of water

do we need?

"Cold-cold, cold-hot,

warm-warm, warm-hot. "

What the hell,

let's live dangerously.

Hot-hot.

All right.

What do you think?

I think it's white.

It'll be ready Thursday.

All right.

How hard was that?

Yeah.

What's the best way

to get to the market

from here, Dad?

Oh, I don't know these streets

very well now, John.

Mother drives us

everywhere we go.

You don't drive at

all anymore? Ever?

No, I can't.

My license expired

a couple of years ago.

You didn't get

go another one?

Well, they wanted me

to take a driving test

because of my age.

Oh, and you failed the test?

I didn't take it.

I was afraid

I couldn't pass it.

What are you talking about?

You're a terrific driver.

You always were.

Johnny, a good driver

knows when he's not

a good driver anymore,

that's all.

I couldn't remember

what you liked,

so I thought I'd put

out an assortment.

Great.

Well...

These are good.

I think I'd like to

see Mother, Johnny.

I'm not sure that's

a good idea just yet, Dad.

I mean, Mom's okay,

but they really like to, uh,

limit the number of visitors.

I'm her husband.

I should see her.

It's not right.

No, I'm not sure, Annie,

but if he thinks he's ready,

I don't know if we should

be standing in his way.

Pretty good.

He made me breakfast

this morning.

No, I'm serious.

I don't know, a box of granola.

It was good.

Yeah.

That sounds right.

All right, bye-bye.

Okay, Dad.

Annie's gonna talk to

the people at the hospital.

And she thinks we'll be able

to visit mom in a day or two.

Oh, good.

Yeah.

You know, Johnny,

I, I think I could do these.

What?

I think I could

do the dishes.

I made these cards

all color-coded.

There's a different

set of cards

for each chore.

For example, now,

these pink ones

are for dishwashing.

Go ahead, take a look and

see what number one is.

Number one:

"Fill sink with water. "

Right.

Number two?

"Put one squeeze

of soap in water. "

Right.

"Put dishes in soapy water. "

I made these for you

to study on your own.

This is great, Johnny.

There's no way

I could make a mistake

as long as I just

follow these cards.

You know,

you could market these.

I'm gonna have to show you

how to work

the stove here, Dad.

No, on second thought,

the stove is out

of bounds for now.

No stove.

And don't use the juicer either.

No juicing.

And stay away

from that blender.

No blending.

I think I'll work better

with this on.

Your mother doesn't

like me to wear this.

Thinks I look too tough.

Like Johnny Cash.

You don't mind

If I wear it, do you?

No, Dad, I don't mind.

Don't take your

guns to town, son

Leave those

guns at home

Bang, bang.

"Fill the sink. "

That is a professionally

waxed floor, Dad.

You can see yourself

in that floor.

No waxy yellow build-up.

You know what I think?

I think we owe

ourselves a reward.

What do you mean?

We should go out

and have a good time.

What do you say?

Okay.

Okay.

What do you and Mom

do around here for fun?

"I" 20.

"I" two-zero.

"0" 75.

Seven-five.

"B" 11.

"B" one-one.

Right there on top, okay?

"G" 58.

"G" five-eight.

Enjoying yourself, Johnny?

Having a good time?

You kidding me?

I love this.

I do it all the time at home.

Do they have air conditioning

in here, Dad?

Or a fan or something?

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