Dad Page #7

Mr. Tremont?

How are you,

Mr. Tremont?

Let's get a few

more studies.

Please order an EEG and let's look

for any metabolic abnormalities.

Order calcium-magnesium

and liver function tests.

I'm not sure exactly

what caused it,

but right now,

I'm inclined to go along

with the diagnosis

of a seizure.

The question is,

what caused it?

And why is he

still comatose?

If you want to have

another consultation on this,

please do so.

No, that won't

be necessary.

Well, having said that

don't get the impression

that we're going to

sit by and do nothing.

We won't.

We've just done a series

of tests and we'll do more.

It's just that right now,

we're really shooting in the dark.

We really appreciate

your honesty, Doctor.

It's strange.

You know, the LP we did

showed up an elevated

protein in the spinal fluid,

but the CAT scan showed

no evidence of

a stroke or tumor.

Those tests should

have been done

a long time ago,

shouldn't they?

We'll keep him in ICU,

that way he'll be

monitored at all times.

And I'll check in and

see him twice a day.

I'm going to move in here

with him, then, if it's okay.

I'm afraid, that's entirely

against hospital regulations.

Well, if it makes you

feel more comfortable,

I think it's a good idea.

How long do you think

you can keep this up?

I don't know.

I'm just goin'

one day at a time.

I sit.

I talk to him.

I talk to myself.

I talk to people passing by.

I have this idea

if I'm sitting there

and I'm talking,

he won't die.

What are you going

to do when he does?

Annie, I don't...

You're the only one who

hasn't accepted it, John.

Why can't you let him go?

I can't explain it.

Maybe I want to be

there to mark the end.

I don't know.

To prove he was here.

To prove I was his son.

What more could you

possibly have done?

Annie, that man got up

every day of his life

and went to

a job he didn't like.

We didn't ask him to.

He just did it because

he was the father

and that was

the deal he made.

He didn't ask himself if he

was satisfied or happy.

He didn't even know

he had the right.

Somehow part of

that deal was that

we'd care for him

and watch over him

when he got older.

I screwed that up.

John.

I got embarrassed by him,

by the way Mom

dominated him.

By the way he got old.

Embarrassed that I had

a marriage that failed,

a job that didn't

make sense,

a son I'd barely recognize

if I passed him

on the street.

Maybe this is more

for me than for him,

but I'm gonna be

there when he dies.

And I'm gonna kiss him,

and I'm going to cover him,

and I'm gonna

mark the moment.

I owe him that.

When did you

get back in town?

I never left.

I'm staying with some friends.

I didn't want to

leave Grandpa.

You've been coming

here every day?

Whenever you leave,

one of the nurses calls me.

I usually stay

a half-an-hour or so.

I guess I dozed off.

Sorry.

Where am I, Johnny?

You're in a hospital, Dad.

I think I could have

guessed that one.

Why are you here?

Was there an earthquake

or a car crash or something?

He speaks?

Yes, he does.

It's something he

learned as a child.

Go, uh, go page

Dr. Chad right away.

Please, please.

Why was she

looking at me funny?

Uh, she's-she's part

of the hospital, Dad.

She's, uh, a nurse.

She's, uh... As a matter of

fact, these are all nurses.

This is Molly, this is J.J.,

uh, this is Annie.

This is my dad.

Well, Mr. Tremont.

What can we do to

make you comfortable?

Well, to start with, you could

take out these pipes and wires.

Then maybe I could

have something to eat.

I feel like you've

been starving me here.

Okay, but we'll have to

start you off very slowly.

Don't forget you really

haven't eaten anything

in quite a long time.

Maybe that was what

was wrong with me.

Have you thought of that?

All the tests are positive,

the vital signs stable.

This is the profile

of a healthy man.

What happened?

What's goin' on?

I've seen people recover

from comas before.

Very often we

never find out why.

I have some theories

in this case.

Nothing that I'd

want to see published.

Like what?

It is entirely possible

that he was so fearful

of the cancer

that his brain froze up,

stopped producing

a vital chemical

or enzyme that he needed.

Somehow with that last

variation of the IV mixture

we got lucky and he

replaced that enzyme.

I see.

You know,

if we were back home,

we'd say that it was

not that at all.

But rather,

it was your love and caring

that called your father back

from where he'd gone.

I think that I like

that one better.

Me, too.

Here they are.

What's goin' on, Dad?

What are you looking for?

Your mother and I

are starting a new

life together, Johnny.

We need some new clothes.

Hey, nice day.

How you doing?

I don't know, Dad.

What do you suppose

Mom will say about all this?

She'll probably laugh and call

me crazy, but she'll laugh.

We haven't had enough

laughter in our house

for the past 10 years.

What do you think of that?

Thank you.

Thank you, thank you.

Ladies, ladies,

the show is about to begin.

No matter how

stimulated you become

during the performance,

please remain in your

seats at all times.

The house is proud to present

the star of our show,

the late sick man and

almost corpus delicti,

back from a successful

tour of the Caribbean,

Gorgeous Jake.

Give him a big hand.

Come on, give

him a big hand.

Here we go.

Also his faithful companion, Billy!

Ladies and gentlemen, Billy!

What is this?

What's it for?

This is my outfit for

bicycling in Venice

down on the beach.

And maybe roller skating.

And this? This is my

baseball-watching outfit.

See?

I think I'll wear it mostly

only in the house.

Actually, I'm going to go

see a few of the games,

but not in my outfit.

That's good to hear, Jake.

Wait.

There's more.

Let me see that again.

Oh, I'll piss my pants!

Tell them to stop.

I'm dying!

I never heard of anybody

dying from laughing, Bette.

But wouldn't that be nice?

I tell you, Johnny,

he's not the same.

Maybe his hormones got

mixed up with someone else's.

You know what goes

on in these hospitals.

Nobody would believe

he's a 78-year-old man

who almost died

a few weeks ago.

You've got to talk with

somebody, I'm serious.

Mom,

he's just having fun.

Not bad.

I shot a 94.

It's a one-hole course,

but still...

It's a wonderful day.

How about I take us for

a drive after breakfast?

Ah, it's a good idea.

Maybe Mom will

come along with us.

I'm not going to

drive with him.

He drove too fast before.

I hate to think what

he'd be like now.

Don't you worry your

pretty little head, Bette.

With old Jake Tremont

behind that wheel,

you're as safe as if you

were in your own bed.

And it's almost as much fun.

What on Earth are

you looking for?

Nothing. I want to see

if I can still do a pushup.

I'll call these

"old man pushups. "

What about it, Bette?

You want to hit the beach?

I'll go, but only

in a taxicab.

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