Hope Springs Page #4

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I come halfway across the world to explain

and you won't let me have a cigarette?

Explain?

There's no Roger Pelham.

There is no Roger Pelham.

Oh, God.

I was just so sick of dropping hints

and you failing to spot them.

Oh, God, no...

We have been engaged for ever. I wanted

to jolt you into action. I made a mistake.

- The invitation was a joke?

- No, not a joke. It was just a bigger hint.

The last few weeks

have been a nightmare, Colin.

I have been at my wits' end

since you disappeared.

Day after day without a word -

I literally went to pieces.

I was calling everyone, all day, all night.

When Jeremy finally told me

you were all right, I can't tell you the relief.

- I just wept solidly for ten minutes.

- Ten? I'm touched.

All that held me together

was knowing, when this was over,

you and I would have

a really good laugh about it.

- Vera...

- The thing is, Col...

Please, just go. Go. Please.

But I can't tell you how much...

You're not wearing any underpants.

I was a tad preoccupied

when I was leaving the flat.

Are you going for a walk? I know how you

like to go for a walk when you want to think.

- The last thing I want to do now is think.

- If you have to go out, I'll just wait.

Vera, don't wait.

Colin?

Colin?

- Colin?

- What?

What's this?

That's a machine for drying hair, Vera.

It's called a hair dryer.

I know what it is, Colin,

but you don't use one.

Is this supplied by the motel?

Is there one like this in every room? Colin?

- Can't you answer a simple question?

- A simple one I could. Just not that one.

What? It was a joke

and she's not married and she's here?

It hasn't affected our relationship

in any way. She just came to apologise.

- She's going straight back home again.

- Is she allergic to the telephone?

Sorry, do you not want

sleeping people in your exhibition?

- He is just asleep, isn't he?

- Like I'd get you to draw a dead person.

So, are you just gonna forgive her?

How could you forgive something like that?

It's the only way. Forgive and forget.

And do your forgiving while you can,

cos when you get to my age

all you can do is the...

- The forgetting?

- Yeah, that's it. The forgetting.

"My darling Vera..."

"Darling"?

"Dear Vera."

"Vera."

"I know that the cruel joke you played on

me was wholly out of character,

and although

it hurt me beyond description,

I write now, firstly, to thank you

for coming all this way to apologise,

but, more importantly, to tell you..."

To haul your bony ass

all the way back again.

"More importantly,

to tell you that I forgive you for it 100%."

"As a result of your actions, though,

both our lives

have now taken on a new direction."

Resuming our physical relationship

would, I believe,

cheapen the plateau of mutual affection

that has been born out of this crisis.

Your journey here

was much appreciated,

but too much damage has been done

for our romance to survive.

- We wish you a pleasant return flight.

- "We..."

Goodbye, Vera. Your friend, Colin.

What is it?

I don't know.

Just never seems to work out

when I fall in love.

When you fall in what?

What time do you have to be at work?

Soon.

But not that soon.

Are you looking forward to that?

You can get all dressed up.

It's not as much fun getting dressed up

when you can't do it yourself.

You're gonna look better

than the Queen of Hope herself.

- Ready?

- Yes.

Before we start,

I don't know if Mandy mentioned,

but I'm pretty heavily into the Lord,

and I was just wondering if you could just

sort of convey a sort of a...

a feeling of inner happiness.

Something like that, like an inner light.

There's two things I want to come through

in the picture. One, that I'm a swimmer.

But two, that I'm also a Christian.

You're sure you'll be all right

just standing there, yeah?

Like I say, sir,

God blessed me with fabulous circulation.

- Are my goggles straight?

- They're perfect.

And, Rob, please, don't call me "sir".

Mandy told me what your fiance

over there in England did to you.

- She's in town, right?

- No, she's gone home now.

Satan's amazing, isn't he?

I mean, one minute you're leadin'

this ordinary life, everything's normal.

Then vroom! Satan just creeps up

behind you and sucks you into a cult.

Rob, I'm just doing your mouth now,

so would you mind just...

keeping it closed for a minute?

Oh, God!

Come on, granny.

How could anyone do that?

- What?

- You're Vera, right?

How could anyone

do something that mean?

- And you are...?

- Mandy.

The mean thing I did. I assume you're

referring to the game I played on Colin.

- Yeah.

- Good.

Now we've established

your name and what you're talking about,

could we also establish

whether you have a red hair dryer?

A cheap, plastic, red hair dryer.

Do you have one?

- Yes, she does.

- Thank you.

- Do you smoke, Mandy?

- No. Not since high school.

How very healthy.

Did you go to school here?

Hope High or something?

- Hope Regional.

- Regional.

It's over there.

You can't see it from here.

You seem like a nice person.

- Not really.

- She's an angel!

Colin wouldn't be

with anyone who wasn't nice.

- I'm sure you're very nice too.

- Yes, I'm sure we're all delightful people.

I do feel at a slight disadvantage,

knowing only the way to your old school

and the colour of your hair dryer,

whilst presumably

you know rather more about me.

- Colin must have talked about me.

- We talk about other things.

- Like what?

- Normal things that people talk about.

- Like the weather?

- We've talked about the weather.

What sort of day it is?

Whether it's warm or cold?

Yeah, or windy.

- Or raining.

- Or snowing.

- Has it snowed?

- Not yet.

Oh, I see. You were just rehearsing

for a future conversation.

- Aren't you holding up traffic?

- Is this where you work?

- "Whining Whores".

- Shining Shores.

Right.

Come on, Mandy. He must have said

something about his life back in England.

- Barely anything.

- Then you don't know about...

- About what?

- The operation.

What operation?

Has Colin not mentioned his father?

Presumably Colin hasn't told you

because he is blocking it out.

That's why he's staying up here. He's living

in a sort of dream world, drawing away.

Beautiful scenery. Beautiful company.

Meanwhile, back on Planet England,

doctors and hospitals and constant worry,

and a very, very sick father.

It's why I'm still here.

Someone has to bring him back

to his senses, back to his responsibilities,

back home.

The truth is, the longer he stays,

hiding away from it all,

the less likely he is

to ever see his dad again.

You're very nice, I'm sure,

but you're not exactly helping.

I'm sorry if that came out...

You couldn't do me a favour, could you?

Just a little one.

I don't want you to feel like an errand girl,

so please say if you'd rather not, but...

I was going to drop these off myself, but as

you're probably going over there anyway...

You sure you don't mind?

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