I Remember Mama Page #3

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- We heard you, Uncle Chris.

- Well, then why you do not come?

We were coming.

Come, let me look at you.

Stand tall.

Where the marks are.

Two inches.

Two inches in six months is good! Good!

Good!

Christine.

Show me your teeth.

You brush them good?

Nels, there's a box of oranges in the

automobile. You fetch them in.

Where is the little one? Dagmar?

- She's sick, Uncle Chris.

- Sick? What is the matter with her?

It's her ear. She's had an earache

for two days. A bad earache.

- Mama sent for the doctor.

- Good doctor? What he say?

- He's in there now.

- Oh, I go in.

Uncle Chris.

- How is with Dagmar?

- Is not good.

- Doctor, this is my uncle, Mr. Halvorsen.

- How do you do, sir?

What is with the child?

We must get her to a hospital at once.

We'll have to operate.

- Operate?

- I'm afraid so.

Can wait till my husband

come home from work?

I'm afraid not. Her condition

requires an immediate operation.

We go.

- What is with the child?

- It's a mastoid.

Oh, well, then you operate immediately.

- I believe that's what I said.

- Immediately.

Dr. Johnson.

Doctor, is enough?

Frankly, I was thinking

of the county hospital.

No. No, we pay. But is enough?

If there isn't, we can go to the bank.

We have a bank account.

Well, is enough without we go

to the bank, doctor?

My husband is carpenter.

Make good money.

If there is need of money, I pay.

It'll be all right. We'll take her

to the clinic.

- You pay what you can afford.

- Good.

I have patient there already.

My nephew Arne.

They operate this morning on his knee.

Are you a physician, sir?

I'm better physician than most doctors.

Nels, here, my other nephew,

he become doctor when he grow up.

Indeed.

Very interesting.

If you'll have the child

at the clinic in...

...shall we say an hour's time?

- The child will be there in 10 minutes.

I have my automobile.

I can hardly make arrangements

in 10 minutes.

Well, I make arrangements.

I know doctors.

Uncle Chris, Dr. Johnson arrange.

He is good doctor.

Thank you, madam.

- Doctor, you go. We come.

- Very well. In an hour, then.

Dagmar will be well taken care of.

I promise you. I will operate myself.

- I watch.

- You'll do no such thing, sir.

Always I watch operation.

I'm head of family.

I allow no one to attend my operations.

Are so bad?

- I go see Dagmar.

- Uncle Chris.

Is kind of you, but Dagmar's sick.

You frighten her.

- I frighten her?

- Yeah, Uncle Chris, you frighten everyone.

- I?

- Yeah, everyone but me.

Even the girls, Jenny, Sigrid, Trina,

are frightened of you.

- The girls. Women.

- And the children too.

So Nels and I get Dagmar, you drive us

to the hospital in your automobile...

...but you do not frighten Dagmar,

and you leave doctor alone.

Dr. Johnson is fine doctor.

Nels, you come with me.

Help me carry Dagmar.

You remember.

Is true I frighten you, huh?

Christine, Katrin,

you are frightened of me?

Now, come, I ask you,

tell me the truth.

You are frightened of me?

- A little, Uncle Chris.

- Oh, no.

Are you, Christine?

- Yes, Uncle Chris.

- But why?

What is there to be frightened of?

I'm your Uncle Chris.

Why do I frighten you?

I don't know.

Is bad. Very bad.

The aunts, yes, I like to frighten them.

What? That makes you laugh?

You do not like the aunts?

Now, come, tell me.

You do not like the aunts? Now say.

Not very much, Uncle Chris.

And which do you not like the most?

Jenny, Sigrid or Trina? Tell me.

I think I like Aunt Jenny the least.

She's so bossy.

I can't stand Aunt Sigrid.

Always whining and complaining.

Sigrid, whining.

Jenny, bossy. Is true!

Uncle Chris, black. I'll say he's black.

Black in his heart.

- Cursing and swearing.

- He is good to the children.

He's good to his bottles.

And that woman he lives with.

- His housekeeper?

- His housekeeper?

Oh, there's Peter, waiting. Right on time!

Yoo-hoo, Peter! Yoo-hoo!

Peter, I'm so glad you weren't

tied down to your business.

As a matter of fact, I was just waiting...

An undertaker's business

can always wait.

Now's a fine chance to ask

Uncle Chris for a dowry.

You must be very firm, Mr. Thorkelson.

Yes, ma'am. Very firm, indeed.

Fare, please.

Tell him, Sigrid. Tell Mr. Thorkelson

what Uncle Chris has just done.

Well, you know my little Arne's knee...

...that fall he had two month ago.

- Yeah.

The man at the drugstore

said it was only a bruise.

But this morning, when I left home

to do the marketing...

...who should turn up but Uncle Chris.

But you must not tell your mama

that we talk of them so.

Is secret for us.

Now you cannot be frightened anymore

when we have secret.

Come.

I tell you my secret too.

I do not like the aunts.

Oh, Jenny, do you see what I see?

- That woman in his automobile.

- How shameful.

- Is the woman his wife?

- Yeah.

And no.

Uncle Chris.

Sigrid has something to say to you.

Uncle Chris.

- You took Arne to the hospital.

- Sure, I take Arne to the hospital.

Now we take Dagmar to the hospital,

so do not clutter up the place.

This is some more of Uncle Chris' doings.

Sigrid, you're a whining old fool,

and you get out of here.

No. There has been enough

of these high-handed goings-on.

Jenny, you're a bossy old fool.

And you get out of here too.

And we take Dagmar to the hospital.

- You got her good, Nels?

- Yeah.

- Well, we go.

- No, you're going to listen to Sigrid.

Sigrid, if you do not get out of the way

of that door before I count three...

...I throw you out. And Jenny too,

as big as she is.

One...

...two...

Put her in the back of the car.

Uncle Chris.

I want to introduce Mr. Thorkelson.

I want you to meet Mr. Thorkelson.

Uncle Chris, I want you to meet

Mr. Thorkelson.

This is Mr. Thorkelson.

He wants to say...

Martha!

We go.

He wants to...

Jenny, Sigrid, we go to hospital.

You be good children

till Mama comes home.

Yes, Mama.

Yeah, I come.

There's milk in the cooler

and fruit and cookies for your lunch.

We'll be all right, Mama. Don't worry.

I go now.

Oh, Martha. You can't go

in his automobile.

- Why not?

- Martha.

- Yeah, I come.

- We go.

Because she is in it. The woman.

So it will kill me or Dagmar

to sit in automobile with her?

I have see her. She looks nice woman.

Mama.

Uncle Chris!

Mr. Thorkelson.

Mr. Thorkelson.

Thorkelson, come, come.

Mama.

But Uncle Chris,

I tell you, I must see him.

You do not understand English?

No visitors for 24 hours.

- But you have see him.

- I am no visitor.

- I'm exception.

- Then his mama should be exception too.

I will see the doctor.

I seen doctor. I told him

you are not good for Arne.

Not good for my own son?

No. Not good at all.

You cry over him. I go now.

Uncle Chris! Uncle Chris,

I must speak to you.

- I have business.

- Uncle Chris, please.

- I wanna get married.

- Well, then get married.

Wait!

Wait, Uncle Chris.

I want to marry Mr. Thorkelson.

Here.

Peter, this is Uncle Chris.

Uncle Chris, this is Mr. Thorkelson.

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