Long, Hot Summer, The Page #8

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Hooray!

All right now, folks. What am I offered|for Miss Clara Varner's boxed supper?

- Ten dollars.|- Ten dollars is bid.

Come on, folks.|Anybody gonna hike that sum?

I'll make it 11.

Well, now, Mr. Quick|is interested in competin'.

It's now eleven, folks.|Eleven dollars.

- "Any advance on $ 11?"|- Twelve dollars.

- Thirteen.|- Fourteen.

- Fifteen.|- Fifteen dollars.

Any advance on 15?|Do I hear 16 anywhere?

You hear $16.

- Alan...|- Okay.

Mr. Stewart has bid $16.|Any advance on 16, folks?

- Fifty.|-

- Fifty dollars.|- In a very fine cause.

You hear that, folks?

Fifty dollars once.

Fifty dollars twice.

Sold to Mr. Ben Quick|for $50.

This is gonna be about the most|expensive chicken supper|you ever et, boy...

but worth|every cent of it...

considerin' the charmin' company|you're gonna be eatin' it in.

I, uh... I hope you're gonna give him|dessert for that price, Clara?

He'll get his just desserts,|all right.

All right, folks. Now, I know|this young lady's a good cook...

'cause I'm her daddy.

What'll I get for drumsticks|and chocolate brownies?

- This all right?|- Nope. I like my picnics in the woods.

- Two dollars.|- Three dollars.

Well, come on now.

Either we eat it,|or the ants will.

That was quite a gesture|you made back there.

What do you expect to live on|for the rest of the month?

I have prospects.

Well, now.|Look what we have here.

Uh, little|fancy napkins.

Little frosted cakes.

And little dainty sandwiches|with the crusts cut off.

You got a bigger appetite|than that, haven't you?

- Hogwash.|- Well, well.

You heard me.|I said, "Hogwash."

That's strong language,|Miss Clara.

You got some foolish ideas|about me, Mr. Quick.

I am no tremblin' little rabbit full|of smolderin', unsatisfied desires.

- Is that so?|- Yes, that's so.

I'm a woman, full-grown,|very smart...

- and not at all bad to look at.|- Amen.

I expect to live at the top of my bent|with no help from you.

You're a real fire-eater,|you are.

You are barkin' up the wrong girl,|Mr. Quick...

because it will|never be you.

Never say never.

I don't know what arrangement|you think you have with my father...

but you'll find you have|no bargain with me.

Now, we gonna be married,|Miss Clara. Haven't you heard?

You have been hoodwinked,|Mr. Quick.

For once in your crafty life,|you have been had.

You mean you're turnin' me down,|refusin' my hand and my heart?

You're too much like my father to|suit me, and I'm an authority on him.

- He's a wonderful old man.|- One wolf recognizes another.

- Tame us.|Make pets out of us. You could.|- I'm not interested.

when I was nine...

and I gave up on you the first time|I ever looked into those cold blue eyes.

- You got the color right.|- I've got everything right, Mr. Quick.

Well, I can see you don't like me,|but you're gonna have me.

It's gonna be you and me.

- Not the longest day I live.|- "Yes, sir."

They're gonna say, "There goes|that poor old Clara Varner...

"whose father married her off|to a dirt-scratchin', shiftless...

no-good farmer|who just happened by."

Well, let 'em talk.|I'll tell you one thing.

You gonna wake up|in the mornin' smilin'.

Do you understand me?

That is not nearly enough.

Mr. Quick, I am a human being.|Do you know what that means?

It means I set a price on myself,|a high, high price.

You may be surprised|to know it...

but I've got|quite a lot to give.

I've got things I have been|savin' up my whole life...

things like love|and understanding and...

and jokes and good times|and good cooking.

I'm prepared to be the queen|of Sheba for some lucky man...

or at the very least, the best wife|that any man could hope for.

Now, that's my human history...

and it's not gonna be|bought and sold...

and it's certainly not gonna be|given away to any passin' stranger.

All right. Then run, lady.|And you keep on runnin'!

Buy yourself a bus ticket|and disappear.

Change your name,|dye your hair, get lost!

And then maybe... just maybe...|you're gonna be safe from me.

Clara?

You, uh,|finished here, Clara?

- Yes. Thank you, Alan.|- Well, now, I'll walk you back.

With your permission,|Mr. Quick.

- Do I look very flustered?|- Nope.

Well, I am.|Alan, let's stop a minute.

Well, uh,|what's wrong, Clara?

Wanna tell me?

Alan, this is the hardest thing|I ever had to do in my life.

Well, tell me about it, and we'll|see if we can make it easier.

Alan, I have told people you love me,|and I have told myself you love me.

Now, I've done this|for five years...

but I have never|heard you say it.

And now I've gotta know.

Well, I guess I'd better say it then,|Clara. I do love you.

But do you want me|the way a man wants a woman?

What I want|is to help you, Clara.

But, Alan, that's such|a pitiful answer.

That's such a good,|kind, pitiful answer.

It's the only kind of answer|I can make you, Clara.

I didn't mean to waste|your young years like this...

but... you're so sweet,|so graceful, so intelligent...

and you never made|any demands.

Well, I wanted to.

Oh, I came very close|a couple of times.

There were all sorts of feminine wiles|I was gonna try out on you.

'Course, I don't guess|it would've done me any good.

Your mama has|a long head start on me...

and I don't think anybody's|gonna overtake her.

How... awful|that must have been for you.

All those Friday evenings|with my dreadful father|snippin' at your heels...

and me moonin'|and dreamin' over you.

Must've been very embarrassin'.

I'm so ashamed.|I'm so...

What are you doin'?|You lookin' for me, Jody?

I'm lookin' for ya.|I found ya.

Well, all right now.|We got that much clear. What next?

From the minute|you strayed in here...

everything's gone wrong|in my life.

I been cut down|to nothin'.

I lost me my store,|my wife's respect...

and my old man,|he hates me, worse than ever.

All that's over now, boy. They're gonna|find you downstream tomorrow.

And I'm gonna have my place|back in the world. Do you hear me?

Oh, Jody, you aimin'|to kill me?

Yeah, that's right.|What, do you think I'm jokin'? Huh?

Now, w-wait a minute.|Wait a minute, Jody.

Now, I'll tell you|what I'll do.

I'll make it up to you.|Yeah, I'll pay you back for everything|you think I've taken.

I don't wanna|hear about it!

Now, wait a minute.|Now, look at that, Jody.

Yeah? So you got|five dollars.

- Who cares, boy?|- No, sir. Not no ordinary five dollars.

Now, this ain't wages, Jody.|It ain't spendin' money.

Jody,|this is treasure.

- From where?|- From right outta my front lawn.

- You kiddin' me? Huh?|- No, sir.

That old Frenchman's place|your daddy give me?

Hey, look, boy.|That's nothin' but a heap o' bricks.

- An old haunted house now.|- That's what it appears to be.

Now look, boy.

I ain't the kind|to be taken in...

by a bunch|of hokey stories...

old men tell while they sit around|the shed spittin' tobacco juice.

Jody, I'll tell you,|I felt the same way too.

That is till|idle curiosity...

led me to do a little pokin' around,|and I'll tell ya...

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