Love, Once and Always Page #7

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your call.

It was so noisy here I couldn't

hear the phone ring.

Lucy, are you ready?

Yeah. For when?

Uh... for now?

Your conference call

with the trustees?

[baaing]

Hi everybody.

Uh, Lucy, is that a sheep

behind you?

Yep.

And now I'd like to talk you

through some numbers.

How'd it go?

Honestly... not great.

I'm sorry.

Between the sheep, the music,

and keeping them waiting

an hour,

it was kind of a disaster.

[laughs]

But the good news is at least

I can finally relax now.

How about a dance?

That sounds great.

Thank you for a truly

wonderful evening.

Let me read over your proposal

and run the numbers

and I'll have an answer for you

by 8:
30 tomorrow morning.

Good night.

Good night.

Good night. After you.

No pressure.

No pressure at all.

8:
30, right on time.

Duncan, whatever happens,

I really wanna thank you

for trying to do something

noble here

and meeting me halfway.

I would say we make

a pretty great team.

Great party last night.

And I went over the

numbers afterwards.

I like the property.

Like the views,

like the town.

But I'm a straight shooter.

I'm afraid restoring this estate

to its former glory

would simply costs too much.

This place likely needs updated

plumbing, mechanical,

electrical, and other things

we'd only be able to guess at

right now.

So for a full and modern

restoration,

I'm sorry, I'm afraid

the numbers just don't work.

The most cost-effective

solution would be

a simple tear-down

and building a brand new

golf course from the ground up.

And I assume that's what

you'd be proposing-

Sir, you're not seeing

the bigger potential.

No, I'm sorry.

My heart says yes

but the numbers say no.

And the numbers

always win.

I'm afraid my answer is no.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Will you guys just excuse us

for a moment, please?

Let me walk you to your car.

Thank you.

(Hannah):
Duncan, I told you

this would happen.

I delivered you a buyer on a

silver platter and all you had

to do was go along

with the plan.

I told Niven that you would be

presenting him

with a golf course.

And we gave him one.

And more.

Look, Lucy and I thought that-

You and Lucy?

You promised to get Lucy

on board.

Not throw me overboard.

Look, you said it yourself.

It was fine to tear down the

estate if that's what it took

to make the sale.

Yes, yes, I said it was fine

to tear down the estate,

but now I think we have

a better option.

Which Niven doesn't want.

Ok, look. We have about a day

to sell Niven

on the plan that he expected.

I suggest that you come up with

something to change his mind.

[door slams]

Just give me a second.

Lucy!

So you're still fine tearing

down the entire place?

Were you- were you just snooping

on me?

Echo-y halls, remember?

Yeah, I uh- I promised Hannah

that I'd try to convince you

to sell to Niven.

To level the estate

for a golf course.

Well, it just- it felt like the

most practical plan at the time-

Practical.

Again, more proof we were

never right for each other.

I don't know why I'm

so surprised, Duncan.

You always do what's right

for you.

Wait, that's not... Lucy...

Lucy.

[phone rings]

Isabelle. I am so sorry

about last night.

Why would you need to apologize?

Well, after the whole

teleconference fiasco.

Yes, well, Lucy,

your spreadsheets spoke

for themselves.

So I hope you're getting

a chance to relax

because when you get back

you'll have some

big shoes to step into.

Which shoes?

Specifically mine.

The trustees voted

to approve you.

You're kidding.

There'll be a boost in salary,

of course.

That's wonderful.

Yes, and we'll discuss it

all on Monday

when you're back in London.

You need an answer now?

Lucy, perhaps you

don't understand.

The trustees approved you.

You got the job you wanted.

The one a million people

would kill for.

Yes.

No, um... of course,

I'm as happy as...

As Alexander when he conquered

Egypt in 332 B.C.?

Yes.

No, exactly.

I gladly accept the job,

Isabelle.

Thank you.

And I will see you tomorrow

when I fly back to London.

Good.

Bye-bye.

Oh, Lucy. You're up early.

I was wondering if you could

give me a ride to the airport?

Oh. Of course.

I didn't know you were going

back to England so soon.

Honestly, neither did I.

Well, um, just let me finish up

here and I'll get my coat

and I'll be right with you.

Ok.

Marcus, we got a problem.

I'm really gonna miss

this place.

And you'll be missed

in Newton.

So how long is your flight back?

Door to door

about 10 hours but uh,

I brought some reading.

Aunt Grace's diary.

I thought I'd take it back

with me as a keepsake.

I think Grace would have

liked that.

Goodbye, Lucy.

Goodbye.

Something wrong, Duncan?

You usually wolf down

my Monte Cristo sandwich

in two seconds flat.

Niven flies off in about an hour

and I need to finish this pitch.

You know, Eleanor just called

to tell me Lucy left

for the airport.

She left?

Headstrong as always.

Who's the headstrong one here?

And proud, as well.

You think I'm being proud?

She won't even give me a chance

to explain.

You let her go once.

Are you gonna let her slip

through your fingers again?

What choice do I have?

Go stop her.

I don't think she wants

to see me right now.

You know, your dad and I

were good friends.

If he was here I'm pretty sure

what he'd say.

What's that?

Being caretaker of the estate

was more than just

changing lightbulbs.

Your dad thought he was a

caretaker of something precious.

He knew some things

were worth saving.

Randall? I've got a job for you.

Lucy, Lucy, hey wait!

Duncan,

what're you doing here?

I need to talk to you.

I couldn't let you go back

to London again

without you understanding.

I never wanted to let you go

that last summer.

I know.

I... I read Aunt Grace's journal

and her descriptions of how

you waited for me

every summer before I arrived

and how sad you were

every summer after I left.

I need you to give me

one more chance.

A chance for what?

I've been working on this

proposal for Niven.

It's a long shot but I think

he might just go for it.

Would you just postpone

your flight for one more day?

I don't know, Duncan.

You were right, it does seem

a little impractical.

Letting you go is the most

practical decision

that I have ever made.

It's also the worst decision

of my entire life.

Now I'm asking you

to trust me.

Please.

What did you have in mind?

I will tell you all about it

on the way back.

But right now I believe we have

a billionaire to catch.

Ok.

Right, no. I understand.

Mr. Niven's time

is incredibly limited.

Ok. We will certainly try.

Thank you so much.

Yeah.

Bye-bye.

Ok, so Niven is flying out

to Aspen to meet his grandkids

but his assistant said that

we might be able to catch him

before he checks out of his

hotel and heads to the airport

but he's leaving very soon.

You my ride?

Yes sir. That I am.

(Lucy):
Shoot, it's the

festival. I forgot.

(Duncan):
It's the last day.

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