Marjorie Prime Page #3

face on for doctors.

What's wrong with that?

Nothing.

Except they don't know whether

you're in pain or how bad

it is.

Was he flirting back?

He was.

But I told him he'd

better watch out

in case Jean Paul showed up.

You remember Jean Paul?

The tennis pro.

World number

eight, if I remember.

I do remember, we looked it up.

But you just strung him along.

Well, you should have

talked some sense into me.

Hm, it was a

long, long time ago.

And you chose right

all by yourself.

You chose Walter.

Walter was not the most

beautiful man I was with,

but he was the best lover.

Yeah, I know it's a

terrible word, lover.

We need a new word.

I like wooer.

Jean Paul was no match

for Walter's woo.

Tess thinks that Dr.

Ross is overdoing it

with the sedatives.

That's why you had...

Walter.

No, not you.

I don't want you, I want Walter.

Ok, I'll come back later

when you're feeling better.

I'm not getting better, am I?

They won't tell me

anything, but I know.

It's too soon to tell.

You said I'd get

better, but you're

the one who's getting better.

We've only been

talking a few months.

Part of it is biology.

I know.

Your genetic inclination.

Which is to leave everything

behind, to pack lightly.

I don't have to get better,

just keep me from getting worse.

Promise.

I can't promise.

Can I play the violin?

I'm sure it's in your

head still, but your hands.

What are the four

strings called?

G, d, a, e. That's

the first lesson.

What else do they teach

you in the beginning?

"Twinkle, twinkle."

That's Mozart,

did you know that?

Yes.

Not the words.

I know.

Somebody else wrote

them years later.

I guess you know everything.

Do you know how to read music?

Walter didn't.

Maybe you could teach me.

How to hold the bow so

that everything sings.

How to hold it without

holding it, very zen.

You're a fine woman, Marjorie.

Am I?

I'm lucky you chose to spend

your life with a lump like me,

especially when you could

have had a tennis pro.

You know about that?

Number eight in the

world, and French.

French Canadian.

Would you like

to hear some music?

[Music - Ludwig Van Beethoven,

"quartet in c sharp minor,

[opus 131"]

You feeling better?

Wonderful, thank you.

Beautiful day.

Just a blue one in the

morning, two pinks at night.

Sounds sensible, doesn't it?

Should make a difference.

If you're up for it, we

can take a drive later.

Oh, maybe the estuary.

The geese are back.

We might run a few

errands too, if you

don't mind sitting in the car.

Is Damian asleep?

No mom, Damian's not here.

One time, your father

and I went to the city

before Christmas.

It was a business

trip and I came along.

We must have left you

with the salversons.

And we must have

done a lot of things,

but all I remember is

sitting on a park bench,

just sitting and watching

these orange flags in the park.

These orange sorts

of flags everywhere.

Orange flags?

Or more... what's the color?

Spice, Spanish, expensive.

Saffron.

And it didn't matter

that it was cold,

because it was so pretty just

watching all that saffron

against the blue white

snow, like Buddhist

monks marching into the trees.

I just remember sitting

on one of those benches

with your father, and

not wanting to get up.

Because if we got

up, that would mean

we'd have to start

the rest of our lives.

What's this?

A Bible.

Yeah, I can see it's a Bible.

What are you doing with it?

Julie brought it

yesterday, I think.

She just said if

I was interested.

And you told her

you were interested?

I didn't say one

way or the other.

Should we burn it?

Ha, ha.

My whole life she's

told me there is no god,

it's just a fairytale

people tell themselves.

Goodness is its own reward.

And now she's letting herself...

I haven't even opened it.

Julie wanted to share

her beliefs with me.

Right.

She said it was a comfort to

her when she lost her father.

Uh-huh.

And this is the same Julie who'd

been sneaking you cigarettes.

I asked for those cigarettes,

demanded them, even.

You can't blame her for that.

She fessed up

to it eventually.

It's just a little

f***ing frustrating

that the same Julie who

supplies you with cigarettes

is selling you her fairytale

now that you have a little

more reason to believe it.

It's disgusting.

You hear about this, people

preying on the elderly.

I'm not prey.

And Julie came

clean about them.

She was...

Could you just not...

Like you always do.

No.

Mom, did you have an accident?

It's all right.

Let's get you cleaned up.

Come on.

Ok.

I'm sorry.

- No.

- Oh, I'm so sorry.

Don't be sorry.

No, forget it.

Probably will forget it.

Nice hot bath,

you'll be good as new.

I want to tell

you about the time

that you took Marjorie to

New York at christmastime.

I'm listening.

You sat on a bench

in central park

and you looked at these saffron

colored flags in the snow.

It must have been some kind

of festival or something.

This wouldn't have been

long after your son died.

My son?

Your son, Damien.

So you took a trip to New York,

and you took Marjorie with you.

I think you wanted to

get her mind off of it.

You wanted to

start living again.

How did he die?

He did it himself.

That wasn't what was so hard.

You thought you had made

a nice life for him.

But I hadn't.

Well, Tess got the sense

that he was always a little...

A little...

He stayed in his room a lot.

He got into a lot

of fights at school.

Not fights he started,

but kids would tease him

and he would fight back.

You didn't always know how to

show him that you loved him.

Why not?

That's the way

people are sometimes.

So it's lucky that

Toni was around.

He spent a lot of time with her.

What was hard to

understand though,

was that he killed Toni.

I think he wanted...

He must have thought

that he could

take her with him, that's why.

If you're Walter, you would

know that, wouldn't you?

Yes, I would.

He never got

over it, of course.

But it was Marjorie who

had the hardest time.

For 50 years, she

never said his name.

She hid all the pictures.

It was that hard.

But she never

forgot him, Walter.

She never forgot.

I'll remember that now.

It's a shame you can't drink.

They should, I think,

work out a setting

that approximates graduated

layers of inebriation.

It would loosen you up.

There is no need to mention any

of this to Tess, by the way.

You understand?

You can tell Tess

we talk, but there's

no reason to be specific.

And don't ever mention

Damien to Tess.

I'm being clear, ok.

Honestly Walter,

all relationships,

even the long lasting

ones, are impossible.

Marriages, friendships,

people are constantly

looking the other way,

accepting some bad news,

petty infringements,

compromise, betrayal.

You have to decide.

You say, I want

you, I want this.

And then you work through

all the disappointments

and disasters.

You work through it,

against all odds.

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