Mr. Church Page #3

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She's still going to die,

Mr. Church.

Hey, you're awake.

I thought I heard Charlie.

Did she come right up

from school?

Yeah, she's doing her homework.

She didn't want to disturb you.

You're a terrible liar,

Mr. Church.

You want some company?

Mm-hmm.

"She always accompanied him

"to the first step

of the stairs.

"When his horse had not yet

been brought around,

"she'd stayed there.

"They had said good-bye.

"There was no more talking.

"The open air wrapped around her

"playing with the soft down

"on the back of her neck,

"or blew to and fro on her hips,

"the aprons strings

that fluttered like streamers.

Love, she thought,

must come suddenly..."

My mama had been the sun to me.

I basked in her warmth.

I remember wanting to wake up

in the morning just to see her.

But now that sun was on fire,

seemed to burn

everything in sight.

If I got too close,

my skin stung.

But Mr. Church,

he could walk

right through her blaze

without so much as a singe.

He was like the moon,

cool, calm, and always there.

So, I learned to turn away

from the sun

and face the moon.

This is excellent work.

The Bronte sisters

would have been proud.

It was visiting day

at the prison.

I don't know why

they force Poppy to go.

She just ends up smoking

with a bunch

of locked-up creeps

staring at her.

Hey, they're her parents,

Charlotte.

Apple?

Of course.

Oh...

Larson told me to let you know

that his group of drunks

loved the pie you donated.

Have you seen that place?

The thing's pretty dreary.

Well, I guess being a drunk

is dreary, huh?

Hey, your mom's going to need

a bath tonight.

Mr. Church

stopped smoking in the house

once Mama passed

the six-month mark.

Guess he realized

she wasn't going anywhere,

and he didn't want

to hurry her along.

We each had our duties.

Mr. Church fed Mama,

gave her medicine,

took her blood pressure,

temperature, held pots

under her face when she threw up.

Carried her to and from the bathroom

when she needed to go.

And with all that,

he still called her ma'am.

And she still called him

Mr. Church.

My one and only job

was to bathe Mama.

And I hated it.

How was...

How was school today?

School is school.

Did you... Did you hear

from any more colleges?

I got accepted

to Boston University.

Charlie, that's what you wanted.

I'm so proud of you.

I can't afford

a university, Mama.

I'll be going local

and you know it.

You applied for a scholarship.

Mr. Church said

that Owen Baxter

asked you to the prom.

News like that,

I'd like to have heard it

from you.

Forward.

It's no big deal.

No big deal?

Just a lame prom.

No, baby, it's colorful

and exciting.

You get to see all your friends

dressed up,

dancing with boys

they never even knew liked them.

Go back.

It's one of the biggest nights

of a girl's life.

Thanks.

Frankie Liner.

What?

He was my...

My... my prom date.

Poor Frankie, his hands

were sweating all night long.

But, boy, could he dance.

You'll need a dress

and some new shoes.

Not if I don't go.

Charlie, don't skip your prom.

Why do you care? You won't

be around to see it anyway.

Don't say things like that.

Okay?

Because I...

have hung on

for five years longer

than any of those

damn doctors said I would.

What's a couple more weeks

till your prom?

Neck.

Charlie, listen to me, okay?

I'm going to make you a promise,

and you know

I never break my promises.

If you say yes to Owen

and get yourself a dress

and you go to that lame prom,

I'll be here to see it.

How'd we get such

beautiful hair, huh?

Okay.

We're done.

Charlie...

We're done.

Mr. Church. Mr. Church.

No, Charlie, wait!

Goddamn it!

I am angry too.

You give birth to this tiny,

innocent, little thing,

and you think, "My God,

oh, my God,

help me protect her."

And that is what you spend

every waking moment doing.

And then one day you wake up

and you've got cancer.

And you realize, "My God...

"oh, my God...

"what she will need

the most protection from

is your own life

slipping away from her."

But you love her so much.

And you just want to smother her

with love and hugs and words

with every moment

you've got left.

And a hug there was.

Charlie.

Okay.

She'll remember the love,

won't she, Mr. Church,

not the pain?

Yes, ma'am.

She will.

It's en awful

feeling to love someone so much

that you absolutely hate them

for leaving you.

Even before they've gone.

Hey, Dr. Green stopped by with

some medicine for your mother

Hmm. to help her sleep

better tonight.

You going home?

Yup, I am gone for the day.

Check out another book

before you go?

Tess of the d'Urbervilles.

You read this?

Aren't you the one who said it's

good to read a book more than once?

All right, well then, Tess

of the d'Urbervilles it is.

Mm.

Is there something else?

Why don't you ever

tell me where you live?

Where do you go

when you aren't with us?

Because what I do

with my own personal time

is my business, Charlotte.

You know everything about me,

so just tell me something.

It's late, Charlie.

Please.

Hey, I said it's late.

I like ice cream.

What kind?

Butter pecan.

Favorite color?

Brown.

Movie?

The Maltese Falcon.

Do you have a girlfriend?

Okay, now that's enough.

All right, just tell me

what your house looks like.

Or tell me

who your best friend is.

Come on, just tell me...

Hey, I said enough!

Don't you know when to back off?

Enough.

You've never raised

your voice to me.

I'm sorry about that.

I just...

I just want to know more

about you.

I know you want.

I know.

My dear, you have me

from morning until night.

And what I do

when I leave here is my time.

For me.

Mm-hmm.

Don't take that away.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles.

I've actually read it

three times.

Good night.

That one.

Yeah?

Sure.

Hmm.

Baby.

I... I think the neckline

could be a little lower.

Well, she's going to a prom,

not the discotheque.

Don't be such a square,

Mr. Church. Lower.

The prom suddenly became

the most important event

of our lives.

And for the first time,

I believed that Mama

was going to live forever,

that she truly was a miracle.

And those doctors

had been wrong all along.

Hey, you know,

this has an elegance to it

that this just doesn't have.

This kind of says,

"Let's dance."

Let's dance.

That's the point.

All right, it's your prom.

The dancy look.

I like the dancy look. All right,

we're going with the dancy look.

Okay.

Oh, my God.

You are so beautiful.

Tell her.

Tell her, Mr. Church.

Oh, a true vision, my dear.

The dress is perfect.

Come and stand next to your

mother so I can get a picture.

Well, put it on a timer.

We need a picture of

the three of us. Yeah!

Oh, no, no, no.

Come on now.

Yeah, we do.

Please? We need one

of the whole family.

Mr. Church...

Come on, sit.

Okay.

Okay, I want to make a toast.

Oh.

To the most beautiful girl

in the world.

Yes.

Mm.

It pops in my mouth.

Come on in.

Thanks.

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