Mr. Church Page #5

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last of Richard's money

you'll ever spend on me.

Poor fool.

He thought he'd only have to

shell out enough for six months.

Mama sure showed him.

Mr. Church?

Two Apple Jacks.

Right on time.

You're welcome. Enjoy.

Oh, that looks wonderful.

Yes.

Mm.

Apples and sugar.

No secret there.

Itook clothes and books.

Nothing else.

I told Mr. Church to take

whatever he wanted of Mama's,

and whatever was left

to give to charity.

I had driven 3,000 miles

to find out something amazing.

Here, no one knew me

as poor Charlie Brooks.

College was just how

I imagined it.

Full of energy and color.

Here, I could be anyone

I wanted to be.

And if we suppose that

Shakespeare instructed Thorpe to name

W.H. in the dedication,

then...

I studied hard,

and when I felt too tired to keep going,

I thought of all those damn coupons

Mom would cut to get me here,

and it pushed me through.

All right, that's it.

No more studying.

No! No,

we're going out.

Mr. Church wrote me every week.

And always sent me books.

Seasons changed.

Roommates came and went.

Class schedules changed,

and I got closer every day

towards graduating.

They say, for some, college

is the time of your life

where you find yourself.

And for others...

Hey, how you doing?

Hey, I'm Charlie.

Nice to meet you.

It can also be a time

where you slowly get lost.

And sometimes...

you just have to go home.

Wherever that may be.

Hi.

It's Charlie.

Surprise.

Seems the

legacy of the Brooks family

was having babies

out of wedlock.

Sorry I stopped

writing you, Mr. Church.

You know, I stopped

writing Poppy too.

Things... Things just got

a little crazy for me.

I can see that.

But I read all your letters,

sometimes even twice a day.

Anyway, I needed

a break and I thought,

"Go surprise Mr. Church."

Yeah, well,

you really surprised me.

Can I stay for a few days?

I mean, I brought my books.

I can study here and everything.

I just need a place to rest.

Okay. I got one rule.

Mm-hmm.

You respect my privacy.

'Cause you're

in my house now, right?

Yeah, okay.

I will.

Okay.

It was like we were never apart.

All right, then.

He never asked a single question

about my being pregnant.

Still smoking outside,

Mr. Church?

Yeah, as of today.

I guess Mr.

Church respected my privacy

as much as he asked me

to respect his.

All I knew being back

with Mr. Church

was that I was home.

I'm going to lock my heart

and throw away the key

I'm wise to all those tricks

You played on me

All those years wondering

where Mr. Church lived,

and I was now standing

in the center of it.

Try this.

Licorice?

That's right.

I'm gonna lock my heart

I'll never fall in love

I'm gonna lock my heart

And throw away the key

Hey, I brought an extra blanket.

It gets cold in here

at night sometimes.

And the sun shines

in that window really bright.

You might want

to close that curtain.

Is this you?

I'm sorry.

I wasn't snooping.

I just found it in the drawer.

Yeah, that's me and my father.

Oh.

You look like him.

I'm going to leave the light on

for you out here

in case you want to get

some milk or something at night.

Mm-hmm.

Good night, my dear.

Good night, Mr. Church.

You can't change me, old man!

You're not changing sh*t!

Oh, I'm a sinner?

Yeah, that's right!

I'm a sinner!

Who's a f*ggot?

You the goddamn f*ggot.

Talking the sh*t.

Kick your ass, old man.

Sh*t, I ain't no kid no more.

You don't tell me

a goddamn thing!

I took the

book of matches from Jelly's,

because I knew

he'd be embarrassed

if he saw that I'd found it.

And come morning, there was Mr.

Church making breakfast,

smelling like soap and seasonings,

listening to his music.

Hey, you're awake.

The baby's got to eat.

How was your night,

Mr. Church?

It was pleasant enough.

And that's all he would ever say.

Pleasant enough.

Those are the only keys

I never quite got the hang of.

About time I let somebody else

try to play them.

Your thesis awaits, my dear.

Start with the first word

and the rest will follow.

Hey, what are you doing?

Oh, I'm... I was just...

Okay, now you got to go.

Mr. Church...

Let's go, right now!

I'm... I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I give you one goddamn rule,

and you break it, right?

I'm sorry!

You get out of my sh*t

right now.

Pack your sh*t and go!

You're hurting me!

Just get out!

Where am I supposed to go?

It's the middle of the night.

That's not my goddamn problem.

I'm not a child anymore,

Mr. Church!

Or are you too drunk

to see that?

What is it with all of you?

The secrets and lies

and more secrets?

Don't tell Charlie I'm dying.

Don't tell Charlie

a goddamn thing.

I just wanted to know you,

Mr. Church.

Look, I was your cook.

That's all you need to know.

Ihad nowhere to go.

And for the first time,

I realized I had no one.

Larson?

Larson!

Hey, Charlie.

Look at you, you're all...

pregnant and married.

Oh, no.

Just... Just pregnant.

Well, you living out here again?

No, still in college.

Just, you know, came to see...

Came to visit.

Heading back tonight.

You still got that car, or...

Oh, it's good.

It's right over there.

Yeah.

Do you need a ride somewhere?

Oh, no, no, no.

No, I...

I'd better get a...

Hey, it was good...

Good seeing you, though.

Yeah, you too, Larson.

On, sh*t!

I swear to God, dude,

I didn't even see her.

Charlotte, come here.

Here, get the door.

Breathe, Charlie, breathe.

Iheard the doctors and nurses

whispering it' was a miracle

the baby didn't die.

I wanted to tell them,

"Don't you know?

Miracles run in the Brooks family."

You need to be very careful.

Lots of rest, Charlie.

Do you have a place to stay?

She lives with me.

You are?

I'm Mr. Church.

Are you responsible for Charlie?

Yeah.

The baby gave Mr. Church a sense

of purpose and excitement.

Oh! There she goes again.

"She," Mr. Church?

Well, it's a guess. She feels

like... I'm feeling she.

Aren't you going to ask me

how it happened?

I know how girls

get pregnant, Charlotte.

If he wasn't gardening,

he was painting.

If he wasn't painting,

he was cooking.

If he wasn't cooking,

he was playing the piano.

And if he wasn't playing

the piano,

he was reading to me.

Bonnie?

Too cute.

Brenda?

Mm... too dangerous.

Beth?

Too simple.

How about Carrie?

No.

Every

Wednesday and Saturday night,

Mr. Church went out.

Good night, Charlotte.

He never

said where he was going.

And I never asked.

But I knew.

You have Irene.

Or Iris.

Irma...

Mr. Church?

Irma sound like an old lady.

Mr. Church?

Mr. Church?

Isabel.

Isabel. What do you think

of Isabel?

Mr. Church... oh, my God.

Oh, my God, we got to go.

Are you sure?

Yeah... Oh!

Okay, okay, okay, Okay-

I'll call right now.

Mr. Church was right.

I was having a baby girl.

She's going to need

a name, Charlotte.

Isabel.

Isabel Marie Brooks.

Oh...

Hey.

Hey, Isabel.

Shh.

I'm Mr. Church.

Oh...

Everything was about Izzy.

We're going to go right...

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