Mr. Church Page #7

---

True vision, my dear.

So, Owen Baxter became a doctor.

You're the one who told me

to do something good with my life.

I thought by now

you'd be a very serious novelist

living in Boston.

I guess life

had other plans for me.

Hmm.

Izzy?

Izzy.

Tell me about her father.

Did you love him?

It was just a foolish night.

Guess you could say I was

a little lost after Mama died.

He didn't want to have

anything to do with the baby.

But he gave me

the greatest gift.

I tried finding you

for a few years.

You found me now.

Morning, Mr. Church.

Mr. Church?

Mr. Church?

Hey.

Hey, I'm just resting.

Just resting.

Mama, where's Mr. Church?

Shh, he's sleeping.

Sleeping?

He never sleeps.

Of course he does, baby.

Everybody sleeps.

Um...

I'll make breakfast.

You?

Yes, me.

I told work I

wouldn't be coming in anytime soon.

Mr. Church

was on complete bed rest,

and if was my turn

to fake care of him.

Somehow, my hands

were doing the work.

All those years

watching Mr. Church

seemed to have soaked

into my skin, my bones.

And I knew exactly

what needed to be done.

I chopped, diced, and minced.

Mixed, mashed, and beat.

Stirred, sprinkled,

dashed, and pinched.

Ready to try?

It's very hot.

Be careful.

And while bread baked, I sewed.

And while pies cooled,

I sat at the piano.

And I realized every talent

Mr. Church had,

he taught himself

while passing the time

caring for someone else.

- Hey.

- Can I climb up?

Yes, of course.

Always.

How's my favorite

little girl doing?

Good.

Tell me a story.

Tell you a story.

Okay.

Once upon a time...

They always start that way.

Well, that's how you know

it's a story, my dear.

Once upon a time,

there was a little... boy.

What was his name?

What would you like

his name to be?

Henry.

Like you.

Well, then Henry it shall be.

Once upon a time, there was

a little boy named Henry.

And this boy was afraid

of just about everything,

except for ladybugs.

Ladybugs?

Ladybugs.

And one day while he was out,

a ladybug caught his eye

and he decided to chase it.

And he chased this ladybug

for so long

that he actually turned

into a grown man

chasing the same ladybug.

And the ladybug led him

to a little tiny house.

And in the house,

he found the kindest woman

and her beautiful little girl

living there.

And the man told the woman

that he apologized for coming

in the house this way,

but he was following

this ladybug,

and that he looked everywhere

all over the place.

He couldn't find it no more.

He promised her that he'd leave.

But the woman said,

"Don't leave. Stay."

She said,

"Stay here with us."

She said, "We don't have much,

but everything we got

we'll share with you."

And did he stay?

He did.

You know why?

Because for the first time,

he felt safe.

For the first time,

he wasn't afraid.

He felt happy-

And he promised

that if he ever saw

that ladybug again,

that he was going to thank her.

Did he?

Not yet.

He still hasn't stopped looking.

Maybe she's in the sky.

Well, you just might be right.

You just might be right.

You should be in bed.

"The blue level

of the Mediterranean

"hugged to its calm breast

the victims of all the wars.

"Calamity is in the tempest

of its history.

"The breath of the evening

breeze came to cool

"with the mulberry tree,

"which sighed faintly,

"as if regretting

the passing of this man.

"This man of dark deeds

but of large heart,

"who often at noonday

would lie down

to sleep

under its shade."

Okay.

Can I get you something to eat?

No.

You want some water?

No.

Okay, well, I'll give you

your privacy.

No.

I don't want my privacy.

Mr. Church, I fell asleep

in this armchair.

Mr. Church?

Mr. Church?

Mr. Church...

People

act strange around death-

There are those

who talk about everything

but the person who died.

Those who talk about

only the person who died.

Those who try to cheer you up.

And those who can't help

but make you cry.

And then there are those

who say nothing at all.

Because they don't have to.

Yeah, of course.

Thank you so...

Thank you so much.

Excuse me one second.

Excuse me.

Hi, can I help you?

Sorry, ma'am.

Is this Mr. Church's wake?

Yes.

I was a friend.

Name's Frankie Twiggs.

Folks call me Jelly.

Jelly?

I'm sorry for, you know,

barging in,

but we hadn't seen Hands

for quite some time,

and we done missed him,

and I just...

"Hands?"

Yeah, that's what we called him

on account of...

He played piano at my bar

for over 30 years.

So, he worked for you.

Oh, no, no.

Nothing like that.

It was more for him, you know?

One night, he just wandered

over to the piano,

and then, barn,

he started playing.

Place lit up.

I'm telling you,

this cat was good.

I thought somebody famous

had just walked in

to get a drink, you know?

He was a whole lot of magic.

I'm Charlie.

Pleasure to make

your acquaintance, Charlie.

Um... Izzy?

Come here, baby.

I want you to meet

a good friend of Mr. Church's.

Here, this is

Mr. Church's recipe.

What?

I didn't know he could cook.

Mm.

This is Izzy.

Can you say hi, baby?

Hi.

This is Mr. Jelly.

Twiggs.

Mr. Church once said

a book is meant to be read

from beginning to end,

but is best understood

from end to beginning.

I suppose everything

does happen for a reason.

Mama dying.

Larson saving my baby

and himself.

Poppy finding a dollhouse

of her own.

Even Owen,

the most beautiful

10-year-old boy

on this or any other plane!

Becoming a doctor.

"Dear Charlotte.

"You've said you just want

to know me.

"My dear, you always have.

"I'm simply a man.

"Not without faults.

"That can happen

when you're not the son

"your father hoped you'd be,

"despite his verbal abuse

and beatings.

"I know you think

I took care of you

"and your mother and Izzy

"and you gave me nothing

in return.

"You gave me

the most important thing

"life can offer.

"You gave me a family.

"And love.

Henry."

Mr. Church?

Henry?

I'm making eggs and grits, Mama.

Like Mr. Church showed us.

Oh, this looks so yummy.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Can you set the table for us?

I can get plates.

Okay, this will be for me.

This will be for you.

What do you need?

You're adding a little salt.

What about cheese?

You need cheese?

Yeah.

Yeah? Here you go.

More cheese?

Iwas wrong when I said

the legacy of the Brooks family

is having babies out of wedlock.

The legacy of this family

is Mr. Church.

Henry Joseph Church

could have been anything

he wanted to be.

He chose to cook.

The key, he said, jazz.

Rate this script:4.0 / 1 vote