Secondhand Lions Page #6

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Protecting her cub.

She was a real lion,

wasn't she?

There at the end.

Sure.

A real jungle lion.

A real Africa lion.

You finished packing?

Your momma's gonna be back

from the hospital soon.

You can wait for her

on the front porch.

Stay right here.

Don't you move

a muscle.

So you all packed?

Where's your suitcase?

Don't be fresh.

- Upstairs in my room.

- Well, let's go get it.

Howdy, Stan.

You know,

you're lucky, Stan.

Lucky that lion got to you

before we did.

I wonder what your uncles

are saying to Stan.

Probably their "What every boy needs

to know about being a man" speech.

Well, I'm glad to see

they're making friends.

So you all set?

Let's go.

To make a long story short, Stan,

you and me, we can be friends...

or we can be enemies.

Well, boys, I hope Walter

wasn't too much trouble.

- We managed.

- What's gonna happen to him?

A man like that's got

no business being around your boy.

Well, of course not.

What kind of a mother would I be?

I'm gonna drop him off

in Las Vegas.

L... I'll be back

for the...

rest of that speech if...

I'll be here.

Good boy.

Thanks for the s-stories

and everything.

It... it...

it meant an...

an awful, awful lot.

I'm glad.

Well, come on, honey.

We're burning daylight.

Damn.

She doesn't deserve

that kid.

Maybe we should

get a lawyer.

No judge is gonna take a child

away from its mother

and give it to two old

bachelor uncles.

Maybe she'll sell him to us.

How much money we got?

Hub...

there's nothing we can do.

He's gone.

So where are we going?

I told you, Las Vegas.

I mean after.

After we drop Stan off.

Well, honey, Stan's gonna need

a lot of looking after.

Walter!

What are you doing?!

Oh my God!

Walter! Walter!

Walter, stop!

Stop right there!

What's gotten into you?

Oh, honey, are you all right?

You gave me a heart attack.

You're still marrying him

after everything.

Oh, he's not so bad.

A little rough around the edges,

but he can change.

Mom!

He says he loves me.

- Has he hit you yet?

- Mind your own business!

You always think a new boyfriend

solves everything,

but you always pick losers,

and he's the worst of them all.

Walter, I had no choice.

Maybe you don't.

What?

- Mom?

- What?

Do something for me.

For once.

Do something

that's best for me.

Okay?

Salesmen ought to be here

in two, three hours.

- Whoop-de-doo.

- Uh-huh.

Lookie yonder.

Okay,

if I'm gonna live here,

there's gonna be

some conditions.

Conditions?

One, you two

gotta stick around

until I'm through

with high school at least,

preferably college.

You both

got responsibilities now...

PTA, Boy Scouts,

Little League,

the works.

Sounds like we don't have

much choice.

Two, you both gotta take

better care of yourselves.

More vegetables, less meat.

I wonder if traveling salesmen

sell school supplies?

And three,

no more

dangerous stuff.

No fighting teenagers,

no airplanes...

Now wait one minute...

At least till I'm through

with college.

- Maybe longer.

- What do you expect us to die of?

Old age?

Well...

welcome home.

- Hello?

- Walter?

- Yes?

- This is Sheriff Grady.

I'm afraid I have

some bad news for you.

It's about

your two uncles.

I'm sorry,

they passed away.

There was an accident...

and it's a blessing

that they didn't suffer.

It's a blessing too,

in a way, that they went together.

You understand.

I'm over here

at your uncles' place now.

You need to come on

over here.

You need to see this

for yourself.

- Walter?

- How you doing?

All right.

Best I can figure,

they were trying to fly

through that barn

upside down.

Had a bunch of reporters

out here earlier, even CNN.

I guess any time a biplane...

from the First World War

crashes doing acrobatics,

being flown by two

neither one of them

with pilot's licenses...

well...

well, they had a good long run,

both of them.

They went out

with their boots on.

Here.

I found their will.

"The kid gets it all.

Just plant us

in the damn garden...

with the stupid lion."

Hey!

We've got some company.

This is it.

This is where

they lived.

It's okay.

Come here, buddy.

Come here.

Look at this.

Look at this.

Forgive me.

We were in Houston when we heard

their names on the news,

and, well,

we just had to come.

When I was a boy,

my grandfather told me such stories.

- Your grandfather?

- A very wealthy sheik.

He used to love to tell me

stories about his wild youth.

Amazing, unbelievable stories

all about two brothers,

Hub and Garth McCann,

the most valiant

and brave men, huh?

He called them his

"most honored adversaries."

"The only men who ever

outsmarted me."

Wait, so you...

you knew these two men?

They... they raised me.

It's an honor.

- Nice to meet you.

- It's nice to meet you.

Wow.

Aha.

I see they spent

my grandfather's gold wisely.

Yeah.

Well, there was this one

traveling salesman.

So...

the two men from great

grandfather's stories,

they really lived?

Yeah...

they really lived.

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