Seconds Page #4

- Take it easy!

- I'm sorry.

- I'm terribly sorry.

- You all right, hon?

- That will never come out.

- I'm terribly sorry.

- Excuse me.

- Look at this mess!

- It's all right, honey.

- May I?

I'm sure it won't stain.

It will all come out.

Hey! You two heard the one about...

Yes, we have.

Well, I'm sorry. I

didn't mean to interrupt.

Seems like I'm doing

everything wrong lately.

Now, don't pout. Mama will

make everything better, okay?

Perfect. Say...

I was thinking about

school just before...

and your house at Harvard wasn't,

by any chance, Adams, was it?

- No, not exactly.

- Is anybody hungry?

Yeah, I am.

Say, Hank...

Hey, Hank, here.

Actually, I'm not a

Harvard alumnus either.

That is, I used to be. I'm not anymore.

- Did you resign or something?

- Take it easy.

That's priceless!

No! I did go to Harvard, you see...

and I was an alumnus...

but that was before I became a

painter, and now I'm not anymore.

Come on!

Realized hopes we're dashing

Into blue obscurity

Resistless, our team sweeps goalward

With the fury of ze blast

We'll fight for the name of Harvard

Till the last white line is

Passed

That's absolutely wonderful!

Truth is, I just stopped

being an alumnus. Simple.

- Wilson!

- What?

You and I must play golf sometime.

Golf?

Antiochus Wilson playing golf?

Now...

Arthur Hamilton...

Looks as if our host is in orbit.

Wait a minute, you guys.

- Put him down.

- Wait a minute.

- Turn him around.

- Hey, listen.

I got a nephew right

in Harvard right now!

- You don't have a nephew.

- What?

I don't have a nephew.

Okay, correct.

I don't have a nephew...

but he's there, all right.

He's there, all right.

My daughter...

she's married to a doctor...

and maybe by this

time, I'm a grandfather.

Believe me.

They'll never drag it out of me.

I'll stand right here on

my constitutional rights.

I'm not a grandfather.

L...

Why are you all staring at me like that?

Why are they staring at me like that?

They know.

They know what?

They're like you.

What do you mean?

Reborns.

Shut up!

Shut up, damn you! Just who the hell...

do you think you are?

My God!

Save me. Please!

- Yes?

- It's me, buddy. Now listen to me.

- Charlie?

- Look, Arthur...

- Listen to me!

- Is it really you?

Of course it is. Do you realize how

dangerous it is, what you're doing?

I've got to get out of here. You

don't know what they're doing to me.

Come on, buddy. Calm down.

- I've got to see you.

- That's impossible right now.

- Why?

- It just is!

You've got to get ahold of

yourself, fast. You'll be sorry...

- You know what they did?

- I can't explain, but...

There's this reborn, Nora.

She's not one of them.

She works for the company.

- What?

- That's right.

An employee.

But I...

Oh, no. She was so...

Why, Charlie? Why?

Your adjustment was bound to be

difficult in the first stages.

Don't you see? The

company simply provided...

An employee.

It means a lot to me

personally. I can't explain...

but we're sort of tied

together, you and me.

We're so close. Don't throw it away.

- How?

- Trust, please!

Promise to stay put until

we can get someone to you.

You've got to have help right

now. Please, will you stay there?

Please!

- Yes?

- I'm Mr. Wilson.

Come in, please. I'll tell

Mrs. Hamilton you're here.

I'm so glad you were able to come.

- Thank you. I didn't mean to barge in.

- Not at all.

It was very kind of you.

I must have sounded strange

over the phone, but...

you see, Arthur never mentioned...

I just met your late husband

last year, shortly before...

Yes. Please, sit down.

Mrs. Hamilton, I'm a

painter... an artist, actually.

I admire your husband's watercolors.

Really?

Not that he was professional,

but he did have something.

He mentioned some paintings in

a cupboard out in the garage.

That's the reason I...

Well, I was wondering if I

might pick one up as a memento.

I'm sorry, but the garage

has been cleaned out.

You threw them away.

No, not exactly.

You have a lovely place here.

Oh, thank you.

- This was the study, wasn't it?

- Yes, it was...

How did you know?

Your husband talked a

lot about this house...

about his family.

I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to stir

up painful memories.

No, it's not that. It's just that...

I never knew Arthur

to do that very much.

How do you mean?

- I don't want to bore you.

- No, please.

I'd like to know.

You see, I knew him

only for a short while.

I'd really like to know.

It's not just curiosity.

We shared an interest in art.

The last time I saw

him, I did some sketches.

Now I'd like to do a painting...

but all I have are lines... a face.

Posthumous portraiture?

I'm not joking.

No, of course you're not. I'm sorry.

You've set me quite a task.

He was a quiet man. The thing I most

remember him for were his silences.

It was...

as if he were always listening

to something inside...

some voice.

He never talked about it,

so I never knew what it was.

He was a good man...

but he lived as if he

were a stranger here.

He never let anything touch him.

He became absorbed in

things, his job mostly.

He worked hard.

He became more detached and...

Always a look around

his eyes as if he were...

trying to say something.

I don't know what.

Protest against what he'd

surrendered his life to?

I never knew what he wanted...

and I don't think he ever knew.

He fought so hard for what

he'd been taught to want...

and when he got it, he just

grew more and more confused.

The silences grew longer.

We never talked about it.

We lived our lives in a polite...

celibate truce.

Arthur had been dead

a long, long time...

before they found him

in that hotel room.

Well, I guess I can't

tell you much more. Enough?

Yes, it is.

I really should be going.

I hope I've been some help.

Yes, you have.

Very much.

You said that you wanted a memento.

It won't be a painting, I'm

afraid, but it's all I have.

I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson.

It doesn't matter.

- I want to go back.

- Of course, sir.

No, I don't mean to California.

To the company.

Start again, all over.

Antiochus Wilson can die, can't he?

The company.

Is it possible?

I think so, sir.

Begin again.

Quite honestly...

I'm not the least bit sorry...

because there were certain

mistakes made in my case...

Of course, but before we go

into all that, let me ask you...

whether you can recommend

and sponsor a new client.

What?

An acquaintance outside...

whom you feel would benefit

by the company's services.

You were sponsored yourself, you know.

Oh, yes, of course.

A business associate, perhaps.

Someone down the street.

You don't have to be intimately

acquainted with a man...

to realize he'd be receptive to

the sort of opportunity we offer.

I'm sorry. Right now,

I just can't seem to...

What I mean is, I'd

like to think about it.

That's all we ask.

As you can imagine, our business

is acquired through present clients.

It's a word-of-mouth

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