Solitary Man Page #9

You did.

And you signed consent

forms when you came in.

I dont remember that.

Yeah, you wouldn t.

You know, the alcohol

and shock to your

system was pretty extreme.

So, what kind of tests?

They ran a series

concentrating on your heart.

Am I hooked up here to anything else?

Just to the I.V.

You wanna take this out, please?

Oooh.

Thats against doctors orders.

Well, if you dont take it out,

Im gonna take this with me,

because Im leaving.

Ben.

I did you wrong, kid.

Im here to make it right.

Really.

Yeah, you know, you gave me back

my shirt and I never gave you

back the one I borrowed. So.

Uh, this isnt my shirt.

No, no that particular shirts

in some storage box in New York,

so I bought you a new one.

And, you know, thought it

would look good on you.

All right. Thanks.

Also, it appears I

might have done you wrong

a couple of other ways, too.

Yeah. Yeah, I know.

I know. She told me.

She didnt want to, but I saw

that something was bothering

her. She said that,

that you were drunk...

that I shouldnt be mad,

that it was just kinda sad.

That thats who you are.

See, she might be a good one.

I forgot to tell you

about the good ones.

You know, they re, theyre

different than all the others.

And, um... you know, theyre rare.

And when you get a good one

you dont wanna f*** it up.

Yeah, I know. I, I

figured that out myself.

Figured you would.

Youre a good one, too.

Okay.

Hey.

Thanks for the shirt.

De nada.

Okay, Nance.

When was the first

time that a doctor sent

you for a heart scan?

Hospital called you.

Called your daughter.

Uh, Dr. Steinberg

ordered up that test about

six and a half years ago.

And how long after that

did you start cheating?

That day.

And you never went back to

have the test done, did you?

No.

Cant use that as an excuse though.

It was a factor.

But, uh, you know,

things were building up.

Building up?

Yeah.

I was becoming invisible.

Invisible?

Look, thirty years ago I would

walk into a room, that room

would change just

because I was there.

It was, you know, I was a

graduate, self made man, great

shape. I had the TV

commercials, all that stuff.

I remember. I was right next to the

camera when you shot them.

You know what it was like back then.

I was a lion. Thats

how people looked at me.

But then, you know,

things started to change.

And over the, uh, past ten or

twelve years, Id walk into a

room and the only old people noticed

me. They knew who I am.

And to everybody else Im invisible.

You were never invisible to me.

Well, that doesnt count

because you were my wife.

Oh. Well. You know what,

Benny? If youre lucky,

thats what happens. You get old.

No, I, I accept its biological.

I just dont accept

that it happened to me.

So, when, uh, Steinberg said he

thought he saw something on the

EKG, I got nervous. And when

he called up the heart scan,

uh, to see if there was any blockage...

I had every intention of walking

out of his office and going

right there to check on it.

But instead?

Instead I went into a bar and

grill on Lexington Avenue

had a couple of pops

to calm down and, uh

I picked up the first young girl

who said yes and took her back

to a suite at the Carlyle.

And what did that do for you?

The truth?

Did plenty.

See, I figured youd see it on

my face, youd know straight

off. But you didnt. You

didnt say anything, you know.

So, I kept right on going.

And then, uh, you know, awhile

after that Im up in my shop at

white plains looking

at the books. And I say to

myself, why should I be New Yorks

honest car dealer?

Then again, nobody said

anything. Nothing for years.

But you know, I, I still

dont understand why you...

you didnt go back and have

the test just to make sure.

Im gonna go to a doctor and

give him that kind of power?

The, the when, the

where and the how?

Theres no, theres no way.

You know what its like

when we get our age.

The best thing a doctor can say

is, uh, well, oh, the survival

rate is high... or,

uh, its a good cancer, or...

uh, hey, you know, no problem.

We got it early.

I dont wanna hear any of that.

And I wasnt gonna go

get some of those, uh...

those, those beta blockers and

all that crap that slow you down

and level you out. I was gonna live

my life the way I wanted

to until the f***ing

thing in my heart exploded.

But you cant cheat death,

Benny. Nobody can and

no matter how many 19 year

olds you talk into your bed.

I know that.

I know that now.

Well...

my cars parked over there.

And Id be happy to drive

you back to New York City...

if youre ready.

Take a few minutes and...

you decide what you really want.

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