The 7.39 Page #2

seat, all right?

Joking. Sorry.

Well, what can I do?

I'm at work!

Yeah... I know.

Look, I will try to come home

early.

Yeah.

Well, as soon as possible, yeah.

Right, yeah.

Can we talk about this later,

please?

Right.

This train is for

London Waterloo.

Sorry, someone's sitting there.

It's a colleague. We're having a

meeting. So, erm... OK.

Pssst...

Thank you.

How is it?

It's all right.

Do you know it well? Yeah.

Well, I've seen it on telly.

Same thing.

I saw you reading yesterday

and it inspired me.

Some people on this train

just pretend to read

so they don't have to talk.

I carried Harry Potter

around with me for five years.

If it's so you're left alone,

I don't mind.

No, no, it's not that.

I thought, now that I've

got this commute,

I'll read all the books I should

have read at school.

But I've been on the same

page for 10 days now.

Yeah, you look a bit distracted.

Did I?

Is she the one who throws

herself in front of a train?

Oh, well. Who could blame her?

Sorry, I think

I just gave away the ending.

Oh, I don't think I'll be getting to

the end.

Not with me disturbing you.

You're not disturbing me.

If she set her alarm a bit earlier,

she could do that at home.

I do my make-up on the train sometimes.

Well, that's allowed, isn't it?

Not cutting your toenails though.

No, that's crossing a line.

Makes a change to actually

talk to someone.

I thought that was against the

rules. It is.

What, 250 days a year?

Two and a bit hours a day,

say 600 hours,

giving a 16-hour waking day,

that's...

37 days a year on this

train with these people.

That can't be right.

One year in every ten.

That's more than I spend with

my kids.

I still don't know anybody's name.

I listen to their phone calls...

see them eat and sleep,

see them drunk.

We nod at each other sometimes or we

moan about the weather,

but none of us know each other. Not

really.

Yeah. That's depressing.

Yeah.

Sally. Sally Thorn.

There you go, an actual name.

Carl Matthews. Well, Carl.

Now we're in trouble. Yeah.

I didn't want to leave London.

I said, what about the art

galleries, the restaurants,

what about the theatre?

Then Ryan pointed out we never

actually went to the theatre.

Is that your husband? Fiance.

Still, it's a long way to move for

an extra bedroom and some decking.

You got kids? We're trying.

A lot.

But you don't need to know that.

On the other hand, if you're

the landlord with 10,000 square feet

to fill, you want a long lease. In this uncertain

business environment, it's not going to happen.

Erm, I've got to go. My work's this

way.

Oh, I'm sorry. I'm boring on.

No, not at all! I want to know more.

What train are you getting back?

Well, the 18:
49's not bad if you push

up to the front, you know?

Spread your stuff out, eat a bag

of chips, you can get a double seat.

Another handy tip.

Yeah, I'm full of them.

See you there.

No porn at the office, please,

Mr Matthews.

Client's here.

Any thoughts

on our friend Martin's departure?

Erm...

I thought I'd give him until Friday.

If you say so.

We are now

approaching our next station stop.

Please remember to take all

personal items with you

when leaving the train...

Hey, hey!

Nearly there.

Thank you.

How long have I...?

Since Waterloo. I was erm...

You looked so peaceful,

I didn't want to disturb you.

Not drooled, have I?

No, you haven't.

Stay calm. I will.

Don't lecture him,

don't say, "I'm not made of money. "

don't lose your temper,

just be sensitive.

I know how to talk to my own son!

Sometimes you don't.

So why don't you do it?

I have. It's your turn.

I must warn you,

he was lighting candles.

I'm learning my lines.

What is it this time?

Brecht, oh.

Bertolt Brecht.

Verstehst Du sowieso nicht.

Right, well...

If this is more career guidance,

I'm not changing my mind.

No, I don't want you to change your

mind.

I just, you know, want you to think

hard about it.

And then change my mind.

Well, it's not exactly vocational,

is it, Adam? I mean, you know,

Theatre Arts, it's...

Couldn't you just

do your acting as a hobby?

It's brutal out there, Adam.

You know, I see it every day.

I see 50 guys chasing the same job.

Graduates as well.

You know, and it's not cheap...

If you don't want to contribute...

No, I don't mind that,

as long as there's a decent

job at the end of it.

Like yours, you mean?

No, not like mine.

And don't be...

I'm trying here, mate.

I know.

But it's what I want to do.

We've got electricity now you know,

Shakespeare.

You just flick this switch...

Look at that.

Just don't burn the house down,

that's all.

'Theatre Arts. '

I've got this waking nightmare that

I'm going to walk across

Covent Garden one afternoon

and there he is, painted silver.

Standing very, very still.

I love him as well, you know...

He's just a...

pretentious little sod.

He's just going through an arty

phase. We all have an arty phase.

I didn't.

I had a home-computing phase.

I always wanted to be a dancer.

Really.

Contemporary, ballet, tap, modern.

I was barely out of a leotard

until I was 19.

So what happened?

Real life.

I always wanted to be a chef.

I mean...

Not a cheffy-chef, you know?

Just someone who could cook really,

really good chips.

Maggie and I used to talk about it.

Getting a little restaurant or a pub

outside of London.

Well, what stopped you?

Kids, money, fear.

You know, same thing, real life.

I still can't believe you're old

enough to have a 17-year-old son.

Well we started early, you know?

Don't know why I'm surprised.

It's a lot less weird than me

having a fiance at my age.

I thought someone would have snatched

you up a long time ago, that's all.

Snatched up then put back

down again.

I was a divorcee, now I'm a fiancee.

What happened?

If it's not too personal a question.

Another time.

So, what? We must be

near neighbours.

Erm, no, I'm in that direction

actually.

About a mile.

Hey, here... Mint for the booze.

It's an old commuters' trick.

I'll see you tomorrow.

You know, actually I was going to...

Go on.

You'd say if it was inappropriate,

wouldn't you?

Yes, I will.

It's just this gym of yours. You

know...

all the booze and crisps and sitting

on my arse,

it's taken its toll, so...

I just want a bit of life back.

Unless you think that's a bad idea?

No.

No, we're always happy to welcome

new members. Great.

I'll fix you an evaluation.

For Monday?

Well, who evaluates me? I do.

Unless you'd want someone...

No, no, it's fine. It's just, you

know, make allowances.

I'll give you my e-mail.

It's on the website.

I mean, I presume, it's on the

website, isn't it?

Yeah, it is on the website.

I look forward to hearing from you.

OK.

Gentle, sad and lonely.

You're not really selling him, Sal.

I'm not trying to SELL him.

And what does Ryan say?

What's Ryan got to do with it?

Well, if this is so innocent,

there's no reason not to tell him.

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