The Clock Page #3

---

- I suppose you're right.

- I am right, Alice.

Now, you forget this Joe.

- Freddie will be phoning in a few minutes.

- Freddie.

Freddie's a nice boy. He's all right.

Anyway, you know his last name.

We've got to go if we want to get there,

get the feature.

Where are we eating? I feel like a steak.

Let's go to that little steak house

on 46th Street.

Give my regards to Freddie.

And remember, don't you weaken.

Bill, we could take the IRT and then take...

- Goodbye.

- Goodbye, Bill.

Hello?

Hello, Freddie.

I'm sorry. Yes, Helen told me you'd called.

Well, I'm almost ready. What time?

- Darling!

- Hello, darling. You're looking mighty cute.

Here's something to top you off.

- It's lovely.

- How do you like that?

- Here hold this.

- All right.

- How's that?

- Down a little.

Now, how do you like it?

- Joe!

- Alice!

- Am I late?

- Oh, no, no, you're not late.

I was just worried about you.

Here's something for your hair

to top it off.

- Joe.

- Want me to hold your mirror for you?

Yes. Here.

It's beautiful.

I've lived with Helen almost

ever since I got here.

We work in the same office.

She's in the sales division.

I'm in the traffic department.

I have to know all about shipping

and railroads and rates and everything.

- Really? All that?

- Yes, I do.

But you take Helen. Now, she practically

runs the sales department.

Bill says she's practically an executive.

Who's Bill?

He's a friend of Helen's.

Sometimes Freddie and I

go out with them.

Dancing and things.

It's our very best wine, Madame.

- We didn't order it.

- No, we...

Compliments to the Corporal and his

charming companion, from the gentleman.

Wasn't that nice of him?

You like it, don't you?

The city and the office and everything?

I love it. I never want it different.

- Never?

- Never.

Don't you want to get married

someday maybe?

Oh, that. Not for a long time, anyway.

Well, what about this Freddie

that you mentioned?

- Freddie?

- What about him?

- What about him?

- Well, does that suit Freddie?

- I don't know what you mean.

- I mean not getting married.

- I don't think I care to answer that.

- I was only asking.

My goodness, I hardly know you.

I don't have to answer anybody's

questions about Freddie or anything else.

Well, wait a minute, now,

this Freddie doesn't mean anything to me

one way or the other.

All right, then, let's leave him out of this.

Well, that suits me. I was only asking...

I don't know why

you had to bring him up at all.

Look, you brought him up.

I never even heard of the guy.

I think maybe I'd better go.

- Look, I'm sorry if I said anything.

- Helen was right.

She told me what would happen.

I should have listened to her.

But I suppose I haven't got any sense.

If I had any sense, I'd have listened to her.

It's different when you meet a serviceman

through friends and know who he is.

Then you know who he is.

Only sometimes when a girl dates with

a soldier, she isn't thinking only of herself.

She knows he's far away from home

and alone and no one to talk to and...

- What are you staring at?

- You've got brown eyes.

Think of all the people in this city,

all around us.

All the people in the country,

all the people in the world.

And out of all that, just those stars.

Vega and what you said.

And you and me down here together.

- That's strange, isn't it?

- I don't know.

It doesn't seem strange anymore.

Suppose we hadn't met.

We couldn't not have met.

I know.

It's strange, though.

My coming home early from the country.

That was only a little part of it.

And your being there in the station

when I was.

That was part of it, too.

There were other things.

Like your leaving home,

my being in the Army.

Getting leave just when I did,

that's all part of it.

- Even those ships in the river.

- The ships?

That's part of a convoy.

That's why I got this leave.

I guess it'll be the last one I'll get.

I see.

It's a lot of things, isn't it?

And some don't matter, others do.

They all matter,

this night and being together.

- Yes?

- They matter, don't they?

- I don't know.

- Alice...

Joe, I don't know.

It's quiet here,

almost as quiet as it is out home.

It's never quiet, really.

The city's full of sounds.

Always underneath.

Listen.

We have to go.

We take the bus here.

Alice, could I see you again tomorrow?

- I don't know, Joe.

- It's my last night.

I don't know whether we ought to

see each other again at all.

I thought maybe you'd want to.

Well, I do but I just can't think right now.

- I'm sorry, Joe. Please.

- That's all right.

Where is that bus?

What time is it?

12:
07.

- The buses stop running after midnight.

- Well, couldn't we take a taxi?

- It'd be awfully expensive.

- Oh, no. That's all right.

Here comes something.

But that's not a taxi.

Something I can do for you?

I'm sorry, mister,

we thought you were a taxi.

- That's all right, Mac. You want a lift?

- A lift? In that?

- Sure. Why not?

- Well, I don't know.

There's plenty of room.

The whole wagon's empty.

- That's awfully nice of you.

- Come on. Hop in. Hop in.

Here, sit right here.

Come on. Sit down.

- Got plenty of room?

- Yeah.

Yes, I'm afraid

we're crowding you, though.

Not at all. Not at all.

- You going home from somewheres?

- Yes, from somewheres.

That's good. Me? I'm just starting out.

- Just had my main meal.

- Supper, huh?

- Lunch. This is noon time for me.

- And here is another request.

- This time from Miss Nellie Green.

- Nellie Green. That dame again.

Discrimination there.

Get a load of what she wants now.

And Nellie has a request for

How Am I To Know?

Wouldn't she ask for that?

How do you like that?

Why, Nellie, all you have to do is ask him.

Nothing but pure corn she ever asks for.

That's the second request in two weeks

that he's had of hers.

What's this getting to be?

A Miss Nellie Green private program?

- Is that a request program?

- Yeah.

You know, for folks that work at night,

like us.

I had a request in now for three months.

Can I get it? No. Miss Nellie Green. Yeah.

My request is That's How I Need You.

Do you know it?

It's an old favorite of the wife's and mine.

You sure you got plenty of room?

- Yeah, plenty of room.

- It's wonderful.

That's good.

Hey, have you ever seen

the wagons loaded?

- You mean the milk wagons?

- Yeah.

If you got time, I'll take you down there.

It's a very interesting sight

if you've never seen it.

Well, that's awfully nice of you,

but I think I'd better get home.

- Well, where do you live?

- On the East Side.

- Well, I'll take you right back up there.

- Well, honestly, Mr...

Henry. Now, look, you get the ride,

I get the company.

What's the matter with that?

- What do you think, Joe?

- Well, I sort of like it here.

Sure.

Well, here we have a request

for Whispering,

signed "six girls in a pool room. "

Now, I wonder

what they could be doing there.

Okay, girls, come out from that

corner pocket and lean closer.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes