The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Page #7

I should never have

abandoned you.

My mother?

This is our summer house

on Lake Pontchartrain.

When I was a boy I loved to

wake up before anyone else,

run down to the lake

and watch the day begin.

It was as if I was

the only one alive.

I fell in love the

first time I saw her.

Your mother's name was

Caroline Murphy.

She worked in your

grandfather's kitchen.

She was from Dublin.

In 1903, Caroline and all

her brothers and sisters

came to live here,

in New Orleans.

I'd find excuses to go

down to that kitchen,

just so I could look at her.

April 25th 1918, the

happiest day of my life.

The day I married your mother.

Why didn't you just tell me?

I plan on leaving

everything I have to you.

I have to go.

-Where?

-Home.

What is he thinking?

He think he can just show up

and everything's supposed

to be fine and dandy.

Everybody's supposed

to be friends.

He got another thing coming,

that's for sure.

God be my witness,

he got another thing coming!

He left us 18 dollars

that night you was found.

and a filthy diaper!

-Good night, Mom.

-Good night, baby.

Did I ever tell you, I was

struck by lightning 7 times?

Once I was walking

the dog down the road.

I'm blind in the one eye,

can't hardly hear.

I get twitches and shakes

out of nowhere,

I always lose my line of thought.

But you know what?

God keeps reminding me

I'm lucky to be alive.

Storm's comin'.

Wake up.

Let's get you dressed.

You could be mad as a mad dog

at the way things went.

You can swear and

curse the fates...

but when it comes to the end...

you have to let go.

That sure is a beautiful service.

He'll be burried right

next to your mother.

You're my mother.

My baby.

I've never seen New York.

Excuse me, I'm a friend of

Daisy's. -Right this way.

Daisy!

Yes! I'm in the wardrobe!

Is somebody looking for me?

Benjamin! -Hi.

-What are you doing here?

-I thought I'd come visit.

Spend some time

with you if I could.

I wish you would have called.

You took me by surprise.

-Are you still mad?

-No. Thank you, they're lovely.

I couldn't take

my eyes off of you.

I thought you were mesmerizing.

Thank you. That's very

kind of you to say.

I better get changed. A group

of us are going to a party.

Would you wanna come?

Somebody told me about a restaurant

I thought you might enjoy.

I made a reservation.

Just in case.

It's just that all the dancers

go out after the show.

You're welcome to come with us.

I'll get changed, alright?

This is David.

He dances with the company.

This is Benjamin.

I told you about him.

Oh yeah... how are you doing?

I'll go get you a drink.

So, you were a friend

of her grandmother's?

Or something like that?

-Something like that.

-Excuse me.

Hey!

I had no idea you were coming!

Lord, Benjamin...

What did you expect?

What, you want me to drop

everything? This is my life.

Hey, going downtown?

Come on.

Have a good time. There'll be

musicians, interesting people...

You don't have to do that.

It's my fault.

I should've called.

I thought...

I'll come here and sweep you

off your feet, or something.

-Daisy, come on!

-I'll be right there.

He seems nice.

Do you love him?

I think so.

I'm happy for you.

Maybe I'll see you at home.

Okay.

I enjoyed the show!

He came to tell me

his father had died.

You couldn't have known.

I was 23. I just didn't care.

What did you do next?

-Some photographs, I think.

Front of my bag.

I was as good a dancer

as I was ever gonna be.

For five years...

I danced everywhere.

London, Vienna, Prague...

I've never seen these.

Mom, you never talked

about your dancing.

I was the only American

to be invited

to dance with the Bolshoi.

It was glorious.

But Benjamin was never

far from my thoughts.

And I'd find myself saying:

Goodnight, Benjamin.

-"Goodnight, Daisy."

-He said that?

Life wasn't all that complicated.

If you want, you might say

I was looking for something.

Benjamin, mrs La Tourneau

just passed.

Mr Benjamin Button?

-That would be me.

Bonjour.

-Oui, monsieur?

Miss Daisy Fuller.

-Just a minute.

Please, have a seat.

-Sure.

Sometimes we are on a collision

course and we just don't know it.

Whether it's by accident

or by design,

there's not a thing

we can do about it.

A woman in Paris was on

her way to go shopping.

But she had forgotten her coat,

and went back to get it.

When she had gotten her

coat the phone had rung,

so she had stopped to answer it

and talked for a couple of minutes.

While the woman was

on the phone,

Daisy was rehearsing for performance

at the Paris Opera House.

And while she was rehearsing,

the woman, off the phone now,

had gone outside to get a taxi.

Now a taxi driver had

dropped off a fare earlier,

and had stopped to

get a cup of coffee.

And all the while

Daisy was rehearsing.

And this cab driver who had

dropped off the earlier fare,

and had stopped to

get the cup of coffee,

had picked up the lady

who was going shopping,

who had missed

getting the earlier cab.

Taxi had to stop for a man

crossing the street,

who had left for work 5 minutes

later than he normally did,

because he forgot

to set his alarm.

While the man, late for work,

was crossing the street,

Daisy had finished rehearsing

and was taking a shower.

While Daisy was showering, taxi

was waiting outside a Boutique

for the woman to pick up a package

which hadn't been wrapped yet

because the girl who

was supposed to wrap it

had broken up with her boyfriend

the night before, and forgot.

When the package was wrapped,

the woman, who was back in the cab,

was blocked by a delivery truck.

All the while Daisy

was getting dressed.

The delivery truck pulled away

and the taxi was able to move.

While Daisy,

the last to be dressed,

waited for one of her friends

who had broken a shoelace.

While the taxi was stopped,

waiting for a traffic light,

Daisy and her friend came out

the back of the theater.

And if only one thing

had happened differently,

if that shoelace hadn't broken,

or that delivery truck had

moved moments earlier,

or that package had been

wrapped and ready,

because the girl hadn't

broken up with her boyfriend,

or that man had set his alarm

and got up five minutes earlier,

or that taxi driver hadn't

stopped for a cup of coffee,

or that woman had

remembered her coat

and had gotten

into an earlier cab,

Daisy and her friend would

have crossed the street.

And the taxi would

have driven by.

But life being what it is,

a series of intersecting

lives and incidents,

out of anyone's control,

that taxi did not go by,

and that driver was

momentarily distracted.

And that taxi hit Daisy.

-Daisy! Help!

And her leg was crushed.

Daisy...

-Who told you?

-Your friend wired me.

Very kind of you to come all this

way to see that I was alright.

You'd do the same for me.

My God!

Look at you.

You're perfect.

I wish you hadn't come.

I don't want you

to see me like this.

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