The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Page #3

needs me upstairs.

You look great.

- You don't think that's funny?

- No.

There she is.

- Hi. Sorry.

- Hi.

You look great!

Honey, I thought you were going

to wear that dress I bought you.

Is there something wrong

with what I'm wearing?

That's not what I meant.

Um... boy you look good!

You look beautiful.

Let's go. I'm starving.

You have the number

where we'll be.

I do. Have fun.

Bye.

Zombies.

The living dead.

This is great! Mom never

lets me watch these movies.

That's why we have

to keep it a secret.

Do you know what

a secret is, Emma?

Yeah, something

you can't tell anybody...

- No matter what.

- That's right.

Now we have our own little

secret club. That's our sign.

It was fun meeting your

Aunt Marlene and Uncle Marty.

They've known your mom and dad

a long time, huh?

Aunt Marlene grew up

with daddy.

They used to be boyfriend

and girlfriend when they were little.

Is that right?

Do you have

any boyfriends?

- No, I hate boys.

- You do?

If I tell you something, you

promise not to tell anybody?

I promise.

Secret club.

Well...

this mean kid at school,

his name is Roth,

he's been really mean

to me.

But he said if I told,

I'd be dead meat.

He said that to you?

- Did your mother do anything about it?

- She tried...

but she couldn't help.

You never, ever...

let an attractive woman take

a power position in your home.

- It's very bad business.

- A power position.

You heard what I said.

What's that saying?

- "The hand with the baby... " that...

- Hey, Marl?

How much did you get for

the Fletcher house last week?

Three...

and change.

All I'm saying is

you have to watch your back.

I'm serious!

There's too much pressure.

A woman can feel like a failure if

she doesn't bring in 50 grand a year...

and still make time for

blow jobs and homemade lasagna.

Marlene's not

much of a cook.

Marlene, I think I'm

gonna bum one of these.

You're such

a bad influence.

He only smokes

around you now.

- One isn't gonna kill me.

- Oh, I got it.

"The hand that rocks

the cradle...

is the hand

that rules the world. "

You wanna look

at the baby?

Ahh, look.

Hi!

Ahh, look, honey.

- Boy or a girl?

- Boy. His name's Joe.

- How old?

- Three months.

He is beautiful.

- Thank you.

- He has your eyes, you know.

Do you really

think so?

Absolutely!

Do you have

any other children?

Yes, he has a sister.

Her name's Emma.

She looks more like

her father though.

We have one more too,

don't we, sweetheart?

- Peyton.

- Hi, Emma.

Tell me, which one

is he? Where?

Take that!

- The one with the blue and

gray striped shirt? - Mm-hmm.

Okay.

- Watch it, Trippy!

- Sorry, Roth.

Ouch! My arm! My arm!

I got a message for you, Roth.

Leave Emma alone.

If you don't, I'm gonna

rip your f***ing head off!

Ow!

I get it, ma'am.

Let me go!

Don't forget it.

Awesome! Wow, that was cool.

Ha-ha ha-ha-ha.

Secret club.

Good morning.

What's the matter?

You're not hungry,

sweetheart?

Shh-shh-shh.

Claire, I thought...

maybe you could use

a cup of coffee.

Oh, thanks.

- Peyton?

- Yeah?

Have you noticed anything

different about Joe?

No, I haven't.

Why, is something wrong?

No. I was just wondering.

I'm real tired. Michael was up all

night finishing his E.P.A. proposal.

- I got up at 4:
30 to help him type it.

- I hope it works out.

- Good morning.

- Good morning.

- See you tonight.

- You're not gonna have pancakes?

Nah, I've got to go to Federal Express

before I go to the lab.

Let me. That's the last thing

you need to worry about.

You have the time?

My proposal has to go out today.

Okay. Thanks.

I love you.

- Bye-bye.

- Bye, Michael.

How long have you

been volunteering here?

Gee, about seven years.

These days, I mainly take care

of the morning maintenance.

- Hi, Claire.

- Hi, Stan.

Kinda like a big

botanist family here,

- right, Stan?

- Y ep.

We sit around talking

about root rot,

drainage properties of shredded bark

and other topics like that.

Is your greenhouse gonna be

something like this one?

Oh, well, hopefully.

On a much smaller scale.

I've always loved

growing anything.

When I was little,

my parents thought I was crazy.

They thought I should've

been born on a farm.

Hey!

Ohh!

Hello.

Hello!

Do you have relatives

in Seattle?

Oh no.

No, I don't.

My husband

was my only family.

He's the only one who ever...

really understood me.

He took care of me.

He was murdered.

Murdered?

They never caught

who did it.

But I firmly believe...

what goes around,

comes around.

Is there a

bathroom here?

- Yeah, down through there on the right side.

- I'll be right back.

Come here,

little one.

Do you need

to be changed?

Come here.

Michael's proposal. I can't find it.

It was in your purse.

I saw you put it in there!

- Claire, are you all right?

- Asthma. I'll be okay.

Asthma.

Michael, it...

just disappeared.

I retraced my steps. I spoke to

the manager in the restaurant.

He said he'd call

in the morning.

What did they say

when you called again?

They said they'd

consider it next quarter.

- But they said they'd consider it?

- Claire, come on.

We've been over this.

Look, everything

is gonna be okay.

- Michael, I'm so sorry.

- I know you are, honey.

I know you are.

Maybe I left it

at the botanicals.

I'm going to

get back to work.

I'm sorry.

- Michael, I'm worried about Joe.

- Why, what's wrong?

Well, it's

his eating habits.

He's not nursing

the way he used to.

How long has this

been going on?

- It's not all the time,

but... a couple of weeks.

- Did you call the doctor?

- Yeah.

- What'd she say?

She said it's fine as long

as he keeps gaining weight.

- Well... I'm sure he's fine, honey.

- Okay.

Someone named Peyton

is here to see you.

- Peyton's here?

- She's waiting in your office.

She's our nanny,

Gilbert.

Uh-huh. Okay.

Let me in on where

you do your hiring.

Hi.

Shh!

He's out cold.

I'm sorry to bother you

here at the office,

- but I just wanted to talk to you in private.

- Everything all right?

Oh, yeah. Everything's okay.

I just had an idea.

It's Claire's birthday

coming up.

I thought maybe it would be nice

to throw her a surprise party.

She's been feeling

kinda low lately,

- ...especially with this thing

with your proposal.

- That's a good idea.

- Yeah?

- Yeah.

Oh... do you think,

do you think Marlene

would want to help out?

Help out? You kidding me?

She'll take over.

Well, maybe it's best not

to tell her it's my idea.

Why not?

I wouldn't want her to

think I was competitive.

You know?

About Claire's friendship.

You understand Marlene

pretty well already.

Well, good...

so I'll be going.

Okay, good.

I'm real glad you came by.

- Bye.

- Bye.

Oh!

Solomon!

I want to show you

my sculpture.

Ah...

okay.

Is... that the head?

Or is

that the foot?

No, that's part

of the fur.

Oh!

Okay, I see.

That's a piece

of art.

- I knew you'd see it.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

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