The Other Sister Page #4

- I bake cookies at Emil's Bakery.

I got a cookie maker's hat

and everything.

- It's very high.

- Commuter service to Sausalito, Marin City...

Alone?

You live all by yourself alone, Danny?

- Yeah, all by myself in my own apartment.

- I could never do that.

- Yes, you could.

- I could?

Yeah, sure. It's great.

You can come and go

whenever you want...

and you can stay up as late

as you want, and you can watch TV.

- Really?

- You can walk around in the apartment...

in your underwear, if you want.

But could I have a pet too?

Oh, definitely. Definitely.

I have to call my father now.

I don't have to call my father.

They put gum in my hat again.

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

- Happy birthday, dear Carla

- So high...

Happy birthday to you

- Oh, that was so good. - And

many more - I have to make a wish.

Yes, all right. All right.

Make a...

- Happy 22nd, Carla.

- Yeah!

Thank you for coming back

for my birthday.

Are you kidding?

We wouldn't miss this for the world.

Yeah, Winnie tells me that, uh, Carla

bought groceries for the family this week...

and she did some of the cooking too,

right, Winnie?

And she helped me do all my laundry

that I brought from school.

- Yeah. And I recycled all the garbage, Mother.

- I know.

Well, I mean, someday you'll be able to take

care of this house without me. That's for sure.

Not this house.

Maybe one day I'll be able

to take care of my own apartment...

like some of the kids at school do.

- Oh, Carla, you don't know what you're saying.

- Yes, I do.

No, we can't discuss this right now,

all right? Open these presents.

- Here. There.

- But...

Thank you, Radley.

Here you go, dear. There.

- "Carla. " It's from...

- Excuse me now.

- I have to go feed my fish.

- Oh.

- Mother, why did you do that?

- Aw, Mom. - What did I do?

I mean, maybe she's ready

for her own apartment.

You know, a lot

of the new books out right now...

you know, they... they advocate

disabled people living on their own.

- What are we movin' the presents for? - Why

don't we just take a vote? - Yeah, voting's nice.

- Oh, a family meeting.

- Yes! A family meeting.

We haven't had a family meeting in ages.

I would love to try it.

I think we should just forget this,

because I just want to say something.

This is not a political referendum.

This is a child's life.

And this is my child's life.

Carla's not ready for an apartment.

And really, she may never

be ready for an apartment. My God!

What if there were a fire?

What if there was a burglar?

- Well, that can happen to anyone, honey.

- "What if?" - No, but not with Carla.

She can't handle the unexpected,

Radley. You know that.

Mother, I think that she has tried very

hard to show that she's a responsible person.

- Heather!

- She's capable.

You don't live here any more,

so you don't vote!

Mom, why don't you think

of it this way, as a...

Oh, look, Caroline, you and Jeffrey can raise your children

any way you want to raise them, but this is my child!

- All right. All right. Ease up.

- You know something? I don't know what you're trying to do.

I don't know what you're trying to prove

by refuting every single thing I say.

- I'm not refuting everything you say!

- I didn't want to put her in that place!

But I had to.

I had no other choice.

She needed professional help.

Now it is Carla's turn,

and I am going to protect her!

And nobody's going to tell me

how to do it, not even you, Radley. No!

Girls, inside, please.

- I guess we'll be forever 10 and 12.

- Marcia and Jan.

- Don't you understand what I'm trying to say?

- Elizabeth, shut the hell up.

- It means a lot to me...

- Do not...

Do not speak to me that way

in front of the children.

And we are both responsible

for putting Carla in that place.

You went along with it

because you were too drunk to face it.

I made that decision by myself!

I wasn't drinking when I picked her up,

and I haven't had a drink...

since that family meeting

8 years, 4 months and 11 days ago!

That is not the...

That is not the same...

It is the same family. Damn it!

Our family, Elizabeth!

- Excuse me.

- Oh.

Dinner will be served soon.

I'll skip dinner.

- Permission to come aboard?

- Permission granted.

I don't know what's the matter with me.

I just... I...

Anyway, I never meant to insinuate

anything against you.

Maybe we should just trust Carla.

But it's not just trusting Carla.

I really don't think so.

I think it's everybody.

It's everything out there. It's the...

Well, she can live near us.

That way we can keep an eye on her.

She just got back.

Does she have to leave so soon?

Not like you planned, huh?

No. Mm-mmm. Mm-mmm.

Is anybody coming to dinner, or

are we voting on what's being served?

What?

What is...

- Well...

- Hot roll or baguette?

I think I will have a hot roll...

Oh, come on, please.

This is just absurd.

This is not a casual decision,

and Carla is not like other girls.

But I don't want to be the one who

always says no to her. I really don't.

So I'm gonna try and

see it your way. I'm gonna try and see...

- Oh!

- I am so happy, Mama!

- This is so great!

- Carla? This is...

- You could come and help me pick an apartment out...

- Not quite so hard to Mom. Okay.

- And everything.

- All right, maybe we will. Maybe I could do that.

I could call up Gibson Realty. We could

have them, you know, get a couple of videos.

- Dear, that is my... Oh, dear.

- Mom, this is the best...

- birthday present I've ever had.

- Please don't do that.

I'm thrilled. Is everybody happy?

Bye!

- Bye, Daniel! Bye!

- Bye!

- Bye, Daniel!

- Bye!

Bye, Carla!

Bye. L-I'll see you tomorrow.

Goodbye.

So who's the fella?

Is he kind of a sweetheart?

No, that's my friend Daniel.

Um, but I like

to call him Danny.

Danny. Well, Danny's kind of cute.

Stop teasing, Dad!

Carla, this way. Uh, your father

mentioned that you met a young man.

Yeah, that's Daniel.

But I told Dad that he was just

a "friend" friend, not a boyfriend.

Darling, don't sit there!

It's just wet.

No, it isn't, Mom. It's dry.

It's dry, Mom.

Well, Carla, you're going

to be getting this apartment...

and I'm sure you're gonna want

to have visitors come over...

and I'm sure that some

of these visitors are going to be...

well, they're going

to be young men.

Mom, is this a sex talk?

No.

Well, yes. Is that okay?

- Okay.

- All right. Okay.

Well, then I know that

recently you mentioned, um...

doing it...

and I just wanted to know

if you really know what that means.

Yeah, that's what

Thomas Porter calls it.

And Mrs Matthews, the health teacher

and the cafeteria monitor...

she called it coitus.

- And she also told us about penis...

- Okay, we've got it.

- And vulva.

- Shh. Carla. Just a little less loud, okay?

- And then she was telling us all about semen...

- Carla, honey.

And how there's 50 billion sperms

in one shot, and that...

No, no, no.

We do have the... We have the...

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