The Tale Page #6

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I'm dying in my own skin.

I wish you could see yourself

the way I see you.

That earnestness,

the devotion, the love.

An adult cannot love like that.

Only children can.

It's so pure.

You still believe

in possibilities.

As I do.

As I do. See?

Adult Jennifer:

Two peas in a pod?

Yes, exactly.

I hoped you would save me

from my family.

Didn't I?

( sighs )

God, I feel crazy.

Maybe I'll get into a crash

and the...

car'll catch on fire.

The whole thing'll

go up in flames.

All my secrets.

History erased in a flash.

Just like that.

( TV blares in background )

- Bill:
Hello.

- Hi.

You must be Mrs. Fox.

Yes.

How lovely

to finally meet you.

These are for you.

Oh, thank you.

And, uh, for your--

for your husband.

- Mother:
Oh. Um--

- Bill:
I'm a big fan.

Been following his progress

in the local papers.

Jane wanted me to tell you

that she is so sorry

that she couldn't

pick Jenny up tonight.

Um, but she asked me to.

This house is right on

my way home from work.

I live across the field

from Mrs. Gramercy?

She's...

- You coach Jenny's running?

- Bill:
Yes.

- Please, Mom.

- Bill:
Yes I do.

She's a very

talented runner.

She shows a lot of promise.

You should be very proud.

- I am proud.

- Okay...

- Let's go.

- A wonderful, wonderful girl.

All right, please tell

Mrs. Gramercy

I'd like Jenny home Sunday

by 5:
00 p.m. sharp,

so she can get

her homework done.

Absolutely.

One of us will have her back

in time Sunday night.

- Okay, let's go.

- Don't have to worry.

- All right.

- ( chuckles )

Uh, bye.

( sighs )

( fire crackling )

Young Jennifer:
I find that

I trust him so much,

I never realize

where he's leading me.

( laughs )

Just breathe.

( exhales )

Once we're that far,

I don't know how to say no.

( Bill grunts )

It's okay.

Young Jennifer:
I love him.

He loves me.

Not yet.

We have to keep

stretching you open slowly.

No young boy would ever

do this for you.

But I'm not giving up.

I'm ready for you.

( jiggles door handle )

Ohh. Oh!

Hey.

Good morning.

Thanks, Mom.

Oh, my God,

I fell asleep.

Well, that's a good

look for you.

- ( sighs )

- ( laughs )

Trashed.

Oh, my God,

I'm just locked in.

I can't--

I can't turn it off right now.

Do you think Bill

and Mrs. G

paid extra attention to me

because Dad was like

a big developer back then?

( scoffs ) No,

that didn't have anything

to do with it.

It was because you were

an unusual child,

and you knew

how to talk to adults.

I was thinking about the first

time that you met him.

You know when he came here

to pick me up?

Oh, I'll never forget that day.

You kidding?

All my antenna went off.

As soon as you were

out of the house with him,

I ran to your father.

- Flowers.

- Aaron:
Yeah.

He gave me flowers.

And look, he gave you

a gift, too.

Here.

Why would anyone do that?

Just like your mother.

You think the world

is full of danger.

Our daughter spends

every weekend in the home

of a divorced woman

on her second marriage.

Nadine, what are you

even talking about?

What do we really

know about her?

And now this Bill?

Jennifer:

Mom, sorry.

I just-- Can we go-- Ow!--

Can we go inside the house?

- Oh, yeah, sure.

- Yeah, sorry. I just--

- Here, I'll take your bag.

- Okay, thanks.

Didn't Bill bring Dad,

like, a paperweight?

Yeah.

He did.

Was it like Christmas

or something?

No, it wasn't Christmas.

It was autumn.

Jennifer:
You and Dad

were going somewhere

'cause Grandma was here

babysitting.

Mother:

Was she? I don't remember.

Jennifer:

He wasn't taking me

to Mrs. G's.

I just wanted to say

that I'm glad you guys

are all here.

I wanted to share

my good fortune

with the people

that I love.

My boys, and Jenny.

So, cheers.

( engine starts )

- What was that man

doing to you?

- Nothing!

Grandmother:

What do you mean, nothing?!

- ( lock clicks )

- ( banging on door )

You wait until

I tell your parents!

Adult Jennifer:

Grandma knew, right?

So you knew something.

What are you talking about?

No.

Well, I mean she saw

Bill and I, out front, kiss,

and she said she was

gonna tell you.

My mother saw you?

She didn't tell you something

about seeing us kiss?

- She said she was gonna tell.

- No, absolutely not.

I would've killed him.

( sighs )

Of course, whenever I asked you

about Bill, you did lie.

Yeah, and you lied

to yourself.

Whoa, wait a minute.

I asked you specifically

if Bill and Mrs. G

were having an affair,

and you looked me right

in the eye and you said no.

Why are you

so angry now?

Well, why are you not angry?

That's what I want to know.

How would you--

How would you feel

if it was your daughter?

What would you do? Huh?

Mom, you knew something.

You told Dad,

and he talked you out of it.

That's true.

You were following Dad's rules,

just like Mrs. G

followed Bill's rules.

Are you equating me with Mrs. G

and you father with that--?

No, no. Mom, listen.

I'm saying it's complicated.

I'm saying she was

deeply insecure,

she was probably sexually

abused herself as a kid.

Probably.

Trust me....

I know.

It can damage

your boundaries.

At last, you admit

you were damaged.

( sighs )

Fine, Mom.

There's a question I've been

wanting to ask

since I read your story.

Yeah?

Did you like it?

Mom...

I was a kid.

Why are you

asking me that?

I just don't understand.

Why did you keep

going back?

I got something else.

What? Tell me.

I want to know.

Love. I...

I wanted somebody

to think I was special.

Well...

you were always

special to me.

Mom, Jesus.

And then after that,

you became so promiscuous.

You slept with

all kinds of men.

Foreign men,

married men...

You didn't care

about the wives.

- Mom...

- You didn't care

about anything.

You sound very

old-fashioned.

That's old-fashioned, huh?

You were with one man

your entire life.

I didn't-- I didn't want

to be stuck like that.

I didn't want to be like you.

Excuse me.

( typing )

Narrator:

Bill Allens has stood on

the podium in 1960 and 1964.

When he moved to teaching

at the university,

his vision extended

far beyond the valley.

- Bill:
And lunges.

- Bill became a coaching legend.

- And now butt kicks.

- ( blows whistle )

He would cultivate his

larger-than-life image

at universities

all across the country.

Woman:

Coach Allens picked me out

of a crowd and believed in me.

They called his relay team

the island of the misfit toys.

( laughs )

We were all kids

who no one would have noticed,

but he saw our talent

and he just pushed us to excel.

Bill:

And we all want to win,

but that's secondary.

What's most important

is that we feel

that we've done this

as a team.

And we've learned to persevere

and strive for excellence.

And I hope that you

think of this time fondly,

and that it helped make you

who you are.

- ( mouse button clicks )

- Man:
William P. Allens.

Yeah, he coached at

the university from '71 to '82.

You said that

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