The War of the Roses Page #2

- Figs! I never would have thought of figs!

- I never would have guessed.

- Mm. It's fantastic, isn't it, Elke?

- Mm-hm.

It's absolutely spectacular.

- Mrs Marshall, more wine?

- Please.

- Your crystal is lovely.

- Thank you.

- It's not Waterford.

- Baccarat.

Then we are paying our associates too much!

-

Actually, we got it quite reasonably.

It's... It's kind of an interesting story.

Why don't you tell it, Barb?

-

Well... we were in Paris...

It was our fifth anniversary.

Mm.

We'd had lunch in this wonderful place in

the market district, called the Pa-day Crishon.

- Pied de Cochon.

- Thanks.

We were wandering around

and we came upon the...

..Rue de Paradis,...

..where the Baccarat

has its factory and museum.

I didn't know about this before I met Oliver.

My mother bought her glasses at the A&P.

You know, the kind with the raised flowers

that always chipped off after a few weeks.

- They were always yellow, remember?

- Heh-heh-heh!

Anyway, here we were in this immense room

filled with all that Baccarat had ever made.

A field of crystal. It was so... so pretty.

I mean, I felt...

..whatever the word.

And suddenly, from the next room,

we heard the sound of glass breaking.

Well, I looked at Oliver and Oliver

looked at me, and then... Oh, ye... No.

Before that,

there was this big, black limousine.

Now, this is important.

Well, before the limousine...

To make a long story short, a couple

had ordered a design for their anniversary.

When it was ready,

they were getting a divorce.

The woman had smashed her half,...

..and I convinced the man to sell us

his half cheap -just to spite her.

Heh-heh-heh-heh!

And, uh... that's our Baccarat story.

Well, I think everybody

had a great time, don't you?

- To make a long story short, no.

- I'm sorry. you were just rambling on...

Tell your own story next time you care

so desperately what everybody thinks.

Fuckface!

- They're my bosses.

- They're Gavin's bosses, too.

It didn't stop him

from getting a footjob at dinner.

Gavin doesn't care about making partner.

He doesn't have a wife and kids. I do.

You wanna keep living in this apartment?

Because you do not buy a house

on an associate's salary.

At least, not the kind of house that we want.

OK, I care what they think.

I care, all right? I care.

Shoot me.

And that phoney laugh.

- "Heh-heh-heh..."

- That was a genuine laugh.

"Heh-heh-heh-heh..."

OK. All right, all right! Maybe I overdid it.

I was just trying to keep things going.

God, I hope they didn't notice

what a jerk I am.

They never seem to.

-

"Dear Homeowner,...

..I love your house!"

"If you ever consider selling,

please... contact me."

"Barbara Rose."

Mom! I'm gonna be late for practice!

You've been doing this for a year

and nobody's called.

This is a great house. I love this house.

It's a waste of time.

I bet I get this house. Five bucks.

Five bucks.

Man...!

- Hello.

- Oh! I was just leaving a note.

How kind. Please, won't you come in?

All right.

-

I don't believe we've met.

- Barbara Rose.

- I'm Maureen.

I don't remember Mother mentioning you,

but she had so many friends.

Oh! Oh, I'm very sorry.

Thank you. She went peacefully.

What am I going to do with this old place?

I just can't bear to put it up for sale and have

a bunch of strangers tromping through it.

If I could just find someone

who would love it as much as Mom did.

That's more important to me

than whatever money we get for it.

If you know anybody

who might be interested...

Can we go up and pick our rooms?

- We can do whatever we want. It's our house.

Who gets first pick? As if I had to ask.

Oh, don't get scared. We'll do it together.

I just feel kind of strange.

I mean, this house is so beautiful...

..and we live here.

This is who we are? This is me?

Mmm!

- I'll be home early.

- Where are you going?

To work. I wish I didn't have to,

but somebody's got to pay for all this.

- It's Saturday.

- Come on, this is a great day.

You got the fun part!

Kitchen first.

Everything was working for the Roses.

Let me restate that.

The Roses were working for everything.

Over the next six years, Oliver dug in.

Made senior partner.

The kids lopped off 70, 80 pounds.

And Barbara laboured seven days a week...

..to create the perfect home

that Oliver always dreamed of.

Not easy for a girl who grew up

drinking her milk...

..from glasses with chipped, yellow flowers.

There were a million choices...

and she sweated every one of 'em.

She refinished all the tables herself.

It took six months

to get the floors exactly right.

A hundred Sundays to find the perfect

Staffordshire figures and plates...

..that she put over the fireplace.

When you work that hard on something,...

..eventually you have to finish

and face the awful question:

"What's left to do?"

- Are you working?

- Yes. Is it important?

Yes. Kind of. I hope so.

Stephanie Mayes called

to say thank you for dinner the other night.

She said the pt I made was so good

I should go into business.

So I asked her if she really meant it

and she said she did,...

..so I took a pound over to her

and collected $35.

I'd almost forgotten

what it felt like to make money.

- You sold liver to our friends?

- She paid me in cash, Oliver.

Somehow that felt different

from the money I get cashing a cheque.

It made me feel like...

trading in the Volvo on one of those...

..four-wheel drive things with the big,

knobby tyres and the 200-horsepower engine.

So I did. I'm gonna pick it up tomorrow.

Thank you so much for telling me.

And you think that you... need this?

I mean, the Volvo was a fine car.

- I'll pay for it with my own money.

- How much does it cost?

All right, I know it was kind of crazy

but I just... wanted it, OK?

So you only have to sell

Maybe I will. Maybe I'm starting a business.

- But if you don't want me to, uh...

- No. No, no, no, no. you do it.

Do it. Do it.

I'm doing it.

-

Wait a minute. Wait one minute.

I do not understand. What's the, uh...

..what's the attitude?

I told you I would handle it.

Yeah, and I didn't see anything happening

so I went to Ed and I set up the interview.

- I would have done it.

- Yeah, but sometimes you need a little push.

We all need a little push.

We agreed that,

if you're doing this liver bit,...

..we would need someone

to take care of the house, right?

Right, Oliver. Right again.

Oh, come on. Let's not argue, OK?

Just think about it for a minute!

If you don't want to interview the lady,

I will send her home.

I'm only trying to make your life easier.

Somehow the thought of a stranger living

in my house just seems weird, you know?

Doesn't it? I don't mean just for us,

but for you, too.

- Oh, but then I guess you do this all the time.

- No, no.

I try this as a means of finding

room and board and a little money.

I'm also attending a few classes

at William and Mary College.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes