Three Days in August Page #4

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crying in a corner.

She had to call my parents

to come pick me up.

So it's my fault that you

couldn't spend the night

at your friend's house?

- I stood in the front

door in my nightgown

for my parents to come.

I didn't think they were coming.

But, of course, they did.

- So it's all about you, isn't

it?

Well...

I was 17, thought I was in love,

and I got pregnant and I

didn't want to have a baby.

Your father blamed me for

it, so did my parents.

No, I didn't want to have you,

but I didn't have a choice.

And when I gave you up,

you weren't supposed to come

back, ever.

I moved on with my life.

Do you understand?

This has nothin' to do with

love.

This has nothin' to do with

whether I loved you or not.

The truth is, the day you were

born

was the worst day of my life,

'cause I wasn't ready to grow

up.

- Sorry you feel that way.

- I shouldn't be judged for

being honest.

- No.

Not at all.

You are who you are.

- All right, here we go!

- Honey, could you give

me a minute so I could

run into the little ladies'

room and check my face?

- That's right, you're the

only one in this damn picture.

- It is not a picture, it is a

portrait.

It is a family portrait.

Now, I think it means a

great deal to Shannon,

so I think we should all look

our best.

- No, you're right, Maureen.

Your face could use some more

work.

- Maggie, give

it a break, will ya?

- Just shut your face.

- I hit a nerve, did I?

- Dammit, that's enough!

Maybe we should all stop

thinking about ourselves

for a few minutes and try

to remember why we're here.

- I think that's a very good

idea.

- And I thought

pork chop hill was bad.

- Ugh, you would not

believe what's goin' on.

Naw, we're all out there

posin' for the portrait,

and my grandma starts pickin' a

fight

with my mom's real mom.

Classic.

They did not trade blows.

That would have been cool.

Yeah, yeah, I'll be out

there in about 20 minutes.

Mm-hmm, yeah, we passed it on

the way in.

I'll meet ya there.

All right, bye.

- So...

How you doin', honey?

- I'm starting to think

this weekend was a mistake.

- No, it wasn't a mistake.

The guest list was a mistake.

- Mom.

- Oh, she's a hateful woman.

- Mom, god!

It's not about you.

- I know it was your decision,

but I think you could be a

little bit more understanding

about the other people around

here.

I mean, your daddy and Sam,

Liam, me...

- are you saying I'm

not being sympathetic?

- No, I'm not saying that.

You convinced yourself

that this was gonna be

one big happy family this

weekend.

I mean, w-we've talked about

this.

You do it a lot.

You make up your mind

and then the doors close

and the lock is locked and

nobody can get in anym...

- maybe I don't want anyone in!

Do you ever think about that?

Maybe I just want to fit in,

something I've been trying

to do since the fifth grade

and those f***ing, f***ing

family trees.

- Whew.

Well, you know you were

four-weeks-old

when your daddy and I brought

you home.

I remember asking the woman

at the adoption agency

what I should do,

and she said, "oh, you just

take her home and you love her."

Well, that sure wasn't enough.

Can't tell you how long

it took for me to feel

adequate and not guilty

for taking you away

from another woman,

a woman who happened to be your

mother.

Dammit, I knew it.

I knew when you were

young that at some point

you were gonna go out and

you would try to find her.

That real mother of yours.

Oh god, I was so scared,

so scared that you'd love

her more than you love me.

- Hey, Liam.

Where ya headed?

- Goin' for a run.

- Yeah, I guess we both

needed to get out of there

for a little bit.

- What's goin' on with them,

dad?

Why they fightin' over mom?

- It's complicated.

- It's just weird.

Why can't they just get along

anyways?

- That would be great.

They just don't see it that way.

- Well, at least I got some good

photos.

They're even smiling in some,

so guess they got along okay,

right?

- Yeah, a picture's

worth a thousand words, right?

- Yeah, I guess so.

- Do you know why people

smile in pictures?

Because we tell 'em to.

You can tell somebody to

smile and say "cheese,"

but you can't really fake being

happy.

Your mom, she's just, she's

trying to figure it all out.

You know, find a way to be

happy.

Or at least content.

- Mom's not happy?

- It's not that simple.

Sometimes she's happy.

She's trying to

connect with her past.

Trying to connect with

her past and present.

She wants to find out where she

came from

so that she understands who she

is.

Life isn't just a picture.

It's a series of events

all strung together,

like a puzzle, but no

matter how hard she tries,

she may never find all the

pieces.

And let's face it, women

have more pieces than men.

- I think I'm gonna take off.

- I don't blame ya.

Hey, Liam?

You got your cellphone on ya?

All right, don't stay gone too

long.

- All right, let's play ball!

- All right, let's go it.

- Now you see close only

counts in horseshoes...

And hand grenades!

- Hey!

- Right, pop?

- He was in the Korean war.

- Wow, what was that like?

- It was like a beautiful

picnic,

set on fire.

- Nice shot!

- Franny?

Stay awake.

Hey!

- I'm so hungry I could eat the

ass out

of a low-flying duck.

Oh, great.

Well, have a seat and you two

are gonna sit next to Franny.

- Can I get anybody

else a drink while I'm up?

Hey pops, I got you a

bourbon and water, all right?

- Ah, you talked me into it.

- For the love of Pete!

Who made this Shepherd's pie?

- Wow.

- Team effort.

- I was part of the team!

- I watched while they made it.

Hey, can you help me

out and bring it over?

- Oh, sure.

- Oh, I can smell it from here.

Look at that.

- Looks delicious.

- Oh, that looks good.

- Ooh!

- There we go, Aiden.

- All right.

I would like to make a toast.

Thank you all for coming.

I know I've thrown you some

curveballs.

- Some curveballs?

- It's not what you were

expecting,

but I've been thinking about

this weekend

for a long time.

It's been a dream of mine

and the gifts you have brought,

they meant a lot to me.

So, thank you and cheers.

- Cheers.

- Cheers.

- If it's okay, I'd

like to read something.

It's a letter I sent home to

your grandma

from the war in Korea.

It was pork chop hill.

"Good morning, darling.

"Here is another day without

you,

"but nevertheless, you

are forever on my mind.

"Yesterday I received your

letter.

"You'll never know how happy

that made me.

"It gave me new life and

new strength to carry on.

"This is the first

chance I've had to write

"since we staged an attack in

two villages

"in the high mountain.

"We fought all day and

only advanced a few miles

"and we paid for it dearly

with blood and lives.

"I was in a daze for most of it,

"with a prayer and your name on

my lips.

"Every step I took I thought of

you,

"and about our time when

we would be together soon.

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