Where the Heart Is Page #7

Oh, my God.

When he told me that, I knew

he was the pick of the litter.

I am so happy I finally

found me a winner.

Oh, I'm also pregnant.

What?

All you want to do

Is ride around, Sally

Ride, Sally, Ride

(LEXIE LAUGHS)

- Hey.

- Where are your shoes?

What?

Why did we stop?

I'm hungry.

It wouldn't hurt to get something

inside you beside pills and whiskey.

WILLY:

Don't you start.

Suit yourself.

(BOTTLE BREAKS)

(GRUNTS)

Oh, sh*t!

Sh*t.

NOVALEE'S VOICE:

Want to feel the baby?

Huh?

NOVALEE'S VOICE:

Feel that? Right here.

That "bomp" is where the heart is.

I don't feel nothing!

(GROANS)

(TRAIN RUMBLES)

(SCREAMING)

What do you think of my cake?

It's pretty as a picture.

Thank you. I saw it in a magazine.

Thought, "I could do that."

I'm ready for candles.

NOVALEE:

No candles.

LEXIE:

Why? It's her birthday.

Five days old, she got jaundice.

Five weeks, she got an ear infection.

Five months, she was kidnapped.

Five years,

I'm not lighting any fires.

Novalee, you're a pit.

ERNIE:
Does everybody have one?

KIDS:
Yep.

All right.

Come on, let's go!

Oh, I'll get those.

It's been a perfect day.

It's gonna keep being a perfect day.

Birthday cakes gotta have candles.

If you say so.

What is it? What do you see?

"Victim's Wheelchair Stolen"?

LEXIE:

"A legless man, W.J. Pickens...

...was discovered in the men's room

at a rest stop near Alva."

Oh, my gosh.

"Pickens, who lost his legs four

months ago in a train accident...

...had been trapped since Friday when

he was robbed of his wheelchair."

Oh, my God!

(DOOR CLOSES)

(WILLY GASPS)

What did you say?

Novalee?

Yeah.

I can't believe it.

- How did you know I was here?

- Story in the paper.

I was coming to see you.

Sure.

I was.

What were you gonna do, Willy Jack?

Come back to the Wal-Mart? Think I'd

still be there five years later?

No.

I just...

I gave birth at a Wal-Mart.

Was it a boy?

Was it a girl?

Is it all right?

It's a girl.

Americus, and she's mine.

You stay away.

Stay away from her? I can't even

get out of this bed, Novalee!

Am I gonna run away with her?

If you think I'm gonna feel sorry...

I'll just get some new legs!

Then why are you coming after us?

Is there a problem?

I can hear you down the hall.

Sorry.

You need another shot?

No, let's wait.

I came back to tell you something.

You remember that last day,

that last day we was together?

Yeah, I remember.

You put my hand on your belly...

...and asked me if I could feel the

baby's heart, and I said no.

I lied.

Why?

Why does anyone lie?

Because we're scared

or crazy or just mean.

I mean, there's a million reasons

to lie, Novalee.

And sometimes you tell a lie so big,

it changes your whole life.

A lie so big, it makes you think:

"I'd do anything if I could just have

one chance to set it straight."

Just one chance to change it.

You don't know what I mean?

Yeah...

...I do.

(EMMYLOU HARRIS'

"BEYOND THE BLUE" PLAYS)

Oh.

(KEYS JINGLE)

Novalee?

Novalee!

Novalee.

What are you doing here?

L...

Is Americus all right?

Yes, she's fine.

When did you get here?

- I just drove.

- You drove?

All the way from Oklahoma?

Yeah... No, I first...

First I stopped in Tennessee.

I had to drop someone off,

an old friend...

...somebody who needed to go home.

- Oh.

Well.

I lied, Forney.

You didn't go to Tennessee?

No... Yes, I did go to Tennessee...

We're going to Sam's for some

coffee. Do you want to come?

Yeah. I'll catch up later.

- Okay.

- Okay.

It's too late, isn't it?

Too late?

For what?

I lied to you...

...when you asked me if I loved you,

and I said no.

- Remember?

- Yes.

I lied, Forney.

It wasn't true, l...

I love you.

It's just, I lied because...

...you deserved something better.

Something better than you?

Novalee, there isn't

anything better than you.

(MARTINA MCBRIDE'S

"THERE YOU ARE" PLAYS)

ANNOUNCER:
Attention Wal-Mart

shoppers and wedding guests:

Our garden center is running a special

on potting soil and rakes.

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