Original subtitles

Love is like a butterfly, soft and gentle as fire.

The multicolored moods of love are like its batting wings.

Love makes your heart feel strange inside. It flutters like soft wings in

flight. Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing.

There.

You'll catch the train.

I'll catch my first patient.

Lovely. Thank you.

I didn't realise when I was looking for a taxi you'd come along.

Seeing you's been wonderful.

It's been like reading old diaries.

The sad, funny, silly things we'd forgotten.

Yes.

What time's your flight in Heathrow? Oh, not until three. I've got some shopping

to do.

Breakfast in Cheltenham, lunch in London, dinner in Madrid. Not bad.

I'm glad you're happy.

I had hoped to find you a fully paid -up member of My Wife Doesn't Understand Me

Club.

That's awful of me.

Try again next year.

Nobody ever gave anybody the brush off as charmingly as you.

Can you feel another grim day coming up, Ruby?

I can see a grim life coming up.

I should never have looked in that landing mirror this morning.

The light comes through at a funny angle.

My face takes on a strange archaeological quality.

A spiteful thing, nature.

You wake up one morning and find she's suddenly put a nasty spurt on.

I went from middle 40s to early 100s overnight.

I seem to be going through some sort of madness.

Impossible cravings for impossible things.

Total discontent.

Panic. Pandemonium.

I'm the same.

I can't eat. I can't sleep.

I used to be able to utter the magic word, though. Thought it.

But even that doesn't work anymore.

I think it's our ovaries.

I don't think what my ovaries are planning.

Any moment now, they're going to pack up and leave, taking all my hormones with

them. Mother Nature again.

Cruelest of all.

She made us like egg timers.

The sand slowly filtering. By the time you're 40, everything you ever had has

migrated to your backside.

If it wasn't for the odd, randy, brooding lorry driver winking at me from

cabin, I could quite easily believe that mirror on the landing.

I saw that chap.

The one who asked you to have coffee? Yeah.

Did you have a nice time?

Four times.

I had coffee with him four times.

Oh, so you're old friends now, then.

I didn't like to say.

I know it's wrong.

Oh, it's not wrong, Ruby.

It's just that... I fancy him now.

Oh, well, as long as you keep it all in the mind.

We're only needful humans, after all. We're allowed to dream.

I'm spending all day Saturday with him.

Sort of running into a bit of Sunday.

I'm telling you because it helps. It helps to tell someone.

Don't, Ruby.

Time's passing.

If I'm going to do something brave, I have to do it now before my energy runs

out.

Is he married?

We don't. Oh, so he's nothing to lose.

Neither have I.

The kids are too busy arguing amongst themselves to notice what I'm doing. And

the old man sits there, his shirt open and his belt undone.

Pint a beer in one hand and a remote control switch in the other.

He looks as though someone's emptied the bin on the chair.

I know it's wrong, but he's just as wrong as them.

Sitting there, spoiling my life.

I don't know what to say, Ruby.

Except you might get hurt.

I'd rather be hurt than be nothing.

I know it's wrong, just to think about it.

I know I'm a cheat.

Do you know what I think, Ruby?

I think that behind every hoover, there goes a cheat.

I went to the shops and then I went into that little church.

Church?

I do sometimes.

You haven't told me that before.

No, well, I... What do you go there for? To confess your sins?

To talk to whoever is listening.

About what?

It might be nothing.

It might be a stage she's going through.

Children always going through stages.

It might be something.

So, what should I do?

Accuse?

Ignore?

Could I be allowed to get into the drive, please, or should I move house?

Stand by.

Stand by.

Enough.

At the Parkinson's Grand Prix and the race!

I

told

you this wheel was a tough one. Don't blame me, sunshine, right? Just don't

blame me. This cart was a complete rip -off.

All right, so with the money we've saved, we buy a new one. Progress and

expansion, that's called, sunshine.

The ladders will be the next thing to go. Half the rungs are missing already.

Look. Don't wind me up, okay? Just don't wind me up. Don't you better have a

word with our neighbour.

Yeah, yeah.

Look, you go to lunch, Dad, and we'll tidy up.

I'll move my car.

I'm not going to let it worry me.

Once you start letting people worry you, well, you've lost, haven't you?

Besides, the car doesn't mind anymore.

It's had its bonnet smashed, its bumper crushed, it's had its

engine shoved through its guts.

The wife's found a solution there.

She doesn't get out of bed anymore.

Not since the Frisbee.

And I haven't seen the dog for weeks.

But I'm not going to let it worry me.

Because once you start letting people... Oh,

dear God.

What are you going to do with your afternoon?

Oh, I shall probably nip to town.

I've run out of silk dutters and mink mops.

Thomas can take me in the road.

Thomas is my mythical chauffeur.

I think I'll go to the dental convention, by the way.

Another one?

It's a year since I went.

Is it? It doesn't seem that long.

When? This weekend.

Oh.

It's all rather immediate, isn't it?

Yes. Well, I wasn't sure whether or not my crowd were going.

So I rang Derek.

He rang the others, and it's Derek's rolls again.

You mentioning the rolls reminded me.

Oh.

Where is it this time?

Brussels.

Oh.

What are those two doing up there?

I don't know why, but whenever they're out of sight, I keep expecting to hear a

distant explosion.

You never told me how your lunch went the other day.

With Amanda.

Oh.

She's gone back to Spain now.

You still haven't told me how it went.

It went the way lunches go.

We ate and talked.

She had something to do with the cow, I had something to do with the pig, and

then we shared a raspberry sorbet.

I'll have your things ready for the convention.

Thank you.

Aren't you going to eat your trot?

I haven't time.

What do you mean you haven't time? Well, my husband's just announced that he's

going to a convention, so I have things to wash and things to iron.

I mean, if I announced that I was going to a convention, that would mess up your

routine, wouldn't it?

Wouldn't stop me eating my tripod.

No, no, do you? I've never left you for three days.

Try it and see.

OK, Mum, show us the food. We'll show you the disappearing act.

Have you left that bathroom tidy?

Depends what you mean by tidy, Dad.

I mean, have you removed the radio, the apple cores, the abandoned socks and the

soggy erotica?

Yes.

Oh, we did leave the toothpaste on the ceiling.

It's hot. Be careful.

Oh, must you peer like that?

You all peer into the food dishes looking as if you're expecting to come

face with a nasty accident.

Yum, yum, mashed daffodils.

Aubergine pie.

All right, all right. So that is a nasty accident.

The phone is ringing.

I know, I'll go, shall I?

Yeah, yeah, hang on, he's right here. It's for you, Dave.

Hello? Hello, Ben.

Look, I'm sorry to be a nuisance, but, um, I left my hold -all in your car this

morning.

Amanda!

Hello.

You left what?

My hold -all. It's one of my neighbours. I had some children.

Oh, was it in the boot?

I'll send it on to you, don't worry.

No, no, just keep it safely for me.

I'll send on my address later.

Oh, I must go. They're just making the last call for the flight.

Bye. Bye.

Oh, two. God, I'm late.

Don't you want any coffee?

No. No, I'll get some at the surgery.

Bye. Bye.

Bye. Bye.

Hey,

Mum, how about this for you?

Bye? What?

Jeannie said I could come round today for a few nights.

Sounds promising, doesn't it?

Yeah. Yeah, it does.

Such a good -looking baby.

Oh, boy, here we go. Slop, slop, yucky, yucky.

Oh, yeah, you can talk. What about when Annie phoned you this morning?

Buckets of it.

You've heard from Annie?

Yeah, yeah, she, uh, she phoned.

Adam.

Well, had to try out some of the other peasants, didn't she?

Of course you did.

So, Mum, here it comes.

Freedom.

I bet you thought you were stuck with us, but bit by bit we're going.

Yes, bit by bit.

You're all going.

Oh, you get it.

Lovely.

Oh, hi.

Yeah, hang on a second. I'll take it in the other room.

Yeah, don't tell me I know. You'll take it in the other room, right?

Slop, slop, yap, yap.

You're feeling good today, then?

Ah, yep.

Silly, isn't it?

No, Adam, it isn't silly.

And what about you?

How do you feel?

Strange. I feel strange.

I feel as if I'm about to go into a patch of unpredictable fog.

I've no idea how I'll cope with it.

I might lose my nerve.

I might drive straight through it.

I might get lost on the way.

The thing about fog is you've got to keep right on going.

Yes. Well, not too fast.

You might hurt the guy in front.

Yes. And not too slow.

The guy behind might hurt you.

Yes.

Could use up a lot of emotion until you come through it.

But when you do, you run like hell for home.

Triton? That's an awful name.

Triton? Son of Neptune. Why not call him Hazel out of Watership Down?

Okay.

What else had you in mind?

Daniel.

Or Jamie.

Or Julian.

Hey.

I quite like the idea of not living together after all.

He needs a new coat.

You'll get a new cake.

And more talc and soap and baby oil.

You'll get them all.

Is this how it is?

This is how it is.

In that case, promise me you'll never let me persuade you to marry me.

Won't we, Rustin?

Yeah.

We're finding a way.

Ria, what is all this about?

Fog.

The fog of life.

Oh, God, this is ridiculous.

I know.

It's all ridiculous.

Getting upset is ridiculous.

Leaving is ridiculous.

Making your coffee before I leave is ridiculous.

I am ridiculous.

I didn't tell you about taking Amanda to the station because it wasn't planned.

You had a whole day, a whole night, and three meals to tell me.

You don't tell me everything, do you?

Well, there's nothing to tell, is there?

I don't know, is there?

Well, I don't see people off to Spain, do I?

I don't share raspberry sorbets with people, do I?

It wasn't important.

You're right, it isn't. It isn't important.

Well, what's all this about, then? It's about lots of things.

It's about this.

Kitchen, that hoover, that supermarket.

It's about Russell and Jeannie and Adam and Annie and you and Amanda and me and

nothing. Rio, what does that mean?

It's you and all of us. You take me for granted, all of you. I'm always here,

plodding in and out, with soup gone wrong, cabbage gone wrong, sexiness, I

and me.

trying to persuade that pudding to leave go of the oven, sing me a little song,

will you?

I've had a bad day.

Well, I've had bad days. I've had bad years.

And I may not have a convention to go to, but I do have a friend.

May I ask who that friend is?

It wouldn't stop me eating my trifle, you said. Well, there's one in the

I see, I see.

You sit there so calm, so sure of yourself because you're sure of me,

why. You know that when you come back, I'll still be boringly cooking and

boringly cleaning and boringly here.

Well, I won't.

There's nobody giving me a lift, you notice?

You said let's meet again soon.

Here I come.

Josie.

Ah.

This is where it all began.

The discontent.

The confusion.

I mustn't come here again.

Excuse me.

You don't happen to have seen a lady in a camel coat, do you?

She's got these army -coloured eyes and this funny little nose and she's usually

accompanied by a bag full of groceries.

I can't stop thinking about you.

I'm glad I've seen you.

I didn't want it to end so untidily.

It's hard for me to... Then why?

Why, Leonard?

I've given up using that word.

Everything has a fragment of hope to it until you ask why.

All I ask now is that we try just a short time together.

At least let us know how it could be.

I want to tell you. Save them.

Tell me in bed.

You have been something grave in my life.

I don't want to hear what I've been.

You've disarranged it.

You've caused me endless suffering.

I used to lie in bed.

With Ben's arm round me.

And I used to want you.

It may not work.

You might hate me, I might hate you. Just think of the relief.

Being good has no future in it, Ria, when you're old.

It's the bad things you did that put the sparkle in your eye.

I'm losing everything because of you, Leonard.

For God's sake, we've won life.

We're over halfway there.

Ria!

I can't.

Another, I can't. Go away.

Leave it till another day.

Supposing I kill myself.

Supposing I leap into the water and disappear forever.

Is that what you want?

Oh, how they will fret, those fair young maidens.

How the tears will run down their enameled cheeks.

Well, at least look at me when I'm dying.

Bye.

Bye. Bye.