Original subtitles

Closing up!

Tell your folks to start feeding you again, Will.

It's your last free meal.

Joe fired me today.

Said there were only four days left

to the only summer before the only senior year I'd ever have,

and I should enjoy myself.

That bastard!

Well, you show him.

Don't you enjoy a single minute.

Can I help refill the salt shakers, Bay?

Claudia, I thought someone drove you home hours ago.

Obviously not. So can I help?

No. Go bug someone else.

Bailey, are you working or gabbing?

Go bug Julia.

So, tomorrow, huh?

God! I can't think of anything more romantic

than a woman waiting for her man to return from overseas.

Sarah, he's not coming back from war.

- He's coming back from summer vacation.

Charlie, what is this?

I'm picking a band for the wedding.

- Pick again. - Pick again.

Aren't you just dying to see him?

I mean, you know, he'll probably have an accent.

He'll probably say...

"Hello, darling. It's me, Justin."

Jule!

Claudia, hasn't anyone taken you home yet?

God! Aren't you just dying to see him?

The Shecky Wasserman Band.

Care for a hora, Bailey?

Pass.

You know what. That would be great

for the bonfire.

We could blast it

and dance in a circle around the flame.

It would be kind of pagan.

What do you say?

Oh. I forgot. You're not going to the bonfire.

What?

Ah, I'm not in the mood.

Sure, forget that it's practically an end-of-summer,

last-night-before-school tradition.

Two years is not a tradition.

But if you had somebody to go with...

Will.

What about the hot dogs and the illegal beer

and the marshmallows and...

Hey!

Of course there's gonna be some slow tunes.

Some Sinatra, okay?

I am too writing this down.

Mom...

Mom, I gotta go.

Mom, I mean it. Someone's at the door.

No, I'm not using it as an excuse

to get you off the phone.

Oh, I love you too, Mom.

Occasionally, I'd like to murder you, but I'm hoping that will pass.

Coming.

Oh. Hi.

Hello.

Does Charlie Salinger still live here?

Yeah, he does. Can I help you with something?

Um... I need to talk to him.

Is he home?

No. He's, um... He's working tonight at his dad's place.

- Is there something... - Oh, no. No.

That's okay. It's just...

Could you maybe tell him I stopped by?

Sure.

Uh...

knowing your name might make that easier.

Oh! Right.

Sure.

I'm Pamela... Rush.

Charlie and I were, um... friends

a while back.

So do you want to leave a number or something?

No, that's okay.

Well, is there a message?

I'll just be in touch.

I'm sorry to have troubled you.

Really.

No trouble at all.

♪ Everybody wants to live ♪

♪ Like they wanna live ♪

♪ And everybody wants to love ♪

♪ Like they wanna love ♪

♪ Everybody wants to be ♪

♪ Closer to free ♪

♪ Closer to free ♪

So... this bonfire thing sounds cool.

I... I've never been to one.

Is it, like, a couple thing,

or do people just kind of go on their own?

Why, you thinking of bringing someone?

Oh... Maybe.

Well, if you do,

tell him not to bring any booze down to the beach,

the last year the cops showed up

and made this huge stink.

Oh, right.

Ah, I'll probably go alone, anyway.

I like doing that sometimes, you know.

Going to these things by myself.

Yeah. Solo's cool.

Totally.

I think being alone gets a bad rap.

God, you are so right.

So, um...

maybe we could go alone together.

What?

You're funny.

I am?

Yeah, the way you say things.

"Go alone together."

What? Do I have something on my face?

We're here.

Oh.

Well, thanks for the lift.

Thanks for all the lifts this summer.

Sure.

Oh, hey. You got to...

jiggle it.

There you go.

Thanks.

Good night.

Good night.

Well, who is she? How do you know her?

How well do you know her?

We were friends.

What kind of friends?

Charlie, have you or have you not seen this woman naked?

It so happens I have.

What?

Me and a hundred other guys.

She was a figure model in the fine arts department.

When I was a sophomore, I drew her.

So you two didn't, like...

have a thing?

Oh, no. We had a thing.

A real brief thing.

It lasted...

maybe a month, two.

It was, what... four years ago.

I haven't seen her since.

Who knows why she stopped by.

I don't.

Pamela Rush.

Huh.

I was thinking about buying a bike.

Well, you could probably get a good discount.

I mean, because you work at a bike shop.

No. A bike.

A motorcycle.

Oh.

Well, you should.

Cool.

Yeah, there's some, uh, trails up in the headlands

not a lot of people know about.

I've never been on a motorcycle.

It's easy. All you got to do is hold on.

I'd probably throw you completely off balance.

You might. I could handle it.

So, uh...

you want to go with me to look...

you know, for bikes?

Maybe tomorrow sometime?

Uh, tomorrow, I can't.

Whatever.

Griffin, it's gonna get harder, you know,

to do this.

To meet.

Well, because of school starting up again and everything.

Yeah. I guess.

I guess so.

I guess things are gonna change.

I'm kind of sorry about it.

Do you know what those ones are there? The pink ones?

No, me neither.

It's weird.

All those times sitting in a garden,

I still don't know what to call anything.

How many times have you seen this movie, Will?

I keep discovering stuff I hadn't noticed before.

It's very rich in that way.

It's a $100-million comic strip.

What's your point?

Let's go. Let's go see something else.

No! Um... no, no.

I can't get mentally prepared to see one movie

and then just go see another.

Hey!

Hey, Will.

Bay, you remember my cousin, Sharon.

Yeah, hi.

- And this is... - Holly.

- I'm Holly. - Hi.

I've heard...

almost nothing about you.

Same here.

So...

So, you go to Grant, huh?

Right.

Right, I go to Grant. Let's see.

Uh, I'm a senior.

I... I'm applying to colleges.

I have to take my SATs.

Let's see. What else do you have to know about me? I'm...

Kind of rude.

Look, I'm gonna go.

Okay, I got some stuff I have to do.

You shouldn't have done this to me.

I'm sorry, we're closed. I must have forgotten to lock...

Charlie.

Pamela.

Hey!

God, this is so weird seeing you again.

I mean, uh, Kirsten told me that you stopped by.

Is she your wife?

Fiancee.

Oh. That's nice, Charlie.

Yeah.

So, what's going on with you?

I mean... you look great.

Thanks.

Yeah, I'm good.

I'm okay.

Not real great.

You're getting worse.

I have a problem.

And I thought I could take care of it myself,

but I can't.

And I'm sorry for coming to you, but...

No. Come on.

Come on. It's...

Wow.

Wow, look at him.

He's yours?

Spencer. His name is Spencer.

Spencer Salinger Rush.

Huh. Uh...

Don't take this the wrong way,

but, um... I didn't think I meant that much to you.

You didn't.

He's your son.

Right.

Come on.

Give me a break.

No.

No.

Oh, please don't get angry, Charlie.

I mean, I can explain.

We weren't seeing each other anymore,

and I just didn't think at the time that you'll...

Get the hell out of here.

- Charlie... - There is no way.

No way!

Kirsten.

You're kidding me.

Well, I mean, it's that time of year, but...

we're getting through it.

I mean, it's amazing. We're really doing well.

Look at him.

He's so

cute.

Hey! Look who stopped by.

Charlie.

Pamela.

Did you know anything about this little boy?

His name's Spencer.

Isn't he adorable?

Yeah, he is.

Well, um...

I'm gonna let you two guys catch up.

I hope I'll see you again.

It would be really nice if Owen had a friend to play with.

Bye.

See you.

I thought maybe if you saw him,

you would believe me.

This is your son, Charlie.

He is not... He is not my son.

How can you be so sure?

You and I did what it takes to make one of these

three or four times a day

for two months solid, if I remember correctly.

Yeah. Four years ago.

Usually, it's tradition to let the father know

when the little test comes back positive,

or the baptism,

or the delivery or the circumcision,

or whatever the hell it is you do!

Oh, come on. Like you would have been there for any of those things.

And you would have told me to get an abortion.

And I didn't want an abortion.

I wanted this baby.

And I knew I couldn't count on you.

He's four years old.

You and I broke up a little over four and a half years ago.

And there wasn't anybody else.

Do the math, Charlie.

God, I am getting married in nine weeks.

What do you want me to do?

I am... I am not trying to ruin your life.

I'm in trouble.

I got laid off

from this secretarial job that I had,

and I still have daycare to pay for.

What is... Is this blackmail? Is that what this is?

God's sake, Charlie.

I want you out of my house now.

You are not gonna push me away.

Use the back way out.

I have got this little boy to take care of.

Use the back way.

I'm not gonna go away.

Do you think this stuff will make me more attractive to men?

Men? What men? You don't know any men.

You know boys.

Oh. right. Good point by you.

Thanks for cutting through my question

and finding a way to insult me.

I'm sorry.

It's just that, well, I'm getting older now, you know.

I mean, I'm practically in junior high school.

All these things like makeup and stuff,

well, they're gonna be important to me.

And I need someone to look up to,

and someone to answer all my questions.

Claud, I'm sorry.

I should be more sensitive, okay?

Okay.

So, what did you want to know?

Can I go to the bonfire with you?

No.

The point is, you hurt her feelings.

No, Will. No, that's not the point.

That's not even remotely the point.

The point is you had no right ruining a perfectly good movie

by springing some stupid date on me.

Oh, gee, how could you ever forgive me?

I merely get one of the cutest, greatest, funniest, smartest girls

I know to go out with you.

Why don't you just hang me up by my little fingers and shoot me?

Ooh, what a miserable friend I've turned out to be.

I have better things to do. Okay?

I do. I haven't played football in over a year.

I'm way behind on my conditioning. I have to do that.

Right. Right.

So you'd rather do bench presses and squat thrusts

than to make out with Holly Blanchard?

You need help, man.

Yeah, but not from you. Goodbye.

Come on, Bay.

We both know what's going on with you.

Shut up, Will.

Weren't you leaving?

Coming.

Hey, Justin!

How you doing, man? How was London?

Great. Great.

Cool. Come on in.

Julia!

This girl is great, Bay. She's really great.

- She could turn you around. - I'm ignoring you.

So, hey, man.

So London was cool?

I imagine if you're into history, it would be very...

- Historical. - Yeah.

Julia!

Yeah. Yeah. Lots of old, uh, tombs and stuff.

Julia!

Justin!

Bay, Bay, come on. Just give it a try.

Why?

- Bailey. - What?

What? What? Name one thing that is so great about dating.

All right, name two things.

I did that too.

What?

Walked around with a picture in my pocket

for the first few years

like I couldn't believe I had a kid.

You mind if I...

He's got his dad's eyes, that's for sure.

You must hear that all the time, right?

I figured I need a female opinion, you know?

Yeah. I know. That's important.

So you'll be honest?

- I'll be honest. - Okay.

I really appreciate you doing this for me.

My pleasure.

Uh, so what's this all for, anyway?

Some kind of big family thing?

No. Actually... I kind of have a date.

- What? - Yeah.

Will kind of forced me into it.

What's that supposed to mean?

I don't know.

He thinks it would be good for me. He thinks I need it.

What do you think? You think it's stupid?

Uh, I don't know.

No.

I guess not.

I mean, what's the worst thing that could happen?

What do you think?

That's Westminster Abbey.

So, what exactly do you mean by incredibly boring?

That's me and Big Ben.

You didn't do anything?

You just worked in the restaurant?

That's Windsor Castle.

Pretty much.

That's me after my dad explained the concept of blood sausage.

So how is that possible

to be gone so long and miss so little?

Any new couples at least?

Trafalgar Square.

Not especially.

What's that, um, there on your head?

That's a pigeon.

Everybody feeds pigeons in Trafalgar Square.

It's what you do.

Ooh!

And what's that there on your shirt?

Oh, my God! I have to get a copy of this.

- Yeah, right. - No, I'm serious.

Give me the negatives.

No, no. Here, here. You can keep this copy, okay?

Are you kidding? I'm gonna get this thing blown up, like, poster size.

I... I'll make a copy for you.

Why are there twice as many negatives as there are pictures?

Huh?

Well, what did you do?

Like, pull some of these so I wouldn't see them?

No, no. Not exactly.

Who's this girl?

Justin?

She's no one.

She's...

Her name's Allison.

She's a girl that I met over there, uh.

Her dad ran the lecture series that my dad did.

We just hung out. That's all. We were friends.

We were just friends, Julia. That's it.

And you did all these things with her.

I mean, that, that part where she poured paint all over her body

and rolled around in all that flour,

what was that about, huh?

It's art?

I hate to break it to you,

but that, that is not art.

I have seen art, and that is not it.

I spent the whole night wondering

if regular soap was gonna get all that stuff off her body.

Well, anyway, thanks a lot for coming.

I kind of had to show up. Denise and I work together.

Oh, yeah? Where?

At this coffeehouse in North Beach.

Coffeehouse? Really? You work at a coffeehouse?

Trieste. On Grant. Why, you know it?

Uh, no.

No, it's just... a friend of mine

used to work at a coffeehouse in North Beach.

You should come by sometime.

This is me.

Oh.

Well, I had a nice time.

So did I.

- Maybe we should... - So, we should...

- You first. - No, you go ahead.

I was just gonna say that

maybe we should do this again sometime.

Is that what you were gonna say?

Yeah.

Sure. That would be great.

So...

So...

Anyway...

Anyway...

Well...

good night.

Good night.

Forget it, mother. That is so ugly.

Charlie's right here, mom, and...

What is it, honey?

Really? You do?

Charlie's saying how much he hates Garamond Bold, mom.

Could you call her back?

We want to go with something much less formal.

Please?

Mom...

Mom. Mom. I got to call you back.

I got to. Somebody's at the door.

I know. I know.

I know you don't want to get dragged into these arguments,

but, at this point, she's not even listening to me.

Charlie?

Here's the thing.

What thing?

The thing about Pamela and me.

Why she's here. What she wants.

Charlie?

I love you.

What?

And I don't want to hurt you.

Good.

That's good, because... I don't want to be hurt.

Spencer, her little boy...

She says he's mine, Kirsten.

I think he's my son.

Did you kiss her?

No.

Did you want to kiss her?

No.

Did you maybe want to decide on a cycle?

Shut up!

So you're telling me

you spent all that time with her

and you never once, not once,

thought of her as anything except a friend?

Never.

Come on, Justin. I saw her picture.

You saw her negative.

In real life, she's got a hump and a harelip.

Yeah, right.

All right. Fine. She doesn't.

But it doesn't matter what she looks like,

or how smart she is or how funny she is,

because what she isn't is you.

And Julia, I'm nuts about you.

And you know what else?

I don't know what you did every second of this summer.

And that's okay because I trust you.

I trust that you would tell me the important stuff.

Because I'd tell you.

This is when you say,

"It's okay. I love you.

The only reason I'm acting like a nut bar is because

I can't stand the thought of you with anyone else."

Let's see.

Well, another pair of overalls.

And, well, definitely another pair of high-tops

because, well, my old ones have holes in them and...

Morning. Kirsten's taking me to get some back-to-school clothes.

I grew half an inch over the summer.

You are? Today?

I thought we were gonna go to the stationers.

I rescheduled.

So, what does that mean?

I didn't cancel, Charlie, okay?

I rescheduled.

Why? Are you punishing me? Is that it?

Uh-oh.

Well, what's going on? Did you guys have a fight?

Never mind.

I don't want to never mind.

Well, I don't want to talk about it.

Well, why not?

It's complicated, Claud.

Well, what's that supposed to mean?

It means you're too young to understand, okay?

Hey, you know what, Charlie?

I am not a baby.

I am two days away from junior high school. I get stuff.

Like I get that "Oh, you're too young to understand"

is just a lame excuse for not telling me

how you screwed something up.

You're right, Claudia. It is.

Well?

I'm not punishing you, Charlie.

I just... I can't go. Not today.

I can't sit there and pretend I care

whether or not the invitation says,

"Please share our happiness and joy"

or "Please share our joy and happiness,"

when the fact of the matter is,

I'm not experiencing a whole lot

of either of those things at the moment.

And I certainly don't have enough to share, okay?

- Hey. - Hey.

What are you doing here?

Same as you. Picking up my final.

Jeez. Fifty-six dollars after taxes.

So, um...

how did it go last night?

Last night?

Holly.

Oh, that. That was great.

You know, she's really great.

Is it hard?

What?

Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of hard.

I want it to work.

Yeah. I know you do.

- You know what I wish? - What?

I wish it could be like you and Justin.

You know, I wish we could just... skip ahead four months

through all the hard stuff, till every thing's easy.

What are you talking about? It's... it's not easy.

I mean... we've been apart now nine weeks,

and that's a long time.

Things can happen to people.

I mean, they can change.

- You never know. - Yeah, right.

Stop trying to make me feel better. You guys are perfect.

You think?

Hmm.

Yeah, I guess.

Definitely. I should be thankful for what I have.

Me too.

I'm lucky.

I'll tell you what.

You give me a couple weeks to get, you know,

comfortable with everything,

and we'll double-date.

You, Justin, me and Holly. What do you say? Is that a plan?

Yeah. Definitely.

Okay. I'll see you.

Hey.

Hey.

Um... do you think we can take a walk or something?

You've ordered already, sweetie, didn't you?

It's okay. My boyfriend already ordered.

Oh. Um, I don't work here.

Oh, I'm sorry. I can't see. I just took my contacts out.

Julia is, uh...

Well, we... We kind of know each other.

Uh, this is Erica.

Hi.

Do you wear contacts?

Because I was in New York this summer doing some print stuff,

and my agency said I'd get more work

with blue eyes instead of brown.

Brown eyes are... out.

- Are they? - Oh, no offense or anything.

So, what? Did you two take some kind of class together or something?

Look, um, I gotta go.

You know, this could be a pretty good year

for you guys in Division Two.

You know football?

Poster of Steve Young above my bed.

Oh, yeah?

I'd really love to come see you play.

I mean, I'm a real fan.

So, where should we go?

I'm sorry.

What? About what?

Will told me about you, and...

And he told me that you were this great person.

And that you were really smart

and funny and cute and nice.

Whoa.

I'm guessing this means

you didn't have as good a time last night as I did.

No, I did.

But I don't want to.

That doesn't make much sense, Bailey.

It seems easy, you know?

You know, we just...

We just keep going out and we keep having a great time,

because I don't know how a person could go out with you

and not have a great time.

And then you start to matter to me.

And...

And I don't think I want that.

What should I say?

Well, you should say that I'm an idiot.

Because... Because...

I'm gonna see you in six months with some other guy,

and I am gonna think that that guy's so lucky.

And I am gonna be so jealous.

But...

But I can't... yet.

I can't.

That's too bad.

Can we just call it a night?

Yeah.

I'll walk you back.

Good night, Holly.

Okay, what if...

What if I gave her money?

Like, I got together a bunch of money and I gave it to her

on the promise that she would stay away?

I mean, I could do that.

Would that make you happy? Is that what you want?

Don't put this on me. Don't you dare do that to me!

- None of this makes me happy. - I know.

I'd just like to know how many children

from how many different mothers who are not me,

am I gonna end up taking care of in my life?

Kirsten...

That's not what I mean.

I don't mean that. I don't mean that.

I'm sorry.

I don't know what to tell you, Charlie.

Does it bother me that you're the kind of guy

who's had a baby with another woman?

You bet it does.

Is it gonna matter between us?

I'm gonna try to make it not matter.

But what happens when that woman calls again?

Or when that little boy comes over to play with you?

Or he needs something from you, money or, or time.

Something you give him

and then don't have enough left for Owen or Claudia...

or me?

I mean, what happens then?

I don't know.

I honestly don't know.

I'm just...

I'm trying to figure out, you know,

what's best for a kid.

I mean, it's tough to not have two parents.

But... I mean, on the other hand,

a little kid needs some sort of stability, you know?

Not have some stranger come in and out of his life.

What are you trying to say, Charlie?

I'm just trying to figure it out.

Whoops.

He's a little commando.

Yeah?

I was too at his age.

Anyway, uh... I could help pay for things for him.

Good.

That would help a lot.

But, you know, maybe me coming in and out of his life...

I mean, that could be exactly what he doesn't need. I mean...

Maybe it would be better.

I understand.

Look at that.

It's his favorite toy.

He could pound on that little hammer till doomsday.

Go figure, right?

Right.

Should we talk about the money, Charlie?

Uh... my boss just stepped out.

He's gonna be back any second now.

He doesn't really like it when friends of mine drop by.

Why didn't you tell me?

I don't know. You never dropped by before.

No.

About her.

Erica.

I don't talk about that kind of stuff.

Why? You don't think it matters that you have a girlfriend?

Well, you have a boyfriend, right?

That Justin guy.

Yeah. I know. What, you thought I didn't?

You never talk about him.

So you and me,

it's not like we're going out or anything.

Well, right.

Of course not.

I mean, we're not going out.

So, what's the problem?

I don't know.

How about that, O?

You're an uncle.

Uncle Owen.

Uncle Owen.

"Hey, this is my Uncle Owen. He's almost two."

Kinda weird, huh?

You were out all morning.

Yeah.

- You went to see her? - Yeah, I did.

Went to give her some money

and to tell her that was all I had to offer her.

Just money.

So, that's it then?

Well, the thing is, uh... he was there.

Spencer.

And, uh... he was playing and...

And I was just watching him and...

He had this little carpentry set...

with these tools and plastic workbench.

It's his favorite toy.

And I know this is stupid, but I just kept thinking...

you know, "He gets that from me."

I mean, where else would he get that from?

Not his mom. Not, not some other guy.

He's got... a little piece of me in him.

And I just thought, "Wow.

Wow. What an amazing thing." You know?

Yeah.

I'm a father.

I'm his father.

And don't laugh at me, but I just keep thinking...

"That little kid could love me."

Coming over.

Take it.

Just so you know...

Allison and I never danced.

We had sex, but we never danced.

I'm kidding.

It's a joke. I'm joking.

- It's not funny. - Oh, come on.

You want to laugh. You know you do.

But you're afraid that if you laugh,

it will mean that you're over this whole Allison thing.

And if you're over it,

then you'll have no reason to be mad at me.

And then you'll just have to resign yourself to the fact

that you have a great boyfriend and you love me desperately.

- I got you. - Oh, shut up and dance.

Hey, did you see? Jenny Hinton got braces.

Ho, ho-ho.

At her age, senior year, tragic.

I say go with the overbite.

So you having a good time?

Sure.

Yeah, I can tell.

All right.

To senior year.

You know what this means, man?

- No idea. What's it mean? - Not a clue.

Senior year.

Ah!

Claudia, what the hell are you doing here?

- I thought we told... - I took the bus.

I wanted to see.

- Cool. - Okay.

You came, you saw, you're going home.

- Come on. I'll take you. - I'll make a scene.

- What? - You heard me.

I like your style, kiddo.

Come on, Claud. Give me a break.

Look, I swear I won't be a pest.

Hey, I won't even say a word.

I mean, you won't even know I'm here.

And the point of this would be...

Hey, I start something pretty big tomorrow too, you know.

Nobody throws a bonfire when you start junior high school.

In fact, you know...

nobody does much of anything. So...

You kind of have to find a way

of making it a big deal for yourself.

Because... it is a big deal.

Junior high school, I mean, it's a very big deal.

I just wanna watch, Bay.

Hold this a sec.

Come here.

You move, you speak,

you're dead.

- You know what? - What?

If you told me that you had met somebody this summer,

like a guy, a guy friend.

Mm-hmm?

I'd be perfectly okay with it.

You would?

No, you wouldn't.

I totally would.

I mean, in fact, I'd be happy

that you didn't spend your whole summer by yourself.

Because you wouldn't have written me all those letters

or acted the way you did over those photos

if I weren't the one.

The guy for you.

Go ahead. Tell me I'm wrong.

Argue with my logic.

I'm cold.

- This better? - Tighter.

Tighter.

Is this seat taken?

So is your friend meeting you here? Holly?

Oh, no.

No, that's not really happening, me and Holly.

Really? I thought that you guys were kinda...

No.

No.

Not your type?

No, she's...

pretty much completely my type.

It's me. It's my fault.

Are you a good swimmer?

Why?

You aren't thinking of...

Bailey, that water's gotta be 50 degrees.

It took me forever to learn how to swim.

My dad tried to teach me but the... first time out,

I cracked my head against the side of the pool

and swallowed all this water and...

after that, I couldn't.

I wanted to. I just couldn't.

And for the longest time, I just...

couldn't let go of the side.

You know?

Do you think I'm stupid, Sarah?

I mean, do you think it's okay if...

If I wait for a while?

Yeah, you know.

I think you should wait...

till you're ready.

I miss her.

So...

school starts tomorrow.

Can you believe it? Where did the summer go?

Who knows, you know?

Maybe it'll be a great year.

Maybe.

Maybe.

You looking for the lady?

Yes.

With the, uh, little boy.

She cleared all her stuff out this morning.

Paid me the rent she owes.

She's gone, man.