Original subtitles

[jackhammer pounding]

Sue! Sue!

I found it! The spiral block quilt pattern!

[horn blaring]

Carter! Carter, move!

[loud crash]

[all yelling]

[electricity crackling]

‐[Carter screams] ‐Carter!

[theme music playing]

[theme music ends]

Carter? Carter come on, please!

I need some help. I don’t know what...

Somebody get some help. Could you call 911, please?

[man] Stay back.

‐Everything’s gonna... ‐[man 2] Where’s that first aid kit?

‐[man 1] I’ll go and get it. ‐[man 3] I don’t know if you should be touching him, lady.

‐[sirens wailing] ‐[man 4] 911’s on the way.

It’ll be here any minute.

[heartbeat pulsing]

Some fun, huh?

Grandpa Bill?

[sighs]

Grandpa Bill!

What are you doing here?

‐You’re dead! ‐Hey!

What do you say we kick back,

finish that model airplane we were working on before I passed away?

We can do whatever we please up here.

And I’ll answer any questions you throw me.

Just like I used to.

’Cause to put it mildly...

we got time.

‐[man] Stay back now! ‐[beeping]

‐[Sue] Carter? ‐[paramedic] Nothing! One, two.

[Sue] Carter, come on. Carter?

[woman] Get that IV going. Epinephrine and bicarb.

‐[man] I’ll get it ready. ‐[Dr. Joey] Get out of my way.

Dr. Joanna Diamond, this man is my patient.

How long since he stopped breathing?

‐[woman] A little over a minute. ‐[Dr. Joey] Start compression.

‐[continuous beep] ‐We’re gonna defibrillate.

[man] Here’s the paddles. Charge!

‐[Dr. Joey] Okay, clear! ‐[man] Clear!

[Dr. Joey] Check his pulse.

‐No pulse left. ‐[Dr. Joey] Again.

‐Fibrillation 300. ‐[man] Clear.

‐No pulse. ‐Again.

‐[man ]Charge. ‐Clear.

Check?

‐Damn it Carter! ‐[Carter] How can I be dead?

Oh!

I wouldn’t put too much stock in that, Carter.

Death isn’t really a thing.

Oh, the body dies, but, that’s never what it was all about.

‐You just merged with the infinite. ‐Merged with the...

infinite. Infinite what?

Just regular plain infinite.

‐You’re saying there’s life after death? ‐You betcha.

Come on.

[exhales] Okay, okay.

Then what’s the point of life on Earth?

Why all the suffering and messiness?

The pain, why bother? Why not skip straight to this?

’Cause you gotta learn.

That’s what real life is for. To learn.

Learn what?

How to love. The infinite’s mainly love, Carter.

So, what do you say

we go fishing for a few million years?

I’ve been missing you, boy.

Wait. Wait, Grandpa Bill.

What about the problem of evil?

The origin of the universe? The whole free will question?

Grandpa Bill, come back.

[indistinct chatter]

‐Come back! ‐[Dr. Joey] Four, five.

‐He’s back. ‐[man] Okay, he’s got a rhythm.

All right, get him to the hospital, stat.

‐All right, one, two, three. ‐[Dr. Joey] Keep the drip going.

‐Go ahead. ‐[man] All right.

[Dr. Joey] Keep an eye on his vital signs.

Don’t worry about the burns, just keep him breathing.

‐[man 1] Excuse us. ‐[man 2] Head first.

[Dr. Joey] We lost you for a little while there, fella. You gave us a good scare.

Two more minutes I would have missed my pedicure.

I missed you, too, Grandpa Bill.

[Dr. Joey] Okay, boys, take care of him, I’m gonna meet you up in...

‐[man] And it’s locked. I’ll start IV with an 18 gauge. ‐[woman] Okay.

Thank you, all of you,

for welcoming us so warmly to Rome Junior High,

She’s gonna be staying with us.

What? What in, like, your house?

With her.

What, is that our music tutor?

In a moment, Alyssa will play for you

Bach, Cello Suite, No. 1, in G Major.

But first, I’d like...

You know, I hope this girl’s not majorly gross.

‐It’s my mom’s idea, obviously. ‐[man clears throat]

By the age of seven,

Alyssa had mastered Elgar’s challenging

Cello Concerto in E minor.

See, her junior high’s not just looking for a hosts

while she touring these schools.

It turns out my mom isn’t even gonna be here,

’cause she has this medical conference all week.

Shh!

And so, playing for you, Bach’s Suite, No. 1,

in G Major, for unaccompanied cello,

Miss Alyssa Min.

[applause]

Whoa, time‐out.

You can totally see the outline of her bra.

[playing]

[whispering] Hey.

[indistinct chatter]

What’s going on? What’d they do?

Their tour bus was on the way to Door County, and had an accident

when Carter jumped in front of it.

And now they’re stranded till it gets fixed.

Why are you booking them?

They’re not booked. The mayor felt bad for them.

She made hotel arrangements,

set up some tours of people’s gardens, the courthouse.

This is the jail tour.

‐[Douglas] Douglas Wambaugh for the "over the hill gang." ‐You handle this.

Look at these ladies. As beautiful as they are bad.

[sighs]

Oh, yeah, Katie, ’cause it’s totally obvious.

They way he totally lusts after you.

‐The way he looks at you. ‐Well, it’s a shame Jill couldn’t be here.

Um, Alyssa’s parents were sorry they couldn’t make it too, but...

there were commitments.

Oh, like you haven’t noticed.

Matthew. He’s just discovered girls.

Could you pass the salad, please?

Sorry, it’s okay. I got it. It’s okay.

[Matthew] Hey, can I call you back? Great.

Matthew. Please.

[Matthew] Nobody.

Do I have, like, food between my teeth?

No.

‐Oh, because you were looking at me like...

Oh, so I was just wondering, you know?

Do you practice a lot?

Do you practice a lot?

‐Well, does she? ‐Of course she practices a lot.

Obviously, she practices a lot. She played with the Milwaukee Philharmonic.

She must think I’m a total idiot.

I... I should have mentioned my trombone.

Why didn’t I mention my trombone?

How do you just mention a trombone?

She probably only goes for Korean guys anyways.

Plus, she’s 13.

What?

She definitely does practice a lot.

[monitor beeping]

Sue.

You’re gonna be okay, Carter.

Dr. Joey says you’re gonna be just fine.

I tried... to talk to you.

I was there, you were there.

The most amazing thing happened to me.

Ah, with a winter garden you have a shift in priorities.

Other seasons, it’s about show,

color, variety.

But not winter.

Winter is about form.

Skeletons of trees, the lie of your fence.

Now many people think it’s the best time of the year.

How long does your tinus viburnum flower?

Well, it’ll flower all winter if the ground doesn’t freeze too deep.

‐Do you mulch? ‐Well, I use...

I use my regular compost, which...

Oh, excuse me, I‐‐ I lost my train of thought.

Well, don’t worry about it. We’re... we’re running late anyway.

Um, thank you for the tour, Judge.

Okay, next.

All right, come along, come along.

Careful, don’t dawdle.

Good God. Emily?

So there I am, hovering over my own body.

And I’m watching the tractor’s tire mash me into the ground.

And the blades of the rototiller going

whoo, whoo, up toward my head.

Hold still.

Excellent veins, man.

Anyway, the rototiller rips my scalp

right off my skull.

I’m hearing my mom screaming, meanwhile, no pain.

And then there’s this white light,

just like what you saw.

Now hold that up.

You look pale, buddy.

Anyway, one thing leads to another...

and then I meet the dolphin.

‐The dolphin? ‐He’s waiting for me on the other side.

We swim. We do those dolphin flips.

We talk.

[imitating dolphin sounds]

And then Jake tells me...

‐Jake? ‐The dolphin’s name is Jake.

So Jake goes, "Serge, my man..."

well, obviously this is all in dolphin.

‐Right. ‐"God is love.

"Let the love you feel in your heart

show itself to all you meet."

And, uh...

well, that’s what I try to do, man.

You stay with the light, brother.

I got a bedpan to change, 205.

Wasn’t that a beautiful story?

‐[door closes] ‐What?

‐[knocking on door] ‐Yes.

I lost my nerve back there in your garden.

‐Emily. ‐Hello, Henry.

‐You look the same. ‐Oh.

Have nine toes in the grave. [laughing]

‐It’s been a long time. ‐Over 50 years, God help us.

Oh, here, come on. You should sit down over here.

Thank you.

Well, well, well.

Emily Ridgefield.

Porter.

Oh, yes, yes. I remember.

‐Del Porter. ‐Don’t make any of your cracks.

‐He was a very good husband, as it happened. ‐I’m sure he was.

‐He died then? ‐Last year, heart attack.

I’m sorry.

How did you know, that I was in Rome?

I had no idea.

Until I learned that your garden was on our tour.

I’d lost track of you, you know.

You never did write from college.

Well, you eloped before I had a chance to pick up a pin.

‐Is this your wife? ‐Mm‐hmm.

Mae. She, uh...

she died some years ago.

‐Beautiful woman. ‐Hmm.

So you actually met someone who’s good enough for you.

Not a Harrisburg girl, that’s for certain.

And you? How many proposals you got that summer? Five or six.

It was only four. Johnny Bradshaw proposed twice.

Don’t you remember? You sat in front of me making a list of all of them.

‐No. ‐Virtues, defects.

You treated me terribly, you know?

But not as horribly as you treated them.

I was useless that summer.

You used to say I was the most useless girl in the world.

Well, you were. I’d never seen anything like it.

You were so glad to get away from here,

go to college.

That last night when you came over to say goodbye,

you hung around my porch half the night

doing absolutely nothing except abusing me terribly.

Oh, now, now, now, abusing?

No, no, no, that was a long time ago, Emily.

Yes, well, you must have a lot of things to do.

Oh, no, no, no, my work can wait a while.

What do you say we... we have have a cup of coffee?

I’ll try to keep the abuse to a minimum.

Hmm? All right, let me get my coat.

[cello playing]

[sighs]

[sighs]

‐[dart thuds] ‐Luck.

[laughs]

How many children do you have?

Just one, a boy, but he died.

Anyway, it was a better life here for a family, uh, grass, et cetera.

‐Do you have children? ‐Seven.

Good Lord. Seven?

‐There’s not a whole lot to do in Cleveland. ‐Yeah.

Ah. Thirteen grandchildren.

God Almighty.

You’re a dynasty.

Horrifying, isn’t it? [laughs]

Ah, well, I did my best.

Though I suppose they’re all in therapy now.

‐Isn’t that required by law? ‐[both laugh]

We talk on the phone and they visit,

weekends and holidays.

There were times when they were little that I thought I’d go crazy but...

I look back now and it seems like the best time of my life.

Yes, yes, it must have been quite wonderful.

I always enjoyed talking to you.

Remember how we used to talk for hours

and then suddenly look up and it was 2:00 in the morning?

[laughs softly]

I felt I could say anything to you.

Absolutely anything and you’d understand.

I suppose you saw me for the idiot I was.

No, no, no, you weren’t an idiot.

You just seemed determined to think of yourself that way.

You told me I was afraid to take myself seriously.

I’ve never met anyone quite like you.

I thought I’d die when you left town.

You’re joking, of course.

Stop. Henry, stop, you knew.

No.

No, I didn’t.

Of course you did.

Don’t pretend you didn’t.

But you never said anything.

[scoffs] And have you tease me to death?

It was pathetic.

Got so bad, there were times

when I thought you actually cared for me.

I figured you knew how I felt.

That you were just being tactful.

I‐I guess it doesn’t matter now.

No. No, it doesn’t.

Your turn.

[man, on TV] Who are we? We are men!

‐We are men. [sighs] ‐Men with feelings.

Men who love their wives, men who love their children.

Men who are not afraid to say, "I feel love,

and I am a man and to hell with you if you don’t like it."

‐[audience shouting approval] ‐We are empowered,

‐because love is the power of God. ‐Hmm.

See that? Virtually verbatim what my grandfather said to me in the dream.

"Love is the power of God."

‐Love is the infinite. ‐So?

Sue, this is a men’s movement inspirational tape here.

Serge gave it to me. You know, Mr. Dolphin?

I mean, I almost got sucked in, and then I watched this...

Sucked into what?

Don’t tell me you got sucked in?

Think about it, the banality of the revelation I supposedly had.

God is love.

Something we see on posters with pictures of seagulls.

Its on at least three of my get‐well cards.

You know, you didn’t just supposedly have the experience.

You were clinically dead for three minutes.

Studies have indicated that a near‐death experience is oxygen is cut off

to the brain, causing a general failure of the inhibitory system,

the visual cortex, hence light.

Said deprivation also produces an endorphin rush, causing euphoria.

Combine that with the "denial of death" instinct we carry‐‐

‐Are you saying it didn’t happen? ‐I don’t know.

Maybe there are philosophizing dolphins named Jake.

But you saw your grandfather. You told me that.

I still have dreams about him.

So obviously when I had this supposed‐‐

God, stop saying "supposed." Would you listen to yourself?

A miracle happened. Can you let yourself believe it or you’re just too you?

I’m not even going to ask what that’s supposed to mean.

It doesn’t mean anything. Never mind.

‐What? ‐No.

You know, at least these guys believe in something.

So?

So did Jake the Dolphin.

[sighs]

[playing]

Oh, hi.

Sorry, I don’t want to bug you or anything

if you’re practicing.

Especially not if you’re practicing Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in A, Op. 69.

How’d you know?

Well, I happen to know a little about music.

Actually, I’ve been listening to some CDs on cello stuff lately.

Like a lot.

And as I listened to the Yoyo Ma rendition,

I couldn’t help being struck

by the resonance of his interpretation.

Yeah.

But Rostropovich is still king.

In the scherzo, he’s awesome.

What are those?

Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just, you know,

a little something I did up in my free time.

It’s nothing. Really.

Bach double violin concerto? Second movement.

‐Yeah. ‐That’s one of my favorite pieces.

Mine too, because it’s so romantic.

I mean because of the way there’s two violins,

and their parts sound so beautiful together.

It’s like they are having the most beautiful conversation in the world.

But you wrote here for cello and trombone?

You play trombone?

Only a little. I, uh, dabble, actually.

I’m first chair in the Tri‐City Junior High Orchestra.

Wanna play it?

What? Now?

I don’t have my trombone or anything.

‐You could get it. ‐Okay.

It was in the hall.

[playing]

[laughs]

Fifteen‐two.

Fifteen‐four.

And a pair is six.

Why do you keep looking at that watch for? Three times I saw you.

I was invited somewhere.

O’Cally’s, if you must know.

Oh, you mean then shindig

which they’re throwing for the bus group.

‐Yeah. ‐I tried to wrangle an invitation.

Dot, I think her name was, but she rebuffed me. Who asked you?

Emily Ridgefield.

We knew each other a long time ago.

Why did she rebuff me?

As if she’s such a prize.

‐Maybe I should go. ‐I’d go.

I hear they’re having a smorgasbord.

‐Ah, what’s the point? ‐Creamed herring.

‐That’s the point. ‐You can’t turn back the clock.

And who’d want to anyway?

We’re better off not knowing.

Not knowing what?

I’ve had a very full life, Wambaugh.

I don’t believe in regrets.

Bully for you. What are we talking about?

‐Emily. ‐[Douglas] What Emily?

The Emily who invited me to O’Cally’s, damn it.

All right, all right, no need for profanity.

I feel guilty, if you want to know the truth.

Seeing Emily has stirred up all kinds of feelings.

And then I think of my wife.

She’s dead.

She’s been dead 12 years.

Why am I feeling this way?

Because you’re alive.

[knocking on door]

Busy Bees, Quilting in the Pioneer Village,

Quilting for Beginners.

And The Patch, Quilting for the ’90s,

toothbrush.

The sock was under the bed.

Apparently, I have been polarized. The hospital released me.

What are you giving these to me for?

Well, I just thought you’d want them back, I mean...

since we broke up.

When did we break up?

Oh, come on, tell me the groundwork wasn’t being laid.

"You’re too you"? I know what that means.

I mean if you had said, "You’re too greedy" for example,

or, "You’re too foulmouthed"

or, "You have this really irritating tendency

"to tell long, pointless anecdotes,

and then laugh hysterically." Well, then, okay.

We could do something about that, but being me?

[sighs] For God’s sake, Carter.

When I find the other sock, I’ll put it in the mail.

‐Wait, then... ‐Oh, looks like I’m being me again.

Shut up.

Oh, you have no faith in anything.

The last time we went to a restaurant, we were there for two minutes,

and you’re convinced the waiter forgot our order.

Well...

Your bobbin thread got all tangled up,

and you assumed you broke the sewing machine.

And then you experienced

‐an actual miracle... ‐I had no idea you were so sick of me.

Oh, God, you are so damn insecure.

Well, gee, I wonder why, when my entire being seems to offend you.

You know what really burns me up?

You just let me go on...

You let me go on thinking that you...

had feelings for me, and the whole time...

Had feelings? You won’t even say it.

You thought I loved you.

Why can’t you believe it?

Why can’t you believe anything?

[sighs]

Go out with the Dalai Lama.

[door slams]

‐[indistinct chatter] ‐[laughter]

Chicken. [laughs]

‐Hello. ‐Hello.

You won’t report me if I crash this party, will you?

Oh, I’m so glad you came.

Ah, come on.

Let’s get some food.

‐I could never resist creamed herring. ‐All right.

I took such a long time to forget you, Emily.

‐So why didn’t you say something? ‐I don’t know.

Couldn’t stand to be one of the crowd, I guess.

Ah, I think I was afraid.

Couldn’t stand to seem like a fool, which I was.

And, you see, I thought...

I thought you knew.

I was so sure

you were going to say something, or that I would.

And then you were gone.

And there was Dale.

He was a good man, you know, I came to love him.

He was, well, nobody’s life is ever perfect.

No, your life turns out one way.

It’s just the way things happened.

You look very nice, Emily.

But then you were always beautiful.

You always made fun of me for being vain.

You were vain, but you were also very beautiful.

And you still are.

I think I can tell you that now

without your going on a 10‐day ego trip.

Don’t bank on it.

Okay, so I’m eating this sandwich, right? She’s walking through the kitchen.

And I’m like, "How was the Tri‐City High concert?"

And she’s like, "Great." And I’m like, "Good night."

And she’s like, "Good night."

‐So? ‐Well, it was the way she said "good night."

Like we both knew that after tonight, we would never see each other again.

So how could it be a good night when it was like,

"Good night."

‐I guess‐‐ ‐Or maybe she was just being polite.

I mean, if somebody says good night to you, you have to say good night back.

It’s like a biological function.

Zack,

if you really want to know how she feels about you,

why don’t you just ask her?

I can’t just do that, I mean,

what if she totally rejects me?

Look, I could probably help you out.

I’ll go talk to her.

Oh, God. Don’t do that, I...

Well, I mean unless you do it in a really unobvious way.

[knocking on door]

Oh, hi.

I was just, uh...

Oh, if you were sleeping‐‐

No, no, I...

So I just had this one question.

This is kind of weird.

You’ve had a good time here and stuff?

I’m... I guess I haven’t seen you much.

Well, you’re in high school and everything.

You’re still in ninth grade?

It’s so lame.

I’d figured you for the... Well, I mean,

it just seems like you like school, because you...

Yeah, a geek right?

[laughs] No, not a geek.

Look at you. You’re...

"Geeky" is definitely not the word.

Oh, well...

Hey, you wanna sit down or something?

So...

I just mean ninth grade’s lame, because...

[sighs] I don’t know.

My mom always says I have an old soul, you know?

Ninth graders are like...

they’re like obsessed with their zits or something,

and it’s like, grow up.

Well, you’re a different kind of person.

I just sometimes...

wish I had someone I could really talk to.

I know.

Like, with hockey.

A lot of my friends play and stuff, but...

It’s not the same as for me.

‐For me it’s sort of like, uh... ‐Your destiny?

Yeah.

I totally believe in destiny.

Me too.

["Come Rain or Come Shine" by Ray Charles playing]

♪ I’m gonna love you ♪

♪ Like no one’s loved you ♪

♪ Come rain or come shine ♪

♪ High as a mountain... ♪

Emily. Emily, I have to tell you something.

My feet are killing me.

[both laughing]

Shut up and dance.

♪ I guess when you met me ♪

♪ It was just One of those... ♪

[gasps]

Hi, Matthew.

‐How are you doing? ‐I thought you were asleep.

So how’d it go?

Do you think she likes me?

’Cause, you know, I really kinda think she does.

You know, up close she’s really not that good‐looking.

She has these kind of funny eyebrows, like in here.

There’s that whorly thing.

She said she only goes for Korean guys.

[both shouting]

Get off of me, Zack! Ow!

‐Stop! ‐Jerk!

‐I hate you! You lied to me! ‐Let go of me! Come on!

[Matthew] Aah! Get off!

‐[Zack] I hate you! ‐[Matthew] Zack, Dad!

What the hell’s going on?

Zack, get off. Zack, get off. Get off.

[both grunting]

‐[Matthew] Get off of me! ‐[Zack] I saw you!

[indistinct yelling]

‐[Zack] You lied to me! ‐[Matthew] Stop it!

[Zack] I saw you kiss her!

‐[screaming] ‐[Jimmy] Damn it, Zack.

[Matthew] What’s wrong with you, Zack?

‐[sighs] ‐Liar.

[indistinct chatter]

It’s the man we ran over. The one who’s dead.

Dead for three minutes, huh? You must have a few stories to tell.

Stories about what? Dead is dead.

Did you ever have a general anesthesia?

That’s what dead is.

So Dot’s right.

Dead is dead.

I‐I really don’t feel qualified

to issue a categoric‐‐

Told you. Let’s get on the bus.

Excuse me, sir.

There’s just one thing that I’ve been wondering. Can I ask you?

Sure.

It’s just that I’ve read about life after life,

and I don’t know what to think.

But you were dead for three minutes.

And sometimes people who were dead like that have experiences

and they meet people they used to know.

You didn’t happen to meet people like that, did you?

What makes you ask?

Oh, it’s so silly. You’ll laugh, it’s so silly.

But there is somebody I’d like to say something to.

[sighs] Who is it?

This person that you want to talk to?

My little boy, Teddy.

You see, I’m... just a foolish woman.

You had a son who died?

It was so long ago.

He was four. Meningitis.

What is it that you wanted to say to him?

You see, I’d stay with him nights in the hospital,

because he was afraid of the dark.

And...

he used to like to have me bring him a cup of water.

‐My mother used to do that for me when I was sick. ‐Yes.

Well, things got very bad.

He’d come and go, and...

And one night, when I went out to get his water...

I...

fell into a conversation with a nurse.

And by the time I got back...

I just kept thinking,

he must have been so thirsty when he died.

And he must have thought I’d forgotten all about him.

No, no, no. He couldn’t possibly have thought that.

He must have wondered where I’d gone.

And he must have been so thirsty.

And he was alone.

If I could just see him again,

if I could just tell him,

that I would never have forgotten to get him

his cup of water.

And I would never have allowed him to die all alone.

And so I just wanted to ask you,

because you were dead for three minutes,

do you believe that I’ll ever have the chance

to see him and talk to him again?

Yes.

Based on my experience, yes, I believe you will.

That’s all I wanted to know.

[sighs]

‐[woman] After you. ‐[man] All right.

I hope I didn’t dance your feet off last night.

[chuckles]

As far as I can tell, they’re still attached to my ankles.

So you’re on to Portage.

Some sort of god‐awful, gourd festival.

I’ve enjoyed seeing you, Emily.

And I, you.

I’ve thought of you over the years

so many times.

‐I... ‐I loved you then.

I know.

Well...

Maybe you’ll come to Cleveland to visit someday.

Maybe I will.

I’ll never forget you, Henry.

We’ve gone over 50 years.

Seems we haven’t forgotten each other yet.

Come here.

[bus starts]

[knock on door]

[both sigh]

I found the other sock. It was behind the door.

I just spoke to this woman who...

Rationally, I don’t know if what I said was...

Maybe I just said it out of compassion, but...

compassion, hope,

who’s to say they’re not some form of the truth?

I spent my life as a scientist,

so what tools do I have besides reason?

Sentimentality, you know, can lead to all sorts of

horrible injustice, witch hunts, religious intolerance.

But Einstein said the most beautiful thing

we can experience is the mysterious.

It is the source of all true art and science.

I’m really confused.

I know I love you.

[sighs] Anyway...

here’s your sock.

[both laugh]

She’s gone.

[sighs]

You’ll forget her...

after a while.

[theme music playing]

[theme music ends]