Prologue.
Scenes from last episode (Pyramids on the Nile).
Boston by night.
Episode begins where the last one ended. AMB is walking.
AMB and RR's flat.
AMB is coming in.
RR: Just breathe deep !
AMB: Don't tell me to breathe deep, I am not in labor ! Do you realize what I have done ?
RR: So ? You kissed him ! It's not like you made love, it's not like you lied about it under oath...
AMB: Renee, there is no bigger betrayal than a kiss !
RR: And, how do you figure that ?
AMB: Sex is physical ! Sometimes it's even primal, a raging penis, and a burning... (RR giggles when AMB can not find the word) Never mind ! But a kiss... a, a... a kiss... The reason we probably didn't rip each other's clothes off is because there's more intimacy, more emotion, more connection in a kiss than any other physical act and we wanted to stay right there, in that, that... place. It was so... (flashback to the kiss) so... so...
RR (back to present): So what ? (door bell rings)
AMB: Who... ? (she goes up to answer the door, looks at the peephole) Ow... (she opens - GB is there, looking very angry) Greg ! Hi !
GB: I sat in that restaurant for over an hour. What's the deal ? (he gets in)
AMB: Umm, I... Well, I, I just had to come back here and lie... lye down. Wow, the time, I'm sorry... Cramps.
GB: I get two nights off a week, if I'm lucky ! I don't like being stood up !
AMB: OK, Greg, there is a reason...
RR (coming in): No there's not !
AMB: Renee...
RR: Don't you dare give him the reason ! We're women ! We're against reasons !
GB: Excuse me ?
AMB: What the... ?
RR: And that's what makes us mysterious. It works, doesn't it ? It got you to come right to her doorstep ! Right where she wants you (she pushes GB to the living room) Now go sit yourself down ! (she grabs AMB by the ear and takes her to the lobby)
AMB: Ow, you're pulling my ear !
RR (letting go): You're not going to tell him !
AMB: He already knows about my history with Billy anyway !
RR: Fine ! You're gonna be history with him too if he learns what happened !
AMB: So I should just say...
RR: Say nothing !
AMB: What kind of a way is that to begin a relationship ? Dishonesty...
RR: Every relationship starts with dishonesty, you dope ! It sets a stage for marriage.
AMB: That is ridiculous even for you !
RR: If you have any remaining hope of being with this guy, you can not tell him that you were kissing (almost shouting, with a big smile) Billy ! (AMB turns around horrified: BT is there...)
GB (getting up): What are you doing here ?
RR: He's here to see me.
GB: What ?
BT: We're planning Ally's surprise birthday party.
GB: Gee, I hope you pull it off !
BT: Oh, yeah. (looking at AMB) Surprise !
AMB: Wop dee doo...
Opening credits.
RR and AMB's flat.
RR is talking to GB in the background.
BT: You told Renee ?
AMB: She's not gonna tell anybody !
BT: Ally !
AMB: Billy, this was a big thing, who do you want me to talk to about it, Georgia ?
BT: How about me ?
AMB: You ! You're what I'm talking about !
RR: Hey, hey, kids... Leave me alone with Greg and I might start singing ! And besides, it's my New Year's resolution not to mess with somebody else's other (AMB and BT get high and thick eyebrows)
AMB: We've settled on my surprise party, OK ? Billy, you can go
BT: Ally...
AMB: Billy...
GB (pushed out by RR): What is going on ?
AMB: Cramps, I want everybody to go, I... Can we hook up tomorrow ?
GB: Ally...
AMB (pushing both of them out): Great, bye, Billy, I'll kiss you later (GB and BT turn around) See... you later. The Nytol, it goes right to my head... (she closes the door behind them and stays with her head stuck to the door) I have Tracy on speed dial. Would you mind calling her ?
RR: At night ?
AMB: She said if ever there was an emergency...
Tracy's office. The same night.
AMB is wearing the same dress.
DT: You kissed him ? Fabulous !
AMB: What, fabulous ? Are you listening ? While falling in love with the new guy, I kiss the old guy, who happens to be married. I could still love him, not to mention his wife is a friend of mine !
DT (cynically): Oh, right, Georgia, there's the crusher !
AMB: How can you not take this seriously ? I committed adultery. I betrayed a friend. I'm an awful person.
DT: Ally, every patient who comes into this office thinks that he or she is the world's biggest loser. For the first time, I agree.
AMB: Tracy...
DT: You're a baby ! You come in here crying, oh, I kissed him, oh my guilt, oh my conscience ! Baby ! You probably still poop green ! Here, have a rattle ! (she throws one at her)
AMB: Aren't doctors supposed to suck up and make patients feel good so they keep coming back long after you hike the rates ?
DT: OK, let's talk about Greg. Is he good in bed ?
AMB: I haven't slept with him. (DT uses the remote to have the laughs fill the room. AMB gets up and takes the remote and shuts it off)
DT: Can I be blunt ?
AMB (back to her seat - cynically): No, just continue to kid glove me !
DT: You got the cute preppie thing going, that innocent "I'm looking for a soul mate ho can read Dickens to me over the phone" and I understand that, and I try not to judge you by my own vomit. But deep deep deep deep down, we both know what you are.
AMB: What ?
DT: You're a slut. The way to your heart is up your fallopian tube.
AMB: I am not a slut !
DT: Come on Ally, when you watch the nature channel, when you see the snake swallow the thing four times its size, ever wonder why you reach for Bounty the quicker picker-upper ? You love sex, a man physically intertwining with you, you become one, connected, sliming genitalia, you find it meaningful !
AMB (getting up and starting to leave): I... I think...
DT (picking up a remote that makes the couch go further so AMB ends up sitting again - the couch then regains its original position): You like Greg, you're afraid you like Greg, but you're afraid of falling in love again, so you're looking for some kind of guardrail to reach out and grab on to. And it's Billy, you cook ! I can't wait to tell people !
AMB (getting up again): Tracy, if you... (afraid the couch is gonna move again)
DT: Look, could be Greg, could be Billy, Billy, Greg. Here's the thing: you can't know if Greg is the right guy for you until you know if you're sexually compatible with him. So I want you to go home tonight, I want you to honk his horn and call me in the morning. Oh, and if you see a blimp on the way, ignore it.
RR and AMB's flat.
They're on the couch.
AMB: Can you believe it ? I don't know what's worse, me and my problems or the people I go to to fix them !
RR: Ally, she does have a point.
AMB: Excuse me ?
RR: Well, if you're looking for a truly informed decision, here's...
AMB: You're saying that I should audition the guy in bed ?
RR: I am saying that sex is a big part of a relationship...
AMB: Sex is the symptom of a relationship !
RR: Who the hell said that ?
AMB: What, you would never marry a man without sleeping with him first ?
RR: Abso - you know what - lutely not ! If it isn't good...
AMB: Well, I am not about to sleep with Greg just to find out how good he is, plus which I already know, (BT enters the flat without them noticing) You can tell how a guy makes love by the way he kisses, and... Ah ! (she screams when she sees BT for the first time)
RR: Did you already give him a key ?
BT: The door was open. Ally, we need to talk.
AMB's room.
BT closes the door. They stay a long time without talking.
AMB: Well, good, I'm glad we cleared the air, are you gonna go now ?
BT: Ally...
AMB: Billy, there is too much swirling around in my head to think clearly. Anything we have to say to each other, let's... let's talk later. Right now I think you should leave Georgia... leave, leave here, here, leave here ! Damn it !
BT: We have to confront the truth of what just happened and why it happened.
AMB: Truth ? Truth ? OK, what is it ?
BT: I don't know.
AMB: Did you come here to tell me something, or did you come here for me to tell you something ?
BT: I'm not sure. What happened was the most wonderful... the worst thing I ever did.
AMB: I don't think we should analyze this tonight...
BT: Yeah, this will be clearer tomorrow...
AMB: Much !
BT: Cause this was either a mistake that happened in some moment of...
AMB: Weakness !
BT: Yeah, or it wasn't.
AMB: That's exactly how I see it, one or the other !
BT: And tomorrow...
AMB: It will be clearer !
BT: Yeah. Good night.
AMB: Good night.
BT (at the door, turning around): See you...
AMB: At the office.
BT: Right. (he leaves, AMB kicks her bed)
In front of AMB's apartment.
AMB coming down the stairs of her building. She is hearing music ("Last Night" by the Mar Keys). when she takes steps; she takes one step, stops, again, again, and she finally decides to go, then stops in the middle of a crossing when she hears the first words "Last night, Oh, no !".
TD: Hey, you're awake lady ?
She goes again, shaking her head to get rid of the music.
Cage & Fish. Elevator.
AMB starts walking out and the music starts again. She closes her eyes to get rid of the music, and when she opens them she screams.
AMB: Oh, Georgia ! Hey, hi !
GT: Hey ? That's all you have to say to me, hey, hi ?
AMB: Is there a pro... problem ?
GT (really angry): You dumped the four interrogatories on me ! That's your case, Ally !
AMB: Oh, oh, well I didn't dump them all. I just wanted you to answer the sections on the medical cause you deposed the doctor. Remember ?
GT (not angry anymore, rather sad): Oh !
AMB: But if there's a problem, I can...
GT: No, no, I guess I can do that part... (she leaves - AMB sees a knife in GT's back as she walks away)
AMB walks (music). She enters her office and without looking inside starts bumping her head on the door.
AMB's office.
AMB: It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss, it was only a... (door opens and hurt her) Ow !
EV (at the door): Oops ! Are you free for Billy ?
AMB: Well he's not free for me so what difference does it make... ? Why ?
EV: He's here. I meant to tell you on the way in.
AMB: Umm, umm, (turning around, to BT) I knew you were there. (to EV) I knew he was there.
BT (walking towards the door, to EV): Could you excuse us ?
EV: Why, what have you done ?
BT and AMB: Elaine !
EV: (points to AMB) Snap and (points to BT) ish ! (BT closes the door).
AMB: So ?
BT: Are things any clearer ?
AMB: Well, are they clearer for you ?
BT: I asked you. (pause) I see.
AMB: Good ! (pause) You see what ?
BT: Obviously you think it was wrong, even if I were interested in... going down a road, it's not open to me. I'm sure you're right.
AMB: Hold on just a second ! You think I'd let you get away with that ?
BT: With what ?
AMB: You want me to say it was wrong. You want me to hold up the stop sign so you can walk away feeling hey, I felt up my heart and took my shot, well you can forget that, Billy. The road is open. Let's go !
BT: You don't fool me ! You're the one who regrets the things that you don't do, you need for me to say not a chance, cause the idea that maybe you backed off from following your heart...
AMB: I'm not backing off !
BT: Right ! I know you too well, Ally !
AMB (getting angry): I've loved you my whole life, I've never loved anybody but you ! (in her mind) Take that !
BT (getting angry too): And you're the only woman I can see myself growing old with, so I guess we better just go for it !
AMB: I agree ! Kiss me again !
BT: You liar !
AMB: You're the liar ! You're weak and you don't even have the guts to make the decision and you want me to...
BT (at the same time): You're the one who talks about Georgia, you're the one bothered, you wouldn't go down that path in a hundred years...
AMB: I'm standing right here ! And I'm falling for you more and more with every second that passes so you'd better nip this in the bud right now and I am not kidding !
BT: How about we meet at your apartment, lunch time ?
AMB: Why ?
BT: Cause it's true, Ally. I can't stop thinking about you and I can't go another day without making love to you.
Tracy's office.
AMB: It's a trick, I know he's bluffing.
DT: That's what men do, they bluff women into bed and then they go through with it, the bastards !
AMB: Would you please listen to me ?
DT: I am, I told you to have sex with Greg, I'm so confused !
AMB: I haven't got around to Greg yet ! What, what if... it's not a bluff, what if Billy really does want to make love ?
DT: What if ?
AMB: I know he really doesn't, I just know. He wants to be able to live the rest of his life with Georgia, saying to himself at least I tried, I know him, I know him, I know him. He wants to be able to have his cake and not eat me... It ! It ! This is all a bluff.
DT: Suppose he really does want to go through with it.
AMB: I won't. (DT looks at her) Of course, I won't !
DT: Then why are you so afraid to just tell him that ?
AMB: Because if I'm going to second-guess myself miserably ever after I want him to too.
DT: Umm, umm, or are you afraid you might say yes ?
AMB: Never. I'm sure I wouldn't.
Cage & Fish. Elevator.
GT and AMB.
AMB: Georgia, hey !
GT: Hey ! Listen Ally, I'm sorry I jumped on you about those interrogatories, it's just... stuff.
AMB: Oh, forget it ! Anything I can help you with ?
GT: No. (AMB sees the elevator beating a heartbeat faster and faster - elevator opens finally) Well, see you.
AMB: Yep. (GT walks away with a knife in her back again - AMB doesn't get out of the elevator)
RF (passing in front of the elevator): Ally ? You're getting off ?
AMB: What ? Oh, yeah, yeah. Sorry. (music starts again when she walks - to EV) Is Billy in there ?
EV: No.
AMB (opening her door, GB is in her office, to herself loud): Of course !
GB: Ally ? You're going through some kind of crisis ?
AMB: Does it show ?
GB: Umm, umm. What's the matter ?
AMB: Greg, it's personal. And I would really like to work it out on my own before... I know that this must be really frustrating for you to hear, but is... is it possible for you to understand without understanding ?
GB: Sure, but I am here to help.
AMB: I know that.
GB: You can't walk through life alone, Ally.
AMB: That isn't the problem at the moment.
GB: I'm gonna take your cue, OK ?
AMB: Thank you, you are so great... (they kiss)
GB: Talk tonight ?
AMB: Sure. (GB open the door, waits for EV to enter with a file, then leaves)
EV: (putting down the file) Ally. (just as she reaches the door) What's wrong ?
AMB: What ? Oh, Greg. He's really wonderful, isn't he ?
EV: Yeah...
AMB: A woman would be crazy not to...
EV: Are you trying to talk yourself into loving him ?
AMB: It's not that.
EV: What is it ?
AMB: What it is, is like it always is, Elaine. I don't want what I want, and I want what I don't want. And to complicate it even more right now, I don't know what I want or... don't want...
EV: Maybe you should... well, see a therapist ?
AMB: I already am. She told me that I should sleep with Greg to find out if we're physically compatible.
EV: You haven't slept with him yet ? Hello !
AMB: What... why is that so damn important ? Sex is sex ! Sometimes it's better, sometimes it's not. What do you really learn by taking a little test drive ?
EV: Ally, you're not serious !
AMB: What does it say about a woman to...
RF (entering): Excuse me ?
AMB: Richard, would a man ever judge a relationship on how good the sex is ?
RF: Of course ! True love means shorter fractory time. Fishism. Have either of you seen Billy ?
EV: I think he left for lunch.
AMB: Lunch ! Lunch ! It's lunch time already ? Oh, I, I, it's just that I hate when it sneaks up on you !
AMB leaves and runs for her place - when she gets there he's not on the steps - but then she sees him getting out of his car - they look at each other.
AMB's flat.
BT and AMB enter.
AMB: Can I get you anything, coffee... ?
BT: No. Thanks.
AMB: Umm, for the last two years I have imagined this scenario in my head a least a hundred times, and it always felt so romantic ! But it doesn't feel romantic now, it feels...
BT: Terrifying.
AMB: Did you... really come here to... ?
BT: Did you ?
AMB: No. So there, you win. You don't have to punish yourself for not taking a dare, you took it.
BT: If I wanted to take a chance, Ally, I wouldn't accept no for an answer. (coming closer to her) I'm not gonna pretend that I'm certain of anything...
AMB: Well, for God's sake, Billy, if you're not certain, then, then...
BT: You've said you played the scene out a hundred times... How does it end ?
AMB slowly reaches up to caress his lips and kisses him - they kiss for a little while, then AMB stops - she is crying.
AMB: We get to there and then, I had to start to cry. (she cries a lot more now
).
Tracy's office.
DT: So you didn't ?
AMB: We didn't have sex, no.
DT: None ? What about the democratic definition ?
AMB: All we did was kiss, once. And then my pea-size brain went into panic mode...
DT: OK, first things first, you gotta dump Greg.
AMB: Why ?
DT: Well, this is obviously about you and Billy, whether the two of you are right for each other. You haven't even muddled up with Greg, you got to clear that deck !
AMB: What about what you said, what if Greg is really the guy and I'm afraid of falling in love so on some unconscious level I'm looking to screw that up, and I'm grabbing on to Billy, I mean what if, like you said, this is really about me loving Greg ?
DT: Oh ! Bugger ! I forgot about that ! This is what happens when I don't take notes !
AMB: Damn it, this isn't funny anymore, do you even get the concept of love ? You probably time relationships with a stick of gum and spit when the flavor is gone, it goes a little deeper than that ! And I'm beginning to wonder if you do !
DT: You think I don't know love, Ally ? (she puts her glasses off) Greatest love of my life, I've sent him away, eleven years, three months and two days ago.
AMB: I'm sorry.
DT: He asked me if I believed in immortality, asked if I was afraid I'd burn if I got too close to happiness I remember it as if it was last night...
AMB: It was last night, on cable. That's what Paul Henreid said to Bette Davis in "Now, Voyager".
DT (she laughs): Oh, bugger, you saw it ! Oh well !
AMB: I am in the biggest crisis of my life and you lived in a line from a movie !
DT: All right !
AMB: No, no, Tracy, please, take this seriously !
DT (she puts her glasses back on): I need to see you and Billy together.
AMB: What ?
DT: I've only heard your side. I need to hear his.
Cage & Fish.
AMB is back. EV is taking care of flowers.
EV: Ally, these came from Greg. I opened the card, just to see if there was any special watering instructions. It says "Thinking of you, Yours Greg". That says it all, doesn't it ? Or does it only tell half the story ?
AMB: What is that supposed to mean ?
EV: Ask her (AMB turns around and sees LW).
LW: I'm penile psychic. Something's up in this office.
AMB: Well it's not me, thank you. (LW growls and goes away)
EV: Ally, really, is everything OK ?
AMB: Everything is never OK with me, why all of a sudden does it matter ?
AMB looks at BT going around the office, talking to people, NP, GT looks also at BT - VS is singing "Look out for the cheater". BT stops in front of GT.
BT: Hey !
GT: Hi !
BT: Everything OK ?
GT: Sure. Do You ?
BT: Fine.
GT: Good.
Unisex.
JC is flossing. GT enters and swirls around the mirror so she can see him.
GT: Hi John.
JC: Georgia.
GT: John, how are things with you and Nelle ?
JC: Fine.
GT: But you two aren't dating ?
JC: No.
GT: Do you know if she's seeing somebody else ?
JC: Not to my knowledge, why ?
LW gets out of a stall, followed by RF looking at his finger. LW leaves.
RF (to JC and GT): Bygones.
Tracy's office.
AMB and BT on the couch. AMB has one of her hands (closed) in front of her mouth, her thumb nail against her teeth.
BT: I can't believe I'm even here.
DT: Well, you are here, so, let's talk about it, why did you kiss her ?
BT: Look, my private life is my private life !
DT: Is that what you tell Georgia ?
BT: I may have a duty to Georgia, I don't have one to you.
DT: And how about Ally ? Any duty ?
BT: That's between me and her !
DT: And her... came to me...
BT: And she shouldn't have !
DT: Such anger ! Is that rage, passion, guilt ? It comes in so many forms these days !
BT: It's all of that, it's rage, it's anger and it's guilt !
DT: Left out passion.
BT: Why the hell am I here ?
DT: Yes why, maybe you're as confused as Ally over this, but the point is, you are here, you did come. So let's make it count ! How are things with Georgia these days ?
BT: This has nothing to do with her !
DT: You kissed another woman and it has nothing to do with your wife ?
AMB: Of course it does. How are things between you two... ? I mean, is that what's going on, your kissing me was a symptom of your problems with her, and... Cause if that's it...
BT: I think you can give me a little more credit than that, can't you ?
DT: Let's skip ahead a little, not just because I'm bored, but because I think it might help. Show me how you kissed Ally.
BT: What ?
AMB: Excuse me ?
DT: Last night, show me, I want to see how you kissed her, I promise I won't touch myself.
BT (to AMB): This is the person nurturing your mental health ?
DT: Just kiss her ! I wanna see...
BT: No, what possible purpose will it serve for me...
DT: There's a difference between lust and love...
BT (so angry he jumps to his feet): It wasn't lust ! It wasn't lust !
DT: OK. Maybe we really do have something here.
BT: I'm leaving.
DT: Great, run, seems to work for you.
BT (closing back the door): What was that ?
DT: You run, that's what you do. (AMB nods in agreement)
BT: OK, Tracy, I'll confront the truth of all of this, but first, you tell me what makes you equipped to even help, I don't care how many damn books you've read or how many clever quips you can try out, I wanna know whenever you were in the middle of anything like this !
DT: By this, you mean love, confusion, or just your basic infidelity ?
BT: If you've never stood where we stand, don't you dare pretend to know who and what we are ! Let's hear your credentials on a human level.
AMB: And don't quote a movie.
DT: OK. I'm not happy. And when I see people that have a chance at it, I get impatient when they lie to themselves. And I do know a lot about running, Billy. There was one time, I should have run, and I didn't, and it involved a married man, so if you want personal advice, I think that you two should...
BT: So you're letting your personal history affect your professional history ?
DT (angry): You asked for my personal history ! You all think that I'm so silly over this theme song business, you wanna know how I came up with it ? There's this song, that I used to sing to myself, just so I could... (she starts singing) Sometimes I feel I've got to / Run away / I've got to / Get away / From the pain that you drive to the heart of me / (she reaches for the remote, starts the music, and grabs a mike) The love we share / It seemed to go nowhere / And I've lost my right / Cause I toss and turn / I can't sleep at night / (she shuts the blinds, puts on some spotlights) Once I ran to you / Now I run from you / This tainted love you've given / I gave you all a girl could give you / Take my tears and that's not really / Oh, tainted love / Tainted love... (BT unplugs the whole thing, the blinds open again, no music - Tracy keeps singing a little bit and sits down). Don't touch me please / I can not ...
BT: I guess we should take comfort that this at least is giving somebody a little joy. I committed an act of infidelity last night. Maybe you don't think that's much of an offense. I do.
DT: Yes you do, don't you Billy. And as much as I admire your values, they are very unproductive to this process.
AMB: Why ?
DT: This value system is forcing him to attach meaning to this kiss. Heaven forbid he could have betrayed Georgia just because he felt like it !
AMB: Excuse me ?
DT: Ally, I'm blown to leave a footprint on your romantic naiveté, but sometimes, when husbands stray, it's when loneliness and horniness collide, period. There is no deeper meaning. When it comes to forsaking good judgment, there is nothing more effective than the penis.
BT: How dare you trivialize this ?
DT: That's my point, you can't trivialize it, can you Billy ? You can't conceive of the notion that you could be unfaithful on a whim !
BT: You don't even know what you're talking about !
AMB: Yes, she does. If there's one thing you and I believe in more than everybody I know, it's monogamy.
DT: For you to be unfaithful, you need to believe it was because of something more meaningful than sex. Well, was it ? Do you really love Ally, Billy, is that it ? Or do you need to find some higher justification to acquit yourself of the lowest low ? The biggest thing in this room right now, is Georgia. Maybe that's how it should be. But if you two really want to answer the other question, whether you two are really right for each other, then for that question we can not let guilt be the issue. Now I want you to consider this, and only this (she takes both their hands and make them hold each other). Is that the picture, or not ?
Cut to later, BT and AMB still holding hands, both have their eyes shut.
DT: OK, now we're at 60, it's a Sunday afternoon, what might you and Ally be doing ?
BT: Maybe we're playing with grand kids...
DT: How many do you have ?
BT and AMB: Seven.
BT: Or maybe we're just talking, I see us as always being able to talk to each other.
DT: And what does Ally look like, Billy, picture her.
BT: Well, she's had some work done (AMB opens her eyes, DT motions for her to shut them again)
DT: What kind of work ?
BT: Well, face, lips...
AMB (really angry now): Wait a second !
DT: Ally !
AMB: No, no, no, no, time out. Why would I have my lips done ?
BT: Well...
AMB: I have perfect lips !
DT: There's nothing wrong with a little collagen...
AMB (angry): These are my real lips !
BT: She didn't say they weren't !
DT: They do look done.
AMB: Hey, hey ! Now why would I have a face lift or my lips done ? As if I would ever have cosmetic surgery !
BT: Are you kidding ?
AMB: What is that supposed to mean ?
BT: Nothing.
AMB: No, no, never mind nothing, what does it mean ?
BT: Vanity's a part of you, you need to look good, are you going to pretend...
AMB: I don't need to look good, I just do. I'm good-looking by nature, this is not a personality flaw !
BT: OK...
AMB: No, not OK, that's what you do, you just turtle ! I wanna hear this !
BT: What about when you considered having your breasts done ?
AMB: That was a long time ago, when it was a fashion thing, when full body was in, and it had nothing to do with my own vanity !
DT: May I ask...
BT and AMB: No !
AMB: How could you be attracted to somebody who you think is so concerned...
BT: My attraction to you has nothing to do...
AMB: So what would possess you to stay interested in a woman who worries so much about her looks to the point...
BT: Now that makes a lot of sense, I fall in love with a narcissist but I lose interest when I see she's vain ?
AMB: Now I'm a narcissist, I'm a narcissist now !
DT: I think he means you've always been one.
BT and AMB: Quiet !
AMB: Now here's a question: if you think I'm that vain, if you think I'm that self-absorbed, why the hell did you fall in love with me ?
BT: It happened when I was 8 ! I was too young to know better ! (pause) That didn't come out how I meant.
AMB: Well, you know better now, Billy, I guess. (she starts to leave)
DT: Ally ! (AMB slams a door) Closet ! (AMB gets out) I like walk-ins, now come back and sit !
AMB: No, this crisis has been solved, and...
DT: We haven't solved anything ! This isn't an answer, it's a fight. And you can't just walk out now, he's winning.
AMB: Assuming I'm the self centered, face-lifted, collagen injected person you think I am, what's the point ?
DT: Good question, is there a point ? You do seem a little out, Billy, I mean, what's the deal with vanity, we're all vain, why do you find it so threatening ?
BT: I don't know.
AMB: Yes you do. Tell me.
BT: It just goes to... You're never satisfied, not with yourself, not with... I know this may sound hypocritical for me to say it, but...
AMB: What ?
BT: I worry that as much as you're a person who believes in monogamy you won't be able to stay monogamous.
AMB: What ? You don't think I could be monogamous ?
BT: I didn't say I didn't think !
AMB and DT: Yes you did !
BT: I said I worried whether !
AMB: Why ?
BT: I think you have and always will have self-esteem issues. And if you don't get the necessary affirmations from your husband, you might go some place else to look for it.
AMB: Billy, if you had shared that little insight with me, you would have saved ourselves a lot of time and a lot of pain. Because you could have sailed to Michigan just on the wind of me blowing you off. (BT gets up, so DT gets up in between them).
DT: OK, let's take five minutes here so we can think about what's been said, so that we can continue without defensiveness, and most of all, so I can pee. Five minutes ! (she leaves)
Cut to later - same settings.
BT: I didn't accuse you...
AMB: Not much !
BT: What I was saying...
AMB: The idea that you could think that I would be unfaithful ! Talk about projection ! You're the married man fooling around, you're the cheater, not me !
BT: Slow down !
AMB: I won't slow down !
DT: Ally !
AMB: When I was looking at you around the office earlier today, the song would play, Look out for the cheater ! Look out for the... You, you, you know what Billy, you know what ?
BT: No, tell me what !
AMB: It's you that has the problem ! You say that you worry about me going someplace else to find affirmation, why would I have to, Billy ? Why wouldn't I be getting it from you, why is that Billy ? What you're really worried about is that you wouldn't be able to give it forever ! It's you that has the trouble with monogamy, as was evidence last night when you were sucking away on my (insists on the next word) natural lips...
BT: Yeah, that's me Ally, I just go around kissing people...
AMB: You asked Tracy if she knew love, I'm not sure you do ! Cause I'll tell you this, love more than anything else is about respect ! Respect ! And the way you just described me, the way you think I am ? That wasn't respect !
BT: Oh and you're the expert...
AMB: It all makes sense, you don't love me ! You never loved me ! And that explains why you left me with one look at Georgia, one look ! And you didn't even take the time to smell her !
BT: We are talking about last night !
AMB: We are talking about you being unfaithful ! Like you were last night, like you were to me four years ago...
BT: And what were you last night ?
AMB: The one getting killed, as always !
BT: Oh, yes that's you ! Always the victim, last night just happened to you !
AMB: I was stupid, like I've always been stupid to think...
BT: To think what ? That I loved you ? I did love you, problem is, you couldn't recognize it !
AMB: Oh I couldn't...
BT: No, you never did, you never will !
AMB: I knew you loved me !
BT: And did it just lift you up ! Love will always be wasted on you, Ally, you'll always be unhappy, that's why I left ! (pause and tone goes down) I wasn't gonna waste...
AMB: Love is wasted on me ?
BT: Yes. It is.
AMB (crying): Umm...
BT: You may go through your good times, dance with your unicorns, but we both know the place you'll always go back to though, and I don't want... If we stayed together... You don't give yourself credit for how strong you are, I couldn't have pulled out of your world, you would have pulled me into yours.
AMB: Do you... Do you really think that ?
BT: Yes.
AMB: Then, then why... last night... why did you... ?
BT: Because... I love you.
AMB: You just don't wanna waste it. (she starts to leave)
BT: Now I don't know.
AMB: I think you do. You're wrong about one thing. I'm gaining on happiness and I'm gonna get there one day.
BT: Well, I hope I'm there to see it.
AMB: If you are, it'll be from a distance. I love you. Good bye.
She leaves and shut the door.
Ending credits.
