7th Heaven s03e19 Episode Script
The Voice
Come in, Mr.
Steineger, please.
Oh, you can call me Rudy, Reverend.
Simon always calls me Rudy.
- Okay, I'll call you Rudy, then.
- Yeah, he's a great kid.
He's one of the few kids in his junior high that always says hi to me.
Yeah, he's a good kid, Simon.
You know, to most kids, a custodian is almost invisible.
- Not that I can blame them.
- So how can I help you, Rudy? Look, Reverend, I'm not much of a religious man.
The truth is, it's been a long time since I set foot inside a church.
It's all right.
I'm glad you decided to set foot inside one today.
Can I speak freely without offending you or the church? Absolutely.
How do you know that there's a God? Well, I-- I-- I suppose that's very complicated, and yet a very simple question at the same time.
I know that God exists because I feel his presence every day of my life.
Do you ever talk to God? Of course.
God's answered my prayers many times.
I mean, has God ever talked to you? Well, I guess you could say God talks to me every day of my life.
No, no, no.
I mean, talk out loud like? Why, Rudy? - Has God talked to you out loud? - Yep.
Did it again day before yesterday.
And what did he say? He told me to talk to you.
I'm heading out.
- Shana? - No, we both have finals.
I'm spending the evening at the library, but I told Shana that I was studying at home, so if she calls You need a hand with anything? No.
That's not what I need at all.
I just need to shave a second or two off my two-bottle dash.
Ma, it's for you.
- Hello.
- Annie, how are you? - How's everything going? - Patricia, things couldn't be better.
Is there someone in the room with you? Not anymore.
I need to do something.
I'm losing it.
Well, got any idea what that something is? No.
All I know is that it doesn't involve anyone I've been locked up with for the past three months, including myself.
Well, we'll just have to think of something.
I don't have the time or the energy to think.
Okay, don't worry.
I'm on the case.
You can relax.
I don't have the time or the energy to relax.
Oh, bye.
I don't understand why we can't just ask Mom and Dad right now.
Because to them, this would be a huge deal.
It's one night of work.
Why would they say no to us working? We're talking about a country club, a place they've never set foot in, where there are adults and alcohol, and the party lasts till midnight.
They're not gonna want me driving and they're not gonna wanna pick us up that late.
And I'm sure they can find a whole lot of other reasons to say no, so we absolutely, positively cannot give them time to think about it.
If they still say no, won't Corey's mom yell at us if we let her down? You worry too much.
Just trust me.
All we have to do is look really responsible for the next day or so, then drop it on them.
If they're gonna say no, I'd rather drop it on them now so we don't have to dread telling them.
And if they're gonna say yes, won't it be nice to have a couple days to think about how we're gonna spend our 50 bucks? If your friend got us the job and you were the older sister, we'd go with your plan.
But that's not the case, is it? Okay, but, you know, you're not exactly known for your plans.
That's because you always mess up my plans.
So for once, just do what I tell you.
Oh, hey, Dad.
I saw Rudy today, the custodian at school.
- He said he went to see you.
- Yeah, he did.
He seems like a very nice guy.
Yeah.
Sometimes when we're eating lunch outside, I sit with him because he has all these stories about the old days.
And sometimes I eat with him because I just feel sorry for him.
I don't think he has many friends.
Well, maybe he'll make some friends at church.
So, what did you want? You stopped by to tell me something.
Oh, no, it was just to talk about Rudy.
By the way, - did you recommend me to him? - No.
- You sure? - Yeah, I'm sure.
He didn't tell me until he got back.
He said God told him to go.
He said that, huh? Do you think it's odd that God talked to him - and told him to come to me? - No.
As far as I know, you do a pretty good job most of the time.
Why wouldn't God recommend you? Hey, isn't that the ball I just bought for Simon? That kid has more toys than he knows what to do with.
Trust me, he'll never miss it.
When I was a kid, we used to play stickball with these.
Does everyone have to come in here to bounce that ball? - Maybe the back yard would be better.
- A lot less grouchy.
You've been going like gangbusters since the twins were born.
Maybe you need a little break.
I know just the thing.
A night out on the town, just the two of us.
No, that's not it.
I need something else.
- What? - I don't know.
I'll get back to you.
Well, Mr.
Monkey, where did you come from? How about giving me my ball back? Hey, you with the funny ears.
I'm talking to you.
Hey.
Isn't that your girlfriend, Shana? Yeah.
She didn't tell me she'd be at the library.
We see other people.
- Why don't we just ask them? - Ask us what? If we can watch some TV before we go to bed while we iron and fold diapers.
Why not? Your turn.
Told you so.
- Hello.
- Annie, I've got it.
A meeting of the Women's Interdenominational Church Council.
I can't get away with that one again.
Oh, yes, you can.
And the other girls are free Friday night.
So is 7:00 okay? Oh, it's just that I'd have to plan a little further in advance.
What? Oh, there's a meeting of the W.
I.
C.
C.
Look, I'd feel guilty just leaving everyone here.
No, no, no.
You should go.
I heard him.
You're going.
We'll see you at 7, okay? Okay.
Thanks, Patricia.
Good night.
- Are you sure? - Sure, I'm sure.
By the way, what is the W.
I.
C.
C.
again? The Women's Interdenominational Church Council.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And I forget, what do you do? You debate and discuss issues of theology? Our purpose changes year to year.
We'll decide at the meeting.
Hello? Yeah, this is he.
How can I help you? Of course.
I'll be there tomorrow at 9 a.
m.
It's the vice principal of the junior high.
He wants to talk to me tomorrow.
Is it about Simon? No.
It's about the custodian I told you about, Rudy.
He's in some kind of trouble.
I'm telling you, there was a monkey in this tree.
- What are you girls doing tonight? - Nothing.
What would you like us to be doing? Do you think you could take care of the twins? There's a meeting that I'd like to go to.
Oh, where did you say you ladies were meeting? I-- I forgot.
Nice try.
- Is there a problem? - No, no problem.
We would love to babysit the twins.
What do you mean? You have not changed one diaper.
You have not given one bath.
You have not burped a baby, fed a baby, or even rocked a baby to sleep.
- So? It doesn't mean that I can't.
- But it doesn't mean you can either.
Why should I get stuck doing everything? Because you can? - I think you scared them.
- Oh, they'll be all right.
But they want something and they want it bad enough to babysit.
Yeah.
I better get my stuff together, I'm due at the vice principal's office.
- Behave yourself.
- Don't I always? No.
But it's one of the things I like about you.
Hey, if Shana calls, just tell her I left for class.
Why don't you call her and tell her? - Because I don't want to.
- Okay.
Why not? Are you a detective or something? Why all the questions? Well, just one question, Mr.
Sensitive.
Trouble in love land again? No, there's no trouble.
Shana and I are doing great.
Fine.
Give her a hug for me when you see her.
What? Why a hug? Why would you chose hug? Why not, "Tell her hello for me"? Well, I think I've known her long enough that hello isn't enough, but not so long that a kiss would be appropriate.
So she knows him, but she doesn't know him well enough to kiss him.
If she calls, tell her I'll pick her up for class.
Yeah.
Oh, thanks.
Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a trade.
I give you the banana, you give me the ball.
- I thought we had a deal.
- Bye, Ruthie.
Oh, bye, Mr.
Monkey.
It's not my ball, you know.
It's Simon's.
He thinks I stole it.
You see, Reverend, last month Rudy had agreed to retire.
Everyone agreed it was the best thing.
Does that include Rudy? Of course.
We offered him a package where he could get out early and still collect his full pension.
And considering how long he's been here, I'm assuming you'd save some money on the new person coming in? Yes, but it would also save all of us a lot of embarrassment.
Yesterday Rudy took all the money in petty cash and you know what he bought with it? Twenty-five gallons of shellac.
- So? - We don't need any shellac.
We need for him to retire.
And he was going to before you evidently talked him out of it.
Look, first of all, let me say that whatever Rudy and I discussed is strictly confidential.
But I can assure you that one thing we did not discuss was his retirement.
Well, maybe you should.
Because otherwise I'm gonna be forced to fire him.
- On what grounds? - He's hearing voices.
I can't have some guy down in the basement of the school - thinking he's talking to God.
- But maybe he is.
Reverend, Rudy is old.
Too old to do his job.
And believe me, the school board will back me up on this 100 percent.
The board meets tonight.
If Rudy doesn't accept his retirement by then, I'll be forced to give him two weeks' notice and then he can kiss his pension goodbye.
I'm saying that, again, it's going to be me stuck doing all the work in one of your big plans that's gonna blow up in our faces like all the others.
So if I'm doing all the work, then I say we're gonna do it my way.
I'm asking Mom and Dad when I wanna ask them, not when you think the time is right.
- So go ahead.
- Really? If you think the time is right, just go ahead.
- Why? - Why? Because you can't face reality.
I told you it's not my plans that blow up in our faces.
It's your screwing up my plans that blows up in our faces.
That's not reality.
That's Planet Mary.
I hope you're sure, because I'm leaving it up to you.
Hey.
I guess I'll see you two at the country club tomorrow night.
Yeah.
My mom wanted to know if she needed to call your mom with any details or anything.
Nope, she's fine with it.
We'll be there.
And if Mom and Dad aren't fine with it, then I say you owe me fifty bucks.
So I hope you know what you're doing.
Hey, thank you, Simon.
Now, you see all those offices over there on Mott Street? That was all Armelino's potato farm over there, yes, sir.
And this whole athletic field here and all the school connected to it, all the way over to the railroad tracks, more potato farm.
In fact, I can hardly eat a french fry nowadays without feeling a little bit nostalgic.
Yeah, just think, tomorrow morning, there will be hundreds and hundreds of kids in these stands, from every school in the district.
And then Monday morning, I'll be back here cleaning up again.
- But doesn't that bother you? - No, Simon, why would it bother me? I've been doing this for over 40 years now, and if God tells me my work isn't done, then, by gosh, my work isn't done.
But I just love it here.
I love the kids.
I tell you, I even love the mess they make.
If I couldn't do this, I don't know what I'd be doing.
- You can go fishing.
- Yeah.
Oh, hey, we better get back now.
Lunch period's almost over.
Come on.
- Did you talk to Mom and Dad yet? - No, I'm not going to.
Oh, I guess you've finally come to the realisation, then, that it's not my plans that don't work.
No, sorry.
I haven't come to that realisation.
I just decided I'd do this your way.
We'll ask when you say it's time to ask.
But in the meantime, I'm not gonna help you babysit.
You're on your own for a change.
If you wanna do things your way, let's see if you can handle it.
- Oh, I'm really scared.
- You should be.
Taking care of those two little guys isn't easy, especially if you have no idea what you're doing.
Give me a break, I'm not an idiot.
How hard can it be? - Hey.
- Hey.
- What do you want? - I don't want anything.
Can't I just pay my brother a friendly visit every now and then? Sorry, I'm in a bad mood.
Oh, really? I couldn't tell.
I think Shana I think Shana's seeing another guy.
- Are you sure? - Am I sure? I saw her hug some guy in the library last night.
Then I saw him leaving her apartment this morning.
I was so mad, I couldn't even knock on the door.
I've gotta talk to her or I'm gonna go crazy.
And this isn't a good time to go crazy.
I've got studying to do.
Maybe you should make sure you have all your facts straight before you go accusing her of anything.
I mean, I hate it when guys get possessive all of a sudden for no reason.
I mean, it's really a big turnoff, you know? You're right.
You know, maybe I shouldn't talk to her.
Maybe I should talk to him.
Yeah.
I just won't tell him who I am, that's it.
Yeah.
Good luck.
You know, there is something you can do for me.
Can you tell me everything there is to know about taking care of the twins? Well, first of all, let me just say thanks for your advice just now.
But secondly, if this is about one of your wacky plans, forget it.
Afternoon, Mr.
Monkey.
Join us for dinner, won't you? It was better off with Hoowie.
Hi.
Sorry.
My day was so busy, I never got around to lunch.
I had a busy day too.
Trying to get organised so the girls have everything to babysit tonight.
You're gonna be around, though, right? Well, I may have to leave for an hour or two.
But the girls will be fine.
Mary and Lucy are more than capable of taking care of David and Sam.
They can beep me if they run into a problem.
So you should just go and enjoy yourself tonight.
I-- I couldn't help it.
You know, I-- I talked to Mr.
Blackstone.
They're holding a school board meeting tonight.
They're trying to get rid of Rudy.
Everybody seems to think he's-- He's losing it, but I-- I just have this real strong gut feeling that Rudy is as sane or saner than any of us.
It just doesn't seem fair, after all the time he's put in, to let him go so abruptly.
There's gotta be another way.
Dad? Take me with you? Please? I'm Rudy's friend too, and it sounds like tonight he's gonna need all the friends he can get.
Okay.
Why don't you wear your red dress if you're all going out to someplace fancy? Are you going out to someplace fancy? Not that it wouldn't be a meeting if it were someplace fancy.
It would still be a meeting, just at a fancy place, that's all.
Okay, so it's-- It's not at someplace fancy.
Isn't it wonderful that after all these years, we still have a few teensy-weensy secrets from each other? I don't know.
What's so wonderful about it? Don't you love how it keeps the mystery alive? This isn't keeping the mystery alive.
This is killing me.
What time are you and Simon gonna be back? Well, we'll be back as soon as possible.
What time are you coming back tonight, from--? Where are you going? We'll be back as soon as possible too.
But you know how these meetings go.
Well, actually, I-- I don't, but if you'd like to tell me And after his bottle, Sam likes to be burped.
Like this.
But don't make that mistake with David.
David needs to lie down for a few minutes after a meal.
You jiggle David right after a meal, you get a lapful of Dave juice, if you know what I mean.
- It's your mother.
- One minute.
The boys are sleeping, but they'll probably wake up - between 8 and 9 for a feeding.
- I knew that.
The formula's been made.
All you have to do is heat it up, then burp them, change them, try to get them back down.
By the time they wake up for their second feeding, I should be home.
Oh, she knew that.
Simon.
Ready to go? - Bye, Mom.
- Bye, honey.
Good luck.
Here's a note where I'll be.
It's only five minutes away.
Don't show that to your father or tell him it's only five minutes away unless you have a reason.
Do you have his beeper number? I'll probably call you a few times, see how you're doing, but don't think I don't trust you.
I totally trust you, because you've been around babies practically your whole life, right? And besides, you have Lucy here to help you.
Actually, I think that Lucy has something she wants to ask you.
Nope, can't think of a thing.
Great.
Well, then I'll be off.
Good night, girls.
Oh, Ruthie, I was just about to come say goodbye.
- I'm going out now.
- Have a good time.
Don't you wanna give me a hug? Hey, what do we have here? Bananas and peanuts for your monkey? Yep.
- Is he a nice monkey? - Not that nice.
- He still won't give me back my ball.
- Maybe he's still playing with it.
- When he gets tired, he'll give it back.
- Maybe.
- Wanna come meet him? - Sure.
Hi, Mr.
Monkey.
Now, you and Ruthie behave while I'm gone, and do everything that Mary and Lucy tell you to do, all right? Have a good time.
You sure you don't mind if I go out and spend a little time with my friends? Well, I'd rather have you do that than sit around here pretending to talk to a monkey all night.
He's not here.
He was here, but he's not here now.
Okay.
Matt? Matt Camden? You don't remember me, do you? It's me.
Tucker Berelson.
Fifth grade.
We were best buddies.
That is, before my family moved to Plainview.
- Tucker? - Yeah.
Yeah, I can't believe it.
I thought that was you this morning.
That was you, right? - In my apartment building? - Wait, your apartment building? Yeah.
You know someone who lives there? Obviously you know someone who lives there.
- Hey, Tucker.
- Hey, Stu.
What can I say? Some people are huggers, some aren't.
Yeah, well, you always were a big hug-giving kind of guy.
Yeah.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
Cheers.
I hereby call this meeting of the W.
I.
C.
C.
to order.
Oh, hear, hear.
Now, first order of business will be the dumping of the guilt.
Me.
I left the twins with Mary and Lucy.
So? Their father won't be gone for more than an hour.
Those two girls are more than capable of taking care of their little brothers.
Sure, they're practically grown women.
They took care of Simon and Ruthie, didn't they? - It'll be good for them.
- I'll drink to that.
Thank you.
And now we'll proceed to the dumping of the anger.
Go for it, Annie.
We know you got it, so tear us off a piece of it.
I can't even get a five-minute nap without someone wanting to know where their sneakers are or what's for dinner.
"Did you wash my new shirt? I thought you knew I wanted it washed.
" "Can my friends spend the night?" Like my house is some kind of motel.
Like I don't have enough sheets and towels to wash.
They save everything they wanna ask and wait until I'm starting to doze off.
It's a conspiracy to deprive us of sleep, is what it is.
- I'll drink to that.
- Right.
Can I get you ladies anything? You can get us another pitcher of diet Coke.
- We're gonna be here for a while.
- Yes, sir.
That's right.
You know, it's Friday night.
Karaoke starts at 10.
As Mr.
Steineger is not present to accept the very generous severance offer this board has made, I move we take the very unfortunate, yet very necessary, step of accepting for him, rather than firing him.
Then we can get on to the more pressing matters at hand.
Excuse me.
Since Rudy isn't-- Mr.
Steineger isn't here, I-- I'd like to offer another option.
I think the man is worthy enough to finish out another year.
After all, he's not asking for a raise.
I mean, he doesn't want more time off or even better working conditions.
He just wants to keep doing the one thing he truly loves doing, which-- Thank you, Reverend Camden.
I'll take it from here.
I-- I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble or problems, but I just can't retire yet.
You're not helping yourself, Rudy.
Nobody here wants to see you lose your pension, now, do we? I think we should listen to what Mr.
Steineger has to say without interruption, don't you? - Go ahead, Mr.
Steineger, please.
- Well, thanks.
Well, every now and then, I hear a voice.
It's not a big voice.
Just a voice that I hear when I sit quiet by myself, and I just listen.
Well, I told Mr.
Blackstone about the voice, and he didn't seem to make too much of it at the time, and we mostly talked about my retirement.
Well, the voice told me that I'm not ready to retire just yet.
I got work to do.
Then about three days ago, the voice told me to go see Reverend Camden, which I did.
And thanks to his help, I was able to realise what a wonderful thing that this voice was.
And that's why I-- I'm here tonight.
No one told me to come.
I-- I just came on my own.
It kind of sounds a little crazy, doesn't it? You're right, it sounds crazy.
I'm sorry, Mr.
Steineger, but you said it yourself.
It sounds crazy.
I think we should just vote on this matter now so we can get it behind us.
Could you all please not rush into a decision here just because Rudy's been so honest with you? Please.
I talk to God every day of my life.
And I know there are others in this room who talk to God.
And you and I may not always get an answer as strong and clear as Rudy has described, but are you telling me you don't even expect an answer? Because I do.
And I don't know, maybe it's just that you don't doubt my sanity when I say I talk to God because I'm in the God business.
But God is in the people business.
And Rudy here is a fine person.
Maybe we can ask him to think about it for a few days.
I heard it again.
Could you at least take a few more days to think about it? All right, we'll all think about it over the weekend.
Then Monday, we'll decide.
I hope you and Mr.
Steineger will do the same.
Men grow cold as girls grow old And we all lose our charms in the end Wonder if her family knows about this side of her.
Maybe, but I'm not sure when it would come up.
Diamonds are a girl's best friend - You were great.
- That was perfect.
Thanks.
I'm having so much fun.
This is just what I needed, to get away from all my responsibilities and do something wild.
Excuse me.
Does anyone have the time over here? Sure.
It's almost 11.
Oh, I better call home and see how the girls are doing with the twins.
I'd better call Morgan.
I said I'd call a half-hour ago.
Hold on, you two.
We came out this evening to cut loose for a while.
So how about we cut loose for a while longer? - I mean, we earned it.
- Yeah.
- We deserve it.
- Yeah.
- We're gonna have it.
- Yeah.
Last one to the pay phone's a rotten egg.
- Hello? - Hi, it's me.
How's everything going? Everything's fine.
How's everything going over there, wherever you are? Oh, you know, okay.
It's a meeting.
Did you feed them again? They're still sleeping.
That's great.
I wish they'd do that for me.
- Did your father call? - Yep, and he's on his way home, and Matt's still at the library, - as far as I know.
- Lucy? She went downstairs to get Ruthie a glass of water.
Why didn't she get a glass of water upstairs? Apparently the monkey wants kitchen water, not bathroom water.
Okay.
Look, I gotta go.
I'll be home soon.
Okay, bye.
Nothing? - They never sleep like this.
- It's all just part of my plan.
Maybe it's just part of his plan, because if Mom and Dad are under the impression that you have babysitting skills, he knows the truth.
I think he's got bigger truths to be concerned with, thank you very much.
- Like? - Like the environment.
Hello.
I still can't believe how great you were.
- You can't believe it? - You know what I mean.
I just hope the weekend gives everybody a chance to change their mind, not that we should count on it.
But for some reason, I'm feeling kind of optimistic.
Well, I'm gonna go check up on the boys.
- Hey, Curtis.
- Eric.
I'm so sorry to be bothering you this late.
No problem at all.
You know, we're New neighbours are always especially welcome here anytime.
Thanks.
It's about my chimp.
He's missing.
Your chimp? I volunteered to be the foster parent, so to speak, of a baby chimp for a while.
To train him, get him used to doing simple tasks, to see if he'd be any help to the more severely physically challenged folks.
They usually use capuchin monkeys, but this one grad student, I guess he's partial to chimps, he seems to think that they're-- - You have a chimp? - Yeah.
And believe me, the darn thing has been a lot more trouble than help so far.
- You have a chimp.
- Yeah, and he's missing.
The people across the street said they think they saw him go in one of your upstairs windows.
Have you seen him? Oh, boy.
I haven't seen him myself, but I think I may know where he is.
Come in.
Our new neighbour, Curtis, is looking for his chimp.
His monkey.
Would you know anything about that? I think I found him.
Come on, Eisenhower.
It's time to go home.
I didn't name him.
It's about time.
Thanks and good night.
He's perfectly harmless.
He's just a pain in the neck sometimes.
I'll get these pyjamas back to you.
- Good night.
- Good night, Curtis.
Good night, Eisenhower.
So now do you believe me? Yes, now I believe you.
You know, it might be a good idea to keep the window closed for a while.
Fine by me.
- Good night, Ruthie.
- Good night.
I thought you were studying tonight.
I tried, but I just couldn't until I apologised.
Can I come in? Apologised for what? I have been such an idiot.
Last night, I was at the library.
I saw you come in, hug that guy, and then leave with him.
I was thinking things.
I didn't know who he was.
I stopped by this morning.
I got there as he was stepping out your door, and I got even more jealous.
But the whole thing was just so stupid.
I realised I know Tucker from, like, a million years ago.
Evidently, he just likes to hug everyone.
And I'm sure he was over just to-- What? You know, borrow a cup of sugar or something, right? You know, I was a fool to jump to conclusions.
I'm sorry.
Well, what if you weren't jumping to conclusions? What if he and I did go out? I mean, that's okay, right? Because, you know, we-- We talked about being exclusive, and we both decided we would know when it would be time for that.
Since we haven't talked about it since, then it must not be time for that yet, right? Wait a minute, you mean you're actually seeing this guy? Like-- Like you see me? I can't believe it.
Well, who do you feel more for? Me or him? You.
Yeah, I definitely like you better.
Well, great.
Then you know what? We should see each other exclusively then.
I mean, it makes sense, right? - Is that what you really want? - Of course, yeah.
On the other hand, what if Tucker and I aren't really going out with each other, and he is just my neighbour, and he came by this morning to give me notes that I loaned him? - Are you going out with him or not? - No, I'm not.
So you were just playing around so you'd get me to say that I thought we should be exclusive.
Yeah.
Wanna change your mind? No, I don't wanna change my mind.
Piece of cake.
- Dad heated the formula.
- I could have done it.
I'm home.
Oh, you should see what a picture this makes.
I am so proud of you two.
Do you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna let you both work at the country club tomorrow night and then send Matt to pick you up so you don't have to drive home late.
And I'll be right back to help you out.
You asked her.
You just went ahead and asked her.
I did not.
Oh, I ran into Corey's mom and dad at the place where we had our meeting, and she told me all about it.
So, basically, my plan worked.
Have you ever heard the saying, "We plan, God laughs?" No.
I'm back.
How did your meeting go? Well, I think we accomplished a lot this year.
How did your meeting go? Well, I think we got the board to at least think about what they're doing - and reconsider.
- Well, that's something.
You should have seen Dad.
He was amazing.
Well, your father is an amazing man.
Hello? I'll be right there.
That was the school.
There's been an accident.
It's Rudy.
- I'm going.
- No, not this time.
- What happened? - Is anyone hurt? I think everyone's okay.
Dad, please, you've gotta let me see this through.
All right, come on.
- I love you.
- And I love you.
Whoever you are.
- You guys be careful.
- Okay.
- What happened? - We got the call from Security.
They found Rudy at the top of the bleachers.
You know what he was doing? Shellacking.
Shellacking the entire bleachers at 11:00 in the evening.
And do you know why? God told him to.
The police tried to talk him down, they couldn't.
When they finally went up to get him, the structure started swaying and a minute later, the whole thing collapsed in a heap.
I saw it happen.
It's a miracle no one got hurt.
I'm holding you responsible, Reverend.
- You're what? - We should have put an end to all this craziness when we had the chance earlier.
Excuse me.
Can I talk to him? The school wants to press charges for vandalism.
I'm gonna have to take him down to the station, but go ahead.
Hey, Rudy.
How are you doing? I'm awful sorry, Reverend, but I really had to shellac those bleachers.
You know, I guess God wanted me to get them ready for the marching band competition tomorrow.
I mean, those kids, they really deserve nice, smooth bleachers, don't they? Gee, I didn't know the whole thing was gonna collapse on me.
I swear I didn't know it.
All the rain this winter must have rusted out the supports.
I'm awful sorry, Reverend.
I'm sorry you have to see me like this, you know? I tell you, if this had happened eight hours from now, when those bleachers had been filled with students there's no telling how many could have been injured.
Someone could have been killed.
Did you hear that, Dad? If this would have happened eight hours from now? If this had happened tomorrow morning Yes.
I hadn't thought about that.
Well, thank God this happened now.
What did you say? I said, thank-- "Thank God" is right.
Whatever you want, Rudy, just name it.
Well, I think my work is done here.
I think I'd like to retire.
Yeah.
I think I'd like to go fishing.
Come on.
We'll take you home.
Steineger, please.
Oh, you can call me Rudy, Reverend.
Simon always calls me Rudy.
- Okay, I'll call you Rudy, then.
- Yeah, he's a great kid.
He's one of the few kids in his junior high that always says hi to me.
Yeah, he's a good kid, Simon.
You know, to most kids, a custodian is almost invisible.
- Not that I can blame them.
- So how can I help you, Rudy? Look, Reverend, I'm not much of a religious man.
The truth is, it's been a long time since I set foot inside a church.
It's all right.
I'm glad you decided to set foot inside one today.
Can I speak freely without offending you or the church? Absolutely.
How do you know that there's a God? Well, I-- I-- I suppose that's very complicated, and yet a very simple question at the same time.
I know that God exists because I feel his presence every day of my life.
Do you ever talk to God? Of course.
God's answered my prayers many times.
I mean, has God ever talked to you? Well, I guess you could say God talks to me every day of my life.
No, no, no.
I mean, talk out loud like? Why, Rudy? - Has God talked to you out loud? - Yep.
Did it again day before yesterday.
And what did he say? He told me to talk to you.
I'm heading out.
- Shana? - No, we both have finals.
I'm spending the evening at the library, but I told Shana that I was studying at home, so if she calls You need a hand with anything? No.
That's not what I need at all.
I just need to shave a second or two off my two-bottle dash.
Ma, it's for you.
- Hello.
- Annie, how are you? - How's everything going? - Patricia, things couldn't be better.
Is there someone in the room with you? Not anymore.
I need to do something.
I'm losing it.
Well, got any idea what that something is? No.
All I know is that it doesn't involve anyone I've been locked up with for the past three months, including myself.
Well, we'll just have to think of something.
I don't have the time or the energy to think.
Okay, don't worry.
I'm on the case.
You can relax.
I don't have the time or the energy to relax.
Oh, bye.
I don't understand why we can't just ask Mom and Dad right now.
Because to them, this would be a huge deal.
It's one night of work.
Why would they say no to us working? We're talking about a country club, a place they've never set foot in, where there are adults and alcohol, and the party lasts till midnight.
They're not gonna want me driving and they're not gonna wanna pick us up that late.
And I'm sure they can find a whole lot of other reasons to say no, so we absolutely, positively cannot give them time to think about it.
If they still say no, won't Corey's mom yell at us if we let her down? You worry too much.
Just trust me.
All we have to do is look really responsible for the next day or so, then drop it on them.
If they're gonna say no, I'd rather drop it on them now so we don't have to dread telling them.
And if they're gonna say yes, won't it be nice to have a couple days to think about how we're gonna spend our 50 bucks? If your friend got us the job and you were the older sister, we'd go with your plan.
But that's not the case, is it? Okay, but, you know, you're not exactly known for your plans.
That's because you always mess up my plans.
So for once, just do what I tell you.
Oh, hey, Dad.
I saw Rudy today, the custodian at school.
- He said he went to see you.
- Yeah, he did.
He seems like a very nice guy.
Yeah.
Sometimes when we're eating lunch outside, I sit with him because he has all these stories about the old days.
And sometimes I eat with him because I just feel sorry for him.
I don't think he has many friends.
Well, maybe he'll make some friends at church.
So, what did you want? You stopped by to tell me something.
Oh, no, it was just to talk about Rudy.
By the way, - did you recommend me to him? - No.
- You sure? - Yeah, I'm sure.
He didn't tell me until he got back.
He said God told him to go.
He said that, huh? Do you think it's odd that God talked to him - and told him to come to me? - No.
As far as I know, you do a pretty good job most of the time.
Why wouldn't God recommend you? Hey, isn't that the ball I just bought for Simon? That kid has more toys than he knows what to do with.
Trust me, he'll never miss it.
When I was a kid, we used to play stickball with these.
Does everyone have to come in here to bounce that ball? - Maybe the back yard would be better.
- A lot less grouchy.
You've been going like gangbusters since the twins were born.
Maybe you need a little break.
I know just the thing.
A night out on the town, just the two of us.
No, that's not it.
I need something else.
- What? - I don't know.
I'll get back to you.
Well, Mr.
Monkey, where did you come from? How about giving me my ball back? Hey, you with the funny ears.
I'm talking to you.
Hey.
Isn't that your girlfriend, Shana? Yeah.
She didn't tell me she'd be at the library.
We see other people.
- Why don't we just ask them? - Ask us what? If we can watch some TV before we go to bed while we iron and fold diapers.
Why not? Your turn.
Told you so.
- Hello.
- Annie, I've got it.
A meeting of the Women's Interdenominational Church Council.
I can't get away with that one again.
Oh, yes, you can.
And the other girls are free Friday night.
So is 7:00 okay? Oh, it's just that I'd have to plan a little further in advance.
What? Oh, there's a meeting of the W.
I.
C.
C.
Look, I'd feel guilty just leaving everyone here.
No, no, no.
You should go.
I heard him.
You're going.
We'll see you at 7, okay? Okay.
Thanks, Patricia.
Good night.
- Are you sure? - Sure, I'm sure.
By the way, what is the W.
I.
C.
C.
again? The Women's Interdenominational Church Council.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And I forget, what do you do? You debate and discuss issues of theology? Our purpose changes year to year.
We'll decide at the meeting.
Hello? Yeah, this is he.
How can I help you? Of course.
I'll be there tomorrow at 9 a.
m.
It's the vice principal of the junior high.
He wants to talk to me tomorrow.
Is it about Simon? No.
It's about the custodian I told you about, Rudy.
He's in some kind of trouble.
I'm telling you, there was a monkey in this tree.
- What are you girls doing tonight? - Nothing.
What would you like us to be doing? Do you think you could take care of the twins? There's a meeting that I'd like to go to.
Oh, where did you say you ladies were meeting? I-- I forgot.
Nice try.
- Is there a problem? - No, no problem.
We would love to babysit the twins.
What do you mean? You have not changed one diaper.
You have not given one bath.
You have not burped a baby, fed a baby, or even rocked a baby to sleep.
- So? It doesn't mean that I can't.
- But it doesn't mean you can either.
Why should I get stuck doing everything? Because you can? - I think you scared them.
- Oh, they'll be all right.
But they want something and they want it bad enough to babysit.
Yeah.
I better get my stuff together, I'm due at the vice principal's office.
- Behave yourself.
- Don't I always? No.
But it's one of the things I like about you.
Hey, if Shana calls, just tell her I left for class.
Why don't you call her and tell her? - Because I don't want to.
- Okay.
Why not? Are you a detective or something? Why all the questions? Well, just one question, Mr.
Sensitive.
Trouble in love land again? No, there's no trouble.
Shana and I are doing great.
Fine.
Give her a hug for me when you see her.
What? Why a hug? Why would you chose hug? Why not, "Tell her hello for me"? Well, I think I've known her long enough that hello isn't enough, but not so long that a kiss would be appropriate.
So she knows him, but she doesn't know him well enough to kiss him.
If she calls, tell her I'll pick her up for class.
Yeah.
Oh, thanks.
Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a trade.
I give you the banana, you give me the ball.
- I thought we had a deal.
- Bye, Ruthie.
Oh, bye, Mr.
Monkey.
It's not my ball, you know.
It's Simon's.
He thinks I stole it.
You see, Reverend, last month Rudy had agreed to retire.
Everyone agreed it was the best thing.
Does that include Rudy? Of course.
We offered him a package where he could get out early and still collect his full pension.
And considering how long he's been here, I'm assuming you'd save some money on the new person coming in? Yes, but it would also save all of us a lot of embarrassment.
Yesterday Rudy took all the money in petty cash and you know what he bought with it? Twenty-five gallons of shellac.
- So? - We don't need any shellac.
We need for him to retire.
And he was going to before you evidently talked him out of it.
Look, first of all, let me say that whatever Rudy and I discussed is strictly confidential.
But I can assure you that one thing we did not discuss was his retirement.
Well, maybe you should.
Because otherwise I'm gonna be forced to fire him.
- On what grounds? - He's hearing voices.
I can't have some guy down in the basement of the school - thinking he's talking to God.
- But maybe he is.
Reverend, Rudy is old.
Too old to do his job.
And believe me, the school board will back me up on this 100 percent.
The board meets tonight.
If Rudy doesn't accept his retirement by then, I'll be forced to give him two weeks' notice and then he can kiss his pension goodbye.
I'm saying that, again, it's going to be me stuck doing all the work in one of your big plans that's gonna blow up in our faces like all the others.
So if I'm doing all the work, then I say we're gonna do it my way.
I'm asking Mom and Dad when I wanna ask them, not when you think the time is right.
- So go ahead.
- Really? If you think the time is right, just go ahead.
- Why? - Why? Because you can't face reality.
I told you it's not my plans that blow up in our faces.
It's your screwing up my plans that blows up in our faces.
That's not reality.
That's Planet Mary.
I hope you're sure, because I'm leaving it up to you.
Hey.
I guess I'll see you two at the country club tomorrow night.
Yeah.
My mom wanted to know if she needed to call your mom with any details or anything.
Nope, she's fine with it.
We'll be there.
And if Mom and Dad aren't fine with it, then I say you owe me fifty bucks.
So I hope you know what you're doing.
Hey, thank you, Simon.
Now, you see all those offices over there on Mott Street? That was all Armelino's potato farm over there, yes, sir.
And this whole athletic field here and all the school connected to it, all the way over to the railroad tracks, more potato farm.
In fact, I can hardly eat a french fry nowadays without feeling a little bit nostalgic.
Yeah, just think, tomorrow morning, there will be hundreds and hundreds of kids in these stands, from every school in the district.
And then Monday morning, I'll be back here cleaning up again.
- But doesn't that bother you? - No, Simon, why would it bother me? I've been doing this for over 40 years now, and if God tells me my work isn't done, then, by gosh, my work isn't done.
But I just love it here.
I love the kids.
I tell you, I even love the mess they make.
If I couldn't do this, I don't know what I'd be doing.
- You can go fishing.
- Yeah.
Oh, hey, we better get back now.
Lunch period's almost over.
Come on.
- Did you talk to Mom and Dad yet? - No, I'm not going to.
Oh, I guess you've finally come to the realisation, then, that it's not my plans that don't work.
No, sorry.
I haven't come to that realisation.
I just decided I'd do this your way.
We'll ask when you say it's time to ask.
But in the meantime, I'm not gonna help you babysit.
You're on your own for a change.
If you wanna do things your way, let's see if you can handle it.
- Oh, I'm really scared.
- You should be.
Taking care of those two little guys isn't easy, especially if you have no idea what you're doing.
Give me a break, I'm not an idiot.
How hard can it be? - Hey.
- Hey.
- What do you want? - I don't want anything.
Can't I just pay my brother a friendly visit every now and then? Sorry, I'm in a bad mood.
Oh, really? I couldn't tell.
I think Shana I think Shana's seeing another guy.
- Are you sure? - Am I sure? I saw her hug some guy in the library last night.
Then I saw him leaving her apartment this morning.
I was so mad, I couldn't even knock on the door.
I've gotta talk to her or I'm gonna go crazy.
And this isn't a good time to go crazy.
I've got studying to do.
Maybe you should make sure you have all your facts straight before you go accusing her of anything.
I mean, I hate it when guys get possessive all of a sudden for no reason.
I mean, it's really a big turnoff, you know? You're right.
You know, maybe I shouldn't talk to her.
Maybe I should talk to him.
Yeah.
I just won't tell him who I am, that's it.
Yeah.
Good luck.
You know, there is something you can do for me.
Can you tell me everything there is to know about taking care of the twins? Well, first of all, let me just say thanks for your advice just now.
But secondly, if this is about one of your wacky plans, forget it.
Afternoon, Mr.
Monkey.
Join us for dinner, won't you? It was better off with Hoowie.
Hi.
Sorry.
My day was so busy, I never got around to lunch.
I had a busy day too.
Trying to get organised so the girls have everything to babysit tonight.
You're gonna be around, though, right? Well, I may have to leave for an hour or two.
But the girls will be fine.
Mary and Lucy are more than capable of taking care of David and Sam.
They can beep me if they run into a problem.
So you should just go and enjoy yourself tonight.
I-- I couldn't help it.
You know, I-- I talked to Mr.
Blackstone.
They're holding a school board meeting tonight.
They're trying to get rid of Rudy.
Everybody seems to think he's-- He's losing it, but I-- I just have this real strong gut feeling that Rudy is as sane or saner than any of us.
It just doesn't seem fair, after all the time he's put in, to let him go so abruptly.
There's gotta be another way.
Dad? Take me with you? Please? I'm Rudy's friend too, and it sounds like tonight he's gonna need all the friends he can get.
Okay.
Why don't you wear your red dress if you're all going out to someplace fancy? Are you going out to someplace fancy? Not that it wouldn't be a meeting if it were someplace fancy.
It would still be a meeting, just at a fancy place, that's all.
Okay, so it's-- It's not at someplace fancy.
Isn't it wonderful that after all these years, we still have a few teensy-weensy secrets from each other? I don't know.
What's so wonderful about it? Don't you love how it keeps the mystery alive? This isn't keeping the mystery alive.
This is killing me.
What time are you and Simon gonna be back? Well, we'll be back as soon as possible.
What time are you coming back tonight, from--? Where are you going? We'll be back as soon as possible too.
But you know how these meetings go.
Well, actually, I-- I don't, but if you'd like to tell me And after his bottle, Sam likes to be burped.
Like this.
But don't make that mistake with David.
David needs to lie down for a few minutes after a meal.
You jiggle David right after a meal, you get a lapful of Dave juice, if you know what I mean.
- It's your mother.
- One minute.
The boys are sleeping, but they'll probably wake up - between 8 and 9 for a feeding.
- I knew that.
The formula's been made.
All you have to do is heat it up, then burp them, change them, try to get them back down.
By the time they wake up for their second feeding, I should be home.
Oh, she knew that.
Simon.
Ready to go? - Bye, Mom.
- Bye, honey.
Good luck.
Here's a note where I'll be.
It's only five minutes away.
Don't show that to your father or tell him it's only five minutes away unless you have a reason.
Do you have his beeper number? I'll probably call you a few times, see how you're doing, but don't think I don't trust you.
I totally trust you, because you've been around babies practically your whole life, right? And besides, you have Lucy here to help you.
Actually, I think that Lucy has something she wants to ask you.
Nope, can't think of a thing.
Great.
Well, then I'll be off.
Good night, girls.
Oh, Ruthie, I was just about to come say goodbye.
- I'm going out now.
- Have a good time.
Don't you wanna give me a hug? Hey, what do we have here? Bananas and peanuts for your monkey? Yep.
- Is he a nice monkey? - Not that nice.
- He still won't give me back my ball.
- Maybe he's still playing with it.
- When he gets tired, he'll give it back.
- Maybe.
- Wanna come meet him? - Sure.
Hi, Mr.
Monkey.
Now, you and Ruthie behave while I'm gone, and do everything that Mary and Lucy tell you to do, all right? Have a good time.
You sure you don't mind if I go out and spend a little time with my friends? Well, I'd rather have you do that than sit around here pretending to talk to a monkey all night.
He's not here.
He was here, but he's not here now.
Okay.
Matt? Matt Camden? You don't remember me, do you? It's me.
Tucker Berelson.
Fifth grade.
We were best buddies.
That is, before my family moved to Plainview.
- Tucker? - Yeah.
Yeah, I can't believe it.
I thought that was you this morning.
That was you, right? - In my apartment building? - Wait, your apartment building? Yeah.
You know someone who lives there? Obviously you know someone who lives there.
- Hey, Tucker.
- Hey, Stu.
What can I say? Some people are huggers, some aren't.
Yeah, well, you always were a big hug-giving kind of guy.
Yeah.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
Cheers.
I hereby call this meeting of the W.
I.
C.
C.
to order.
Oh, hear, hear.
Now, first order of business will be the dumping of the guilt.
Me.
I left the twins with Mary and Lucy.
So? Their father won't be gone for more than an hour.
Those two girls are more than capable of taking care of their little brothers.
Sure, they're practically grown women.
They took care of Simon and Ruthie, didn't they? - It'll be good for them.
- I'll drink to that.
Thank you.
And now we'll proceed to the dumping of the anger.
Go for it, Annie.
We know you got it, so tear us off a piece of it.
I can't even get a five-minute nap without someone wanting to know where their sneakers are or what's for dinner.
"Did you wash my new shirt? I thought you knew I wanted it washed.
" "Can my friends spend the night?" Like my house is some kind of motel.
Like I don't have enough sheets and towels to wash.
They save everything they wanna ask and wait until I'm starting to doze off.
It's a conspiracy to deprive us of sleep, is what it is.
- I'll drink to that.
- Right.
Can I get you ladies anything? You can get us another pitcher of diet Coke.
- We're gonna be here for a while.
- Yes, sir.
That's right.
You know, it's Friday night.
Karaoke starts at 10.
As Mr.
Steineger is not present to accept the very generous severance offer this board has made, I move we take the very unfortunate, yet very necessary, step of accepting for him, rather than firing him.
Then we can get on to the more pressing matters at hand.
Excuse me.
Since Rudy isn't-- Mr.
Steineger isn't here, I-- I'd like to offer another option.
I think the man is worthy enough to finish out another year.
After all, he's not asking for a raise.
I mean, he doesn't want more time off or even better working conditions.
He just wants to keep doing the one thing he truly loves doing, which-- Thank you, Reverend Camden.
I'll take it from here.
I-- I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble or problems, but I just can't retire yet.
You're not helping yourself, Rudy.
Nobody here wants to see you lose your pension, now, do we? I think we should listen to what Mr.
Steineger has to say without interruption, don't you? - Go ahead, Mr.
Steineger, please.
- Well, thanks.
Well, every now and then, I hear a voice.
It's not a big voice.
Just a voice that I hear when I sit quiet by myself, and I just listen.
Well, I told Mr.
Blackstone about the voice, and he didn't seem to make too much of it at the time, and we mostly talked about my retirement.
Well, the voice told me that I'm not ready to retire just yet.
I got work to do.
Then about three days ago, the voice told me to go see Reverend Camden, which I did.
And thanks to his help, I was able to realise what a wonderful thing that this voice was.
And that's why I-- I'm here tonight.
No one told me to come.
I-- I just came on my own.
It kind of sounds a little crazy, doesn't it? You're right, it sounds crazy.
I'm sorry, Mr.
Steineger, but you said it yourself.
It sounds crazy.
I think we should just vote on this matter now so we can get it behind us.
Could you all please not rush into a decision here just because Rudy's been so honest with you? Please.
I talk to God every day of my life.
And I know there are others in this room who talk to God.
And you and I may not always get an answer as strong and clear as Rudy has described, but are you telling me you don't even expect an answer? Because I do.
And I don't know, maybe it's just that you don't doubt my sanity when I say I talk to God because I'm in the God business.
But God is in the people business.
And Rudy here is a fine person.
Maybe we can ask him to think about it for a few days.
I heard it again.
Could you at least take a few more days to think about it? All right, we'll all think about it over the weekend.
Then Monday, we'll decide.
I hope you and Mr.
Steineger will do the same.
Men grow cold as girls grow old And we all lose our charms in the end Wonder if her family knows about this side of her.
Maybe, but I'm not sure when it would come up.
Diamonds are a girl's best friend - You were great.
- That was perfect.
Thanks.
I'm having so much fun.
This is just what I needed, to get away from all my responsibilities and do something wild.
Excuse me.
Does anyone have the time over here? Sure.
It's almost 11.
Oh, I better call home and see how the girls are doing with the twins.
I'd better call Morgan.
I said I'd call a half-hour ago.
Hold on, you two.
We came out this evening to cut loose for a while.
So how about we cut loose for a while longer? - I mean, we earned it.
- Yeah.
- We deserve it.
- Yeah.
- We're gonna have it.
- Yeah.
Last one to the pay phone's a rotten egg.
- Hello? - Hi, it's me.
How's everything going? Everything's fine.
How's everything going over there, wherever you are? Oh, you know, okay.
It's a meeting.
Did you feed them again? They're still sleeping.
That's great.
I wish they'd do that for me.
- Did your father call? - Yep, and he's on his way home, and Matt's still at the library, - as far as I know.
- Lucy? She went downstairs to get Ruthie a glass of water.
Why didn't she get a glass of water upstairs? Apparently the monkey wants kitchen water, not bathroom water.
Okay.
Look, I gotta go.
I'll be home soon.
Okay, bye.
Nothing? - They never sleep like this.
- It's all just part of my plan.
Maybe it's just part of his plan, because if Mom and Dad are under the impression that you have babysitting skills, he knows the truth.
I think he's got bigger truths to be concerned with, thank you very much.
- Like? - Like the environment.
Hello.
I still can't believe how great you were.
- You can't believe it? - You know what I mean.
I just hope the weekend gives everybody a chance to change their mind, not that we should count on it.
But for some reason, I'm feeling kind of optimistic.
Well, I'm gonna go check up on the boys.
- Hey, Curtis.
- Eric.
I'm so sorry to be bothering you this late.
No problem at all.
You know, we're New neighbours are always especially welcome here anytime.
Thanks.
It's about my chimp.
He's missing.
Your chimp? I volunteered to be the foster parent, so to speak, of a baby chimp for a while.
To train him, get him used to doing simple tasks, to see if he'd be any help to the more severely physically challenged folks.
They usually use capuchin monkeys, but this one grad student, I guess he's partial to chimps, he seems to think that they're-- - You have a chimp? - Yeah.
And believe me, the darn thing has been a lot more trouble than help so far.
- You have a chimp.
- Yeah, and he's missing.
The people across the street said they think they saw him go in one of your upstairs windows.
Have you seen him? Oh, boy.
I haven't seen him myself, but I think I may know where he is.
Come in.
Our new neighbour, Curtis, is looking for his chimp.
His monkey.
Would you know anything about that? I think I found him.
Come on, Eisenhower.
It's time to go home.
I didn't name him.
It's about time.
Thanks and good night.
He's perfectly harmless.
He's just a pain in the neck sometimes.
I'll get these pyjamas back to you.
- Good night.
- Good night, Curtis.
Good night, Eisenhower.
So now do you believe me? Yes, now I believe you.
You know, it might be a good idea to keep the window closed for a while.
Fine by me.
- Good night, Ruthie.
- Good night.
I thought you were studying tonight.
I tried, but I just couldn't until I apologised.
Can I come in? Apologised for what? I have been such an idiot.
Last night, I was at the library.
I saw you come in, hug that guy, and then leave with him.
I was thinking things.
I didn't know who he was.
I stopped by this morning.
I got there as he was stepping out your door, and I got even more jealous.
But the whole thing was just so stupid.
I realised I know Tucker from, like, a million years ago.
Evidently, he just likes to hug everyone.
And I'm sure he was over just to-- What? You know, borrow a cup of sugar or something, right? You know, I was a fool to jump to conclusions.
I'm sorry.
Well, what if you weren't jumping to conclusions? What if he and I did go out? I mean, that's okay, right? Because, you know, we-- We talked about being exclusive, and we both decided we would know when it would be time for that.
Since we haven't talked about it since, then it must not be time for that yet, right? Wait a minute, you mean you're actually seeing this guy? Like-- Like you see me? I can't believe it.
Well, who do you feel more for? Me or him? You.
Yeah, I definitely like you better.
Well, great.
Then you know what? We should see each other exclusively then.
I mean, it makes sense, right? - Is that what you really want? - Of course, yeah.
On the other hand, what if Tucker and I aren't really going out with each other, and he is just my neighbour, and he came by this morning to give me notes that I loaned him? - Are you going out with him or not? - No, I'm not.
So you were just playing around so you'd get me to say that I thought we should be exclusive.
Yeah.
Wanna change your mind? No, I don't wanna change my mind.
Piece of cake.
- Dad heated the formula.
- I could have done it.
I'm home.
Oh, you should see what a picture this makes.
I am so proud of you two.
Do you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna let you both work at the country club tomorrow night and then send Matt to pick you up so you don't have to drive home late.
And I'll be right back to help you out.
You asked her.
You just went ahead and asked her.
I did not.
Oh, I ran into Corey's mom and dad at the place where we had our meeting, and she told me all about it.
So, basically, my plan worked.
Have you ever heard the saying, "We plan, God laughs?" No.
I'm back.
How did your meeting go? Well, I think we accomplished a lot this year.
How did your meeting go? Well, I think we got the board to at least think about what they're doing - and reconsider.
- Well, that's something.
You should have seen Dad.
He was amazing.
Well, your father is an amazing man.
Hello? I'll be right there.
That was the school.
There's been an accident.
It's Rudy.
- I'm going.
- No, not this time.
- What happened? - Is anyone hurt? I think everyone's okay.
Dad, please, you've gotta let me see this through.
All right, come on.
- I love you.
- And I love you.
Whoever you are.
- You guys be careful.
- Okay.
- What happened? - We got the call from Security.
They found Rudy at the top of the bleachers.
You know what he was doing? Shellacking.
Shellacking the entire bleachers at 11:00 in the evening.
And do you know why? God told him to.
The police tried to talk him down, they couldn't.
When they finally went up to get him, the structure started swaying and a minute later, the whole thing collapsed in a heap.
I saw it happen.
It's a miracle no one got hurt.
I'm holding you responsible, Reverend.
- You're what? - We should have put an end to all this craziness when we had the chance earlier.
Excuse me.
Can I talk to him? The school wants to press charges for vandalism.
I'm gonna have to take him down to the station, but go ahead.
Hey, Rudy.
How are you doing? I'm awful sorry, Reverend, but I really had to shellac those bleachers.
You know, I guess God wanted me to get them ready for the marching band competition tomorrow.
I mean, those kids, they really deserve nice, smooth bleachers, don't they? Gee, I didn't know the whole thing was gonna collapse on me.
I swear I didn't know it.
All the rain this winter must have rusted out the supports.
I'm awful sorry, Reverend.
I'm sorry you have to see me like this, you know? I tell you, if this had happened eight hours from now, when those bleachers had been filled with students there's no telling how many could have been injured.
Someone could have been killed.
Did you hear that, Dad? If this would have happened eight hours from now? If this had happened tomorrow morning Yes.
I hadn't thought about that.
Well, thank God this happened now.
What did you say? I said, thank-- "Thank God" is right.
Whatever you want, Rudy, just name it.
Well, I think my work is done here.
I think I'd like to retire.
Yeah.
I think I'd like to go fishing.
Come on.
We'll take you home.