I love a story that is
unflinching about the truth.
Well, based on one of my favorite
books from last year...
"Amy & Isabelle" is just that.
Isabelle is a single mother who
constructs their isolated world...
to hide her own shameful past.
So when Isabelle discovers her
young daughter secret sexual life...
their fragile world
is just ripped apart.
One irrevocable moment,
and nothing is the same.
I hope you will be
as moved as I was...
by "Amy & Isabelle."
It was terribly hot that summer
when Mr. Robertson left town.
For a longwhile,
the river seemed dead.
Strangers driving by would
roll up their windows...
and wonder how anyone could
put upwlth such a stench.
But the people who lived
in Shirley Falls were used to that.
What they minded more was
how the sky was never blue.
How It looked like a gauze bandage
had been wrapped over the town...
squeezing out whatever
gave things their color.
Further up the river,
crops were wry...
whole beans shriveled on the vine.
There were other things too.
- There is no explaining.
- The world's coming to an end.
I don't think it's a good idea
sending men into space.
We have no business really walking
around up there in the moon.
Well, all I know is
my feet are killing me.
Don't slip your shoes off. Be 100
years before you get them on again.
Time to give old Dot a call...
to see how her stitches are doing.
No, there was
no escaping the heat.
And for Amy and me there
was no escaping each other.
Never mind, don't hurry back.
No one misses you a bit.
I'm not kidding. It's much nicer
looking at Amy Goodrow's face...
than to hear you go on
about your cramps.
What? She said that?
- There was a fountain over the cake.
- You're kidding.
She is the most selfish woman.
It was as if a black line,
pencil thin black line connected us.
Amy could leave the room,
It was always there.
You guys have more cousins.
Never made sense to me spending
all that money on a wedding.
- My insides are going bonkers.
- Make sense to me.
What about you, Isabelle,
you had a big wedding?
- Small, very small.
- Isabelle?
- Can I see you for a few minutes?
- Just one second, I have missed...
Silly me. Mrs. Silly.
It was like a car accident.
How afterward you
kept saying to yourself:
"If only the truck had already
gone through by the time I got."
If only Mr. Robertson had passed
through town before Amy.
But you get into your car,
you mind on other things...
and all the while the truck is
rumbling off the exlt ramp...
pulling into town...
and you are pulling into town.
And then It's over, and your
life will never be the same.
Please, God, give me strength.
I don't understand her.
Mom!
Look.
Damn. Damn!
I think if you could just shovel
the snow off the roof.
My daughter will be home
about 3:30, 3:45.
That would be fine.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Krent, the handyman,
thinks I don't know what I'm doing.
- Why don't we just move?
- How many times do I have to tell you?
- This is temporary.
- Fourteen years.
- Please, don't eat with your hands.
- The 12-year-old may have been...
kidnapped from her home
earlier this week.
- Details are still sketchy.
- Isn't that two turns away?
...but apparently Debbie Kay Dorne
slipped on ice, on the driveway.
I want you to come straight after
school and call me immediately.
Don't "sh" me.
I'm your mother.
At two o'clock, her mother called.
When she arrived home around 5...
Let's not dilly dally.
I'm late.
The police believe that whoever
may have taken that kid...
Put your braces in.
- I like your blouse, man.
- Thank you.
Avery likes me in blue.
How do the salesgirl put it?
"Care a wink of blue?
Fun to say, fun to wear."
- Those are for company. Thank you.
- When do we ever have company?
- Amy.
- Hi.
- Break later?
- Okay.
All right, see you.
What she needs is
a good roll on the hay.
With Avery?
Anne would crucify him.
Well, Isabelle has been
a widow long enough.
Typical Virgo is what she is.
She is not unpleasant...
...but she's pretty uptight.
- Can I borrow your white out?
I would trade if for a cigarette,
but no, you had to quit smoking.
I told Wally I'd quit
the day he did.
You know, I love this watermelon
pink, but I'm almost out.
- Good morning, Isabelle.
- Morning.
How did Avery ever
survive without you?
Meow.
My Roxanne's been smoking
like a chimney lately.
- Coming in owl hours, snapping...
- My relative works for the police.
What does he say about
that poor Anne Kay girl?
He says, most kidnappers kill
their victims in the first 24 hours.
So sorry.
Problem with a leak in the roof.
Not a problem at all, Isabelle.
Thanks.
You're lucky. I was planning to
worry you today with this, but...
I have to head home.
Anne tells me that my tools
are missing from the garage.
I don't know if you heard, there's
been robberies in the neighborhood.
You need to be careful, Isabelle.
Well, with this missing little girl,
I was telling Amy that she has...
I trust your managing
things while I'm gone.
My name is Peter Robertson.
I'll be with you
for the rest of the year.
Miss Dayble has been hospitalized
with a fractured skull.
She's gonna be all right, it's just
gonna take a while for her to heal.
Now before we get on to
the business of numbers...
I would like to hear from you.
- Hear what?
- Who you are.
Where do you see yourself
in 10 years.
Yeah?
I'd like to pitch for the Red Socks.
Fantastic.
How's your curve ball?
Because if we could slow down
a picture of your motion...
I'm using something
Euclid taught us here.
Tracking the ball
as it crosses the plate...
you would know exactly
how high your hand should be...
when you release the ball.
Isn't that amazing?
Who's next?
Me?
What do you wanna be?
- A teacher.
- Really?
I would've thought of...
an actress or...
a poet perhaps.
- What's your name?
- Amy.
Amy what?
- Amy Goodrow.
- Do you really wanna be a teacher?
Or is being a teacher just something
your mother thinks is nice?
Did I ever tell
I saw my parents naked once?
- No. Gross.
- That was gross.
You look and you picture
your mother doing it.
"My mother"?
Do people think it's weird that you
spend your lunchtime with me?
- You know, like Karen and Kelly?
- Do you know something about them?
They're twits, they're morons.
And you're not. You're the only
I know who's not a stupid moron twit.
They formed a search party
for Debbie Kay Dorne.
And my mother said the kidnapper
might be in the search party.
- Isn't that weird?
- I wish somebody would kidnap me.
I'll be right back.
Hey, Paul.
What are you doing here?
I just gotta shift...
Day in, day out, our lives moved
forward the way lives did.
- Amy?
- Hi.
- How was your day?
- Okay.
I'm taking a shower,
then I'll start dinner.
I have a meeting at church tonight.
So we have to be a little quicker.
Looking back, it's a wonder
Amy and I survived at all.
Her mother thought her skirt was too
pink, too short. She did not approve.
Can we discuss our flowers
for next-month altar decoration?
I must say I thought
Isabelle's idea for last month...
using the holly leaves and berries,
was a very interesting one...
I'm not sure though. Anne?
You're thinking we might
go back to cut flowers.
I think that 's a good idea.
- A bit more traditional maybe.
- A bit more traditional, yes.
- Hi.
- Amy Goodrow.
Only God could love you for yourself
alone and not your yellow hair.
A woman is a lovely thing to be. You
should learn to take a compliment.
Thank you.
Yes, that's very kind.
Thank you. That's very
kind what you just said.
Amy.
- Who are you talking to?
- No one.
Three more weeks,
Dottie can have sex.
She wishes it was 3 more months,
but Wally is jumping at the bed.
Tell him to take
care of it himself.
You get dry after
a hysterectomy, you know.
- I didn't.
- You didn't have your ovaries out.
They yanked the whole
business with Dot.
Honey, I was just curious.
What was it,
made you decide to cut your hair?
It's cute. It's as cute as it can be.
I'm just curious, that's all.
I'm mean, with a head
of hair like yours...
It's bewildering how you can harm
a child wlthout ever knowing.
Thinking all the while,
you're being careful, conscientious.
Why would Debbie Kay answer the
door if her mother told her not to?
Well, this is the thing. I told
you never to answer the door.
But say you're home alone
and Avery Clark stops by or...
someone alike him...
and says I've been in an accident.
You'd go with him, wouldn't you?
- I suppose.
- Amy!
Hi.
Paul's gonna leave unless I run
out and give him the stupid fries.
Stacy, this is my mother.
- Hi.
- Hi, Stacy.
I gotta baby-sit my brothers tonight.
They're cockroaches, both of them.
Why don't you come over
and help me torture them?
- I can't.
- That 's okay. Call me later.
- Bye.
- Bye.
Surely there must be other girls
that you can be friends with.
Everybody is just so weird.
To make friends you've gotta be
friendly, my father used to say.
God...
- Hello.
- Hello, Barbara, how are you?
I'm just fine, thanks.
I'm sorry. Your name is?
Amy.
And you're in school
with my son, Flip?
He's in my math class.
And what you two ladies have
planned for this evening?
Odds and ends, you know.
- Well, have a pleasant evening.
- Thank you.
She's pretty.
If one cares for a false made-up
look, one may find her pretty.
I just mean she could be pretty
if she didn't wear all that make-up.
She's probably having
a dinner party tonight.
No doubt,
Anne and Avery will be there.
They'll laugh about how Isabelle
decorated the church in hollies.
Mom? You're pretty too.
It was at 5 o'clock
that her mother...
I couldn't stop imagining a dinner
party at Barbara Rawley's house.
Wine goblets shimmering
in candle light.
At least we're together and safe.
In the heart, I thought my name
might be coming up.
"I saw Isabelle Goodrow today.
She's so odd, I think."
...by acknowledging the child
belongs to God, not to us.
So many private humiliations...
including how often Avery Clark
was on my mind.
Where's Avery?
I don't know.
He probably stayed too late at
Barbara Rawler's dinner party.
Couldn't bother to get
out of bed this morning.
I hate my life.
I hate everything.
Why? Why do you hate your life?
You wear make-up, you're pretty.
Your boyfriend has an apartment.
Don't make me barf.
I already did that this morning.
You puked?
I wanted to stay home,
but my mother sent me anyway.
- You're kidding.
- No, she's a lunatic.
Well...
at least your mother doesn't cut
your sandwich in stupid triangles.
Everyone ends up like their mother,
then what's the rat's-ass point?
I can't believe, I'm smoking
when I feel so crappy, this is sick.
God, if anyone ever caught us
smoking, my mother would kill me.
I'll put your hood up.
Jeez, where did you
get all this hair?
- My dad, I guess.
- You guess?
Remember, it's a
See if you can figure it out.
When you finish it,
set your pencils down.
Yeats.
He wrote some very
lovely things, I believe.
God, a fine hose
ruining around like that.
It's Yeats, Mom.
Not "Eats", "Yeats".
You probably just got
it confused with Keats...
which is spelled almost the same.
But Keats was English,
and Yeats was Irish.
And Keats died
really young of TB.
Interesting.
I would like to hear more about it.
My daughter was ashamed of me.
I was someone to be careful with.
Small-town dummy
who worked in a mill.
Three mere lines. Can't you
people see the beauty of this?
If you had any sensitivity at all,
you would look at this and weep.
Julie.
Well, B-C is five times
the square root of 3.
Mary Ann, if I ask you to be quiet,
you'll be kept after school.
Now, getting back
to what A-B is...
Didn't you think that homework
last night was a bunch of crap?
- I thought...
- Girls, please, be quiet!
All right.
At least, it's not home class
with that knock-me peanut.
Amy, one more time and you'll
stay after school. Go ahead, Julie.
Well, 10 square is 100.
Minus 75 is 25...
...so A-B is 5.
- Excellent.
Good for you, Julie.
Does everybody get that?
I guess the rest of
us are just stupid.
All right, Amy. After school.
Where were we?
A-D was the square root of 3...
Get started on your homework,
if you want to.
I don't want to.
Amy...
Amy, it's okay.
I know this poem by
Edna St. Vincent Millay.
And I thought of it today in class.
The first line is:
"Euclid alone looked
on beauty bare"
I think that's it.
"Let all who prate of
beauty hold their peace"
You know that poem?
I can't believe you know it.
Do you know any others by Millay?
I think that I've
memorized all of them.
"Time does not bring relief
You all have lied"
"Who told me time would
ease me of my pain?"
The thought had come to me that
morning: I could educate myself.
I knew how to read.
And Amy would appreciate this.
The two of us in a coffee shop
talking about books.
I should be at the optometrist
for my ironing glasses.
What do you mean,
ironing glasses?
And the women at church
would finally understand...
...I was someone worth knowing.
...it's spasmodic accommodation.
What?
- I don't get it.
- There's no change in this machine.
- Anyone have change for a quarter?
- Just kick it.
- I kicked it.
- I don't get it.
I don't understand why your eyes
do that over an ironing board.
- And you don't do that at work.
- I probably do.
Come on in.
I marked a page for you.
"To a young girl."
- Can I keep lt?
- Of course, lt's for you.
I can't believe lt. I love Yeats.
What are you thinking?
I'm glad I met you.
I'm glad I met you too.
Can I give you a ride home today?
Do you think anybody would mind?
Your mother would mind...
if your math teacher
gave you a ride home?
Of course not.
There's a dirt-road
coming up on the left.
I grew up in a white house
not much bigger than this one.
You did?
There was a vacant lot nearby.
Kids used to play ball. I didn't
specially like fitting with them.
- How come?
- My mother drank.
So I took long bike rides
to get away from home.
That's too bad.
The life and trials
of Peter Robertson.
I flunked out of college,
you know.
Then I worked with handicapped
kids for a while...
then I went back to school. I was
gonna major in psychology, but...
What a beautiful smile you have.
But I had a friend mathematician,
through him I got interested in it.
My mother thinks that
psychology people are crazy.
I'll tell you something,
you're mother is no dumb.
Sweet Mary, mother of God.
You get whiplash working here.
A cat got your tongue?
I'm sorry, I just don't know
what to say to anyone.
That's all right. Hell, you don't
have anything to say, so be it.
Unless you mind me
talking like a magpie.
I can't be quiet for 5 minutes,
unless I'm asleep.
- But I like that.
- Well, then we're all set.
Have a nice evening you two!
In April, I had actually felt some
wonderful change was on lts way.
After the snow and cold winter,
It seemed, I can't explain lt...
as if our lives were on the verge
of something large and new.
And Amy, thank God,
was more talkative...
more interested in school.
I felt redeemed.
Will you be staying
after school again today?
- Spanish?
- Math. Math help.
Not help. A few of us are good,
the teacher's giving extra stuff.
He says it's almost college level.
My father was good with numbers.
Maybe you inherited it from him.
I like English better.
So anyway, if I'm late I'll call you,
so you won't get worried.
And the upcoming of spring
stirred memories.
Deep in my heart, I understood the
terrible longings of Emma Bovary.
There was no one in Shirley Falls
who would have believed lt...
but I understood the devastating
powerof a physical love.
The knowledge of It stayed
inside me like a living thing.
I broke up with Paul.
You're kidding. Why?
Stupid mother accuses me of
being pregnant. Stupid cow.
- She said that to you?
- To Paul.
- She said it to Paul.
- What a bitch.
So Paul came over
last night and...
I told him that was it.
I have this dumb hole
in the lining of my coat.
I hate all my stupid clothes.
- I didn't do my Spanish homework.
- You can copy mine.
Miss Lenien will know.
The answers will be right.
Here, like this.
It just takes practice.
You better go in.
Amy...
I'm taking a shower,
and then I'll start dinner.
This math teacher of yours that took
Dayble's place, what's his name?
Robertson. Why?
- His wife left him.
- Really?
I thought I'd dropped a pea
on the floor. I guess not.
How do you know that she left him?
Jackie Tucker took a class
with her at the college evidently.
Honey, if there's a pea rolling around
I wish you to look carefully.
I don't want any mice in the house.
Here.
Put this in the refrigerator,
if you can't find that pea.
- How come she left him?
- I don't know.
Poor man to have his
wife run off like that.
Maybe he doesn't care.
Hello?
- Hello?
- Hi there.
Who is this?
I was wondering if
you like vanilla ice cream.
Who's calling?
I know I would like to lick you.
Is that okay? Would you like
that? You like to be licked?
- Hello?
- So guess what?
I'm running along at six months.
Can you believe I'm pregnant?
Well, with a child it's always
worry, worry, worry.
Sure.
- But Amy's really turned out.
- You handled her well, Isabelle.
You know, I had a thought.
I might be able to use
Amy here this summer.
This is not something Dottie wants
anyone to know at this stage, but...
apparently she's gonna need time
off, she has to have an operation.
- Female trouble.
- I see.
- Goodness. I hope she's all right.
- Nothing serious I think, but...
Well, we could use the extra help.
Filing, tracking invoices.
You know, simple stuff.
It's really very kind of you.
It's almost too good to be true.
Amy's starting to save for college.
Great!
Thank you again.
Did you wanna see me?
I'm telling you, he's the nicest
boy you ever knew.
See, I just don't buy that.
Yeah. When a 15-year-old kid starts
selling drugs, something's wrong.
Well, I'm not saying,
something is not wrong.
I'm saying,
sometimes you can never tell.
- You can tell.
- I was just reading the other day...
about some boy in Texas. Good
looking, popular, perfect student.
Goes home one night
after a basketball game and...
...stabs his mother with a fork.
- "A fork"?
Tell me, Rose, what kind
of damage did this fork do?
I believe she was
in critical condition.
Sometimes, there's no warning.
You reap what you sow.
I've always believed that.
It's not that simple.
Well, children learn things.
I think, don't you?
What are you saying,
Madam Ovary?
That my cousin taught her son to go
and sell marijuana in the streets?
No, I only mean that our values
seem to be disintegrating.
I certainly didn't mean
to offend your cousin.
To kiss you like that, Amy,
was not a good idea.
- Why, 'cause you're married?
- No, we've separated.
Let's take a walk.
It's because if people knew
we were kissing each other...
they really wouldn't understand.
Why would anyone find out?
How would anyone find out?
I won't tell anyone.
So began one of the hottest summers
in the history of Shirley Falls.
At first no one gave It thought,
but to pluck their shirts and say:
"It's the humidlty that gets you."
School was ending.
People had their minds
on other things.
Can you believe how bad
that river smells?
Seems worse this year.
It does seem to be
worse this year.
That's something.
Worst I've seen.
Am I gonna see you this summer?
I certainly hope so.
Amy...
you know that you'll always
be loved, don't you?
God. Sounds like a goodbye.
No, no, no, no, no.
No, no. We'll work something
out, little Amy Goodrow.
Amy, take off your blouse.
All the way.
Take that off too.
You're such a pretty girl.
Honestly, Amy.
You're so beautiful.
Would you mind doing
certain things for me?
Would you mind putting
your hands over your breasts?
Hold them together.
Now let your hair fall down.
Close your eyes.
Are you frightened?
I'm not frightened...
...my eyes don't close though.
- That's okay.
Lift up your skirt,
around your waist.
Lie back.
Close your eyes.
You're a very, very beautiful girl.
...of Shirley Falls.
A collection of old coins
and a number of silver pieces...
were reportedly stolen as well
as a pairof emerald earrings.
Drommond Mill. Just a minute.
Arlene, pick up.
Isabelle, could I see you a minute?
Amy?
Amy, this is very serious.
What Avery Clark has just
told me is very, very serious.
When a man drives a girl out
into the woods and makes her...
...he makes her do certain things...
- He didn't.
He didn't make you?
You're very innocent.
It's possible that someone could
take advantage of you in this way...
without you even knowing
exactly what is going on.
In the car today wasn't the first
time you were with him, was it?
Sweetheart, a man
like this is troubled.
He is not a nice man.
- He doesn't care for you.
- It's not like that!
It's not what you think.
He likes me and he wants me.
My God, this is so sickening.
Honey, you do not know
what the world is like.
You don't know the world! You
don't go anywhere or do anything!
You don't have any friends! You read
magazines. You don't go to movies.
How do you know
what the world is like?
I work hard all day to put
food in your mouth.
You have no idea what it's been
like raising a child on my own!
You just go and tell yourself,
your mother is an illiterate moron...
who doesn't know the real world!
But you don't know anything!
I just mean, you don't know
anything about Mr. Robertson.
- He's really good, never wanted...
- Never wanted what?
- Answer me!
- I was the one who kissed him first.
And he told me not
to do it again, but I did.
He's nothing more than a pimp!
- You are Peter Robertson?
- I am.
- Do you care to sit down?
- No, thank you very much.
I'd like you to sit down though.
Let me tell you what
I know of certain laws.
Having sex with a minor
in this state is statutory rape.
Of course I would like
to go to the police...
but my main concern is Amy and
I will not have her put through that.
I could leave the town tomorrow.
Just like that.
I have no reason to stay.
Have you any idea of how
you've injured my child?
Excuse me?
You've taken a very innocent girl,
put your handprint on her forever.
Mrs. Goodrow...
Is it Mrs. Goodrow?
I was really never quite sure.
It is Mrs. Goodrow.
Mrs. Goodrow, Amy may
very well be underage...
but she did not need a good
deal of teaching, shall I say.
You're loathsome.
Do you know that about yourself?
I'll report it to the police, to the
principal, to the superintendent.
It would be best if we didn't report
anything. I'll be gone tomorrow.
- I find you contemptible.
- I understand that you do.
He likes me and he wants me.
Who was my daughter?
Who'd she been?
She did not need a good deal
of teaching, shall I say.
- I'm wlth someone I barely knew.
- You don't go anywhere!
- All you read is magazines!
- She have even lied to me.
Is It Mrs. Goodrow?
I was really never qulte sure.
- Of course they disgust me.
- Yeats, Mom. Not Eats, Yeats.
What did he know?
That I said Eats,
instead of Yeats?
That I worked at the mill?
That I had no friends?
He's leaving town tomorrow.
I don't believe you.
Mom! Mom!
Mom, don't!
Mommy, no!
Clean it up.
Clean it up!
Clean up the mess!
On Monday morning, Amy
started her job at the mill.
The mugginess that hung in the air
seemed to be inside my head.
I could hardly move.
I felt in some real way,
I had died.
Read that back to me,
please, Isabelle.
The contract stated that assumption
of the risk would be with the buyer.
Okay, good. That's fine.
Thank you.
Isabelle.
Did I say three copies?
Make it four.
One more detail...
one more lie told me that
spring slipped into place.
It was like the puzzle I'd spent
hours watching my mother do.
A few of us are really good.
The teacher's giving extra stuff.
What appeared to be one
thing was really another.
You'll survive
in this heat, Isabelle?
How's your cousin's boy?
That one selling all the marijuana.
- Is he still talking to the priest?
- As far as I know.
I remember too well the day Arlene
reported on her cousin's son.
How high-minded I was telling her
these didn't happen out of the blue.
You reap what you sow.
I've always believed that.
I wanted to run back and tell
Arlene:"You really cannot know."
All the memories of that
happy spring were poisoned.
Our house had been contaminated.
There was no resting place.
Everything was invaded.
That was the thing.
I'm sorry, the number
you have reached...
Of course they don't care. They
only care about the dollar bill.
Those earrings were priceless.
My father gave them to me
the night before he died.
- Can you put a price on them?
- No.
And now they're telling me
that the earrings aren't covered.
Some lemonade, Isabelle?
Yes, this heat...
So, how was the visit
with John's new girlfriend?
Lovely. She's lovely.
- She's at medical school, you know.
- They'll have quite an income.
I'm sure that's a long
way down the line.
Avery had told Anne after all what
he found in the woods that day.
I would have given anything
to talk to my mother.
But she was gone.
I thought of my father, who died
in his car at the gas station.
I thought of his best friend.
Mom, mom.
And Amy. I thought of Amy.
How do you know
what the world is like?
It was an accusation I could have
made against my own mother.
I thought I had done It
differently wlth Amy, but no.
I passed on the same feeling.
I nevercalled It fear.
But that's what It was.
Amy, I need to talk to you.
But I don't wanna talk to you.
I don't ever wanna
talk to you again.
It seemed insane. We went to
the mill together every day...
we dressed each morning
in silence.
I was not sure how long we
could go on living this way.
Did you hear?
Dottie saw a UFO.
She went out in her back porch and
she has this glass of lemonade...
...resting like this on her stomach.
- Give it a rest, Rosie.
When she wakes up, the lemonade
is trembling, but the glass isn't.
So when the spaceship
lands on her lawn...
this figure she described as
olive skin with a very large head...
comes out and walks toward her...
...and puts thoughts in her head.
- And she doesn't remember anything.
She's a nut.
Dottie Brown has been
my best friend for 15 years.
If she were losing her mind,
I would be the first to know.
Isabelle, what do you think?
Do you believe her?
- I've never known Dottie to lie.
- People lie all the time.
Honestly, Isabelle,
where have you been?
I don't believe people
lie all the time.
If you're gonna force me to take
a stand, then I stand behind Dottie.
I'll be taking a few days off
at the beginning of next month.
I trust you'll hold down
the fort while I'm gone.
I will try my best.
Also...
I'm afraid Dottie Brown is
coming back to work next week.
Of course, I understand.
I appreciate what you've
done for Amy already...
letting her work here
the way you have.
So, how you doing otherwise?
I'm tired.
I'm very, very tired.
Mom...
- I'm resting.
- Mom, Stacy's pregnant.
I though you might
wanna know that.
August arrived. The pale sky seemed
to be expanding with the heat.
...paraffin wax.
I read it somewhere.
I think you're right.
There's not much chocolate in it.
I hate to see you smoking again.
Dottie, are you okay?
You seem different.
- Where did I put my soda?
- Maybe an alien took it.
Seen anymore spaceships, Dottie?
Why can't you just shut up?
Come on, Dottie! For cry out!
Some people really
should learn to shut up.
It could have been a dream.
I don't know if I saw it.
Dreams can be awful real.
It's all right. Don't worry.
It's more than that.
- Nothing's all right.
- It will blow over.
This heat is making
everybody cranky.
Couple of weeks,
nobody will ever mention it again.
I never thought,
Wally would cheat on me.
Specially while
I was in the hospital.
Come on, Isabelle.
Very homey.
- There's ice tea in the fridge.
- I found it.
Drink it, Dot,
keep yourself hydrated.
Thank you.
He says, "Think of all the
good times we had together."
He doesn't understand.
There are no good times now.
There are no good memories.
Men just don't get it.
They're morons. They really are.
I can see how it could
have ruined your memories.
You must feel gutted.
He was your whole life.
It was people who
did this to each other.
Ordinary, regular people who
ruined other people's lives.
I said to him...
"Wally, well, you know we had
our differences over the years...
but I always thought
we were friends."
What did he say?
He said I was right.
That we were friends.
But, merciful Lord, friends
don't do that to each other.
No.
No.
The rain began during the night.
It seemed to simply appear
in the darkened air.
It was remarkable.
After a summer of
constant complaining...
how few people mention
this change in the weather.
Silly is me eating celery sticks.
Celery sticks are
very healthful for you.
God, I know I need healthy fibers.
I gotta fatten you two up.
Pretend, we're having a picnic.
I'm gonna keep you two skinnies
alive even if it's the death of me.
Maybe It was the weather.
- What's the joke?
- No joke.
Life, the joke is life.
Maybe It was my new friendship
wlth Dottie and Bev.
Something was giving
me confidence...
and the desire to look good
again in Avery's eyes.
Avery, you and Anne would care
to come over for desert one night?
- Just an idea.
- No, no, no, that's very hospitable.
- What night did you have in mind?
- Saturday, seven?
- Lf you're free, nothing elaborate.
- 7 o'clock. I'll check with Anne.
But... Well, that sounds fine.
Stacy had her baby.
She did?
She had the baby?
- Tell me.
- There's nothing to tell.
She had it, she gave it up.
The end.
It's hardly that.
It's hardly the end.
You should go visit Stacy.
You mean, in the hospital?
Go.
I'll get something from the garden.
Yes, can I speak
to Mr. Peter Robertson?
Does a Peter Robertson live there?
Thank you.
Yes, can I speak to
Mr. Peter Robertson?
- Hello?
- Mr. Robertson, it's me, Amy.
I'm sorry,
you have the wrong number.
No, I don't. It's me, Amy.
Amy Goodrow, from Shirley Falls.
You know.
I'm afraid not, you have the wrong
number. I don't know who you are.
There's no need foryou
to call me here again.
This is the bathroom, Anne. I know
it's awfully small, but it's clean.
Scare you?
Stacy's parents don't let me call.
They think I'm some dumb-ass jerk.
You used to have
like real long hair.
I thought so.
You know about old coins?
Whatever there's in there.
- Where did you get this?
- You want them?
Take them.
Where are we?
I was wondering myself.
I think somebody's farm.
Look, I...
I really like you and everything...
but I just, I mean...
being Stacy's friend
and everything.
- I'm sorry.
- It's okay, don't worry about it.
I gotta piss bad.
- Hello?
- Hello.
It's Isabelle.
Isabelle, hello.
I wonder if there
might be a problem.
- Problem?
- Perhaps I made a mistake.
I thought that you and Anne
were going to drop by.
My goodness.
This is my fault. I'm afraid,
I forgot lt. We have some friends.
Well, another night.
It's no problem at all.
We'll try again sometime.
Absolutely.
And, Isabelle, I'm very sorry.
Please, don't even think about it.
It's hardly anything.
Hardly a big event.
Amy, you gotta see this!
Lab just confirmed: Belongs to
the missing Debbie Kay Dorne.
What? What?
What happened?
Tell me.
Are you okay?
- Hello?
- Isabelle? I'm at Dottie.
Wally's gone out to shack up
wlth Althea Tyson.
Dottie doesn't wanna stay here
tonight. I'd bring her to my home...
Bev, do you wanna bring
Dottie over here tonight?
Amy found a dead body tonight.
She's upstairs asleep.
Mother of God,
what are you talking about?
- Debbie Kay Dorne.
- What do you mean, she found her?
She was driving around
in a car with her friend and...
Would you like
some Kleenex, Dottie?
I don't care if my nose falls out,
just get to the body.
She had been left for God knows
how long in the trunk of a car.
She didn't even look like
a person, except for the teeth.
Thank God, a doctor would come over
and give her something to sleep.
Otherwise, I don't believe
in giving children...
Isabelle, she found
a murdered girl.
- Can I have one so I can sleep?
- Certainly.
Thank you for letting me stay over
and for not asking me anything.
Dottie, I need to tell
you something.
Amy...
When I became pregnant
with Amy, I was 17.
I wasn't married.
I've never been married.
That's one thing.
He was a married man, Dottie.
He was my father's best friend.
And I knew, it was wrong,
but I went and did it anyway.
I hate Althea Tyson, Isabelle,
I don't hate you...
if that's what you're afraid of.
How about Amy,
does she know about this?
God, if I could just explain.
My parents were good people.
I'm not one of those who
complain about their childhood.
I really, really,
wanna stress that.
Jake Cunningham had grown up with
my father. Jake married Evelyn.
And they'd show up sometimes,
on a weekend afternoon, their kids.
Eventually, he moved
out to California.
And then when I was 12,
my father died.
I'm sorry, I didn't know.
I took care of my mom and
my mother took care of me.
We didn't go many places.
I'd give anything
to be with her again.
I wanted to be a teacher.
I was valedictorian of my class.
Of course, there was only
My mother made me a beautiful
dress for graduation day.
Six weeks earlier,
Jake Cunningham showed up.
God, we were so happy to see him.
He smiled every time
he looked at me.
It was wonderful to have
a man in the house.
And his eyes...
His eyes were a little bit sad
and very, very kind.
And he smiled every time
he looked at me.
We went for a walk.
I wish, I could say
that I didn't know...
but I knew, lt was wrong.
But I didn't care
because I was so happy.
Yes, I loved him.
Yes, I loved him.
In the morning, he was gone.
My mother took me to
the minister who said...
God worked in mysterious ways...
and His will would be done.
She took care of the baby while
I drove to the teachers' college.
Did Jake Cunningham ever know?
My mother called
him in California and...
Evelyn answered the phone.
Imagine Evelyn standing
in her kitchen...
wondering what to make for
dinner. The telephone rings.
One minute your life is one way,
and the next minute it's caved in.
That January my mother died.
I'm sure, it was the stress
that killed her.
So I dropped out of college and
I moved down to Shirley Falls.
I thought, maybe I could
find a husband here.
But...
I bought a wedding band
at the Five & Ten.
And when anyone asked,
I said I was a widow.
When you're in the middle
of a lie like that...
Growing up I thought that I'd get
married and have a nice family.
It's still so strange that it
hasn't happened that way.
Jake died right before
I moved to Shirley Falls.
He had a stroke.
But I never thought of Evelyn.
I never thought of her.
I should really go up.
You've been alone all this time.
Come here.
I did not think that
night of Avery Clark.
I thought about
my friends downstairs.
These women had heard
my story of a life falsely lived...
of other lives hurt
by my actions.
And wept wlth me.
And then, wlth tender kindness,
they had kissed me goodnight.
I'm right here.
Right here.
We destroyed your living room.
Might as well make pancakes
and wreck the kitchen.
Wreck it, it doesn't matter.
Here you go.
How's Amy?
How's she doing?
She's slept.
She'll be down in a minute.
You take it one day at a time.
My cousin used to say the way to eat
an elephant is one bite at a time.
I like that.
One bite at a time.
Amy Goodrow. You come down and
let a fat old woman give you a hug.
Come on. Do it for me.
A new feeling was taking hold.
A mild flavor of freedom.
A realization that I wouldn't
be making my bed that day.
Nor would Amy and
I be going to church.
I would have to rearrange my life.
I knew that now.
Wlthout Avery Clark at lts core.
In fact, I would be
taking some time off.
I was wrong not to tell
you this a long time ago.
I'm related to people out there.
Carrots, potatoes, beef.
Cube, no more than one inch.
- I don't like big chunks.
- What spices do you use though?
Salt and pepper. Never anything,
but salt and pepper.
You heard, they found
that missing Anne Kay girl...
in the trunk of some car
by a couple of teenagers?
I wish, they find the guy
who did it and arrest him.
Hang him up by his toenails.
Hang in there, Dot.
You'll look better.
Time helps.
Time always helps.
Way to eat an elephant, huh?
I have some indigestion
with this one, I can tell you.
I'm sure you do.
Let's call Isabelle.
See what she's doing.
Soon Amy would be
starting school again.
And we were different.
Do you think,
Evelyn told them about me?
Honey, I don't know. I was a child
the last time I saw that woman.
- What's the daughter's name, Callie?
- Yes. Short for Catherine, I believe.
Callie Cunningham.
That's so cute.
After we dry your hair, let 's
put just a touch of make-up on.
Go ahead.
It was amazing. After years of
holding on tight to the shame...
how Ilttle I cared
if other people knew.
I felt exposed to be sure,
yet cleaner.
Okay, Mom, I'm done.
I rewrote the letter
many times that night.
"Dear Evelyn, may I apologize for
again intruding into your life?"
After that, there was
nothing to do, but walt.
One more season passing.
One more summer gone.
Nothing was forever. Nothing.
Evelyn's been in a hospital, which
is why she didn't answer right away.
She hopes, I didn't feel snubbed.
Her three children were told
a few years ago of the baby.
Your sister wants to meet you.
"Catherine just got married and
she's moved back East near you.
- I think a few hours away."
- They don't call her Callie anymore?
"The family's coming back
the last Saturday of the month...
for the baptism of
Catherine's new baby.
I know it's short notice, but would
you like to bring Amy down...
for one of those
days for a visit?"
It might be boring. I mean,
relatives are usually boring.
I think, my mother is afraid
that they won't like her.
But she's let me go to the party
at Karen's. Are you going?
I doubt it.
I'll probably just hang out.
The party'll suck.
- You ready?
- One second.
- Do I look all right?
- I love you in that.
My job now is to release
Amy to the world.
To deliver my daughter
into the lap of her family.
Relatives who are hers, not mine.
I would always
remember this drive...
as the end of Amy's
solitary childhood...
and of those endless days
of that hot summer.
It was my heart's call
in the clear autumn air:
Amy.