You know, I just had a thought.
Why don't I check in a hotel and rest.
- You go find your foIks. - Oh, John.
You wanted to meet them. Let's go meet them.
The sooner we get it over with, the better.
Mom may not even be at the gaIIery. She'Il probabIy be out to Iunch.
Dad's at his office. You may not meet them tilI dinner anyway.
You may be wrong about them.
You shouId have caIIed and toId them we were coming.
You may be in for the biggest shock of your young Iife.
After 23 years Iiving in the same house with them...
don't you think I know my own mother and father?
I hope so.
There's no problem.
We'II onIy be a minute, and then we'd Iike to go out to CIaremont Drive.
Right.
I'lI see if Mom's in the office.
- Joey! - HiIary, hi! How are you?
What a surprise.
- l'lI be with you in just a moment. - Okay.
- Strange. - One of HiIary's favorites.
It's caIIed a kinetic scuIpture.
- A what? - Look.
Why, isn't that something?
- DarIing, what are you doing here? - I thought Mother might be here.
Mrs. St. George, I'd Iike you to meet Dr. Prentice.
Dr. Prentice, I'm so pIeased to meet you.
Mrs. St. George. PIeasure to see you.
Christina's Iunching with Mr. CazaIet.
I can ring up.
No. Just teIl her l'm back and that I'Il be home.
Has something happened? I mean, is anything wrong?
Something's happened, but everything's right. Thanks.
How was Hawaii? Was it fun?
Hawaii was simpIy unbeIievable.
Do you Iive in San Francisco, Doctor, or are you just visiting?
- I'm just passing through. - I see.
- It was a pIeasure to have met you. - Thank you.
Bye-bye.
No, HiIary runs the gaIlery now, but it's Mom who has alI the ideas.
Her idea for fiIIing hoteI rooms with originaIs is brilIiant.
It gives people who stay there time to decide if they want them.
The hotel gets suppIied with free decor.
The guests get to look at good paintings instead of bad reproductions.
The painter gets a chance to make a saIe and Mom gets her commission.
Next right.
- Isn't that clever? - Oh, that is clever.
- What do I owe you? - 10.50, mac.
TweIve bucks, right?
Right.
Oh, John. Come meet TiIIie.
TiIIie, this is Dr. Prentice. John, Miss MatiIda Binks.
PIeased to meet you, Miss Binks.
I've certainIy heard a great deaI about you.
What are you doing home unexpected?
Your foIks didn't know you was coming. You told them you're back aIready?
I left a message for Mom at the gaIIery.
It's IoveIy to see you. l missed you.
You stiII ain't toId me why you're home earIy.
- You want those bags to go upstairs? - Not my two. I'm not staying.
It's personaI reasons. I'Il telI you aII about it.
You eat any Iunch yet, or you expecting it now?
Could you make us sandwiches and coffee? We'II have it on the terrace.
Do you Iike it?
It's beautifuI.
Come out and Iook from the terrace.
- What? - Hey, who's that?
That's Dorothy. Isn't she a knockout? She heIps TiIIie during the week.
- Which days? - Never mind.
You know, I ought to caII my foIks and get that out of the way.
Okay. Use the phone in the study.
- Are you gonna introduce me? - Not on the phone.
- Aren't you gonna teIl them about me? - I'd rather write to them.
I have to meet them, don't I? Before l come to Geneva?
Or are we going to keep our marriage a secret from them?
Why didn't I think of that? See, that's a thought.
I'II shut this in case Dorothy goes by.
Los Angeles, pIease. Area code 213.
Axminster, two, four, six, nine, nine. Time and charges.
WeII, l got a right to my own opinions.
And you want my opinion?
I don't care to see a member of my own race getting above hisseIf.
Then I don't want your opinion, and if I ever do, I'II ask for it.
Oh, TiIlie, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean that, but you can't mean what you're saying either.
And you're so wrong. Look.
You're the Iast person I'd have expected to take such a siIly attitude.
You know I've aIways loved you, and you're just as bIack as he is.
How couId it be aIl right for me to Iove you and wrong for me to Iove him?
WiII you just stop and think about that?
Listen. What are we having for dinner tonight?
- Gotta make it something speciaI. - CeIery soup and rump steak.
Oh, now, come on. TurtIe soup and tournedos...
and one of your best pies.
It's Mom!
Joey, darIing. What the heIl? Joey!
- Mom, I'm here! - HeIIo, darIing. Are you aII right?
- There's nothing wrong, is there? - Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine.
I rang the gaIIery to teII HiIary that CazaIet agreed to our scheme.
He has? That's marvelous. I knew he would.
She said you were back. She thought you might have a surprise for me.
What did she mean? Do I hear someone?
- Is there someone here? - Oh, Mom, I'm so happy.
I've never been so happy in aII my Iife. I'm just--
Bursting. Yeah, I can see that.
And I'm already feeling happy for you. Do l know him?
No. That's just it. I onIy met him myseIf ten days ago.
You wouIdn't beIieve what's happened in just ten days.
I think I might if you'd pipe down Iong enough to teIl me.
- Mom-- - Lots of wonderfuI things happen--
He's so wonderfuI !
I've never known anyone Iike him. Never known anything Iike this.
I feII in Iove with him in 20 minutes.
WeII, that was quick.
WeIl, Dad, I wanted to stop on the way back...
but time got so short and I've got to get to work.
Yeah, but I still don't understand why you couldn't spend one day with us.
WeII, the fact is, Dad, I met this girI.
You what? You met a girl? Why didn't you say so?
Mary, he says he met a girl. Why, that's good news.
- She live up there in San Francisco? - She Iives up here. I'm at her house.
He says he's at her house now, the girl's house.
Well, that's different, son. Where'd you meet her? Hawaii?
Yes, in Hawaii, and I wanted to meet her foIks, see?
That sounds good, son. l mean, serious.
Yes, it's serious.
Well, this is quite a surprise.
Yeah, she's surprising in a Iot of ways, Dad.
Your mother says, ''ls she pretty?'
- Yes, she's very pretty. - She's pretty. What?
Your mother says, ''How old is she, son?"
Mary, what the hell difference does that make?
WeII, she's onIy 23, Dad.
Twenty-three. Well, that's good. You want my opinion?
You're 37. That's just the right difference.
Women age faster than men, you know what l mean?
- You reckon to marry the girl, son? - WeIl, we've been talking about it.
But--
Dad, there's one or two probIems, you see?
That I'II write to you about...
on the pIane to New York tonight, aII right?
He's so caIm...
and sure of everything.
He doesn't have any tensions in him.
He knows what he beIieves...
and what he thinks is right and why and where he's going.
Oh, Mom, there's one thing I must teII you.
He was married before, and he had a son.
lt was so tragic.
Both his wife and his son were kiIIed in a train accident...
in BeIgium eight years ago.
And John--
I haven't even toId you his name.
Mom, it's John Wade Prentice.
Isn't that a Iovely name?
John Wade--
Joanna Prentice...
l'II be.
But Mom...
there's something eIse that l must teIl you...
that John's been concerned about, very deepIy concerned.
He's been worrying for the past week whether you and Dad wouId be upset if--
WeIl, it's about time.
I was wondering where you'd been.
Mom...
this is John.
Doctor Prentice...
I'm so pIeased to meet you.
I'm pIeased to meet you, Mrs. Drayton.
I take it Joanna's aIready busted out with the big news.
WelI, she has told me a good deaI and alI very quickly too.
WeII, she's onIy known me for ten days...
so she can't teII you when l'm blushing.
That could be another probIem for us.
Mrs. Drayton, l'm medicaIIy quaIified...
so I hope you wouIdn't think it presumptuous if l say...
you ought to sit down before you falI down.
He thinks you're gonna faint because he's a Negro.
WeII...
I don't think I'm going to faint.
But I'lI sit down anyway.
Can't we aII sit down?
WeII...
I suppose it would be aII right if I said, ''My goodness,'' wouIdn't it?
WelI, my goodness.
- Do we mind her saying, ''My goodness''? - I don't mind.
What did they say? Did you teIl them about me?
- Yes. - What'd they say?
They said I sounded serious and asked if you were pretty.
I said you were.
They said this was a big surprise.
I said it was.
WeII, what did they say when you toId them I wasn't a coIored girl?
I didn't. It felt Iike too big a shock for the teIephone.
After aII, a Iot of peopIe wiII think that we're a very shocking pair.
Isn't that right?
I know what you mean.
TiIIie's made us some sandwiches.
- Let's go outside. - Yes, Iet's.
- Come on, Dr. Prentice. - I can expIain it aII in two minutes.
You see, John was invited to lecture at Hawaii University...
and we met at this big party at the dean's.
After the party, we went for a Iong drive.
- Thank you. - And since then, we've been together.
We've been swimming every day.
Then John was supposed to fIy back to Los AngeIes Saturday to see his parents.
That's where they Iive.
Thank you, TiIIie.
Try one of these. They're great.
- Do you want some coffee? - No, thanks. No coffee.
Does your father know that you're back?
No, I was going to phone him. Do you think he'd come back early if--
He's coming back earIy, aII right. He's pIaying golf with Monsignor Ryan.
That's marveIous.
Then he can meet John and we can aII taIk over dinner...
because John has to fIy to New York tonight to see a friend...
at CoIumbia University.
Then tomorrow night, he's fIying to Geneva...
to do three month's work for the WorId HeaIth Organization.
And I intend to fIy to Geneva next week so that we can be married.
And that's the whole situation.
In a nutshelI.
Except that he thinks...
that the fact he's a Negro and I'm not creates a serious probIem.
Does he?
I've told him 97 times...
that it wouIdn't make the sIightest difference to you or Dad.
But he just wouIdn't beIieve me. So that's why we're here.
And that's why he's watching you so cIoseIy right now...
whiIe he's pretending not to watch you at aIl.
She's absoIuteIy right, Mrs. Drayton. I'm sorry.
I toId her not to spring aIl this on you so suddenIy.
But-- Look, if your father's coming home...
you could at Ieast say that I'm somebody you met in Hawaii.
- Now, reaIIy? - Give him a haIf hour to get adjusted.
But what for? He stiIl has to be toId, doesn't he?
WeII, you shouId make up your minds because I think I just heard his car.
Mr. Matt.
- Hi. How are you? - AII heII's done broke Ioose.
- That waste disposaI out again? - It ain't that.
Just remember, aII heII's done broke Ioose.
- What's happened? Where's Christina? - She's on the terrace with IittIe Joey.
- With Joey? - And somebody caIIed Dr. Prentice.
Doctor? There's a doc--
WeII, what's wrong? What's happened? Joey!
Here he comes.
- Daddy! How are you? - What's happened? What are you doing?
- TiIIie said there was a doctor here. - There is! Dr. John Wade Prentice.
- This is my dad. - PIeased to meet you.
How are you? Nice to know you. But what is it?
- Is something wrong? - There's nothing wrong.
I decided to come home earIy.
Oh, Dr. Prentice and I met in Hawaii...
and we fIew back in the same pIane this morning.
Oh, weII, sit down.
I thought something was reaIIy wrong. TiIIie said--
TiIIie's behaving very strangeIy today. WouId you Iike coffee?
No, thanks. I have a date to pIay golf with Monsignor Ryan.
How are you? What's the matter, you having a chiII?
No, darIing, I'm fine.
I--
Doctor, where are you practicing? In San Francisco?
- Sit down. - No, sir.
I'm just here for one day.
Oh, where is your practice? Hawaii?
WeII, no, not-- I'm not established in any one pIace.
I'm in tropicaI medicines, mostIy, in Africa...
these past few years.
WeIl, that sounds interesting.
Everything about Dr. Prentice is interesting.
I'm sure it is.
I wish I had more time, but if you'II excuse me.
CouIdn't you be a haIf hour Iate and stay and taIk with us?
I'd Iove to, but I mustn't keep the Monsignor waiting.
No, I'm gonna be Iate as it is. WiII I be seeing you Iater, Doctor?
You certainly wiII.
Good. WeII, that's good.
Dr. Prentice wilI be here for dinner, Matt.
Oh, fine. Then you can teII me aII about the African--
There's a great deaI to teII too. Isn't there, Mom?
WelI, fine. See you aII Iater.
What the heII is going on here?
- This doesn't make sense either. - WeII, I toId you, didn't I?
What'd you teII him? Look, Chris...
if you don't expIain to me in the next few minutes--
I can expIain it, Mr. Drayton.
You can? WeII, let's have it
WeIl, it's my fault.
You see, we have sort of a situation here.
Joanna and I didn't just meet in Hawaii.
We spend a good deaI of time together.
I mean, aIl the time after we met.
And, weII, we have this probIem:
I feII in Iove with your daughter.
And, as incredibIe as it may seem...
she feIl in Iove with me.
And we fIew back to San Francisco...
to see if you or Mrs. Drayton wouId have any objections if we got married.
Joanna toId her mother as soon as she waIked in...
and I had the stupid idea, that maybe...
there was some way to...
break this gentIy.
Daddy, you're making John and me nervous.
Am I? WeII, I wouIdn't want to do that.
I wouIdn't want to make anybody nervous. How about you? Are you nervous?
Sit down, Doctor, before you make me nervous.
Would anybody Iike a cup of coffee?
What did she say when Joanna toId her?
- Did she raise any objections? - None, so far. There hasn't been time.
What objections?
Dad, I know this is sort of a shock because it's sudden and unexpected...
and it never occurred to me that I might falI in Iove with a Negro.
But l did, and nothing in the worId is gonna change that.
Even if you had any objections, l wouIdn't let him go now if...
you were the governor of AIabama-- I mean, if Mom were.
TeII him, wiII you?
TeIl John if you have any objections and then you couId go pIay goIf.
WeII, what is it you expect me to say?
If you want me to think about this, you'II have to give me time to think.
The doctor says you have a probIem. You certainIy have.
lf you're expecting a sensibIe statement, you'lI have to give me time.
Does that sound reasonabIe?
It's reasonabIe, Mr. Drayton, but not quite practicaI.
You see, Matt...
there's sort of a speciaI probIem.
See, I've got to fIy to New York tonight...
and on to SwitzerIand tomorrow night.
Yes, and what Joey wants-- what she proposes--
is to go to Geneva herseIf so they can be married...
within the next coupIe of weeks.
What the heII is aII the rush?
We know that we want to get married.
And unIess somebody does have any objections, why shouId we waste time?
John and I aren't gonna change our minds.
Are you saying-- Are you telIing me...
that you want an answer today...
about how your mother and I feeI?
Of course. We want you and Mom to state absoIuteIy cIearIy...
that you have no objections whatever...
and that when we do get married, we'II have your blessing.
Now, are you gonna play goIf or not?
No.
I'II just calI it off. Excuse me, Doctor.
And that's my dad. Do you Iike him?
- l don't know. Does he Iike me? - I don't know either.
When he puts on his American eagIe face...
nobody can teII what he's thinking, except Mom.
I don't think he Iiked any of us after the siIIy way we began.
Excuse me, wiII you? Give John some more coffee.
She's beautifuI, Joanna.
She's even better looking than you. You know that?
HeIIo, Edie?
Two things, Edie. Both of them urgent.
CalI up Monsignor Ryan and teII him l can't pIay this afternoon.
TeIl him something's come up, something personaI at home.
Then calI the Iibrary...
and see if they've got any dope on a John Wade Prentice.
Prentice. He's a doctor of medicine. FeIlow about 35, 36--
- Oh, Matt. - He's a coIored feIlow.
Yeah. lf they haven't got anything...
caII up the medicaI association and see what they've got.
Get anything you can, wiIl you, Edie? AII right. Hurry and caII me back.
SureIy there can't be any necessity for that.
- It can't do any harm, either. - But Joey said he was Iecturing...
at the university in Hawaii.
TeIl me something. This ever occur to you that this might happen?
Never occurred to me either. Not once.
Can you teII me your reaction?
- How do you feeI about it? - Oh, I don't know.
I was shaken at first. l stiII am, I suppose.
But, Matt, they're serious. They mean what they're saying.
Both of them. They know what they're doing.
No, they may mean what they're saying, I accept that.
But they don't know what they're doing. I won't accept that.
If I'm not intruding--
Of course not. PIease, come in.
I'd Iike to have a coupIe of minutes with the two of you, if I may?
Sure, Doctor. Come on in.
There's something you both ought to know. l made a decision.
Joanna doesn't know about it, and I don't see why she shouId.
What is it, Doctor?
Joanna thinks she's committed...
and that our whoIe future is settIed...
but there is no real commitment.
And up to now, nothing is settled at aII.
I don't understand.
Joanna said you're going to be married no matter what we think about it.
WeII, that's not the case.
UnIess you two approve-- and without any reservations at aII--
there won't be any marriage.
WeII, why, John?
Why have you decided that?
WeII, Mrs. Drayton...
this thing has happened so quickly...
I'm just as startIed as you must be.
Two weeks ago, I wouId have said such a thing was inconceivabIe.
But two weeks ago...
I had not met Joanna.
She's not at aII Iike anyone I've ever known.
It's not just that our color difference doesn't matter to her.
It's that she doesn't seem to think there is any difference.
The troubIe is, this thing has come up...
at a time when I aIready have aIl the probIems I need.
And l feeI that I couldn't afford to get married...
if it meant that l wouId have to take on any speciaI probIems...
in addition to those we're obviousIy going to have.
When you say ''speciaI probIems,'' Doctor, what do you mean?
WeII--
Your attitude, Mr. Drayton...
and yours, Mrs. Drayton.
Joanna is very cIose to both of you.
If, by marrying me, she damaged her reIationship with either of you...
the pain of it wouId be too much for her.
I wouldn't know how to deaI with that kind of situation.
In any case, I wouIdn't even want to try.
WeII, I'm gIad you toId us, Doctor.
Don't misunderstand me. I love your daughter.
There is nothing I wouIdn't do to keep her as happy as she was the day we met.
But it seems to me, without your approvaI...
we wiII make no sense at alI.
That is why I'm asking for...
the cIearest possible statement of what your attitude is going to be.
l appreciate that, Doctor.
It's aImost in the form of an uItimatum.
Not quite, Mr. Drayton.
AII you have to say is good-bye.
WeII, that's where it's at.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak my peace.
WeII...
stiII think you ought to have someone check on him?
No.
He's right about Joey too.
- You know that, don't you? - Yes.
Thank God he is. That's the way I feeI. Thank God he's right.
She's 23 years oId, and the way she is...
is just exactIy the way we brought her up to be.
We answered her questions. She Iistened to our answers.
We toId her it was wrong to beIieve...
that white peopIe were somehow essentiaIly superior to bIack peopIe...
or the brown or the red or the yeIlow ones, for that matter.
PeopIe who thought that way were wrong to think that way.
Sometimes hatefuI, usuaIIy stupid, but aIways wrong.
That's what we said...
and when we said it, we did not add...
''But don't ever faII in Iove with a coIored man.''
Edie, Mr. Drayton. Do you want the whole story?
- Yeah, what is it, Edie? - He's an important guy.
Just the main points: born Los Angeles, 1930...
graduated maxima cum laude John Hopkins, '54...
assistant professor, Yale Medical School, '55...
three years professor, London School of Tropical Medicine...
three years assistant director, World Health Organization...
two textbooks and a list of monographs and medical society honors...
as long as your arm.
Married Elizabeth Bowers, 1955, one son, John Wade.
Oh, both killed in an accident in 1959.
- There's a lot more here. - No, that's aII right. Thanks.
What's the $2.20?
He made a caIl to Los AngeIes to his parents.
I guess he doesn't bum free teIephone caIls either.
I can certainly understand why he didn't have much to say about himseIf.
Who the heII wouId beIieve him?
I beg your pardon, Iady.
He Ioves me, he Ioves me not.
TeII me, what do you think? Aren't they exactIy the way I said they were?
I must admit, they are very speciaI peopIe.
- ShaII I telI you something? - What's that?
For a whoIe week, I've been nervous.
No. I don't beIieve it.
Not about what they'd uItimateIy feeI. Just about their first reaction.
I thought it was just possibIe for the first time in 23 years...
they might Iet me down for the first half hour.
You're a phony. You know that? You're a big phony.
WeII--
She's aIways been a happy human being.
She Iaughed out Ioud before she was six months oId.
She was happy as a baby.
Happy as a littIe girl. Happy alI through schooI and coIIege.
But I don't think I've ever seen her...
quite so happy as she is right now.
And I have to be happy for her, Matt.
And I am.
l feel happy for her.
And proud of the fact that we heIped make her.
And whatever happens now, I feeI gIad...
that Joey's Joey.
How are you today? Having a steak fry, huh?
WelI, now, there she is. How are you today?
Wanna give me a Iift to Market Street? Save me a cab.
You know it, doII.
I hope these is better than the Iast we had, hotshot.
Lady, don't Iook at me. I deliver it. I don't rustIe the cattIe.
You said to remind you to open the wine.
CiviI rights is one thing.
This here is something eIse.
I went out on to the terrace.
Oh, I'II never forget it. It was so beautifuI.
It was aIready dark and the moon was rising.
I guess I didn't see him at first because I was Iooking at the view.
But he was standing there.
Then aII of a sudden he moved or something, and I jumped.
And he just stood there, Iooking at me and sort of--
- Ah, you're burning your shirt. - Oh, yes. Sort of smiIing.
''HeIIo,'' I said. ''Who are you?''
And I think he thought I was...
you know, attractive.
Anyway, finaIIy, he said...
''WeII, do you think it couId possibIy matter?''
- And it's just crazy, and l admit it. - You'd better let me do this.
But 20 minutes Iater, I feIt I was in love with him.
Mom, how Iong did it take you to faIl in Iove with Dad?
Oh, weIl, nothing Iike so Iong as 20 minutes.
- You mean, is that reaIIy true? - Yes, that's reaIIy true.
Oh, Mom.
Joey, l want to ask you something.
How deeply are you and John in-- No, I have no right to ask.
How deepIy invoIved? Do you mean, have we been to bed together?
I don't mind you asking me that. We haven't.
He wouIdn't.
I don't think he was in doubt about my feeIings, but he wouldn't.
You're burning my shirt.
He's been concerned the whole time about my getting hurt somehow.
They're stiII taIking.
WouIdn't you think they'd have said everything by now?
Are you saying they don't have any speciaI sense of rhythm?
That's right.
But, heII, you can see it.
You can't turn on the teIevision set without seeing those kids dancing...
and I say the coIored kids are better than the white kids.
But there's an expIanation for that. It's our dancing, and it's our music.
We brought it here.
I mean, you can do the Watusi...
but we are the Watusi, if you know what I mean.
l remember, when I was about your age...
my sports editor teIIing me that Negroes wouId never be abIe to pIay basebaII.
Now, I suppose if he wanted to...
WiIlie Mays couId be eIected mayor of San Francisco.
I own a newspaper, but I couIdn't be elected dogcatcher.
WeII, I don't guess you want to be dogcatcher any more...
than he wants to be mayor of San Francisco.
No, I suppose that's right.
Doctor, we've taIked about a good many things...
but there's one thing we haven't taIked about.
Have you given any thought to the probIems your chiIdren wiIl have?
Yes, and they'lI have some. And we'II have the chiIdren.
Otherwise, you couIdn't caII it a marriage.
Is that the way Joey feeIs?
She feeIs that aII of our children wiII be president of the United States...
and they'II aII have colorfuI administrations.
WeII, you made her, Mr. Drayton.
I just met her in Hawaii.
But how do you feeI about that probIem?
WelI, frankIy, I think your daughter is a bit optimistic.
l'd settIe for secretary of state.
WouId you think it was some kind of cowardice if l toId you...
that no matter how confident you two are l'm just a IittIe scared.
No, it wouIdn't.
But you never know. Things are changing.
I have a feeling they're not changing anywhere eIse...
as fast as they are in my own backyard.
Just teII me this.
Don't you think this quick decision...
about how we feel about this thing is just a IittIe unfair?
In a way, I do.
But it wasn't my idea that everything be settIed so quickIy.
Your daughter said there's no probIem.
She says, ''My dad is a Iifelong fighting liberal who Ioathes race prejudice...
and has spent his whoIe Iife fighting against discrimination.''
She said, ''My parents-- They'II weIcome you with open arms.''
And I said...
''Oh, I sure want to meet them.''
TeIephone! It's Los AngeIes!
- Take it in my study. - Thank you.
- HeIIo? - Dr. Prentice?
- Yes, this is he. - Hello. That you, Little John?
Hi, Dad. What's up, man? Dr. Graves caII again?
Oh, no, it's not that, son. l just had an idea.
What would you say to us flying up there to spend the evening?
- This evening? - We could be up there at 6:30.
l thought maybe we could take you and your young lady friend for dinner.
- TelI them to come to dinner. - Just a minute.
- I'm having dinner with her foIks. - Don't be siIIy.
- TeIl them they're invited to dinner. - Who's that speaking? The young lady?
Yes, that's her.
No, just a minute. You haven't asked your mother, and there's TiIIie.
Won't you come to dinner, you and Mrs. Prentice?
John and I wiII meet your plane.
- Stop butting in. - Who am l talking to? John?
Hi, Dad.
Looks like she wants us even if you don't. We want to meet her.
- So we'll see you at 6:30. What? - Oh, no.
- See? - Your mother says she's pleased.
Oh, hell, he knows that. All right, son.
- Dad! - We'll see you later. Bye.
What's the matter?
Mom!
John's father and mother are coming to dinner.
Oh, good.
- MarveIous. - We'II meet their pIane at 6:30.
Fine. You'II teII TiIIie, won't you?
I toId you, my folks, they don't--
They think you're a coIored girI.
- Why didn't you teII them? - I was gonna write to them.
What difference does it make?
Do you think they wouIdn't come? CalI them back and teIl them.
They're gonna know anyway at 6:30 because I'II go with you to meet them.
That's not a good idea. I'II meet them.
It gives me a chance to expIain. I have to expIain.
Why do you keep trying to dramatize everything?
Look, I've told Pete and Judith that we'II meet them for a drink at 5:30.
It gives us just enough time to get to the airport.
She's my best and oIdest friend so you've just got to let them meet you.
Did he teIl you about this medicaI pIan of his?
No. What?
It's the damndest thing you ever heard of.
They put a whoIe medicaI schooI on about 20 trucks.
Then they run into some African country...
pick up the brightest native kids-- hundreds at a time--
and put them through courses just like they do the U.S. Army Corpsmen.
OnIy his idea is that they're aII speciaIists.
You know, each one trained to do one simpIe thing...
Iike sewing up a wound or deIivering a baby or what have you.
They go into pIaces where peopIe have never heard of an aspirin tabIet...
Iet aIone a doctor.
Imagine what that means.
For every thousand kids they train, they can save a miIIion Iives a year.
Now just think of that.
He seems to have made quite an impression on you.
Yeah.
I asked him how he got so far. You know, he's onIy 37.
He said he thought he got the best breaks because everybody he met...
didn't want him to think they were prejudiced against him.
Yeah, he made an impression, aII right. l wouIdn't know how to fauIt him.
Are you trying to fauIt him?
No, l'm not trying to fauIt him. You know, his father is a maiIman.
Retired now. Lives in Los AngeIes.
Now how do you suppose a coIored maiIman...
produced a son with aII the quaIities he has?
- You'lI find out this evening. - What?
Guess who's coming to dinner?
Who?
You mean, his parents?
Now wait a minute.
- Whose idea was that? - Joey invited them.
Yeah, Joey. We're being pressurized. You know that, don't you?
First there wasn't gonna be a marriage unIess we approved.
Then we had one day to make up our minds.
Now we have to spend hours entertaining somebody we never heard of.
What the heII is coming off here?
Oh, don't Iook at those baby pictures.
That was at KIosters, the year before Iast.
l'II get it! Just a second.
Monsignor Ryan! How wonderfuI to see you.
- WeII, good afternoon. - Come on in. Good afternoon.
Why are you here when you shouId be in Hawaii?
What is the probIem that caused your father to chicken out on our golf game?
- Who is this gentIeman? - Monsignor, this is Dr. John Prentice.
We met in Hawaii 11 days ago. The two of us are going to be married.
Are you, indeed? I take it you mean to each other.
- Dr. Prentice. - Monsignor.
WeII, of course, you're the probIem.
I'm afraid I am.
l knew nothing of this. Why haven't your parents informed me?
They didn't know either. We only fIew back this morning.
Excuse me a second. I forgot to teII TiIIie something.
WeII--
- This was aIl very sudden, was it not? - Yes, it was.
I suppose you two have had time to consider what you're doing.
No, we've not.
We'lI be two more for dinner. How many steaks did you get?
I got four 'cause I was toId four.
Order two more because the doctor's father and mother are coming.
- We'II be six. - His father and mother! Here?
That's right. If the butcher can't send 'em...
teII him to put 'em in a taxi.
It's gettin' more Iike a hoIy roIIers meetin' every minute.
Of course! l know about you.
I read an articIe about you in ''Common Wheel.''
I shaII want to taIk to you about that.
You know, this feIIow you brought home is a very important man?
- Are you aware of that? - I'm whoIIy aware of it.
When I'm married to him, I'II be important.
I guess you wiII, as a matter of fact.
- Where's ArnoId PaImer? - Dad and Mom are in the garden.
Good. WeIl, just go on with what you're doing. Fore!
Of aII the friends we've ever had, l guess he's the cIosest.
We're not Catholics, but he and Dad and Mom have done things together.
You know, sat on committees and things.
He's a wonderfuI man, and we Iove him.
You're a remarkable feIIow, Mike.
You get younger every minute.
- Did you-- - Yes, l've just seen him.
Handsome feIlow, isn't he?
LittIe Joey is nothing less than radiant.
It warms me chiIly oId heart just to Iook at her.
Aren't you just a IittIe shocked?
Shocked? Why shouId I be shocked?
I've known a good many cases of marriages between races in my time.
StrangeIy enough, they usualIy work out quite weIl.
I don't know why.
Maybe because it requires some speciaI quaIity of effort...
more consideration and compassion...
than most marriages seem to generate these days.
- CouId that be it? - Yes, it couId.
I'm gIad you said that. That's a beautifuI thought.
You do have beautifuI thoughts.
That's my trade, you know.
What about Iaddie over here? You making heavy weather of it?
You know, this man is quite a famous feIIow in his own right.
He's done incredibIe work in Asia and some awful pIace in Africa.
Mom! HiIary's here. She wants to see you.
Excuse me, wiII you? Express some more beautifuI thoughts to the lad there.
Thank you.
I hope you won't think that I'm prying, Doctor...
but naturaIIy one is curious.
- NaturaIIy. - We are going to be married.
Are you?
WeIl, I didn't even know.
I mean, Christina hadn't even mentioned that--
She didn't know. It was a surprise to her too.
A surprise. WeIl, l shouId think it was.
My dear!
Joey telIs me that congratuIations are in order, and you didn't even know.
What's the probIem, HiIary? What brings you aII the way up here?
- Mr. Cazalet phoned about the pictures. - Oh, that. Excuse us, wiII you?
I'II waIk out to your car with you.
- I hope I'II be seeing you shortly. - ActuaIIy, no.
Dr. Prentice is leaving tonight...
and Joey within the next coupIe of weeks.
WelI, then you must permit me to wish you every happiness.
Come aIong.
My poor dear, what a shock for you.
I knew something was up when I came into the gaIIery.
But this! Whatever are you going to do about it?
- I mean, the child is of age. - Yes, the chiId is 23.
Why didn't you simpIy ring up with the Cazalet information?
WelI, I must admit, I was intenseIy curious.
I couIdn't beIieve it.
It's so unIike Joey to do anything so appaIIingIy stupid.
- Yes, come aIong. - But what you must be going through.
You must try not to worry about it.
Now I have some instructions for you.
I want you to go straight back to the gaIIery. Start your motor.
When you to the gaIlery, teII Jennifer...
she wiII be Iooking after things temporarily.
She's to give me a ring if there's anything she can't deaI with herseIf.
Then go into the office and make out a check for cash...
for the sum of $5,000.
Then carefuIIy...
remove absoluteIy everything...
that might subsequently remind me that you had ever been there...
incIuding that yeIIow thing with the bIue bulbs...
which you have such an affection for.
Then take the check for $5,000...
which I feel you deserve...
and get permanentIy Iost.
It's not that I don't want to know you, aIthough I don't.
It's just that I'm afraid we're not reaIIy the sort of peopIe...
that you can afford to be associated with.
Don't speak. Just go.
You see that boy? The taII one?
If he'd played his cards right, you'd never even have met me.
But he feII for some girI from Pomona.
- That'II teach him. - Mom!
Do you know what HiIary was doing? She was being an absoIute bitch.
She was. I aImost wish you'd fire her. l reaIIy do.
Joey, how can you be so hard?
She has a reaIIy quite ruthIess streak. You ought to be warned about it.
She gets it from her father.
They need aII the heIp you can give them...
because they're going to have speciaI difficuIties.
No, don't budge. PIease, sit.
Of course, they know aII that.
They're serious peopIe. Fine, inteIIigent peopIe.
And if they know what lies in store for them...
and they stiII want each other enough to accept it...
I think it's pIain as anything that they love each other very much.
You'Il have to agree that any two peopIe who Iove each other that much...
deserve aII the best Iuck in the worId.
I don't know.
I wish I didn't have the feeling that they'Il never make it...
that the whoIe thing's impossibIe.
You feeI that way, do you?
You're reaIly thrashing about then.
That's very interesting, indeed.
And rather amusing, too, to see a broken-down...
oId phony IiberaI come face-to-face with his principIes.
Of course, I aIways have beIieved...
that in that fighting IiberaI facade...
there must be some sort of reactionary bigot trying to get out.
Oh, go to heII. You and your crowd are stiII preaching heIl.
WeII, I'm off.
As much as I'm enjoying your discomfiture...
I may be abIe to save a few souIs before supper.
But, I am, as it happens, free for dinner.
PIease, come, 7:30.
The doctor's famiIy are fIying up from Los AngeIes.
Oh, welI, in that case, you'lI actuaIIy need me.
Otherwise, your side won't even outnumber the bIacks.
Thank you, my dear.
HaIf past seven.
What was that the Beatles sang?
We can work it out Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Mom did it. Do you think it Iooks Iike him?
WeII, it Iooks a IittIe grim, doesn't it?
- No, don't Iet me disturb you. - Not at aIl.
I hope you don't mind, but I've wrangIed an invitation to dinner.
-MarveIous! I'm deIighted you're coming. -Thank you, my dear.
- I'm very deIighted to have met you. - My pleasure, Monsignor.
- See you this evening. - CertainIy.
You know, you two make me feel...
quite extraordinarily happy.
I'd better teII TiIIie. If you listen, you'II hear her going through the roof.
I brought you the Iatest buIIetin.
Guess who's coming to dinner now?
The Reverend Martin Luther King?
You're so cIose. lt's Monsignor Ryan.
Bake a second pie, wiII you? You know how he Ioves your cooking.
Listen, is the big guest room in order?
Dr. Prentice wants to have a shower and change.
- He does? - He does.
WeII, she's 23 years oId.
I guess she has a right to do as she pIeases.
Yes, but that's not the point. The doctor said--
l know what the doctor said. CouId we get out of here for a few minutes?
- Sure. - What are the others doing?
They're meeting Peter and Judith for a drink...
and then they're going on to the airport.
AII right, come on. Come on, wiII you?
Whatever happened to what's-his-name? Homer?
That Iawyer? I thought she liked him very much.
Nothing happened to Homer. Dr. Prentice just happened to Joey.
It was onIy Iast Christmas she said Homer had the inside track.
Isn't that the pIace where we got the good ice cream? Let's get some.
It's after 5:00. You'II spoiI--
A IittIe ice cream can't hurt.