Hold on.
- Hilary! - What?
Keys.
- Hey! Whoo! - You couldn't handle it.
What's up?
Get out ofhere!
Now, these are a collector's item.
You've got me on hold for 10 minutes already.
Look at that. There's only 39 left.
Oh, I love that hat.
And Roger Callahan...
and Misty Ryan...
and the Kinsella boy...
and-and his sister... what's her name?
- Rosemary. - Rosemary. Exactly.
Out of that whole gang, you were the smartest.
- You had the best report cards. - The best report cards.
And now she's a Realtor.
She has a Cadillac with a sign on it.
Hello. Hello?
Hmm. Could you at least put out the cigarette while you eat?
Hello. Oh, look at that! There's only 15 left.
Well, how 'bout the business course, then?
You could go back. You could.
Then call Danny.
Tell...
- A guy cheats on you once. - Don't.
And you walk out on him like he shot somebody.
Go back to him, yell at him, holler at him...
but make something happen, Hilary, for once in your life.
At least he supported you.
You missed it, Mom.
Didn't know it was gonna happen quite that fast, though. Isn't she something?
16 Nob Hill?
- Right up those stairs, miss. - Thanks.
Uh, straight back and to the right.
Thank you.
Will you please! You too! Here.
Hi. What's happening?
Take a seat. Fill this out, please.
Hi.
Does anybody have a pen?
Thank you for coming. We'll be in touch with the agency.
Ms. O'Neil.
Hi.
I know you're nervous. Yes.
- Please, have a seat. - Everything's in place, so relax.
Yes, bags are packed. Plane is waiting. Hotel is waiting.
All ofJapan is waiting.
She's not on the agency list, David.
Yes. Yes.
Uh-huh.
- I have my personal briefs in the suitcase with my socks. - You're not on the agency list.
Oh, no. I'm answering the ad.
The very moment, Marvin, the second. Yes, I promise.
Right. Listen, Marvin.
I have to... I have to go.
- Take a pill, Marvin, please. I'll see you in Japan.
Excuse me.
- Ah, yes, Miss... - O'Neil.
I'm afraid, Miss O'Neil...
my son ran this ad...
and, uh, long story short, I need a nurse for my son.
- Are you a nurse? - No, but I thought that it said...
- I mean, only a few things... - I'm sorry.
Thank you for coming.
No, thank you for having me.
- Give her cab fare, David. - I don't want cab fare.
- Give her cab fare. - I don't want your goddamn cab fare!
Give her cab fare and hire the last nurse we saw.
Miss. Miss, please, come back.
Miss, the farther we go down, the farther we must go back up.
I'm not going back up.
Understand, this is my duty.
If I'm required to chase you back to, God forbid, Oakland, I will.
Oh, what a marvelous day.
Yes, all... all right.
And I quote, "There has been a terrible mistake.
Would you please come back to the house for an informal interview downstairs?"
- Downstairs? - Yes. Please?
Go ahead. It's all right.
Yes. Please come in.
I'm Victor Geddes.
- Trapped. - Hey, what's goin' on here?
No, no. L... I'm sorry.
Ajoke. Um, an icebreaker.
Oh. Well, I can see why the job's still open.
- Ms. O'Neil? - Hilary. Yeah.
Hilary.
Good.
This is going very well.
How old are you?
- Twenty-three. - I'm 28.
You are not a nurse.
- No, I am not a nurse. - But you were a candy striper?
Well, yeah, in school...
but I dropped out.
Well, I was in Future Nurses of America.
I was the vice president. Alert the media.
No, that's...
- What did you do? - We went to the hospital after school.
- Mercy? - Uh, Our Lady.
- Oakland. - It's where I'm from.
I interrupted.
- Oh, right. I dropped out. - You worked there?
Right. Well, the sisters... You didn't go to Catholic school?
The sisters at the hospital talked to the sisters at the school...
and if we did something like, um...
wear a skirt too short or committed some mortal sin...
such as French kissing...
Ah.
Then we got the terrific duties at the hospital.
- Bed pans. - Bed pans.
Changing sheets.
Uh, cleaning all kinds of things.
But sometimes they let us change the babies...
and then point them out to their parents through the glass...
hold them up.
That's about it.
I have leukemia.
I've had it for, uh, 10 years.
I'm 28. Uh... I said that.
So, since high school.
U- Uh, not the whole time.
I've had remissions. I've led a pretty normal life.
Been to Europe.
Finished college. Ran the dash.
The hundred.
You're not the first woman in my house.
I, uh...
Do you know anything about chemotherapy?
Well, I know it's a treatment for...
They give me a course of it every time I fail their blood test.
It, uh...
it's pretty...
Well, I need help during it.
Want the job?
You make it sound so attractive.
Your father said...
Forget my father.
- Well, he said you needed a nurse. - Forget what he said.
- Well, if he's the one hiring... - He's not hiring.
He is flying toJapan in a luxurious airplane. I am hiring.
Uh, if you choose to take this job...
you will be working for me, not for my father.
So why would you pick me?
Oh...
I got it.
I had the shortest skirt, huh?
Oh, actually, no, there was one with a shorter skirt...
but he was never a candy striper.
Anyway, um...
it's room and board...
and, uh, $400 a week.
Cash?
This is your room.
If you take the job.
He's got a cold, or what?
- How sick? - Cancer.
Oh, shit, Hils. Maybe I don't want to hear this.
- Okay. How's Jim? - Jim's a prick.
How's his prick, then?
Mike, give us two beers.
Okay, so what's this guy look like?
- Upper classy, Nob Hill. - Hmm. College snot.
- I kinda get the feeling that he was... - He was what, Hils?
- Cute. - Well, go ahead, girl.
- You gonna take it? - I don't know. The place isn't bad.
Fancy antiques. I have my own bathroom. It's not in the hall.
- How much a week? - Four hundred big ones.
Fuck me! Not you.
Grab it, Hils. Your mom would go crazy.
You could buy the Cadillac she's always talkin' about, go shoppin' every day.
You can buy the outfit for me... What?
Just be cool, girl. Don't worry about it.
Hey, hey, baby. You need a walk home?
Hey, watch it.
Yeah, yeah.
Ah. Welcome.
- Thanks. - Oh, let me...
Uh, that'll be all. Thank you, Malachi.
Yes, sir.
That'll be all, Malachi.
Wait.
You coming in this room is not part of the deal.
I never thought it was.
Pardon me.
Uh, yes.
- How are you doing? - My friend, how are you?
- Fine. - This is, uh, Moamar.
Moamar Gadhafi.
He, uh, drives me every Monday morning to the, uh, chemo.
- Hilary O'Connell. - My honor.
O'Neil.
O'Neil. I'm sorry.
Peter Schmidt, 1886.
Barth and Kenitzer, 1892.
Both of them stood up to the earthquake.
The incomparable Hiss and Weekes...
1910.
Oh, Ronald McDonald, 1986.
You know, the chemicals they inject me with, th...
Actually, they're poison.
- Poison? - Mmm.
Hiss and Weekes again, 1911.
Yes, the idea is to kill the cancer...
and, uh, not me.
So, anyway, there might be some reaction.
- What kind of... - Oh, sweating.
Shaking and vomiting.
Sometimes it makes me scream.
Ah, Mercy Hospital.
1936.
- Miss O'Neil? - What?
- Do you want me to stay? - I don't know. No.
I'll give him a call tomorrow.
Okay. Okay.
It's okay.
No, no. No.
- How's that? - Thank you. Thank you.
Oh.
Too loud!
- Too loud!
It's up... too loud!
Too loud.
Okay.
It's okay. It's okay.
Come on. Come on, come on.
Let me wrap this around you.
- Oh, much too loud. - No, I turned it down.
- Much too loud. It's much too loud. - It's okay. I turned it down.
Come on. Let me get you into the bed.
Okay? I've got you.
I've got you. I've got...
Okay.
The room is humming.
Go to sleep.
Shit.
Hold it, hold it, hold it.
I don't... I don't get it. What do you mean, "poison"?
I mean poison.
I mean, I thought he was gonna die.
I thought, one more time and this guy is gonna fucking die.
Shauna, I need help.
I feel sorry for him. I do.
I don't think anybody comes to see him.
I wish I knew how to care for him, but I don't.
He needs a nurse.
He needs somebody who can...
deal with this sort of thing.
I don't think I can deal with this.
I don't.
I'll have to tell him tonight.
No.
You've reached the home of Victor Geddes. Leave a message after the tone.
This is your father. Are you there?
I know you're there.
I'm calling to find out how the chemo went.
Are you all right?
I understand you didn't hire the nurse from the agency. You got that redhead.
I guess I don't have to ask why.
I'll be back in a couple of weeks. I love you, Victor.
- Dinner. - Thank you.
- Eggs. - Thanks.
That's all this redhead could find. There's no real food in the house.
No. No.
Unless you want a Twinkie omelet.
Twinkie omelet.
Uh... Oops.
Oh. Oh, I'm... Oh, God, I'm sorry.
- No, that's all right. It's nothing. - No, it's...
I'm sorry. Is this important? Is this your diary?
No, it's nothing. It's, uh, notes.
I'm, uh...
This is what I do. It's my Ph. D. Thesis.
I've been working on it for five years.
When I can, uh, I will finish it.
I'm determined to finish it.
- What's it on? - Uh, art.
Art history. Do you know the German impressionists?
Do they live in Oakland?
Do... Like, um, Renoir?
Or, uh, Monet? Gauguin?
Uh, van Gogh.
- The flowers? - Sunflowers.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Well, that's not who I'm doing.
Oh.
Would you like to see who I'm doing?
Klimt.
Gustav Klimt.
He was obsessed with women.
He needed them the way most people need food.
Valerie Neuzil.
He called her "Wally. " She was 16.
For a while, she was the embodiment of it all...
beauty, love, sex...
until he got bored and passed her on.
She lived only another five years, then died...
it is said, of a broken heart.
Too late for spying, Malachi.
- Never too late, sir. - Good night, Malachi.
Good night, sir.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Also obsessed, but with just one woman.
Elizabeth Siddell, his wife.
She was only 28 when she killed herself with a drug called laudanum.
Beautiful name for a drug.
Rossetti couldn't stop painting her image over and over again.
Until he died just a few years later.
Um, Klimt again.
It's called "The Kiss. "
Did he use real gold?
I should have explained the, uh, chemo...
more clearly to you.
It wasn't fair.
So, if you... if you'd like, I can pay you now.
For the week.
Uh, you've earned every penny of it.
And, uh, we can... we can just...
you know, we can just, uh...
It's okay.
Thank you, Moamar.
I'll pull this back for just a second.
I was reading today that the survival rate...
of adult onset leukemia...
is now 50%...
and it is even greater...
with aggressive therapy.
Here we go.
Was therapy aggressive enough for you?
This is gonna get warm in just a minute, okay?
No. Victor, what can I do?
- What can I do? What do you want me to do? - Nothing. Nothing!
- What do you want me to do? - Nothing!
There's nothing you can do.
Not a goddamn motherfucking thing!
Fuck! Fuck!
Fuck!
Fuck.
I'm right here.
I know. I know.
I know.
All gold. That's right. All gold.
- This is the epitome, you might say... - Oh!
She has teeth. See?
That is so rare. You never see that.
I mean, anybody can paint a little closed mouth...
Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Tell me that's not a snake.
It's a part of a snake. The whole snake's too expensive.
- He eats that? - He doesn't eat.
Well, Hilary, honey, make him a ham.
I mean, it's hot. It sticks to the ribs.
Ham has too much fat and too much salt.
You can get two or three dinners out of it and some sandwiches.
Your grandmother never ate Chinese snake for lunch, for God's sakes.
- Or Aunt Elma, who lived to be what... - 206?
Ninety-two years old, thank you very much.
She smoked a pack of Luckys and drank a pint of scotch every day ofher life.
God rest her soul. Did he pay you yet?
He offered.
Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And you said, "It's okay. "
And I'm not married, and Rosemary Kinsella has a Cadillac.
- Do you do his wash too? - No, Mom, I don't.
The man has cancer and weighs 14 pounds, but I tell him...
"You want clean slacks? Then get off your skinny ass and wash them yourself. "
I just thought maybe you were a nurse instead of a cleaning lady.
Who makes a better wage than I do, by the way.
And is it possible... is itjust possible...
that he wants a little more than a... ham dinner, huh?
Uh-huh. Huh?
Sorry. Is the music too loud?
Uh, no. May I come in?
Um, just a second.
- Hi. - Hi.
- Is everything all right? - Mm-hmm.
You have something, um...
Oh. Thanks.
Oh, uh, did I say thank you for the other night?
You said "fuck" a lot.
Well, thank you.
So it's almost 8:00.
And, uh, you're not going out.
Uh, I mean you could. You can. You're allowed.
You don't have to stay home.
- It's not, uh, part of the deal. - Thanks.
But you're not.
So, um...
how 'bout a date?
Malachi.
- I, uh, let myself in. Yes. - Let yourself in, yes.
Shall I leave you two alone?
It's not necessary, sir. Your mail.
And your news.
- Thank you for the personal delivery. - My pleasure, sir.
One additional news item. Your father is returning at the end of the week.
And may I assume from the intense odor of mayonnaise in the air...
that, uh, we will be dining in tonight?
Actually, no. We're going out.
Aren't we? Going out?
Sure.
We're going out.
You look great.
The Chronicle, the food review, said it was the best new place in town.
- The best, uh... Isn't this great? - It's great.
- Okay. - Oh.
Okay.
- Great. Thank you. - Certainly, sir.
My mother said you don't have to like everything...
but you have to try everything.
Oh.
My mother always said, "Pass the Velveeta. "
- What is it? - Raw cow.
Dead.
What if I throw up?
Then I'll take care of you.
Go ahead.
Carpaccio.
- Isn't that great? - It's great.
What do they, um, charge for something like this?
I don't know. Uh, 30, was it?
Thirty? Wow.
- Wow. - What?
No, it's great.
This place is great.
It's not great, is it?
Victor...
- Hi! - Hey, hey! Hil!
Baby! What's goin'on?
This is Victor. This is Jim.
- How are you doin', Jim? - All right, all right.
- Come on. Let's jam. - Shall we dance?
- No, no, I'm... - Could you hold my jacket?
- Yes. Of course. - Don't be nervous.
Are you dancing or taking up space?
- Watch out. Coming through! - Whoa!
Excuse me! Excuse me!
Sorry, man.
- Hi. - You were great.
Thanks.
Hey, look out!
This place isn't really that great either, is it?
- Shall we go back to the restaurant? - No.
Arthur Rubinstein.
He was almost 80 when he played this. I met him.
My... My mother took me to his apartment. I shook his hand.
Size of a basketball player's. This little, skinny man.
How'd she know him?
He was a client of my father's law firm.
- Oh. I'm impressed. - My father is a very impressive man.
- Do I get a cigarette if I drink this? - No.
How is this one?
- Mmm. - Mmm?
Mm-hmm. And the hits keep coming.
- It's awfully late. - One more. This is the best one.
I'm sure you have a story to go with it about some beautiful dead woman.
Yes. My mother.
This was her favorite song.
- She died when I was nine. She was beautiful.
I'm sorry.
Dance?
Thanks for the date.
I'm done with the chemotherapy.
- Uh, that was the last one. - Really?
Yeah. It's a course. It's over.
I thought you had to take a test.
- Would you like to call my doctor? - No.
- Go ahead. The number's on the desk. - I said no.
I'm sorry.
Uh, that's what you get for saving my life.
Believe me, it's done.
And, uh, to celebrate, we are going away.
- Where? - Up north.
I haven't been out of here for years.
- What about your father? - Uh, I'll call him in the morning.
A vacation.
I need to finish my thesis. The door buzzes every five minutes here.
- Once in two weeks. - It'll be an adventure.
We deserve an adventure, a safe adventure.
It's only a couple-hour drive right back to the hospital.
Look, I will sign a contract, okay?
I, Victor Geddes, promise to return if anything happens.
Anything. You name it.
- Like you die? - No.
I'm not going to die.
I'm going to recover, but I can't do it without help.
I can't do it without you.
- It's a 55 zone. - What?
If you drive any faster, this heap will blow up.
This is not a heap.
This is a 1974 Cadillac, bought and paid for by yours truly.
- Nice color too. - It's a cool color. It's a cool car.
Can you say that, Victor? "Cool"?
I can say "70 miles an hour. " I can say that.
Well, then... why don't you drive?
No! Please don't do that. I can't. I can't drive. Hilary.
- Are you kidding me? - Thank you for your compassion.
I'm sorry.
My father had a driver. I never learned how.
- I think it's time you started to learn. - No, please don't do that!
- It's cool, huh? - Take... Take the wheel.
I'm helping you. I'm helping you stay between the lines.
There you go. You're doing fine. There you go.
- I know why you like it here. - Why?
- 'Cause all these buildings have dates on them.
Oh, look at that. Don't look. Watch the road.
- Goin' a little fast? - What?
I'm kidding. You're driving, like, 23 miles an hour.
Scared you?
Thank you.
Oh, look. Hi!
Wejust moved in!
Kind and friendly neighbor.
Here, let me get that.
- It's okay. - It's okay.
You okay?
So beautiful.
What is this?
Those are ampules of morphine.
- For pain. - Isn't a doctor supposed to do this?
Oh, I know precisely what to do.
Years of experience.
- Do you need one? - No, I won't need one.
Put them away. I won't need one.
Oh, I'm sorry.
No, it's okay. I'm done.
Come on.
- They'll start by staring. - No, they won't.
Someone will ask, "Hey, man, why ain't you got any hair?"
- They'll be too busy drinking. - I've been to places like this. They always ask.
- Come on. - They always ask.
Two beers.
Thanks. Save the glasses.
- You moved into Demazian's place? - Uh-huh.
Bring your foul-weather gear?
Geez, you're gonna fuckin' freeze to death up there.
Weather-strip it. That'll fix it.
I've weather-stripped around 30 houses. Works every time.
You mean you stripped in about 30 houses.
Anyway, I'd do yours.
- Cappy. - Hilary.
- Thank you. - Victor.
How do you do?
Hilary, beer's on the house.
- You're kidding! - So, Vic, how come you shaved your head?
Yeah.
He's a Hare Krishna.
- No, you know, at the airport, the guys in the yellow... - Saffron.
- Robes, passing out flowers. - Daisies.
- Take off. - With his little cymbals, singing.
- Sing. - What?
- Sing, hon. - Yeah, give us a few notes.
No, I can't. I can't.
- I left the order. - Come on, come on.
- I gave back my robe and cymbals. - Why?
Because the order is celibate. We're like priests.
- No kidding. - Yes. Stricter, really.
And, uh, I shouldn't be telling you this, but...
- That's all right. We're good for it. - Very private.
Well, the truth is, Hilary came along.
I was at the airport, at United, which, as you know, is the best location.
And, uh, I was stopping people...
giving them a flower and saying, "God is love. Have a nice day. "
Then I stopped Hilary.
She turned to me, and I knew.
I stopped shaving my head the next day, and we got in the car and came here.
Probably her favorite vacation spot. Right, hon?
Nah!
- No, no, no, no. - Nice try, kid.
That'll be 2.50 for the beer.
That's good. That's real good.
Are you okay?
Do you need me?
Sorry.
Yes, I need, uh...
I can't sleep.
I, uh...
I need to, uh, lie down...
Next to you.
I mean, I need to...
I want to sleep... in your bed.
Not... Believe me, I'm no threat. Not after the chemotherapy. I just can't...
This is not part of the deal. Tell me to leave.
No, it's okay.
Okay.
What does your tattoo mean?
Strength of heart.
- Good morning. - Morning.
- If I drink this, can I have a cigarette? - No.
No, I didn't think so. Wait a minute. Show you something.
Feel it. Feel it.
- It's coming in. - Yeah.
- No fever. Is there? - No.
Uh, wait a second.
- I have an idea. - That's okay.
- I'd like to tell you about it, but... - But what?
- But don't get mad. - Why?
Well, it has something to do with...
something you're sensitive about.
My cooking? My clothing? My hair?
Your education.
You know, I have spent my entire life studying.
Years of lying in a bed reading. Not what you were doing.
- Sleeping with construction workers. - No. Living.
I am trying to learn a bit about that from you, and I want to give you something back.
To, uh, teach you. Not school, but, uh...
I see in you...
I don't care about your little jokes or anything.
I see interest...
about things.
Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me to go to hell.
- Go to hell. - Tell me you're not interested.
What would you teach me?
Uh, well, you like Klimt, right? We start with a book on modern art.
You take a look at it, you read it.
Then, uh, we talk. That's all.