Where are they?
They're probabIy just running Iate. They'II be here.
I see them!
Daddy!
How are you, sweetie?
Good to see you.
- Hi there. - How are you?
- He's cute. Great! - Thanks.
We got to go.
- We shouId go. - I have my number.
I won't be in Chicago for a few days. I'm going to the Cape...
Same B & B as Iast year? I have the number.
Say bye to your mom.
- Give me a kiss. - Bye, Mom.
I Iove you.
CaII me. Anytime.
- Bye. - Love you.
Bye, Mom.
Sorry to be so Iate, Iadies.
FinanciaI consuItant. RecentIy divorced.
Did you notice the way he ate his pancakes?
He took his time on every bite.
Get a grip.
You know what they say about taII, Ianky men, don't you?
They have enormous feet.
Morning.
I happen to know he's going to the theater today, a matinee.
I think I'II take the harbor tour.
"Dear Catherine:
l'm sorry l haven 't talked to you in so long.
l feel l've been lost...
no bearings, no compass.
l kept crashing into things, a little crazy, l guess.
l've never been lost before.
You were my true north.
l could always steer for home when you were my home.
Forgive me for being so angry when you left.
l still think some mistake's been made...
and l'm waiting for God to take it back.
But l'm doing better now.
The work helps me.
Most of all, you help me.
You came into my dream last night with that smile...
that always held me like a lover...
rocked me like a child.
All l remember from the dream...
is a feeling of peace.
l woke up with that feeling...
and tried to keep it alive as long as l could.
l'm writing to tell you that l'm on a journey toward that peace.
And to tell you l'm sorry about so many things.
l'm sorry l didn 't take better care of you...
so you never spent a minute being cold or scared or sick."
"I'm sorry I didn't try harder to find the words...
to teII you what I was feeIing.
I'm sorry I never fixed the screen door.
I fixed it now.
I'm sorry I ever fought with you.
I'm sorry I didn't apoIogize more.
I was too proud.
I'm sorry I didn't bring you more compIiments...
on everything you wore and every way you fixed your hair.
I'm sorry I didn't hoId on to you with so much strength...
that even God couIdn't puII you away."
Signed, "AII my Iove, G."
That is so sad.
It's not that. It's just...
so honest.
This couId be hundreds of years oId.
It's typed, AIva.
Pretty good.
Meaning you wish you'd written it.
I'd have e-maiIed her.
Anyway, I know what you wish.
You wish it had been addressed "Dear Theresa."
Come on now, CharIie...
any girI wouId want to be Ioved Iike that.
To be somebody's "true north"?
Are you kidding?
LoneIy women, particuIarIy?
Is that how you see me?
Did you taIk to anybody on your trip? TeII any jokes?
I had a good time.
ReaIIy?
Came back a day earIy.
I happen to Iike my job.
You're in deniaI. You shouId be writing.
You better hope I stick to research.
I don't think you can do your coIumn without me.
Ever notice that most peopIe here refer to me as Mr. Toschi, out of respect?
I knew you before your teeth were capped.
I knew you when your step was swift and your heart was high.
AI Giddons, "Lakefront Winter." Harcourt-Brace, 1948.
Thought I made that up.
Hey, Jase! How are you?
Hi, Lina.
No, sorry.
I just was expecting him to caII.
No, I'm not worried. I just miss him.
I know.
What?
No, I just got it. Why?
What?
I can't beIieve he did this.
I can't beIieve it!
- Why are you so annoyed? - It's wrong to print it.
It's private. It's somebody's intimate thoughts.
It's not your Ietter!
I know it's not my Ietter. I found it.
Is this personaI? Is that why you're pissed off?
I'm not pissed off! I'm just...
a IittIe pissed off.
You had your chance at the Christmas party.
Morning, doII.
Look at this.
Letters to the paper about the message in the bottIe.
What?
And two more boxes. Take those to research.
I found him in the maiIroom. Nice ass.
CharIie wants us to drop everything.
And do what? Answer aII of them?
Go through them and count the pros and cons.
Get rid of the nutso Ietters.
Then we'II do excerpts. The paper wants us to miIk it. This is big.
Bigger than the Iow-fat muffin scandaI.
Bigger than the mayor and the teacher.
It's amazing.
"Your coIumn sucks the big one."
- Negative, I think. - Listen.
"If onIy more men wouId have the sensitivity...
to taIk about how they feeI, instead of...
hiding behind the Sports ChanneI..."
"My niece sent it to me.
It might be from the same person.
So I'm encIosing it here."
What?
"Dear Catherine."
No. Are you kidding? ReaIIy?
Out Ioud. Read it out Ioud.
"Dear Catherine: There isn't an hour without you in it.
I mend the boats, test them...
and aII the whiIe the memories come in Iike the tide.
I thought today of when we were young...
and you Ieft our worId for a bigger worId.
I was a Iot more scared than I wouId admit.
I fought my fear...
by teIIing myseIf you'd come back someday...
and trying to think of the first thing I'd say when I saw you again.
I must have tried out 100 possibiIities.
What did I finaIIy say?
Not much.
My mouth wouIdn't work, except to kiss you.
When you said, "I'm here to stay"...
that said it aII.
WeII, I'm doing it again.
I keep imagining what I'd say to you if somehow you came back."
Bob. It's Theresa at the Tribune.
I know, it's been a whiIe.
I've got something for you.
It's two traces.
A sheet of stationery has an imprint on it.
AIso, where do I go for a typewriter trace?
The typewriter you're looking for...
is an OIympic Herzfogen 980.
German. And oId.
WouId it have been soId commerciaIIy...
in the Iast 30 years?
WeII, it's been re-keyed.
PeopIe who Iike manuaIs buy these reconditioned.
This Ietter was probabIy typed within the Iast 5 years.
So he's out there.
And he couId be young.
You'II Iike this.
Remember the report I did? Cork came back.
It's been in the water approximateIy two years.
That's it? Two years?
Thank you.
Don't Iook at me.
Aqua gIass.
Eighty-nine...
looks Iike an "A".
I'm sending you PoIaroids.
That sounds great.
You Iike the baby, then?
You're aIways so busy.
I never get a chance to taIk to you.
- Hang up! - Hang on one second.
Remember the message on the restaurant waII in Virginia?
The stationery, the Iogo and the typewriter are there.
Hit Iine five. She's waiting for you.
- I never get to taIk to him. - CaII him back.
Can she fax it?
Fax it? It's Virginia. EIIie's House of Crabs.
How do I know if she has a fax machine?
Have her fax it.
Fine.
Right. TeII me about Bunker HiII.
"To aII the ships at sea and aII the ports of caII.
To my famiIy and to aII friends and strangers."
- No "Dear Catherine"? - Not this time.
The stationery and typewriter check out.
We think maybe this is the first one or the finaI one.
"This is a message and a prayer.
The message is that my traveIs taught me a great truth.
I aIready had what everyone is searching for...
and few ever find:
The one person in the worId who I was born to Iove forever.
A person Iike me, of the Outer Banks...
and the bIue AtIantic mystery."
Outer Banks. That's North CaroIina.
Right. But it's about a dozen towns.
OnIy four support a boat-buiIding and restoring company.
Then we got him.
We've got stringers there, and a sister paper in WiImington.
I bet we find this guy before the week's out.
Any bets, girIs?
What?
I want to go.
She wants to do it.
You find this guy, then what?
I don't know. I'm not sure. But I want to go.
Can't spare you. Need you here.
You're the one that sent me to India for the coIumn on smokestacks.
You sent her to Texas for 3 days, taIking to Marines.
That was different.
Why do you have to do this personaIIy?
What do you mean? I'm intrigued, so what?
Intrigued?
What if he's covered in tattoos...
and has four serious convictions?
TeII her.
I'm onIy afraid that...
your expectations are too high.
I don't have any. This is research.
You're thinking HeathcIiff. You're thinking HamIet.
This guy is probabIy Captain Ahab.
Are you saying that I can't go?
It's caIIed a risk, CharIie, right?
Something you've been teIIing me for two years.
"Take a risk."
Remember when you asked me to call....
aII the stationery stores in the Outer Banks area?
- I've got other names for you. - I got it.
What? You got what?
I caIIed one in Morehead City.
They remembered the IittIe saiIboat Iogo.
They said it was designed by the customers.
It's them.
Don't teII CharIie.
He'II try and make you do this over the phone.
You got him, Theresa.
Now go knock on his door.
Ma'am?
Can I heIp you?
Sorry, I just admire these oIder homes.
You're in reaI estate?
No.
CouId I take a photograph of the house...
for a pubIication?
Jehovah's Witness?
Photograph. WeII, I never thought of that.
Can't say yes or no.
And why's that?
That's my son's pIace.
I Iive back down...
thataway.
So you're going to have to ask him.
He'II be kicking around the harbor. Garret BIake.
Never wears a hat.
Great. Thank you.
Is it Playboy?
I aIways admired your covers.
Never bought the magazine, though.
WeII, there's aIways tomorrow.
Great day, isn't it?
It's a beauty. Wish I was out on the water.
Yeah, I bet.
Great boat. Are you restoring it?
Yeah, doing the best I can.
Do you restore boats for a Iiving?
No, I'm just a weekend warrior.
You got a boat that needs some work done?
ActuaIIy...
I got a man here in town. He's got a shop.
He's working on the schooner there.
The 40-footer. Sweet Iines on that boat.
You can't beat the oId woodies.
Great, thank you.
- You bet. You have a nice day. - You too.
I Iove the oIder, the wooden boats.
It must be a 40-footer? A schooner, right?
It's an AIden Schooner.
1922, out of Maine.
Is she yours?
Nope.
Just putting her back in shape.
Sweet Iines.
You want to step aboard?
There's some wet spots.
She's a beauty.
Was she in bad shape?
NegIected.
Unappreciated.
I know how she feeIs.
Doubt it.
You a tourist?
I'm just getting acquainted with the pIace, the peopIe.
I'm Theresa...
Osborne.
Garret BIake.
You sound Iike up north.
Do I?
Chicago.
I'm in research.
On what?
Just about everything. For a newspaper.
Is there anywhere I can do some saiIing whiIe I'm here?
You couId rent a boat on the other side.
Oh, no, I mean, I'm not experienced...
at aII.
I'd Iike to be. I just...
I'm from the Prairie State, so...
I'm a dodo in the water.
Sorry to have interrupted your work. Thank you.
I'm taking her out tomorrow morning.
Test saiI. Round the point and back.
Just about an hour.
Do you want to come aIong?
That'd be nice.
About seven.
Great!
If you come earIier...
I'II be in that diner over there.
EarIier than seven?
Great. I'II see you here.
Or at the...
at the diner.
- Hi, Chet. How you doing? - AII righty.
Jesus, Chet! You aIways have the same peopIe in here every day.
AII the tourists go to the Pancake PaIace.
Let them!
And what do you got? The same fishermen.
A wouId-be carpenter.
And a nearsighted mechanic.
And a thief who wants to be a shipwright.
Now don't start any shit, Johnny.
A thief is somebody who keeps property beIongs to somebody eIse.
Am I right?
You ain't right if the courts say you ain't right, right?
Loudmouth asshoIe.
What'd you say?
How'd you know I was taIking to you, Johnny?
I'm caIIing Pete right now.
You two bust up this pIace again and charges wiII be pressed...
arrests wiII be made, and I ain't bIuffing!
Man who's a thief deserves to be in jaiI.
I never took a damn thing from you or anybody in this town.
- I say different. - You're a Iiar, Johnny.
Don't ever caII me a Iiar!
Come on, grab hoId of him!
WiII you guys get ahoId of them?
WiII you separate them?
Garret, come here. Now get off him.
Get over here!
Now Ieave it aIone.
Just waIk away for once.
He ain't worth it.
Go on.
Didn't you see what he...
Come on, easy.
- SettIe down, John. - Go ahead, Garret.
- He ain't worth it. - Let me go!
It's aII over.
Thought you wouIdn't come.
I came to say I'm not coming.
I didn't want to not show, because I hate peopIe Iike that.
I'm sorry you saw that.
Does that happen a Iot here?
I mean, instead of bowIing or...
Maybe I'II see you around.
I'm stiII going to run her out for a test.
Just a short saiI.
I don't know, you know. What if you got mad at me?
It's a smaII boat.
I don't Iike fighting, Theresa.
BowIing, either.
Before you go, wouId you...
untie that, toss it in?
Appreciate it.
Thanks.
Where am I not in your way?
I'II get around you.
ShouId I just jump over?
I'm sorry, I...
I used to be better with peopIe.
So you used to be charming?
Sorry I missed that.
Who is that man in the diner?
It's an oId thing.
I don't want to pry.
How oId?
So this is what you do? Research?
No, actuaIIy, it's caIIed conversation.
I might be abIe to heIp you. I have a degree.
So you stoIe his girIfriend in the eighth grade?
No.
I married his sister.
So, your turn.
Right?
StiII married?
You?
I have a son.
A great son.
Date much?
You?
You're getting the hang of this.
Watch your head with the boom.
Do you hear from your mama?
Got a Ietter.
StiII doesn't Iike you.
No fooIing.
Looks a IittIe smaII for you.
What?
The jacket.
What jack...
- It's hers. - Whose?
Woman from today.
She Ieft it on board.
WeII, did you teII her? Did you caII her?
No.
I thought maybe you'd drop it off for me in town at the hoteI.
I'm not going to do it. Take her the jacket.
You don't want to see her again?
Maybe.
So?
So, Dad, it's not an easy thing.
You be her.
I'II be you.
Here's your jacket.
Jackets Iike that...
don't come aIong every week, you know.
One second.
You forgot this.
Thank you.
I stayed in. I didn't even notice.
Thanks.
You want to come in?
Nice pIace.
It's Victorian, 1911.
Made into an inn in 1944.
But...
you probabIy knew aII that stuff.
I've never been in here.
Oh, weII.
Why wouId you be in here? You're from here.
This is your hometown.
I had a reaIIy good time today.
The boat did weII.
We didn't have to baiI or anything.
Thanks for bringing the jacket.
You're weIcome.
I just said thank you about eight times...
because I have no idea what to say.
I wonder why you're here, because you don't know what to say either.
I'm wondering that too.
You eat meat?
Eat red meat?
Sometimes.
I make a perfect steak.
It's the best thing I do.
- You're bragging. - I know.
But it's true.
WeII, that's very interesting. Thanks for teIIing me.
I'd Iike to make you one...
tomorrow night.
You wouId?
You know, on the boat today...
I had a good time too.
What time?
Six.
It's 18 Foster Lane.
I know.
You do?
I know...
it's got to be on the water. Right?
Right. Everything's on the water.
- Night. - See you.
You found it.
Come in.
I didn't know you were so cIose.
You waIked!
I hope you Iike red.
I do. I aIready have one opened.
You need some heIp?
No.
Just...
make yourseIf weIcome.
- Can I pour you a gIass? - Yeah, pIease.
What a great house!
The Iight in here...
I Iove this boat painting.
It's incredibIe. You can hear it, aImost.
The wind.
Is it a IocaI artist?
It's my wife, Catherine.
She died two years ago.
I'm sorry.
Do you paint aIso?
My dad died when I was in coIIege.
I remember my mom kept one of his shirts...
on the back of a chair in my parents' bedroom.
And she probabIy Ieft it there for...
Maybe it's stiII there, I don't know.
Look, I was nervous...
so I drank too much wine.
But Iisten, there's something that I shouId teII you.
I was nervous too.
I just...
What?
I didn't...
I don't do this.
Thank God.
I don't do this either.
I'm not good at this.
For two peopIe that don't do it, we do it pretty weII.
Does it feeI coId enough for a fire?
l thought we were still in love.
But maybe I didn't even think about it...
because I had my son, my work, my husband.
I was on my way to becoming a writer.
And David and I...
were even taIking about having a second chiId.
Can you beIieve that?
Then one day I was just driving aIong...
and I saw them.
David and this woman...
waIking into the park.
And it was just a gIimpse. It was a second.
And I knew.
I sat there in my car. I didn't shut off the engine. I just sat...
for an hour and a haIf.
You're faced with the impossibIe...
and it takes an hour and a haIf.
It was going on aImost a year.
I can't beIieve I just toId you aII that.
I mean, this stuff happens to everybody, right?
But it happened to you, Theresa.
And I'm sorry.
That kind of stuff happen in St. CIaire?
Everything happens in St. CIaire...
eventuaIIy.
TeII me about Catherine.
WeII...
we grew up together.
She was kind of...
PeopIe were drawn to her by her smiIe...
her enthusiasm.
She couId brighten up a whoIe room...
whoIe town.
I caIIed her Saint Catherine.
How did she die?
She was iII.
She was fragiIe.
I'm sorry.
It's aII right.
It's okay.
Have you Iived here your whoIe Iife?
Not yet.
This pIace...
used to be aII dirt roads and marsh grass.
ReaIIy?
My mom hated it here.
She took me away to Virginia when I was ten.
But I came back when I was 16...
and never Ieft.
I missed it. I missed the smeII of it...
working on the water...
missed my dad.
The quiet.
The wind.
The wind? You caII that wind?
The wind...
in Chicago in the wintertime...
you waIk with your back to it or it cuts your face.
Takes your breath away.
We got the oIdest oak tree...
in both CaroIinas.
You try and top that.
I just want to be cIose.
Watch the dust.
She took a Iook at my pIans...
and never said a word.
A week Iater she had it on canvas.
This was going to be the first.
Designing and buiIding my own boats...
that was the pIan.
This was going to be my signature boat...
the one we'd never seII.
And when wiII you finish it?
I haven't touched it in two years.
Someday.
Right.
Someday.
And you'II take me out on that boat?
Around the point, where the wind wiII scare me to death?
There wiII be no wind tonight.
And you know that?
I'm the son of a fisherman.
You watch the Weather ChanneI.
WiII you saiI with me tonight?
I go back in a few days.
And I can't change that, because my son's coming home.
I don't know if this makes sense. Maybe...
WeII, that's a mistake...
letting her taste your coffee.
WeII, she Iiked it Iast night.
She was just being poIite.
Nobody Iikes it, take my word.
Be good.
Oh, Lord.
Now what?
Go easy.
HoId it right there.
You stay out of our way!
You're not weIcome here, Johnny.
You better stay out of our way! Both of you!
Guess the courts turned you down again?
- It's not your business. - It's settIed.
No, we just want the paintings.
They were part of our Iife here, Marta.
The onIy one who sees them is you.
PeopIe shouId see them.
PIease, Garret.
It's aII you Ieft us of her.
That's the first time you caIIed me her kiIIer, Hank...
at Ieast to my face.
Nobody kiIIed her.
He Ieft her aIone when she was sick and weak.
- She wanted to come home to us! - This was her home!
Now he's kiIIing her mother.
I hear her heart break every goddamn day.
I gave you everything of hers.
The paintings! You got yourseIf another woman.
- What the heII do you care? - You son of a bitch.
Just stay out of this.
Step aside!
She painted them here.
She hung them here.
She was the Iast to touch them! That's how it'II stay!
This is what you want, isn't it?
If I cut it up you can aII have a piece.
You can aII have a piece of her!
Just set it down, Dad.
Step aside!
My God...
is this what she is to you?
Something to fight over, puII apart? Look at you.
AII three of you have bIood in your eyes.
Is that for Catherine?
Or is that so you can waIk around and beat your chest Iike a bunch of apes?
Goddamn it, you're outside of this.
WeII, I Ioved her too.
And I want something to remember her by.
Piece of this wiII do.
She'd hate this!
She'd hate it, Hank.
Dodge is right. She'd hate this...
worse than dying!
Crazy peopIe.
They're onIy haIf the war.
You saw them. You heard what they said.
But you carry your haIf around pretty good too.
Are you okay with this?
UntiI you...
I didn't even think about being cIose to anybody eIse.
Sometimes...
I stiII feeI her. She's...
here.
And I don't want to cheat you, Theresa.
You're going to eat that whoIe bag?
Why do you have two bags of marshmaIIows?
Ammo.
Wait.
It's so great here.
It was so nice outside.
I decided to set the tabIe out there. Is that okay?
You said to come in, right?
I know.
We can eat in the kitchen if you want.
And I got angeI food cake, so I hope your dad Iikes cake.
I was going to put that back.
Look, I just didn't know where the boundaries were.
I didn't know where the boundaries were either.
Let me get this out of the way. I'm sorry.
I reaIIy...
Let me get it.
Let me cIean it up, okay?
- I'II get a rag. I can do it. - I'II get it.
I said, I'II get it!
Just give me a minute.
So you're the jacket.
Yeah, that's me.
You were Iooking around here a coupIe days ago.
Find what you wanted?
I don't know.
I'm Theresa.
Dodge.
Like the pickup.
He said you were pretty. He shouId've said beautifuI.
Why didn't he inherit that charm?
You had a fight. That's a good sign.
I made a mistake.
I moved something out of its pIace.
Don't pay that any mind.
He's stiII not right about it.
It's Iike a truck hit him. Swear to God.
CIams, better here than anywhere. Come on inside.
It's pretty crowded in there.
You want to take a waIk?
He won't teII you much.
The man taIks about as much as a fish.
Anyway...
wasn't good right from the beginning.
Her famiIy thought that she wouId be the one...
to bust out of here and just shake the worId.
Garret was too much Iike them.
They thought, anyway, that he wouId be...
an anchor around her, keep her Iife smaII.
How did she die?
Pregnancy just took the stuffing right out of her.
KeeIed over at her parents' house and they kept her there.
So Garret went over and kicked the door down.
Carried her out.
She was gIad too.
He took care of her the best he couId...
for about a month, I guess. And then...
Well, she just...
gave out.
Now you know why Garret don't taIk much.
Because his oId man never shuts up.
Can we eat now?
You ought to knock down some waIIs.
It's getting too crowded in there.
Can't afford it.
Do the work ourseIves.
Just end up Iooking Iike a boat.
Add a deck.
A coupIe of rooms.
Why? You thinking about moving in?
Not in a miIIion years. You'd Iike that though, wouIdn't you?
Keep your eye on me.
He's afraid I'm going to go back to my oId habit.
Anybody want any cake?
I used to drink Iike a fish.
It ruined my heaIth. It's no deep, dark secret.
WeII, it's no citizen award either.
Two beers a day, that's my Iimit.
Change the subject?
The subject is change. PeopIe change.
Even you. That is the subject.
Good dinner.
You were the best thing about it.
If I was about 150 years younger, you'd be in troubIe, young Iady.
Where you going?
Taking my dessert on the beach.
Thanks.
He Iikes me.
WeII, he's a...
good man.
He said you were a pain in the ass.