Amazing Stories (1985–1987): Season 2, Episode 13 - Lane Change - full transcript

[ No Audible Dialogue ]

[ No Audible Dialogue ]

[ Woman On Radio ]
You hate your job, and face it,
your social life is the pits.

Well, get up and
go out right now...

to the Coleman College
admissions office.

You can take a class
in astronomy, modern--

[ Station Changes ]
5:42 on St. Louis's hit
radio station, K.S.T.L., baby.

A bit overcast outside
our downtown studio.

Scattered showers
expected throughout
the St. Louis area.

All the more reason
to stay in
and stay tuned--

[ Women ]
? W-W-W-Winner! ?



[ Man On Radio ]
Fifty-eight degrees.
It's 7:09.

K.K.M.O., Missouri's
favorite station,

Your favorite hits
from the past,
day in and day out.

And now
our weather update--

We'll get back
to more country music
in just a minute.

I just got a call
from little Wilma
over in Hartley.

And she said, "Hoss man,
it's really comin' down
out there.

It's rainin'
cats and dogs."

[ Man ]
She better be careful...

she doesn't step on
a poodle, Hoss man!

? With a thin, high
crack of leather ?

? And a flash
of silver spurs ??

- No, thanks.
- [ Radio Clicks Off ]

[ Brakes Squeak ]



Hi! Do you
need some help?

I sure do. My car
broke down half a mile
down the road.

Can you give me a lift
to a gas station?

Sure. We're not gonna
find anything for a while,
but come on in.

Thanks.

Ooh. We're bound
to find something open
up on Route 72.

It'll be 10 or 12 miles.

I really appreciate this.

It's lucky for you
I came along.

You could have been
out in this for hours.

Yes, I think you're
right about that.

[ Seat Belt Clicks ]

Help yourself.

No, thanks.

Haven't smoked
in nearly 30 years.

I gave it up to have
my first child.

- You anxious to get home?
- What?

Oh. Oh, no.
No, I'm not going home.

I just-- I just thought
I'd be making better time
than this by now.

- Where you headed?
- Oh, Springfield.

Ah.

You and your husband
live in St. Lou?

How did you know
I was married?

Oh, this old thing.

- Things not
going so well?
- You could say that.

- A fight.
- No, no. We're way
past that stage.

- I filed for divorce.
- Oh, I'm sorry
to hear that.

- You been married long?
- Yeah, 17 years
this October.

You must have been
very young.

I must have
been very stupid.

Seventeen years.
That's a big
investment to lose.

Well, unfortunately
it took me that long...

to realize that dreams
don't come true.

Well, of course
they don't.

Well, I don't know
about you,

but if all my dreams
had come true,

I'd have been, let's see,
uh, a ballerina, a doctor,
Margaret Mead,

an investigative reporter
for the Post-Dispatch.

First woman President
of the United States?

[ Laughs ]
Yes, that was
in there somewhere.

Well, I meant
realistic dreams.

Realistic dreams?

Well, plans then, okay?
Plans.

Nothing worked out
like I planned it.

Do you still love him?

I'm sorry.
You're right.

It's none
of my business.

Here I am,
snooping into your life.

I don't even
know your name.

It's Charlie.
It's Charlie Benton.

- Charlie?
- It's short for Charlene.

My father wanted a boy.
Yeah! Good, stupid.
Leave your brights on.

- Geez.
- I think Charlene
is a pretty name.

Hey, would you
look at that?

Isn't that a Studebaker?

Boy, I haven't seen
one of those in 30 years.

It's a '53.

- Huh. We used to have
one like that.
- So did we.

Or rather,
my father had it.

Anybody else touched it,
he'd go through the roof.

He called it his baby.

- Your father liked cars?
- Oh, he loved 'em. Yeah.

That's how he'd spend
all his weekends
when we were a kid.

Taking 'em apart,
putting 'em back together.

Once he'd slide underneath,
that was it.
He'd be gone for the day.

Never see him again. Hmm.

I tried to get him
to teach me auto mechanics.

But it never worked out.

[ Inaudible ]

Oh, my dear God.

What is it? What's wrong?
Are you all right?

Oh, yes, um--

[ Scoffs ]
Those people in that car--

Oh, Lord, you're
gonna think I'm nuts.

They looked like--
They looked like
me and my father...

when we were coming back
from my mother's funeral.

I know that
sounds crazy to you,
but I remember it exactly.

He made me sit
in the back seat
on the way home.

He said it was
my punishment for crying
during the service.

He said only babies cried,
and babies had to sit
in the back seat.

[ Chuckles ]
Sorry, but...

that was so weird.

I know.

And the way it just
disappeared. Strange.

[ Laughing ]

- Well.
- Whoo.

Oh, boy, wait till
they hear about this one
at the office.

Oh, we got
this one guy there.
His name's Bernie.

And he goes on and on
about E.S.P. all the time.

You should hear him.
I'm never gonna
hear the end of it!

So you work
in an office?

I run the office.
Yeah. It's an ad agency.

That must be
very exciting.

Well, it's a small agency.

But, you know, we have
the largest herbicide account
in the whole state?

- Well.
- Well, it's not
all that glamorous.

And your husband,
what does he do?

Uh, well,
he is an actor.

He's a good actor...
when he works.

Oh, he just finished doing
Linus at the Webster
Groves Dinner Theatre.

But most of the time
he's unemployed.

He takes lessons and classes.

He works for
just about nothing.

I understand.
Money problems.

No. Not at all.

My agency does very well.

But that's your money.

Yes.

And George is-- My hus--
Well, he's my ex-husb--

Well, he'll be
my ex-husband.

[ Sighs ]
Well, you know
how men are.

Their whole
idea of manhood
is so wrapped up in--

- Providing?
- Yes!
[ Sighs ]

Yes. Providing.

And I know
that it eats at George
to live off my money.

I just wish
he'd say so for once!

Maybe it doesn't
really bother him.

Well, of course it does!

[ Charlie Sighs ]

- [ Sighs ]
- [ Radio Clicks On ]

?? [ Wedding March
On Radio ]

[ Woman On Radio ]
She's the perfect bride.
You're the perfect groom.

At DeKay's Jewelers
you don't have to settle
for second best.

Get her the diamond
of her dreams.

Easy credit, easy rates,
easy financing.

- Yes--
- Oh, please!

- [ Radio Clicks Off ]
- [ Sighs ]

It's so corny,
but the Wedding March
always gets to me.

- Not you, huh?
- Oh, yes.

When I got married to it,
it did. Sure.

I had to have
the storybook wedding.

Where the bride
is beautiful,

and everybody lives
happily ever after.

[ Sighs ]
Surprise on me.

[ Horn Honks ]

Oh, now what
have we got here?
Drunk drivers?

More than one.

Oh, that is so dangerous
on a rainy night.

[ Sighs ]
I'm just gonna
let 'em pass me.

[ Shouting, Indistinct ]

- [ Cheering ]
- [ Cans Clattering ]

[ Laughing ]

- Hey, Charlie!
- [ Cheering ]

Oh, no.

No. No.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.
[ Inhales ]

[ Cans Clattering ]

[ Woman ]
What is it?

What's the matter,
Charlie?

That was me.

George and me...

on the day we got married.

Did you find a phone?

It wasn't working.
The lines must be down.

- Oh.
- You feeling better?

- You want some coffee?
- Uh, no. No, thanks.

Look, uh, I'm sorry.

Bet you didn't
expect to be driving
with a crazy lady, huh?

- [ Chuckles ]
You're not crazy.
- Aw, let's face it.

Anybody who looks
out a window...

and sees her own
wedding party
rolling past--

In the first place,

people who doubt
their sanity aren't
necessarily crazy.

It's the other guys,
the ones who are sure
they're sane--

- They're the ones
you have to watch out for!
- [ Chuckles ]

Besides, there--
there could be
an explanation.

- Like what?
- Maybe you were seeing
what you wanted to see.

- What I wanted to see?
- What you needed to see.

What you should be
thinking about.

Oh, I see.
Pop psychology.

No. No, not at all.

Look, I'm driving
to Springfield, all right?

Where I'm staying until
my divorce becomes final.

Right now I am perfectly
willing to admit, I may
have lost it a little bit.

This is a very
stressful time for me.

But I know I can still drive,
and that's what I'm going to do.

If you want to go on
with me, that's fine.
But I'm leaving.

And I'm not entertaining
any more questions or theories
about my personal life.

Understand?

[ Door Closes ]

[ Thunder Rumbles ]

It's too bad we couldn't
have phoned a tow truck
back there.

Or we could have
called your family.

They must be
worried about you.

No, no, my husband
works nights.

And the girls are grown
with kids of their own
to worry about.

- Do you have children?
- No.

We were going to.
We wanted to.

But we just
kept putting it off.

And now,
the old biological clock's
starting to tick.

No. You have
plenty of time.

I read an article
in the paper that said...

lots of women
in their 40s were having
their first babies.

You're subtle, aren't you?

Well, you can trust me
on this one. There's
one thing I'm sure of.

I wouldn't make
a very good parent.

I never met
a "very" good parent.

Oh, no? What about you?
I'll bet you're
a terrific parent.

What makes you say that?

[ Chuckles ]

Well, you're just the type.

You're-- You're sincerely
concerned about others.

You listen very well.

I'll bet you love
your kids to death.

You're a little nosy.
[ Chuckles ]

What did that sign say?

Uh, I think it was
"49 miles to Springfield."

It's so hard to tell
in this rain.

Phew, I wish
this would let up.

Makes me jumpy.

When I was a kid,
I used to have nightmares
about the rain.

That I was running through it,
and I couldn't find anything.

Like Scarlett O'Hara
in Gone With The Wind.

- Scarlett found Rhett.
- And lost him.

Do you really think so?

I always thought
he turned up the next day
on her doorstep.

You're quite the romantic.

When I get the chance.

Well, I didn't marry
any Rhett Butler,
that's for sure.

Like... when I told George
I was leaving.

We've had our fights.

I've yelled at him.
He's yelled at me.

But when it came
to the big one,

the really important one,
do you know what he did?

- What?
- He cried.

We were in his car.
We were coming back
from a ski trip.

And he's just crying.

He must have
been devastated.

Well, sure, but...
I'll tell you.

When he did that,
when he cried,

that's when I knew I'd
made the right decision.

I thought, "Here I am.
I'm telling him
that I'm leaving,

and all he can do
is act like a baby."

What did you
want him to do?

I wanted him to fight me.
I wanted him to stand up to me.

George is not
Rhett Butler.
He's George.

And the idea of your
leaving him must have been
tearing him apart.

Well, then
why didn't he stop me?

I don't know.
You said you were going.

Maybe he took you
at your word.

After 17 years!

If he really loved me,
how could he
just let me go?

If he really loved you?

Are you so sure
he didn't, Charlie?

[ No Audible Dialogue ]

[ Thunder Rumbles ]

[ Gasps ]

[ Screeches ]

Charlie,
what's the matter?

Tell me. What was it?

It was my father in me.

Not letting George cry.

I'm turning
into my father.

No, Charlie,
not if you don't want to.

[ Cries Quietly ]

George will understand.

Excuse me?

[ Sighs ]

Look, the rain stopped.

You know what
I'm gonna do?

I'm going to find you
a gas station.

And then
I'm gonna turn around,
and I'm gonna go home.

You wish me luck?

All there is
in the world, Charlie.

All there is
in the world.

[ Police Radio Chatter ]

Call Morrison's.
Tell 'em we need
a wrecker out here.

[ Chatter Continues ]

Charlie?

[ Police Radio Chatter
Continues ]

[ Screams ]

- Look back, Charlie.
- No!

- Look back.
- No!

Charlie, look.

It was right here.
I saw it!

It didn't happen.

It would have,
if you'd kept on going,

if you hadn't
changed your mind.

But it's all right now.

I don't understand.

I have to go.

What? Wait.
Where are you going?
There's nothing out here.

Don't worry about me.

- Good-bye, Charlene.
- Wait! Wait!

Who are you?

Look in the mirror
30 years from now,

and you'll know who I am.

Thank you
for saving my life,
my dear.