Masters of Sex (2013–2016): Season 2, Episode 6 - Blackbird - full transcript

Previously on
Masters of Sex...

It's the key to your new
office at Buell Green.

They fully endorsed
the study

and my bringing
you aboard.

After the
dust-up yesterday,

I thought it would be best
if we kept our patients

away from each other.

My God.

So, uh, you guys
are friends from, uh?

Acquaintances, really.
Oh, we go way back.

I really think
Al would love Helen.



Unless, of course, you
have a special someone?

No, I was
recently jilted.

I'm never going back
to that hospital.

It would be irresponsible
to stay on.

I am scared, though,
for what's ahead.

He is a rough customer,
Robert.

And he does
have a temper.

But when it's late...

And it's just
the two of us...

Alone in our bed.
well...

I'm sure you can understand
how hard that is to leave.

Why did
he break your nose?

I don't remember.

And there was no one
there to stop it?



Oh, I... I could
have stopped ii.

I took it.

Like a man.

You a fight fan?

Not really.

Then what
brings you here?

I want to see
how it ends.

Ripped By mstoll

I could kiss you now.

We don't kiss.

No. Don't move.

I want to.

No.

Don't move.

Don't move.

You're moving.

I have a sunburn.

Radiation burn
from last time.

Mmm-hmm.

And it itches,
which is why I moved.

I'm sorry. What?

Sunburn.
Ah. Yes.

Common side effect.

We can prescribe
a topical cream.

And nausea.

And fatigue.

I do have reduced
cognitive function.

Losing words and weight.

And hair.

Don't move.

Thank you
for your concern.

Your lack of interest is
rather liberating, actually.

I could likely say anything
to you and you wouldn't blink.

I was raised by vampires.

I drive getaway cars
in my spare time.

I once had intercourse
with a corpse.

Then look again, please.

It's much better for me to
take her in the mornings.

Well, then, perhaps
you can find someone else

to bring her.

I mean that it's
much better for her.

By the afternoon,
she's very tired,

so perhaps you
have a patient

who prefers taking
an afternoon slot.

You aren't proposing

I ask someone to move
their appointment

in order to accommodate
your friend, are you?

Virginia, let's just go.

What you may be unaware
of, Priscilla,

is the fact that my
friend is also a doctor.

I can come in
the afternoons.

And I would like to think
that you would be glad

to extend to
Dr DePaul...

Virginia.

-...the same professional courtesy that...
It's me. Mariel.

Oh, you don't recognise
me because...

Ta-da...
I'm down two sizes.

Look. ..
Loosey-goosey.

Don't you
look wonderful.

Virginia introduced me to the
most wonderful diet programme.

And Priscilla here
was having trouble

finding us a morning
appointment.

Virginia, take the afternoon slot.
Sign us out of here.

Yes, since I told you
mornings next week

are completely booked.

Completely?

This is why we call you
"Priscilla the Hun."

We do.
It's not even a secret.

Uh, I'll see
if Mrs Marmo

is willing to switch her 10:00 a.m.
On Wednesday.

Does that work for you,
Virginia?

That would be
wonderful.

Thank you so much.

You just can't take no
for an answer, can you?

As you can see, we
screen very thoroughly.

We do an intake with
you first, of course.

It's impressive.

Guess what I'm wondering...

Urn, my question is...

You can ask me anything.

Well, sometimes, in the
bedroom, I mean, with Roger...

That's my husband...

I wonder if different ways of
being intimate would produce...

Different results?

Well, first of all,
we would be happy

to have both you and your
husband as participants

in the study together,

and I could see to it

that you could
experiment

with different
sexual positions,

which is, I think, what
you're trying to say.

I wish I could do this.

You can. It's
completely anonymous.

Your husband...

It's not my husband.
It's Dr Hendricks.

I'm sorry?

Dr Hendricks
has forbidden staff

from participating
in the study.

I mean forbidden.

So, as much
as I'd like to,

can't lose my job.

You should have
levelled with us.

Instead of ripping clown our
fliers in the dead of night.

I removed them
in broad daylight.

You promised me

our study had your full
backing and support.

I did allow your study
to come to this hospital,

but I assumed you'd
bring your own subjects.

White subjects.
White subjects only!

Wait here.

Why is your staff not
allowed to participate?

Bad idea.
According to whom?

Charles,
if your intention

is to move history forward,
as you put it to me,

you better come up with a
better reason than that,

otherwise you are a man
spouting revolution

while in reality, you're
just toeing the party line.

No doubt there's a gurney
waiting for you somewhere.

Find it.

You're not familiar

with the history
of medical research

in the Negro community.

Why, if you mean...

I mean, Negroes forced
to undergo

risky experimental
surgeries,

dosed with radiation,

cut open to find
brain abnormalities

which could explain their
propensity to violence.

I have heard...

You've heard that Negroes
have been thought to require

near lethal doses
of X-rays to

penetrate their skin.

And now we have
you and Miss Johnson,

two white researchers,

who wish to watch through
glass as Negroes copulate.

In our study,
subjects understand

the parameters
of their participation.

They know exactly what is
expected of him or her and why.

But the impression, Bill.

The associations the good
people of this community

have with
their hospital...

Your staff already
wants to sign up.

Several of them
would participate today

if you weren't
forbidding it.

Most of my staff has
never seen a lynching.

I have. Have you?

Did you know most
of the times No.

They castrate a man before
they string him up?

Why do you
think that is?

Fear, I suppose,

based on erroneous
stereotypes,

stereotypes a study like
ours could begin to dispel.

Bill, trust me
when I tell you

you have stepped into something
you do not understand.

Already it's creating more of a
headache for me than I need.

Just this morning,

a journalist from a local
Negro paper was in my office

wanting to verify
the shocking rumour

that Buell Green
was embarking

on a ground-breaking,
top-secret study

exploring
Negro sexuality.

But is that not
moving history forward,

the very thing you
implored me to do?

We'll move
history forward.

Mark my words.

We just won't do it by burning
my hospital to the ground.

Now, if you don't mind,
I came in here to take a leak.

Unless you'd like to watch.

Uh, let's, uh, start
with shrimp cocktail

and then steak and lobster
for the main part.

Uh, and then how about hot
fudge sundaes for dessert?

You can do hot fudge?

Anything is possible,
madam.

All right.
Banana splits.

Mmm-hmm.

The more you care,
the more you spend, right?

Ooh, what about
an ice sculpture?

We could do a swan.
I don't want a swan.

That's the most words you've
said in a row all day.

Betty, I...
I'm watching you,

and it's like you're killing
yourself over all this stuff.

Yeah, well,
your pretzels

are going into every food
fair in the country.

I mean, Gene, honey, it's not
every clay a man is syncopated.

Syndicated.
Yeah, syndicated.

And I want you to know
I appreciate all this.

It's very sweet
of you. It is.

But?

I've been thinking.

And?

And the idea

that we're not gonna be able
to have kids of our own,

it's been really tough.

I admit that.

So I've been trying to get used
to the idea of adopting, and...

I just... I can't.

I wanted our kids to be you...
Part you, anyway.

And when I realise

how much I want to see you
in those little faces...

It always led me
back to you.

I'm sorry, that...

That had
too many "yous" in it.

Hey.
It's... It's okay.

You're enough. That's
what I'm trying to say.

It's not like you don't
frustrate the hell out of me,

'cause half the time,
I want to wring your neck.

But as long as I'm yours
and you're mine...

That's enough for me.

Uh, dinner
is in 15 minutes.

You were saying something
about Hendricks?

About his, uh, not wanting
Negroes in the study?

Hendricks doesn't.

But he's wrong.

And he knows he's wrong.

Why would
he say it, then?

He's scared.

'Cause it's dangerous
for him.

Because all taboos feel
dangerous until they're broken.

Apparently there's
a Negro journalist

who is interested in the
study being at Buell Green.

We're trying to find
this journalist.

Once we can convince him
of the value of the work

and he writes as much,

then what choice
does Hendricks have

but to bless Negro
participation in the study?

What are you doing?

Oh, I'm just...
I don't know.

I...

Every night, I wonder if they
put on this show just for me.

Every night,
you watch them?

No, not every night.

But the situation does...
It does concern me.

You're staring at them
like some peeping Tom.

I'm not a...
And what about you,

standing here proposing
to do the exact same thing,

stare at Negroes?

At a hospital
in a study.

Oh, and because it's for science,
it's not the same thing?

I don't feel safe.

They haven't
done anything.

Libby, either you change
the situation or I will,

because this...

This needs
to stop.

Excuse me, ma'am.

Dr Franklin's patients sit on
that side of the waiting room.

I'm hereto see
Dr Masters.

I'm Virginia Johnson.

I'm Dr Masters'
research assistant.

Are you here as a patient
or for the study?

I'm Morgan Hogue from the St.
Louis chronicle.

I understand you've
been looking for me.

Yeah... Yes.
We have.

Please come with me.

Oh! Oh, my God!

Oh, my God.

I missed you.

I knew you couldn't
stay away forever.

The flesh is weak.

The course of true love
never did run smooth.

All of the above.

You're staying.

I mean,
are you staying?

I...am...

I can stay
a little longer.

I got to go back
to work anyway.

Knock it off.
Mrs Mendel is coming.

Mrs Mendel's
not dead yet?

Probably wishes she were.

Harry stepping out on her.
I'm sure that...

Something with white roses
that keeps coming up.

Poor Mrs Mendel.

She loves her husband.

He loves someone else.

Hey.

Why don't we, uh...

Why don't we get you
an apartment?

Move you out of here.

You know, two rooms,

maybe a balcony
overlooking the river.

Would you like that?

There's no reason that the two of us
can't see each other all the time.

You know,
a lot of the time.

You could hang up
this nonsense with Al,

and we could
just be together.

So you stay married,
and I'm your what?

Your mistress?

That's a
silly thing to say.

That's not what
you're proposing?

Men have mistresses.

This is a new start.
For us.

We... We have money
for the first time ever.

No, you and Gene
have money.

The three of us have money,
and money means options.

Yeah, with me as your
piece on the side.

Honey...

You and me, we were never gonna
have the white picket fence ever.

So... If an
unconventional life

was always
in the cards,

then this unconventional life,
it's a pretty good one.

Mrs Mendel will be
here any minute.

You should get dressed.

Jim Crow would certainly feel
at home in your waiting room.

Believe it or not, it was
actually the Negro doctor

that insisted upon keeping
our patients separated.

And now Hendricks
won't allow

his own staff
in the study?

I'm glad you
tracked me down.

Well, Hendricks
wants to maintain

the mantle of respectability
here at Buell Green.

Yet we believe the
Negro community here

could actually benefit
from our study.

Your study might
also help dispel

some of those stereotypes
about Negro sexuality.

Our point to
Hendricks exactly.

So are you saying this is the
reason you came to Buell Green?

We should have included Negroes
in the study from the beginning.

But now that we have,

we are committed
to this line of inquiry.

My only caution to you

would be to remember

we're not here to forward
anyone's agenda.

The mandate of our study

is to only go where
the research leads.

Meaning it
isn't your job

to eradicate the image of,
say, the Mandingo.

A Negro that acts like an
animal, obsessed with sex.

Or the jezebel,
the female equivalent

I'm sorry.

The portrayal of black women
as oversexed and immoral

to the point where a black
woman can't be raped

because she wants
sex all the time.

Well... Certain facts
can be measured.

Penis size,
performance, frequency.

As Mrs Johnson says, we
will publish what we find

and let the facts
speak for themselves.

It's about time
they did.

What's going to
happen to me?

I'm sorry?

I want you to tell me what's
going to happen to me.

You should talk to your
general physician.

I'm asking you.

You seem to not think
of me as a person,

so I trust you
to tell me straight,

not to sugar coat it.

The radiation
may slow the cancer,

but it's unlikely
to stop it.

Your aphasia will worsen.

It'll be harder to express your
thoughts, to think clearly.

You'll start to sleep for
longer and longer periods,

and you will suffer loss
of bladder and bowel control.

Your family can hire
a laundry service.

What about pain?

It varies.

You can talk to your doctor
about morphine, but it's...

Not readily given.

No.

You'll slip
into unconsciousness.

By the end, you won't
know what's happening.

But I'm sure that your loved
ones will do everything they can

to see that
you're comfortable.

Lillian, wait.

Lillian!

Lilli...

Lillian.

I'm done, Virginia,
with treatment.

Don't be ridiculous.

Ridiculous
is lying on that table,

radiating my brain

in the hopes of having a few
more days to lie on that table

and have more radiation.

I understand why you
would feel that way,

but you can't
just give up.

Why not?

Why isn't that the very best
thing I could possibly do?

Stop hoping, accept what is?

Because you never know
what could happen.

What did the doctor say? Surely
there must be a protocol.

Virginia. There could be a
new trial a month from now.

A new course of treatment.
Virginia!

Even if the odds are 100 to 1,
you could be that one.

We are not clays away from
curing metastatic cancer.

I don't want to spend
what time I have left

fighting a battle that
I certainly will lose.

And mostly...

I don't want
to fight with you.

You don't want to fight
at all, clearly.

You don't even... you don't even
want to fight for your life.

I'm sorry. I... I don't
know how to not fight.

I'm sorry, too.

Lillian.

What are you doing?

I'm going to take, um,
uh...

God damn it.

A taxi.

Let me at least drive
you home, Lillian.

Please, for my sake.

Virginia, I can't
do this for you.

I tried. But I'm done.

You know what we
should do this weekend

is take a trip up north.

I have a little cabin
up there.

Yeah, smack in the middle of the St.
Francois mountains.

Fresh air,
great fishing,

and it's spontaneous,
and I love spontaneous.

Mmm, yeah, like the both of
you, shooting from the hip,

showing up here tonight
completely unannounced.

And we're glad you did,
of course.

We were going to dinner, anyway.
Right?

The more the merrier,
now that we're four.

I'm always telling AI he needs
to be more spontaneous.

Hel, are you
serious about this?

Only one way to find out.

Wait, wait.
What's this now?

Uh... Well, Helen
wants us to elope.

Wait a minute.
Helen proposed to you?

It's crazy, isn't it?

I mean, I've never heard
of a woman doing that.

It's so romantic.

We'll do Gene's
party tomorrow.

We'll get married
the next day.

Gene and Betty
can be our witnesses.

This is all happening
so fast!

I just want
to make sure that...

I mean, are you
pulling my leg?

Listen to me, kid. I'm
givin' it to you straight.

Clark Gable?
No!

God, I can
never guess it!

One rocco
more or less...

For Christ's sake, Al, it's
Humphrey fucking Bogart.

Okay, well,
who cares who it is?

If you want
to get hitched to me,

I want to get
hitched to you.

Come here, baby.

Hey!

Hey. you want to do
that, you get a room.

You do not do
that in this house.

That is just
fucking rude!

Whoa. Betty!

Uh...

I, uh, I'm just tired.
You three go to dinner.

My head is splitting.
I got to rest.

I promised I wouldn't
tell anybody, but now...

All bets are off.

She's being so pig-headed.

Or realistic.

She's given up.

And I...
I didn't see it coming.

You said she'd been
sick for years.

No.

I didn't see
her coming.

I'm always so...careful,
you know?

With people.

Always keep that wall up.

Lillian snuck in.

But how is it
even possible?

She's so...
Rigid and demanding.

She's a complete
know-it-all.

She... She's not even
very much fun.

If we're going
to be honest.

You didn't see it coming
because she's a woman.

Sometimes I would look
across our office and think,

"Mmm, my God.

"She is so...ferocious."

But she's alone.

And she's my friend.

And I don't
have a lot of those.

And somehow Lillian
snuck around the wall.

And now she won't
even listen to me.

Lillian, who...

She...
She knows me.

I know you.

It was a friend high up
in the police department.

I simply asked
him to check

because I was concerned
about your safety.

It wasn't Robert's fault.

So you know that
he has a record.

He's been arrested three times!
How can that not concern you?

You don't understand.

He was walking
down the street.

They picked him up
outside a bar.

One arrest was for
assaulting a police officer.

They assaulted him first.

Coral!
Listen to yourself!

I feel like Robert's
intoxicated you

to the point where you
can't see straight.

Why are you doing this?

Because I am uncomfortable.

I'm very uncomfortable
with him

and whatever it is that's
going on between you two.

I can't have me
or baby John

around someone
with a criminal record.

And I can see that I
can't persuade you

to stop seeing him, so...

Given that I don't
feel comfortable,

that I need to keep
my family safe,

I can't have him
coming to the house.

I'm sorry,
but from now on,

you're gonna have to find
someone else to drive you.

You'll have to make
other arrangements.

Yes, ma'am.

I know you think you have
something with Robert,

but ask yourself,

"ls it really worth it?"

All this tumult
for that one thing?

I'll make a call.

My auntie can
pick me up tonight.

Okay.

I got the funnies, if that's
what you're looking for.

Alka-Seltzer, more like.

You must have polished
off an entire bottle

last night
after we left.

Al and I were laughing
about when we were kids.

We would double date.
I'd always drive.

I would leave Al in the back
seat with his date to have at it

while whatever girl
was stuck with me

would be sitting in the front
seat with her hands in her lap,

wondering why I suddenly
went paralysed.

Al's an oaf.
Oh, really?

'Cause from
where I'm standing,

it seems like maybe
you like Al a lot.

Maybe you got
a thing for Al.

Oh, my God.

What? Don't play
dumb with me.

You yelled like a house on
fire when Al kissed Helen.

Their pawing each other
was a vulgar display.

Or maybe you want to be
in that back seat with Al,

have him kissing on you
instead of Helen.

Maybe I'm just
not man enough for you.

Oh, you can't be serious.

You... You are worth a dozen Als...
Two dozen Als.

We promised each other
no more lies,

so if I am
disappointing you,

you know, between
the sheets, just...

Oh, for God's sakes.
You want the truth?

I was genuinely sickened by
that Al-and-Helen freak show.

What are you talking about?
They're getting married.

They are somewhere between the
bearded lady and the monkey man.

I have been putting up
with Al because of you,

because you
are friends with him,

but last night,
that... That was too much.

I cannot stand Al,

and I don't want
to see them ever again.

Even Helen?

Helen especially.

Whew.

If I could check just
a few facts with you.

I'm wondering
if part of the reason

you were drawn to medicine
in the first place

was due to the fact that
you were sickly as a child.

I'm sorry?

You suffered
two serious bouts

with a fairly rare blood infection.
Septicaemia.

Which landed you
in the hospital

for a three-month stay
when you were eight,

four-and-a-half months
at 10.

That must have
left a strong impression

on a young boy.

I went into,
uh, medicine

because I was focused.

I knew what
I wanted to do.

But you had a wide
variety of interests

at Hamilton College.

You were a boxer.
You learned to fly a plane.

I had a pilot's
licence. So?

So why not be a pilot?

Uh...

As an obstetrician, you get
to bring life into the world.

So, the sickly child
became Prometheus,

creating man from clay.

If you're trying to imply

I have some sort
of god complex...

The point is your story is one
our readers can understand.

You started under
adverse circumstances,

you focused on work that
served the greater good,

and now you're here
at Buell Green,

having come from
Memorial Hospital,

where your tenure
was very short.

A month, in fact.

Technically, yes.

Is it true you assaulted
a physician at Memorial?

You... You talked
to Doug Greathouse?

Doug Greathouse is
irrelevant to this story.

There was
also an incident

where you put
a fire extinguisher

through a window
at Maternity Hospital.

This apparently led
to your dismissal.

That is incorrect.

You weren't dismissed?

The chancellor and I
did not see eye-to-eye.

Miss Hogue,
the story we agreed

is about the positive
effect of our study

on the Negro community
here at Buell Green.

And it is.

We also agreed the facts
would speak for themselves.

And from what
I can gather,

you've had a very
successful career.

But now with
your sex study,

you've met
with resistance.

And so you've countered
with resistance.

You've had to.

Which makes you
a revolutionary of sorts,

estranged from
the white community.

I'm not estranged
from the white community.

Like many
in our community,

forced to resort
to violent tactics.

Well, according to Greathouse
and his band of idiots.

Jesus, don't...
Don't write that.

Look, these... These incidents
taken out of context

will be misunderstood,

and I do not want
them used in the piece.

You don't get to say what's
included in the piece.

It's my study.

And it's my story.

So you won't
be our witnesses now?

No. No,
I don't think so.

And... And I also have
to talk to you about...

About the party tonight.

What the hell?

I know.
Al, I'm sorry.

I was gonna make up
some story,

like the kitchen
caught on fire

Or the caterer got
run over by a bus,

but we got a history,
so I'm...

I'm gonna
give it to you straight

Betty doesn't
like Helen.

But they're
thick as thieves.

Maybe they once were, but
something's gone sour there, and...

And Betty
is done with Helen.

That is just insane.

I mean, those two...
They're so close.

The way they kiss each
other right on the lips,

and now they
hate each other?

I don't...
Wait, wait, wait, wait.

What are you talking about?
On the... On the lips?

Yeah.

At Kemoll's. That night
we all had dinner.

I went out to see if Helen

wanted me to order
crème de menthe

when she left the table
because Betty was so upset.

Yeah.

I see them come out
of the ladies' room,

and suddenly
they're in this lip lock,

like...Cary Grant
and Grace Kelly

in To Catch a Thief.

I mean, I had aunts
that used to lip-kiss,

but they were guineas.

Had moustaches.
And that was like pecking.

But Helen and Betty...

Wait. Wait.

Al, wait a minute.

I mean, come on.

As I live and breathe.

Are you going
to let me in?

I don't open
my door to salesmen.

I'm not selling anything.

Are you sure?
Aren't you always?

You peddle diet pills
in a cancer ward.

That was not my finest
moment, I'll admit.

Please let me
in anyway.

I thought if you had
a shopping list,

I could pick up some
groceries for you.

I'm all set.

Any errands
that need running?

I could, uh...

I could take those letters to
the post office, if you'd like.

This one's for my family.

I was going to send it
special delivery.

Can you give it
to them in person?

In person?

They're instructions.

There's a family
plot in Weymouth.

The DePauls there
go back to the 1800s.

My parents will want me
buried in this plot.

They will insist on it.

But I want my body
to go to science.

All those brave souls

whose bodies taught me
how to be a doctor.

Maybe some
medical student

will discover a cu re for
ovarian cancer by using mine.

There'd be a nice symmetry
to that, don't you think?

By taking this, you're
promising me you'll see to it,

that my wishes
are carried out.

Will you take it?

There you go.

Good night, Mrs Masters.

Oh. Um,
Good night, Coral.

My auntie is
waiting for me.

No doubt Miss Hogue told you

I would prefer she not go
ahead with this story.

She did.

But I read the rough
draft of her piece,

and she presents
the conflict you have

as part of a larger
and righteous battle.

I won't lie.
Makes for good copy.

No doubt it does.

But to be honest,
I'm not worried about myself.

I'm more concerned about
the scientific findings.

How so?

I initially
told Miss Hogue

I would let the facts
speak for themselves.

We go wherever
the data leads.

But the initial results
have given me pause.

Miss Hogue said
you were just beginning

to bring Negroes
into the study.

We've had plenty of,
uh, Negro participants

since arriving
at Buell Green,

and while
Negro sexuality

wasn't our focus
at Maternity,

we had enough subjects
to warrant a control group.

But now, by refocusing this data

specifically on Negro
performance, physiology,

we found
significant differences

between white
and Negro subjects.

Such as?
Penis size, for one.

Sexual appetite.

Elevated
testosterone levels.

I don't think this is a
story you want to publish.

I think you're lying.

Mr Wilson, my methods
are beyond reproach.

You don't want
a story published

that paints you as an
ostracised and unstable figure,

so instead,
you threaten me.

No one's threatening...

You hold before me the spectre of
a story that claims it's true.

The Negro is an animal.
The Negro wants your women.

I'm not an errand boy,
Dr Masters,

here to do your bidding.

I'm an editor, and I will
publish that article.

Even though men have been
lynched and castrated

for the mere perception
of sexual aggression,

never mind the scientific
confirmation of it.

Did you think that you
could bully me into this

and I'd just shuffle
away and say, "Yes, sir.

"Yes, Dr Masters.

"I'm sure scared of what
your study might do"?

What kind of a man are you?

Well, I'm not
the kind of man

who would savage someones
reputation, his livelihood,

his life's work because
it makes good copy.

Why don't you go look
in the mirror

next time you
ask that question?

Okay, Dr Masters,

I'mma go look in the
mirror, just like you say.

You publish this story,

and I promise you, I will
publish my findings.

Fraudulent findings.

I will prove you a fraud.

You want to
take that risk?

My study may have
been shown the door,

but I've got an office
full of accolades.

I've got 25 years of
a sterling reputation.

You know, I've
delivered the children

of every prominent
politician, lawmaker,

and newspaper man
in this city.

So why don't you go
ahead and try me?

Let's see who
the public listens to...

Me or you.

You ready for cheese
puffs and champagne?

Hey, how do you get, uh, this, uh...
What do you call it?

That's a cummerbund.

Yeah. How do you get
this cummerbund off?

Betty, come on.
Hey, what?

A girl can't take
her husband upstairs

for a quickie
before the guests arrive?

Betty.

What is that? ls that your attempt to...
To reassure me?

Because
I'm reassured now.

About Al, about all these other
men that you've been with.

I know...

I know that they didn't
mean anything to you.

I know you
didn't love them.

No, no, I never
did love any of them.

Because you
loved Helen.

Who are you, Betty?

Huh? Come on.

Just tell me.

I mean, we've been
round and round with this.

Come on. I think you
owe me the truth.

Please, just for once,
tell me, who are you, really?

I'm... I'm ju...
I'm just...

I'm just a woman who...

Yes, loved Helen,
but that doesn't matter.

Oh, it matters to me.
No, Gene.

You're the
one I married.

You're the one I'm
gonna stay married to.

It's just you and me,

hand-in-hand,
despite everything.

Everything... Oh, and
it has been everything.

Every lie imaginable,
Betty. Come on.

About your past,
about you having kids.

And I've have
made peace with...

I have made peace
with all of it,

because I found something
that was important to me.

I found someone
that I loved.

And now you're telling me that
your heart belongs to Helen,

and that doesn't matter,
that I should be happy

about these fucking
compromises and half-truths

that are gonna carry us
into old age,

this fucking avalanche
that is our marriage!

I care about you!

Care... Care is what
you have for a stray dog

that you find
in the road.

Love is what you have for someone
that you share your bed with.

Gene, there are...
Stop it!

I cannot hear
this any more.

You want to
sell yourself.

You're the... You're the pro here.
Go ahead.

But I will... I cannot
sell myself this cheap.

I learned to box step
to this song.

At cotillion.

I was 13.

Eight inches taller
than the tallest boy.

Oh.

They called me Giraffe.

Not just tall.

Spotted.

Well, a few of the boys

must have caught up
to you eventually.

A little piece of you

is always the girl
you were at 13.

Did you ever fall
in love with a boy?

I think so.

No one's ever been
in love with me, though.

Not that I've known
of, anyway.

I've had relations
a few times.

No one's ever stayed.

You know, lingered.

And that's what
I've missed out on,

that kind of closeness.

You have that with Bill.

With Bill?

With Bill.

He loves you.

He never says it.

But you know it.

That's everything,
isn't it?

This is how I get my
kids to drift off.

I trace words
on their foreheads.

"Sleep tight."

"Eat your broccoli."

With me, you could always
play connect the dots.

No.

More like stars.

I see the constellations
in these freckles.

The Big Dipper.

Ursa Major.

Oh, and
there's Lilantha

with her crown
and her chariot.

Lilantha...
There's no Lilantha.

Oh, you don't know that myth?
No.

The warrior princess?

Strong?
And brave?

And so tall and beautiful

that she struck
some men dumb.

Some men very dumb.

But she knew
who she was.

And that is why
she burns so brightly.

You can always
spot her in the sky.

I'll see you
in the morning.

Okay.
In the morning.

After you.

on!

That was good.
It was fun.

Yeah, it was nice, huh?

What are you doing?

Do you know
it's a federal offence

to tamper with
someone's mail?

I'm not tampering.
I'm looking for Coral.

I didn't see her name
on any of the apartments.

What do you
want with Coral?

Is that another threat?

Just because
you're her boyfriend

doesn't mean
that you get to...

Whoa. Boyfriend?
Who told you that?

Coral told me.

I'm her brother.

You... You have
different last names.

We have different fathers.

But she...
She said that you...

About your relationship...
About what...

Your leg is bleeding.

What did you
scrape it on?

May I?

Ow.

I don't know
what Coral told you,

but whatever it was,
it wasn't true.

I'm fine.
You can stop.

I said stop.

Give this to Coral.
Please.

This is her severance.
Take it.

Just please take it.

You know what? You can tell
her that she is fired.

Lillian?

It's me. I forgot
to take the letter.

Lillian?

Lillian?

Lillian. Lillian!

Operator.

Yes, hello,
I need an ambulance.

My friend, she's taken sleeping pills...
An overdose.

Okay, ma'am.
I need the address.

The address...

Ma'am?

Hello? Ma'am?

I have, uh, never
misrepresented my work.

Ever.

Even as a tactic.

Yes, so I heard.

There's nothing more dangerous
than a desperate man.

I can't, uh,
continue like this.

Took me 16 years
at Good Samaritan

before I left to build
something of my own...

This hospital...

Before I finally turned
my attention

fully and without compromise
to the work I was meant to do.

I can't work, uh, in
a hospital any more.

I can't be beholden
to others' rules.

God knows who would have
me even if I could...

So cut the cord.

25 years of a career.

My entire life.

No more delivering babies,
surgical privileges gone.

It feels like dying,
and it is.

So let's see if you have
the guts to be reborn.

I want your office
cleared out by morning.

I'm sorry.
I must have, uh...

You're looking
for Virginia?

Shelley Decklin.

Who are you?

Yeah, I thought
you might be her,

that she lost her key
or something.

Who are you?

I just said.

Who are you, uh,
to Virginia?

Her... Her beau.

I... I guess
that's who I am.

We were supposed
to meet here tonight,

but so far
she is a no show.

No call, nothing.

And you have a key.

So, uh, you been
dating awhile?

A couple months.

Met in the lobby
at the Park Plaza.

Caught the last round
of the Moore-Durelle fight.

Ah, yes. I r...
I remember that night.

Anyway, uh, I was,
uh, just passing.

I'm sorry.
And you are...

Colleague.

Uh, Virginia and I
wor... Uh, work together.

That's all.

Can I give her a message?

No.

No message.

What is it?

I'm, uh...

I'm not feeling
very well.

Bill.

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