07x21 - Irrevocably Yours

[bunniefuu]

[theme music playing]

[music continues]

[music continues]

[music continues]

[Ben] And it's the adventures of Bob Gibson

and the spoon of Algernon episode 14

the spoon approaches, but Bob misses.

You want some more? We're gonna give that back.

Want some more? No more?

Ben, I never, for one minute, considered keeping.

That's good because that's not the sort of gift we could,

for one minute, ever consider keeping.

I know that. Could you please bring me the vitamins?

I got 'em.

Hey, here we go, guys. It's vitamin time.

Now Bets gets the pink one and Bobby gets the blue one

and one hits the floor.

Blue one! He was out of line,

giving our kids a gift like that.

He was out of line.

Ben, I know, I agree, and we're gonna give it back, okay?

Right? Good girl! Yeah.

[mellow music playing]

Oh!

[sniffs]

[Val] I am merely pointing out

that Gary's been through a lot lately,

ever since Bobby died.

His plans for Empire Valley fell apart,

then Olivia ran away.

Look, Gary is impulsive.

This was a generous impulse, but I agree.

Yes, thank you.

This was a mistake.

Well, would you, would you, would you?

Let's all feel sorry for little Gary Ewing.

Oh, would you stop here? Come on.

You know, I wouldn't feel too much sympathy, Mrs. Gibson.

It doesn't exactly look right.

Besides, by giving our kids a gift like that,

he's making a pretty public statement.

[Val] Public statement of what?

[Ben] A man does not give away a fortune unless...

[Val] Ben, I said it was a mistake, okay?

It was his mistake.

Now, let's not let his mistake come between us, please.

[mellow music playing]

[Mike] Hello, we're gonna be late.

Everyone's gone already.

You know, mom was upset you missed breakfast.

[pen box dropped]

You're stoned.

Michael, get off my case. I'm just tired.

I know the difference between tired and stoned.

That joint you said was Jennifer's,

that was yours, wasn't it?

No.

You smoke grass all the time, don't you, Olivia?

[sighs] Michael, you're a royal pain.

Is that a yes or a no?

No. I don't smoke grass.

Yeah, well, don't carry it around for anybody else.

And don't bring it around here.

You know you can get thrown out of school just for carrying it?

You know, other people can get in trouble...

You're so paranoid.

Olivia, I just think...

I thought you said we're gonna be late, didn't you?

[Gave] We've just closed escrow,

so Galveston Industries

now owns every available plot of land

on the northeast border of Empire Valley.

What about the unavailable land?

-What about it? -Make it available.

It's a great party, honey. I brought you some cake.

Whose party?

Uh, Val's twins. It was their birthday.

Oh, I wasn't invited.

I guess I'll have to check with my social secretary

to see who's responsible for this oversight.

-They loved our gift. -Our gift?

Well, I took the liberty of signing your name, too.

Is that okay?

Well, it depends on how much we spent.

Where'd you get the little tykes?

[chuckles]

I got her a little red dress

and, uh, got him a cute little red jumpsuit.

That sounds a bit extravagant.

Well, it's not as extravagant as Gary Ewing's gift.

He gave them half of Empire Valley.

He what?

He gave them half of Empire Valley?

Gave. Yeah, gave.

As in gift, you know, a trust, a deed, whatever.

What difference does it make?

It makes a lot of difference. It's my ground.

-No, it's not. -Yes, it is. It belongs to me.

What's the big deal about that piece of land?

Buy another piece. Buy a better piece of land.

It's not worth holding on to.

Don't tell me what's worth wanting.

Listen, on this one subject, on the subject of Empire Valley,

it's not open for discussion, okay?

No matter how reasonable your point of view is,

we won't talk about it.

[upbeat music playing]

-I still throw a riser. -[laughs]

You remember that day in the lot? [laughs]

Struck them out. Struck them out.

You got any ashtrays around here?

[laughs] I don't smoke.

I don't know what else to tell you, Mack.

Wesphall's old news.

The governor just isn't interested anymore.

Yeah? Is that the official line, Sam?

You've been out in the cold too long. You're paranoid.

I'm realistic, Sam. There's the official line,

and there's the truth. No ashtrays.

Look, you and I and half the people in the state

believe that Paul Galveston intentionally polluted Wesphall.

Yeah?

He wanted to buy up the town,

and whatever small part of Empire Valley.

he didn't already own.

But you also know we couldn't pin it on him.

Yeah.

And the governor's not one to throw good money after bad.

No new leads. No new investigation.

Hi! Hiya, Sam.

-What no new investigation? -Wesphall.

He's still pretending it doesn't exist.

How do you ever convince this guy?

Oh, with reason, sincerity, and eloquence.

And when that fails, what do you do?

I step on his foot.

-Get out of here, Sam. -I'll see you.

Oh, you want to join us for lunch?

-Come to lunch with us. -Yeah.

Sacramento will fall apart if I'm not back in two hours.

You never did tell me how you like working

with your new partner, Mack.

Oh, please. It could be worse.

[Sam] Is that the official line or the truth?

She's a good attorney.

And? But what? What?

And wha-- wha-- what? Sometimes she acts like

she's too big for the office.

Every day I gotta hear that the governor's

-forced her to work here. -What?

[Mack] Yeah, she's like, comes in here and does her penance.

She's putting you on, Mack.

The transfer was Jill's idea.

She hounded the governor for weeks

until he agreed to let her come.

Get him a vacation before he starts seeing

little green men chasing him.

Thank you.

[mellow music playing]

[upbeat music playing]

Gary?

Hello. How are you?

Fine.

-You got a minute? -Got a lifetime.

Come on, I'll buy you a drink.

Oh, you're...

[sighs]

This was really very generous of you, Gary.

I think what you wanted to do for the children,

for their birthday, was really very generous.

Well, not entirely generous.

It made me feel better about my obligation.

But you have no obligation to them.

I do if I feel one, and I feel one.

Gary, you had to know that such a generous gift

-would be hard on Ben. -Why?

[Val] Didn't you ever stop to think about

how he might feel about this?

-No. -You should have.

I mean, I know your intentions were good

but you can't go around making yourself feel better

at other people's expense. This...

this really wasn't fair to Ben.

I had no intention of hurting Ben.

Okay.

Well, Gary, we... we just can't accept it.

We thank you very much, but it just wouldn't be right.

What about my rights?

Why don't we talk about me?

Did you ever think how I might feel?

You never even told me you were having my babies.

Gary, stop.

Don't say "my babies."

Those children are mine and Ben's and not yours.

And you're just going to have to take your gift back.

and leave us alone.

I'm not taking it back.

Half of Empire Valley belongs to those children.

No.

Our children.

Stop it, Gary!

[mellow music playing]

[breathing heavily]

Well, we'll just have to give it back.

I'll get the twins on the horn and you can ask them yourself.

"Widdle Bobby and widdle Betsy, this is Auntie Abby.

And I want you to give back your chair of Empire Valley."

Greg, once in a while you ought to give it a try

being just a little tasteful.

The impulse always escapes me when I'm around you.

[Abby] Did you tell them?

Not one word escaped these lips, fair maid.

Well, I guess it doesn't really matter anyway.

There's no proof. You can't have any proof.

Val and Ben will just have to give it back.

If only they could.

Well, how can they accept it?

That would be like admitting that Gary is the father.

It's a matter of principle.

It's a matter of an irrevocable trust.

That's a little legal surprise,

which means that the gift. belongs to the kids.

That Ben and Val Gibson can't do anything about it.

What can I do?

Tie up all his assets?

Good idea.

It would even be a better idea if the asset in question

were community property.

But Gary inherited Empire Valley,

therefore it doesn't qualify as community property.

So you could go ahead and divorce him,

but you'd be lucky to end up with an acre of Empire Valley.

So you and I both have good reasons.

to spit on my father's grave.

[ambulance siren wailing]

Joshua.

Oh, mama, I'm so glad to see you.

[gloomy music playing]

[Joshua] You think that I need help, do you?

[Lilimae] I think you're troubled, Joshua.

Honey, there's no shame in admitting you need help.

We will all need help now and then.

[Joshua] You see any irony in a mother telling her son

to go somewhere else, to go to someone else for help?

[Lilimae] I will do whatever I can.

Tell me, what can I do?

[Joshua] Nothing, I guess.

Just like you did nothing when I was a boy.

When I really needed a mother, you weren't there.

Well, don't think that I was deprived

by your absence, mother.

I always had father.

[Lilimae] Joshua, don't.

[Joshua] I was his son.

I didn't need his spiritual love.

I needed him to be a real father.

But he had no idea how to do that.

He didn't know that it's a parent's job to say,

"Way to go!" Or, "Nice job! "

Or, "I'm proud of you, Joshua."

Or, "I love you, Joshua."

He didn't know.

And my mother wasn't there to tell him.

[Lilimae] Joshua, I'm so sorry.

You know I would give my life to make that up to you.

[gloomy music playing]

[Mack] Late lunch, counselor? Long lunch.

[Jill] Business lunch, counselor.

Nice! Gary Ewing qualifies as business these days.

Jill, do you still hate working for me?

For you?

With me.

-Leading question. -It's a simple question.

Do you still hate working with me?

-Should I? -[laughs]

Did you ever?

Do you doubt it?

Yes.

What an ego. [laughs]

Your stage manager transferred down here.

You begged the governor until he gave in.

You asked to come work with me.

-Who told you that? -You deny it?

[sighs] It was strictly a career move.

There are 800 people who do what I do in Sacramento

and for those 800 people, there are 30 jobs.

The chances for advancement were just better here, that's all.

All right, look, so you got down here.

-That's fair enough. -[Shiri] Dottie?

I beg your pardon?

Dottie Simpkins.

Franklin High Yellow Jackets?

It's me, Shiri.

I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else.

I'm sorry.

There aren't that many of us from Franklin High,

and I thought-- Sorry.

Okay, so why did you lie to me?

Why'd you make up that whole story about the governor.

forcing you to come down here to work

with me against your will?

If I had told you the truth at the time,

you wouldn't have believed me.

We were not, as I recall, seeing eye to eye.

I knew you'd think I was coming here

because of the juvenile crush I had on you.

I had to come up with a good story

to keep you from blocking my transfer.

Well?

Well, what?

Am I forgiven?

[laughs] Come on, let's get back to work.

[sobs]

Oh.

-Hey. -Hey. Ah, they're asleep.

Still?

Well, finally. I couldn't get them to settle down earlier.

Oh, no, that means they're going to wake up reg-- uh...

Well, thank you for babysitting.

But get them to nap sooner next time, right?

No, no, I'm grateful.

You know, like any parent of any one-year-old,

grateful to anybody that can get them

to sleep for any time at all.

Let me fix you a cup of tea.

How about fixing me a cup of beer?

A cup of beer. Three, five.

There. Yay.

-So how's it going? -Thanks.

[sighs]

-Not good, huh? -Uh...

Wow.

It's not a good time to ask.

That's always the best time to ask.

Even about the show?

Eh.

I wish you'd take me seriously.

I am. I-- I do.

I-- I just, you know, I knew you were going to say that.

So I-- I just said, and, you know, to give me enough time

to think about the words that would exactly convince you

that leaving the show would be the worst possible mistake you

could ever make in your entire life.

Well, as long as you're being so diplomatic about it.

[laughs]

-They're asleep. -They're asleep.

-Hi. -Hi.

How you doing?

[sighs]

-Long day. -Yeah.

-Long day? -Long day.

How'd it go with Gary?

Fine.

What did he say?

Not much.

-Mama? Is she upstairs? -She's not here.

Not here?

That means she's been gone all day.

[Ben] I'm sure she phoned in.

No, she didn't.

I hate it.

For a week, she doesn't even leave this house,

doesn't leave her own room, practically.

And all of a sudden, she disappears without a word.

I'm sure she'll be fine.

[mellow music playing]

[Lilimae] Joshua, stop!

[sniffs]

Let her go, son.

You are nothing but a willful little boy.

You trampled on the feelings and lives of everyone

who's ever loved you.

You're cruel to your wife.

Your own sister's afraid of you.

And you lie to all of us.

[Joshua] I am what you made me.

[Lilimae] Oh, stop it.

Stop blaming others for your faults.

-Mama. -[Lilimae] Don't call me mama.

I'm not your mama!

[gloomy music playing]

No more mama! You're not my son!

How could I have given birth to anyone as cold and as cruel?

[Joshua shouts]

[sighs]

Give her all the anchovies.

Mom?

I think you're old enough to try different things,

especially on a special occasion.

Was this a special occasion?

-Honey. -Mom, I don't want any, okay?

I just thought it'd be a treat.

I don't like Caesar salad, and I hate anchovies.

Right. No anchovies.

-So how was school? -Fine.

-Really? -Really.

-Even math? -Math's fine.

How have you been since the last...

[Olivia] Fine.

You know, you look kind of tired.

I'm not wearing any makeup.

I didn't want a "too much makeup" sermon.

[sighs]

I'd be able to tell that you look tired

no matter how much makeup you had on.

-Have you been sick? -No.

You've got big circles under your eyes.

Have you been getting enough sleep?

I've been fine.

Olivia, we, we agreed to have this dinner. We might as well...

I know we agreed to have dinner once a week.

I didn't agree to talk.

That's what having dinner means, honey.

Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom.

[sighs]

[door opens]

[dramatic music playing]

-That was great. -Thank you.

[laughs]

-I meant the food. -Oh.

You have quite an appetite.

So do you.

-You meant the food. -Yeah, that too.

[both laughs]

It's a shame to let it go to waste.

It's a shame to let this time go to waste.

[laughs]

You're just full of surprises, aren't you?

So are you.

Mack tells me that you gave away

a huge piece of your Empire Valley land...

Half.

...to Mrs. Valene Gibson's twin children?

[Gary sighs]

Mack told you right.

Why'd you do that?

You had stuff on your mouth.

-Why'd you give away your land? -Why do you want to know?

I'm curious.

You're beautiful when you're curious.

[dramatic music playing]

Do you think Jill is telling the truth this time?

I don't know.

But her looking at the Wesphall still bothers me.

Well, why don't you ask her about it?

I have. She says she's doing it on her own.

I figured the governor was going behind my back, you know?

But why would she lie to me about why she came?

And then tell me what she was going to do.

Unless, she wanted me to think that she was lying

when she was telling me the truth.

Sam did say you were getting paranoid.

Maybe I should. Why would Jill Bennett

take a personal interest in Wesphall?

Oh, good shot. Now let's try the spoon.

[laughs]

Hey, and don't we have three youthful,

abled bodies running around here?

Why do we have to do the dishes?

One is with her mother, one is on a date,

and one is at the library doing homework,

and one is sitting on his...

Yeah, well, I knew there was a good reason.

why we were doing these dishes.

Let's get back to Jill.

Yeah, to hell with Jill.

-I'll second that. -What?

-Huh? -What did you say?

Nothing. I didn't say anything...

-You did. I heard you say... -You are getting paranoid.

No, you said, take me, want me, love me,

run your fingers through my paranoia.

[both laughs]

So what did Gary say?

You think we should call the police about her?

No, I don't. I'm as worried about her as you are,

but the police do not consider a person to be missing

until they've been gone for 24 hours.

And what did Gary say?

What if something's really wrong with her?

Valene, you are evading my question.

No, I'm not. Bring him over here.

Oh, it's bedtime.

Mama, where have you been? We have been worried sick.

I took a walk. How are my babies?

Oh. [laughs]

You gonna say goodnight to Grandma, are you?

You couldn't have been walking all day, Mama.

I took a drive, then a walk.

You gonna give Grandma a goodnight hug,

my pumpkin bunny? Oh.

We were worried about you.

Well, I'm sorry.

I was, I was caught up.

I was-- I had a day of thinking.

About what, mama?

About Joshua.

And you.

Cathy and Ben.

These beauties.

They are a joy, aren't they? [sighs]

And you know what I thought?

You know what, my pumpkin?

I thought...

I wasn't the best mother to Joshua.

Mama, please, don't talk about that.

Well, I wasn't.

No, I wasn't, I wasn't.

And then I thought, well,

I can't do anything about that now.

As much as I would like to, no, I can't.

[mellow music playing]

But there is something else I can do,

I can be, I will be. Oh, yes, I will.

I will be the best grandmother that I can be

to two little pumpkins.

-[Bobby] Mommy. -Yes, you and you.

Mommy.

So now you have a guardian angel...

and his name is Joshua.

And your guardian angel and I...

are going to take care of you.

I think that makes them very lucky, mama.

[kisses]

Come on.

I lost a son.

I would dearly love to have another son.

When are you coming to bed?

In a minute.

May I get a drink of water?

I'll get the water. You get in bed.

[sighs]

[alarm rings]

Here you go.

Thanks.

-I've got the aspirin. -Huh?

Nothing.

-Hello. -Oh.

[sniffs]

[mellow music playing]

[sighs]

You're gonna miss me.

Yes, I am.

Take it off. Put it off for you.

Umm.

What?

You know that talk earlier about Jill

has nothing to do with this, right?

No.

What is it?

It's...

I'm...

Okay.

But I do feel like cuddling.

He won't do it. He won't take it back.

I want to know who in the hell Gary Ewan thinks he is.

If he wants to do something nice,

let him do it for the Boy Scouts.

He is trying to publicly humiliate us,

and I will be damned if I let that happen.

I, um...

[sighs]

...heard about your gift to Val's children.

Do you think that was wise?

I think that was my business.

[sighs] And isn't it my business when my husband neglects

and hurts his own children.

Oh, I know they're not yours biologically, Gary,

but they are yours.

In favor of some other children,

who he may or may not be related to?

I don't have to answer to you.

Really? And what are you going to say?

That you meant no harm.

in making what amounts to a public statement?

That you fathered another woman's children?

And did you ever stop to think how I would feel?

Oh, come on, don't play the martyr, Abby.

And don't play the saint with me, Gary.

I gave somebody a gift.

I have that right.

You can make as much or as little of it as you want.

[Abby] You have no right to treat your family this way

and you have no right to tell the world that your family

means less to you than Val's b*stards.

I'm going to take a shower.

Olivia, hurry up. Breakfast is getting cold.

Great breakfast, Mike.

I know, isn't it?

I know?

The gracious way to accept a compliment

is to say thank you.

Great breakfast, Michael.

-Thank you. -You're welcome.

-Come on with the sports page. -Yeah.

He prefers the sports page over scintillating conversation.

-Scintillate, Eric. -Huh?

Talk to us. Put the paper down.

I uh, was just reading about

the old wrestling coach at Franklin High.

He's coaching now over at St. Anthony's.

Breathtaking news.

Never let it be said that our son

can't hold up his end of polite table conversation.

[laughs]

-Franklin High. -Oh, my God, it's catching.

Olivia!

Where have I heard that before?

[Eric] Oh, you probably just know the name.

They were famous for their wrestling team.

Took State five years in a row.

We could never beat 'em. They're tough.

No, that's not it.

[Eric] Yeah, sure, the Yellow Jackets.

Where's Franklin High?

You mean where was Franklin High?

Last I heard, it closed down.

Yeah, that's why the coach left.

Why did it close down?

It was uh, near that chemical spill.

The one you investigated, Wesphall.

What is it?

No, I don't...

Olivia!

[Mike] You're screwing your life up bad, Olivia.

Eventually, it's gonna come down on you.

You're gonna get hurt.

And maybe other people, too.

Come off it, Michael.

You know you want to, too. Everybody does.

Everybody doesn't, though.

I bet you'll smoke grass someday.

You don't know that.

But when I do, if I do,

I'll be old enough to know I'm messing up my life.

[school bell rings]

I can handle it.

No. No, you can't.

Well, when I can't,

if I can,

I'll come to you for another sermon.

So, if and when we decide to get into horse racing,

we will begin by purchasing Man of w*r.

However, thank you for your advice.

-[knocking on door] -Sincerely, Greg Sumner.

Peter, would you, uh, excuse us for a minute?

[Peter] Well, I think this can wait.

-Don't you, Mr. Sumner? -By all means, bro.

Listen, you gotta stop coming to me

every time you get a run in your stockings.

This is no run, and this is no ordinary problem.

There has to be some way to stop Gary

from giving away the Empire Valley.

Can you get me 50 copies of this?

I'll hold down the fort.

Thanks.

[Abby] And you've gotta work together with me on this.

[Greg] Wait a second. I don't got to work together

with you on anything, woman.

[dramatic music playing]

Occasionally,

when the return seems worth the investment,

I am willing to swallow my normal sense of pride,

in which time I choose to work with you.

Come off it, Greg.

How many times over the years have you come to me

for this favor or that favor?

If you don't help me out on this, I'll...

[Greg] You'll what? You'll start to cry?

You'll take your baseball bat and go home?

Listen, Abby, I work with you at my pleasure.

Unfortunately, you don't have the same option.

[sighs]

I am not the one who knew about the kidnapping

and did nothing about it.

You are. I am not the one who knew

that Gary sired Valene's twins

and failed to tell the poor guy. You are.

So I can expose you any time you step out of line.

So please, don't tell me when I will or will not work with you.

That's my prerogative, not yours.

You keep threatening to expose me with something

that I told you in confidence.

And you've been making that threat for almost a year now.

Don't count on that threat working forever, Greg.

Ms. Ewing.

Hello, Peter.

[car roaring]

-What the hell are you doing? -[Gary] That's my question.

[Ben] You know, I have thought and thought

about how to try to get through to you.

Try falling ahead next time.

So what the hell is this little multimillion-dollar gift

of yours all about, anyhow?

Nothing. Not a thing. I did it for myself.

Oh, I see. You thought how it might hurt Val

if her ex-husband went public with his claim to her kids,

you just considered that and went ahead and did it.

I had no intention of hurting Val

or anyone else, for that matter.

Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that you never even

considered how it would hurt Val?

I don't know, Ben. You tell me.

You're the one with all the answers.

Maybe the answer is that you hate your ex-wife

so much because she is your ex-wife

that you decided to humiliate her in public.

What?

You don't drink anymore, Gary,

but that's the only thing about you

that's not acting like a drunk.

You are still so self-centered

you're blind to the rest of the world.

You're way out of line here, pal.

And you're trying to prove to the rest of the world

that you're the father of my kids.

That's not it.

Your idea of masculinity goes down real well

with a bunch of 16-year-old kids,

but it doesn't cut it with grown-ups.

Hey, you're trying to soothe your ego.

by calling my kids b*stards.

Maybe you're the one with the ego problem, Ben.

I don't know what makes you tick,

and I don't want to know what makes you tick.

I just want you to know one thing.

You're not the father of those kids.

There's a lot more to being a father

than passing genes and a plot of land.

-I know what being a father is. -[Ben] Oh, really?

How many teeth does Betsy have?

What was Bobby's first word?

[mellow music playing]

Their father knows.

Even if you had their genes, you would never be their father

because a father is there.

He's there in the middle of the night

when the kids have a fever.

He goes off to work with applesauce all over his tie.

He wipes a lot of little noses and a lot of little bottoms.

He knows how to deal with cradle cap.

And he spends his nights with his kids in his arms

until his arms are cramped.

A father is there, man.

He doesn't just send in a bunch of expensive gifts.

He doesn't go out catting around

every time his macho ego needs a few strokes.

A father would never hold his children

up to ridicule or their mother.

I am their father, Gary!

[upbeat music playing]

-Good morning. -Good morning.

One of your taillights is out.

Oh, gosh. Sorry about that.

May I see your driver's license, please?

Oh, yes, sir.

[dramatic music playing]

-Would you step outside, please? -What?

Please step outside, Mr. Fairgate.

Yeah, sure.

-Please step up on the curb. -What?

Step up on the curb, please.

Stand right there.

Are these yours, Mr. Fairgate?

[theme music playing]

[music continues]