Mind the Stop

Revolutionary Roadè革命路è浮生路è真愛之旅

So, what do you do?

I’m studying to be an actress. You?

I’m a longshoreman.

No, I mean, really.

I mean really, too.

Although, starting next Monday.

I’m doing something a little more glamorous.

What’s that?

Night cashier at a cafeteria.

I don’t mean how you make money. I mean, what you interested in?

Honey, if I had the answer to that one. I bet I’d bore is both to death in half an hour.

Thank God that’s over. So much for the debut of the Laurel Players. And she was very disappointing.

Frank! Very nice, Frank!

Thanks so much, Mrs. Givings.

I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed it. You have a very talented wife.

I’ll pass it along.

Frank!

Hi!

She’s in there. I’m about ready for that drink.

Couple of minutes.

April? Sweetheart?

Hi!

Hi!

You about ready to leave?

Yeah. Yeah.

I’ve just got to get this make up off.

Well, I guess it wasn’t a triumph or anything, was it?

I guess not. I’ll be ready in a minute.

Take your time.

Listen, will you do me a favor?

Milly and Shep wanted us to go out with them after.

Will you say we can’t? Say it’s because of the babysitter or something.

Well, the thing is, I already said that we could.

I mean, I just saw them and I said that we would.

Then would you mind going out again and saying you were mistaken?

That should be simple enough.

Don’t you think that’s a little bit rude, April?

Then I’ll them myself.

Okay. Okay. Take it easy.

All right? I’ll tell them.

I mean it, baby. You were the only person in that play.

Thank you.

We shouldn’t have let you get mixed up in the damned thing, is all.

All right.

What a bunch of amateurs. I mean, you’ve studied, for Christ’s cake.

Could we stop talking about it now?

Sure.

I just don’t want you feeling bad about it, that’s all.

Because it’s not worth it, you know.

It’s bad enough having to live out here amongst these people.

What’d you say?

I said yes. All right, Frank.

Could you just stop talking about it now before you drive me crazy, please?

What are you doing?

April, sweetheart, let’s talk about this, okay?

No, Frank, please don’t do that.

Come on, now.

Don’t touch me.

April, April…

Just leave me alone.

Okay, Okay.

It strikes me that there’s a considerable amount of bullshit going on here.

And there’s just a few things that I’d like to clear up. All right?

Number one, it’s not my fault that the play was lousy. Okay?

Number two, it sure as hell isn’t my fault that you didn’t turn out to be an actress, and the sooner that you get over that little of soap opera, the better off we’re both going to be.

Number three, I don’t happen to fit the role of dumb. Insensitive suburban husband.

You’ve been trying to lay that crap on me over since we moved out here.

And I’m damned if I’ll wear it.

Number four…April? April!

April! What the hell are you doing? Get back in the car.

No, I will in a minute. Just let me stand here for a second.

God damn it!

April, can you please just get back in the car and talk about this instead of running all over Route 12?

Haven’t I made it clear I don’t particularly want to talk about it?

Okay, I mean, Jesus, I’m trying to be nice about this thing here, for God’s sake.

How kind of you. How terribly, terribly kind of you.

Wait a minute. I don’t deserve this.

You’re always so wonderfully definite on the subject of what you do and don’t deserve.

Wait a minute! Wait a goddamn…April! Now you listen to me.

This is one time you’re not going to get away with twisting everything that I say, April.

This just happens to be one goddamn time I know I’m not in the wrong here.

Christ, I wish you’d stayed home tonight.

You know what you are when you’re like this, April?

You’re sick. I really mean that.

You’re sick! What?

And do you know what you are?

You’re disgusting.

Oh, yeah.

You don’t fool me, Frank.

Just because you’ve got me safely in this little trap, you think you can bully me into feeling whatever you want me to feel!

You in a trap? You in a trap?

Yes! Yes! Me, Frank.

Jesus Christ, don’t make me laugh!

Me!

You pathetic, self-deluded little boy. Look at you. Look at you and tell me, how by any stretch of the imagination you can call yourself a man?

Damn it!

Jesus Christ!

Don’t look at me like that, April.

Could we please go home now?

I’m going to need your help this morning, Old Scout.

For the next few hours, you’re to warn me of Bandy’s every approach and you may need shield me from public view in the likely event I void my stomach. It’s that bad.

Good morning, Jack.

Nothing good about it, I assure you.

Of course, I knew the moment you stepped off the train. What you were looking for, A small remodeled barn, or a carriage house.

And I just hate to be the one to tell you that sort of thing just isn’t available anymore. But I don’t want you to despair. There is one place up here I want to show you. Now, of course, it isn’t very desirable at this end. As you can see, Crawford Road is mostly these little cinder-blocky, pick-up trucky places, plumbers, carpenters, little local people of that sore. But eventually…Eventually it leads up to Revolutionary Road, which is much nicer. Now the place I want to show you is a sweet little house and a sweet little setting. Simple, clean lines, good lawns, marvelous for children. It’s just around this next curve. Now you’ll see it. There. See the little white one? Sweet, isn’t it? The perky way it sits there on its little slope? Charming, isn’t it?

Oh, yes.

You wanted to see me?

Came for you from Toledo this morning. This is the third one this month.

Sorry, I thought I’d taken care of…

I’m not prepared to have this conversation again, Frank. You understand?

 I was literally just getting into…

These folks in the provinces look up to us. We need to be efficient. We can’t have this kind of back and forth, and so forth. It’s just not efficient. Am I right?

Yes.

What was that about?

Toledo.

Branch manager wants a revised brochure for the conference on the Knox 500. “It’s just not efficient. Am I right? Am I right? Am I right?”

Sounds like a goodie.

For God’s sake, I don’t even know what the Knox 500 does. Do you?

Don’t insult me.

If you look in the inactive file under SP 1109, you’ll find copies of all the stuff we sent to the agency, that way we can trace the thing back to its original sources.

Listen, I hope you weren’t planning on having an early lunch.

No, I’m not really hungry.

Good. I’ll check on you later then. All right?

Okay!

Okay!

 ~~~ to be continuing