yes?
yes?
cathy?
that's the one. cathy brenner.
which is why the mail in this town never gets delivered to the right place. did you want to see cathy about something?
are you a friend of mitch's?
i've been wanting a cigarette for the past twenty minutes, but i couldn't convince myself to stop. this 'tilling of the soil' can get a little compulsive, you know.
thank you. it gives me something to do with my spare time. there's a lot of spare time in bodega bay. did you plan on staying long?
you're leaving after you see cathy?
actually, it's none of my business.
i'd better get on my way. thank you very much.
not at all.
did you drive up from san francisco?
it's a nice drive. is that where you met mitch?
i guess that's where everyone meets him.
do i? no, i'm an open book, i'm afraid. or maybe a closed one. pretty. what are they?
mmm. well, good luck, miss daniels.
oh, hi! did you find her all right?
yes?
well, i'd really hope to rent it for.
sure. you can have it. where's your bag? in the car?
it's utilitarian, i'll say that for it.
yes, i know. did something unexpected crop up?
why don't you come in then? i was just about to mix a martini.
don't they ever stop migrating?
miss daniels? is that you?
hi. is something wrong? is that cut beginning to bother you?
would you like some brandy?
i'll get it, sit down, miss daniels. do you want a sweater or something? a quilt?
all right.
it gets a little chilly here at night sometimes. especially if you're over near the bay.
well, how'd your evening go?
did you meet lydia?
or would you rather i changed the subject?
how do you like our little hamlet?
well, i don't suppose it offers much to the casual visitor. unless you're thrilled by a collection of shacks on a hillside. it takes a while to get used to.
san francisco.
oh, someone invited me up for the weekend a long time ago.
look, i see no reason for being coy about this. it was mitch brenner.
i guess you knew that, anyway.
you needn't worry. it's over and done with. a long time ago.
isn't there? maybe there isn't. maybe there's never anything between mitch and any girl.
i think i'll have some of that, too. i was seeing quite a lot of him in san francisco, you know. and then, one weekend, he asked me up to meet lydia.
four years ago. of course, that was shortly after his father died. things may be different now.
with lydia. did she seem a trifle distant?
then maybe it isn't different at all. you know, her attitude nearly drove me crazy. i simply couldn't understand it.
when i got back to san francisco i spent days trying to figure out just what i'd done to displease her.
nothing! i simply existed. so what was the answer? a jealous woman, right? a clinging possessive mother. wrong. with all due respect to oedipus, i don't think that was the case at all.
lydia liked me, you see. that was the strange part of it. in fact, now that i'm no longer a threat, we're very good friends.
because she was afraid.
afraid i'd give mitch.
afraid of any woman who'd give mitch the only thing lydia can give him -- love.
no, i don't think so. she's not afraid of losing her son, you see. she's only afraid of being abandoned.
she already has a daughter.
i can understand his position. he went through a lot with lydia after his father died. he didn't want to risk going through it all over again.
so it ended. not immediately, of course. i went back to san francisco, and i still saw mitch every now and then.  but we both knew it was finished.
you get straight to the point, don't you?
no, that's all right, i don't mind. i came up here for two reasons. to begin with, i was bored with my job in san francisco. i was teaching at a private school there.  well, you know, you probably went to one yourself.
then you know. little girls in brown beanies. deadly. here i have a life. i'll go into that classroom on monday morning, and i'll look out at twenty- five upturned little faces, and each of them will be saying, 'yes, please give me what you have.' and i'll give them what i have. i haven't got very much, but i'll give them every ounce of it. to me, that's very important. it makes me want to stay alive for a long long time. that's the first reason.
i wanted to be near mitch. it was over, and i knew it, but i wanted to be near him, anyway. you see, i still like him a hell of a lot. that's rare, i think. i don't want to lose his friendship.  ever.
hello? oh, hello. no, no, i wasn't asleep. what is it? yes, just a little while ago. sure, hold on. it's mitch. for you.
he's waiting.
i'll be going, too, to help out. it should be fun, melanie.
pretty. did you get that at brinkmeyer's?
that's up to you.
never mind lydia. do you want to go?
then go.
who can that be at this hour? who is it? is someone there?
is anyone there?
ohhh. oh, the poor thing. he probably lost his way in the dark.
all right then, here we go. once! twice! three! go get 'em, cathy!
that's the darnest thing thing i've ever seen in my life.
children, they were only seagulls.
well, they're gone now, so.  so let's.  who was 'it?' you were 'it,' weren't you, cathy?
all right, children. now please put your books in your desks, and bring the songsheets to the front of the room. no one's going out to play until i have all the songsheets.
we're not going outside until we quiet down. ralph? did you hear me?
all right now.
wh?
quiet down, children! quiet down!
miss daniels wants to see how we conduct ourselves during a fire drill. i'd like you to.
i'd like you to show her how quiet and obedient you can be.
we're going to go out of the school now. those of you who live nearby can go directly home. i want the rest of you to go down the hill, all the way to the hotel. do you understand?
i want you to go as quietly as you can, not a sound, until i tell you to run. and then i want you to run as fast as you can. does everyone understand? all right. john, would you lead the class, please?