dad?
not as bad as i thought it would. i think i passed.
no hiccups, which was good. who wants an attorney who gets the hiccups when she gets nervous? "your honor, i object!"
dad? what is it?
oh my god.  who died?
i think it's worse now.
yeah, well it's not everyday you get news like this. you're sure he's okay? other than the bump on the head?
dad.
 including me. right?
you mean, me?
she locks eyes with luke. her hand goes to her mouth and her eyes well up. slowly, she moves around the counter, the crowd moving aside for her.
do you.  remember me?
no, i.  i just wondering where you've been all this time.
you look.  different.
yeah, a little. i think you grew an inch or so. and you've lost weight.
you can all go home, now. he's not going anywhere.
then why do i feel like we're still being shadowed?
i know a place. come on!
you must not remember anything. come on.
you first.
be a gentleman. you have to help me down.
when we were kids, my dad was mayor, and you and me and a bunch of others used to come down here all the time.
of course, there was a lot more room before they stuck the memorial down here.
through the door. it comes apart.
your name's on here. see?
right here. "albert lucas trumbo." and all the others. i knew them all. so did you. we went to school with most of them.
after they commissioned it, no one could ever agree on where to put it. the methodists wanted it in front of the methodist church, the presbyterians wanted it in front of the presbyterian church, the city council wanted it in the lobby of city hall. everyone finally got tired of the fighting. so they stuck it down here.
and why not?
sorry. you don't know how many times i've heard that. "a lady lawyer? are you crazy?" like a woman couldn't be as good a lawyer as a man. or better, in fact.
you.  don't remember, but yes, ever since i was a little girl.
oh, well.  i guess you.  in high school, you were a pretty good first baseman. and we were on the debate team together. but.  i think you were gonna run the bijou. you were brought up there, and you loved it so much. and i think you knew how much the town needed a place like that.
actually, i was married. for four years. but.  well, we didn't fit together. i'm divorced now.
no, it's okay. see, when two people belong together, the other person should be the.  the key that unlocks the rest of you.  i'm not making sense, am i?
yeah.
yes. hic!
nothing.
i'm fine. really.
eventually. we were going to be engaged.  when you came back from overseas.
 but you had to go.  serve your country.
hey.  it worked.
daddy, that's luke, can you let him in? i'll be right down.
oh.
no.  you were wearing that suit the last time we went out before.
 and it's just.  well, deja vu.
besides, daddy's still trying to figure out how to get his new television set working.
this is strange. do you feel it?
we've done this before, so many times. the last time was so long ago, but it feels like yesterday.
you know, everyone's so excited about the bijou re-opening.
nine hundred.
what about a loan? you could go to the bank?
well, there's got to be a way.
when did you start smoking?
you tried to once. it was pretty pitiful.
no, they're not. i'd say your investment was paying dividends.
back in '37, you heard benny goodman play for the first time, so you went out and got a used clarinet. you wanted nothing more than to be able to play like him. you tried hard, but it wasn't long before it was clear that benny goodman would never be looking over his shoulder. so you gave the clarinet to spencer.
you had a hidden agenda, though. see, when he was five or six, little spence used to follow you around like a puppy. bothered the hell out of you. but as soon as you gave him the clarinet.
exactly. and he got good.
now, did you remember that, or.
oh. okay.
thanks boys, ya flatter me no end.
it's called the state bar exam.
alex and charlie? simple. alex is the smarter one.
your dancing's very good.
it never used to be. you were two left feet on the dance floor. like pulling teeth to get you to do a little box step.
sure.
what.  do you remember?
i see.
oh.
oh, god, i knew! i knew! i knew from the start! i wanted you to be luke! i wanted you to be alive! you're so much like him, you have no idea. no wonder everyone else accepted you! you don't know what you -- what luke meant to this town, suddenly being alive! you don't know what this town lost! you just don't know.
i knew you weren't luke! and i tried not to fall in love with you! and.  i don't even know your name! oh, god.
no.  i can't.  i have to.  i can't.
hi.
i'm sure a lot of people down in l.a. are worried sick about you.
oh, yes. yes, he was.
you know, it's going to take me a while to get used to calling you pete. pete. pete. it's a nice name.
i believe you.
but if you only went to one meeting, why does anyone care? besides, why should it even matter if you were a communist?
forget about all that. you want to do the right thing? then defend your name. if someone says something about you that's untrue, you have to stand up and say so. i know the law, and the law's on your side.
i am, too.
whatever happens.
doesn't it bother anyone that this is a perversion of democracy?
you've got everything?
you'll be fine. no matter what leo kubelsky says, you've got a hundred and seventy-five years of american law on your side. don't forget that.
and who's gonna run the projector until you get back? mrs. terwilliger?
did you bring along something to read?
i didn't think so. here. this is mine, you can borrow it.
not exactly light reading, i know. believe it or not, i've read this since high school, and it got me all the way through law school. besides, there's something in there that'll help you. you won't have to get very far, it's near the beginning.
just remember two things. first, the law is a living thing. it made us free and it keeps us free. sometimes it gets twisted around by people for their own purposes. sometimes it makes mistakes, sometimes big mistakes. but in the end, the law prevails for the just. sometimes, it takes a while.
i'll be here.  if you come back.
that's perfect, dad.
they haven't called out the dogs yet.
i spoke too soon.
tell them pete. tell them.
her hand goes to her mouth.
oh, pete. no.
she's smiling at the tv. her eyes are filled with tears.
is at the back of the crowd, working her way to the front. she rushes into pete's arms, and they kiss. another cheer goes up.
pete, i'm so sorry about what they did to you. i didn't think you'd come back, i thought you'd want to write again.
and i love you, pete!