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CBS Radio Mystery Theater (a.k.a. Radio Mystery Theater and Mystery Theater) is a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS Radio Network affiliates from 1974 to 1982, and later in the early 2000s was repeated by the NPR satellite feed.
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00:00Come in. Welcome. I'm E.G. Marshall. Welcome to the terrifying world of your own imagination.
00:27I would like to offer a few observations on the vagaries of the animal called man.
00:35Take the popular saying, seeing is believing. What idiot first said that? And all the idiots
00:43would repeat since. Do you believe in love? Tell me the color of it. Do you believe in
00:53truth, goodness, mercy? What shapes do they come in? No, my friends. Seeing is not believing.
01:04Only believing is believing. And we'll prove it to you in the story that follows.
01:10Our mystery drama, The Ghost at the Gate, was written especially for the Mystery Theater
01:18by Elspeth Erick and stars Beatrice Strait.
01:21With how much ease believe we what we wish? An English playwright named Dryden wrote that
01:41in the year 1679. Brilliant man, Mr. Dryden. But wait. Listen to this. Men freely believe
01:52that which they desire. Someone else seems to have had the same idea. And he wasn't a 17th
02:00century English playwright. He was a Roman emperor named Julius Caesar. Proving once again that
02:08no man in any age has a monopoly on wisdom. Now, let's get on with our story.
02:20Come in, Dorothea. Your chocolate, Mrs. Emery. Oh, good. Shall I light the fire in the fireplace?
02:29Yes, please. I think it's chilly enough for... Oh, Dorothea. Ma'am? You forgot the other
02:36cup again. I did? I told you to always bring two cups. Oh, it seems so silly. I'll decide
02:44what's silly. When it's just you to drink it. I've explained that to you, Dorothea, more
02:48than once. I like to drink two cups of chocolate before retiring. And I don't like that icky
02:54sediment in the bottom of the cup. I'll try, Mrs. Emery. Now, if that's all. Or do you
03:01want me to go downstairs and fetch up another cup? Oh, no, no. Go to bed. Oh, good night,
03:07Mrs. Emery. Good night, Dorothea. All right now, darling. Chocolate's all poured. Fire's
03:14lighted. Charles, everything's ready. Now, come on, darling, or the chocolate will get cold.
03:22Don't want any chocolate. Oh, Charles, you love chocolate. You've always loved chocolate.
03:28Tastes like mud. But it's very good chocolate. You know what good chocolate Dorothea makes.
03:34Now, come on, Charles, don't make me wait. You want me? Want you? Oh, Charles, how can you
03:42ever ask such a thing? Why, I go through the whole day thinking of you. All afternoon at the
03:47community chest, I think about you. My darling, it's torture for me listening to those other
03:54women whose husbands are with them in their conventional way. I want to scream at them,
04:00but I have my Charles, you silly females. Every night he comes to my bedroom and he's tall
04:06and handsome and brilliant and romantic and adorable and manly and we talk together. All right,
04:15Alice, that's enough. There you are. Oh, Charles. Missed me? Oh, darling, the days are so terrible.
04:27I can't think of anything but this moment when we're together. But you know that, my dear,
04:32I tell you every single night. I need to hear it, Alice. We who have more or less left this world
04:39can't come back unless we are wanted by someone who is still here. Wanted a lot. Otherwise, we can't
04:46make the trip, as it were. We can't even purchase a ticket, so to speak, unless we have a destination
04:53that is vibrant with love and need and desire. But I love you and I need you. I desire you.
05:00Well, you should know that, Charles. Well, it doesn't hurt to hear it. Here's your chocolate.
05:07Try it. I don't want it. Oh, Charles. The longer we're away from this earth, Alice, the less we rely
05:15on our senses. The senses, in a manner of speaking, start to fade. Mashed potatoes begin to taste like
05:22cold cream, coffee tastes like iodine, and this chocolate tastes like mud. They tell me this is
05:29quite normal. Charles, when you say they, they tell you this, and they tell you that, you
05:38mean... I mean them, of course. All those. The ones up there? It isn't up there, Alice, and
05:48it isn't down there, either. Well, where is it? It's simply there. Meaning not here.
05:57Heavens, I thought you knew that. Are there a lot of... of them? Of course there are a lot
06:03of them. It's all so vast, so endless, and so damnably peaceful. I know what it is to be
06:12lonely, Charles. This big house, I couldn't bear to move out of it after you weren't here
06:18all the time, because I couldn't leave the place where you and I had spent so many happy
06:21years together. Why don't you ask someone to move in with you? Move in? Why, I never
06:30thought. Such a large house. You could have separate quarters. You wouldn't be forever bumping
06:36into each other. But who would want to move in? Who would I want to move in? Oh, some old good
06:44friend. Well, like who, Charles? Oh, someone like Connie, maybe. Connie Lawrence. Connie Lawrence?
06:53Well, I've certainly known her long enough. We were roommates at school. What, do you think
06:59she'd want to? She'll jump at the chance, would be my guess. She still lives in that tiny one-room
07:04apartment. I know she's saving for her retirement, and where the pay school teachers get in this
07:09town. Charles? I'll call her tomorrow. She gets home from school at three. Come in, Dorothea.
07:30Sure. Your breakfast, Mrs. Emery. Thank you. Um, you don't want two cups in the morning, do you?
07:38Oh, no. No. Coffee doesn't leave that icky stuff the way chocolate does. Actually, I think I won't
07:46have chocolate at night anymore, Dorothea. I feel like trying something else. But two cups, just the
07:52same. Don't forget. Yes, ma'am. Don't go just yet, Dorothy. I want to talk to you about something.
07:57Sit down, won't you? Oh, yes, ma'am. Dorothea, do you find the work too hard in this big house?
08:07No, ma'am. Well, we used to have a houseman and an upstairs maid and a cook. Oh, I have no complaints,
08:12Mrs. Emery, if you don't. Oh, I don't. This is the only job I've ever had. I've worked here for 22
08:19years. I was so fond of both you and Mr. Emery right from the start, and I still am of you. And
08:26well, goodness knows I practically worship this house. It's so beautiful. I love taking care of
08:33it, and I love living in it. Do you still have that little room on the third floor in the back?
08:38Oh, I love that little room, Mrs. Emery. I can look out and see the garden.
08:42I was thinking, why couldn't we give you all the other rooms as well? The rooms the other
08:49servants used to have. All of them? Well, why couldn't we knock out the partition between
08:54your room and what used to be the cook's room? I'd have... I'd have two windows. And make
09:01one of the other rooms into a really big dressing room. Oh. And maybe put in some kind of a kitchen
09:06for you with a hot plate and a refrigerator. Oh. Mrs. Emery, I never thought I... I never
09:15imagined in my wildest dreams. No, no. It's all settled. Oh. I'm going to stay right here
09:23in bed all morning and make plans. I don't know how to thank you, Mrs. Emery. Don't try.
09:30It's my pleasure. I just hope I deserve all this. Before I forget, Dorothea. Oh, yes. Last
09:37night while I was drinking your lovely chocolate, an idea came to me. You and I are rattling around
09:44in this big house. Oh, we certainly are. And I was wondering, well, how would it be if we
09:51invited Miss Lawrence to stay with us? Miss Constance Lawrence? Do you remember her? Isn't
09:58she the one who teaches school? Used to come to dinner once in a while. And after she'd
10:03help Mr. Emery with the double cross stick? That's Connie. Oh. I thought we could open
10:08up the two big rooms on this floor in the back. In that way, she and I would have separate
10:13quarters and not be, you know, bumping into each other all the time. Of course, I imagine
10:18she'd expect to take care of her own room. Oh, I wouldn't mind. Let's do more rooms.
10:24You wouldn't mind cooking for her? What's one more person to cook for? Nothing.
10:28Nothing. Well, then, it's all settled. My goodness. The house will be kind of lively
10:36again. Almost like before. Not quite, of course, but, well, you know what I mean. I know what
10:46you mean, Dorothea. It will be more lively.
10:50Here I am, Goldie. Let me take my coat off, will you? Then I'll scratch your head for
11:10you. Oh, dear. You're just going to have to wait. I'm sorry, Goldie. Hello? Connie?
11:20This is Alice Emery. Alice, how are you? Long time no see. Well, I don't get out a great
11:27deal. Maybe we could have dinner some evening. Would you like to come here? Well, I thought
11:33you might like to come here. Well, if you'd rather. Heaven knows your dinners are better
11:38than mine. Connie, I want you to come here for good. I mean, to live.
11:44To live? To live with you? Why not? We've known each other practically all our lives, and
11:51I've got this huge house. I've got Dorothea to look after us. You could have your own quarters
11:57overlooking the garden. We live quite independently since I'm in the front, and you're at school
12:02till three, and by the time you get home, I'll be at the community chest. We'll just meet
12:07for dinner. Maybe have a little nip together first. Oh, Connie, say you will. Oh, Alice,
12:14I don't know. I've lived here for so long. That tiny little place? High time you got out
12:22of it. But I'm used to it. And then there's Goldie, you know, my canary. Bring Goldie with
12:31you. We'll find a nice sunny window. Alice, it's all very tempting, but I don't know.
12:38Think about having two big rooms and vegetables out of the garden and being waited on. And
12:44Connie, think of the money you'll say. Well, yes, but all the same. You've just got to say
12:51yes, Connie. Take the afternoon to think about it and call me back. I will, Alice. I'll call
12:58you soon. Fine. Bye. Bye, Alice. Oh, dear. It all sounds so luxurious. Two rooms and fresh
13:11vegetables and someone to cook for me. But I can't leave this little place. I can't give
13:20up my afternoons. Why, I couldn't live without my afternoons. I know this place is small and
13:28dark and furniture is dingy and the bathroom is old-fashioned. But we've never minded, have
13:37we, dearest? Have we? It's a very small place, Connie. But if I'm over to Alice's house, I might
13:47lose you forever. You might never come to visit me again and all my lovely afternoons would
13:53be really over. You're not to worry, Connie. You mean we can go on as we always have?
14:00Only we'll have more room. Well, if you say so. Trust me, Connie. Oh, I do trust you, Charlie.
14:09Haven't I always trusted you? All these years.
14:13His flesh may be weak, but the spirit of Charles, or Charlie, is very, very willing. Also, very
14:31inventive and very persuasive. Ah, well, there's nothing like the love of a good woman unless it's
14:42the love of two good women. We'll come back in a bit for Act Two.
14:57Now we come back to our story. We seem to have uncovered a triangle here. Connie, Alice, and
15:06Charles, or Charlie, as Connie calls him. And the apex of the triangle is naturally, if
15:13you will pardon my chauvinism, the man. Listen now to the second act of The Ghost at the Gate.
15:21What a lovely dinner that was, Alice. Was it, Connie? It was the wine that made everything
15:29taste so good. Whatever gave you the idea of bringing home a bottle of wine? Alice, it's
15:35the first anniversary of me moving in here. Don't you realize? I've been here a month.
15:41Well, for heaven's sake. Why, it seems like a week. Or it seems like you've always lived here.
15:47I don't know which. It has worked out, hasn't it? Has it ever worked out? I was so afraid
15:53it wouldn't. You know what? It's meeting just for dinner that's done it. Leading separate
15:58lives except for dinner. Connie, let's have wine every night. This wine. What kind is
16:05it? I can't quite make out what the label says. Oh, it's in French. Oh, so never mind.
16:12It's got a picture of a house on it. If it's French, it's a chateau. I didn't know that.
16:17You're very clever, Alice. Save the label and I'll order a case of it. Must be really nice
16:24to have money. I've always found it to be nice. I guess money is about the nicest thing
16:30in the world. Money isn't. Love is. Oh, yes. First comes love. Friends come second. Then money.
16:38How about friends who have money? Oh, Connie, you're very witty tonight. So are you, Alice.
16:48Witty and profound. Seriously, though, Connie, you have been happy here, haven't you? Oh, Alice,
16:54my beautiful room. The marvelous food. Having Dorothea to make my bed and clean up is heavenly.
17:02You're stuck with me. Oh, I am so glad, Connie. You can't imagine how
17:08glad. Is there any more of that wine? More than half a bottle. Oh, good. Let's...
17:14Mrs. Emery. What? Oh, Dorothea. What is it? It's after nine o'clock, Mrs. Emery.
17:23You don't say. I was wondering, should I bring your clear consomme upstairs to you?
17:28What clear consomme? Well, Mrs. Emery, we talked about it last night. Remember when you decided
17:33to give up the chocolate? And then we tried apple juice and prune juice and lemonade. And
17:38last night you said clear consomme because it has a nice aroma? Well, I did say that, didn't
17:43I? Uh-huh. What time did you say it was? Quarter past nine. Oh, my goodness. What's the matter,
17:53Alice? Past time. Past my bedtime. You want the consomme? Oh, to heck with the consomme. I'll
17:58take the wine. You don't mind, do you, Connie? Why no, Alice. Oh, let me have your glass
18:03too, all right? Sure, Alice. I've got my glass, Connie. Forgive me for eating and running.
18:09Alice, it's your house. I simply didn't realize the time. A quarter past nine. Heaven. She'd
18:18better not drink any more of that wine. She's not used to it. Neither am I. Only tonight we
18:23were celebrating my being here a month. Why did she want two glasses, Dorothea? Oh,
18:29she always wants two. Two cups, two bowls, two glasses. One of her little ways. But tonight
18:36she took my glass. Do you suppose she wants me to join her? I wouldn't know, Miss Lawrence.
18:42Maybe. Maybe she's always expected me to join her after dinner, only she didn't want to suggest
18:49it. When I moved in here, we agreed that we'd lead absolutely independent lives, not get
18:55in each other's way. We've been very careful about that. Going to our separate rooms after
19:00dinner. Maybe all this time she was hoping I'd stop by her room on my way to my room, and
19:07I never noticed Dorothea. That must be it. I wouldn't really know. I never guessed. Oh,
19:14how self-centered. How insensitive. I'll never forgive myself. I'm going up there right
19:19now and apologize. Can I clear the table now? Do whatever you like. She's got to forgive
19:26me. That's all there is to it. Dear, sweet, generous Alice. She'll understand. She'll know
19:33I didn't mean to hurt her feelings. Alice? May I come in? Come on, darling. Have some wine.
19:41Alice? Connie and I had it for dinner. We just loved it. Try it, Charles. Charles? Not at
19:51all bad. Nice bouquet. Charlie! Charlie! Where did you come from, Connie? You never told me.
20:02How could you, Charlie? Charlie? Just give me a moment and I'll explain everything. But I need
20:09a moment to think. Then I'll explain. What did you think of Charlie's explanation? I've
20:21heard it all before. How he needs lots of love to make the trip from there to here. He always
20:26needed a lot of love, even when he was just here. Well, he got a lot. Did he really spend
20:30all those afternoons with you? I mean, before he left here and went there? Five afternoons
20:37a week. Alice, you hate me. I should. I know, but do you? I guess I do when it comes right
20:46down to it. I'll move out. I'll move back to my one room. But I don't want you to move
20:50out. Oh, we were having such a good time. Remember how we were laughing and carrying on at dinner?
20:57I haven't laughed like that in years and years. Could have been the wine. There's half a bottle
21:03left. Should we? Let's. You don't think we'll turn into a couple of alcoholics, do you? Not
21:11on half a bottle of wine. Like white wine. Well, here's to... To what? Here's to Charles.
21:21To Charlie. I feel as if I've just buried him. Said goodbye forever. Did he really come
21:30to see you five afternoons a week, Connie? At three o'clock. You see, my school and his
21:36bank let out at the same time. It was practically inevitable. Charlie was a no-good man. He still
21:43is. Only now he's a... A no-good ghost. Oh, Alice. There's enough wine left for a glass
21:53apiece. Fill her up. Hold out your glass. All that guff about needing to be loved and wanted
22:01or he couldn't make the trip. Remember what we were saying at dinner, Connie, about love
22:05being the most important thing? I've always believed that. And friends being the second
22:10most important thing? Especially friends like you, Alice. And like you, Connie. I feel
22:16closer to you right now than I've ever felt to anybody. My mother, my father, my canary.
22:23We've been through a lot, Connie. Just in the last half hour. And yet we're still friends.
22:31Isn't that amazing? Truly remarkable. It must mean something. Something.
22:40Very profound. Like what? Like, well, like there are times in a person's life when love
22:49isn't the most important thing. Friends are. A friend. Yes. Stupid ghost. Silly, pompous
22:58ghost. You believe in ghosts? Certainly not. Neither do I. Never have. Except Charlie, of
23:04course. Why should Charlie be an exception? He is for you, too, Alice. You know he is. Tell
23:09me something. Why do you believe in him? Because? Why? I want to. That's why I believe
23:16in him, too. Is that wrong? Not wrong, but you've got to stop and I've got to stop. We
23:21can't have him visiting you in the back of the house from three to six and then coming
23:24to see me in the front of the house from nine to twelve. Now that we know, it wouldn't be
23:31nice. We couldn't be friends anymore. Oh, Alice. But if we don't believe in him, if we
23:38don't, or don't desire him, then he'll have to go back there and stay there. He won't be
23:46able to come here anymore. He can't make the trip. Connie, can you do it? Stop wanting him?
23:56Yes. Of course I can. Why, I'm having a wonderful time. I don't need him. Neither do I. We'll be
24:05better off without him. We'll be free, Connie. Liberated women. Let's drink to that. Right
24:12you are bottoms up. Ah, what courage lies in the bottom of a glass. Courage for the shy,
24:29the lonely, the frightened, the frustrated, and for the two elderly ladies determined to
24:37forget a ghost. We'll return shortly with Act Three.
24:42Alice and Connie are bravely resolved to forget the man both had loved so long. But what
25:02of him? Poor, lonely, unloved ghost. Doomed to live on forever in the there. Banished forever
25:12from the here. What of him? Connie. Connie. Speak to me, Connie. That's my sweet goldie. That's my
25:35lovely bird. Happy to see me, sweetheart. Connie. I know you're here. I'm here, Charlie, but
25:44you're not. I am so. I don't believe in you anymore. You do too. And I don't love you or
25:53want you. So there. Connie, you are being very cruel. I expect I am. If you don't believe
26:02me, why are you talking to me? Don't try to confuse things, Charlie. Answer my question.
26:09Why are you talking to me if you don't believe in me? Goldie, tell that ghost to go away.
26:17How did it go today, Connie? Oh, he was around. I could hear him. What did he want? The usual.
26:33To be loved. To be wanted. I told him no more of that. You had a conversation with him? Not
26:40much of a one. You haven't stopped believing. Have you stopped, Alice? I think so. You
26:47haven't. If you'd stopped, you wouldn't say, I think so. You'd know. Oh, Connie, how can
26:52I know? Mrs. Emery? What is it, Dorothea? Do you want Cleocon from me in your room tonight
26:58or what? Nothing. Not anything? Not a thing. Oh, well, all right. I had it already, but...
27:08that ought to show him, don't you think, Connie? Alice. It's Charles. It's Charles, Alice.
27:26What delicious surprise do you have for me tonight? Orange crush? Pomegranate juice?
27:33Not a blessed thing, Charles. Ah, you spoke. I didn't mean to. But you did. How beautiful
27:43to hear your voice. Oh, don't tell me that old malarkey, Charles. Malarkey? I never thought
27:48I'd hear my wife use a word like that. I'm not your wife. I'm your widow. And I'm using
27:55a lot of words I never used before. Alice, say you love me still. I can't make the trip unless
28:02you love me. I loved you for 35 years. Alice, I'm facing eternity. What's 35 years? Maybe
28:10not much there where you are, but it's a long time here. Now I'm going to turn off the light
28:17and go to sleep. I was talking to him before I could stop myself. It was the same with me.
28:31But he couldn't complete the trip because I wouldn't say I loved him. Same here. And I
28:35really don't think I do love him, Connie. I think I just got into the habit. Me too.
28:41What does he want to hang around for? I can't imagine. Must be so beautiful there where he
28:48is. Why should he want to come here? He says it's very peaceful there. Sounds heavenly. Not
28:53much like here, Alice. That's why he keeps coming back. He can't stand the peacefulness.
28:59He isn't having any fun. I bet you're right. No worries, no troubles, no arguments, no problems.
29:06No, he can't stand it. That's the way he was when he was here. That's why he took up
29:12with me. Why else would he want to have a clandestine affair in the afternoon with a middle-aged
29:17school teacher when he had a wonderful wife like you? He was bored. He wanted a little
29:22excitement. He still wants it. Funny. I always thought people changed when they left this terrible
29:31world. I guess they don't. I hope I change. I'd hate to go on the same way for...
29:36For eternity. Being petty and jealous and suspicious. Oh, no. Well, how can it be so peaceful
29:43there if everyone's the same as they were here? Maybe. Maybe the others don't stay the
29:50same. Maybe they accept all that eternal peace and enjoy it. In the meantime, Connie, while
29:58we're still here, we have a problem that must be dealt with. Let's face it, neither of us
30:04to stop believing in Charles completely. Alice, I don't know if I'll ever be able to stop
30:09completely. Maybe there'll always be some little corner of my mind that goes on believing that
30:15Charlie is here. It's the same with me. And as long as we both have that last little shred of
30:21believe he will be here, wandering around the house making bleating noises. But we won't
30:26answer it. We've got to be strong. Use firm measures. Like what? Like... Like rejecting
30:36him. Utterly. How do we do that? I have two rooms in the front of the house. Two big rooms
30:43with a big bath between. Would you consider taking one of them? Why, I... That would be what I
30:49call rejecting him utterly. He'd never try to visit one of us if the other one was
30:53there. Could I bring Goldie? Of course you can bring Goldie. I'll get a canary, too. Of
30:59the opposite sex. You'll hear some real singing then, all right. Let's skip this. Let's go
31:06upstairs now and look at the room and you can decide what furniture you want to keep and which
31:10you want to get rid of. It's all terribly exciting. Oh, Alice, I don't want to be dead for a long
31:16time. There. The desk between the windows and the chair here. We'll take out the love seat. And
31:32that'll leave room for the bed. What do you think, Connie? I think it's perfect. Alice. Listen to him.
31:42He sounds miserable. I expect he is. You really dye your hair, Connie? Do it myself. Want me
31:49to? I'll show you how. I wonder why I ever let myself go gray. You'd look lovely. Sort of
31:56a pale ash blonde. Pale ash blonde. I like the sound of that. Connie. Connie. Where are you,
32:11my darling? Poor old thing. Don't you get in. Oh, I won't. I won't. Be strong. Oh, I will. I
32:17swear. Connie. Now, you said blue for the walls. Now, what shade of blue? Aquamarine, turquoise,
32:23robin bag? Turquoise. Good. And we'll put white crisscross curtains at the windows with turquoise
32:29chibax. You're right. And we'll get a turquoise and white spread for the bed. Beautiful. Oh, could
32:35I possibly have a white rug? A white shag rug. Why not? Alice. Connie. Somebody. Do you
32:54mean to sit there and tell me you didn't even take one peek at your new room? I wanted to
32:59wait till you got home from community chairs. Well, right after dinner, we'll look at it
33:03together. What if the color is wrong? The painter showed me a sample. Pure turquoise.
33:07We'll eat fast. I can't wait to see it. Dorothy had the bed moved in. Oh, Connie. I hope we'll
33:15get along as well as we've been getting along after you move in. We will. We will. And Charlie
33:21will go back there and settle down. He'll be much better off. He'll thank us. If I know
33:28Charles, he won't. Well, if you don't know him, I don't know who does. Unless it's you.
33:36You know, you're right there. Connie, I had a thought. What if I went to the community
33:47chest in the morning instead of the afternoon? That way, when you get through school, we could
33:53do things like, like go to the movies. Oh, Alice, for fun. And you know what else? Weekends,
34:01we could take a train into the city and see a play. Or a concert. Or go to a museum. Oh,
34:06Alice, all those things I've been wanting to do only. I didn't want to do them alone.
34:12And you know what else? You mean there's more? Well, you have that two months off in the summer.
34:18We could go to Europe. Europe? I'll pay, of course. Now, don't argue. I'm your rich
34:27friend, so I'll pay. Alice, say it again. We're doing the right thing by Charlie, aren't
34:33we? Charles must stop being a ghost and settle down. And be happy. He will be happy, won't
34:39he? Charles will be happy there in whatever way they are happy there. Just as we will be
34:46happy here. I dare say the ways are different, but to each his own. Isn't that the expression?
34:51Oh, Alice, you do have a way of making everything sound simple. It is simple. If you stare the
34:58facts in the face and don't waver. I hope we're not being selfish. We're being realistic, that's
35:04all. Sometimes realistic and selfish look like the same thing, but they're not. Finished
35:11your coffee? Uh-huh. Then guess what we're going to do? Go look at my new room. Yes,
35:16only wait a minute. Dorothea! I simply can't wait to see you. Yes, Mrs. Emery? You know
35:23that case of French wine I ordered? Did it come? The one with the picture of the chateau
35:27on the label? It came last week. Well, will you uncork a bottle and bring it upstairs to
35:33my suite? To our suite? Oh, Alice. And two glasses? Yes, Mrs. Emery? Connie, you and I
35:43are going to drink to a brand new life. Three new lives. Yours, mine, and his. Come along.
36:03Come in, Dorothea. Oh, good. The wine's arrived. Just set it down here, Dorothea. Yes, ma'am.
36:13Dorothea, Miss Lawrence and I have decided to go to Europe for two months this summer. Oh?
36:19So you'll have a good long vacation instead of your usual two weeks. Full salary, of course.
36:25You're free to go where you like, or you can stay here. Oh, thank you, Mrs. Emery.
36:30I don't know where I'd go exactly. Well, suit yourself. Pour the wine, Connie. Will that
36:40be all for this evening? That'll be all. Then I'll say good night to you both. Good night.
36:47Sleep well, Dorothea. Thank you. Two whole months. They'll be gone two whole months.
37:00What will I do with myself? Dorothea? Where would I go? Dorothea? What would I do if I
37:07stayed here in an empty house? Dorothea? Can't you hear me? I'd be all by myself. No, you
37:16wouldn't. No, you wouldn't. If there were just somebody... There he is. There he is. If you'd
37:25only listen. Somebody like... Like him. There is me, Dorothea. Oh, Dorothea, hear me. But
37:36he's gone. Believe in me. Never to return. Love me. Want me. And I loved him so. Dorothea, listen.
37:47And I still do. Oh, I love him still. Dorothea, look at me. Why, Mr. Henry. I thought you'd never
38:05notice. Have you... Have you been here long? Not too long. I'm so surprised. I thought
38:17I'd never see you again. Ever. Well, now you do. It's like a miracle had been performed.
38:25A lot of good hard work is more like it. I've never forgotten you. Really? I... Well, I know
38:34it was just that one weekend when Mrs. Henry went to her 25th college reunion, but I've never
38:42forgotten. That... That was quite some time ago. I was younger then, of course. You haven't
38:51changed, Dorothea. Not an iota. Oh? Still fresh and plump and... and adorable. Oh, you mean
39:02that? I've never met anything so much in my life. Or since. Dorothea, could you love me?
39:12Oh, but I... I do love you, Mr. Henry. You do? I've never loved anyone else. Not since
39:23that weekend. You came up to my room on the third floor, don't you remember? That tiny
39:30little room. Yes, I do remember. Oh. Um. You're going to be around for a while? I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
39:37Um. You're going to be around for a while? For a long while, Dorothea. Practically indefinitely.
39:48Will you be here this summer? This summer? And this fall? And all next weather and next
39:56year? For as long as you want me, Dorothea? Oh.
39:59Come on. Let's go up to the third floor. Mr. Henry, could I ask you something first? Anything,
40:11Dorothea. Anything. Do you mind if I call you Chuck? Of course I don't mind. Then come on,
40:25Chuck. Follow me. I'm right behind you, Dorothea. Right behind you.
40:40So, Charles continues his mad pursuit of life after death. And I, for one, wish him the
40:47best of luck. And the best of luck to Connie and Alice with their new hairdos and their
40:53new pants suits. Good luck to them all. Good luck to all of us. It's what we need the most.
41:02I'll be back shortly. Our cast included Beatrice Strait, Paula Truman, Joan Loring, and John
41:10Baragrave. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown.
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