Original subtitles

(male narrator) There are certain milestones in our lives

that give us the opportunity to reflect on where we´ve been

and to look ahead to where we´re going.

If you´re lucky, the looking ahead

is as much fun as the looking back.

But not everyone is lucky.

Okay, people, we´re gonna group up alphabetically.

A to D, follow me over here.

Hey, what´s up?

Hey, man, we never finished that game of H.O.R.S.E.

Yeah, right.

Stop by my house anytime this summer. I´ll be there.

Can´t. Harvard beckons.

My parents bought me up one of those mini-fridges for my room.

It´s gonna hold one thing and one thing only

all beer, all the time.

So...what are you doing next year, man?

Oh, I haven´t really figured that out yet, so..

- Yeah. - Good luck.

[phone ringing]

- Hello? - ´They teaching how to walk?´

(Ephram over phone) ´That´s pretty sad, even for you.´

- Oh, man. Where are you? - ´Turn around.´

´How much longer? Thought we´d have a "Vice City" showdown.´

I would much rather be stealing cars

and running over pimps right now.

Why, is it that bad?

I´ve read books funnier than this..

...and I´ve known these guys my whole life, you know..

...and I have nothing to tell them.

Like they have anything to say to me.

For what it´s worth, I mean, nobody talks to me either.

It´s actually a good thing. Less names to remember.

You want me to stick around?

No. That´s...it´s probably gonna take forever.

Go ahead, save yourself.

Alright, but remember, it could be worse.

You could be stuck here for another year.

Sometimes in these moments of great promise and potential

we often wish we could simply stop time

to relish in those final moments of glory

and to put off the future for just one more day.

[theme music]

- Keep pouring. - You sure?

I´m having a tumor removed from my brain within a week.

Now, is not the time for temperance.

Got a date with a Denver radiologist for

for an MRI at noon, so we´d better get going.

- Operation´s next week, right? - It is.

But your dad´s gotta do some tests.

See what´s going on up here.

Okay. Let´s go, you. Nina´s gonna be here soon.

- Do well on your test. - Thanks. Me too.

Permission slip. I gotta get out of school tomorrow.

Right. Why is that again?

Audition? Juilliard summer program?

Processing? Anything?

Dr. Douglas and I have a lotta work before next week.

- Not sure I can go with you. - That´s fine.

It´s a quick trip. I don´t need you there.

I thought you two were supposed to be on the road already.

Working on it, working on it.

Okay, coffee´s ready and impressively unburned.

Delia´s dressed and getting her shoes on. You´re a lifesaver.

Coffee good, daughter dressed, me wonderful. Check. Go.

(Andy) Alright, phone is on if you need it.

Well, and there goes General Brown.

So, how is everything with you?

No offense, but you look a little all over the place.

- No. All here. - Um-hm.

- Are you still on Madison? - No.

Well, yeah. I mean, it´s kind of like that

but it´s not that exactly.

It´s like two things that have you never to do

with each other but kinda do.

Okay. Well, let´s back it up

a little less abstract, more names and verbs.

Come on, I´m the only female perspective you got for miles.

Alright, so the other day Bright told me that Amy

might be interested in me.

- Amy? Wow, how do you feel? - I don´t know if it´s true.

Last week, Bright told me he saw Gwyneth Paltrow at Sal´s.

I guess the first question is. Do you want it to be true?

I don´t know. I´m not over Madison.

I´m not ready for all that relationship stuff again.

- Well, there´s your answer. - Yeah, but it´s Amy.

This entire situation is preposterous.

I´m very sorry for your circumstances, Dr. Abbott

but we´ve reviewed your files and we don´t feel comfortable

keeping you on as one of our policy-holders.

You felt comfortable covering Abbott Medical over 50 years.

You certainly felt comfortable hiking my premiums

to $50,000 last year

which I paid in full and on time.

I understand, all underwriting sees is the potential

for one former patient to come forward with AIDS

and blame you for it.

Responsible or not, we´d be looking

at the threat of a 10-figure lawsuit.

We´re talking in circles now.

I think it´s time that I have a word with your supervisor.

I am the supervisor.

Oh, that´s fine.

Well, I am more than happy to take my business elsewhere.

I´m afraid you´ll find it will be very difficult being covered

by anyone, given the circumstances.

I don´t understand what the problem is.

Not a problem. It´s a dilemma.

´If I invite Josh to the party´

I´ve guaranteed lake dates at his parents´ cabin this summer.

But if I invite Ryan, I could scam a trip

with him and his family to London.

- But Ryan has major backne. - True.

Who are you bringing, Amy?

- Ephram, hey. - Hey.

Scooch over. Sit.

- Hey, how´s it going? - It´s going good.

Um..

So, we were talking about Page´s party

that she´s having tomorrow night.

´Her parents rented this giant TV´

so we´re having a kinda end-of-the-year

end-of-the-world double feature.

Armageddon. 28 Days Later.

Ben Affleck. Zombies.

Um..

- So do you wanna come? - No, I can´t.

- Thank you, though. - Gotta hot date or something?

Yeah. With three uptight music critics

from the Juilliard summer program.

It´s sort of an audition thing, you know.

- Wow, that sounds kind of huge. - Yeah, it´s pretty cool.

It´s in Boulder so I´ll get back late.

I gotta leave at the crack of dawn.

- Nice bonus. - So your dad´s not taking you?

No, he can´t. So, you know, it´s just me.

Yep.

Anyways, tick-tock, the party isn´t planning itself.

Alright, well, I´ll let you guys get back to it.

I´ll see you later.

- Good luck tomorrow, Ephram. - Thank you.

- ´What´s this?´ - ´It´s your birthday present.´

(woman on TV) ´Held steady at 6.1 percent.´

(man on TV) ´That led New York to their fourth consecutive victory--´

Busy day, I see.

I´m looking for those DeVry commercials.

They´re always on, except for when you need them.

You´re not going to DeVry, Bright. Now, hop up.

Your grandparents should be here any minute. God help us all.

What? You have to have this pressed before your big day.

Don´t pick up your diploma looking like a paper ball.

- Doesn´t matter. I´m not going. - Not going where?

- To graduation. - Come again?

I figure, I´ll get my diploma in the mail.

It´s the same difference.

Listen to me.

I understand, things haven´t exactly gone the way you´d hoped

but this is a milestone, a truly momentous occasion.

You don´t wanna look back and regret you didn´t go.

Thanks, but I got the looking back and regretting thingdown.

I don´t need an audience for it.

And the hard work you put in? You deserve to celebrate that.

And be celebrated for all of your accomplishments.

What accomplishments? It took me 13 years to finish 12 grades.

- I failed. The end. - I understand you´re upset--

I´m not upset. It´s gonna be freaking embarrassing.

Because everybody there has plans and I have nothing.

You will. But for now, you´re going and that´s that.

In five years you´ll thank me.

No, I won´t, because I´m not going.

We´re home.

This is incredibly selfish of you, Bright.

So what? I busted my ass for County.

I took them to state 3 years, football and basketball.

What´d they give me? A handshake and a piece of paper.

- ´They did nothing for me.´ - Forget them, do it for us.

Indulge us with a few hours of your life.

Your grandparents have traveled from Scottsdale

to see you walk that stage. Do it for your family.

I have done plenty for this family this year already.

I got good grades.

I shut my mouth when you ran Amy outta here.

For once, I´m gonna do what I wanna do, okay? So back off.

Well, it´s nice to see that nothing has changed around here.

As you can see, the meningioma has grown

since we last looked at the films.

It´s impinging on the motor strip of the parietal lobe

´which is going to make the surgery--´

- Even riskier than before. - I´m afraid so. I´m sorry.

Call Dr. Adler down.

I´m gonna need to see a schedule for the OR.

And I´ll also need a bipolar stimulator standing by

so I can test speech functions during surgery.

Cancel the stimulator.

If we go that deep into the lobe, I´ll need--

You won´t be going that deep. Cancel it.

Yes, sir.

What? I can´t do a complete resection unless I have the--

Forget the resection. It´s too late.

- No, it isn´t. - Yes, it is.

Take out what you can, treat the rest with radiation.

Plan for the debulking tomorrow.

Listen, if we leave any part behind

you run the same risks as if we´d left the thing in there.

If we take it out, the prognosis is for a full recovery recovery.

Stop talking to me like I have no idea what´s going on.

- Donald, I was your student. - I´m not gonna argue with you.

- You´re rusty. - I haven´t performed in a--

You haven´t performed in almost a year, and look how that ended.

You´ll do as I say. That´s it.

What on Earth is that noise?

What noise?

Oh, it´s just Harold chewing.

There he is, my handsome grandson.

- Would you like some breakfast? - I´m fine. Gotta get to school.

Best place ever, right, dad?

Oh, it´s such a shame.

I heard on the news that most problems with kids today

have to do with a poor male role model.

And on that note..

Where you going? I thought your office was closed

because of insurance problems.

Oh, goodness, I completely forgot to ask you

about your meeting yesterday.

How did it go? Is it all cleared up?

It is. They´ve reinstated my insurance.

- I´m back in business. - Wonderful.

Good, then this trip won´t be a complete loss anyway.

You can have a look at Herb´s boils.

- Beg your pardon? - I got some boils, you know?

They need taking care of. Size of nickels.

No sense in paying a real doctor to do something you can handle.

I am afraid, I´m totally booked up.

I have many, many patients today.

You can´t make time for your own family?

I´m sure he can find ten minutes in his schedule.

Isn´t that right, Harold?

Shall we say 11 o´clock?

- Actually, 11 is little late-- - Eleven will be just fine.

Anybody seen my..

Thanks.

Nin, you needn´t do this.

Oh, please. It´s practically a ritual.

Alright, I´m out.

Drive safe. Call me when you get there.

- How about, "Good luck"? - Oh, yeah. Good luck.

- You okay? - Not particularly, no.

Having to move up Dr. Douglas´ surgery isn´t a good thing.

- The tumor grew. - The meningioma?

I pay attention.

I know you haven´t done this in a while, but you´ll be great.

Well, that´s nice of you to say.

It´s too bad my arrogant ex-mentor doesn´t think so.

´He´s gone from super mentor´

to arrogant ex-mentor overnight? That´s impressive.

I wasn´t fond of the way he talked to me.

He completely disregarded my opinion and basically

dictated the way that I was gonna perform his surgery.

How´s his way different from yours?

One lessens the threat of motor-function deterioration.

The other would mean a full recovery.

Granted the second one would be more risky.

Let me guess, he went for the safer choice.

He doesn´t trust me.

He obviously has no confidence in my abilities as a surgeon.

At least not anymore.

Andy, just think about it for a second.

A man in his early ´70s going in for major surgery

finds out that the surgery´s more major than he thought.

If it were any patient, you´d understand. He´s scared.

He´s not scared. Other patients might be, but not him.

He´s too cocky to be scared. Trust me.

Okay.

- What? - Nothing.

You know the saying, "Don´t drive angry"?

The same thing applies to neurosurgery.

Well, I am angry.

I accept that there are things in life that I can´t control.

But this surgery is not one of them.

If I can´t make decisions in that OR

if I´m not allowed to use my instincts

then I´m already playing with a handicap.

If he´s not coming back the way he is

now, then what the hell am I doing it for?

Maybe, he´s not the only one who´s scared.

Hey. What are you--

I brought Chupa-Lupas, Fruit Roll-Ups and In Touch.

Thought of a mix tape, but then you´d only have an eight-track.

I thought you had an apocalypse party?

Thought it´d be kinda false to go to a party

with a bunch of people I didn´t talk to all year.

I´d much prefer a road trip.

So you wanna come?

Yeah.

I mean, if you want me to.

I thought you might want some company.

What flavor Chupa-Lupas do you have?

We have options.

Mr. Jensen, just sit.

Good. Anywhere. There.

If I´m gonna sit here all day, pretending to be a patient

I´m gonna need more than this.

Well, this won´t take all day, Mr. Jensen.

I need you to pose while I take care

of my father-in-law. Half hour, tops.

´Yes, Thurman?´

I was just wondering, what exactly do I have?

- It would help me prepare. - You have the flu.

- Yes, Thurman? - ´I had the flu this season.´

Couldn´t I have something more exotic? Smallpox, maybe.

- Pneumonia. - ´Okay.´

Sciatica. Abdominal pain. Arthritis.

Incontinence.

Well, hey, just take a look at this place, huh?

- Hasn´t changed in years. - No, it hasn´t.

Good thing you don´t do the decorating at home.

You should try to get one of those homosexuals from the TV.

To come in here and spruce the place up.

[coughing]

- Twenty-eight minutes, Abbott. - What does that mean?

That means we are on an extremely tight schedule

and I sincerely hate to keep my patients waiting so if..

Are...aren´t you coming in?

I´ve seen the boils already.

I´m not missing much, believe me.

[coughing]

[no audio]

It´s to the left here.

[piano music]

I could tell you a joke.

Bright told me this stupid joke about a camel the other day--

- Let´s just blow this off. - But you´re up next.

I know. You´re gonna get bored. I´ve no chance.

We leave now, we´re on the second fries basket for lunch.

No, no, no. I wanna hear you play.

I don´t wanna be here. Honestly, my track record with sorta thing

not good. Bad.

- I don´t know why I´m here? - I do.

Shh.

Look, half of these kids that are here today

are just good at playing the piano.

Their parents told them so, their grandparents told them so.

Now, they´re using that skill to get into some fancy college

so that they don´t have to go to science class anymore.

They´re here to impress old men to help themselves to Juilliard.

- That´s not why you´re here. - It´s not?

You don´t need some school to tell you what you´ll be.

You already know. You´re gonna play piano.

It´s your destiny, your fate, or whatever you wanna call it.

So you don´t get to decide when, or if, you play the piano

you just do because it´s who you are.

That´s why we´re here today.

- So this is meant to be? - Yeah, I think so.

(male #1) ´Ephram Brown?´

´Ephram Brown.´

Good luck.

What are you all doing here?

They´re in a doctor´s office. They´re here to see the doctor.

Louise.

Dr. Abbott, I came by to water Frieda. She´s our ficus.

- Our insurance get reinstated? - Yes. Yes, it did.

So, why didn´t you call me back in to work?

- Thought you´re in Barbados. - Barbados?

Bermuda. Wherever it was you chose to vacation this year.

In any case, you´ve clearly returned early

and with a lovely tan, I might add.

- I´m confused. - Of course. It´s the jet lag.

Go home. Get some rest. I will call you when I need you.

Mr. Jensen, you´re up.

Well, you know, thanks a lot, Harold.

Look, we´ll see you back at the house, okay?

Can´t wait, Herb. Goodbye, Carol.

Do I really look tan to you?

(woman on TV) ´collect samples from the comets that may provide evidence´

´that comets brought water here, making life possible..´

I haven´t watched this much television in a decade.

All these new channels, they don´t make much difference.

Well, Delia likes Animal Planet.

We got a couple of hours till surgery. Thought we´d talk.

Yeah, you can spare me the preop pep-rally speech, Andy.

You´re gonna have a dressing on your head.

After the surgery, we´re gonna do a baseline postop scan.

I expect to see you on your feet within eight hours

to prevent any DVT--

[coughing]

It´s alright. It´s alright. I´ve got it.

So, what do you need?

Wanna talk about testing around the motor cortex?

- No, I´ve got it. - Then you should get some rest.

Adler says you´ll be out in nine hours but Adler is a putz.

You know I´m ready for this, Donald.

Yeah, I know you are. Been over it a dozen times.

You´re as ready as you can be. Just stick to what I told you.

Yeah? What´s so funny?

You´re talking the way I talk to Ephram.

- No wonder he slams doors. - Yeah, well, I´m sorry.

I know what we´re up against, and I´m past courtesy here.

I mean, I have a tumor the size of an olive

up there where my motor functions are.

I mean, I can recite every damn base pair in the DNA.

I can tell you every vessel that leads to the blood supply

but I can´t. I..

I can´t do a damn thing to stop it.

Yes, you can, Donald. You have.

You´ve had 20 years to make me into exactly the kind of doctor

you want working on you in that room.

I know you don´t think I´m capable anymore

and you have every reason.

I am out of practice.

My last surgery failed and we lost Colin Hart.

It´s not you, Andy. It´s the odds.

"Odds are something that the ordinary use

as incentive or excuse."

Does that sound familiar?

I have forgotten nothing you taught me.

Every adage

every insightful example

everything.

It is all going to be in that room.

- You wanna go for it. - I do.

Get the scans. We´ll go over the resection together.

Just don´t screw the damn thing up.

Quite the busy little office down there today, Harold.

- Lots of crazies. - Well, it takes one to know.

Good eye, Carol.

´You are a revelation to diagnostic medicine.´

It´s true.

Some of my patients do have mental health problems

as well as physical ailments. It´s par for the course.

- More Scotch, Herb? - Don´t mind if I do. Thanks.

(grandma) ´There was quite a bit of unusual activity there today.´

Not only patients, but the nurse returning early from Barbados.

- Oh, that-- - Simply to water a ficus.

- It´s a little strange. - ´Louise in Barbados.´

There´s any image. Where would you get an idea like that?

Harold?

Oh, it´s not what you think.

Why would you tell my mother that Louise was in Barbados?

Because..

Because it was the first thing that came into my mind.

I don´t understand.

Louise never went to Barbados. And my patients were fictitious.

I paid them to sit there so you´d think my office

was still running, when in fact, it is not.

Why not?

Regency Fidelity refused to reinstate my insurance.

So you lied to me?

There was simply no reason to discuss it further.

Not with Bright´s graduation turning everyone upside down.

Don´t even try to pin this on me.

I mean, I saw no reason to add to the tension in the house.

You can´t practice without insurance.

I´m well aware of that.

It´s a simple matter of finding another insurance company.

Before you jump down my throat, I´m already making calls.

So far, several seem promising.

Surely, one of them will be more than willing to take me on.

And what if they won´t? What then?

I swear to God, I thought I was gonna throw up.

I´m serious. I looked past those curtains and saw those judges.

- I thought I was gonna puke. - That´s sweet.

I´ve never had a girl vomit for me before. Romantic.

You forget your keys in there or something?

Why are we going home right now?

- Is this a trick question? - We´re in an actual city.

So many things to do and we´re driving to Everwood? For what?

Go to Page´s party. It´s probably still going on.

By the time we get there, Armageddon will be half over

the world would´ve exploded, and there won´t be any pizza.

- This is true. - Well, why don´t we hang out?

We can celebrate my impending rejection with a fancy dinner.

Check out the Boulder scene.

We haven´t spent much time together, just the two of us.

- Ah, never mind, just-- - No, I would. I just..

I don´t have very much money, so we should just..

Well, that´s what emergency credit cards are for, right?

Shall we?

- Have you found a good plane? - I´m not ready for dissection.

The tumor´s all over the middle cerebral artery.

I´m gonna keep teasing and see where that gets us.

We´re at the 11-hour mark, Dr. Brown,

and Dr. Koehler is waiting to take over.

We´re almost there. Tell the doctor he can go home.

That´s a mistake.

- Excuse me? - We´re not almost there.

We have at least three hours to go, maybe four.

´You should step out.´

I´ve performed 16-hour surgeries on tougher cases.

Fourteen hours isn´t easy, but it´s doable.

Doable when the hard part comes at the beginning of the surgery

not at the end.

- Ask Dr. Koehler to step in. - Thank God.

(Andy) He´s to relieve Dr. Adler.

- What? - Goodnight, doctor. Go home.

Get some sleep. You could use it.

- ´Mom--´ - ´Premium is guaranteed--´

- ´Signed a promissory note--´ - ´Remember that--´

Little advice from a pro, you wanna go slower.

Give it a two-second pause. Flip, pause. Flip, pause.

Maximize your time without skipping any of the good stuff.

You want me to go kill Grandma with you?

We can go to prison together.

[Harold sighing]

There´s been an Abbott Medical Office in Everwood

for over 50 years.

Always thought that when it closed down

it would be because I retired not because I had no choice.

You´re not getting shut down, dad.

The fact is, right now I am not allowed to distribute Band-Aids

´let alone write prescriptions.´

If I can´t find someone to insure me, then no practice.

The truth is, no one I spoke to today is willing to take me.

´I´m waiting on one more phone call, if that doesn´t come..´

...that´s that.

But you´re a good doctor, dad. You can´t give up like that.

I haven´t given up, I´ve simply run out of options.

- There´s a difference. - Okay.

Worst-case scenario, the office gets shut down.

You´re not gonna sit and watch cable the rest of your life.

You´ll figure something else out to do.

I´m a doctor. Doctors practice medicine.

I know that, but they also do other stuff.

They teach, they help firefighters.

Be a firefighter?

I appreciate what you´re trying to do

but, Bright, this situation is beyond

good advice and a sunny outlook.

Oh, why, because you´re scared? Yeah, I get that, okay?

I´m mastering in scary right now.

But maybe this is the point, to have a chance to be scared.

That´s why I didn´t wanna go to graduation.

Didn´t wanna be freaking out, not knowing what I´d do next.

But I don´t know, now that I think about it.

I´ll also be the only one who´s psyched to figure it out.

Almost makes me wanna go.

- ´Go?´ - To graduation.

- What is this about? - No, I...what? I don´t know.

I mean, maybe I am clueless and don´t have a plan.

But so are a lot of people.

And someone´s gotta represent.

Thank you. Alright, this looks nothing like me.

You look great, but I look like one of the kids on Hi and Lois.

That´s not true. You look cute, for a cartoon character.

- Yeah, exactly. - Shut up. Don´t be fishing.

No. I had a good one of these done on Coney Island one time.

My mom liked it so much, she had it framed.

Don´t know where it is, but it´s better than this, I swear.

You can´t wait to get back to New York, right?

Yeah, a little. I miss it. It´d be cool to spend summer there.

- What do you miss about it? - ´Just about being there.´

The unpredictableness of it all.

You never know what can happen to you when you´re in New York.

Yeah, but that´s true in Everwood too.

What was the last thing that shocked you in Everwood?

Well, you.

When you came to Everwood with your purple hair last year

that was pretty shocking.

So, my hair is the most shocking thing

that´s happened in the last 16 years?

That´s pretty sad, Amy.

I have to tell you the truth. Meeting you wasn´t shocking.

- Thanks, that´s sweet. - I mean, it´s pretty standard.

That I´d move to a town like Everwood

and meet a girl like you. It´s even more standard

that I´d totally fall for that girl

and she wouldn´t like me back.

I didn´t always not like you back.

No? When did you like me?

Now. I like you now.

What do you mean?

I mean, I like you, Ephram. I like you more than a friend.

I have for a while now. I just didn´t know how to tell you

or if I should tell you

because of everything that´s happened lately.

I like you, Ephram.

Wow!

Wait.

What?

Nothing. Never mind.

It´s just, you didn´t seem surprised.

What are you talking about?

Well, I just told you that I like you

which is pretty big news, I think.

I mean, not in a full-of-myself kind of way.

Just, generally speaking, big stuff, you know?

You smiled and tried to kiss me. Didn´t do your mumbling thing.

Yeah, I mean, I...you...I knew. I said, "Wow."

I know, but it was a weird wow.

- Did you know? That obvious? - No, you weren´t. No, I mean--

I kind of had an idea, but... you weren´t obvious at all.

You did not do anything embarrassing, don´t worry.

- I´m not worried. - Okay.

Well, how did you know?

Well, why does it matter?

Because something´s going on right now, and I can tell.

And...now I feel all weird, which is exactly the opposite

of how I wanna feel at this particular moment.

So if you could just be honest with me.

Well, Bright told me, okay?

God, talk about ruining a moment.

- Bright told you? - He told me the whole thing.

He told me, you were gonna tell me at prom

but then you didn´t..

- You know, it´s no big deal. - I can´t believe this.

Wait, where are you going?

What...what´s the problem? What are you--

- Go away, Ephram, I´m serious. - Wait, are you crying?

- Ephram, go away. - I´m not. I don´t understand.

- Why are you crying? - Do you know hard that was?

- To open up like that? - I think I do.

Maybe, it´s easy for you, but it´s not for me.

I don´t like feeling vulnerable, I told you ´cause I trusted you.

This whole night you´ve been lying to me.

I wasn´t. I wasn´t sure it was true.

If you cared whether it was true, you could´ve asked.

Instead you created this false moment, this whole night.

How much of it was manipulation? Dinner? After dinner?

Were you faking being nervous at the audition?

That´s not how it happened.

Maybe you don´t see it, that´s what happened. I am humiliated.

I wasn´t humiliating you. I was trying to get you to tell me.

- I´ve said it a thousand times. - That´s because you wanted to.

Not because I tricked you into it by being calculated.

How many times have you lied to me? With my dad? With Colin?

You knew I´d do anything for you, you didn´t have to ask.

So you didn´t. You´d bat your eyelashes

and cry on my shoulder. You played me.

Well, tonight, I played you.

Ephram, I thought we were ready, but we´re so not.

What? Ready for what?

Every time we´re close to being more than friends, this happens.

Play mind games. It is horrible how we hurt each other, Ephram.

Alright, we can start over, alright?

We can treat each other better this time.

- What? Why? Why not? - I don´t want to anymore.

I don´t wanna do this with you. I just wanna go home.

- Dr. Brown? - What is it? What happened?

You have a call at the nurse´s station. It´s your son.

Thank you.

His vital signs are stable. He´s able to move his extremities.

And the postop MRI looked clean. It looks good.

- ´I got great news.´ - ´You were to call yesterday.´

Yesterday was not so good.

Oh, I´m sorry, Ephram.

You can always audition again next year.

- No, the audition was awesome. - Oh, but you just said that--

Yeah. It was other stuff.

I got in. I´m going to Juilliard.

Not for four years, just for the summer program.

Oh, well, that´s great. That´s fantastic.

Said I was the best, at least in Colorado, Will´s gonna freak.

- Have you talked to him yet? - No, wanted to tell you first.

I thought when you got home, we could book a ticket online.

Do we have to do it this soon? I mean..

...when do you have to be in New York?

Don´t know. Next week sometime. We´ll figure it out.

- Anyway, I should go call Will. - Yeah, go ahead.

And congratulations, Ephram. I´m very proud of you.

Hey, I almost forgot to ask, how was the surgery?

Oh, it went well. Really well.

Then I guess it´s a great day in the history of the Browns.

Yes. I guess it is.

Just in from Scottsdale, Grammy and Pop-Pop.

Always so delightful.

Oh, here´s Mama Rose, looking just radiant.

And behind? It´s the graduate himself.

´Looking quite dashing in his County colors.´

- Hear that? I´m dashing. - I showed you to put the hat.

Had it sideways, looked like a trucker hat.

It´s called style. Maybe you should try it.

Alright, little sister, go with your mother.

I wanna practice my two-shot here.

Heaven´s sake, at this rate

we´ll be there in time for Amy´s graduation.

(Harold) ´Erase that.´

- Oh, it´s you. - Hello, Carol.

- You remember my husband? - How could I forget?

- How are you, Merv? - Just fine, Carol.

Lovely. Everyone´s here. Shall we go?

Oh, here.

[phone ringing]

Abbott residence.

Yes, this is he.

Ah-ah.

I see.

I´m sure you noted prior to this incident

my record was impeccable.

Yeah. Well, I understand.

Yeah, I´m sorry to hear that.

Thank you.

Sweetheart, if we don´t leave now

my mother´s gonna drive herself.

Harold?

Come on. Let´s go watch our boy graduate.

So tell me everything. I wanna hear all the gory details.

Not much to tell. 14 hours from open to close.

35.2 millimeters of tumor fully resected

and everybody calls me a genius.

- You saved his life. - I saved his quality of life.

Why do you look like a guy who got gum stuck in his hair?

Ephram got into the Juilliard program.

That´s great.

That´s not great? That´s horrible?

No, no, of course it´s great. It´s wonderful.

He´s gonna be spending

eight weeks in New York, living on his own

learning from the best musicians in the world.

Far away from Everwood, away from his family, from me.

I´m the most selfish father in American history.

No, you´re not.

Then what´s wrong with me? Why aren´t I happy for him?

You want my official diagnosis?

You´re exhibiting early signs of empty-nest syndrome.

- He´s only gone for the summer. - Last one before senior year.

After which, he leaves for four years

then for good, you´re starting to see it.

- You think so? - Oh, yeah. It´s textbook.

Everybody worries their children growing past their need for ´em.

You´ve got more of a reason, because your son is gifted.

His talent could take him even further than most kids go.

- Like it did with you. - Oh, great.

These are the genes he inherits.

He couldn´t have just gotten my eyebrows?

Well, he´s gonna go away eventually, Andy.

All you can do is enjoy your time with him.

And make sure there´s a place he´ll always wanna come home to.

- Thank you, Dr. Feeney. - You´re welcome, Dr. Brown.

Hey.

- Can I talk to you a second? - It´s about to start, Ephram.

I´ll just be a second. I swear.

Look, we don´t need to do this.

I think we said everything we needed to say last night.

At least I did. And whatever you need to say, you don´t have to.

I´m sorry. I know you´re sorry, so..

Well, I didn´t come here to apologize.

- I came here to thank you. - For what?

For helping me with my audition. I got in.

Really? That´s awesome

- When did you find out? - This morning. They called.

I´m off to New York next week.

Next week? That´s...that´s really..

That´s fantastic, Ephram.

Thanks.

But seriously, I couldn´t have done it without you, so..

You´re welcome.

- Alright. So, I´ll see you? - Yeah.

Alright.

And now without further ado

I welcome you all to Peak County High´s

graduation ceremonies, 2004.

Please join me in congratulating

the first graduate in his class

´Harold Brighton Abbott.´

[crowd cheering]

´Harold Brighton Abbott.´

We´re taught to remember only the significant moments

the rites of passage.

In truth, the smaller steps

that get us to these momentous occasions

are just as significant.

Looking back, we see it´s not just the high points..

...but the low points, that also define who we are.

And who we will become.

[theme music]