Original subtitles

Previously on L .A. Law.

Leon's my name and photography's my game. How about a snapshot of the bride

groom, huh?

Definitely.

Ms. Van Owen.

Yes. Isn't it true that you walked out on your own wedding two weeks ago with

someone in a gorilla suit?

Who's the ape, Ms. Van Owen?

Well, that story has been grossly exaggerated.

Proving once again a picture's worth a thousand words.

If we get passed over for partner one more time, that's it.

Pretty serious bluff.

You are both hereby tendered offers of partnership in the firm, and I hope

you'll accept.

You started this brawl, lady, not me!

I'll take her out of the state!

Do either one of you know what it feels like to not be able to see your child?

Or even know where he is?

Well, I do!

Abby, the reality is, you may get Eric back tomorrow.

You may not find him for six months.

Or you may never see him again.

So, my client, Mrs. Troutman, decides that she needs to get away for a few

She packs her car, she drives down to the condo in Palm Springs, and puts the

key in the door.

Walks down the hallway to her bedroom only to find the surprise of her life.

Her loving husband in the arms of another woman. Excuse me, Arnold, but

we squandering valuable staff meeting time with this boring recitation of a

mundane, little domestic drama? You have interrupted me right at the punchline,

Douglas.

You see, that was no woman.

That was his wife.

I'm afraid I'm not tracking.

Bigamy.

Bigamy, do you know how rare it is? I mean, this is the divorce lawyer

equivalent of a hole -in -one.

Poor Mrs. Troutman is totally distraught.

Her husband skips town. The IRS is auditing.

And Angela Cipriano just uncovered a deed where he's given our client's condo

the other wife.

Well, this is indeed titillating, and I trust you will keep us apprised of the

continuing saga.

Now, for one last item, I would like to discuss hiring an interior design team

to convert the Cheney office into a second conference room. Oh, wait, no,

no, no way. No way. That office has my name on it. Since when? You already have

a nice one.

Whereas I, a partner in this firm just like you, am officed in a rabbit warren.

As the partner with most seniority, I should get it.

She can have my old office. I don't like differentiating on the basis of

seniority. All partners are equal, Arnold.

Do you have any interest in the corner, Michael? Not enough to make it worth

packing and moving.

Stuart. Yeah.

Actually?

Yes, I do.

Actually, it would seem more equitable to me to award it on the basis of fees.

generated in the last fiscal year or on the basis of most billable hours

whatever you three decide i'm going to leave it to you to work it out amongst

yourselves and on your own time we're adjourned do

you

realize your bickering can be heard all through the complex

Just be assured that if you cannot find some mature, intelligent manner in which

to settle this in the next three minutes, this office will be turned into

conference room.

All right.

Under the circumstances, there's only one way to settle this thing.

What?

Arnie.

Come on, we haven't got a lot of time. Get him out there.

Get them out One potato two potato three potato four five potato six potato

seven potato more out one potato two potato three potato four five potato six

potato seven potato more out One potato two potato three potato four

It isn't fair. What do you need it for? I want it.

You're the one that said all you need is a desk, a chair, and a place to store

your files. And you're the one who told me I undervalue my worth to this firm,

right? Well, it's a great office. I think I deserve it.

I'll give you $5 ,000 paid off in installments. I don't want money, Arnie.

want the office, okay?

Excuse me, Arnie.

Angela Cipriano is waiting in your office for you and Stuart.

It was going to be a tight squeeze.

Got three of us.

It's okay. I can rough it.

You're going to find this interesting.

Your original client was Mrs. Foster F. Troutman.

He told her his middle name was Farrell. The one in Palm Springs is Mrs. Foster

J. He told her James.

The new ones I found are Mrs. Foster C for Charles, E for Errol, and K for

Kenneth. Alphabetical order?

Exactly. Which means there's most likely 11 of them.

A, B, D, G, H, and I still unaccounted for. And what about L through Z?

How the hell does he do it?

Are you Pauling?

Actually, what he'd do is take their stuff, jewelry, furs, cars, report it

stolen, live on the settlement from the insurance company, and give the stolen

item to another wife as a gift.

You know, I'm not a violent man by nature.

But boy, what I would really like, what I would really enjoy is five minutes

alone in a stuck elevator with this guy.

Me too.

I'd like to find out what the big attraction is.

In the meantime, why don't you see if you can get all the wives in here so we

can try and sort out this mess.

Anything?

I left a message on your machine this morning. A string of gas card purchases

make it seem like you've headed back towards L .A.

State and local authorities are alerted. If they are headed back, we'll smack

them.

That's what you said about Disney World.

I know what you're going through.

And I know it seems we're right back where we started, but I got a pretty

instinct. A real strong feeling something is going to break.

So just hang in there, okay?

He's got to be crazy. I just don't believe the guy's thoughts about

straight probation for a premeditated murder.

Well, you know he's going to argue mercy killing is a crime of passion, love.

He bought a gun, it took him months to think about it, and then he puts two

bullets into his lover's skull.

You don't get a hell of a lot more premeditated than that.

I don't know, Gracie.

Watching someone you love terminally ill, pain.

You know, if I was going to be A, I don't know if I'd be able to stomach it

once.

What's your other choice?

You shine it on?

It's a message.

A parent with a brain -damaged kid? Go ahead and smother him. Or maybe your

mother's become a real drag. Give her some pills. Put her out of her misery.

Next stop, eugenics. Human experimentation.

Nazi Germany. Believe me, I know all of the arguments, but I'm still thinking

I'd have a hard time putting this guy away.

Remember the Hector Figueroa case?

You said, and you were right, the law has to come first.

no matter what your personal feelings about the equities of each individual

case.

Well, maybe this law should be changed.

Oh, that'd be nice.

And who do you suggest should decide who lives and who dies?

All I know greatly is that if I was dying, and I'd lost all human dignity

quality of life, I sure would hope someone would love me enough to do it

Well, then I hope you can find someone else, Kovac.

Because this loved one sure couldn't do it.

Mr. Walters, if the defendant is convicted, he could be facing life in

Do you think that this would influence your ability to make a fair

of the facts?

No, not at all.

All right.

But what if the defendant were able to show that the man that he killed...

was in great pain and had only a few weeks to live, would you have any

difficulty finding Mr. Appleton guilty under those circumstances?

Well, no. Not if you proved that he pulled the trigger, I wouldn't.

Thank you.

The people would accept Mr. Walters as a juror.

Mr. Gilliam?

Mr. Walters.

You're a construction worker, is that correct? Construction foreman. Uh -huh.

Do you have any prejudice against homosexuals? No, I don't think so.

Are you a homosexual?

No, are you?

As a matter of fact, I am.

Well, for your information, I'm a married man.

With all due respect, so are a lot of homosexuals.

Are you trying to tick me off or what? Yes, if that's what it takes to discover

if you have any latent prejudice.

I like women. That doesn't make me prejudiced.

Ah, I see.

Well, do you think you could judge my client knowing that he has AIDS -related

complex?

The truth is, I would rather not be in a room every day.

With the guy that's got it.

I'd ask that Mr. Walters be excused for cause.

Thank you, Mr. Walters.

You're excused.

We'll take our noon recess and reconvene at 2 o 'clock.

Must

have

hurt to lose Walters.

I don't want to prejudice you any more than you do. Really?

You mean your office didn't tell you to stack it with fag bashers? Oh, come on,

Mark. If you can get the chip off your shoulder, you know I'm trying to be as

fair as I can.

Good. Then you'll dismiss the case.

Mark, your client took the life of another human being. My client performed

merciful act. His only motivation was love. I am not unsympathetic to your

client's situation.

Which is why I am still willing to fight with my office to get you involuntary

manslaughter. You know that an AIDS carrier in prison is going to be

from all human contact. Talk about your cruel and unusual punishment.

It is not unreasonable for the prison authorities to need to isolate a deadly

disease. And besides, we're probably only talking about 18 months.

Right, right. Which, in the likelihood that Christopher's AIDS does become full

-blown, is the equivalent of a life sentence in solitary confinement.

So what you're saying here is that there is no way to settle this? If I lose,

I'll appeal.

And in the end, chances are, there's nothing the courts can do to him that

hideous plague isn't going to do first.

Make yourself comfortable, Mrs. Troutman. Thank you.

Good morning.

Tissue, Mrs. Troutman?

Hold on.

I'll get that coffee for you, Mrs. Troutman. That's my coat.

My initials are inside this coat. My initials are... Judith Troutman.

Jeanette Troutman.

Mrs. Troutman's coffee? I want my coat, damn it. Ladies.

Mrs. Troutman's.

Ladies.

Please. I can't believe this.

Please, ladies.

Please.

Thank you. Hi.

I'm Arnold Becker, and this is Stuart Markowitz.

First of all, I'd like to state that I understand what a shock this must be to

all of you, and I sincerely empathize with your anger and pain.

That coat's worth 40 grand.

I understand there's been a great deal of commingling on our property, and

sticky legal issues are involved as well.

Polygamy, insurance fraud, IRS complications.

Now, you ladies are free to seek separate counsel, of course.

Or assuming you're willing to waive any conflict of interest, we could all work

together and try to unravel this muddle. May I say something?

Of course.

I know we're angry and hurt by what's happened.

That's an understatement.

But this isn't some monster we're talking about.

This is Foster.

Foster, the only man who ever brought me any real happiness in my life.

I'm sorry.

I suppose I shouldn't say this.

But I love him anyway.

He's the only man who ever really listened to me.

And I can't bear the thought of not feeling his body close to mine.

Excuse me.

Could any of you others tell me if you found him to be... unnaturally gifted in

that area?

I used to faint. I mean, actually lose consciousness.

Your investigator said that Foster could go to jail. Jail would kill him.

He's so claustrophobic. You know how he has to sleep with the windows open. If

Foster goes to jail, I may as well become a nun. If Foster goes to jail, I

as well die.

Oh, please.

This man that you all loved so much stole everything you had. And I'm just

talking about your property.

He stole your love and your trust and your dreams.

Please, don't delude yourselves like this.

Foster Troutman didn't love you.

No, he used you.

Yeah, he's probably laughing at all of you right now. Yeah, laughing at how he

scammed you and how he used you for his meal ticket.

And the saddest thing of all is that it's only because you are such kind,

women that he was able to abuse you this way.

Well, now's the time to harden those tender hearts of yours and avenge the

terrible wrong that's been done to you and prevent him from doing it to anybody

else. That low -rent gigolo.

Gave my great -grandmother's ring to another woman. Had my Mercedes painted

gave it to her for her birthday.

I just want my coat.

Look, trust me.

I think we can all work this thing out together.

Yes, but you have to sign complaints so the D .A. can prosecute. I hope he

hangs. Too good for him.

Crushes jellies in a garlic press.

Yeah, well, do any of you have any idea of where the authorities might look for

him? What's the big mystery?

Stake out the marriage license bureau.

It was kind of fun.

We went to this little Hunan restaurant in Chinatown, and then we walked around

a little, and he dropped me back at my car.

You gonna go out with him again?

We're not really going out. Oh.

I mean, Peter's very sweet.

But I'm not really ready for, you know, dating.

You mean sex.

Yeah, I think that's what I mean.

Well, you're entitled to take it slow.

Abby, I need to talk to you.

It's okay, I'll step out.

No, no, no, don't be silly.

There's a child matching Eric's general description in St. Anthony's Hospital.

I think.

The child is dead.

I got the page a few minutes ago. Where's Mrs. Perkins?

She's over there.

Mrs. Perkins, I'm sorry to keep you waiting.

Could we please just do this?

Um, I'm sorry. I just found out the body was already sent to County Mork.

What? We had no choice. It being a criminal matter.

Criminal?

Child abuse and abandonment.

Abuse?

Someone left the boy in our emergency room. The place was a zoo on Saturday

night, so no one even noticed him until he fell unconscious on the floor.

I was a doctor on shift, and believe me, I did all I could, but the boy had been

beaten very badly.

It couldn't be. Jim couldn't possibly have...

Truthfully, I had

too much else to do to pay attention to his face.

I'm sorry.

Dr.

Hensel, in your opinion...

If Glenn Gates had not died as the result of the bullet wounds in March,

much longer would he have lived?

Objection. Speculation.

I'll allow it.

I'd say two, possibly three weeks.

And could you predict the manner of death he had to look forward to?

Objection. Speculation. Once again, I'll allow it.

Well, it's possible he would have succumbed to pneumonia, but more likely

have toxoplasmosis.

Toxoplasmosis. It's a parasitic infection that attacks the brain.

It causes fever, chills, headaches, and a descending fugue state referred to as

AIDS dementia.

In layman's terms, it causes you to lose your mind?

Yes. And is this an easy, painless death?

No, the pain would have been quite severe as his brain swelled and became

large for his skull.

He would have lost control of his bodily functions.

His mind would be gone.

Eventually, his kidneys and lungs would have failed, and I would have had to

decide whether to keep him alive by a respirator. Would you have done that?

Not unless his friends or family insisted.

In my opinion, it just prolongs the patient's suffering.

So, in other words, what you're saying is you practice a form of passive

euthanasia all the time.

Objection. Withdraw the question. Dr. Hensel, is it possible that Glenn Gates

could have recovered?

AIDS is 100 % fatal.

There's no effective cure at this time.

Thank you, Doctor.

Nothing further.

Redirect? Doctor, you've testified that at least three times prior to Glenn

Gates' death, you were able to bring him out of a medical crisis.

Yes. Then isn't there some likelihood that if the defendant had brought Glenn

for medical treatment, rather than putting a bullet through his head, that

might have been able to bring him into remission once again?

For a very short time, maybe, but the man was terminally ill. Still, it's not

inconceivable that he could have had a remission and enjoyed some quality of

life during that time.

It's not inconceivable, no.

There's a lot of encouraging research being done into the AIDS treatments,

there?

It's early, but the drug AZT has shown some promising results, yes.

And you do have hope for a cure someday?

Yes.

So isn't it possible that if Glen Cates' life had not been cut short by a

bullet, a cure may have been found during the time that he had left?

Given the advanced state of his condition, it's highly unlikely, Miss

But I guess nothing is impossible.

But the hospital said they sent the body here.

I'm not saying they didn't. I'm just saying it hasn't been tagged and

yet, so I don't know where it is. Then I'll go in and look until I find it. I'm

afraid I can't let you do that.

You'll have to come back tomorrow when things are properly sorted out.

This could be her child.

I just have to know one way or the other.

Please. Mrs. Perkins, I sympathize with your pain, and I'm sorry.

But take a look at my inbox.

I wouldn't even know where to begin to look for this particular John Doe.

How many four -year -old John Doe could you possibly have?

You don't really want to know.

Come back tomorrow.

Believe me, if he's here, he's not going anywhere.

Dr. Dolby called the coroner's office.

Dr. Dolby, please call the coroner's office.

Harney, Foster Troutman's attorney is here.

All right, get him in here and, uh...

Tell Markowitz.

I already have, and the attorney isn't to him.

Mr. Becker.

Lynette Pierce.

Arnie.

Arnie. Almost from the moment that Mr. Troutman was taken into custody at the

License Bureau, his various spouses have been... Thank you.

...calling the DA's office, demanding prosecution to the full extent.

Hell hath no fury like a dozen wives scorned.

The DA will not even talk to me about a deal. He says this one is going to be

totally by the numbers.

One of his wives, Mrs. Foster E. Troutman, has threatened to go to the

They're all livid.

What did you say to these women?

Not much.

Only that as a man who betrayed their loyalty, love, and trust, stole their

property, and made them unwitting accomplices to massive tax fraud, he

put away for 2 ,000 years.

Well, it worked.

They're like a lynch mob.

He deserves what he gets.

Look, gentlemen.

You have a problem, and so do I.

And I think we could help each other.

I'd like very much to try.

Talk to this man.

He's prepared to provide full disclosure on all of his wives, plus whatever

information you need in relocating their assets.

He's also prepared to sign affidavits absolving these women of criminal

responsibility. In return for which?

Reason with his wives.

Diffuse their emotions.

I'm confident that I can negotiate him out of this tax mess and probably the

insurance stuff.

And if you can feel the wives out as to the possibility of dropping the grand

theft charges, then I can possibly get Foster a deal that will spare him the

terrible indignity of incarceration.

No, I don't think so. I'm not asking for any promises.

Just that you hear him out. I know that you will come to believe that there is

no justice to be served in sending a decent, fine man to jail.

Stuart, the man deserves to be heard.

I have the names here of 11 wives.

That's all of them, right?

So far.

Plus I have a complete list of assets as well as what you gave to whom.

Check. And then I have signed statements absolving all your wives of tax fraud,

insurance fraud, theft.

I know I'm in big trouble and I'll...

Probably do it in time. Yeah. Well, I can live with that.

What I can't live with is that none of them have come to visit me.

What did you expect, flowers?

I know you find this hard to believe, Mr. Markowitz, but I love all my wives.

wanted to make them happy. That's all.

And nothing makes a woman happier than marriage.

Look, with all due respect, Mr. Trout, you're no Cary Grant, you know what I

mean?

What I mean is, you're an average guy, you know.

And you got 11 quite attractive, very wealthy women to marry you.

I'm just curious how... Aren't you married, Mr. Markowitz?

No, no, no.

In love?

Oh, yes.

When was the last time you took her for a moonlit boat ride to Catalina or spent

a night in the Bel Air Hotel?

Never.

You've got to make a woman feel special, loved.

You've got to listen to her. You've got to take her places where no one exists

but you and her.

Let me ask you something truthfully.

This woman of yours, you really love her?

Completely. I'm going to give you a gift.

You and your lady love.

This gift that I'm going to give you, I've never shared with anyone other than

the women that I've loved.

Because I always felt that if it fell into the wrong hands, it could sexually

enslave a woman.

What is it?

The Venus butterfly.

The Venus butterfly?

That's right.

The Venus butterfly.

What is the Venus butterfly?

I can't say this out loud. Come closer.

I've got more important things to do than spend my morning eyeballing

back there, Ms. Beachy, which is exactly what I am going to do if you do not

stop giving these women the runaround here. Now, what is the story?

The story, detective, after some exhaustive checking, is that the

never got processed and the body is still back at St. Anthony's Hospital.

And it took you the whole day to find this out?

Sometimes.

They move them for weeks.

Mr. Appleton, how long had you known Glenn Gates?

We met at a party July 4th, 1982.

And what was the nature of your relationship?

We were lovers.

Would you categorize your relationship as a casual one?

No. We loved each other very much. We were very committed to one another.

You lived together?

Yes. Almost from the start.

When did you first find out that Glenn had AIDS?

He was diagnosed in August of 1985.

Would you describe for the court, if you will, the course of Mr. Gates's

disease?

In the beginning, we thought it was just a bad cold.

Weeks went by.

Glenn got so weak he could hardly stand up.

And, you know, you're living in a community that lives in terror, like

plague.

You become used to seeing your friends die.

Somehow you think it won't happen to you.

But when Glenn got sick, I think we both knew.

Once he was diagnosed as having AIDS, what happened then?

Basically, he just deteriorated.

He was in and out of the hospital.

Toward the end, he was going blind.

He had periods when he wasn't lucid.

He was in horrible pain.

Mr. Appleton, could you describe for the court, if you would, what your life was

like as Glenn got sicker?

We couldn't go out in public.

People were physically repulsed at the sight of him.

He'd lost so much weight, and his face, his arms, his whole body were covered

with sores.

We became like lepers.

And when did you decide to take his life?

We had talked about it almost from the start.

We had so many friends who died from AIDS. We had heard so many horror

Glenn was not afraid of death.

He couldn't stand the thought of the inevitable suffering, loss of his

He talked a lot about suicide.

He hoarded pills for months.

And then toward the end, he tried to kill himself in the hospital.

He was too weak to get the pills down.

That's when he begged me to do it for him.

And you agreed?

No.

Not at first.

But then toward the end, he couldn't bear it.

He was in horrible pain.

Mr. Appleton, would you describe for the court, if you would, Glenn Gates' last

few hours of life?

It was early morning.

I'd fallen asleep in the chair beside his bed.

Suddenly I woke up and I felt like Glenn was really there.

Not just physically, but like his mind was there.

And it woke me. I looked at him.

His head was turned.

He was looking at me with such sweet sadness.

It was as if all the fight was out of him.

He was too weak to talk.

He kept falling asleep.

And then it was as if he was forcing himself to wake up.

I felt like he was begging me to end it.

I carried him to the bathroom.

He was so light, like a dying bird.

And I bathed him, changed his clothes, and then I got into bed with him.

I held him in my arms.

I rocked him.

I sang to him.

And then, when he finally fell asleep, like a baby in my arms...

I knew for a certainty that it was time for death to have him.

That to let him wake up to one more day of pain and sadness and despair

would be a greater crime than that which I'm accused of committing.

And that's when you ended Glenn Gates' life?

Yes.

Thank you, Mr. Appleton.

Your witness, Miss Van Owen.

Mr. Appleton, is this your gun marked Exhibit A?

When did you purchase this weapon?

About three weeks before Glenn died.

Did you get it for personal protection?

No. Sports shooting?

No. Tell us why you did buy it, Mr. Appleton.

Glenn was in horrible agony.

He didn't want to live any longer. Did you buy this gun with the intent to kill

Mr. Gates?

I bought it in case it came to that. And is this the weapon you, in fact, did

kill Mr. Gates with?

Yes. Thank you.

No more questions, Your Honor.

There's no disputing the facts of this case, ladies and gentlemen. Christopher

Appleton bought a gun and used it to take the life of Glenn Gaines.

But what kind of a life was it?

A life of anguish and pain?

loss of dignity, and a certain cruel death.

Is that a life worth living?

Obviously, Glenn Gates himself thought not. He had already attempted suicide.

You know, when I was a small boy, my dog got run over in the street, and her hip

was crushed, and her spine was all twisted out of shape, and my mother and

father had to have her put to sleep.

It was the humane thing to do they taught me they taught me that it's

cruel and Inhumane to keep some poor suffering creature alive just because

technology exists to do so Why is euthanasia mercy killing why is that

humane for some poor suffering animal than for a human being?

Now some of you may disapprove of Christopher Appleton's lifestyle

Some of you may have strong feelings that homosexuality is wrong. Some of you

may think, some people do, that AIDS is a punishment of biblical proportions

that's visited upon the gay community. Ladies and gentlemen, please, please, I

beg of you, don't judge Christopher Appleton a criminal until you've walked

mile in his shoes.

Thank you.

Ms. Van Owen?

I feel sorry for Mr. Appleton, as I'm sure you do.

His pain and suffering, and that of Glenn Gates, was very real.

And perhaps Mr. Gilliam is right.

None of us could know what it was like, month after torture's month, as Mr.

Appleton watched the man he loved deteriorate so cruelly and painfully.

But many of us have suffered.

The loss of loved ones to cancer, heart disease, and a host of

other lingering diseases that erode the body and the will.

And the question is, should we be allowed to arbitrarily terminate a human

life when the quality of that life is judged to be not worth living?

And by whose standards do we measure the quality of life?

Yours?

Mine?

Perhaps Mr. Gilliam's.

Let us draw the distinction between a criminal and a criminal act.

I don't believe Chris Appleton is a criminal.

But damn it, I have to believe he committed a criminal act.

And if you let this criminal act go unpunished, you will be ignoring the

oath you made as jurors to uphold the law.

you would, in effect, be saying that we are a society not governed by law, but

by anarchy.

Thank you.

Dr. Hamrell to maternity nurse's station.

Dr. Hamrell to maternity nurse's station.

My apologies, Miss Perkins and Kelsey.

Look, everybody's sorry. Now, what's the story?

It took us a while to track down the mistake, but... Did you find him?

In a manner of speaking, yes. What the hell does that mean? No excuses, but

is an understaffed and overburdened bureaucracy.

Just tell me.

We had a black adult John Doe who was tag number A1497.

The Caucasian child John Doe was tag number A1447.

I guess the second four looked like a nine.

Anyway, somehow the tags got switched.

Then you have him.

I'm afraid not.

You see, A1497, the black John Doe, was scheduled for cremation.

In the mix -up, the baby John Doe was mistakenly cremated.

Are you sure?

Yes.

Oh, God.

Do you know what this means?

I have a missing child.

And if that little boy was my son, then how am I ever going to know?

I'm sorry.

You're sorry?

What for?

To you, they're just meat, aren't they?

Tag it?

Ship it?

What the hell? It's just another body, right?

Well, wrong, lady.

Because that little boy...

With somebody's child.

And him not mine.

And somebody else's.

But we're never going to know that, are we?

And we're never going to know that because you screwed up.

You bastards.

First you let him die.

All alone.

Then you cremated him.

And who is going to grieve for him?

Whoever he is.

Who is going to grieve for poor little A1447?

Come on, let's go.

Has the jury reached a verdict, Mr. Foreman?

We have, Your Honor.

We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree.

The jury is discharged.

The defendant will remain free on bail.

pending probation and sentencing hearing.

This court is in recess.

Mr. Furt, are you all right?

Mr.

Appleton, I wish to God there was a way to uphold the principle without putting

you through any more.

And I will be at the sentencing hearing to testify on your behalf.

I just don't want to talk about it right now.

Okay?

Fine.

Well, we better hurry. We're late for dinner.

Dinner?

Mickey, it's a quarter to five.

Yeah, well, by the time we catch the 5 .30 flight to Monterey, take a cab to

Ventana, get cleaned up and ready to go, we'll barely have enough time to make

our 8 .30 reservation.

Hi. Hi, Stuart.

I heard about the screw -up at the hospital. How's Abby?

She's spending the weekend with her mother.

Poor kid.

You can't imagine the horror of it.

It's conceivable that she may never know whether that cremated child was Eric or

not. It wasn't.

I just don't believe it was.

From your lips to God's ear.

There's nothing more you can do, you know.

And there's no point in staying around depressing yourself even more.

Make me an offer.

Well, actually, I... And we can always cancel it, but I...

I booked us a room tonight at the Bel Air Hotel.

Men.

You always think sex will solve every problem.

Oh, come on.

Not every problem.

Women are different.

I just don't feel like it tonight, Stuart.

Do you mind terribly?

No, no.

I understand.

So, uh...

Were you planning on getting somebody to tonight?

I guess.

And then were you planning on, you know, going to sleep at some point?

Yes.

Well, you'll do both those things, except at the Bel Air Hotel with me.

And, you know, sex is no big deal with me either.

Stuart, tell me the truth.

Okay.

Have you been seeing another woman?

No, of course not.

Then where the hell did you learn that?

You mean the Venus butterfly?

Venus? Venus butterfly.

Stuart, I'm no prude.

I like sex.

I especially like it with you.

But I'm 36 years old, and I have never, I mean never

in my entire life, ever experienced anything like the Venus butterfly.

Well, I'm glad you liked it. Liked it?

It was the closest thing I have ever experienced to pure ecstasy.

I almost fainted.

Actually, I think there was a moment when I really blacked out.

I mean, the blood just rushed right out of my brain to my

other place.

I'm going to tell you something.

I will never share the Venus butterfly with any other woman I don't know.

You better not.

Stuart?

Can I ask you a favor?

Anything.

Do you think... I mean, if you're not too, um... You know,

tired... Okay, maybe...

Do it again?

Yeah. Yeah, my friend.

I have to see if I can still get room service.

Call. Quickly.

Right.