Original subtitles

on masters of sex did you know you sleep with your mouth open we don't sleep here

get dressed i saw them last night leaving a hotel room how could i not

have known that they were sleeping together the entire time i've shared

nearly everything with you you should share with me i'm not that interesting

dr masters i don't have lice i swear i don't if you don't sit down coral you'll

have to leave and you will not be welcome back you knew you couldn't have

kids why didn't you just tell me because you never would have married me if you

knew the truth Taddy Greathouse just called. She said that you fired.

There's not going to be a single hospital in the Midwest that's going to

let you so much as step through their doors. Why do I have to hear everything

about my husband third hand?

You just have to trust me right now.

I feel comfortable in speaking for my partner when I say how pleased we both

are to be bringing our work here together.

Do you think he's dreaming?

I read once that dogs dream of running in great open spaces.

How would they test for that in animals or babies?

Are you sure it's okay that we stopped by this way?

Of course it's okay.

I mean, you know how it is. I was just driving around trying to get him to

sleep, and then suddenly there we were outside your front door.

It's good to see you.

He has much more hair than last time. You haven't seen him in a while.

And I'm sorry for that, Libby. I've been... You've been busy.

No, I understand.

I wish Bill were the type to show off baby pictures.

He did put one in his wallet, just in case.

Well, I haven't seen much of Bill either.

Well, that's going to change now, isn't it?

I have to admit, Jen, I was shocked by the news. Just completely caught off

guard.

Do they know at maternity?

About what you two are doing?

You haven't given Dr. DePaul notice?

Not yet.

Don't blame me waiting to see if this one sticks.

Third hospital in as many months.

I understand why it's enticing to him to have the study readily accepted after

the resistance at Memorial.

And don't take this the wrong way because baby John was born there and I

received excellent care. Excellent.

But Bill Master's going to work at Buell Green?

Cannot understand it, can you?

It's quite a surprise. I mean, he's not just rolling downhill, Ginny. He is

picking up speed.

From being the chief of obstetrics and maternity to taking a staff position at

Memorial to walking out the door and heading to the Negro Hospital.

I don't know what to say.

Where does he go from here? The resident doctor at the state penitentiary?

Have you eaten?

I'm not hungry.

Your way of saying let's skip dinner and move straight to dessert?

Look again.

It's not what you think.

It's the key to your new office at Buell Green.

It's not the obvious choice, I admit, but they're a fine hospital.

Open to new things. They fully endorse the study and...

My bringing you aboard. It seems like a decision you could have discussed with

me first.

Well, maybe, but timing aside, this is fabulous news.

It calls for a toast.

We can finally get back to work.

And you can stop selling those ridiculous diet pills.

I'm sorry, Bill, but how exactly did you see me coming aboard, Abuel Green?

I don't know what you mean. I mean, as what?

What is my official title?

My responsibilities, my salary. Well, we can work all that out, of course. When?

Because I would like to know those things before I decide to upend my life.

I want to be very clear on what you're offering me.

How about an opportunity to finish what we started?

How about the study?

I would just like the specifics spelled out.

Ahead of time.

In writing.

I see.

Because I've proven myself so untrustworthy. Because I have two

children I'm supporting.

And if you end up leaving this hospital like you left the last one and the one

before that, what guarantee do I have that they will keep me on without you?

I don't have the luxury of jumping ship on a whim. I don't even have the luxury

of not selling those ridiculous diet pills. I don't understand this. You

shouldn't assume that I'll just come running whenever you call, Bill.

I do have other opportunities.

And they are?

I'd like to know. What opportunities do you have outside of diet pills?

A job with Lillian.

She's doing very important work, too. Work that I am very much a part of.

I'm sure that she would make it worth my while to stay. I don't think you want to

play that hand, Virginia.

It's not a hand.

Because I don't think Lillian regards you quite as highly as you think.

Why would you say that?

She knows about us.

About the work we're doing.

Upstairs. Jean, your side of the bed is going to turn to stone if you don't

start sleeping in it again.

You're the top.

You're the Coliseum.

You're the top.

You're the Louvre Museum.

You're a...

Melody from a symphony by somebody.

You're a something funny or Shakespeare song. You're a Mickey Mouse.

You're the Nile. You're the Tower of Pizza.

You're the smile. Come on, smile.

I'm the Mona Lisa.

I'm a total wreck. I'm a worthless jack-o'-flop. But a baby.

Jane, honey, I want you to take my hand, come upstairs with me. We can gargle and

we can get comfortable.

Christ, come on, Betty, Betty.

I don't even know which way's up right now.

That way.

What are you getting at with come upstairs with me? That you love me, huh?

You sing a song for me, try to seduce me, even though your voice sounds like

migrating geese. First of all, I was Miss Melba Snyder in my high school

production of Pal Joey before they booted me out entirely. And second of

all... You know who you married.

Yes, I got the message. You're sore at me because I can't have kids. No, I'm

sore at you because you lied to me about it. So yell at me, slam some doors, or

come up with some other idea like we adopt or something instead of freezing

me out.

You want to adopt?

Do you?

No, not if it's another sing-along or another invitation up to bed. Honey?

I want us to be happy.

I want you to be happy. And if that means bringing in kids that aren't ours,

but will become ours... Once we love them.

Once we love them, then yeah, I could do that.

I gotta think about that.

Yeah?

I'm hoping you'll find the office suits your needs, Dr. Masters.

It's, uh... It'll be fine.

And the dedicated exam room I'd requested.

Next door.

Although I confess, Bill...

I ruffled a few feathers to get that one done. Space around here is at a premium.

Well, I'm sure once your staff sees the volume of patients and study subjects

coming in and out of my new exam room, they'll understand why it's a necessity.

I'm counting on that being the case.

Another thing while I have you here, Charles.

My associate, Mrs. Johnson, she's going to require an employment

contract.

We don't offer contracts to any member of our support staff.

Their guarantee is week to week. I'd appreciate you making an exception to

your policy, seeing as she is essential to my work.

Am I intruding? No, no.

Come in, Cyril.

I want to introduce myself, Dr. Masters.

Cyril Franklin.

Bill Masters.

A pleasure.

Gynecology?

Yes. We'll be sure in the waiting room.

I've followed your work in fertility with great interest.

I'm looking forward to bringing the staff along in that area.

Until then, if you need to refer patients, of course, I'll do whatever I

can to accommodate.

That's... Thank you.

Anything I can do to help.

I mean, your office is also the size of a rabbit hutch, Dr. Franklin.

My offices were next door in what is now the dedicated exam room.

My new offices, they're more suited to mice.

Aren't you going to...

Dr. DePaul's office.

I see.

Well, thank you.

The man down in Mimeo says there's a ten-minute window between jobs if you

can get him those... Those... What would it matter what I did outside of this

office as long as I'm good at my job here?

I think it would matter very much to Libby Masters.

Bill and I are not having an affair.

You know, Virginia, I don't think piling lies on top of other lies is really...

Our participation in the study has been unorthodox.

I'll admit that. Is that how Bill's pitching it? That you're subjects in his

study? Our study.

We are tracking the same physiological data as we would with any of the other

participants. So let me understand. It's okay because you're taking notes?

Whatever it is, or is not.

I have never let it interfere with my job, and yet you gave away your study.

Why?

To punish me? For what? For something that I may have done that doesn't in any

way reflect the quality of my work. You were smart enough to do it another way.

This has nothing to do with intelligence. And you were capable

enough to have waited for a job that you earned based on your own ability. I have

two children I'm supporting.

I don't have the luxury of waiting. Don't you understand what you've done

makes it harder for every woman who comes after you?

Easier for every man who has designs on that same woman. You have to have a lot

of money.

To wait for the perfect job opportunity, Lillian, you have to come from a good

family. Have parents willing to pay your way through medical school. If you're

intimating that, I had it easy. Not easy.

Easier. You had it easier.

And you are in no position to judge me. Nor you me.

Think I'd throw away my work just to spite you? Because I disapprove of the

way you've conducted your personal life? Isn't that what you've done?

You're the girl upset that she wasn't asked to the dance by the boy she didn't

want to go with in the first place. What does that even mean? That you're upset I

handed off my work to someone who could secure its future.

As if you ever truly wanted the responsibility.

Why would I ever entrust my life's work to you, Virginia, when admit it, you

were always going to leave me and follow Bill?

Don't tell me to drop off these reports.

Try not to perpetuate the sick belief that women need to open their lives.

Oh, that is so... You're so unlucky.

Did it hurt?

Does he see me?

Is it a she?

No, don't go. We are listening. We are.

Raspberries. We lost them. Oh.

It happens.

You have to be very quiet. It's not that they're shy or anything. It has to do

with energy channels.

Hey. My God.

That's... Your friend Helen just told me we have a ghost in our living room.

Oh, really? How did we get rid of it? Oh, no, you mustn't. He's such a sweet

old man. His name is Paul.

Or, um, Saul.

It's Paul. He lived until he was 93 and then choked on a chicken bone. You never

told me that you had a friend that could, that had a, what did you call it?

Oh, precognitions. Just this morning I was buttering my toast thinking of

nothing in particular and all of a sudden it came to me.

Hunt down Betty DeMello.

Moretti.

It's Betty Moretti now.

Yeah. So you guys are friends from... Acquaintances, really. Oh, we go way

back.

Same gal does our hair at...

Clarissa's. Now, Betty, Gene seems very open. We can tell him the truth.

Huh? Several years ago, Betty saw my sign in the window.

It's a palm naturally outlined in neon. Okay. And she came in and wanted to have

her palm read.

Well, it turns out she has a very long love line.

Is that right?

Oh, yes, look.

Uh, here it is. See? There.

It means true love.

Long love. meant to last the ages.

Well, that would be us, right? How we met.

And look at that. It was there on your hand the whole time.

I have somebody that I think would love you.

You know who would love Helen? I can't imagine.

Al. My friend Al. I've known him since sixth grade. He's a bit of a goof, but

he's got a heart of gold, and I really think Al would love Helen.

You know what? I'm going to make a reservation for the four of us at

Kamal's. Oh, gee, don't be cool. No, no, this is my precondition.

Precognition. Unless, of course, you have a special someone.

Oh, no, I was recently jilted. Al, too.

That's good. So you both are in need of good fortune in the love department.

Al, his girlfriend just dumped him.

But she got the shingles blended on Al, but she's a little, you know, oi, oi.

Gene, honey, I don't think Helen wants to go on a double date with us and Al. I

would love to.

What does a girl wear to Kamal's?

No matter how long you stare, it's not going to unpack itself.

Human resources of a contract specifying the details of your employment if you'd

like to prove Your

office

is

It's in the next door. There's a dedicated exam room with a viewing

area, which raises the question of where we'll be resuming our sessions,

here or at the hotel. I'm amenable to either.

I was wondering if there was a third option.

Oh, which would be?

To stop.

We've been at this a while now.

At some point, haven't we exhausted the possibilities?

Sexual research. That's like saying one's done mapping the Milky Way.

Yes.

Maybe... Maybe if we took some time to reassess our objectives... And what

objectives exactly are you referring to?

The scope of our involvement. The terms.

Oh, we're back to terms now.

I suppose I'm wondering if our personal participation is a condition of my

employment here.

No.

Then maybe it's better if we... What I meant was yes.

Yes, it is part of the job.

Hotel, then.

Aren't you gonna take off your cloak?

No.

Because?

I don't want to.

So, what do we... I want you to strip.

No, stand.

You're going to touch yourself.

Begin.

You've closed your eyes.

Is that standard behavior for you?

I believe it is.

Is that to facilitate fantasy?

It's an automatic reflex, not a conscious process.

But, yes,

I suppose so. And what are you thinking about?

You.

You can stop touching yourself.

But I am.

Yet. Stop.

Come here.

Take them off.

Excuse me. I've got x-ray solution that needs to get to radiology. Any idea

where radiology is?

No idea at all. I'm sorry. I'm new here.

Excuse me.

Good morning.

Good morning.

I put up some flyers for the study on my way in.

Good.

As for today's business, you have the patient list?

I intend to call this morning, starting with the A's.

To inform them of the new location and start scheduling appointments as early

as... Today is fine.

Our doors are open.

I'm not sure I understand.

I came to talk to you about Coral. Coral?

Is she not coming today? Oh, no, no. I put her on the bus. I just came on ahead

myself. I was hoping to have a word with you.

Has something happened to Coral? Well, you know, she told me something recently

that I just can't seem to shake.

You know, every night I ask her how her day was, and normally she just says,

fine, you know, good.

And she loves that baby John, thinks that little one walks on water.

Then the other night she told me that someone had forced her head.

Under a faucet and scrubbed at it.

I had to wash her hair.

My infant son had lice.

That must have been upsetting for you.

It was.

And upsetting for Coral.

So that's it, really?

I'm gonna keep asking Coral how her day was.

And she's gonna keep telling me. And hopefully she'll just say fine and good.

Or whatever that problem was.

Well, it won't happen again And she don't know I stopped by so you can go

and keep that between us Thank you for your time

The lines on your palm don't change if you're looking for a reading.

That was some stunt, Helen.

So what is it you want? Money?

Because I already gave you plenty of money. Yes, I seem to remember you

throwing $100 bills out the window of your new Cadillac as you drove away.

That is unfair. I couldn't sleep for months. I still can't. Well, that makes

two of us.

You broke my heart.

We agreed. Me, Mary, and Jean was the best thing. You agreed.

We agreed. There is no future here.

Years and years of going out together as what?

What? Two spinster friends who are living together pretending we're sisters

are going to some bar where some bitch won't serve us because we're not wearing

duck tails and gafferdines.

It's pathetic, Helen.

We both like dresses, so we just kind of have to buck up and do the right thing.

The right...

The right thing for you.

You're a cynical woman, Mrs. Moretti.

What I am is a woman who has fucked men for money.

Hundreds of them. And I've seen things, and I have done things.

I am not apologizing for this, because I got gold faucets now, a hat for every

day of the week, and I can eat beef bourguignon for lunch if I want. You

still gotta sleep with him and not me.

Well, nothing comes free.

Well, then maybe it will work out for me, too, with Al.

You are not going out with Al. You are canceling that date. I am not canceling.

Stop screwing around, Helen. I'm following your lead.

You are not coming back into my life after the hell it took getting you out.

Fuck you, Betty.

You got to grab the grass ring. Well, now it's my turn.

Our process hasn't changed since you had your daughter, Mrs. Tellingsworth.

You'll schedule regular capping sessions.

And will the procedure last as long as before, all those hours lying still?

Some women trying for a second child actually look forward to it. They say

it's the only rest they get.

What if I go home immediately after the capping and do my bed rest there? You

had such a good outcome the first time around. Why would you want to tamper

with success?

Pearl got me a new car.

And I don't feel comfortable leaving it parked on the street, not for hours on

end. Not in this neighborhood.

I parked downstairs without giving it a thought.

My car is an Eldorado.

And Mrs.

Johnson's car is also a...

Ford. But it is a very lovely shade of capri blue.

You don't expect to be here permanently, do you, Doctor?

Beale Green is a fine hospital, Mrs. Tillingsworth. Do you imagine I would be

here otherwise? That I would be satisfied offering my patients anything

less than the care they've come to expect?

No.

Of course not.

My car has leather seats.

You also have a healthy, beautiful baby girl who deserves a sibling.

Now, which one of those two problems would you like to focus on?

Your young man paid me a visit today.

I'm sorry, ma'am. Robert?

Coral. I'm older than you, and I know a thing or two about the world, and...

Well, why don't you sit down a moment?

Now, I know you have no mother to guide you, so I'm just going to tell you this

directly.

I'm worried about you being with this boy.

He came here to...

Well, essentially to threaten me.

Now, I'm not going to call the police. I'm not even sure I'm going to tell Dr.

Masters. But I will tell you.

I think Robert is very angry.

He's trying to hide it, but it's very obvious to me. I could feel it.

So, under the circumstances, I think it's best if you put some distance

between you and Robert.

Just ease him out gently.

Perhaps start seeing a little less of him.

We live together.

And I should leave him.

I certainly should.

Like you say, he is a rough customer, Robert.

And he does have a temper.

That's no doubt.

And sometimes we fight.

But then, when it's late and it's just the two of

us alone in our bed, well, all the bad stuff just...

Goes away.

And he's real soft.

With his hands and his lips.

The way he touches me.

His breath in my ear.

Well, I'm sure you can understand how hard that is to leave.

You being a woman of the world.

But I will think about what you said.

And once I'm finished making Dr. Master's bed, should I make yours too?

You've gone through the first run of flyers already?

The first ones have all been taken.

Unfortunately, to the dump, just south of the city. A man watched me as I put

one up. I could tell that he didn't approve, and apparently he took matters

into his own hands.

Save the world from our immoral ways.

Poor man.

I'll talk to Hendrix. He guaranteed me that the study wouldn't be interfered

with. A delivery man.

He had this scowl on his face. Very much like the scowl we've seen on some of our

patients since we've landed here.

I honestly think that it's going to take some effort to get willing subjects back

into the study. We may lose some of our regulars because they don't want to make

the drive to this neighborhood.

Which means?

Most of our study will be made up of Negro subjects.

As one would expect at a Negro hospital. Which begs the question, if our study

subjects are primarily colored, do we include their data in with everybody

else's? As opposed to, what, separating our subjects by race? We've never

included Negro subjects before. We've never excluded them either.

They simply had no exposure to our recruitment efforts at a white hospital.

But now that we're here... I'm just asking if there's any value in

separating them out from a research point of view.

in looking at them apart from Caucasian data. You do realize they have the same

physiology, don't you? The difference is merely melanin, skin pigment. Would you

make the argument that our brown-eyed subjects are sexually distinct from our

blue-eyed ones?

No. But in this case, people think there's a difference, sexually speaking.

True or not, I'm simply wondering if it's worth our consideration.

Dr. Master's office.

Yes, Mrs. Kenworthy.

Oh, that's fine. We can...

All right.

Thank you.

Mrs. Kenworthy just canceled her appointment.

When does she want to reschedule? She doesn't.

Some people use sex as a way to make up.

Have you found that to be true?

Uh, I'm not sure I have.

I found it.

Don't you think there's something healthy about that?

Healthy?

In the sense of?

Well, a good way for a couple to iron out their differences.

I mean, it's not something that we do, but maybe we should.

I'm not angry with you.

Well, you know what they say.

Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. Have you been talking to someone?

What is that supposed to mean?

That I just stay at home and live this sheltered life?

I know about the world.

I see things and I hear things.

So, are you angry with me?

Yes, I am.

A little.

And in the interest of marital health, I think we should patch things up.

Slow down.

It happened already.

It was just a very quiet baby.

I called a taxi.

I assumed you weren't coming. Because I'm the type of person who skips out on

a cancer patient.

Get in.

From now on, please don't worry about this room. I'll take care of it.

Yes, ma'am.

Betty, I'm... Betty!

What? What are you...

For

crap's sake, what are you doing?

Vacuuming. Vacuuming? All the time I've known you, I've never even seen you in

the same room with a vacuum, let alone pushing one around. I have... I have two

vacuumed. That vacuum has two inches of dust on it. That's how much vacuum you

can build. Well, I'm burning off, you know, anxiety.

Because of what I didn't tell you about Helen.

Uh-huh. The truth is, she's, uh, ooh, she's not so good at bathing. Ah. Sponge

bath every couple weeks, maybe.

And come summer, she's like French cheese.

Well, you know, I didn't notice anything. Well, Al will notice. You know

how vain he is about his women.

And you know the story of Napoleon and Josephine. The more she stank, the more

he loved her.

Let's just let Al and Helen work it out. Well, it's just, it's like, it's like

the smell reflects what's, you know, inside.

Like she's rotten.

As a person.

I thought she was a friend of yours.

What does that word even mean anymore?

Plus, I got a conscience, Gene. I can't sit by and watch Helen get her hooks

into Al.

Hooks. Oh, oh hooves hooves more like it because she also has a gambling problem

spends 90% of her time at the tracks Okay, every vendor at the track knows

her by name hell this hell that I mean the hell parts, right? Which accounts

for her constant scheme and always trying to find the next pair of deep

pockets to pay for her, you know her sickness Al

loves the track Al has deep pockets Sounds like a match made in heaven.

It's a high compliment when patients of mine refer their daughters.

Although my mother actually saw you at Memorial.

Well, quality of care will be no different here at Buell Green. Mrs.

Johnson will start by taking a fertility history.

It won't take long.

Then we'll do a brief...

A physical workup will draw some blood.

We can do that before or after the physical exam, whichever is... Say

you're sorry.

Excuse us a minute.

Say you're sorry.

Apologize right now.

Apologize to her. Tell her you're sorry. Mr. McCaffrey, please. Look at him. Mr.

McCaffrey, let him go. He leaned over to get something out of her purse. Tell the

security guard now. Mr. McCaffrey, let him go now. Before he apologizes to my

wife. For what?

Being in the same room with her? Or sitting in a chair?

You son of a bitch! Gentlemen, that is enough!

Maybe you need some reminding whose neighborhood you wandered into.

Oh, you can have this barnyard, nigga. Son of a bitch! Gentlemen!

As soon as I walked into the waiting room, I

remembered him.

And back in maternity...

He was the husband who wanted to be in the delivery room with his wife.

The same husband who held her hand and wept when we handed him his firstborn.

And then today at Buell Green, he was like a Neanderthal.

There must be something in the air.

I too had a similar experience recently.

What do you mean?

A large colored man banged on our front door and told me in no uncertain terms

that he didn't like how I was treating Coral. A large colored... Coral's

boyfriend, as it turns out. Why, he was coming here to see her? No, us.

Me.

You know what, if he doesn't like Coral working for a living, he should take it

up with her, don't you think?

Not come here and make threats.

What, threats?

What did he say exactly?

It's more how he said it.

It's even possible that Coral's lying.

About us.

First of all, I didn't force her head under the faucet.

So what did you do?

I washed her hair.

Because she refused to do it herself.

I told you, the lice were not coming from her. You said it was unlikely,

Bill. And frankly, you don't know everything.

But did you?

Force her head? No, I didn't force anything. That is not what happened. Why

are you... taking her side in this and his why don't you ever take my side i'm

standing up for you i didn't do anything wrong libby you need to apologize

if someone had done that to you i wouldn't just stand on that doorstep in

your defense their face would look like mine i'd make damn sure of it i think

you got off lightly with that young man

The casing we use is made out of bone and tendon. I mean, some people use wood

pulp, but not us. Not a chance. I always thought wood pulp was the industry

standard. Really? Like a house on fire, these two.

Can I have a little more wine, please?

You know, it's a family business.

But funnily enough, it's not my family. I bought it.

I love how passionate you are about pepperoni.

I also like dessert.

And you smell just like my mom's vanilla pudding.

Well, I heard you're a low-down Yankee liar.

Oh,

that's good. That's a good one.

Jimmy Stewart.

No. Gary Cooper. No.

Alan Ladd. Bingo. And Shane. Of course.

The scent is singery. It was my mother's. She always wore it. Now I wear

it. A little bit on the wrists, a little bit behind the ears, and a couple of

drops in the bathtub.

In the bathtub. If we can leave Alan Ladd out of it, how about I just put you

in my pocket? I would like that, though. I bet I wouldn't fit. Oh, now, Helen.

Helen, no betting now.

No, listen. With me, it's not even gambling. Because I've worked out a very

scientific system, and I'd be happy to show it to you. Maybe help you minimize

your losses a little.

Did Betty tell you my secret? Betty?

Yes, but I don't judge.

Not for a minute.

Well, I suppose I've spent a little too much time on the riverboats. Plus your

afternoons at the track.

Yes, there's the horses as well.

Well, who doesn't, right?

Did Betty ever tell you about the time I heard there was a horse running in the

Kentucky Derby named Beautiful Betty?

The odds were 13 to 1 against. I spent my last two bucks on that horse. Gave

the ticket to Betty.

She was feeling blue about something, and I told her, whenever you feel

like the world is against you, you look at that ticket and know that no matter

what the odds are,

Someone's betting on you.

Isn't that nice?

Yeah.

Did the horse win? This story ends in tragedy. The horse broke a leg. See, I

can't hear that.

It is true.

They had to shoot her.

I'll say.

I guess you know how to pick them.

I'm sorry.

This is where my system would come in handy.

Oh, that's rich.

You can't do that.

After the dust-up yesterday, I thought it'd be best if we kept our patients

away from each other.

Unless you're going for stitches next time, Doctor.

I don't think this is the right solution.

Good morning, obstetrics.

Mrs. Johnson?

It seems someone's trying to track you down.

Hello?

Lillian, what happened?

They must have told you on the phone. They didn't. They just said some kind of

an accident.

Apparently, some ten-year-old wandered into the ladies' room and found me

passed out on the floor.

Was it a seizure?

How would I know?

One minute I'm trying to thread the ribbon through my typewriter, and the

next I'm flat on the bathroom tile with this child screaming over me. She

thought I was dead.

They would only release me to a responsible party. I didn't know who

else to call.

Lillian, let's get you inside.

No, just... Can we sit?

Okay.

I'm never going back to that hospital.

As a patient, maybe, but never again as a doctor.

I'm done there.

They said that.

I don't want to wait for them to tell me.

I'd be irresponsible to stay on something different every day.

Garbled word, forgotten diagnosis, ten minutes I can't account for. You have

good stretches.

You were very articulate the other day when you were expressing your extreme

disappointment in me.

Was I?

Did I apologize?

Good.

I am scared, though, for what's ahead.

Which means I can't really afford to be upset with you now, can I?

I'd like to speak to you.

Yes, ma'am.

I understand that when you came to my door the other day, you did it out of

concern for Coral and not necessarily as a threat to me.

So I thought about it, and yes, I may have overreacted when I washed Coral's

hair.

I just had a baby.

And when you have a baby, even minor incidents can feel blown out of

proportion. It's in all the books.

My point is I shouldn't have done that to Coral, and I'm sorry.

Common courtesy dictates that the proper response to an apology is to get out of

the car and accept it.

I think the person you ought to be apologizing to is Coral.

Coral is a different matter.

Coral deliberately disobeyed me.

Pay attention now, Cor, because this here is a good lesson of white people's

inability to take responsibility for their actions and do the right thing.

Did you say white people? Get in the car, Cor.

We're leaving.

You should know my husband works in the Negro hospital.

See Dr.

McAlpin down in ophthalmology. He's the best in the city and can make sure

there's been no damage to your vision.

Well, clearly my vision was impaired to begin with, not to see this coming. I

fear I may have misjudged how my patients would handle the transition to

a new hospital.

We were as surprised as you by the fight in the waiting room.

The truth is, our patients are reluctant to make appointments. Some of them

have...

Had issues with the neighborhood. Others had misgivings about the mix of

patients. It seems inevitable that we're going to lose a few. Inevitable?

You just resigned to that? Well, it doesn't mean they won't return in time,

but it may take them becoming unhappy with the care that someone else provides

for them to come back to me.

And you're prepared to wait it out? In the meantime, we can serve the patients

already here, and we have the study to focus on. As long as we can keep your

delivery man away from our flyers.

I have to say, I'm disappointed.

Well, I'm not sure what the alternative is.

You ever watch how people get into a cold lake?

They're the ones that go very slowly, inch by inch.

They even rise up on their tiptoes to stave off the cold.

And then they're the ones that take the plunge, get it over with, trust that

they'll adjust to the cold once it's enveloped them.

If I had time to slowly change people's minds about segregation, I would have

brought in some young, unassuming white resident, let the patient slowly get

used to him, and then I would have hired another one and another one.

But there's too much I want to accomplish at this hospital to take my

time doing it, which is why I hired you.

You, with your dedicated exam room, with your essential assistant, your sex

study.

You were the cold lake, and I jumped in with both feet. And I thank you for

that. I knew exactly what I was getting. A man who showed a room full of doctors

what the inside of a woman climaxing looked like and had his hat handed to

him because of it. You didn't just ease people out of ignorance.

You exposed them to the truth.

You said, this is going to be uncomfortable, but it's important.

And it's going to open your eyes forever.

You and I, we don't look the same, but we are the same.

We are not men who wait. You need to make a case for yourself.

You need to call every patient you ever had and say, this is where you need to

be with me, at this hospital. That's how you move your practice forward.

That's how I move this hospital forward. That's how we move history forward.

I'm afraid history may be outside my purview. You know, that's not true.

You wouldn't be doing this study of yours if that were the case.

Last year, Martin Luther King Jr. stood less than a mile from here and said St.

Louis is a city that's moving forward, embracing its future, not standing in

its way.

This hospital will be integrated now.

Are you willing to help me do that?

We each choose our own battles, Charles.

Wooing patients is...

It's not my gift. Come on, Bill.

It's really more like Virginia's.

Well, then, Mrs. Johnson, you've got your work cut out for you.

I suppose I do.

Did you say that just to appease him?

About you?

I say it because it's true.

There are things that you are better at than I.

Just as there are things that I'm better at, of course.

Of course.

At this rate, I expect to see you in the front row of Dr.

King's next rally. Be serious, Virginia. That's not my fight.

But if in helping ourselves we can also help Dr. Hendricks, well, I see nothing

wrong with that.