01x03 - Soulmates

[bunniefuu]

Previously on "Signed, Sealed, Delivered"...

Are we in the habit of ignoring miracles?

Both: No.

Putting a stamp on a letter and sending it out there, into the world... "is an act of faith."

I'm putting my faith in you.

Shane, get your head out of that computer and dance a little!

You have a dream you'd like to share with us, Rita?

Yes.

♪

[Muttering under his breath as he writes]

You sure you want to stir things up?

If I don't try, I'll never know.

I don't want that hanging over me the rest of my life.

♪

[Huffs tensely]

Okay.

[Chuckles]

♪
♪

♪ and send me on my way ♪
♪ deliver me just deliver me ♪

[door opens]

Oh! Rita, please, allow me.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.

That actually is mine.

Good morning, fellow servants of postal excellence.

Or is it excellent fellows of postal service?

Well! Aren't you in rare form this morning, Oliver?

Well, as sad as I was to say farewell to our last supervisor, Theresa Capodiamonte has reinvigorated me with a sense of both freedom and purpose.

Reinvigorated?

Are you saying that the Oliver O'Toole I've known and worked with these past few weeks hasn't been invigorated?

To everything there is a season, Ms. Mclnerney and a time to every purpose under heaven... a time to find, a time to speak, and a time to keep silent.

And now, the time is to say... what is in this box, Rita?

Uh, nothing, really.

Oh, well, I mean... a Hawaiian tiki-torch stamp, circa 1999!

It's a game-changer.

Oh, excellent. I would like to see that.

[Sighs]

I'm looking for Mr. O'Toole.

Oh, you must be the new branch supervisor.

Are you Oliver O'Toole?

I am. Cora Brandt...

I've heard so many things about you.

I'll be introducing a new policy.

From now on, we are swinging for the fences.

It's a whole new ball game, baby.

Shane...

Mac-Nick-in-Mac?

It's, uh...

"Mclnerney." A pleasure.

Norman Dorman?

"Norman Dorman"?

Here.

Ma'am.

I like you!

Don't blow it.

Okay.

Rita Hayworth?

It's actually "Haywith," with an "I" and no "r."

Sure.

[Gasps]

Shane: Uh... whose is that, and what do they have against trees?

Looks like it's some sort of manuscript, maybe on the way to a publisher.

"Renita Hayweather: Frontier Duchess" by Rita...

Haywith?

[Inhales sharply]

♪

"Renita held tightly to her hatbox Her corset felt... even tighter She did not Miss London not when the sweeping plains of Montana offered new frontiers of passion..."

Chuckling: "...And lingerie."

Okay, okay, okay!

I wrote it.

It's mine.

It's just that Theresa Capodiamonte said that I should be bold and courageous, so I decided that maybe it was time to let someone read it.

Not on U.S. government's time.

And what is this?

An entire box reserved for Paris?

Well, I wouldn't say, uh, "reserved."

[Shane chuckles]

I'm sure every DLO has their little idiosyncrasies.

The Paris box is ours.

C'est tout.

C'est tout!

Now, this may be the core of the problem.

Oh, we don't really have problems in this department, ma'am.

Really, our job is to solve the mystery of the missing letter in a unique way.

Forget the mystery.

Just solve it or shred it by the end of the day.

Isn't she a little seasoned for this job?

[Door opens and closes]

Well! I'm invigorated.

Now what, Oliver?

What we always do.

Address is severely water-damaged.

Postage stamp is damaged, as is the postmark, but I can make out Evergreen, Colorado."

♪

Oh. Ledger paper. That's interesting.

There's some kind of logo in the corner, but...

"Dear Marie it was incredible seeing you again, but I have to be honest, it was painful, too."

Overlapping with sam: "You spend all those summers and holidays with your best friend... "

Sam, writing: "...And then she just disappears.

"Well, it's a hard thing to get over."

All the star lilies are gone, and winter break's almost over.

Yeah.

When I grow up, I'm gonna be a microbiologist and travel all over the world.

What's that?

It's like a doctor who's a scientist.

I couldn't even be one of those.

My dad says people can be anything they want as long as they put their mind to it.

My dad says it doesn't matter what you are, it's who you are.

My dad says your dad is the salt of the earth.

What's that?

I think it means old-fashioned.

Like a cowboy or something.

See that Mountain?

Someday, I'm gonna build a log cabin, right over there.

Don't you ever want to grow up and see the world?

Maybe. Australia, maybe.

But I bet it doesn't have better mountains.

We could be pen-pals.

Sure!

We'll have to shake on it.

♪

sh**t.

You go get it.

Doctors aren't supposed to be clumsy.

I still can't believe I got in.

Hopkins only accepts 10 undergrads into this program, so it's a big deal.

Yeah. I get it.

You have to go.

You could come to Baltimore.

Not a lot of cowboys in Baltimore.

Hey.

Somebody's gotta hold down the fort.

Maybe it's time I started building it for us.

Every world traveler needs a place to come home to.

You are my land.

My water.

My sky.

♪

Your dad's going to k*ll me if we're late again.

♪

Sam!

Careful!

Ground gets a little slippery from the rain, right?

Take it easy.

[Sighs]

[Shrieking]

[Grunts] I've got you!

Don't look down. Don't look down.

I've just gotta switch hands.

No. No!

Marie, you have to trust me, I've gotta switch hands to get a hold of this tree.

I can't!

Just keep your eyes on me and don't look down.

[Grunting]

[Yelps and grunts]

♪

Where've you been?

We gotta get on the road.

I'm sorry, sir. It was my fault.

Why does that not surprise me?

Dad, I'm really sorry, but I slipped and fell, and Sam saved my life.

Go on. Go pack up.

Go on.

Look, Sam.

Marie's going to school back east, and she's not gonna have time for summer vacations and romantic fantasies and... me.

You're talking about me.

The future she wants, it won't happen if you keep on holding onto her with these letters that you two write back and forth with each other.

I'll never let go of her.

This is a guest ranch, Sam.

She's always only been a guest.

You're wrong about us.

We're in love.

♪

Oliver, reading: "I've always believed there was a reason I saved your life that day.

"I thought it was so we could spend the rest of it together Then four days ago, you walked back into my life as if the last 10 years had never happened."

"Please, Marie, please don't get married next Saturday."

[Sighs] That so romantic.

What kind of man asks a woman he hasn't seen in 10 years to cancel her wedding?

A man in love.

We have to get that to her right away.

My cousin, Demetria, she had to cancel her wedding at the last minute.

She planned it during a conjugal visit, but didn't factor in a lockdown, so...

I'm concerned what damage this might do if she were to receive this only days prior to her nuptials.

Are you actually considering delaying the prompt delivery of a letter?

Marriage is sacred, Ms. Mclnerney.

Yes, but she's not married yet. That's the whole point!

Let's just assume for a minute, that she's marrying the wrong man, and Sam is her true soul mate.

I wonder how much time we have.

In the letter, Marie said Saturday.

Well, that could be this Saturday or next Saturday.

It's hard to tell without the full date.

Yeah, but, hey, if we can't find Marie, maybe we can find Sam.

Uh, um, that ledger paper is used to count livestock... uh, age, size, weight, that sort of thing.

It's not just a guest ranch, it's also a working ranch, too, so that might narrow it down a bit.

[Rotary phone rings]

[Gasps]

What's that?

It's a phone.

Shane: Oh.

[Ringing]

It hardly ever rings.

[Gasps] Oh!

What if it's his wife calling from Paris?

Oliver O'Toole.

Yes.

What?

No.

My goodness, that's, uh... terrible.

What about our wednesdays?

Uh, please let me know the moment anything changes.

Thank you.

♪

Ahem.

Is everything okay?

Nothing that, uh, affects our work.

♪

What do you think he meant by "our wednesdays"?

I don't know.

I mean, he has choir, but I thought that was Thursdays.

He does dress a little spiffier on wednesdays.

And sometimes, he even wears cologne.

Don't you ever wonder what he does outside of this place?

Well, he's such a man of mystery, you know.

It's like, in my book, the hot-tempered, raven-haired English duchess experiences a reversal of fortune and has to move to Montana in 1889.

She falls in love with the brooding but devastatingly handsome pony express rider Mr. D'Lorman.

Hmm?

He's a man of mystery, too, you know.

[Chuckles] "Mr. D'Lorman?"

Huh. That's interesting.

Norman...

Hmm?

You might want to take a glance through Rita's manuscript at some point.

Oh, I don't know.

Uh, Cora has us on a pretty tight deadline for this letter.

Norman's right.

We have to stay focused on our work.

Ahem.

"I just hoped when you came back it might be for good and that we'd lie on the ground count the stars in the sky, and the star lilies growing all around us..."

If she doesn't want him, I'll take him.

♪

[Whinnying]

Some folks from tomorrow's group got in early.

I'm gonna take 'em on up to their cabins, okay?

Sounds good.

Are the star lilies in bloom right now?

♪

Marie?

[Laughs] Sam?

[Laughing]

Oh, wow!

You're here!

Looks like you got this one.

Wow! It's been a long time.

Yeah.

You look great.

So do you!

And then I got my Ph.D. At Yale, and now I work for the world health organization in Geneva.

And you ended up here, of all places, for some health conference?

[Laughs] Well...

It wasn't a total coincidence.

I suggested it.

Just kept such fond memories of this place.

I'd forgotten how bright the stars look from here.

And the star lilies, do they still grow around here?

Yeah, they're still pretty rare, but you can find them if you look hard enough.

Mm... [chuckles]

I can't believe you still work here.

[Laughs]

I mean... oh!

That did not come out right.

No, it's all good, it's all right.

Uh, nah, actually, it's worse than you think.

I bought the place.

You bought the ranch?

Yeah, well, not till the note's paid off, but business is pretty good, so.

Hey. There's something I want to show you.

Come on.

Okay.

♪

Uh, Sam, I can't.

I'm sorry, I-I just... uh... [stammers]

Hey. Hey.

I'm so sorry. I...

I didn't expect to see you here, and...

I mean, deep down, I think I hoped that you'd be here, so that I could...

I thought coming here would...

But then, there you were.

And everything changed.

And now...

So when's the big day?

Saturday.

[Scoffs]

Wow.

Well, he's a lucky guy.

♪

Yeah. I think you'd really like him.

I need to get back to the stables.

You know your way back, right?

Of course...

I do.

Alright, a guest ranch that recently hosted the world health organization.

They're destined to be together!

Am I the only one who sees it?

Who sees what?

Oh, well, in this letter, Sam and Marie are in love, but Marie is gonna marry someone else, and Sam doesn't want her to, then... [Gasps]

What if-if she gets the letter before her wedding?

Or worse, what if she gets it just after her wedding?

It's a bit complicated.

It's not complicated!

What's complicated about it?

You address it, you mail it and she reads it.

That's not complicated at all.

Well, I guess it's not complicated.

Oh, I think it's still pretty complicated.

"Renita refused to meet his gaze as the Earl unlaced her riding boots..."

Mm! Hmm.

"'If we become what we choose to love, '

"Renita said coldly, 'then you, sir, are a pair of shoes.'" hmm?

Would-would you like to be the first person to read my book?

Well, um...

Why not?

Norman?

What does this remind you of?

Kind of like a cattle brand.

Maybe the logo on that ledger paper wasn't a logo at all.

Maybe it was a cattle brand.

An "m" with a star.

I'm on it.

But a star has six points.

Well, maybe it's be a star lily.

Cattle brands of ranches in the Western United States.

Matches the...

overlapping: The Star Lily Mountain Ranch.

Yep. They host both corporate events and family events.

And the nearest post office is in Evergreen.

Norman, Rita, we will keep you apprised.

Hey!

Where do you think you're going?

Second inning, Ms. Brandt.

We're up to bat.

Oh, my goodness.

Mm-mm, mm-mm, mm.

♪

You have someplace you have to be?

Um, no. Nothing pressing.

Oh, it just looks that way, because you keep looking at your watch.

Maybe it's just me.

Hello. Looking for Tom, the manager.

That'd be me.

What can I help you folks with?

I'm Oliver O'Toole.

I called earlier.

Oh, yeah!

I feel bad that you had to drive all the way out here.

Truth is, the computer went down, and I couldn't find anything on a health conference.

Are you sure you're in the right place?

Does a man named Sam own this ranch?

Yes.

Then we're in the right place.

May we speak with him?

Not today. He's up in the meadow.

Well, when he comes down, or the computer comes up, will you give him this?

Ask him to call us immediately.

Sure.

Hang on, guys!

This is Hoke Carey.

He remembers the world health group.

Oh!

Whole bunch of scientists, right?

Yes. I don't suppose you remember a woman named Marie?

Oh, I remember Marie.

Hey.

[Horse nickering]

Uh... so, uh, about yesterday...

I'm sorry.

Okay? I was just a little surprised.

There was a lot to take in.

No, no, no.

I apologize.

It-it was pretty awful, and... and, uh...

♪

I am so sorry about this.

[Car doors shutting]

Surprise!

Well, what are you doing here?

I missed you.

I couldn't wait till you got back, so surprise.

Surprise, yeah.

Ahem.

Sam, this is... this is Patrick.

Sam?

Is this the same Sam?

Yeah.

I couldn't believe it.

Sam owns the ranch now, actually.

No kidding?

Good for you.

Thanks.

Well, it was, uh, it was nice to meet you, but, uh, we should really get going.

♪

Sam, I'm sorry.

I had no idea that he was coming.

It's not your fault.

I know.

I'm sorry about more than that.

We said a lot of things to each other a long time ago.

We were the land, the water, the sky.

I was gonna change the world and you were gonna build us a cabin.

You and me...

All we used to talk about was stars and trees and mountains.

And let's face it, that was never gonna be enough for you.

[Horse nickers]

Come on. Come on. Come on.

[Sam sighs]

I hope you're happy, Marie.

I really do.

Please don't come back again.

It's too hard.

♪

[Sobs]

After she left, he had a change of heart, wrote her a letter, never heard back.

The hardest part was the not knowing.

Shane: So, she left, thinking that Sam didn't love her anymore.

Where'd you get that?

It's a letter to Marie.

It was damaged somehow, made its way to the dead letter office.

We're trying to deliver it to Marie.

Hopefully, before she gets married this weekend.

This weekend?

That letter was written eight years ago.

♪

Well, I can't believe this letter is eight years old.

But we I.D.'D Marie.

Her last name is Moore.

She married a Patrick White.

That should take me a little time, but I think we can locate them by tomorrow.

Except that Cora said we have to have this letter resolved by today, or shred it.

What is this woman doin'?

Hmm. [Starts chuckling] I like that.

"You are my land, my water my sky You always will be So, whatever you decide, be happy, and know you are loved."

Norman, if someone wrote that to you, would you want it to be destroyed?

I mean, haven't you ever felt anything like this?

No. No, I haven't. Ever. Ever. No.

Well, uh... uh... sort of.

"Love is not love, which alters when it alteration finds..."

Renita Hayweather?

Uh, William Shakespeare.

True love desires more for the beloved than it desires for itself... a timeless truth which must be delivered through rain, or snow, or dark of night.

It's "gloom of night."

That depends on your translation of the Greek.

Ms. Brandt, I am well aware of your new policy, but I'm afraid this letter will have to be carried over till tomorrow.

Whatever. I'm on page 213.

Ooh! That's the part where the Duchess takes a lover in Durango.

You guys really need to read my book!

[All hemming and hawing]

Definitely take a look at it, but probably not till the summer.

[All talking at once]

[Norman grunts]

Wow... that's a real commitment.

And there is something for which I am late, so I'll just be saying, um...

Goodnight.

[Grunting]

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

We couldn't.

Could we?

It's highly inappropriate.

Out of the question.

Norman? You in?

In what?

♪
♪

♪

Uh, I think this was a bad idea.

♪

[Quiet chatter]

Good morning. How are you?

Fine. Thank you.

Shane: Did you have a good evening?

Did you practice something? Sing any duets?

Because you have choir.
That's what she's asking.

Although you don't usually sing duets in choir.

Or wear nice suits or cologne.

But it can happen, so we might as well just move on.

No. We should not.

Not yet. Ahem.

If you've been sensing any inconsistency in my recent behavior, it is with good reason.

I have been deceiving you.

I've allowed you to assume that I have extra choir practice on wednesdays, which, in fact, I do not.

You've taken on a lover! [Gasps]

No!

Why would you think that?

'Cause that woman that you were hugging on the street last night.

No...

Were you spying on me?

[Norman groans softly]

[Shane sighs] We were concerned.

You've act... you've been acting so mysteriously lately.

Mysterious?

Or perfectly within my right to have a private life? Hmm?

Okay. The second one.

Alright.

If you must know, I have been taking dancing lessons.

That was my instructor with an update on Louise.

Louise is my dance partner who has gone missing.

O-oh!

No. That's terrible! Do you have any leads?

Nothing other than she ran into a high school sweetheart.

She fell in love...

Eloped to Mexico.

Oh, that's lovely and romantic!

Louise is 85.

I'm afraid she's not being rational when it comes to this man.

I know for a fact she can't...

Metabolize spicy food.

We're all very worried.

Maybe this is just one of those timeless stories of love that never dies.

No, it just gets really old and heads South of the border.

You know what, Oliver?

If you need my help, I could be your dance partner.

Rita, that's a... uh...

That's o... Rita. It's quite all right.

No, no.

Uh... Ms. Mclnerney, did you receive... uh...

A message regarding this situation?

Y... you know, I... did.

And I... I would be happy to be your dance partner.

Oh.

Good. We'll be dancing together in a student showcase on the 24th.

[Laughs, then stops]

Ahem. I look forward to it.

Thank you.

Oliver O'Toole stretching the truth.

The world has gone mad.

Last night, you weren't above spying, so I assumed it was just part of your repertoire.

Rita volunteered.

That's kind of her, but she truly cannot dance.

Yes, I did catch a glimpse, but she can't always be that bad.

They asked her to leave her own prom.

Sighing: Ahh...

Oliver, why don't you just ask one of your friends, or a neighbor?

I don't want a nice lady. I want you.

Oh.

W-what I mean is that you and I have danced before, and you are not entirely without grace.

Tsk. Well, be still my heart.

I would very much appreciate it, Ms. Mclnerney.

Okay, Oliver.

I will.

[Cell phone chirps]

Okay, time to cr*ck the case of the lady doctor and the cowboy.

Yeah, we have a full day of research ahead of us.

Or not.

We have Marie's address.

We do? When did that happen?

Just now.

World health just got back to me.

Dr. Marie Moore, M.D., Ph.D.

1442 South Crescent place.

Hmm.

♪

Rita: Wow.

That sure looks like a happy home.

Like, really happy.

Oliver: I must agree.

It is the vision of domestic bliss.

But it's not up to us to decide what's best for Marie, she's the rightful owner of the letter.

Alright. Well, then, if we're gonna deliver this, we'll do so with our eyes open, fully aware of the consequences.

My eyes are open, but I still can't see very much.

Well, I think I can!

Norman!

What's weird is that you look like you do that all the time.

Okay, I see kid art on the fridge.

Marie twirling a laughing child.

Oh! There's a golden retriever. His tail's waggin'.

All that's missing is a basket of kittens.

Oh, wait. There it is.

Okay. A man's entered.
That must be Patrick.

Okay, I get it.

This could cause her a lot of pain and interfere with an eight-year-old happy marriage.

I don't want that on my conscience.

And yet, we're legally obligated to deliver it at this point.

Insufficient postage?

The stamp was damaged, and it's against regulations, if postage is due.

Genius.

So then what?

♪

Back again?

There's been a complication.

What'd I tell you about that girl?

What girl?

♪

I'd forgotten about this letter.

[Hoke scoffs] Don't bet on it.

Why don't you go get us a coffee, Hoke?

[Hoke grunts]

So you couldn't find Marie?

Actually, we did find her, but we found out, in the eight years since the letter was written, that Marie appears to still be married.

Also...

Has a little boy.

[Chuckles sadly]

Which is why you returned it to sender.

If we assumed too much...

No.

No, I appreciate it.
You did the right thing.

Could've caused her a lot of trouble, too, if he'd gotten a hold of it.

[He sighs]

I'm sorry I wrote it at all.

I just feel sorry she spent all those years, thinking I never wanted to see her again, 'cause...

You could write her a new letter.

Nah. I lost. He won.

He's smart, educated.

A good match.

The only thing I ever had on him was height.

I was a few inches taller than him, but he was always the one she looked up to.

I never could've competed with that.

But thanks.

Yeah.

[Sam sighs]

What do they call that?

Closure?

[Chuckles]

♪

Hmph! Hmm-mm. [Chuckles]

Oh, I can't believe it.

She's still here reading about you?

About me?

What do you mean, about me?

[Laughs]

Y... your book.

It's about you, right?

The Duchess.

Rita/Renita. That's you!

And you disguised Norman as Mr. D'Lorman.

[Quiet gasp]

Oh...

Oh, no.

Oh, no!

I did... I didn't mean to do that.

Oh, how could I not see that?

Cora! Cora...

I need my book back.

Not on your life.

Actually, I, um...

I need all of my books back.

I don't want anyone reading any more of it.

Not... not ever.

How come?

I mean, not that I've read any of it, but how come?

Uh...

I guess, uh...

I guess it's just not ready to be read at all.

Are you kidding?

Nobody writes like this!

Read this right here.

[Reluctant gasp] Okay.

Shane: "As mister..." [Sighs]

"...D'Lorman towered over the helpless duchess his eyes seared into her heart like a branding iron from heaven."

Yep. Nobody writes like this.

"He towered over her..."

Oliver...

Uh, what did Sam say about Patrick?

He said that he was taller than he was, but the guy that I saw with Marie was just as tall, if not taller.

Are you saying...

That wasn't Patrick.

[Knocking]

Hi. We're from the United States post office.

Are you Marie Moore?

Yes.

Is this your, uh, husband?

Um, that's my brother.

He was always the tallest in the family.

That's Patrick.

He left us.

We just weren't right for each other.

We're very sorry.

Thank you.

You said you have a letter for me?

Well, um...

Not exactly.

It was destroyed in a fire, but, uh, we do have the next best thing.

Rita?

[Takes a breath]

"Dear Marie...

It was incredible seeing you again..."

"...but you are my land, my water my sky You always will be So whatever you decide be happy.. And know that you are loved And if you ever want to come back there will always be a place waiting for you with stars above your head and star lilies at your feet and a tree for you to climb, with a great view of our Mountain."

[Sighs]

"Love always..."

Wow.

[Chuckles]

[Sniffs]

I always wondered about that day, if he'd changed his mind.

I guess it just took him two days, it just took me eight years to find out.

He's still there.

We met him during the course of our investigation.

He seems well.

And he's not married.

I know what you're thinking.

I should just run out of here and drive all the way to Evergreen and jump into his arms like...

[Laughs] Like...

Like a heroine in a romance novel.

Maybe at some point, we could've made it work, but too much time has passed.

You know, Marie, Mr. O'Toole was just saying to me the other day something about time.

Weren't you?

"To everything there is..."

There is, um...

A season, of course.

And a time to every purpose under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to plant, and a time to reap what you have planted.

Could it be, doctor...

Marie.

Marie, what if...

All that you ever shared with Sam was just planting something for the future... a future that neither of you could have predicted, but somehow your love prepared you for?

What if...

It's time for you to reap all of that now, when you seem to need it more than ever?

Do you believe in soul mates?

Oh...

Yes.

You do?

♪

I married Patrick...

But...

But Sam was your soul mate.

Maybe so.

Maybe it's time to find out.

You were gonna build me a log cabin around here, weren't you?

[Sam chuckles]

Wow. You look even better than you sounded on the phone.

So do you.

This is, uh... this is crazy, huh?

Yeah.

But... but good crazy.

Uh, why... why did you want to meet out here?

Well, you remember the last time we took a walk here?

There was something I wanted to show you.

We just never got there.

♪

[Marie gasps]

[Chuckles] When...?

I broke ground the day you left for college.

Worked on it every day since.

Well, you wanna see it?

Yeah!

♪

[Laughs]

♪

Maybe there's something there you can put in your book, huh?

Everybody's love story is different, Norman, and sometimes, they just take time.

A lot of time.

Cheer up, Rita.

There's a time to write stories and there's a time to live your own.

And a time to dance.

Yes. A time to dance.

♪

[Exhales tensely]

This is a big mistake.

I assure you, Ms. Mclnerney, you will soon discover the benefits of recreational dance to your health and your sense of well-being, but will you be able to last a full hour without your precious Internet?

Ha, ha. Very funny.

[Chuckles]

♪

They're all so good!

I-I don't think I can do this.

Of course you can.

Give me your hand.

What?

♪

Don't look down.

♪ ♪