02x03 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Truth Be Told

[bunniefuu]

[♪]

[Indistinct shouting]

Delta, bravo, report.

Victor 5.

[Chopper blades b*ating loudly]

Chopper's all yours. It's nasty out there.

You'd better watch your six.

I need you to mail this for me.

Hold on. Wait.

Is that who I think it is?

Yeah.

Let's go!

[♪]

Move out! Move out!

Prepare for lift-off.

[♪]

Boy: Hey, Phoebe!

That crummy ribbon's falling apart.

Give it up already!

[Other kids snickering]

Come on, lib, let's go back inside.

♪ Ahh, ha! ♪
♪ Oh, yeah, baby ♪
♪ like a fool I went and stayed too long ♪
♪ now I'm wondering if your love's still strong ♪
♪ whoo, baby ♪
♪ here I am ♪
♪ signed, sealed, delivered ♪
♪ I'm yours ♪
♪ mm ♪
♪ then that time I went and said goodbye ♪
♪ now I'm back and not ashamed to cry ♪
♪ whoo, baby ♪
♪ here I am ♪
♪ signed, sealed, delivered I'm yours ♪

Good morning.

Morning.

♪ Here I am did you have a nice weekend?

Oh, yes, very nice.

And you?

Yes. I did.

Well, good!

Good.

So, what have you got there?

Oh, Oliver sent me to get this from the terminal annex.

Oh. Well, they look pretty terminal.

Most of them are just crumbling to ashes.

Well, this is a job for the Postables, right?

Right!

I mean, we really do make a good team, don't we?

"We," as in you and Oliver and Shane and... uh-oh!

It's Shane's birthday today.

Oh, right.

I forgot to get her a present.

Hey! Maybe we could go in on something...

Together.

Oh, we could do that.

Or... or with Oliver.

Oliver likes to go in on... stuff, right?

Right.

[♪]

Now, in the course of your orientation as postal trainees, has anyone explained to you the concept of the "dead letter" yet?

See, I feel it's one of the most important...

[door opens]

Oh!

Two of my colleagues right here!

This is Rita and Norman.

What's this?

Oh, that's a "dark of night award" for postal service going above and beyond the call of duty.

This was awarded to my grandfather, a great man, Chester Stanley O'Toole.

There's been an O'Toole in the postal service since 1787.

Oliver's great-great-grandfather was a pony express rider.

"Mad dog O'Toole." I have his whip around here somewhere.

As long as there's been a post office, there has been an O'Toole delivering mail.

Even these?

Yes. Yes! Even the fire-damaged.

Now, it is a very busy Monday.

Let's see you off to passports, everyone.

Thank you very much.

Hi.

Thank you.

Bye! [Rita chuckles]

And, as I mentioned, don't forget to write.

How did all these get b*rned?

They were damaged while in the care of a former postal carrier, who is now a former smoker as well.

Can't believe I'm gonna say this, but these actually seem impossible.

With God and the U.S. postal service, nothing is impossible, Norman.

Now, just as soon as Ms. Mclnerney arrives, which should be just about...

Now...

Just about...

Oh. Sorry.

Uh...

Now.

[Chuckling] Where is she?

Hmm.

[♪]

Morning!

Hey, hazel.

Where did that swing come from?

It was an early birthday gift.

From...?

Never mind!

Mm-hmm... [giggles]

Well, Happy Birthday!

You got a card from your mother and your insurance company and...

Who is Steve?

I'll take those.

Thank you very much.

Goodbye, hazel.

Save me some cake!

Steve.

[Chuckles]

Wow.

[♪]

[Gasps]

Oh, wow. That's amazing!

It's a new chemical solution I've been working on.

What do we have so far, Norman?

Not much, just a few words here and there, like "here," and "there."

I think I have a piece of a phone number here.

Put it over there.

Oh, well, let me just clear all this off.

What is all this? It looks like...

Sand?

Yeah. It fell out of the...

It fell out of the envelope!

Oh!

I have a cousin who's a geologist and the last word in soil.

Another cousin?

Cornell. Yeah, he wrote a scientific bestseller...

"sands of many lands."

Oh, well, make the call, Norman.

[Chuckles]

[♪]

Huh.

Hmm.

[♪]

Ah. Good morning, everyone.

Rita: Happy Birthday!

Shane: Thank you! I'm sorry I'm late.

It was such a beautiful spring morning I just couldn't bear to leave my front porch.

Well, it is a great day to be... older.

Thank you, Norman.

In honor of your birthday we'd like you to be our guest this evening for dinner at the mailbox grille.

It's the Monday night prime rib postal special.

I'd love that.

What do we have here?

These are the b*rned letters that we recovered from the terminal annex.

And hardly any of them can be salvaged.

We have one that hasn't completely crumbled, but all we have are a few words, a partial date, and some numbers.

Well, we've started with less. Right?

I'll just get my laptop and we'll... oh, no.

Oh... no....

No, no, no, no, no, no!

No, no, no, no, no!

[♪]

Excuse me!

Ahem. That's... mine.

That's my card.

Oh! I thought it fell off a cart. Here.

Happy Birthday... Shane?

Yes.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Mm-hmm.

Oh, Shane?

♪ come back, Shane! ♪

Really?

[Laughs]

Could you direct me to the D.L.O.?

Oh, sure! That's my department.

Oh.

Does Oliver O'Toole still work there?

Oh, yes. He's right in through...

[♪]

Well, that was... Oliver.

It's okay.

Could you just give him a message?

Of course.

Tell him... [sighs]

Tell him his dad needs to talk to him.

It's important.

His... um...

That's...

That's you?

Yeah.

Ah!

I'll give you my number.

Um...

Could... could...

Oh.

Thanks.

I'm staying at the mesa motor inn.

This is the number.

He can call anytime.

The sooner, the better.

And it looks like Steve's waiting for a call, too.

[Chuckles]

[Laughing]

Happy Birthday.

Thank you.

Again. [Laughs]

As a matter of fact...

[♪]

Oliver?

Oliver?

Your father asked me to tell... nothing he has to say could possibly interest me.

Well, it must be important.

He came all the way from...

Where is he from?

I don't know, but he needs to go back there.

Rita? Norman?

Shall we catch Ms. Mclnerney up to speed?

Oh, well, we have a pretty crispy envelope addressed to Phoebe "a" -something.

Last name contains the letters "M-I," and the rest is b*rned.

Here's what we've got so far.

"Dear Phoebe..." burnt part, burnt part.

"...am a friend of your ...T-h-e-r, Randy."

Randy must be her father.

And then it mentions "liberty, the new...... Uppy."

Could be puppy. Could be guppy.

I'm going with dog. What else?

We may have a phone number, only three numbers, but it's the best part so far.

"When..." Something.

"...ready to hear the truth, call me anytime..." something "877."

I wonder what the "truth" is.

Whatever it is, they've been waiting at least two years to hear it, so there's no time to waste.

May be something with the puppy.

I can check dog licenses issued two years ago with the name "liberty."

Rita, please continue your restoration using Norman's... what is it called again?

I call it "Norman Dorman's revelation solution."

Excellent.

Meanwhile, Norman and I are off to follow a lead at the golden school of mines.

You're driving to golden?

Somebody stuffed the envelope with sand.

We're having it analyzed.

Sand. Huh.

"Call me when you're ready to hear the truth, but in the meantime here's some... sand"?

Sadly, there are choices people make every day for which there are no explanations.

Norman?

Oliver: So, you say Cornell is your... cousin?

When you're in foster care, you have a lot of cousins.

Cornell was the smartest.

He knows everything there is to know about dirt.

Maybe because he and I got our faces pushed into it so much by the big kids.

You know, uh...

"Norman Dorman's revelation solution" is quite an accomplishment.

Very proud of you.

I was thinking, uh, if we have time, maybe I could show you something just up the street.

It's pretty close. It shouldn't take long.

Cornell: Okay!

I think we've narrowed it down, and your letter, or at least your sand, is from the middle east.

Specifically, an area around Afghanistan or Pakistan.

I'm guessing your letter writer is a soldier.

[♪]

Listen to this.

It says, "I know you must have a lot of questions."

And then down here...

"but I can't put it in a letter."

Oh, it sounds so serious.

This is ridiculous.

The animal protection society has a server from the 20th century.

This is going to take forever!

You know what? Let's go.

Okay.

[♪]

Ah!

Good morning.

Shane Mclnerney on official United States postal service business.

Um, could we speak with the supervisor on duty, please?

Norman: When I was eight, my school came here on a field trip.

We learned all about sitting bull and Annie oakley and buffalo bill.

Is there a reason why we came here today?

[Sighs] Friday night.

Friday night, Rita told me that she loved me.

Oh, my goodness! And what did you say?

Nothing.

You... stood there and did nothing?

Oh, no, I did something.

Rita: And then...

He kissed me.

He kissed you? Norman?

Yeah.

Wow. How was it?

Oh... it was...

Perfect.

And then what?

Well...

Norman: And then I asked her if she was hungry and she said yes, so we went to the leaning tower of pizza and had the "gladiator special" with extra sausage.

So? How was it?

Well, you know...

The crust is always a little crunchy.

[Oliver sighs]

But when it was over, we just... stood there.

I... I didn't know if he was going to kiss me good night or if I was supposed to kiss him, so we just sort of just waved and said goodbye.

Parrot: Goodbye!

Goodbye!

I'm happy for you, Norman, but you don't seem very happy.

Well, I had this five-year plan, and I feel like I just jumped to year four in, like, three minutes.

Love can't be scheduled.

It has to find its own time.

Really?

'Cause at this rate, we could be engaged by Thursday.

Shane: Men are funny, Rita.

Sometimes you don't think that they care at all, and then they surprise you.

They kiss you on the spur of the moment.

Or you don't hear from them for years, and then they write you a letter.

Or they show up at your house, out of the blue, and leave furniture on your porch.

Wow! Who would do something like that?

Uh...

Ah! Hi.

Norman: Some people are just bigger than life, you know?

Rita's like that.

She's always following her dreams.

She dreamt of being "miss special delivery," and then she was.

I imagine you dreamed of kissing Rita, and you did.

Ah...

But what do I do now?

Am I ready for marriage? Am I ready for children?

What kind of father am I gonna be if I never had a father myself?

I wouldn't worry about that.

What color do we paint the kitchen?

What if she has different taste in furniture than I do?

Maybe it's a little early to buy furniture.

Maybe it is a bit early to start buying furniture...

Huh.

Didn't Rita write a romance novel?

Renita Hayweather: Frontier duchess.

Did you read it?

She wouldn't let me.

Perhaps it's time.

You might find it instructive.

Rita: So what should I do about Norman?

Well, just be yourself, take it day by day.

You never want a man who rushes right into a new relationship.

I don't think Norman's ever had an old relationship.

I meant, if he's not ready for the next step, then he's not ready.

But you know he's interested, because he gave you that swing... that kiss.

He gave you that... kiss.

That must mean something. Right?

Wow. You know so much about men.

[Sighs] We'll see.

Ah. Thank you very much.

Goodbye.

Parrot: Goodbye!

[Laughing]

Goodbye, goodbye.

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. Goodbye!

[Hum of chatter, music]

The cauliflower salad looks good.

Do you like cauliflower?

Oh. I like all the cruciferous vegetables.

Oh.

You know, I... I was thinking...

Um, maybe sometime we could get together and...

And talk about that thing that we talked about last Friday.

Oh. Uh... what part of what we talked about do you want to talk about?

I'm not sure.

We should talk about that.

I'd love to.

Oh, good.

[Sighs of relief]

Hey, whatever happened to that book that you were writing?

My romance novel?

Is that what it was?

Mm-hmm.

Huh.

I love my porch swing.

Oh. Good.

I had to install it in the dark.

I was worried it might not be completely level.

You know, uh, it does tilt a little bit.

Maybe you could come take a look?

Oh, sure.

I can stop by before work. Tomorrow morning, perhaps?

Well, sure. That would work.

[Shane laughs] Oliver!

You didn't have to...

Oh, I didn't.

[Chuckles] Then who did?

What is he doing here?

I may have mentioned that we would be celebrating my birthday here tonight.

Honestly, Ms. Mclnerney!

I apologize for crashing the party, but I need to talk to... you need to leave.

Oliver.

The last time we spoke, I made it perfectly clear you are not welcome in my life.

Things can change, Oliver.

The past never does.

Please leave.

[♪]

Don't take too long.

Shane has my number.

Cornell thinks our letter-writer is a soldier in Afghanistan.

But who did he send it to?

Shane and I spent the entire afternoon going through the animal protection records.

Who knew there were so many dogs named "liberty" in the Denver area?

And not one of them is registered by anyone whose last name begins with "m-I."

Wait.

What were the letters on the envelope again?

Phoebe a. Mi...

A. Mi...

Phoebe..

[Together] Ami...?

Oh!

How are the clams?

Oliver.

Hmm?

Do you want to talk about it?

Ahem. Not tonight. Not on your birthday.

Oliver! Shane!

We think we know who Phoebe is, and you are not going to believe it.

[Gasps]

[♪]

We thought the envelope was addressed to a Phoebe "m-I..." somebody.

Mitchell, maybe.

Milton. Miller. Miyaki.

And we thought that this "a" might be her middle initial, but what if it's not her middle initial?

What if her last name begins with "a".

"A-m-I..."

Rita: And when we looked through the pet registrations, there was a dog named "liberty" that belonged to a family whose last name began with "a-m-I."

And Cornell said that our writer is probably a soldier in Afghanistan.

Oh, my gosh!

Rita: Two years ago. Remember?

"I knew your... T-h-e-r, Randy."

It's not "your father," it's "your mother."

Good heavens.

Could this be lieutenant Amidon's little girl?

The lieutenant Amidon?

Reporter: That's right, Bob.

This was the image we saw nearly two years ago when 12-year-old Phoebe Amidon tied a yellow ribbon around the tree in her grandfather's yard, awaiting news of her mother.

Lt. Randilynn Amidon went missing while serving with American troops in Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border.

But now, 22 months later, with Amidon still missing and the circumstances of her disappearance still sketchy, concern has turned to suspicion and controversy.

Recently leaked details of Amidon's service record reveal a previous inquiry to determine whether the Denver native had once gone a.W.O.L.

To provide medical supplies and support to an Afghan family later determined to have ties to a t*rror1st cell.

And now, with time passing and no answers in sight, this "welcome back" ribbon is a sad reminder of the reputation lieutenant Amidon may never return home to defend.

I remember this.

At first, everyone thought she was a hero, but then the rumors started.

They thought maybe she was k*lled or captured, or that she got scared and ran away.

I never believed that.

The Pentagon would neither confirm nor deny.

No one ever really knew the truth.

Until now.

This could be big, Oliver.

Rita, see how much of the letter you can recreate.

Uh, Norman, please get the original together somehow and ready for delivery tomorrow.

Good work, everyone.

Quite good.

Huh...

It's only off-balance when you sit on it.

But that's the point.

Who cares if it's balanced when you're not sitting on it, right?

Ah.

It's straight again.

Must be what it takes.

Two people.

[Footsteps approach] Wow!

Yesterday, it's a swing, now you got somebody to swing with.

Morning, hazel.

I'm guessing you're Steve?

Uh, no.

I'm Oliver O'Toole. Your comrade in postal service.

We work together.

You sure do.

Ahem. I got a box here from your mother.

The traditionally late birthday macaroons.

Thank you very much.

Goodbye, hazel.

Okay. Bye.

Steve is just somebody I...

An old friend, somebody I worked with at the U.S.P.S. In D.C.

A former friend.

Hardly even a friend at all now.

Ah.

Speaking of old friends...

As you know, my relationship with my father is none of your business.

However, such details never seem to stand in the way of your curiosity, so I will make this simple.

My parents were divorced when I was 13...

The first divorce ever in the O'Toole family line.

I remained with my father.

My mother, a, uh...

Lovely but restless spirit, left and married a man I never met.

No wonder you...

No wonder what?

Well...

Your mother left you in search of adventure, and your wife left you in search of something.

It must be hard for you to imagine any woman in your life actually...

Staying in your life.

I thought we were talking about my father.

Right!

So, what happened?

Well...

My mother left after an argument one night.

One of those blow-ups from which two people can never return once a line has been crossed.

I didn't hear what it was about, but I did catch my father's last words to her...

"if you can't do this my way..."

"Then it's over."

Then I heard the door slam, and I never saw her again.

Never?

My mother and her new husband traveled extensively, and at first, wherever they went, she sent a postcard.

Uh, but then my father sold our house, we moved away, and the postcards stopped.

It finally dawned on me that he'd never left a forwarding address.

He'd managed to cut her out of my life completely.

One Friday...

When I was 17, he announced that she had d*ed that Monday.

I'm so sorry, Oliver.

Well...

Well, off to work.

Oliver!

Wait a second.

Keeping your mother away seems so...

Mean.

Your father didn't seem that sort of man at all.

Yes, well, you'd be...

Surprised what that man is capable of.

In fact, the last straw before I ended our yes, relationship...

Was...

Was unspeakable, actually.

Go ahead.

Speak it.

After more than 200 years of family tradition...

He left the U.S. postal service to join...

To join... the circus?

A monastery?

He took a position...

At an overnight delivery service that I...

He works for FedEx?

Yes.

Last I heard, he was a senior expediter somewhere on the east coast.

I have no idea what he's doing in Denver.

I do not care.

Oliver.

I'll never know my dad's side of my parents' divorce 'cause I waited too long to ask, and now it's too late.

Call him.

Find out what he has to say.

He's in room 204 at the mesa motor inn.

[Dialing]

Mr. O'Toole's room, please.

[Sighs angrily]

Voicemail.

I abhor voicem... do it!

Yes. This is Oliver.

I received your message.

[Stammering]

Mr. O'Toole. This is Shane.

Oliver would like you to meet him...

[quietly] No. No!

At 11:00, at...

At...

The...

[Exhales]

Playground at Washington park.

At the playground in Washington park.

Thank you very much and have a nice day.

There!

That wasn't so hard.

You'll be glad you did this.

[Chuckle]

I'm a little nervous...

'Cause there's a lot in here that I sort of...

Borrowed from my own life.

Good! That'll be helpful.

Interesting, I mean. Interesting.

Oh. Well... [laughs]

[Thud]

Oh. Wow. That's impressive.

[Chuckling]

[Door creaks open]

Rita, Norman.

We are flying solo today.

Oliver had some family business come up that...

[phone rings]

Oliver O'Toole's office.

No, I'm sorry, he isn't. Can I take a message?

[Confused laugh]

I'm sorry, could you repeat that, please?

Oh, uh... ahem.

2:00 should be fine.

I... I'll let him know right away.

Can you tell me how...

Hello?

[Shane hangs up]

What is it?

Um...

Uh, you two are going to have to go to the Amidon house without me.

I...

Have to find Oliver.

[Oliver sighs wearily]

[♪]

Ms. Mclnerney.

Why aren't you...?

Oliver, we need to talk.

Now? I mean, uh... He's gonna be here... your father isn't coming.

There was a call for you at the D.L.O.

Your father...

Passed away.

Last night.

[♪]

The call came about an hour ago.

They didn't leave any details, just that your father had d*ed last night, and they needed to speak to you immediately.

Who would... Who would call and leave a message like that?

A lawyer.

She said that your father had left instructions to contact you when he d*ed.

She wants to see you at 2:00.

Oliver.

Is there...

Is there something that can I do to help?

Do you...

Is there somebody you need to call?

Uh...

There's nothing to do now.

You should, uh, go on back to work.

Will you be okay?

Mm-hmm.

Excuse me, uh, sir?

We're looking for Phoebe Amidon.

I'm her grandfather, and I'm sorry, we don't give interviews anymore.

Oh, we're not reporters.

We're from the united states postal service.

We have a letter for Phoebe that we recovered from the dead letter office.

You couldn't just mail it?

Some letters deserve special attention.

Is it from...

No.

It's not from your daughter, sir.

But we think it's about her.

[School bell rings]

Yeah, she'll be right down.

Norman: Thank you.

Sorry to stare, but you look awfully familiar.

Really?

Nobody ever says that.

He just looks like Norman.

No, no.

I'm sure I've seen you before.

Uh, I used to work downtown at family services.

Were you ever a social worker?

No. But I had one.

Mr. Benatto.

A foster kid!

Yep!

[Laughs]

I had the cubicle right next to Chuck Benatto.

We used to share some files.

Wow! Small world, huh?

It's so small!

[Laughing]

Well, you seem to have done all right.

Yes.

He did.

You guys do this a lot?

Oh, yes. We handle the tough cases.

I can't imagine going through something like this at her age.

We're a m*llitary family.

I was in the air force.

Her dad was k*lled in action in kabul.

We know what it's like to sacrifice for your country, and for a kid, it's so much harder.

Grandpa, is everything okay?

Yeah, no, everything's fine, honey.

These folks just have an old letter they need to deliver to you in person.

Hi, Phoebe. I'm Rita. This is Norman.

We're from the post office.

We're really sorry, but this letter for you was in a fire a couple of years ago, so it took a long time for us to get it to you.

We did the best we could, but I'm afraid there's not much left to read.

We analyzed some sand that got in there... there was sand inside?

Is it from my mother?

I wish it were.

Whoever it was, they cared enough to write to you.

It's always nice to know something like that...

That somebody out there cares.

Well... we did it.

Yeah, we did.

Rita! Norman!

Boy: Deserting, Amidon?

That figures.

Norman: Hey!

Cool it.

My grandpa says you guys are some sort of postal detectives?

Yeah. That's exactly what we are.

Well, could I hire you to figure out who wrote the letter?

Oh... um...

Shane: Norman! Rita!

Oh, it's just right through the doors.

Is that...?

Phoebe and her grandfather.

The Phoebe?

We found her!

That's great.

Uh, what brings her here now?

We told her we would help her find who wrote the letter.

I mean, we do have wide powers of postal discretion.

Fine.

What's going on?

Oliver's father showed up yesterday, out of the blue, and Oliver wasn't very happy about it, but he decided to meet him today anyway...

And then he... d*ed.

Oliver?

His father, Norman.

Well, what happened?

Nobody knows.

It's so weird.

24 hours ago, I was standing in this very spot with him and...

Now he's gone.

♪ Come gather round, people ♪
♪ wherever you roam ♪
♪ and admit that the waters around you have grown ♪
♪ and accept it that soon ♪
♪ you'll be drenched to the bone ♪
♪ if your time to you is worth saving ♪
♪ then you'd better start swimming ♪
♪ or you'll sink like a stone ♪
♪ oh, the times they are a-changin' ♪

Watch me, daddy!

Hey.

Sorry I'm late.

What are you doing here?

You called and left a message.

I just got it a half an hour... but y-y-you're...

You're... you're alive.

You're not dead.

Ah.

You heard about that.

I'm sorry.

I wanted you to hear it from me.

I'm fine.

But your father did die last night, son.

You've lost a father you never knew you had.

What are you talking about?

Joe: I know this is a lot to take in.

This is not the way that I wanted you to find out, but I heard that he was dying, and...

I thought he might try to contact you and you'd...

Well, you'd be as shocked as you are now.

I didn't want you to go through this alone.

Is my mother really...?

Yes. Yes, your mother is your mother.

And my name is on the birth certificate because I was there when you were born.

Then who is my...

It's Harvey.

Harvey Schmidtz.

Harvey?

The man she...

Yeah.

Married after... yeah.

[Heavy sigh] Oh...

I know you've always blamed me for your mother leaving us, but...

There's more to the story, Oliver.

[Sighing]

I was very much in love with your mother when we got married, but we were so... young.

Not long after that...

She had an affair.

At first all I could think about was...

The terrible mistake that she'd made, but...

But then you were born...

And I fell in love with you the moment I saw you, and I knew I'd have to forgive her.

And I did.

[Chuckles] I really did.

[Sighs]

But later, I found out that she...

She still had some kind of off-and-on thing going with the guy.

And by the time you were 13, it was more on than off.

I think she only stayed that long for your sake.

Are you trying to tell me that that knave, that scoundrel that she ran away with, that's my bi... my biological...

I'm... I'm a Schmidtz?

Not to me.

Not to your grandfather.

Not to a whole family of O'Tooles who helped me raise you to be the best man that you could be.

They all loved you.

But not enough to even tell me the truth, apparently.

None of them ever knew.

Except me.

[Sighs, deflating]

So...

The past does change after all, hmm?

Only the way you decide to look at it.

I have to go.

I'm supposed to see the lawyer at 2:00.

Would you like me to go with you?

No.

Okay.

But if you need to talk afterwards...

I'll be right here.

Phoebe: That's really pretty.

I never knew the post office had so much stuff.

Well, letters and boxes get lost, and then they come to us.

I bet you're really good at getting things back home.

We try really hard.

So the three close friends she had on base were Clay somebody, Molly Henderson, and George Parker.

Well, the handwriting's definitely male, so Molly is out.

George was wounded in action and transferred back to the U.S.

Before Randilynn went missing.

Which leaves Clay somebody.

And grandpa said he thinks Clay flew the helicopter for the medics.

Rita: Oh, wait!

The letter had half a word that we couldn't figure out, remember?

"...p-p-e-r." I thought maybe it was "pepper."

But maybe it was...

"chopper"? Clay was a chopper pilot.

Okay. We're going for Clay.

Oh! Found it.

Grade "a," fine-grain, Afghanistan sand.

Thanks.

Last time I was with my mom, we went to the zoo.

We ate peanut butter sandwiches and I drank water out of this.

My mom promised that every time she wrote a letter, she would send me some sand to put in here, and when it was full...

She'd be home.

Okay, so the best candidate is a helicopter pilot who served in Afghanistan at least two years ago, and that's not exactly narrowing things down.

Honey, I think maybe it's time we left.

They have work to do, and I have a medical appointment I have to keep.

Can I stay? Please?

Oh, honey, these folks have, uh...

No, it's okay!

We would love to have her, if you don't mind.

Norman?

We won't let her out of our sight, sir.

[♪]

I think she likes it!

Norman: Oh, it's a real page-Turner.

Rita: Hey, have you gotten to chapter six, where Renita meets Mr. D'Lorman at the better-than-ok corral, and he accidentally brands her?

Oh, yeah. Ouch.

Okay.

There'd better be a lot of paper in that printer 'cause I just found the name of every pilot in Randilynn's division.

Once it prints, we can start looking for all the "clays" and "Claytons" and cross-reference with helicopters. Any questions?

Yeah. What does...

"Bodice-bursting passion" mean?

Uh...

[Lets out a breath]

Hmm...

[Telephone rings]

Oliver O'Toole's office.

Where are you?

Thank you, uh, for coming.

I seem to be in need of a little, uh...

Moral support.

Of course.

Two fathers.

Wow. And you had no idea.

I suppose I'm expected to, uh...

Handle the arrangements.

Don't imagine he was a... a presbyterian.

Lawyer: Thank you for coming on such short notice.

I will keep this brief.

Sorry for your loss.

Nuts?

Okay. Ahem.

"Last night at 10:02 P.M. Singapore standard time, inventor and entrepreneur Harvey K. Schmidtz passed from this life into the next. In accordance with his wishes, his remains have been donated to the himalayan center for the scientific research and prevention of foot disease, and his estate is to be divided as he has written here... to the aforementioned research center, he assigns the patent to, and all profits from, his first invention... the self-cleaning shoe."

"To the 30 charities he has listed below, a bequest in the sum of $50,000 each."

"Each"?

And then there are the various tax arrangements, trusts and transfers, et cetera, of course.

All right, well, uh, thank you.

He finishes here with a personal note to you.

"To my only living relative, Oliver O'Toole, I leave my apologies. I may have run a get-rich-quick scheme or two in my life, but the only thing I ever actually stole was your mother from Joseph O'Toole. I can't do much about that now, but I can leave you everything I have left... the proceeds and patent to the only thing I ever invented that actually paid off. Be well, be happy, and remember... you never have enough money if all you have is money."

Ahem. Well, all right.

Well, I will need some signatures from you, Mr. O'Toole.

And a bank account number that the funds can be wired to.

It may take a day or two.

Will that work for you?

Um...

Uh...

I think Mr. O'Toole would like to know, how many funds we're talking about here?

Well, that will take some adding.

Are you in a hurry?

[Gravel crunching]

Remember the first time I ever got you to slide down that thing?

What were you? Three? Four?

I don't remember.

You climbed up to the top and then you just sat there.

Nothing we said... [Laughs] ...Could get you to slide down.

I have no memory of that.

Ah.

Well, how did it go?

I'm the owner of a company that converts perfectly good vintage vinyl records into decorative bowls and ashtrays.

[Laughs] So...

One of old Harvey's fly-by-night schemes actually came home to roost, huh? Wow.

So, what are you going to do with all that now?

You're not here to help me through this, are you?

That's not what this is about.

What?

We haven't spoken in 15 years.

Suddenly you show up when there's money involved?

We haven't spoken because you wouldn't see me.

Uh-huh.

That's more than 15 years of letters that I wrote to you.

All of them marked "return to sender."

I finally got the message, so I backed off, but I always figured that someday you would need me, and today is the day, and that's why I'm here.

I find that hard to believe.

I don't care about Harvey Schmidtz's money!

I think it's the least he could have done for you.

And believe me... [laughs]

I'm happy for you, Oliver.

I know what it takes to get by on a postal worker's salary.

At least I stayed at the post office, hmm?

But accepting Harvey's money means finding out the truth, and I came to tell it to you.

Why?

Because you're my son.

So it's acceptable for you to come back into my life, but you couldn't offer the same courtesy to my mother?

What are you talking about?

You moved us away, I never got another postcard from her.

She stopped sending them!

You never left a forwarding address.

I gave her our forwarding address!

What are you saying?

That she didn't want me?

Oliver...

I never said a bad word about your mother.

I never tried to turn you against her.

I did everything I could to help you hang on to whatever good memories you had, but...

She wasn't cut out to be a mother.

She wanted to have you, she did.

She just didn't want...

The responsibility that came with you.

Truth is, I married the wrong woman.

But if I hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten to be your father.

And being your father means everything to me.

And that's the truth.

[♪]

A father... [sighs]

Would have told the truth a long time ago.

No father would have done that to a little boy.

[♪]

[Sighing]

You think you're angry...

But the truth is, you're scared, and I don't blame you, son, but you'll get through this.

I just hate to see you get through it by yourself.

♪ Since you've been gone ♪
♪ since you've been gone ♪
♪ yeah... ♪

[♪]

So...

This morning, Oliver wakes up with one father and by the afternoon, he has another?

Right.

And he's dead.

But he left him a lot of money?

Right.

So, is Oliver having a good day or a bad day?

I had a bad day like that once.

I didn't have two fathers, but it did involve a couple of extra toes I didn't know about.

They're gone now.

I love learning new things about you.

[Phone rings]

This could be it.

Shane Mclnerney.

Yes! Thank you for calling me back.

Wow...

Three hamburgers.

That's pretty impressive.

Yeah, well, I don't eat lunch at school, so I'm usually pretty hungry now.

Right. I remember.

What do you mean?

Cafeterias.

Worst part of the day.

Whenever it came down to, um, having my food dumped on my head or going hungry, I always skipped lunch, too.

Yeah.

You know what got me through it?

What?

I just kept telling myself that...

Someday I'd do something really special, and anybody who ever made fun of me or... or hurt me would feel bad and wish they'd been nicer.

Been there.

You know what?

It made me work harder at being good at something.

Are you gonna finish that?

Shane: Thank you very much.

Oliver.

Is everything okay?

Am I to assume the young lady eating hamburgers with Norman and Rita is Phoebe Amidon?

Uh... yes.

We found her!

And good news!

We think we found the letter writer.

It's a captain Clay markham, and he volunteers three days a week up here at the V.A. Hospital.

Excellent, and why are we looking for the letter-writer if we've already delivered the letter?

Um...

Clay: And that's her?

Oliver: Yes.

And we were hoping... she was hoping for some answers.

This is still the m*llitary.

Even if I knew the truth about what happened, I'd be court-martialed if I told it.

But your letter...

You wanted Phoebe to know the truth.

Not about the mission.

About her mom.

After Randy disappeared, there was so much noise, there was so many people claiming that they knew the truth about her, but none of them really knew her at all.

But you fly a hundred missions with someone and you spend a couple of hours holding somebody's guts together while they sew them up, or you drop your friend off in a hot zone, wondering if you're ever gonna see them again...

And she gives you the thumbs up?

[Sad chuckle]

That's when you really know who somebody is.

And I wanted Randy's little girl to know that...

So I wrote the letter.

But...?

I wrote this almost two years ago to encourage a little girl.

But now that little girl is a teenager...

With a lot of questions.

[♪]

She wanna Norman to be there with her for this.

No child should have to do this alone.

Must be like losing her mother all over again.

Clay: Your mother wasn't just a medic.

She was part of a very special group of soldiers who were trained to go into villages and make friends with the Afghan women and children.

[♪]

[Laughing]

See, she had to try to get information from the Afghan people who wouldn't talk to the men.

She had to make some very difficult last-second decisions, because some of those people that she made friends with could turn out to be enemies, and sometimes the enemies turned out to be friends...

Tried to make it look like your mother did something wrong, making friends with those folks...

But she didn't.

Then she disappeared.

She volunteered to, uh, rescue some injured soldiers who were in a place that nobody was supposed to know about.

She made me promise that if I made it out alive and she didn't, that I would write you a letter, tell you what happened.

She told me to put some sand in it.

And so... what happened?

Was s-she captured, or...

Was she k*lled?

Phoebe...

With everything that happened on the ground that night...

I don't know how anyone could have survived.

S-so...

You're saying she's dead?

I don't believe she's alive.

You may never know the whole story, but the one thing that you can know is that your mother volunteered for a very dangerous mission, to help somebody else, even though she knew that the whole thing could go wrong.

Was... was she scared?

Yes. She was.

But she went anyway.

Because that's what heroes do.

The last thing she said to me... do you know what it was?

That she loved me?

[♪]

Hey. Hey!

[Car doors shutting]

I am so sorry, Phoebe. There's no excuse for that.

It happens a lot.

I guess I can make it easier on everybody and just stop putting it up at all.

I wish there was more we could do, Phoebe.

I don't think there's anything left to do.

I never got to finish your book, but I really liked it.

I hope it has a happy ending.

I'll make sure it does.

Thank you, guys.

Stay cool.

[Bird singing]

[Dog panting]

Let's go.

[Sighing] Phoebe looks like she's grown up just since this morning.

"Oh, grief hath changed me since you saw me last."

Yes.

That's what it is.

It's grief.

What was that you quoted, Oliver?

Uh, Shakespeare.

My grandfather always said, "when an O'Toole has nothing left to say, let Shakespeare speak for him."

Then again, I suppose I'm not an O'Toole after all.

[Sighs]

[♪]

Oliver?

We're really sorry to hear about you losing your... well, finding your...

There is a chapter Renita hayweather: Frontier duchess where something like this happens to the Duke of salt lake city.

His trusty steed, Zephyr, turns out to be a... a different steed.

But it all works out in the end.

Thank you, Rita.

[Deep breath]

I guess, if you think about it...

You got two dads.

Some people don't even get one.

Norman?

From what I saw today...

I think you'll make a great father.

Good night, Oliver.

Good night.

[Zipping up bag]

[Footsteps recede]

[Door opens]

[Sighs]

[♪]

[♪]

Ice cream always makes me feel better.

Mm. Me too.

Wow, we just have so much in common.

[Chuckles]

Your book...

Hmm?

It has a happy ending?

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

But I'm thinking about rewriting it.

Why?

I just want to make sure that I get it right.

[♪]

I have an idea for our first date.

Really?

What are you doing tomorrow morning?

Um...

[♪]

You haven't left yet, have you?

[Sighs] I...

I just don't feel good about leaving you alone.

Don't worry.

I'm getting used to it.

That's not who you are.

"Who I am."

[Exhaling deeply] Wow.

I'm guessing your faith has been shaken a little bit today.

[Snickers softly]

But I know you.

And your faith is in something far greater than being an O'Toole, and you know where you need to go to find that again.

And whatever you think about your father...

Just remember how it felt when you thought that he had d*ed.

Oliver, in this moment, I want to walk over to you, put my arms around you, and hold you and tell you that everything is gonna be okay.

But I know that's not what you want right now.

Since when did what I want ever stop you, Ms. Mclnerney?

♪ And my home ♪
♪ through and through ♪
♪ and my work ♪
♪ always to do ♪
♪ and my dreams all come true ♪
♪ and my life ♪
♪ it was you ♪
♪ there's this question in my head ♪
♪ ringing louder every day ♪
♪ what am I still doing here anyway? ♪
♪ I don't feel sorry for myself ♪
♪ just think my time has come ♪
♪ I had my glory days... ♪

Shane: And you know where you need to go to find that again.

♪ I want to lay down ♪
♪ in the pages of our photographs... ♪

Joe: I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. Being your father means everything to me, and that's the truth.

[♪]

[Exhales heavily]

♪ ...and my work ♪
♪ always to do ♪
♪ and my dreams all come true ♪
♪ and my life ♪
♪ it was you ♪
♪ and I'd do it all again ♪
♪ send my heart back 50 years ♪
♪ though I knew one day ♪
♪ time would send me right back here ♪
♪ without you my standing stone ♪
♪ my ringer in the fight ♪
♪ I could go a hundred rounds ♪
♪ with you there in my sight ♪
♪ but now the bell is rung ♪
♪ and everyone went home ♪
♪ well, I was left to watch you fade... ♪

[Distant echo of children playing]

♪ Just wish I could have been beside you in there... ♪

Young Oliver: Watch me, daddy.

♪ ...and my home ♪
♪ through and through ♪
♪ and my work ♪
♪ always to do ♪
♪ and my dreams all come true ♪
♪ and my life ♪
♪ it was you ♪
♪ it was you ♪
♪ and my life ♪
♪ it was you ♪
♪ and my life ♪

[♪]

[Quietly] Oh, stupid thing!

What the Sam hill...

"what the Sam hill?"

Wow. You must really be upset.

Well...

I could have sworn I had this perfect.

I mean, you saw it.

Mr. O'Toole, you are such a...

Man.

And what is that supposed to mean, Ms. Mclnerney?

It means that you would rather take your anger out on a piece of wood than deal with a problem face-to-face.

And that's based upon your vast experience with men, of course, hmm?

Yeah. Oh, I've known a few.

Like "Steve"?

If you're trying to get a rise out of me, you'd do better sticking with the porch swing.

Love is hard work, Oliver.

I was always trying to find that balance between too much and too little, too high and too low.

We never get it perfect.

That doesn't mean we stop trying.

It seems to me that your father never stopped trying.

It was you who left him.

But he never left you.

Not until last night.

Oh.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Well...

Considering the things I said, I can't say I blame him.

I have no plans to leave.

If it matters.

It matters.

Do you know what I'd like to do?

Right now?

[Phone rings]

Oh, hey, Rita. What's up?

Oh. Hold on.

Yeah, I'll tell him.

Rita took a message for you at the D.L.O.

Your father called.

He left a forwarding address.

[Sighs deeply]

Rita?

[♪]

Mm-hmm.

Lib! Come back here! [Whistling]

Come on, girl!

[Barking]

Hey. It's you!

Look who we found.

Hey, girl.

Thanks.

What are you guys doing around here?

We brought you something.

Oh, wow.

[♪]

I think...

I think that every one of those grains of sand was a promise to do whatever she could to come home.

And you know she tried to keep that promise, right?

Yeah.

I think your mother was a very brave lady and I think you're gonna grow up to be just like her.

Thank you, Norman.

See you guys around?

Yep.

Stay cool.

[♪]

[Guitar strumming]

[♪]

Hello.

[Stops playing]

Hey!

What's all this?

Home!

FedEx has a great retirement plan, and, uh...

I miss the mountains.

I miss you.

Colorado's finest?

"Brewed with pure rocky mountain spring water."

I was, uh... [sighs]

Thinking about that slide in the park.

I told you I didn't remember it, but I did.

I remember thinking...

[Exhales deeply]

How scared I was.

I was too embarrassed to turn around and climb back down, and I was too scared to pull off and slide down.

So I just... I sat there.

And mama got so mad.

So mad.

Finally she said, "well...

"I guess we're just gonna have to leave you here.

Bye, Ollie."

She just walked away.

But...

But?

You just...

You sat down right on the ground...

And you said something, like...

Like...

"Take your time, Ollie. I'm not going anywhere."

I'm just afraid...

I won't know who I am if I'm not an O'Toole.

You know who you are.

You're Oliver. You're...

The guy who probably hasn't had a beer since... well, ever.

[Both chuckle]

I'm guessing you still don't have email.

And you're probably the best mail recovery expert in the business.

Actually, I know that for sure because the boys at FedEx always talk about you like you're some kind of postal legend.

They couldn't believe I was your dad!

You're kidding?

No, no.

They know who Oliver O'Toole is.

Who you are is...

The sum of all the choices that you make in this life.

It's about being taught to be honest and fair and excellent and kind and...

Deciding that you want to be those things.

Remember this?

"To thine own self be true..."

Oliver joins in: "And it must follow... as the night, the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."

Hamlet.

[Chuckles]

You're not wearing a ring.

I thought you were married.

I was.

She left.

So I guess we do have something in common.

[Both chuckle]

A couple of things.

Shane seems nice.

She's...

Very efficient.

[Laughing] Come on, O'Toole!

'Fess up!

What?

Hey!

It's me you're talking to.

I know.

I know.

[♪]

Hooray!

"Happy Birthday, Shan."

I ran out of frosting.

It was either that or "happy birthday."

[Laughs] I love it.

Thank you.

Norman and rita: Speech!

Yeah, speech!

Speech!

Hmm...

Mr. O'Toole?

Joe and Oliver: Yes?

[Rita laughs]

Help me out.

I... I need something profound.

Oh...

That's you.

Let's see. Uh...

"You never have enough money if all you have is money."

Shakespeare.

Schmidtz.

[Laughing]

Open this one first.

It's an abacus.

Norman!

Oh, I wasn't supposed to tell.

But you'll never guess what kind! Solar!

Aw, man. Ugh.

[Others laugh]

I love it already. Thank you, Norman.

Oh, actually...

Rita and I went in on it together.

Nice champagne.

Not exactly "brewed with pure rocky mountain spring water," though.

Well, I'm expanding my horizons.

[Chuckles]

Oh... I forgot.

I went back.

So did I.

O'Tooles never like to see a letter stay lost for long.

[♪]

[Cork pops loudly]

Oh!

[All laugh]

♪ ...and my dreams all come true ♪
♪ and my life ♪
♪ it was you ♪