03x14 - Marie's Secret

[bunniefuu]

["BRAND-NEW LIFE" PLAYING]

♪ There's a time for love
And a time for living ♪

♪ You take a chance
And face the wind ♪

♪ An open road
And a road that's hidden ♪

♪ A brand-new life
Around the bend ♪

♪ There were times ♪

♪ I lost a dream or two ♪

♪ I found the trail ♪

♪ And at the end was you ♪

♪ There's a path you take
And a path not taken ♪

♪ The choice is up to you
My friend ♪

♪ Nights are long
But you might awaken ♪

♪ To a brand-new life ♪

♪ Brand-new life ♪

♪ A brand-new life
Around the bend ♪

[♪♪♪]

Chin up.

A little to the left.

Okay, now just
a little happier.

Ah, that's perfect.

Now please,
don't move a muscle, huh?

[PHONE RINGS]
Ah! That's Bonnie.

Hello? Oh, hi, Bonnie.

Guess what?
I'm posing for a portrait.

Isn't that cool?
Samantha, please.

Yeah, it's a surprise
for my dad.

See, Angela's throwing him
this big party,

because he talked her
into starting her own agency,

and it's finally
making money.

Yeah, you know adults.
They have this gratitude thing.

Samantha, please.

Just a second.

He's not a painter.
He's an artist.

He's Greek.

And he's so temperamental.

Samantha, I cannot
work this way. Please!

He's doing it now.

Okay, well,
I'd better go too.

Okay, I'll talk to you later.
Bye.

It was a business call.

Oh, Christos,
it's beautiful.

The lines, the form,
the texture.

I just barely started.

Well, I know, but I can
visualize it in my mind's eye.

I used to paint by numbers.

They're back!
They're back!

Oh, no! Mother said she was
going to keep Tony out until 4.

Oh, no, it is 4.

They just pulled up front.

Estimated time
of arrival: now.

Thanks for the warning.

Christos, quick,
you've got to get out of here.

Samantha, go up and change.
I'm out of here!

Oh...
Oh, Christos, please,

could you just hurry it up
a little bit, please?

Okay. Okay. Okay!
Please just wait in the kitchen.

Okay.

Hi, everybody. Hi.

Where's Tony?
Well, I didn't know

whether or not
you'd have Christos out,

so I sent Tony around to the
kitchen to unload the groceries.

Pretty smart, huh?

No, I just sent Christos
into the kitchen.

No! Oh...
Yes!

Hi, Angela.

Got you that great
Egyptian shampoo you wanted.

Thank you.
You're welcome.

Oh, by the way,
there's a man in my kitchen.

A man?
Yeah.

You must be mistaken.
There's no man in the kitchen.

Oh, that man.

[LAUGHS]

That's not a man.
That's the...

Plumber!

Oh. Oh, you must be one of them
abstract plumbers.

Impressionist.
Oh.

All right, all right, the truth
is this is Christos Demos.

And he is an artist.
He's not a plumber.

And this is Tony Micelli,
my housekeeper.

Mr. Micelli.
Christos.

Christos is painting
a portrait...

of Jonathan

for Mother's birthday.

And it was supposed
to be a surprise.

Surprise, Mother.

Oh!

Well, what a wonderful gesture,
Angela.

I'm amazed that you could
come up with an idea like that.

Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.

How come I don't know anything
about this?

Well, Tony, don't take this
the wrong way,

but you've got
a big mouth.

How could I take that
the wrong way, Angela?

Come on, I can keep a secret
as good as the next guy.

Oh, yeah? You're the one
who just blabbed

about the man
in the kitchen.

Wait a minute.

Since I-- I let the cat
out of the bag,

what do you say we take a look
at the picture?

[ANGELA STAMMERS]

Well, we could do that,

but there is a very good reason
why we shouldn't.

Right, Christos?
Right.

The philosophers of ancient
Greece, they had an expression:

[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

"Never show an unfinished
treasure to a domestic."

[MOUTHING]

Domestic.
Yes.

Ah, well, you know,

funny you should mention
expressions,

because in Brooklyn
we got an expression too.

It goes like this--
Ah! No.

No, no, no, no.

Uh, maybe we should
head back to the city.

Nice to meet you,
Mr. Micelli.

Wait a minute. I used to know
a Micelli in Brooklyn.

Marie. Any relation?

My wife's name was Marie.

No kidding? I used to give her
art lessons.

Oh, no. Not my Marie.

She didn't take
art lessons.

Are you sure? Because this Marie
was quite talented

and very beautiful.

She had very long, dark hair,
and beautiful dark eyes.

And the smile, it would light up
the acropolis.

Hey, look, pal,

me and my wife were pretty
close, you know what I mean?

So if she was taking
art lessons,

I would have known
about it.

Well, it was
a long time ago.

Perhaps you are right.

Hey, Dad, what...

Oh, hi.

No, no, I was right.
That is the smile.

Hi, Tone.

Hi, Mone.

Hey, uh,
how was the circus?

Oh, it was okay.

Who was your date?

Some clown.

I left him there.

He'll be better off
in the long run.

So, what are you making?

Making pancakes.
Well, don't you think

they'll be kind of cold
by tomorrow morning?

They're not
for tomorrow morning.

They're for Tuesday.

We're having French toast
tomorrow morning.

Look, this is just
off the top of my head,

but, Tony, is something
troubling you?

That guy Christos
is bugging me, Mona.

Trying to tell me
I didn't know my own wife.

I mean, if she was taking
art lessons, Mona,

she would have
told me about it.

Yes, that's right, Tony.

I mean, Marie didn't even
like art.

I mean, she never even
appreciated

those bullfighters
on black velvet.

Well, then,
there you have it.

See, it couldn't possibly
have been her.

Oh, are you crazy?
It had to be her, Mona.

Why wouldn't she tell me?

What is the big deal?
So she took a few art lessons.

It's not like
she was having an affair.

Now wait a minute.
You cannot be serious.

Tony, you're jumping
to conclusions.

Guess what Greek artist
just made a pass at me?

I knew it.

Well, it took me
by surprise.

There we were,
stopped at the tollbooth

at the Triborough Bridge,

I didn't have any change.

He leaned across me
to pay,

and the next thing I knew,
my earlobe was in his mouth.

You call that a pass?

I must have gotten
a little fuzzy there,

because the next thing
I remember,

there were all these
horns honking

and traffic was backed up
for miles.

Angela, how could you
let this happen?

I mean, didn't you tell him
you were involved with Geoffrey?

Well, yes,
but he said that's okay.

He's involved
with someone too.

That sleaze.

Oh, no. No, Tony.
Don't be too hard on him.

I mean, after all,
in a certain light,

my hair probably
did look like spun gold.

Guess he didn't notice
the lead roots.

You still think I'm jumping
to conclusions?

Yes, I do. Now, why on earth
would Marie run around

when she had a big, strong
ballplayer like you at home?

Because I was never home.

I was always on the road.

Hey, Jonathan,
you want to sh**t some hoops?

No, I got to work on my speech
for Tony's surprise party.

Oh, how's it coming?

Fantastic.
I've got some great new jokes

from a Dean Martin celebrity
brisket.

Jonathan,
that's a celebrity roast.

Anyway, you want to hear some?
No.

Okay, but you're missing out
on some boffo yuks.

Hey, pal,
where are you going?

Nowhere. Nowhere.

Let me know
when you get there.

Hey, Dad, you want to sh**t
some hoops?

Whoa, look at you.
Sure, sweetheart.

You know something, Sam?

You remind me of your mother
more and more every day.

She had a good jump shot?

Nah, you got that from me,
sweetheart.

What, are you kidding me?

Speaking of me, Sam,

do you remember when you were
young and I was away a lot?

Oh, yeah.

I remember the first time
Mom told me

you were on the road.

I started crying.

I was afraid you'd get hit
by a truck.

Oh, that's--
That's nice of you.

You worried about me, huh?

Speaking of worrying, Sam,

you know, I used to worry
about you and Mom being alone.

We weren't
always alone.

You weren't?

No. My friend Steffie
would come by all the time,

and we'd play dolls.

She liked to dress Ken
in Barbie's clothes.

Well, uh, speaking
of dressing up,

did you and Mom
ever dress up and go out?

Sure. I mean, we'd go grocery
shopping and to the park.

And every week we'd go next door
to Mrs. Rossini's.

Oh, well,
what'd you do there?

Oh, we had so much fun
playing cards and watching TV.

Oh, I used to have
the biggest crush on Potsie.

Well, what about Mom?

She never stayed.

Oh?

Yeah, but I loved
that one episode

where Ralph and Potsie got stuck
in the meat locker.

Or was that Jack
and Mr. Furley?

Samantha, when--

When your mother didn't stay,
where did she go?

You know, she must have gone
pretty far,

because sometimes
she didn't pick me up

till the next morning.

Huh?

Dad, are you okay?

Oh, yeah, I'm fine.

Tony, come on up.

TONY:
Three steps at a time.

Only three?

Getting old.

[PANTING AND CHUCKLING]

Fast as ever, huh?

Yeah, sure.

[LAUGHS]

Tony, Tony!
Mrs. Rossini.

It's so good to see you.

But you're wasting away.
[LAUGHS]

Well, not you,
Mrs. Rossini.

[BOTH LAUGH]

Hey, I'm sorry
I had to drop by

on such short notice, but--

Short notice.

That's Connecticut talking.

My door is always open.

Sit. Have some pasta.

Well, to tell you the truth,
Mrs. Rossini,

I really want
to talk to you.

What? You can't talk
with food in your mouth?

Maybe--
Maybe just a little.

Whatever you say.

[SIGHS]

So how's life in Connecticut?

Good.

Good? Just good?

How about the fresh air and the
greenery and the Protestants?

They're all good.

Tony, what's happened
to you?

You're so quiet.

You used to talk
till your hands got tired.

I got something
on my mind.

So tell me.

It's about Marie.

God rest her soul.

Mange.

I can't mange.

I heard things
that bother me.

About my veal?

No, about Marie.

I met this guy.

He says he knows my wife Marie
from some art class.

He says he gave my wife
art lessons.

It's true, isn't it?
I can see it in your face.

My face is my curse.

Joe takes one look at me

and knows we're having veal
for dinner.

Of course, we always
have veal for dinner.

Mrs. Rossini,
what am I going to do?

I-- I thought I knew
my wife.

Tony, it's not that terrible.

It's not that terrible?
She was unfaithful to me.

How dare you?

I could box your ears
for that.

Marie would never, ever...

I can't even say it.

Come on,
Mrs. Rossini.

Where was she all those nights
she left Sam with you?

She was learning to paint.

All night?
What was she doing,

waiting for the paint
to dry?

Come on, Mrs. Rossini.

Sam said she didn't pick her up
till morning.

That was because Marie didn't
want to wake Samantha up.

What was the point?

She'd come in,
have a cup of coffee,

a little veal.

She'd kiss Sam good night,
then go back to your apartment.

Oh, come on.
If it was just painting,

why didn't she tell me
about it?

She tried to,
but you wouldn't hear it.

You kept cutting her off.
You wouldn't let her--

I don't cut people off!

She told me you thought
art lessons were silly,

that you wanted her home
taking care of Sam.

Don't you remember?

Well, not exactly, Mrs. Rossini.
It was such a little thing.

Tony, that was
the problem.

To you it was a little thing,
but to Marie it meant a lot.

Are you telling me
there was a whole part of Marie

that I didn't even
know about?

Maybe there was a lot
I didn't know about Marie.

It wasn't your fault.

You were young,
you were foolish.

You were a man.

I thought of her
as just a wife and a mother.

But I guess
there was a lot more.

Tony, you shouldn't
feel bad.

You loved Marie
and she loved you.

Everyone in the building
knew that.

Yeah?
Sure.

The walls were thin.

Look, Tony,
it was years ago.

You can't change
the past.

Yeah, Mrs. Rossini,

that's what's k*lling me.

She's gone.
I can't make it up to her.

But you don't have
to make it up to her.

She loved you
the way you were.

She wouldn't want you
sitting around feeling guilty.

She'd want you
to move forward,

to be happy, to eat.

Have some veal.

ALL:
Surprise!

♪ For he's a jolly good fellow ♪

♪ For he's a jolly good fellow
For he's a jolly good fellow ♪

♪ Even without a tie ♪

[ALL CHEER]

Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
What's all this?

It's not my birthday.

No.

This is the Tony Micelli
gala appreciation party

and testimonial salute.

I can see why you didn't
put that on the banner.

[LAUGHS]

For the first time
since its founding,

the Bower Agency
is operating in the black.

[ALL CHEER]
All right.

Way to go.

But, hey, what's that
got to do with me?

Oh, and he's humble too.

ALL:
Aww!

Tony, if you hadn't talked me
into opening my own agency,

I wouldn't have been
able to do it.

And without your help
and support,

I wouldn't be where I am
right now.

Turning a profit.

Or paying taxes.
[LAUGHS]

Oh, Geoffrey,
you sentimental fool, you.

May I take your jacket,
Mr. Micelli?

So are you okay?
Yeah.

Where you been?

I went down to Brooklyn and
had a talk with Mrs. Rossini.

And?

You were right.

I was just jumping
to conclusions.

I had a terrific wife.

It's too bad she couldn't
say the same about her husband.

[NOISEMAKERS BLOWING
RHYTHMICALLY]

Seat of honor.
Here you go.

ANGELA:
Come on.

Sit.

To start off the evening,
I would like to introduce

our roastmaster general,
Jonathan "Shecky" Bower.

[ALL APPLAUD]

Good evening,
ladies and germs.

I'd like to say a few words
about a great guy,

but they told me I had to talk
about Tony Micelli.

[IMITATES RIM SHOT]

Tony's cooking is so bad.

ALL:
How bad is it?

It's so bad he serves Tums
for after-dinner mints.

ANGELA:
Yes!

And now here's someone
we've known for years.

A beautiful human being,
my grandmother and yours.

Here's Mona.

[ALL APPLAUD]

Hey, come here.
That was terrific, pal.

You helped Mom,
you take care of me.

You're beautiful, babe.

Okay, thank you, Jonathan.

I have a lot of warm
and wonderful things

to say about Tony,

but Angela's better
at the sappy stuff.

But I do want to say

you're the best,

and don't let anybody
ever tell you different.

And now to put a damper
on the festivities,

here's Geoffrey.

Yay!

Thank you for that heartfelt
introduction, Mona.

I don't know what to say.

And I'm not a member
of the family.

At least not yet.

But-- But...

I-- I tell you this
about Tony.

Even though I haven't known him
very long,

I feel as close to him
as I do to my own cousin...

once removed.

[LAUGHS]

Speaking
of being removed...

Get the hook!
[BLOWS RASPBERRY]

All right, all right,
all right.

Tough room.

Anyway, I--
I would just like to say,

thanks for helping
to make Angela so successful.

And now, without further hype,
here she is,

the lovely and solvent,
Angela Bower.

[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]

MONA:
Madam President.

Thank you. Thank you.

I-- I promised myself
I wouldn't cry.

Um, I just...

[SOBBING]
...feel so lucky to have someone

like you in my corner!

[SIGHS]

Um...

when I lost my job,

I truly did not know
what I was going to do.

But you helped me
find my way.

You knew that
I was scared

and that I had doubts
in my own ability.

But you always believed in me.

And you made me
believe in myself.

So I would like
to propose a toast.

To Tony Micelli,

a man who sees in us
not our limits,

but the stars.

MONA:
Hear, hear.

That's-- That's very nice folks,

but you sure you got
the right Tony Micelli?

Oh, I know we do.

And as a token
of my love and appreciation...

[NOISEMAKERS BLOWING
RHYTHMICALLY]

Right here.
Stand here. Okay?

Ready?

Samantha, that's you.

Good eye, Dad.

Samantha,
you're beautiful.

Oh, Angela,
isn't she beautiful?

Oh, everybody,
isn't my daughter beautiful?

Oh, she's beautiful.

I'm speechless.

Well, uh, then maybe Samantha
would like to say something.

Well, I just
want you to know

that because you're such
a great guy,

I sat still for this,
missing countless phone calls,

important social
engagements,

and a major sale
at the mall.

[ALL LAUGH]

Now, that really
means a lot to me.

Mom always said we were
both real lucky to have you.

She was right.

I love you.

Speech!

ALL:
Speech! Speech!

Come on...

I don't-- I don't know
what to say.

Give your MVP speech.

You were an MVP?

No, but he had
a real good speech.

I guess, uh,
I want to say thank you

for all the nice things
you've said tonight.

This comes at a time when...

well, let me just say that, uh,
it sounds real good right now.

You know it's hard trying to be
all you'd like to be

to the people you love.

But if...

if you're lucky, you end up
hitting more than you miss.

Tony, in our book,

you're batting
a hundred.

[CLEARS THROAT]

I hope that's a thousand,
Angela.

Oh!

[LAUGHS]

Well, this is only
the beginning.

In your honor, we've made you
a big Italian dinner.

Wait, wait, wait, wait.
A dinner? And big and Italian?

And we made all
your favorites. Veal.

Veal piccata.

Veal scaloppine.

Veal marsala.

Veal Parmesan.

Enough talk. Let's eat.

[ALL CHATTERING]

ALL:
♪ For he's a jolly good fellow ♪

♪ For he's a jolly good fellow
For he's a jolly... ♪

I can't believe how much
she looks like Marie.

Well...
[SCOFFS]

...you know, Marie would be
very proud

of how wonderful
you're bringing up Sam.

I'm not doing
a bad job, huh?

[LAUGHS]

But I'm gonna do better.

From now on she's gonna have
art lessons too.

[CHUCKLES]

Well, if she wants them.

You know, um,

I logged a few hours
in art class myself.

You did?

Really? Well, I'd love to see
some of your work sometime.

You would? I just happened
to have something right here

that I found
in the attic.

Now just look at it
and be brutally honest.

Why, it's terrific,
Angela.

What a beautiful tree.

It's a self-portrait.

Oh, yeah.

[♪♪♪]