02x10 - No Help Wanted

[bunniefuu]

[waves crashing]

[music]

This is my place,Ernie's Beach, miles

from the nearest townon the Albany Post Road.

This is me.

It was raining sohard that I couldn't

see what was going on outside.

But I heard a car door slammed.

And a minute laterthe car strenched out

of the parkway andmoved on up the highway.

So I went back tocounting today's take.

Since I'd been robbed acouple of months ago, I'd been

putting the cash into thesafe before I closed up.

That is, if time allowed.

[music]

[closing locker door]

It was exactly ten by the clock.When I went to lock the front door.

I saw a girl standingthere in the rain.

She looked like a drowned rat.

Hit her back to me andwas staring toward the

highway as though shewere waiting for someone.

As you found me lookingat her, she brushed

me off with a shrugand returned to her vigil.

Look.

I think pneumonia in yourhoroscope if you keep standing that.

Look. As to the sign on thedoor says, I close at ten.

And the next place isClarity Stellen Station. It's

about a mile down theroad. And he's closed, too.

Who are you waiting for?

Pardon? I don'tbelieve that we've met.

Pardon. I princess.

Will you step infor your hand out,

or you're accustomedto curb service.

She looked past methrough the open door of

the beavery and snippedthe order of the coffee.

And her regal bearingWilfed ever so slight.

Well, I'm not really hungry, but

maybe just a cup of coffee.

She stepped pastme dainfully and

walked to the shinycounter, where she

seated herself on a stool and waitedwith the utmost dignity for service.

So I poured her a cup ofcoffee and waited for the

dignity to wilt and thesob story to begin with.

Have been cent.

It's really very good.

I knew if I waspatient I'd get the story,

but I didn't. Instead, shereached into the depths of

her battered bag and finallybrought forth a coin purse.

She opened it and foundnothing except a hole

through which one fingerprotrudes with a sad wiggle.

I turned back to the coffee urnand drew a cup for myself and waited

for further developments. Of thisall too familiar Panama before me.

She ramped through herbag like a squirrel hunting nut.

Every once in a while shepicked up the coin purse, thrust

her finger into it to observehow it emerges at the bottom.

Never mind. It's on the house.

[taking thing out from purse]

You found a dime with a dainty thumband forefinger she offered it to me.

You kindly feel peace.

Got your last dime?

How many more do you want?

Now look, Sassy, I don't care if youstarve to death or get pneumonia.

I never took anybody's last dime andI'm not about to start with yours.

What's your racket?

Where did you come from?

Where are you going?

[putting thing in purse]

Hey, wait a minute. You gotanother cup of coffee coming.

I get two cups ofcoffee for my dime.

A bowl of chili.

Where's your broom?

Never mind that plun the house.

Look, who do you thinkyou are? Given handouts.

I placed my way.

Ain't your chilly like a goodgirl. I'll get the broom later.

Very nice meeting you.

Okay, you win.

Give me a coat.

Alright. I'm justgoing to hang it over

the heater. Maybeit'll dry out a little.

She thought aboutthat for a moment

and then decided themove was harmless.

Be so kindly.

[music]

There's no trickat all to slip a ten

dollar bill into thepocket of her coat.

[music]

After the princess hadthoroughly swept the floor,

she accepted a bowl ofchili and she liked that, too.

No amount of trickyquestioning could bring

the information abouther past or future.

She finally stoppedme by saying.

We should look out for themselves.

[door knocking]

Hoby vermeer pounding onthe front door as he always did

around Levin as if he wastrucking up in this direction.

What took you so long?

You know I'm closed.

Am I supposed to starve to death.

For the danger wassitting there. I saw her go

out the back way whileyou were letting me in.

So the princess had taken her royal.

Another handout huh?

Yeah, Just drink your coffee.

Better take a look in the tail.

You keep doingthese fool things, Ernie.

Remember what happenedthe time you opened up with

a couple of bones becauseyou felt sorry for them?

They conquered you on thehead and cleaned out the tilt.

Yeah I remembered.

I tell you, you got toquit picking up sparrows.

You ain't god.

You're all the timewanting to help somebody,

but you don't wantto help yourself.

No, sir, it's pedestria.

Look, you're out here allalone. You got to remember that.

[door knocking]

Come on in.

Hi, Ernie.

Get you some hot coffee? We can'tstop for coffee. Not now. Everything

okay with you,Ernie? Where it is?

Was held up tonight.Are you alright?

One awful moment. Ifelt sick to my stomach.

I had a couple ofdays taking the till.

Then I rememberedI'd put it in the safe.

Now, I'm okay

Good. What happened?

Well, Flirty didn't seeeither one of them good.

All he knows is hewas robbed by two men.

We're combing thearea and we've set up

roadblock to better keepyour eyes open, Ernie.

You independentguys living way out here

making money. Handover or pushovers.

Say.

[music]

Now you listen to me.

I'm a free man see.

I live in a free country.

Scott and so a free mancan't live free anymore.

This time we decidedto do something about it.

It mine.

[music]

Earn the money tobuy this place I run.

Living where I want to live.

Doing what I want to do.

Nobody's going to scare me outof poop and ride on just like I am.

Sure sure that's all right.

But you have to be stupid too.

Where's the halfapple pie on ice cream?

Come.

What I mean is Ernie you ought tomove somebody in here with you.

You need help.

You're getting busier all the time.

what to us do? Youought to get married.

you know. Women hear things.

They lie awaken, I hope, and they'llhear something to make them scream.

Or better yet, geta dog. A good dog.

Yeah.

Now, you take a dog,they don't talk back.

It ain't always asking formoney. They don't mind

if you drag mud inthe kitchen floor. And it

isn't always bringingits in laws in for a visit.

[door knocking]

[door opening]

The club little lady was hiking upthe highway a little way from here.

She says she washaving coffee in here

with you around. Is that right?

All we want to know is anyshe ever see this game before?

She stood there soppingwedding ignoring all.

Of it a very weary little princess

She won't say where shecame from she won't say where

she's going and she's. SheBroke? That's what she said.

She spent the lasttime she had in her

purse right here. Ican swear to that.

She was heading into town, butshe didn't know where she was going.

She won't say howshe got to your place.

Car pulled up. Let her out.

Oh, a car pulled up and let her out.

And went straight downthe highway to Flaherty's.

While she stayed righthere having coffee with you.

Keeping you busy? Maybe.

Look, she's just adame that's down on her luck

What do you care how she got here?

What do you care where she's going?

A right to walk on thehighway, hasn't she?

She's got a right to be broke.

Remember, Ernie, it's the police

officer's duty toprotect the unfortunate.

She's got to spendthe night somewhere.

The county jail is asgood a place as any.

She'll sleep in a comfortable bedtonight and have a good breakfast in

the morning. Maybe we can help herfind a job, if that what she wants.

Thank you.

But I've always been able to findwork before without a police escort.

I've made my own wayvery nicely ever since

my father d*ed. Andthat was over a year ago.

You had a father?

Didn't you?

Among several knownroutes for getting into

jail, she was followingone of the most direct.

Look, Nick, I know anold couple just live up the

road to be more thanhappy to put this girl up.

Now, just a minute.

I don't care to meetany more people think.

I've had enough troublewith those I've met

already. Since Icame into this beanrie.

People should mind their ownbusiness and let me mind mine.

That does it? Come on, sister.

So the princess went to jail.

[door closing]

Well, I'm glad she's out ofthe way, because I got to get

going. As gut, though Ican't trust you out of my sight.

Lock me up on the way out, will you?

You was born to be skinned.

[door opening]

[music]

[door closing]

A little loneliness. Felt goodwhen I had the time to enjoy.

But not that night.

Why hadn't I goneafter when she flew out

the back door asHobby came in the front,

I knew why she left.

She went out there toget her coat, found the $.

Then she decided torun before I changed

my mind aboutletting her keep it.

What difference does itmake any? So I'm out $.

Yeah.

Yeah, but suppose some cops foundthe $ on her and confiscated .

of course she lied about it.

That was my $. I hadsomething to say about it.

Besides, it's a matter of principle.

So I decided to go right downthere and protect my principle.

[music]

It was in the morningwhen I reached the sheriff's office.

Bets in the county jail.

Never been insidethe place before, and it

startled me to find itbooming with business.

No one had told methat the jail served

justice to citizensall night long.

This place we'd have timeto bother about my $.

[door opening]

I'd phoned my friend, GusCrane to check on the girl for me.

[door closing]

She'd not been arrested.She was being detained.

She wouldn't go to bed. Shewas sitting in the matron's office.

And it don't look too good for her.

You see, she claims she got aride with a couple of guys who wait

sometimes in a restaurantwhere she works, just north of here.

Said she didn't knowwhat their last names were.

You see, when she paidoff what it cost her to bury her

dad, she decided to comedown here and look for a job.

Freddie said he'd bring her.

He was going to come down hereanyway to visit his poor old mother.

Well, she claims thatFreddie made a pass at her.

And she told him tolet her out. She made a

letter out of the car infront of your place only

It just happen.

That she forgot her suitcase.

Left it in the backof Freddie's car.

And all her money justhappened to be in the suitcase?

Well, I admitted thather story was far fetched.

But I was going to give her a chanceto lie to me herself, in person.

Before I gave up that $.

Can I talk to her?

Yeah.

Yeah, in the matron'sroom. Let's do that door.

Thanks.

[door opening]

[door closing]

She didn't look so muchlike a drowned rat anymore.

If she was glad to seeme, she didn't show.

It just sat there, rigid andtidy, waiting for me to speak.

I didn't know how to talkwith a matron listening in.

Didn't you know myplace closed at ten?

Said so right on a door.

I know now.

Why didn't you come in when you gotthere? You knew I was still open.

I was waiting for my suitcase.

Look, I just want to help.

I suddenly realizedthat it was this girl

and not my $ thathad brought me here.

With no warning at all, she'dbecome a hurt inside of me.

Anxious weight on my mind.

She was watching me. Her eyesgrew a little bigger, as though for

a moment my trouble had touchedher, too. But the moment passed.

Mr. Ernie.

When I was a kid,

when my mother d*ed,

the neighbors wanted to help me.

They wanted to putme in an orphan style.

And then when my fathergot sick, I took care of

her and took care ofhim very well, for years.

Then one day, the doctorcame in and he said he wanted

to help me, that my fathershould go to a sanitarium.

Well, he went to the sanitarium, andthree months later, I buried him.

And then Freddie here, he wantsto help me. What does he do?

He drives away to my suitcasein his car and all my money in it.

The police are helping me,too. And they put me in jail.

All my life peoplewanted to help me, and all

I've gotten out of it ismore trouble. Well, no,

thank you. From now on,I'm going to make my own

trouble. I'm going toget out of it my own self.

Now, you, forinstance, you say you

want to help me.You probably want to

help me get a jobwaiting table on

your customers inyour beanery, right?

No, honestly, I didn'teven think about it.

I bet you didn't.

[music]

Suddenly, I was just plain tired.

Or maybe it was bumpinginto the knowledge

of being alone,independent, on your own.

could stop beingfun all of a sudden.

I didn't know.

I only knew that hobby was right.

I had to stop opening thebeanery after it was closed

for the night, no matter whodrowned on my doorstep.

Didn't bring one kindof trouble. It brought

another. And this kindtore me to pieces inside.

I looked down atthe Tattered Princess.

And I thought, somedaysomebody's going to

teach you what you'vetaught me tonight.

Someday you're going toache, just like I'm making now.

And I can't do a thing aboutit because you won't let me.

Well, all I said was

So long, Princess.

If you need me, youknow where to find me.

Thank you.

And it's been very nice meeting you.

[music]

The hands of the clock werealmost straight up. Before I

had time to go to the safe toget the cash for the register.

I opened the safe.

It was empty.

[music]

Empty?

Now I got the picture.

SHe ran when Hoby appeared becausehe hadn't been part of the plan.

The plan had been to rob Flaherty's.

Leaving her hereto keep my attention

diverted until the crooksreturned to rob me.

People, she said, shouldlook out for themselves.

Wow.

Boy, I must have been real dumb.

As you know, I still didn'tbelieve she was guilty.

Man, what a crazy, mixed up world.

How do you take that little chick?She looked honest, didn't she?

Yeah.

It sure goes toshow you that you

can't tell by howthings look, can you?

Well, then that meansthat you can't go

by the way peopleact either, can you?

You sure can't. Do youtake the time I gave a guy?

Hold it hold it, wait wait a minute.

They might be saying that theydon't want help even when they do.

That's right.

You know what I should have done?

I should have stayed right therewith her last night in the jail.

All night long? Well, you're crazy?

That's what I'm going to do rightnow. I'm going to go fight her.

Well, you're nuts. The shift will be here in

a little while. The jointwill be full of customers.

Okay. You're a bigboy. You take care

of. You can't letthe joint fall apart.

Huh, fall apart?

Anybody could takecare of this place.

I got in my truck anddrove a couple of miles.

And I thought.

He was coming to the beanery onthe opposite side of the highway.

He walked doggedlywith her head held high.

[car door clsoing]

[music]

Hey, Princess, don'tyou know you can get

k*lled walk on the wrongside of the highway?

Thank you verymuch, but I didn't need.

you found Freddie?

No.

How could I find Freddie?

He's going to have to find me.

You mean you walked allthe way out here from the jail?

Sure.

When I have to.

Didn't have any money.

You had a $ bill.

That wasn't my money.

I think somebodyought to warn you not

to throw your moneyaround that way.

Some people aren't honest.

Princess, what itmight be, and have a

cup of coffee. Wecan sit down, relax.

What?

Look, you can pay for it.

You can put the dishes inthe dishwasher or something.

Come.

-Believe I am a little tired.-Good.

[music]

[door opening]

Thank you.

Princess.

Hey, Slope of two cups of coffee.

Well, what do you know?

Hey, Freddie was here.Brought your suitcase.

Said he couldn't goback tomorrow, but

he'll look you up.Seems sore about that.

Thank you very much.

Look, you don't need money in here.

No, I'm not looking formoney. I'm looking by uniform.

-What?-Where can I change?

Well, don't you stand there staring.Your customers need waiting on.

Now, where can I change?

-In there.-Thank you.

Oh, Sergeant Hummerstonsaid to tell you that

he'd be in tonight. Thathe's pretty busy today.

[knocking table]

Alright.creating apple pie.

And that they picked up themen who robbed Flaherties

coming out of your placeabout this morning.

They robbed you too?

You got to get a dog.

Princess.

Just one question.

Why did you run out lastnight when Hoby came in?

No. Come on, tell me. why?

Well,

I wanted to stay.

It was warm and hearingdry. And you were nice to me.

And I was tired. And then Iwas a little scared too. And

then I remembered that youcan't let yourself be scared.

You've got to keep pretendingyou're not afraid of anything. See?

And.

And besides, I'm veryparticular about whom I meet.

Princess.

I wouldn't want to interfere withyour plans. You understand that.

But I do need help here.And if you're looking for a job.

Well, there's a lot ofpeople here that can

tell you about me.That is for references.

Oh, yeah.

I'm a good cook and Iwork hard and I'm clean.

Hey, which one ofyou is after this job?

Well,

you know, I reallydidn't have any idea

that you were everas busy as this.

I mean, if you'd said tome last night, for instance.

Amy, I need help.

well, then I felt different.

Amy, you just bet your name.

Imagine.

Hiring a person and you don'teven know their name.

Oh my goodness.You do need help.

Well, folks, that'show I learned that

although it can befun to be independent.

It can also be very empty.