02x07 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Lost Without You

Episode transcripts for the 2014 TV show "Signed, Sealed, Delivered". Aired: April 2014 to June 2014.*
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An eccentric group of postal detectives work to solve the mysteries behind undeliverable letters and packages from the past, often managing to get them to the right destination just when they are needed most.
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02x07 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Lost Without You

Post by bunniefuu »

That look straight to you?

Kinda.

Well, you can test-drive it after school today if your dad says it's okay.

Hey, Dad? Can I help Topper after school?

Dad: I'm with a customer. Give me a second, I'll be right in.

Hey, um...

Can you do me a favor?

Just drop this in a mailbox for me somewhere, okay?

'Kay.

Uncle Top?

Do you think I'll ever get to meet her?

I hope so.

She'd really like you.

[Door opens, bell jingles]

Dad: Okay.

You come right home and get your homework done first, you got it?

Yeah.

[Playfully]: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Lunch bag rustles]

Okay. Have a great day, buddy.

All right.

You got two PB and J's in there.

Try and save one for lunch.

Okay. Bye, Dad.

You know, you could ride with him to school someday. It's just a couple blocks.

I would if I could.

Someday soon, I hope.

See you later, little brother.

♪♪♪♪♪♪

[Siren blares]

[Fire rages]

Radio: Code nine! Evacuation in progress!

[Crying out]: Sandy? Sandy!

Radio: All emergency personnel, evacuate!

[Whimpering]

♪♪♪

I'm Oliver...

Director: Uh...

Cut!

Uh, h-hold on.

I'm sorry.

Oliver...

Uh, I'm sorry.

No. No, you're fabulous. Just... don't look up.

Yes.

Okay.

You're doing great, son.

Shane: I think you've really captured the spirit of the American letter-writer!

I didn't realize it would be so complicated.

Okay! One more time, folks!

Ready, and...

[Siren wails]

Sorry! Hold it! Let's wait for the sirens to pass by.

Resigned: Waiting for the sirens.

This is so exciting!

I know. There's free food over there.

I brought you a cookie.

Aw!

Uh-oh.

Oh.

Excuse me?

Uh, your receptacle is anachronistic.

My what is what?

Well, um, the mailbox that you've got, um, it hasn't been in use since 1997.

And then that pin that Oliver is wearing, it was discontinued in 2014.

And in 1848, the postal service...

Who are you?

I'm Norman Dorman.

I'm a student of U.S. postal history.

Well, that's very impressive, Norman, but we're on a deadline, and that ship has sailed.

W... during the Mongol empire, Kublai Khan used more than 6,000 ships to deliver mail.

Most of it said things like, "we're coming to k*ll you."

You know...

We got an opening for a guy like you in DC.

Public relations is looking for a communications liaison in the office of postal heritage.

Are you interested?

Well, um...

Why don't you think about it and give me a call?

I'm here till Friday.

Norman Dorman.

♪♪♪

What was that all about?

I think he just offered me a job.

Oh!

Here we go!

Okay.

Ready, Mr. O'Toole?

Mm-hmm.

Director: Okay. Ready, and...

Action!

I'm Oliver O'Toole, and I've worked for the United States postal service for 17 years.

And I'm Joseph O'Toole, and I worked for the post office for 22 years, and my father worked for the post office for 50 years, just like my grandfather.

There's been an O'Toole proudly delivering mail since 1789.

Joe: Through rain and sleet and snow and dark of night, no matter how far, no matter how tough, if you want it there, we know how to get it there.

The U.S. postal service...

A grand tradition.

Director: And...

Cut!

Great! We got it!

That's a wrap, folks!

Nice job.

Thank you.

That's it?

That is it. Great work.

That was fun.

Hmm.

We should do more stuff together.

Preferably without, uh, make-up.

[Joe chuckles]

You know, I've been doing a lot of backpacking recently.

I thought maybe I'd hit the El Dorado Canyon this weekend. You interested?

Oh, uh, this weekend?

Yeah, I know you're not a big nature guy, but, hey, every couple of decades, we should do a little bonding time, huh?

Oh, I did recently read an article about father-son bonding benefits, but this weekend I have a date.

Shane?

Saturday.

Montaldo's.

Wow!

And you're actually calling it a date!

Good for you.

Well, some other time, then.

Absolutely.

We had a good day, though, huh?

Dad?

Um, a bunch of us are going to Mailbox Grille for lunch.

Would you like to come?

Sure.

Meet you there.

Mister?

Excuse me?

Hey!

Is it true?

Is what true?

The post office can deliver anything?

Well, if they can't, nobody can.

Even if you get peanut butter and jelly all over it and you drop it in the street and a car runs over it, and it gets ripped up in your bike chain?

[Laughs] Well, I've seen worse.

Um...

Should you be in school?

Yeah. Thanks.

[Laughing]

There you are.

What's going on?

[Tearfully]: Eleanor in passports...

She passed.

[Sobbing]

[Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" plays]

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

Rita: I just can't believe it.

It was so sudden.

Well, Eleanor was always surprising us.

Yeah. Remember last year's Halloween party, when she went as Charles Lindbergh delivering the mail to Paris?

And she was a loyal government servant.

Postal to the end.

Director: Norman! You got a second?

I'm gonna go get us a table.

Okay.

Bobby found this in that prop mailbox we were using this morning.

It's definitely not one of ours.

I figured you would know what to do with it.

Somebody must've thought it was a real mailbox.

Uh, Las Vegas...

N-e... v? Rita?

Oh, well, there are only two Nevada zip codes that end in 01, and only one in the Las Vegas area.

You want something memorized, she's your girl.

Actually, she's my girl.

Oh!

Anyways, um, this envelope's been reused, so maybe we can pull up a latent address, or trace the manufacturer of whatever's inside...

Looks like it's an American-made t-shirt.

I gotta say, Norm.

You're being wasted out here in Denver.

Oh, I don't know.

Yes, you do.

You're good and you know it.

You're just too humble. You still got my card?

Yes, but...

Call me.

Think big!

Be bold!

Wait. Does that mean that I'm not bold?

I think I'm bold. Am I bold?

Oh. Bold?

Uh, well...

Oh, look! Shrimp!

Just imagining Denver branch without Eleanor...

We just never know, do we?

When your mother left us, I never imagined that I wouldn't...

That we wouldn't all see her again someday.

But she got sick, and then she was gone.

When I got the news that she'd d*ed, I went up in the mountains to watch a sunset...

And then I just sat there in the dark for hours until I could find a reason to believe that the sunrise was worth waiting for.

What did you find?

I decided that...

If I could just wake up every morning...

You'd be there.

[Footsteps]

Ahem. Do you mind if I join you?

Please!

We're just having one of those meaning-of-life conversations.

Seems like the right day for it.

Mm.

Did Oliver ever tell you his "divine delivery theory"?

Hmm!

I didn't know I had one.

Well, you know, the "we don't find the dead letters, they find us... Just in time to be delivered."

I call it "Oliver's divine delivery theory."

You guys believe every letter that "finds you" is on some supernatural schedule?

Yes.

Well, some of us believe, and...

Some of us are open to it.

[Chuckles]

Huh! Well, let's...

Let's test your theory.

You prove to me that the next dead letter you come across actually makes some kind of miraculous difference in the world, and if you can't, then you have to let me take you camping before summer's over.

And if you can prove some providential postal theory...

Then I'll pick up your dinner tab at Montaldo's.

Deal?

I'm not really comfortable wagering the ability of the almighty to...

If the almighty is everything that you say that he is, then I think he can handle it.

[Sighs tentatively]

Deal!

Gotta run.

And I'm sorry about your friend.

Camping?You?

He invited me to bond with him this weekend.

I told him I had other plans.

Yes, you do.

And you told him we're going back to Montaldo's?

Well, our first attempt at dinner was a rather challenging evening, so returning might allow us to...

To...

Get back up on the horse.

Mm-hmm.

Oliver, for someone who believes in miracles, sometimes you can be so...

Practical.

[Proudly]: Ah!

[Laughs]

Oliver: All right, Norman.

Would you walk us through this, please?

Ah. Well...

Envelope damaged by tire-tread trauma, peanut butter, and some sort of grease.

Hmm... [sniffs]

Bicycle chain, I believe.

The zip code suggests it's from the northeast corner of Las Vegas.

And a men's stinky t-shirt and a two-page letter which we haven't read, in compliance, of course, with postal privacy code 10-01P.

"Assume nothing." Hmm! That's good advice.

What are we assuming?

I don't know about you guys, but...

This day's been hard enough without trying to start an impossible project too.

Well...

Nothing's impossible.

That's a bold statement, Norman.

Um... yes, and allow me to be a little bolder.

Something like this dropping in our laps on a day like today might seem like bad timing, but...

We can't assume anything.

It's a... Sort of a...

Divine delivery, perhaps.

Okay.

But if we're gonna do this, I say we forget protocol, forget privacy code 10-01P, and we read the letter and let the miracles begin.

Well, unless...

You would rather go camping instead.

Camping?

Oliver doesn't like to live outside.

Not on purpose, anyway! [Laughs]

Hmm.

All right.

"Watching the sunset, sitting in front of the fire, listening to guitar music..."

Oh, dear.

It's a bucket list.

Wonder if Eleanor had a bucket list.

Do you?

No. Of course, I do have a list of buckets.

Well...

Except for the part about eating Mexican food, Mmm!

It's not very creative.

There's nothing about mount Everest or about riding in a balloon over Stockholm.

[Inhales abruptly]

[Self-conscious chuckle]

People make bucket lists all the time.

Uh, yes. Not for other people.

Unless...

"Hi. It's me again, and I know you're probably getting tired of hearing from me, but I promise this time I'm not asking for anything for myself.

I just want to help Sandy.

I'd do anything to be with her now.

I truly believe if we could be together, I could help her, maybe even save her life...

But I guess that's not going to happen."

Topper: "So I'm just hoping that you'll do everything you can to save her. And if it's too late, then I hope you'll do everything you can to make her comfortable. If I could hold her one more time and tell her that I love her, I would, but I'm still not 100% myself, so I'm enclosing kind of a bucket list for Sandy. A few ideas maybe you could do that might remind her of me. And I sent her my favorite t-shirt. She was always stealing it. Funny how the little things are what we remember.

I know you have to do what you have to do, and I don't blame you.

Just... please just promise me that if she isn't going to make it, don't let her be alone when she..."

The, uh...

The last part is missing.

It's a letter like this on a day like today that makes our work seem...

Like a calling.

Say what you will about magic letters, Ms. McInerney...

Whoever wrote this...

Is trying to say goodbye before it's too late, and...

We are their only chance to make that happen.

Of course.

Of course we are.

We'll get this delivered as soon as possible.

But we don't have an address or even a return address.

All we have is the corner that it was mailed from...

Well, sort of mailed from.

Maybe we could canvass the area.

Oh, that could take days.

Well, there are 734 small businesses in the University Hills area that it could've been mailed from and Norman and I could cover it if we did, oh...

185 each for two days.

Good.

Uh, Ms. McInerney...

I can hack into the t-shirt manufacturer for points of purchase.

If I can lift a partial print from this, maybe your friend at the state division of investigations could run it for us.

Yes. Dale might do us a favor.

Do you want me to find her number for you?

No, thank you. I actually know it.

[Starts dialing]

I am going to continue to analyze the letter for a connection to Las Vegas.

We should all pray that, uh...

Well, I'm going to pray for Sandy, whoever she is, that she can hang on until we reach her.

Hi, this is...

Yes!

Uh, well, I was gonna drop by.

Uh, I needed to ask a small favor.

Yes. Uh...

There's also some news I'd like to share in person.

Certainly.

♪♪♪♪♪♪

Okay... 220 down, 523 to go.

♪♪♪

Okay. See you at the end of the block.

[Giggles]

So you do make the t-shirts, but you don't do any of the printing?

Do you ship to any specialty stores in Nevada?

Okay.

Good morning!

Can I ask you a question?

Uh... did you send any... parcels to Las Vegas, Nevada, recently?

Las Vegas, Nevada, recently?

♪♪♪

Oh. Okay.

Thank you.

♪♪♪

Dale: Sunsets, Mexican food...

Guitar music, long walks in the mountains.

Tsk.

I feel like I know Sandy.

I wish I could help her.

Well, thank you. It was worth trying.

Anytime.

You know that.

I do.

Uh... you said there was something else?

Uh, yes. Uh...

Some sad news.

♪♪♪

Ohh... I will never walk again.

Yes, you will, just maybe not in those shoes.

I'd swear they were two inches higher.

Well, they were.... 10 hours and 300 stores ago.

[Laughs]

No luck yet, huh?

There's always tomorrow.

Oliver: Any progress?

No.

Mm.

What happened with Dale?

Uh, not enough to work with, I'm afraid.

You, uh, you forgot the t-shirt.

Oh. Thank you.

Mm-hmm. Are you okay?

Uh, I've been asked to help with arrangements for Eleanor's memorial on Friday. She attended my church.

Oh. So Dale knew her?

Well, everyone knew Eleanor.

She was a wonderful lady.

Well... [sighs]

Why don't we start again bright and early tomorrow?

Shall we?

Okay.

'Night.

[Footsteps receding]

♪♪♪

I don't know, Oliver, but I'm running out of ideas.

I mean, we're coming up empty on the tire track and the brand of Cologne on the t-shirt.

The t-shirt was manufactured in Ohio, but it could've been printed and sold anywhere, and there are a few thousand women in Las Vegas named Sandy, Sandra, Alexandra, Alessandra, or Cassandra.

Norman and Rita have covered a square mile of small businesses and are coming up with nothing.

[He exhales]

Maybe...

We finally found a letter that can't be delivered.

I can't believe this letter found us only to turn out to be unsolvable.

I can't accept that.

[Takes a deep breath]

[Sighs] Okay.

So we start again tomorrow?

Tomorrow.

Shane: It's been almost a week.

I think we may be running of time.

Oh, have a little faith, Ms. McInerney.

The answer is there. We're just not seeing it.

I feel the t-shirt is still our best clue.

"Assume nothing"?

Assume nothing.

Dale: Oliver!

Oh! There you are!

Hi. I'm so sorry I'm late. I had a last-minute arrest to process, and it took forever.

Oh, my goodness. Well, here you are!

Yeah. Any luck with your letter?

Uh, nothing but dead ends.

That's too bad.

Well, it rarely happens to us, but...

Trust the timing.

"Trust the timing."

[Chuckles]

Well, I have your choir robe.

Thank goodness I didn't send it to the cleaners just yet.

Dale happens to be the robe mistress for our choir.

Oh! Wow. She sings, she arrests people, she's mistress of clothing...

[All chuckling]

I know, I know.

I'm not half as interesting as I sound.

[Chuckling continues]

Um, we should get inside.

We'll see you inside.

Mm-hmm.

I'm here! I'm here!

Rita! Where's Norman?

Oh, he'll be along soon.

He just had a couple stores to look at.

Okay.

♪♪♪

And then what?

Well, then I looked at her, she looked at me, and I knew that we were meant for each other.

And she really saved your life once?

Oh, probably a million times.

Is she sick, like you?

Well... [Door bell jingles]

Hi. How can I help you?

[Breath catches]

Come on.

[Exhales tensely]

Um, I'm from the United States postal service.

Uh, we're attempting to deliver a parcel that may have been mailed from this area.

You know, I'm waiting for some bike seats from Canada.

W... um, this is the other way around, actually.

Oh.

Well, uh, do you buy your stamps online?

Yeah.

Oh! Good!

Well, have you mailed anything to Nevada or the 89101 zip code recently?

No.

Oh, hold on.

Hey, Top?

Topper: Yeah?

You send anything to Nevada?

No.

Hmm.

Sorry.

That's okay, yeah.

Thanks anyways.

Yeah.

♪♪♪

Choir: ♪ though I may roam ♪
♪ through dark of night ♪
♪ or skies above ♪
♪ my father's love ♪
♪ shall lead me home ♪
♪ a... ♪
♪ ...men ♪

I wonder if she wears her g*n underneath her robe.

Nah...

It's too hard to sing when you're packin'.

Good morning, family and friends.

As unexpected as Eleanor's departure was...

We can take comfort remembering her as a woman of strong faith that traveled through life with the blessed assurance that her passport was eternally valid, stamped, and certified "permanent" for entrance into the kingdom of God...

Whenever that day should come.

And friends, I know she would want us to take a moment today to really ask ourselves "are we ready to take that journey?"

She always used to say to me, "death is nothing to be scared of, honey... But it is something to prepare for."

♪♪♪

We bid you farewell, Eleanor.

God be with you... till we meet again.

Beautiful service, wasn't it?

Rita: Eleanor would've loved it.

I'm really gonna miss her smoothies.

Eleanor had a blender, and she used to make me smoothies.

Your song was beautiful.

Oh...

Thank you.

And you harmonize so well.

Well, we've been doing this for a very long time.

Rita: Are you coming to the reception?

I wish I could, but I have to get back to my crime scene.

Oh.

Oh. Kidnapping? Arson? m*rder?

Cyber crime.

Guy's a hacker.

Oh, good thing we don't know any hackers.

I don't know any hackers. Do you know any hackers?

Nope.

No.

[Forced chuckling]

[Awkward silence]

Good.

That's good.

Uh, I need your robe.

Oh, uh, thank you, very much.

[Whispers]: And, uh, don't forget to talk about the, uh, the thing.

Oh! Yes. The thing. Of course!

Okay. Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Okay, bye.

[Polite chuckling]

There's a thing?

Well, uh...

Just so you know.

I intend to hack away until kingdom come if that's what it's gonna take to find Sandy before it's too late.

Uh, Ms. McInerney, the "thing" Dale wanted me to talk about was that a memorial fund has been established in Eleanor's name.

She thought I should bring it up with the board of the O'Toole foundation.

Oh.

I have the checkbook right here, and there's plenty of money in the account to make a donation, so... all in favor?

Unanimously: Aye!

Consider it done!

Thank you.

That was very bold of you, Norman.

So I will see you at the reception?

Yeah. I'm... I'll be right behind you.

I just, uh, need a minute.

Yes.

Ms. McInerney, um...

Dale Travers is, uh... my friend.

Of course.

♪♪♪

[Blender whirring]

Remember how Eleanor's blender used to always get stuck on frappe?

Oh, she always handled it with such grace.

She was gonna give me her recipe for her bee pollen, ginger, and kombucha smoothie.

"Come on up to passports," she'd say.

"Anytime. We'll do some blending."

I waited too long.

I missed my chance.

I'm sorry.

But I believe there's still a chance to save Sandy.

I'm going back to the office to keep working.

Oh, we can come with you!

Oh, no, Rita.

You've done plenty. Go home.

Have a good weekend.

If you're sure?

Yes.

Then we'll see you on Monday.

Bye.

Bye.

Uh, what time shall I collect you at your home tomorrow night?

I can be there by... seven?

There's no rush. Take your time.

All right.

[Footsteps receding]

♪♪♪

[Quiet gasp]

[Dialing]

[Exhaling]

"Assume... nothing."

"Assume...

Nothing."

[Door opens]

Ms. McInerney! What's all this?

What you said today, about passports and-and visas and preparing for the journey...

It was a metaphor too far, perhaps, yes.

Oliver...

You made us think about things people don't like to think about, and yet, somehow, you didn't make it scary, you just made it matter.

Oh, well, thank you.

I'm not a church person, like you are, but what I do know is that...

You need to spend quality time with your dad, and you can't wait to lose a bet to do that.

Oh, I don't intend to lose the bet.

But it doesn't matter, because even if you win, you still lose.

I don't get to have that ginger-kombucha smoothie with Eleanor now because I thought I had time.

And your dad's not that old, but...

You've lost so much time with him already.

So I... I packed your bags!

You're sending me to camp?

This was my dad's. It's not new.

It's got everything you need. It's got a bedroll, sleeping bag, flashlight, first aid kit...

The whole shebang! Suitable for bonding.

Ms. McInerney, what about our dinner?

Oliver... don't worry.

I'm not gonna go back to Montaldo's without you.

[Quiet chuckle]

Now, I, uh, I called your dad, and he's gonna wait for you.

I, uh, I can't leave.

I mean, what about Sandy?

You said this letter... had a destiny.

Now, do you believe that or not?

Well, yes, of course, but...

Oliver...

I promise you...

I will spend the weekend doing whatever I can to do whatever you would do.

I promise.

I don't know what to say.

Yes, I do.

What is, uh...

"Koombatcha"?

[Chuckling]

"Kombucha."

And...

Let's just say it's the complete opposite of yoo-hoo.

♪♪♪

[Exhales]

I will see you...

On Monday...

[Chuckling]

Shane.

♪♪♪

[Chuckling]

There's a lodge about a mile from the trailhead.

We can spend the night and get a good start in the morning.

I feel a little, um, overdressed.

Bears don't care what you wear.

Should I be worried about bears?

Nah.

Worry about the mountain lions.

[Starts engine]

♪♪♪

I'm on my way!

Okay, take...

Be down in a sec.

Okay, take your...

Is everything all right? You seem awfully quiet.

Well, I know we were going to go back to tiny town land to see if they fixed the tiny train through tiny tunnel, but...

Well, I've been working on being bold, you know.

Oh, I know!

[Gasps]

[Hushed]: You took Sandy's letter home with you?

A gross violation of regulation 67K, I know.

But I had an idea...

What has Oliver been saying all week?

"Assume nothing."

And what have we been assuming?

Oh, I don't know.

Maybe the writer is a woman?

Maybe it got mailed from a house instead of a business?

I mean, there's not really much left to assume.

All we have is a letter addressed to Nevada with business postage.

Okay. Read number four on the bucket list.

"I remember the first time I took Sandy out.

We went together to that Mexican restaurant at the end of your street, the one with the hottest mole sauce in town.

Sandy wouldn't try it, but she couldn't get enough of the tamales."

[Sighs] But we already know this, Norman.

I mean, there's gotta be over 300 Mexican restaurants in Las Vegas.

Okay. Look at the envelope again.

It's addressed to Las Vegas, N-e...

"v."

We're assuming it's a "v"! What if it's...

[Gasps] Half of a "w"?

Las Vegas, New Mexico!

Population 13,000.

How many Mexican restaurants can there be there?

And at the end of the street is...

Sandy!

Ohh!

You're brilliant, Norman.

Thank you.

But... here's the "bold" part.

Do you wanna go to New Mexico with me?

[Gasps]

Yes!

[Laughs]
[Birds singing]

Hope you don't mind if we go off-trail a little.

What?

[Bird singing]

Mountain bluebird.

They can sing like that all day.

You said you didn't spend much time outside.

I don't.

I used to when I was little, though, didn't I?

Yeah!

Anyway, you bought me a record album once.

"Bird songs of the rocky mountains."

I remember.

You still have that?

I do.

[Laughs]

Any other kid would have asked for Springsteen.

[Chuckling]

Have I been here before?

Well, actually, you...

Ohh!

Dad!

You okay?

[Groans] Oh... I'm okay, I'm okay.

I just need to catch my breath.

Ahh! So stupid.

[Grunts]

I just banged a rib.

Or something.

Here.

Ohh...

Let's get this off.

Yeah.

[Chalk scratching board]

[Sighs] What am I taking for granted?

Where did you buy the cologne?

Well, um, it's really not bleeding that much.

Then it probably isn't too deep.

Thanks.

Do you want to turn around?

Oh, no way!

No, this is all part of the experience.

"Man against nature."

Yes.

"O'Toole against log."

[Chuckles]

All right.

Norman: People think New Mexico is just a big desert, but 25% of it is covered by forest.

Oh! I didn't know that, Norman.

I did. I know a lot of stuff.

I just don't know what to do with it.

Have you been thinking about taking that job in Washington?

I've been thinking about what that director said about thinking big. It's easy to be bold about the little stuff.

The biggest thing you ever did was when you didn't think at all, Norman.

It was the first time you kissed me.

Man: Enjoy your stay at the Prairie Dog Motel.

There's a rock collector's convention going on.

I got the last room.

Well, rooms.

Opposite ends of the Prairie Dog.

[Laughs]

Norman... [sighs]

You don't mind, right?

That, uh, that we aren't...

Oh! Rita, no.

There is a time and a place to think big and be bold, and it is definitely not in Las Vegas.

Either of them.

I knew you would say that.

Get some rest, okay?

We have a big day tomorrow.

[Sighs]

♪♪♪

So, do you have any idea where we are?

Nope.

I thought I did, but it just got too dark too soon.

We'll figure it out in the morning.

Is that what I think it is?

Gotta have music. You know me.

Or maybe that's what we're here for.

How do you like retirement?

Well, I got a lot of plans.

Learn Italian, go to Europe...

Gotta take some scuba diving lessons.

Plant my own vegetable garden, practice my guitar, spend time with my long-lost son.

How is that going?

One out of six ain't bad.

[Both laughing]

Shane tells me you've got a letter that isn't looking very, uh, what is it?

Uh...

"Providential."

[Laughs]

Does this mean you're admitting defeat?

Absolutely not. Something tells me that letter is on its own timetable.

Believe it or not, they found it in that prop mailbox we were using for the commercial the other day.

Ripped and m*nled envelope, covered in peanut butter, bicycle grease...

Been run over by a car?

Yes?

It was a kid!

He asked me if we could deliver anything, even if it was totally wrecked.

It had to be him!

Well, the little kid wouldn't realize it wasn't a real mailbox.

He rode a bike.

He had on a cap.

It was one of those team baseball caps.

It said...

"Kennedy...

Celtics."

Well, we could track him down through the team.

I need to call Shane.

You could use my cell phone, but I busted it in the fall.

[Sighing]

I don't mean to sound dramatic, but this actually may be a matter of life or death.

We'll pack out first thing in the morning.

All right, Dad. Time to get up.

You already missed the sunrise.

Dad?

Dad?

Dad?

[Weakly] Yeah...

Time for the sniff test.

Where's the t-shirt?

♪♪♪

Oh, man.

Rita: Oh, this is New Mexico, Norman.

We have to adapt.

Norman: I just don't trust a grocery store with beads for a front door.

Oh...

♪♪♪

Hi. We're looking for the welcome center.

Welcome.

Oh. [Chuckles]

Igneous rock seminars are in the conference center, buses for the petrified forest tours leave out front every 30 minutes.

Oh, we're actually looking for a Mexican restaurant.

Well, you're in new Mexico, so how hard are you lookin'?

We're looking for the one with the hottest mole sauce.

You want the hottest...

Yes, please.

"Super-hottest..." "Hottest in New Mexico," "hottest in Las Vegas..." "Hottest west of the Rio Grande," "too hot to handle," or "hotter than hell-in-a-handbasket hot"?

What's the difference?

Well, it's the peppers.

Start with your habaneros.

You got your red ones, your green ones, your white ones, you move on up from there to your Trinidad scorpions, your Carolina brain-burners, devil's tongues, nuclear winters, to the mother of 'em all, "instant insanity."

[Ringing cowbell]

[Chuckles] Oh...

I don't suppose they're all on the same street?

Nope.

Well, I'm hungry now.

This'll be fun!

♪♪♪

That wasn't so...

♪♪♪

Mm! [Laughs]

[Huffing]

Rita: Mm!

Oh...

You're doing great!

Woo!

♪ Ai, yi, yi, yi Oh! [Chuckles]

You're okay.

[Norman shrieking]

[Gasping]

Norman, would you say, if you could speak, that the aztec grim reaper pepper is the hottest mole in Las Vegas, New Mexico?

[Whimpers in consent]

That's great!

Then Consuela's Cozy Kitchen is the place we're looking for, and Sandy'll be at the end of that road.

Oh, Norman! Isn't that wonderful?

[He gurgle-burps]

Norman?

[Phone line ringing]

Sort of a green-gray?

With a touch of, uh... yellow.

That'd be a good thing, though, because he was all green for a while.

Well, does he have a fever?

It's hard to tell if it's a fever or just actual heat coming off of his body.

[Gasps] Oh!

[Gurgle-burp]

Oh...

Oh! Oh! Oops!

There he goes again.

Well, you guys obviously aren't gonna be at work tomorrow.

Oh, I tried to call Oliver, but there was no answer.

Oh, well, he went camping with his dad, but...

he'll be back tonight.

What? What happened about your date?

Oh, don't worry, it's all good.

Ask Norman where the t-shirt is.

Oh, I gotta go.

Thanks! Bye!

♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪

Oh!

Hello?

Joe: Laid low by a scratch. I feel so stupid.

Oliver: Dad, could've been me.

I just...

Want to get you to the doctor before it gets any worse.

Well, the trailhead should be right over...

No. Right over there.

Should be on the road in half an hour.

I just need to sit a second.

Oh, yeah. Sure.

It's a good thing we're almost there.

Oh, man.

So I need to, uh, make a confession.

Okay.

Yesterday you asked me if you'd ever been in these woods before.

And you have.

When?

You were about seven or eight, and you kept begging your mom and me to take you hiking in the mountains.

So we did, and you loved it.

You-you loved the freedom and the-the birds...

Kept running out ahead of us to protect us from the bears.

Huh!

And then you ran out so far ahead that we lost you.

And we started calling out, and things got scary and we panicked, and she blamed me and I blamed her, and, well...

We got in a fight.

Not our first one.

But something about being alone out in the forest made it seem so much more raw and bitter than it had ever been before, like there was nothing civilized there to make us hold back, and we said some awful stuff.

And then we looked around, and...

And there you were, standing there, watching us, absolutely broken-hearted.

I could never get you to come back to the mountains after that.

You were so afraid that your mom and I would start fighting again.

You were always trying to protect us from the bears.

You even asked me if there was a way for you to go to the forest without actually going to the forest, so, I, well...

[Chuckles]

That's why you got me "bird songs of the rocky mountains?"

It was that or an evergreen air freshener.

[Both chuckling]

[Groaning]

Your mother left us a few weeks later.

It wasn't my fault, and it definitely wasn't yours.

But I think...

All these years that little boy deep down inside of you has believed it was...

And you've lost a lot of time and you've missed a lot of love.

And look how long it took you to come back to the forest.

Don't wait for the pain to go away, Ollie.

Just...

Just leave it here on the mountain.

Okay, son?

And go back and start over.

♪♪♪

Ready?

Yes.

Let's go home.

[Groaning]

And the car should be right...

♪♪♪

'Morning!

Oliver?

Hello?

Rita: Oh, well...

This is it, the end of the road.

And here we go.

And here we go.

Norman?

I was just thinking.

If I call that man who gave me his card and-and if he offers me that dream job in D.C.

And if I say yes...

Well, this could be the last dead letter that I ever deliver.

[Sighs]

Well...

Then you should be very proud, because that letter is going to make a real difference for someone.

And when you look back...

You will always know that you put your whole heart and soul into it.

And my lower intestine.

Uh, y-yeah.

[Laughs]

Okay.

[Buzzing]

Woman: May I help you?

Oh. Uh... hi.

We're from the, um...

We're from the USPS. Um, we're trying to deliver a letter to someone we believe is the care-giver to a lady named Sandy?

[Door lock clicks open]

Thank you.

I'm not sure if this is the right place, but...

You're in the right place. She'll be right out.

Uh, Sandy?

Is she okay?

Hi?

Oh! Hi!

Are you Sandy?

Oh. No.

This is Sandy.

[Laughs] Oh!

[Barking]

[Norman and Rita laugh]

Norman: Hey, Sandy! You got a special delivery.

[Dogs barking]

Norman: This letter made it seem like...

She didn't have much time.

Well, she was in trouble there for a while.

Topper was right to worry.

I'm confused. Who does she belong to?

Sandy's a contract working dog.

She does the same job as a combat dog, only she's owned by a company that contracts with the m*llitary to send K9 units into w*r zones.

The handlers we train are usually former army or marines, like Topper.

This is his t-shirt.

So Topper wrote the letter?

He's written a few.

So were they partners?

The best K9 team we ever trained.

They attached to 16 different support operations, and they did incredibly dangerous work, searching for expl*sives and people who make them.

I read once that if you had two million apples, a dog could smell out one rotten one.

Well, let's just say she found a lot of rotten apples in Afghanistan.

[Chuckling]

Until...

Something happened?

Sandy was getting close to uncovering something, and somebody tossed a grenade in the embassy.

They both survived, but they both came back with PTSD.

Why aren't they together now?

It sounds harsh, but Sandy wasn't Topper's pet.

I've never saw a dog and a man that loved each other so much, but Topper was an employee of that company, and Sandy is, well...

Considered equipment.

Ohh. They should be together.

You never forget your partner, and, well, look...

Sandy's never forgotten her best friend, but from that letter, it sounds like Topper wasn't getting better.

Sandy would be able to make him better.

Probably.

But...

Well, the only way he could have her would be to buy her from the company.

And Topper wanted to, but he just doesn't have that kind of money.

[Sandy whimpers]

Good girl.

Yeah.

♪♪♪

[Panting]

Norman: And being the communication liaison for the office of postal heritage in Washington D.C....

That would be a bold move.

Well, as the treasurer of the O'Toole foundation, you've made a big one today, don't you think?

Yeah.

Besides, how could I go to Washington and leave you behind?

Oh, Norman.

If you ever leave me, I'm coming with you.

♪♪♪♪♪♪

[Calling out]: Hello?

Hello?

Forget it, Oliver.

I just need a little rest, and then you can help me up, and we'll try again.

Dad, I don't think you can.

Well, we can't spend another night here.

What is it? Monday?

Well, someone will notice we're missing, and they'll send help.

I didn't tell anyone where we were going.

Did you?

♪♪♪

[Sighing] Oliver? Come on.

Please pick up.

[Ringing]

[Shivering and wincing]

[Gasping]

Bet you wish you were having that dinner at Montaldo's now, huh?

[Laughs weakly and gasps]

[Groans]

Oh, Dad, I am so sorry.

I had no idea it was more than just a small cut.

It didn't feel like more than... More than that, either.

Ohh... don't blame yourself.

[Gasps and groans]

Oh, I'm obv...

I'm obviously not getting any better, so...

I think you're gonna have to hike out of here in the morning and get some help.

I'm not gonna leave you here.

Oh. Oh...

[Breath shaking]

What if this goes septic, Dad?

[Shivering]

W-we'll be fine, Ollie.

Y-your mom and I j-just disagree sometimes.

You just go have... Have fun.

[Shivering]

[Engine shuts off]

Joe? Oliver?

[Lifting objects]

Yes!

[Fits key in door lock and unlocks the door]

Hello?

Joe?

♪♪♪

Yes. Could I have extension 1414, please?

♪♪♪

Yeah.

[Sighing]

Okay.

Uh, forest service is checking park entrances for Joe's truck.

But that could be anywhere. He never said...

Well, I'm hoping to get a hit on an ATM or a gas purchase or even Joe's cell phone. That way, we can start to narrow it down.

For now, we just have to wait.

Which is the hardest part.

No cream or sugar?

[Chuckles] Nah. In my line of business, you learn to keep things simple.

You're worried, too, aren't you?

[Clears her throat]

When a man and his father go backpacking in the woods for two days, and three days later they're not back, it's... unusual.

[Chuckles sadly]

Oliver O'Toole backpacking at all is unusual.

[Laughing]

It is hard to imagine.

[Laughs again]

You've known him a long time?

Almost 16 years.

He was a mailman on my b*at when I was a street cop, and we had a lot of things in common, so we'd go for coffee once in a while, and...

He was the one who got me singing in the choir, and we went to this prayer group...

Were you two ever... ahem.

You know.

Tsk. Uh...

The timing was never right back then.

And you gotta trust the timing.

You said that before, at the church.

It's just something we say to each other.

You know...

"To everything there is a season..."

A time to be born and a time to die.

I... I've heard him say that.

He believes it, too.

The problem is...

If God has everything all figured out, then...

What's the point of praying for anything?

W-well, I guess I don't pray to change God...

I pray to change me.

[Phone starts ringing]

Travers.

Okay.

Right.

Good. Thank you.

They spent Friday night at Cedardale Lodge, they checked out Saturday morning, and they went straight towards Eldorado Canyon.

♪♪♪

[Police radio crackling in background]

It what? Say that again.

Rita! I'm in the mountains!

Rita: I said...

We delivered the letter, but we have a surprise!

Whatever it is, don't worry about it now. Uh...

I think something terrible has happened.

Oliver and his dad never came back from their camping trip.

What?

[Tearfully]:I'm in

East Eldorado Canyon with the police and forest service and Dale Travers, and they think that Joe and Oliver are lost up there somewhere, and...

It's just so big and dark, and...

They can't put a search party together until the morning.

[Sniffling]

Rita, I'm... I'm scared.

We're... We're a couple hours away, but we'll get there as fast as we can, okay?

So just... Just hang in there.

And pray.

I don't know how.

♪♪♪

Are you okay?

I don't...

I don't know if...

If... If I...

Can bear it if anything...

[Sobbing]

Oliver.

Dale: I know. I know.

Oh... god.

♪ Hallelujah ♪

Ollie?

Yeah, I'm right here, Dad.

I love you, Ollie.

♪ Hallelujah ♪
♪ hallelujah ♪


I love you too.

I just wanted to be sure I said it.

Shh. Hey...

Hold on, 'kay? Just hold on.

You just have to make it till morning, right?

I'm right here.

♪♪♪

♪ Hallelujah hallelujah ♪
♪ hallelujah ♪
♪ hallelujah ♪
♪ hallelujah ♪
♪ hallelujah ♪
♪ hallelujah ♪
♪ hallelujah ♪


Yeah. Got that?

♪ Hallelujah ♪
♪ hallelu... ♪
♪ hallelujah ♪
♪ hallelujah ♪
♪ hallelujah ♪


[Deep breath, sighs]

I've been doing this a long time, and...

It's times like this that we find out who you really are and what really matters.

[Sad chuckle] Guess we found out that I can't handle the pressure.

[Laughs]

No.

It's just the opposite.

[Chuckles weakly]

You followed your instincts, you made the right call, and you didn't fall apart until it felt safe.

Am I?

Am I safe?

Oliver's my friend.

[Chuckles and sighs]

That's funny.

He said the same thing about you.

[Chuckles]

[Horn honking]

Oh!

Norman!

Rita! Over here!

So? Any news?

Well, they found Joe's truck over there.

There are six trails, and they could have taken any one of them.

They can't do anything until morning.

How come?

Dale: Search and rescue can't start their foot search until first light.

It's gonna take a lot of volunteers to cover all the trails, and even then, there's a storm expected, so air support's gonna be limited.

So...

We just have to wait.

Well, if there is anything that we can do...

Um... Sandy.

You have a minute?

So... look.

I know what it feels like to think that the world is full of loud noises and big surprises that you don't like getting.

And just... you just wanna be safe someplace where you think you won't get scared again.

But, you know, sometimes all it takes is for somebody to tell you that you're special, uh, to make you think that you could be more than you think you were, or do more than you think you could, and next thing you know, the world's your oyster.

Wait, uh...

Do dogs like oysters?

Look, my point is, thinking big and being bold only seems hard until you take the first step.

And I don't want be pushy, but...

[Takes a breath] Oliver's my best friend, so when we get out there, I'm gonna need you to take the first step.

And if you do that, then maybe someday Topper will too.

Sunrise isn't until 5:58, so...

[Sandy barking]

That is a beautiful dog!

This isn't just any dog.

This is Sandy.

This is Sandy?

[Laughs] Oh!

And guess what Sandy can do?

Oh!

And I've still got part of his choir robe.

Here it is.

It should work. He wears it every Sunday.

What do I do?

Uh, let her smell it, and see what she does.

[Sniffing]

Is there, like, a secret word?

Like... "Go," or...?

[Sandy barks]

Careful, Norman!

[Barking]

Is this a crazy idea?

Absolutely it is, but what else do you call it when a rescue dog shows up when you really need one?

Oliver's divine delivery theory.

Oh. That's one of his best theories.

♪♪♪

[Barking]

Dale: Well, when can you get the other dogs?

We've only got one here, and we've got six trails to cover.

[Sighing]

Joe! Oliver!

Joe!

Joe!

Joe!

Oliver!

Oliver!

Joe!

[Barking]

[Barking]

Officers!

Park officers! Rangers!

[Barking]

[Barking]

[Distant barking]

[Barking]

Hello?

[Shouting]: Hello!

Over here!

[Barking]

Hello!

Hello! Over here!

[Barking]

Oliver!

[Barking]

Oliver!

Norman! Oh, my god!

Oh, my god.

Please, over here!

[Radio crackles] Help to base camp. We've located them, ma'am.

Yes! They've been found.


Thank you.

Oh, Norman.

[Whimpers]

Clear the way, there, please.

Yes, sir.

[Gasps] Norman!

Oliver!

Ranger: Everybody back, please!

We need some space, folks.

Folks, just step aside here, please.

[Siren wails]

You see, if the frame is bent even a little bit, then the balance is gonna be off, even if the wheel looks straight.

[Bell jingles]

Oh, hey!

Hi. I'm, um...

The guy from the post office.

Right! Yeah.

Turns out we had the right place after all.

Great.

So you delivered your letter?

Uh, yeah.

And they... They sent back an answer.

For Topper.

She's out there.

[Chuckles]

♪♪♪

Hey, Topper?

There's someone here to see you.

Hey-hey-hey. Hey. Go see what's up.

I think you better come out, Top.

♪♪♪

[Barks]

[Barking]

Sandy?

[Barks]

[Laughs] Sandy!

Sandy! Come here!

Come here! Come here, girl!

Hi, girl!

Hi, girl! Hi!

[Laughing] Hi!

Hi! [Giggling deliriously]

That is 14 enchiladas' worth of happiness over there.

Mm.

And worth every one.

[Laughs]

What are you thinking?

I'm thinking big.

So, you want to go get some breakfast?

[Laughs] No!

[Laughs]

♪♪♪

[Laughing]

[Car doors shutting]

You were about an hour away from sepsis.

Let me guess.

It just looked like a small puncture wound, nothing to worry about, and you boys weren't turning back for a little scratch?

Something like that.

You were very lucky.

I'll see you later.

Thank you.

You see? I'm lucky.

Luck is the religion of the lazy.

Who said that?

I did.

[Laughs]

So you're sticking with your providential perfect-timing theory, huh?

Remember that kid with the letter and the ball cap?

That letter led Rita and Norman to the dog that found us this morning.

It's easier to call that luck, I guess, than... to trust the timing was something else.

Well...

One way or the other, it was something else, all right.

[Chuckling]

So I guess I owe you a dinner.

You don't owe me a thing.

That nurse says Shane and Dale are waiting.

Shane and Dale, huh?

Good luck with that.

[Laughs]

Something tells me you'll know what to say.

Dad?

Yeah?

There's been too much leaving in this family.

Let's not do that anymore.

Got it.

♪♪♪

I have never been so happy to see anyone in my entire life as I was this morning.

I must look awful.

You look terrible.

[Both laughing]

Thank you.

For everything.

I wish I could take the credit.

Shane made the call.

Where is she?

♪♪♪♪♪♪

♪ In every heart there is a room ♪
♪ a sanctuary safe and strong ♪
♪ to heal the wounds from lovers past ♪
♪ until a new one comes along ♪
♪ I spoke to you in cautious tone ♪


Well...

I, uh...

Certainly didn't expect to find you in here.

[Chuckles]

Neither did I.

I was just so... grateful.

[Sobs]

[Sniffles]

When I was...

Up on that mountain...

I was so afraid.

I was afraid I was gonna lose my dad.

Afraid that I might not get off the mountain.

Afraid that I had waited too long... [Sighs] to start my life over.

♪♪♪

Every woman in my life...

Who truly mattered...

Has broken my heart.

So I... learned to stop taking chances, because I never wanted to feel that way again.

But last night...

When I thought I might not see the sunrise, I started to pray.

I prayed for the chance to live long enough to be here right now, to tell you that I hope our first date isn't our last.

[Sob escapes]

That life is too short to only drink yoo-hoo.

[Laughing]

And I'm ready to...

To try a... um...

Bee pollen and ginger and koombatcha smoothie.

"Kombucha."

Kombucha.

[Laughs]

And I'm also ready to tell you that...

I know you don't believe in miracles...

You would be surprised what I'm starting to believe.

♪ And you're the only one who knows ♪
♪ and so it goes and so it goes ♪
♪ and so will you soon I suppose ♪


[Kiss]

Thank you... for saving my life.

♪ So I will share this room with you ♪
♪ and you can have this heart to break ♪
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