Roger Tells Delia That He Loves Her
(April 1976)(Roger is lying drunk on the couch in his apartment when there is a knock on the door.)
ROGER: Go away!
DELIA: (on the other side of the door) Roger, it's me!
(Pleasantly surprised, he puts down his drink and gets up to answer the door.)
ROGER: I'm coming!
(He opens the door to Delia, who is holding a garment bag in her hand.)
DELIA: Surprise!
ROGER: (noticing the clothes) Are you spending the night?
DELIA: No, I just picked up some clothes for Faith, to wear to the funeral.
ROGER: Oh.
DELIA: No, I'm gonna stay for a while, because I was a Good Samaritan, and I'll just tell them I had a little bit of trouble finding the shoes, and they'll thank me for going to so much trouble. I have about a half an hour.
ROGER: (hugging her) Oh, Delia, you're wonderful!
DELIA: Well, nobody at home seems to think so. Faith's getting all the attention, and I don't know, I might as well... She can see! She can see, she got up tonight and her eyes are okay.
ROGER: Thank God. Uh, I guess I ought to call her, but I'm not sure whether I can dial the phone.
(Delia sees the near empty bottle of Scotch on the table and picks it up.)
ROGER: Hey, that's an idea, we can drink to her instead!
DELIA: If I'm not mistaken, this bottle was half filled this morning. I should have brought some coffee.
ROGER: Well don't be sad! There's enough Scotch to toast Faith with. And Clem Moultrie's fine surgery, of which my father was so very proud.
DELIA: You could have done that operation. You could have done that operation even better than Clem.
ROGER: (turning away) My father wanted him!
DELIA: (rubbing his shoulders) It's because it was your sister! That's the only reason, and you know that! I don't know, the way you're acting - it's like you wanna feel awful.
ROGER: I just want to forget everything. I don't want to think. Oh, don't stop, that feels so nice. (reaching for the bottle) Look, uhmm, we'll finish the Scotch and then I'll go get some coffee.
(She takes the bottle away.)
ROGER: Dee!
DELIA: Please, please stop this, this is very, very bad for you. Really. (She puts the bottle on the mantle.) I mean, you can't do too much of that. I know how bad you feel, really, I do. But that's gonna make you sick.
ROGER: I spent hours this morning fighting the urge to call you again. The Scotch was to help me be strong and it really worked: I didn't touch the phone once. Isn't that just a little bit good?
DELIA: It's fine, that was fine. (puts her hand on his shoulder) But liquor shouldn't make you strong.
ROGER: (turning away) I know, I just feel so tense inside. It's the only thing that makes me relax.
DELIA: I think I can fix that. Okay, lie down. (smiles) Come on, lie down!
(He starts to lie down on the couch and almost falls on the floor.)
DELIA: (helps him up) Okay.
(She starts giving him a massage.)
DELIA: How does that feel?
ROGER: So good, it's wonderful.
DELIA: (laughs) Now, try not to forget everything, because there are things that are too nice.
ROGER: Only you, Delia.
DELIA: You know, some people say that you have everything.
ROGER: Except a father.
DELIA: Shhh! Doc loved you. You know, maybe he was upset with you sometimes, but see, that only proves that he cared.
ROGER: It proves that I made him unhappy!
DELIA: No really, parents expect that. Little John drives me crazy, sometimes. He wants all the wrong things so I get very mad.
ROGER: That's okay cause he's a baby.
DELIA: Yeah, but when he's older, he's gonna do other things that make me mad. You are a very good and loving person, and your mother loved you and Doc loved you. See I know he did. And you have every right to mourn him, but not in a way that hurts you.
ROGER: I've done so many bad things, Dee.
DELIA: So have I. I've done some very bad things. Everybody has. Doc did. Frank, Jill, believe it or not, even Maeve. That's how people are. Good things, bad things, you know we're not supposed to be perfect. Right?
(She kisses him, and he sits up and strokes her hair.)
ROGER: Delia, I love you. I really, really love you.
(He kisses her. In the next scene, they are lying in bed together.)
ROGER: You know, you really rescued me tonight.
DELIA: (grins) You seem to be feeling better. (laughs)
ROGER: Oh, you were right. You know, I don't need liquor. I just need you.
DELIA: What about when I'm not here?
ROGER: Oh well, I'll just think about how much I love you.
DELIA: (laughs) I like that!
ROGER: I really do love you, Dee. It's been so long since I've mattered so much to anyone. Someone as loving and sweet as you caring about me? Now that's something to really hold onto.
DELIA: That works both ways. You've been so good for me.
ROGER: Oh, I hope so.
DELIA: (laughs) Oh, I want to stay! I want to stay!
ROGER: Please, please stay?
DELIA: No, I can't. They're gonna be very suspicious, and Jill will probably come over here and she'll help me find Faith's clothes. Or mine.
ROGER: Or mine!
(They laugh.)
ROGER: Oh, you make me so happy.
DELIA: Oh, you know, nobody would say that to me. I mean, Little John might say that to me, but of course he doesn't talk too well. (laughs) Nobody in the Ryan family, not my husband, not even my brother.
(She kisses his chest.)
ROGER: That's sad. I mean here you are with this marvelous gift of being playful and funny, and they don't even see it.
DELIA: Oh, they see it, but they call it childish and dumb.
ROGER: (laughs) Well, I love it.
DELIA: You bring out the best in me.
ROGER: You know, I used to worry a lot about your being careless and Frank finding out about us.
DELIA: That's not gonna happen.
ROGER: I'm beginning to wish that it would.
(He kisses her neck as she is visibly nervous.)