EXT. Apartment Building Entrance - Night
The Liptons leaving for a night out.
CAROL
Okay.
LARRY
You look wonderful.
Paul House is coming down the street, carrying a paper bag of groceries.
CAROL
Oh, hello.
PAUL
Hi.
CAROL
Hi, Mr. House, so... sorry.
PAUL
Thank you so much for those wonderful flowers.
CAROL
Oh, well...
PAUL
It was quite nice of you.
CAROL
That's... sure.
LARRY
If there's anything we can do. You know, anything you need, just tell us and we'll...
CAROL
No, anything. Anything at all. I mean, God, it's just such a shock when anyone... It was just so sudden. I mean, she seemed so... God, well, healthy.
LARRY
Yeah.
PAUL
She had a heart condition.
CAROL
She did? She never mentioned it... It... that she was...
LARRY
Ah --
PAUL
Yes, well, she wouldn't have.
CAROL
No. Right. Well...
LARRY
If there's anything we can do.
CAROL
Yeah, anything. really.
LARRY
You know, if you need anything, if you're lonely, come by. You know.
PAUL
Thank you.
(he looks at Carol)
You know, you owe me a wonderful French dessert.
CAROL
Oh, no, no, no. I know, I haven't forgotten. Believe me, I haven't forgotten.
PAUL
Well, have a nice time. You seem all dressed up.
CAROL
Yeah. Oh, I know. We're going to the opera.
PAUL
Oh, enjoy.
LARRY
My favorite, my favorite.
PAUL
Good-night.
He walks away toward the entrance of the building.
LARRY
Good-night.
CAROL
Good-night.
LARRY
(to Carol)
Come on, we're gonna be late.
EXT. Metropolitan Opera House - Night
Long shot on the Met building.
We hear the music from Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman."
CAMERA slowly tilts down. We don't see Carol and Larry yet, but we hear their voices.
CAROL
(voice over)
The deal was, I sit through the ice hockey game and you watch the whole opera.
CAMERA is now on ground level, and we see Carol and Larry coming out of the opera hall.
LARRY
I can't listen to that much Wagner ["Vog-nah"], you know -- I start to get the urge to conquer Poland.
They cross the esplanade, under the brightness of street lights.
INT. Elaine's Restaurant - Night
Carol and Larry are at dinner with Sy and Marilyn, and Ted. [Ted is played by Alan Alda.]
We get a Medium Full view of the party, with a very mobile CAMERA moving around the table, going from one person to another, getting closer to one person, then moving slightly away.
SY
I'll tell you something. I think it's weird. I mean, listen to this. One night she's having coffee, and the next night they are carrying her out in a rubber bag.
CAROL
Oh, I know, I know. And she did not look like she was ready to go.
TED
Maybe this guy killed her, you know? Like, he's got, like, a young tootsie stashed someplace, or something.
LARRY
No, no, not this... you gotta, you gotta see this guy. This guy gets his jollies from licking the back of postage stamps. He's a-- a boring old...
TED
Well, I can see that. Yeah, depending on whose picture is on the stamp.
CAROL
She never once mentioned that she had a heart condition.
LARRY
Well, what is she gonna say? Oh, yeah, hello, I'm Mrs. House and I have a bad heart.
CAROL
Well, she had no problem telling me about her hysterectomy in the first five minutes.
SY
It is much easier to talk about a hysterectomy than it is to talk about a heart condition.
TED
You said she liked... she liked eating high cholesterol desserts. Is that what you said?
LARRY
So, she had one too many.
CAROL
No. No! She wasn't on a diet. We discussed diets.
LARRY
So she wasn't on a diet. But...
TED
This would be a really great way to kill somebody.
SY
How?
TED
You clog their arteries with whipped cream, chocolate mousse, butter. They go like that.
Carol laughs.
SY
That's great.
LARRY
I like a... It's disgusting.
TED
You know what I mean?
LARRY
It's disgusting, but a... It's fatal.
TED
Wouldn't that be great?
MARILYN
I'd like to French-pastry myself to death right now.
SY
I'll help you.
MARILYN
I really would.
SY
All right.
MARILYN
In fact, I'd like another piece of pie, right after this. Do I dare? I like yours better than this.
TED
Are you gonna start a restaurant? Are you serious about that?
MARILYN
You really should. You're a great cook.
TED
Because, if you do, count me in. I wanna be part of that. Really.
-30-
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