That Old Cape Magic

ground on. It was like a poker game where the wagering suddenly accelerated, each player raising instead of calling, then raising again, until all the blue chips were in the center of the table, more than either could afford to lose, or, maybe, in this case, to win. His father’s death, she kept insisting, was the true source of his current malaise, and her steadfast refusal to surrender this causal linkage had thrown him off hisstride. Truth be told, the chronology did give him pause, because the idea of returning to L.A.
had
taken root not long after his father’s car was found at the turnpike rest stop. Since then he’d become more aggressive about looking for film work, checking with Sid every couple of weeks to see if he’d heard of any assignments he might be right for. He never made those calls when Joy was around, but of course they’d showed up on their long-distance bill, and she’d put two and two together. And he couldn’t really blame her for being angry that he’d sent up a trial balloon with the dean of faculty before broaching the subject with her. Why had he done that? Because he’d been pretty sure she’d hate the idea, maybe even veto it preemptively. So he’d gone ahead without her.
    Reluctantly, Griffin was forced to entertain the possibility that he was in the wrong. Maybe her case against him wasn’t airtight, but it was fundamentally sturdy, whereas his defense against her accusations was merely skillful, artifice teetering on the head of a pin. Panicking, he’d tried to retreat to more solid ground. If he had a few secrets about phone calls to his agent and conversations with his dean, what about the whopper she’d been keeping all these years?
He
wasn’t the one who’d fallen in love with somebody else;
she
had. And indeed it was this knowledge, the details of it, that kept playing on a loop through his brain, like a pivotal scene in a script (yes, Joy would hate the metaphor, but there you were) that was out of kilter, jeopardizing the whole.
    INT. TASTEFUL B&B ROOM: NIGHT.
    A man (mid-fifties, slender and moderately good-looking despite his receding hairline) is peering out the window, but his haggard face is reflected back at him in the glass. A woman his age, beautiful but despondent, is seated on the four-poster bed, her head in her hands. Clearly, they’re arguing and have been for some time.
    HUSBAND
    Is it over? Can you at least tell me that much?
    WIFE
(looking up in disbelief)
    Over? Can’t you see it never even started?
    HUSBAND
    Okay, say I believe you and you never—
    WIFE
    Say
you believe me?
    HUSBAND
(ashamed of himself)
    Even if it never… My question is, are you afraid to see him again? Is that why you won’t go to L.A.?
    WIFE
    I don’t know …Maybe.
    He turns to face her now. Neither speaks for a long beat.
    HUSBAND
    Explain something to me. How come you get to be disappointed with our life and I don’t?
    WIFE
(shaking her head)
    Don’t you see? I’m
not
disappointed. That’s why I’m not willing to risk what we have. We’re talking about something that happened a longtime ago. It shouldn’t have, but it did. I let my feelings get the better of me, and I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry yours got hurt. But
I chose you
. Aren’t the last two decades proof?
    But he still can’t believe she was in love with someone else, ever.
    HUSBAND
(petulant)
    Proof you love your daughter.
    WIFE
    I do love our daughter.
    HUSBAND
(bitter)
    Plus, how would you explain to Harve and Jill and Princess Grace of Morocco that you loved somebody new? That would mean you changed your mind about something, and nobody in your family ever does that.
    CLOSE ON THE HUSBAND. He knows better than to continue in this vein, but he can’t help himself.
    HUSBAND (CONT’D)
    What is it your father always says? Nobody’s ever disproved the domino theory?
    WIFE
    At least we’re finally addressing the real subject.
    HUSBAND
(incredulous)
    Which is?
    WIFE
    Our parents.
    HUSBAND
    Hey,
my
parents couldn’t be more out of the picture. They have been right from the start.
    WIFE
(
so
sad)
    Can’t you see, you’ve got it all wrong. You always blame
my
parents for intruding into our lives. You think I’m spared when you take your parents’ phone calls in the den with the door closed.
    HUSBAND
    Let me see if I understand this. Are you really saying my parents are the reason you fell in love with Tommy?
    ON THE WOMAN NOW. She’s on her feet, facing him, gaining confidence. In