How Do You Hold On To Someone
You've Never Met?
Dear new tennant, welcome to your new home.
As the previous tenant, let me say I hope you'll like living here as much as I did.
I filed the change of address with the post office, but you know what a crapshoot that can be.
So if anything slips through, would you do me a favor and forward my mail?
I'd appreciate it.
My new address is below.
Thanks in advance.
P.S.: Sorry about the paw prints by the front door.
They were there when I moved in.
Same with the box in the attic.
~Kate's letter
Paw prints?
What the hell is she talking about?
~Akex, after checking the front door
Dear Ms Forster.
I got your note and I'm afraid there must be some kind of misunderstanding.
As far as I know, the lake house has been empty for several years.
Maybe your note was intended for the Sandburg house down the shore
since no one has lived in this house for years.
But I'm curious about the paw prints.
~Alex's letter
Dear Mr. Wyler.
I'm very familiar with the Sandburg cottage and I can guarantee I never lived there.
I'm old-fashioned, but I don't think a cottage should be over 6000 square feet.
So, let me try again.
I used to live at the lake house then I moved.
Now I live at 1620 North Racine in Chicago.
I'd appreciate it if you would forward my mail if you get any.
Oh, by the way, it's 2006.
Has been all year, ask anyone.
~Kate's letter
2006?
What does she mean, 2006?
~Alex Wyler
[at the construction site]
Henry: What are we doing here?
Alex: I have to deliver a letter.
It should be here, 1620 North Racine.
Henry: But... there's nothing here.
Are we meeting someone? Does somebody live here? What?
Alex: Yeah, I thought so.
Henry: Should we ring the bell? Beep, beep.
Dear Ms Forster.
I went to 1620 North Racine, and it's not there.
It's just a construction site.
From the pictures it looks nice, but not for another 18 months.
What am I missing here?
Maybe you got the address wrong, because you got the date wrong too.
~Alex's letter
Okay my mystery correspondent, I get it.
Just in case you really are where and when you think you are, you'll need this.
There was a freak late snow that spring and everyone got sick.
So, plenty of rest, lots of fluids.
Doctor's orders.
~Kate's letter
Can this be happening?
~Alex's note
Why not?
~Kate's note
Impossible, I know.
Not possible, but it's happening.
~Alex's note
Kate: I'm a doctor, dedicated to curing he sick.
At least trying to.
Alex: I'm an architect.
I like to build.
And while I wouldn't say my current project is ideal, it allows me to be here, in this place,
and that's enough for now.
But tell me something.
If you're working in a hospital in Chicago now, where were you before, in my time?
Kate: Two years ago, in your time, I was working in internal medicine in Madison.
Alex: Tell me about the future.
What's it like in the year 2006?
Kate: I'm afraid the world's pretty much the same.Of course, we all dress in shiny metal jump suits and drive flying cars,
and no one talks anymore because we can read each other's minds.
But the truth is, man from the past, not much has really changed in 2006.
Speaking of the past, though, I've been thinking about the paw prints.
How is that possible?
Alex: Well, I think we have the same dog.
Kate: Oh, yeah? What's your like?
According to the vet, mine is 8 years old in my time, 6 in yours.
She's skinny, has sad eyes, snores, and sleeps like a person.
I don't know why, but I call her Jack.
Girl patient, about the movie: Is she gonna marry him?
Kate: What do you think?
Girl patient: I don't know. He's kind of old.
Kate, chuckles: He's not that old.
Girl patient: My mom's last boyfriend was bald.
He was nice, but my mom didn't marry him.
Kate: No?
Girl patient: "There's always something better coming around the corner."
That's what she says.
Maybe that's what that lady should do. [about the actress]
Wait for something better to come around the corner.
Kate: Maybe.
But if she's not careful, she could spend her whole life waiting.
Kate: Sorry I haven't made it to the mailbox lately.
It's been a long week.
All night shifts.
Alex: Good to hear from you.
I thought you left me.
You should know that you're my only connection to the future.
Alex: How come we never talk about the things we like?
Kate: Let's see, reading the classic to Jack.
Alex: Who's his favorite?
Kate: Dostoyevsky.
Alex: For me, this city, on a day when the light is so clear that I can touch every detail,
every brick and window in the buildings I love.
Come on, take a walk with me this Saturday.
Let me show you.
Kate: You're crazy.
Why are you going through all this trouble for me?
Alex: No trouble.
Summer's here.
Alex: Okay, your turn. Favorite things.
Kate: Where to start?
When I smell the flowers before I see them.
When it starts to rain just as the picnic is ending.
And I love the smell of Jack's paws.
Alex: You didn't forget to mention your husband, did you?
Kate: Of course I love my husband, who is also a doctor.
Plastic surgeon for small farm animals.
Alex: Good. I'm married too.
I've got 8 children and none of them look like me.
I'm worried, Kate.
Kate: I would be too.
Alex, chuckle: I'm single.
Kate: Me, too
Henry: Looks smaller.
When did he complete it?
Alex: You weren't born yet, and I was 8.
[about the upper deck]
Can't swim.
There should be a stairway down to the water, a porch, a deck.
Here, you're in a box.
A glass box with a view to everything that's around you but you can't touch it.
No interconnection between you and what you're looking at.
Henry: I don't know... he's got this big maple growing right in the middle of the house.
Alex: Containment. Containment and control.
This house is about ownership, not connection.
It's beautiful. Seductive, even. But it's incomplete.
It was all about him.
Dad knew how to build a house, not a home.
But you know, I think he wants us to do what he couldn't.
But admitting that, would mean admitting that he came up short in some way that he could do more.
And that tortures him.
My dearest Mr. Wyler, are you willing to play a game with me?
Two years ago today, I was taking the 145 train to Madison from the Riverside station
and I forgot something there.
It was a gift from my father.
If you find it, can you please put it in the mailbox?
It would mean a lot.
~Kate's note
Alex: Kate, I found it.
I have it with me.
One day I'll get it to you, trust me.
I know how important it is to you.
You might not remember, but we saw each other.
At least I saw you.
You never told me how beautiful you are.
Kate: Maybe you saw somebody else.
That was a bad hair year for me.
Alex: Long brown hair, gentle-unguarded eyes...
Kate: Okay, you saw me.
But I still don't know what you look like.
Alex: Well, why don't we just get together in the future,
and you can let me know what you think.
Kate: It's a date.
Okay, why don't you call me July 10th, 2006 at 9:05 PM.
Dr. Anna: So, who is it you write to?
I couldn't help...
Every time you get a break at the hospital, you're writing something.
Kate: There is someone.
It's kind of a long-distance relationship.
Dr. Anna: How did you meet?
Kate: We haven't.
Dr. Anna: What? You're kidding.
Kate: The story of my life. Keep everything at a distance. Everyone.
The man who was standing in front of me, the one that wanted to marry me,
Dear new tennant, welcome to your new home.
As the previous tenant, let me say I hope you'll like living here as much as I did.
I filed the change of address with the post office, but you know what a crapshoot that can be.
So if anything slips through, would you do me a favor and forward my mail?
I'd appreciate it.
My new address is below.
Thanks in advance.
P.S.: Sorry about the paw prints by the front door.
They were there when I moved in.
Same with the box in the attic.
~Kate's letter
Paw prints?
What the hell is she talking about?
~Akex, after checking the front door
Dear Ms Forster.
I got your note and I'm afraid there must be some kind of misunderstanding.
As far as I know, the lake house has been empty for several years.
Maybe your note was intended for the Sandburg house down the shore
since no one has lived in this house for years.
But I'm curious about the paw prints.
~Alex's letter
Dear Mr. Wyler.
I'm very familiar with the Sandburg cottage and I can guarantee I never lived there.
I'm old-fashioned, but I don't think a cottage should be over 6000 square feet.
So, let me try again.
I used to live at the lake house then I moved.
Now I live at 1620 North Racine in Chicago.
I'd appreciate it if you would forward my mail if you get any.
Oh, by the way, it's 2006.
Has been all year, ask anyone.
~Kate's letter
2006?
What does she mean, 2006?
~Alex Wyler
[at the construction site]
Henry: What are we doing here?
Alex: I have to deliver a letter.
It should be here, 1620 North Racine.
Henry: But... there's nothing here.
Are we meeting someone? Does somebody live here? What?
Alex: Yeah, I thought so.
Henry: Should we ring the bell? Beep, beep.
Dear Ms Forster.
I went to 1620 North Racine, and it's not there.
It's just a construction site.
From the pictures it looks nice, but not for another 18 months.
What am I missing here?
Maybe you got the address wrong, because you got the date wrong too.
~Alex's letter
Okay my mystery correspondent, I get it.
Just in case you really are where and when you think you are, you'll need this.
There was a freak late snow that spring and everyone got sick.
So, plenty of rest, lots of fluids.
Doctor's orders.
~Kate's letter
Can this be happening?
~Alex's note
Why not?
~Kate's note
Impossible, I know.
Not possible, but it's happening.
~Alex's note
Kate: I'm a doctor, dedicated to curing he sick.
At least trying to.
Alex: I'm an architect.
I like to build.
And while I wouldn't say my current project is ideal, it allows me to be here, in this place,
and that's enough for now.
But tell me something.
If you're working in a hospital in Chicago now, where were you before, in my time?
Kate: Two years ago, in your time, I was working in internal medicine in Madison.
Alex: Tell me about the future.
What's it like in the year 2006?
Kate: I'm afraid the world's pretty much the same.Of course, we all dress in shiny metal jump suits and drive flying cars,
and no one talks anymore because we can read each other's minds.
But the truth is, man from the past, not much has really changed in 2006.
Speaking of the past, though, I've been thinking about the paw prints.
How is that possible?
Alex: Well, I think we have the same dog.
Kate: Oh, yeah? What's your like?
According to the vet, mine is 8 years old in my time, 6 in yours.
She's skinny, has sad eyes, snores, and sleeps like a person.
I don't know why, but I call her Jack.
Girl patient, about the movie: Is she gonna marry him?
Kate: What do you think?
Girl patient: I don't know. He's kind of old.
Kate, chuckles: He's not that old.
Girl patient: My mom's last boyfriend was bald.
He was nice, but my mom didn't marry him.
Kate: No?
Girl patient: "There's always something better coming around the corner."
That's what she says.
Maybe that's what that lady should do. [about the actress]
Wait for something better to come around the corner.
Kate: Maybe.
But if she's not careful, she could spend her whole life waiting.
Kate: Sorry I haven't made it to the mailbox lately.
It's been a long week.
All night shifts.
Alex: Good to hear from you.
I thought you left me.
You should know that you're my only connection to the future.
Alex: How come we never talk about the things we like?
Kate: Let's see, reading the classic to Jack.
Alex: Who's his favorite?
Kate: Dostoyevsky.
Alex: For me, this city, on a day when the light is so clear that I can touch every detail,
every brick and window in the buildings I love.
Come on, take a walk with me this Saturday.
Let me show you.
Kate: You're crazy.
Why are you going through all this trouble for me?
Alex: No trouble.
Summer's here.
Alex: Okay, your turn. Favorite things.
Kate: Where to start?
When I smell the flowers before I see them.
When it starts to rain just as the picnic is ending.
And I love the smell of Jack's paws.
Alex: You didn't forget to mention your husband, did you?
Kate: Of course I love my husband, who is also a doctor.
Plastic surgeon for small farm animals.
Alex: Good. I'm married too.
I've got 8 children and none of them look like me.
I'm worried, Kate.
Kate: I would be too.
Alex, chuckle: I'm single.
Kate: Me, too
Henry: Looks smaller.
When did he complete it?
Alex: You weren't born yet, and I was 8.
[about the upper deck]
Can't swim.
There should be a stairway down to the water, a porch, a deck.
Here, you're in a box.
A glass box with a view to everything that's around you but you can't touch it.
No interconnection between you and what you're looking at.
Henry: I don't know... he's got this big maple growing right in the middle of the house.
Alex: Containment. Containment and control.
This house is about ownership, not connection.
It's beautiful. Seductive, even. But it's incomplete.
It was all about him.
Dad knew how to build a house, not a home.
But you know, I think he wants us to do what he couldn't.
But admitting that, would mean admitting that he came up short in some way that he could do more.
And that tortures him.
My dearest Mr. Wyler, are you willing to play a game with me?
Two years ago today, I was taking the 145 train to Madison from the Riverside station
and I forgot something there.
It was a gift from my father.
If you find it, can you please put it in the mailbox?
It would mean a lot.
~Kate's note
Alex: Kate, I found it.
I have it with me.
One day I'll get it to you, trust me.
I know how important it is to you.
You might not remember, but we saw each other.
At least I saw you.
You never told me how beautiful you are.
Kate: Maybe you saw somebody else.
That was a bad hair year for me.
Alex: Long brown hair, gentle-unguarded eyes...
Kate: Okay, you saw me.
But I still don't know what you look like.
Alex: Well, why don't we just get together in the future,
and you can let me know what you think.
Kate: It's a date.
Okay, why don't you call me July 10th, 2006 at 9:05 PM.
Dr. Anna: So, who is it you write to?
I couldn't help...
Every time you get a break at the hospital, you're writing something.
Kate: There is someone.
It's kind of a long-distance relationship.
Dr. Anna: How did you meet?
Kate: We haven't.
Dr. Anna: What? You're kidding.
Kate: The story of my life. Keep everything at a distance. Everyone.
The man who was standing in front of me, the one that wanted to marry me,
him, I push away, I run from him.
In the meantime, the one man I can never meet,
him, I would like to give my whole heart to.
Dr. Anna: He must write one hell of a letter.
Kate: It was you.
Why didn't you say anything?
Alex: You would've thought I was crazy or drunk, or both.
Kate: Yeah, but... I liked you.
You should have said something.
Alex: How? You were with your boyfriend.
Kate: Excuses, excuses. You are a coward.
Alex: I'm not a coward.
Kate: Oh, really? What about your girlfriend?
Alex: I told you already, she's not my girlfriend.
Kate: He's not my boyfriend either.
Alex: Oh, really? Well, what is he, then? Your brother?
Kate: We have a comedian.
What's you have, a clown for breakfast this morning?
Alex: Wonderful, our first fight!
You could write a song about it and go sing it in San Francisco.
There is something I never told you, Kate.
It was my father who built the lake house, with his own hands.
It was a long time ago, before he was famous,
when he still had a family and worshipped my mother.
Her name was Mary, and the house was a gift for her.
She was smart and funny.
She could have done anything,
but chose to take care of my brother and I and help him build his career.
The more successful he became, the more impossible he was to live with.
Finally, she just couldn't take living with him anymore.
She left him.
Within a year, she got sick.
Unfortunately, she never learned how to stop loving him.
He wasn't at the funeral.
When I asked him why,
he said, "She was dead to me the moment she stepped out of the house."
And then he gave me one of his architect-of-the-year grins.
~Alex's letter
A serious architect takes that into account.
He knows that if he wants presence, he must consult with nature.
He must be captivated by the light.
Always the light.
Always.
~Simon Wyler
I'm so sorry, Alex.
I wish somehow I could be there with you,
that we could sit together and look out over the water and the light in this house your father built.
I could be a shoulder for you like you've been for me.
And tell you that everything is gonna be okay.
If I could do one thing for you today, from here, one small simple thing from the future,
I hope this is it.
It won't be published for a couple of years, but I don't think you should have to wait that long.
I hope it helps you know how much you were loved.
~Kate's letter, about Simon Wyler's book
Alex: Pick a place, I'll be there, I promise.
Tomorrow, what do you say?
Kate: But, Alex, it won't be tomorrow for you.
You're gonna have to wait 2 years.
Alex: I know, I don't care, I'll wait.
Kate: Are you sure?
Alex: I do.
I've never been so sure of anything in my life.
Kate: Okay, I'll see you in 2 years, then.
Alex: See you tomorrow, then.
Alex: Kate, where would you like to go?
Kate: Il Mare.
Hostess: When were you hoping to dine with us?
Alex: 2 years from tomorrow.
Hostess: 2 years from tomorrow?
Alex: Yeah.
Hostess: 2 years?
Alex: From tomorrow.
Hostess: Can I have your name?
Alex: Wyler.
Hostess: Hello. Name?
Kate: Forster. Or Wyler, I'm really not sure.
Hostess: Wyler? [smiling] Wyler...
Kate: You weren't there.
You didn't come
Alex: I don't understand.
Something must have happened, I'm sorry.
I've got 2 years, Kate. We can try again.
Kate: No, Alex, it's too late.
It already happened, it didn't work.
Alex: Don't give up on me, Kate.
What about Persuasion? You told me, they wait.
They meet again, they have another chance.
Kate: Life is not a book, Alex.
It can be over in a second.
I was having lunch with my mother at Daley Plaza, and a man was killed right in front of me.
He died in my arms.
And I thought, "It can't end just like that on Valentine's Day."
And I thought about all the people who love him, waiting at home, who will never see him again.
And then I thought, what if there is no one?
What if you live your whole life and no one is waiting?
So I drove to the lake house looking for any kind of answer.
And I found you.
And I let myself get lost.
Lost in this beautiful fantasy where time stood still.
But it's not real, Alex.
I have to learn to live the life that I have got.
Please don't write anymore.
Don't try to find me.
Let me let you go.
Alex: Still wanna rent a lake house?
It's what Kate wants.
Morgan: How the hell do you know what Kate wants?
Alex, handed him the keys: Trust me.
Henry: You're still writing with Kate?
Alex: No.
Henry: Why not?
Alex: She asked me not to.
Henry: Why?
Alex: Time.
While it lasted, she was more real to me than any of that stuff.
She was more real to me than anything I've ever known.
I saw her.
I kissed her.
I love her.
And now she's gone.
~Alex Wyler
Kate: Who did this drawing?
Henry: My brother did, actually.
Kate: Who's your brother?
Henry: Alex Wyler. Did you know him?
Kate: Yeah, I know him.
Do you know how I can get in touch with him?
Is he anywhere that I can...
Henry: I'm sorry... He died 2 years ago today, actually.
There was an accident.
Alex, I know why you didn't show up that night.
It was you at Daley Plaza that day. It was you.
Please, don't go.
Just wait, please.
Don't look for me. Don't try to find me.
Don't look for me. Don't try to find me.
I love you.
And it's taken me all this time to say it, but I love you.
And if you still care for me, wait for me, wait with me.
Just wait.
Wait.
Wait 2 years, Alex.
Come to the lake house.
I'm here.
~Kate's letter
*****
i love it so much..
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