Come on, Lexie,
he just wants to know how you are.
Tell him.
What?
Goddamn it, I'm not talking
through closed doors in my own house.
Tell him what?
I said, tell him how I am.
Tell him I can't see.
Is that what you want? Tell him
that you just sit here and you don't see?
Yes!
It's still a pretty place, Lex.
If you shut your eyes...
...you can put together
a pretty good picture of this place.
I want to go home.
What the hell's going on?
Hey, Marcus,
what the hell do you think you're doing?
Marcus, what's the matter with you?
You drunk or something?
Christ, Marcus, I'm not out of the pit yet.
Damn it. Stop it!
What the hell is he trying to do?
What the hell are you trying to do, Marcus?
I said, stop it now!
You get out of here
or I'm going to get Matt.
Get Matt down here. Get him to set
those pins. There are no pins down there.
You've got ten seconds
to get your ass out of here.
Did she ever talk to you?
You just go to the house
and go up to her room. Is that it?
What do you talk about, Beulah?
You go up.
You're both skaters.
You both won the regionals.
-What the hell, you got a lot to talk about!
-She won the sectionals.
We watch TV.
What?
I said, we watch TV.
But she can't see it.
She listens.
She listens, and I watch.
All right?
I don't know what to do with her.
She says, "What's the point
graduating from high school?"
The least she could do is graduate. Right?
Why?
You're a great, goddamn help, Bea.
If you hadn't filled her with all that crap:
"Everybody's got to do it
just once in their life."
She did it just once.
Don't you start up with me, Marcus!
Don't you dare start up with me.
You sitting out there...
...hanging on to her like some damn doll!
I just want her to be okay.
She's dying out there.
Maybe it's my fault,
I don't know, I don't care.
I just don't want it to be like this.
She's all there is.
Lexie?
Honey?
Is this your mother's stuff?
Come on, Lexie. Let's go downstairs.
Lex, you've got to get out of here.
Is that your mother's sweater, Lex?
Are you taking stuff out of that trunk?
-Take it off.
-Leave me alone.
Leave me alone.
If you can get around, get it off.
If you can come up here,
take that damn sweater off!
Come on, Lexie!
Give it to me.
I won't have you wearing that sweater!
Poor little, Lexie Winston,
she was so promising.
Now she just sits in the attic
in her dead mother's clothes.
-Who the hell are you?
-I'll tell you who the hell I am.
I'll tell you who I am.
I'll tell you who the hell I am.
I'm a stupid character, in stupid clothes...
...who runs a goddamn
stupid bowling alley...
...and ice rink, a goddamn pathetic rink.
And I come up here and I look at you.
And I see....
God, I see...
...somebody I thought could be different.
But you're just like the rest of us,
another damned invalid.
Nobody's going to blame
a helpless invalid for giving up.
Isn't that what you were thinking
when you took that jump?
You wanted to find a way out.
Well, you sure as hell found it!
Son of a bitch!
I'm sorry, honey.
I just can't stand it.
You can't?
Pretty tough...
...for someone who is blind and...
...4-foot-10.
5-foot-3.
I didn't mean to hurt myself.
I didn't want to hurt myself.
I didn't.
It's all right, baby.
It doesn't matter.
It's okay.
We just want you back.
We love you.
Please, baby, come back to us.
Same old pond.
I cleaned it out for you with a snow shovel.
And it's plenty thick
so you don't have to worry about that.
All I'm worried about is standing up,
not falling through.
Well, you go, we both go. All right?
Just let me try to pull you along
a little bit, okay?
Yeah, that's it.
Now come on, you're making more of this
than is necessary.
I'm scared.
There's no point to be scared.
Old Daddy has you.
This is fun.
With you.
I'm more liable to fall than you.
Now you know that.
Okay, let's turn around...
...and try to....
I'm going to pull you a little bit. Okay?
Now, hold onto me so I don't fall.
Okay. Nothing to it.
You skate like you've done this before.
Have you?
Not recently.
Careful there.
I should tie my shoelaces,
so you won't trip over them.
Good.
Nothing to it.
Let's see now.
Dad, it's scary.
-Am I going too fast?
-Dad?
Okay. You want to try it again?
Okay, come on, pick up some speed now.
You're doing good.
You're heading towards the edge.
Here. There's a hand in front of you.
Grab it.
What are you doing here?
I came to see you break your ass.
I can't see very well.
I don't know if you're kidding.
Just listen to my voice.
I'm not kidding.
You don't have to see where you're going.
I'll guide you.
It's hard.
I keep....
The ice field is tilted.
I keep trying to see where I am.
See the edge.
Try shutting your eyes.
Just get the feel of the ice.
Balance. Feel your balance.
Nick?
Nick?
Keep coming.
Don't act helpless with me.
Come on, keep working.
Around.
That's right.
Follow me.
Follow me. Don't make me control you.
Feel where I'm going.
Just skate, don't be so stiff.
Feel the ice. Right.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Do you feel the turn?
I'm going to go around you.
Give me your hand.
I'm all right. Right here.
Don't lean so much. Stand up straight.
We're going to turn around.
Come on, turn, I've got you.
I've got you. That's it.
Now, we're going to glide.
That's it. Ready?
Glide.
Just glide.
-Do an axel.
-No!
Did you hear what I said?
I said, "Do an axel."
-Nick, I can't.
-Don't give me that.
You're going to set up.
No! What are you doing?
We'll go around again
and when we're straight you'll do an axel.
Shut up!
You're gutless.
-You bastard.
-Can't you do it without the TV cameras?
You shouldn't have opened your eyes.
You bastard!
You're sure a better skater
than you are a fighter.
I hate you. I really hate you.
I guess that makes us even.
Well, are you going to sit there
and get your ass all wet?
I don't need your hand to help me up.
Well, you want to quit?
Why are you doing this?
I tried to hurt her.
I really wanted to hurt her.
That's three in a row.
You quit being a doctor, a hockey player...
...and now you're going to quit on Lexie.
You're too much.
It seems to me that you have to get away
from anything that looks tough.
Did you ever skate on a pro team?
That's easy. You just get beat up.
I know what you're talking about--
-Maybe I know the moves pretty well.
-Don't.
If you want to spend half your life...
...making up your mind
about what you feel like doing, that's fine.
But finally you've got to make a move
or turn out like the rest of us.
You're on your own.
Make a circle. Go faster.
That's it.
You're going to cut towards the center,
towards me. Listen to where my voice is.
That's it.
Make a sharp right turn.
You're coming to the wall.
You've got about ten feet.
Five feet, turn, turn.
That's it.
All right. Now, go into a sit spin.
You're in the middle of the rink.
Hell, I did that when I could see.
Oh, baby, you did a double.
-lt wasn't perfect.
-Well, it was damn good.
What a girl, what a girl.
Nick...
...I love you.
I know you don't like me
very much anymore.
But I love you.
I want you.
Now?
Yeah.
Come on.
What about Beulah?
She's not here.
It's only 6:00.
I was beginning to think
you didn't know how.
I don't know where you come up
with those harebrained ideas.
She can do it.
It's five months until the first competition.
That's plenty of time.
-I don't care about any of that.
-Yeah, you do.
If you could see you'd be right back
in there, with that whole business.
-I wouldn't.
-I don't believe you.
I can't.
You don't have to do anything
you don't want to.
If nobody made her do anything...
...she'd be sitting up in that room
staring at the walls.
I don't know if she can do it.
I just know she's got to try.
For who? For you or for her?
For both of us.
If she doesn't try...
...it's going to be second best...
...for us.
Whatever it is.
She can skate.
I don't know who took that seriously
in the first place, even her, but she can.
She just won the sectionals.
That's all the skaters
in the middle of this country.
-That's saying something.
-It's pointless and cruel.
Don't give me that.
Not trying is pointless and cruel.
Not trying is wondering your whole life
if you gave up too soon.
Who the hell needs that?
They'll laugh at me.
They might.
Well, they can't know I can't see,
otherwise they'll just feel sorry for me.
-That's going to be harder.
-They can't know.
Okay.
Dad?
The kid's never seemed too smart.
But he's right. I'm with you, baby.
Goddamn, I sure am.
Here we are, the team!
The flying wedge.
-Fearless!
-Suicidal!
We have the fastest blade-changing time
of any pit crew on the circuit.
Call-out distances, the wall's louder.
You guys are crazy. You're all crazy.
-Lucky for you, I'd say.
-Thank God for the loony bin.
God protects little children and fools.
And she knows she's got her hands full
with this crowd.
Wow!
It seems huge.
-Just wait till it's full.
-Thanks a lot.
$20 a night...
...three nights a week,
before the preliminaries.
Any time we want as long as
it's between 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.
-That's great.
-That's plenty of time.
Okay. I'd say the tunnel is 15 feet wide.
There's about 30 feet,
35 feet open to the ice.
-Let's cover this up there.
-With a mask.
-I'll get some adhesive tape down there....
-Great.
-Ready, babe?
-Yeah, I guess so.
Without your skates?
Between all of you,
you think of everything, don't you?
We try.
Good even boards.
They're easy to see, huh?
Easy for you to see.
Don't give me that.
You're coming into the corner.
-Do you know where you are?
-Push!
Really fast ice. It feels pretty good.
Easy corners. How do you feel?
It feels okay.
Good. That's it.
Do a figure eight.
That's it.
Time it in your head
from the corner to the blue line.
Come on.
Okay, now, one, two, three,
blue line, blue line!
Good.
I want to remind you....
I felt a little sloppy.
We finally got some decent scores
out of those judges.
-At least you're on the board.
-Excuse me.
Here she comes.
-Which way?
-Let's do our stuff.
-Okay, which way?
-She's about 10 feet.
She's got a lot of people around her.
Congratulations, Annette!
Not yet. Good luck.
Thanks.
Made it.
-With this act we should go on the road.
-That was pretty damn good.
If it's any comfort,
the crowd still loves Annette Brashlout.
How would you like a punch in the nose?
I can't believe I got that 5.6.
-Half of the judges have glasses.
-I wish they all would.
Hi, Lexie.
Jesus!
What the hell are you doing here?
Could we have a minute, please?
-No, this is a private--
-Yeah.
Sure you can.
You can't tell.
I saw the program.
I can't believe it.
-Here.
-No, I can do it.
You look lovely, Lexie.
When I saw you out there,
I fell in love with you all over again.
Only while skating?
It's a funny relationship.
You didn't take my calls.
No.
Do you remember me?
Yes.
I missed you.
I missed you.
Do you want to try again?
I don't miss you anymore, Brian.
Does anybody know?
No.
Would you ask my friends
to come back in, please?
Sure.
Good luck.
Thank you.
That was Laurie Fostan,
from the Baton Rouge skating rink.
Are you going to tell anybody?
You know, I really loved her.
Yeah.
Is that for me or for her or for you?
Maybe for everybody.
Are you going to tell anybody?
Not everybody who doesn't happen
to be from Waverly is a complete shit.
Yeah.
Now, in first place in overall standings
the reigning national champion...
...Annette Brashlout.
Nice to see it again.
How does it look?
Beautiful.
Good old Annette.
How do you think I look?
Well, you're just about the sexiest bozo
ever to wear a funny blue dress.
Miss Brashlout scores are 5.8, 5.9, 5.7...
...5.8, 5.7.
A fantastic performance.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the girl who will undoubtedly...
...be the national champion
for the second straight year...
...Annette Brashlout.
You okay?
I'm fine.
I'm fine.
Daddy.
I'm right here.
I love you.
Thanks for being my daddy.
The next skater to perform
her long program will be...
...Lexie Winston.
Now, this will be Miss Winston's
first appearance since being hurt last year.
Let's welcome her back.
Ladies and gentlemen, Alexis Winston.
Here's for my mom.
Lex, the flowers!
We forgot about the flowers.
Stay with me.
You bet.