The Door in the Floor

Dead means they're broken?

Well, their bodies are broken, yes.

- And they're under the ground? - Their bodies are, yes.

Tell me what dead is.

Mmm. When you--

When you look at the photographs of Thomas and Timothy,

do you remember the stories of what they're doing?

- Yes. - Hmm, well,

Tom and Timmy are alive in your imagination.

It makes me sad to think about them.

Makes me sad too, Ruthie.

But Mommy's sadder.

Well, yes.

Uh-huh.

Does your son have a driver's license? Huh! Ooh!

Jesus.

Heh! You don't have to yell, Minty.

Yeah? Well, let me consider it, will ya?

Yeah.

All right. I'll call you back. Bye.

Eh, it still gets cold in the evening, huh?

Thanks.

Jesus. Look at this yard.

We should clear out some of these straggly looking flower beds.

I want to put in a swimming pool.

Why?

Oh, for Ruth when she gets older.

Something like the one we had in Providence. They loved it.

And the lawn-- It ought to be more like an athletic field.

No.

- Look at this picture. - Who is he?

That's Minty O'Hare's son-- the boys' English teacher from Exeter.

He wants a summer job.

He wants to be a writer.

What would he do for you?

It's mainly for the experience, I suppose.

I mean, if he's thinking about becoming a writer, he should see

What would he actually do for you?

Mmm, well--

I've been thinking.

I want to try separating... for the summer.

Just temporarily.

So you began your career writing novels?

Yes, but they were terrible novels. Uh, unfortunately I had to write

before I realized I am not a writer of adult fiction.

I am simply an entertainer of children, and I like to draw.

Edward, don't be nervous because he's famous.

He's an Exonion.

His sons were charming boys...

but... mediocre students.

- Why do cautionary tales for children come so naturally to you?

Well, I think I can imagine their fears and express them.

- Um, in my stories, - Anyway,

you can see what's coming, but you don't see everything that's coming.

Note his work habits.

See if there's a method to his madness.

And... above all...

throw yourself in headlong and just do whatever it is

In my opinion, there is no better opening to any story than the opening of

- I mean, the first lines-- -"Tom woke up, but Tim did not."

Daddy, I had a dream.

I heard a sound.

Uh, what sort of sound, Ruth?

It's in the house, but it's trying to be quiet.

Hmm.

Well, let's go look for it, then.

It's a sound that's trying to be quiet? What did it sound like?

It was a sound like someone trying not to make a sound.

Your penis looks funny.

My penis is funny.

- Come out, sound. - Come out, sound.

I'll tell you a story about a different sound.

One night when Thomas was just your age,

and Timothy was still in diapers,

- Tommy heard a sound. - Did they both wake up?

Oh, Tom woke up,

but Tim did not.

And Tom woke up his father...

and asked him, "Did you hear that sound?"

"There's the sound again," Tom whispered to his Father.

"It's a monster!" he cried.

"It's just a mouse...

crawling between the walls,"

his father said,

and thumped the wall hard with his hand.

And the mouse...

scurried away.

"It's just a mouse,

that's all," Tom said.

And he quickly fell asleep.

But Tim,

he stayed awake all night long.

And every time that thing crawling between the walls

he'd hit the wall,

and he'd listen to the monster...

scurry away,

dragging his thick, wet fur,

and no arms and no legs with it.

- And that-- - Is the end of the story.

Where's Mommy?

Mommy, uh-- It's her turn at the other house, remember?

It's my turn tomorrow night. But she'll be here in the morning, okay?

Okay. - Are there any mice in this house?

Hmm. Everyone has mice.

Mice are everywhere.

See you in the morning, Ruthie.

Eddie? Eddie?

- Mrs. Cole? - Marion.

Come.

- You can drive, can't you? - Oh, yeah. Yes I can.

I know boys your age. They love to drive

Yes, ma'am. But I don't know

- It's an automatic. - Okay.

Yes, ma'am.

Sorry about before. I was--

I was expecting Mr. Cole.

Ted lost his license three months ago.

You're not at Exeter anymore. You can call us by our first names.

Okay.

Aren't you coming in?

Not tonight.

Did it hurt?

- No, I'm all right. I'm all right. Don't worry about me.

- It is an honor to meet you, sir. - Ah.

- I want to thank you in advance for this experience.

- Ed, this is Doctor Loomis. Eddie's my new assistant.

- Hi. - Yeah. Exeter, '05.

I was class of ‘61. Good stuff.

- So, Tuesday, yeah? Right. See you then.

Nice to meet you, Eddie. Ciao.

- I've read all your novels and all your children's books--

- Yeah, 3:30. - Got it.

I've-- I read all your novels and all your children's books,

- and my favorite is The Door in the Floor.

Well, you're probably one of the few people on earth

So, uh, what makes you think you want to be a writer, Eddie?

Oh, I wrote something, and I brought it with me.

I'd be extremely honored if you might read it,

Well, writing is rigorous work. I keep myself incredibly busy.

- Yeah. - Many of my books contain

- every word must be examined and re-examined thoroughly.

- You're going to be spending the whole summer looking for le mot juste,

- The right word. The true word. - Okay. Well,

I'm prepared to throw myself in headlong and do whatever you need me to do.

Yeah, because I'm sure there'll be many different tasks that will come up.

- Oh, all right. - For example, I need squid.

I’m, uh, using squid ink for my new book,

and for all my drawings now.

There's a, uh--

a woman in Montauk, she's a fishmonger.

- She collects the squid ink for me. - Should I go today?

Ah, you can go tomorrow. You see her husband over there,

Also, I have to tell you-- because it's a little complicated--

you've arrived here during what is a sad time in a long,

Uh, Marion and I, we're separating--

temporarily, on a trial basis.

And I've, uh-- I've rented a small apartment in town,

and every other night one of us will be spending the night there.

Uh, during the day, you'll work there at the apartment while I'm working here,

but you'll sleep here.

I know it seems unnecessarily complicated, but...

it's hard to know what's -- what's best for my daughter.

Anyway, your bedroom is in the main house, upstairs,

Uh, you want to take your stuff up there, relax?

Unpack.

Okay, well,

make yourself comfortable, Eddie.

Thank you, sir.

And... I'm sorry about your marriage.

Me too, Eddie.

Anyway,

I'm sure you're gonna do great here.

It's gonna be a good summer for ya. I'm glad to have ya.

Did you see the shrine?

- Mm-hmm. - It's kinda creepy, huh?

It's sad.

- You go to Exeter, right? - Yeah, I'm an upper.

- An “upper”? - Yeah, like, an upperclassman--

- like, kind of like a junior. - Your father's a teacher there, right?

- So you get to go for free? - Yeah.

He was their teacher, right? So that's why you're here?

I guess.

- Did you know them before they died? - Uh, no, but I heard a lot about them.

When I was in eighth grade I used to date a senior from Exeter.

- Really? - Yeah. He was older than you,

His name was, like, Chickie or Chuckie or something.

It was probably a nickname.

You know, it-- it's quite common to have a nickname there.

It is.

Oh, great, you got it.

- Just in time. - Yes, sir.

Uh, here, wait. Just a second.

Here. I want you to, uh,

put it in here and then freeze it.

What should I do next?

I'm sketching a model. Why don't you go to the beach, take a swim?

I-- I could straighten up the workroom or something else.

No, no. Go ahead.

- Anything really. I just want to help.

Contemplating the waves...