The Way

Woman: X-O-T.

F-D-E.

And the next set?

P-N-E.

E-R-Z.

Uh, Eunice.

Yes, Dr. Avery?

How many of those letters can you actually see,

and how many have you memorized?

I can see all of them, Dr. Avery.

Eunice.

Okay. I memorized the last two, Tom.

Only the last two.

If I can't get my license renewed...

Eunice, you need to wear the lenses I prescribed.

Contact lenses don't work for me, and glasses give me headaches.

Then we'll change the prescription,

but you know the DMV's gonna test you again anyway.

I've memorized those charts, too.

Mrs. Conrad called

and canceled her appointment for tomorrow.

Bill Warren wants to know if he can see you before he goes in for work,

which means you have to be here at 8 A.M.

- Okay. - Okay for 8:00?

- Yeah. - Oh.

Roger called while you were in with a patient.

Uh, he said if you miss the 2:00 tee time, you pay for the beer.

I pay for the beer anyway.

And Daniel called

and left a message here on the voice mail last night.

What'd he say?

He said he'll call back, said he's somewhere in France,

and, uh, he sounded good.

I mean, how do you not sound good if you're in France, right?

Did he leave a number this time?

No.

Everyone on the planet has a mobile phone except my son.

The world on Daniel's terms.

See you.

Oh, no!

- - Ayy!

Let me show you how a real doctor does it.

Since when is Tom not a real doctor, Rog?

The eyes are the most important organ in the body, Roger.

Maybe at your age, Tom.

They're the windows to the soul.

Yeah? How the hell would Roger know?

He doesn't have one.

Oh. Ho ho ho!

Looks like malpractice to me, boys.

Don't use your foot wedge, Phil.

I got your foot wedge, Roger.

All right, what have we got, about 70?

Yeah, plus 10 to the flag.

That's what I'm talking about.

- It'll play. - Yeah? That's good stuff.

I'm over there.

Yeah, I see. It's about three feet away.

- You want a ride, or what? - I'm old and tired.

Heh. You're old and lazy.

I don't see you walking this course.

It's mine, and it can wait.

Get... Ay-yi-yah.

- Nice chip. - Not bad.

Go ahead and putt out.

I'll catch up with you. Hello.

MAN, ACCENTED: Uh, hello? Hello?

- Yes. Hello. - ...Monsieur Tom Avery.

I'm sorry. I don't speak French.

I'm Captain Henri Sebastian of the National Gendarmerie

in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France.

Is something wrong?

Are you the father of Daniel Avery?

Yes, I am.

I'm sorry to inform you that your son has been killed, sir.

What? What do you mean?

Daniel? Something happened to Daniel?

He was caught in a storm.

On the Camino de Santiago, monsieur.

- What? - It's in the French Pyrenees.

Tom.

Tommy!

Where you going?

Tommy?!

I'm sorry for your loss, Tom.

Thanks, Father.

I'm going overseas to bring Daniel home.

Would you like to pray with me, Tom?

What for?

All the information for your itinerary is in here.

I... l canceled all your appointments for next week, so...

He wanted to see the world.

And he did.

You should fly with me.

What?

You should fly with me.

- Yeah, right. - Turn the car around.

Pack a bag. Grab your passport.

Forget your golf clubs.

Come on. A father-son trip. lt'll be fun.

When you coming back?

I don't know.

So you don't have a plan.

We agreed that if I let you take me to the airport,

you wouldn't lecture me about how I'm ruining my life.

I lied.

You know, most people don't have the luxury

ofjust picking up and leaving it all behind, Daniel.

Well, I'm not most people.

If I don't have your blessing, that's fine,

but don't judge this. Don't judge me.

My life here might not seem like much to you,

but it's the life I choose.

You don't choose a life, Dad.

You live one.

Mesdames et monsieurs...

- Monsieur Avery? - Yes.

We spoke on the phone. Captain Henri Sebastian.

Of course.

I don't know why. I know it's odd,

but I thought it would say something else.

It's the same word back home.

I guess I thought it would be different.

Mr. Avery, if you're not ready to do this,

- it can wait. - No. It's fine.

I mean, it's not fine.

I mean I'm okay.

Let's get it over with.

Let's just get it over with.

These are Daniel's belongings.

Merci.

This is everything he had when we found him.

What happened?

It was an accident.

The weather in the Pyrenees is famous for being unpredictable,

and I'm sure Daniel would have been warned by the locals.

You were not close with him?

Not since his mother died, I'm sorry to say.

What was he doing out there?

He was on pilgrimage on the Camino,

walking the road to Santiago de Compostela.

People from very different backgrounds, faith and generations

have walked the path from here in the French Pyrenees

to Santiago de Compostela,

800 kilometers on the northwestern coast of Spain

for over a thousand years.

We believers are told that the remains of Saint James, the apostle of Jesus

are interred there, and so we make pilgrimage.

This is what your son Daniel was doing.

Why was he alone?

Many people choose to make the trek alone.

The Way is a very personal journey, Mr. Avery.

This is the shell,

the symbol of the pilgrim making the journey.

And this,

this is Daniel's passport for the Camino.

It is to be officially stamped

at every important stop along the route through Spain.

And the first stamp is here in Saint-Jean.

Buen camino.

Merci.

When you arrive at the end,

the passport should look like this.

I have walked the Camino to the Atlantic Ocean three times,

there and back.

I will do it once more on my 70th birthday,

God willing, of course.

Daniel was my only child.

We can also offer cremation

if that is a more suitable way

for you to transport the remains back home.

Um, excusez-moi.

I'm sorry. I don't speak French.

Oh. Do you mind if I sit here?

Because there's no other seats available.

Hi. I'm Joost. I'm from Amsterdam.

- Tom. - Hey, Tom.

I saw you on the... on the train.

Uh, this morning. We came from Paris.

We were on the... on the same train.

You're not a pilgrim, are you?

A pilgrim.

Uh, a trekker, a peregrino, eh?

You're not here to walk the, uh, Santiago de Compostela?

- No. I'm here on family business. - Ah.

Well, it's not for everyone, you know.

In fact, um, somebody died on the Camino this week

only one day into the trek.

Yeah, it's such a tragedy.

Yes.

But it's no mystery why I'm doing this trek.

Do you see this gut?

My older brother's getting married in Rotterdam in December,

and, uh, I want to fit into my old suit.

You could just buy a new suit.

No, but it's the third time that he's getting married.