Carol Connelly:
[driving to Baltimore]
I'm sure, Simon, they did something really "off" in order for you to feel this way. But when it comes to your parents or your kids, something will always be "off" unless you set it straight. And maybe this thing happened to you so you have a chance to do that.
Melvin Udall:
[from the backseat]
Nonsense! And you want to know why?
Carol Connelly:
Anybody here who's interested in what Melvin has to say, raise their hands.
[Simon puts his hands into his lap, decisively. To their shared surprise, Melvin sits back and does not speak again]
Simon Bishop:
Do you want to know what happened with my parents?
Carol Connelly:
Yes... no, wait. I'm gonna pull over and give you my full attention.
[she does so]
Carol Connelly:
Now go ahead.
Simon Bishop:
When I was a kid, I always painted, and my mother always encouraged it. She was sort of fabulous about it, actually. And she used to... I was too young to think that there was anything wrong with it, and she was very natural, so she used to... pose nude for me. I always thought - or I assumed - my father knew about it. One day he found us and started screaming. I was trying to defend my mother and make peace in the lamest way. I said "she's not naked, it's art."
[Carol laughs softly]
Simon Bishop:
And he started hitting me and... he beat me unconscious. He taught me a lesson he thought I'd never forget. I mean, he knew what I was even before I did. And the morning I left for college, he walked into my room and held out his hand, and it was filled with money. A big, sweaty wad of money. And he said, "I don't want you to ever come back." I grabbed him and hugged him... and he turned around and walked out. I haven't seen him or talked to him since.
[Carol kisses him on the cheek]
