The Remarkable Flight of Marnie McPhee Read Online Free Page B

you promise you won't make me stop doing it.
    MOM
    Well, what is it you're doing?
    MARNIE
    No, promise me first.
    MOM
    How can we promise if we don't know what the promise entails?
    ALAN
    Mom's a logician, Marnie. It's like a magician, but less fun.
    DAD
    I promise you I'll promise if it's a promiseable promise.
    MARNIE
    And if it isn't?
    DAD
    I promise I'll hope it is.
    ALAN
    Don't worry, Marnie, they'll probably forget about it within a couple of days anyway.
    MOM
    That's not true. Why would you say that?
    ALAN
    Because your short-term memory is starting to fail. It's perfectly natural, if a little sad—
    DAD
    Very nice, Alan—
    MARNIE
    Arrêtez!
    Ils arrêtent.
    Come with me. It's in the basement.
    She leads them into the basement.
    Now, I don't want you to be shocked. Or alarmed! So don't be. It's not what it looks like.
    They stare at her. She goes over to her would-be spaceship and pulls away the sheet that covers it, and…
    Silence.
    Her family doesn't gasp or shout. So MARNIE gasps for them. Dramatically. She looks for a response. Gets none.
    Well?
    Silence.
    So?
    Nothing.
    Sew?
    That is: "sue"?
    MOM
    â€¦it's pronounced "so."
    MARNIE
    Aren't you shocked? Or alarmed?! Ahhhhhh! Ahh.
    ALAN
    What…
    MARNIE
    Yes?
    ALAN
    â€¦oh never mind.
    DAD
    I think what your brother wanted to ask is—
    MOM
    What is it?
    MARNIE
    â€¦what is it?
    DAD
    Yeah.
    MARNIE
    Haven't you ever seen a spaceship before?
    Silence. They look at her. They look at it. They look at her.
    ALAN
    I'm going back to sleep. Or not sleep.
    MOM
    Me too.
    MARNIE
    But aren't you… upset?
    MOM
    Upset? I'm relieved this is just playing pretend. For a moment there you really had me worried.
    MARNIE
    But… but…
    ALAN
    Send me a postcard from the moon, okay?
    MARNIE
    You're… you're laughing…?
    MOM
    We're not laughing—
    ALAN
    We're laughing a little. It's cute.
    MARNIE
    Cute?
    MOM
    Cute when it's not in a pile that anybody can trip over. We'll keep it over in the corner, okay, Marnie?
    MARNIE
    But I… I… CUTE!?
    MOM
    We'll talk about this when I'm more awake.
    MARNIE
    And you!
    ALAN
    Me?
    MARNIE
    You! I didn't laugh at you, when you told me about your—
    ALAN
    Shh.
    MARNIE
    Your—
    ALAN
    Shh. Okay. Sure.
    MOM
    Your what?
    ALAN
    Yawn. I'm tired. Me no speakie English. Bye bye.
    He leaves.
    MOM
    (to MARNIE)
You and I. Conversation about this. Later.
    She goes too.
    MARNIE looks very small, bewildered, defeated. Pause.
    DAD
    You want to build a spaceship?
    MARNIE
    Never mind. I'm just… playing pretend.
    DAD
    But you really want to build a spaceship?
    MARNIE
    Forget it. I'm just being cute.
    DAD
    Because if you were really trying to build a spaceship… maybe I could help. If you tell me why you want to build one.
    MARNIE
    â€¦that's simple. To be independent. To be alone. To be in outer space, where you're happy because you're all on your own, not counting the Martians, and you're not surrounded by grown-ups who…
    DAD
    You don't like it here?
    MARNIE
    No, I do, I do, I think I do, sometimes, but…
    DAD
    But you want to know what it's like to be alone.
    MARNIE
    Yeah.
    DAD
    I understand.
    MARNIE
    You do?
    DAD
    Let's build ourselves a spaceship.

5
    The next day: Saturday.
    DAD and MARNIE are in the basement. DAD's hard at work on the spaceship, his tool kit beside him. MARNIE watches in gratitude and awe.
    MARNIE
    A strange change in the life of Marnie McPhee, who's me! And if this were a movie, like Spider-Man 3, now would be the scene where you'd see a "montage" of me and Dad hammering, bending metal into shape with a flamethrower, giving high-fives—high-five, Dad!—
    DAD runs over, gives MARNIE a high-five.
    â€”and doing all sorts of other spaceship-building activities, all to the sound of Celine Dion (who's Canadian, like me!) singing "My Heart Will Go On," because that song is so special, especially if you've got heart problems, because then it's like, "I dunno, will