[Ship's hot blows]
Hey!
We did it!
Good luck, soldier.
When's the last time you saw her?
Our wedding day. Four years ago.
Let me guess.
Meet her on Friday, married her on Sunday,
shipped out on Monday.
Pretty much.
Me, too. I'll bet we don't even recognize them.
I'd recognize her anywhere.
[Thunder]
[Man] I find the pheasant to be quite pleasant.
[Woman] I find the pheasant to be quite pleasant.
How do you find the wine?
I find the wine extraordinarily...
betty?
I prefer to dine at home alone.
Paul?
Paul!
When I didn't see you on the dock...
I didn't know you were coming today.
Didn't you get my letters?
I started to read them, I did,
but after the first few,
I couldn't bear to hear about all that fighting
and the killing.
I wrote you almost every day.
I know. And I kept them. Iook.
See?
Oh, Paul, even the thought of you in all that danger,
It was just too much.
I knew if I got them, you were still alive.
That's all I cared about...
that you were alive...
safe.
That's all that was important to me.
Can you forgive me?
Yeah, sure.
I wrote to you. You got those, right?
Got a few.
I told you I wasn't a big writer.
I quite aqree the distinction is dubious.
It's a course I'm taking.
Self-improvement.
His name's Armistead. He makes tons of money.
The whole country's making money
hand over fist.
You've been away, out of touch.
You don't know, but you will.
I went to make sure Mr. Sweeney held your job, like he promised.
He said you could start the day you got back.
Just make sure you wear your uniform.
Who could resist a war hero?
Of course I negotiated a raise.
Betty, I don't want to go back to selling chocolate.
You've got something better.
No...
I don't.
But, you know... in the war,
I had time to think about what's important,
about what I want out of life
for me, for us.
I wrote you all this in the letters.
Are we back to those old letters again?
You want me to read the letters?
No. It's just you'd understand what I'm feeling,
what I want.
Sweetie...
Tell me what you want.
I thought...
some time.
Time's money.
I want things, Paulie.
My whole life I've been without.
I want things.
Don't you want...
things?
[Romantic Music plays]
And you'll wear your uniform, won't you?
My uniform?
To sell chocolates...
millions and millions of them.
Won't you?
Yes.
[Train whistle blows]
Here, let me help.
I'm sorry.
He's going to kill me.
It's just glass. You can replace it easy.
Sorry.
No, no, It's my fault.
Iook at this mess.
Here you go.
Are you all right?
[Retching]
Ticket, please.
Had an accident.
Yes.
Thanks.
[Baby crying]
Hey!
Thanks.
Speed you were going,
You could have made Sacramento before me.
You smell anything?
No.
Phew!
Hi.
Oh, my God.
I'm so embarrassed.
I wanted to apologize,
but you looked so peaceful.
Apology accepted.
Good book?
Quite a mouthful.
It's required reading.
College?
My master's degree.
Playing hooky?
No. I'm going home.
My family has a vineyard in Napa.
And you?
Uh, business in Sacramento.
The train goes to Sacramento.
My ticket didn't.
I mean, it did when I got on,
but...
Oh, no.
I think this is yours.
Yup.
I thought it was a mistake. I'm so sorry.
[Honking]
Is this seat taken?
How are you?
Look, uh, I'm bill.
This is my buddy Herman.
And you're, uh...
Not interested.
Ooh.
I had a girlfriend once
that always used to say
she was not interested.
It was never what she meant, was it, Herman?
Most definitely not.
Not after she got to know me.
Stop it.
Fellas.
Lady doesn't want to be bothered.
Just let her be.
Oh, now what are we going to do?
Shut up, Herman.
I think he broke my nose.
I got to get to Sacramento.
Not on this bus, you don't.
[Crying]
I don't think we've been properly introduced.
I'm Paul Sutton.
Victoria Aragon.
I'm sorry about the bus.
Um...
I feel terrible.
All the problems I've caused you.
You should just keep going.
Who knows what will happen next?
There's always the possibility
of a forest fire, I suppose.
Why aren't you on the bus?
My stop.
You're waiting for a ride.
No. No.
A miracle.
He's going to kill me.
Who?
My father.
If you're still worried about that picture...
It's not about the picture.
Oh, God.
Iook, it's none of my business,
but if you'd like to talk about it...
'I was not meant for the conventions of this world,
"not meant to be tied down.
I'm a... free spirit."
Who's a free spirit?
My professor.
He and I were...
We... We were...
I don't think just because some free spirit
broke up with you...
I'm pregnant.
Oh.
You're very upset.
I can understand that.
Definitely understand that.
But, Victoria, look at the positive side.
It's a new life coming into the world.
That's a miracle in itself, right?
"I will kill anyone who dishonors my family."
How many times has he said that?
A hundred times, a million times?
I'm sure it's just a figure of speech.
My father means what he says.
Always.
He's... He's very old-fashioned.
If I come home this way without a husband,
he'll kill me.
I know he will.
How about if you do show up with a husband?
Who does what,
comes for the day and then just leaves?
Sure. Comes to meet the family, stays one night,
leaves in the morning,
writes a letter saying he's...
Abandoned me.
It happens.
You're very kind for trying to help me.
Maybe it might work...
but...
there's nobody.
Miss Aragon.
Victoria.
There's me.
Was it horrible, the fighting?
Once the shooting starts, you just go blank.
The trick was to get your mind on something else.
What did you do?
Write letters to my wife.
In my head.
Then later, I would write them down.
About the war.
About what I'd like our life to be like when I got home...
The perfect little house,
kids running around in the yard with the dog,
great job.
She must have cherished every word.
Yeah, every word.
You're very kind to do this for me.
And the baby.
I'm doing it for the both of you.
Then we both thank you.
You're both welcome.
We call it las Nubes.
It means the clouds.
It's beautiful.
Yeah.
Well, if we're going to do this right...
The wedding bonbon deluxe.
Big seller around June.
[Gunshot]
We're unarmed.
Don't shoot.
Hello, Papa.
Victoria.
Who's this?
Paul Sutton...
my husband.
Marie!
It'll be O.K.
Like hell it'll be O. K!
I will not allow this.
I'll go to the pope himself
to get this undone.
We weren't married in a church.
Marie!
Que pasa. Alberto?
Mama.
Victoria!
Cual es el problema?
Here is the problem.
Is this how you were brought up?
To betray your mother?
Betray your father?
I did not betray anyone.
What are you talking about?
What do you think I'm talking about?
The gringo.
His name is Paul.
Mi hijita linda.
Abuelita.
I told you. I told you!
A girl's place is here, at home!
Here!
Not alone in some city
doing God knows what.
I'm going to school there. That's what I'm doing.
What is going on?
Your daughter, she is married!
Felicidades. Querida.
Mama!
Grandpa, make him stop.
Please.
Ha! That's right. That's right.
Coddle her.
The whole bunch of you.
But I tell you right now,
this will not stand so long as I draw breath.
I swear before God.
Alberto!
You are so unfair.
Me? Ha ha! I'm unfair?
I came home to tell my family
that I spit on their trust?
I'm the one who came home
to rub in their face that I married this...
this...
What do you do?
Chocolate.
I sell chocolate.
No.
You...
You are the head of the family.
Say something.
I am Pedro Aragon.
Welcome to our happy family.
Thank you.
May I?
Sure.
Of course.
Help yourself.
Huh?
Ugh!
Cierra la puerta!
It's wonderful!
Why can he never just say,
"I'm happy for you. Congratulations, Victoria"?
Why must everything be a drama?
It's a bit of a shock.
Not for Grandma or Grandpa.
Not for you.
Why is he always this way?
I hate him!
Victoria!
He is your father.
He has never taken change well.
Even as a child, he was this way.
Only with the vines he has patience.
Maybe he should have some for us, too.
That would be nice for a change.
You could have at least prepared us.
A call, a letter would have been wiser.
I wanted to surprise you.
Well, you certainly succeeded.
He wants me to marry some man in Mexico
I have never even met
just because he has the right bloodlines.
I'm not a horse, Mama.
It's my choice who I marry, not his.
Muchachas. La comida.
How many times have you told me,
"The heart wants what the heart wants"?
And is this what your heart wants?
Yes.
Really and truly?
Really and truly.
Everything will be fine. You'll see.
Everything will be perfect.
Ooh!
What a delicate ring.
You are beautiful tonight.
Marriage becomes her, no?
Mama?
Dear God, bless this food we are about to eat,
and bless the harvest of the grapes you have given us
in your wisdom and grace, amen.
Amen. Amen, amen.
Bon appetit.
This is pumpkin flower soup.
It's a specialty of my grandmother's.
It's delicious.
It's been in the family cookbook
before your Declaration of Independence was signed.
So, with all the commotion,
we never heard the whole story of how you two met.
I was on leave in June.
July.
Just after I moved to the city.
That's right. July.
At the USO.
I didn't know you worked at the USO.
Um...
I wasn't actually working there.
Then what were you doing
in a hall filled with strange men?
Pedro.
Mi abuelo vivio a...
Excuse me.
My grandfather lived to 102,
and he used salt like a fish in the sea.
My great-grandfather was 106!
So, tell us, Mr. Sutton,
since we now have such a clear picture of how you two met...
where are you from?
Moline. Moline, Illinois.
Mmm.
Wherever that is.
It's in the middle of the country.
Exactly in the middle, right?
Right.
And your parents,
they are still in Moline?
I never knew my parents.
Oh. Who brought you up,
the fairies?
I grew up in a home.
Whose home?
I meant an orphanage.
Wonderful.
This is just wonderful.
My daughter can trace her ancestors
back 400 years
to some of the finest families in Mexico,
and you are telling me
she has married a man with no past?
Or worse...
a man with no past
and no future!
Wonderful.
You don't know that he has no future.
You don't know anything about him.
Do you?
Yes. I know he knows how to love somebody.
I know he wants a house with kids and a dog.
A great job.
You mean, like the one he has?
Excuse me.
It was very good.
Thank you.
He doesn't pull any punches, does he?
I'm sorry.
You must think they're horrible.
When I was a kid...
every night I'd climb up to the roof of the orphanage,
and I'd make a wish on every star I could see.
That's a lot of wishing.
It usually boiled down to one wish, really.
What was that?
What you have in there.
Everyone always telling you
how you should live your life?
Better than having no one telling you.
I don't know about that.
I do.
That's no reason for him to treat you that way.
No.
And I was going to say something, but...
I thought, "What if it were me?
"A strange man comes into my house,
"tells me he's married my only daughter,
and I'm the last to know?"
Probably act the same way.
No, you wouldn't.
I don't know about that.
I do.
It's only another eight hours,
I'll be back on the road.
Anyway, I think the worst part's over, don't you?
This bed was part of my dowry
when I married Mr. Aragon.
It was my grandmother's before that.
Her dowry.
She had it brought all the way from Paris.
He was a diplomat, my grandfather.
And this is where we've spent
our first wedding nights,
my mother...
my grandmother...
and me.
We can sleep in Pedro's room.
In that teeny-tiny little bed
on your wedding night?
Ay. Hija. No.
You need room...
to maneuver.
Mommy!
I know this is not your first night together,
but I would like to think it is.
It's just that from the beginning,
all our marriages have been so blessed.
You know, it is out of love
that my husband roars so.
We are very traditional people, Paul,
and this modern world takes a little getting used to.
He'll come around.
Iove each other...
always.
[Sobbing]
Ha!
First he comes into my house, steals my daughter.
And now... Now he takes my bed?
No!
Vida...
You don't want to see it,
but your daughter is a woman.
And she was not stolen
any more than you stole me.
Or have you forgotten that little room under the stairs
in my father's house, hmm?
I asked for your hand properly,
with respect.
Who is he?
He is nobody.
He is her choice, and she is our daughter.
Alberto, it is from us that she has learned to be who she is.
If we don't have confidence in her,
how can we have confidence in ourselves?
First you go and wish them good night
so they won't go to bed
thinking that you're furious with them.
But I am!
Shh!
I am furious with them.
[Giggling]
You should smile more.
You are so handsome when you smile.
First go and wish them good night.
Go.
Do you like selling chocolate?
No, not really.
Why are you doing it?
It's part of what I thought
I'd use this trip for,
try and figure things out for myself.
But you have things figured out.
It's not that easy.
It's complicated.
It doesn't sound that complicated to me.
You're not married.
I'm sorry.
It's just not a good time for me now.
You've been wonderful...
more than wonderful.
Would you turn around, please?
There'll be someone for you, Victoria.
You don't have to make me feel better.
No, I believe that.
I believe that there's a perfect someone for everyone,
someone who'll love you no matter what.
Would you marry someone
If it wasn't your baby they were carrying?
If I loved her.
Good night.
[Knock On Door]
May I?
One moment, Papa.
Your mother sent me to wish you
good night.
Good night, Papa.
Good night, Mr. Aragon.
Good night.
[Door Closes]
Does the door have a lock?
No.
Do you think he suspects?
I don't know.
Better not take the chance.
In case he comes back, I should stay.
Yes.
Good night.
Aah!
Victoria!
Aah!
It's all right.
Just a dream.
It's nothing.
Must be the change...
coming home, everything so fast.
[Ding Ding Ding]
What's the matter?
Frost!
[Ding Ding Ding Ding]
Alberto...
what you think?
It doesn't reach the inside.
We can still save them.
We have a chance. Now!
Si. Don Alberto.
How can I help?
Do you know how to fly?
If you'll show me.
We are going to lose everything,
and you want me to take time to show you?
Look.
Spread out. Spread out!
[Coughs]
Like a butterfly.
If you're going to help,
help!
Butterfly.
Get the heat down on the grapes.
Follow me.
Up...
down...
up...
down.
That's it.
Come on. With me.
The bus doesn't leave until 11 A.M.
Then it's daylight. Everyone will be up.
It's better this way.
Less questions.
Yes.
I wish you the best of luck.
You, too.
[Rooster Crows]
Buenos dias. Senor paul.
It's the call of the grape that robs our sleep.
When she's ripe, she calls to a man.
Give me that.
Toma. Jose.
Walk with me.
Bring the chocolates.
Here.
Here!
Jose.
Buenos dias. Don pedro.
Buenos dias.
Ha ha ha.
You know, everybody gives you advice
how to grow old.
And the doctors, they say,
don Pedro, no chocolates.
Don Pedro, no salt
and no cigars
and little brandy as possible.
What the hell do the doctors know
about the needs...
of a man's soul?
Nada!
Nothing.
Uh...
May I?
Oh, this one.
This looks like my granddaughter's...
uh...
I never noticed that.
Hmm.
Ohh...
Oh ho ho ho ho!
Excelente!
You know, in 1580, the first Aragon, also a Pedro,
came from Spain to Mexico
with a dream in his head,
the clothes on his back,
and the root from the family's vineyard
inside his pocket.
Excuse me.
May I... see one more?
Which one?
Ah, that's no good.
Try one more.
Ahh...
That's wonderful.
Ha ha ha ha.
Come...
I will show you something.
This is the root I brought with me,
a descendant from the root
the first Pedro brought with him.
All our vines
come from this one.
It's not just the root of las Nubes.
It's the root...
of our lives,
of Victoria's life.
Now that you're a part of all this,
a part of us,
It is the root of your life.
You are an orphan
no longer.
So...
you will stay with your family
while we harvest the fruit?
Ah...
It's a special time.
It's a time of... magic.
I really can't.
I have commitments.
What about the commitments to your family?
W-What can be more important than that?
I would like to, really.
But I can't.
He said you...
would not stay.
Who did?
Alberto.
He said, "The first chance the gringo gets,
he will leave her."
His exact words.
I'm not leaving her. I'm...
No, no, no, no. I understand.
Just my...
poor granddaughter.
He will whip her with it.
She'll be the one to pay for your commitments.
Such a pity.
Such a sweet girl.
But it would just be the difference of a day.
The most important day of our year,
the day that makes or breaks our fortunes...
that's what he will throw up to her...
for the rest of her life.
I know...
my son.
Don Pedro.
Eh?
You're right.
It's only one day.
I'll stay.
Right.
May I?
It's a good thing.
You have no more chocolates to sell, anyway.
Come on.
I thought you were leaving.
I thought it would be better for you if I stuck around...
at least until the harvest.
Don't you have chocolates to sell?
Family comes first.
[La Cucaracha On Car Horn]
Hey, everybody, I'm home!
Ha ha ha ha!
Hey, there.
Ohh!
Pedro! Si!
Ah! Ha ha ha!
Hiya, sis.
Hi, Jose.
Bienvenido.
Hi, Grandpa!
Ha ha ha!
Hi, Grandma.
Oh! Ha ha ha!
My favorite chili's ready?
Claro que si. Pedrito!
Saluda a su madre.
Hi, Mom.
Oh, at last!
Hi, Pop.
Sorry I'm late.
Pedro.
This is my husband Paul Sutton.
Paul, my brother.
You got hitched?
Hey, that's swell!
Oh!
Victoria Sutton.
I like that.
Welcome to the family.
I'm Pete.
Thanks.
Pete.
Who is Pete?
[Sighs]
Pa, come on.
I don't know any Pete.
I know I pay a fortune in tuition
to Stanford University for a Pedro Alberto Aragon limantour.
Maybe I am paying for the wrong person
and I should stop the check!