Jill Breaks It Off With Frank, Has It Out With Delia
(December 1975)(Frank has called Jill and asked her to come over. She arrives at the bar and runs into Maeve as Delia runs into the other room.)
MAEVE: (taking her hand) Ah, Jill, darling.
JILL: Maeve, I hope you're not too angry with me.
MAEVE: I'm sorry and sad but not angry. I know how easy it is to love Frank.
JILL: Thank you.
MAEVE: Why don't you go on upstairs, darling? He's waiting for you.
(Jill goes into the kitchen, where she finds herself alone with Delia.)
DELIA: Well, well, well. Hello Jill.
JILL: (heading for the stairs) Excuse me.
DELIA: Just give me a minute, okay?
JILL: What do you want, Dee?
DELIA: Well, I want to tell you what I did for Frank tonight. You know, I saved his career. How do you like that, huh?
JILL: Well if you did, I'm very happy.
DELIA: See, the district leaders knew that you and him were having an affair, but I made sure that they knew that it was over and that he loves me very much, more than he had ever loved me before. See, I pleaded with them just to give him one more chance, just as I have.
JILL: I didn't know that you were speaking at that meeting tonight.
DELIA: (laughing) No, it was a surprise appearance, and I managed to change a lot of minds about Frank. Would you like to hear the best part of all? You and Frank aren't going to be able to see each other anymore, 'cause there are gonna be a lot of people watching. So if Frank cares anything about his political future at all, he's gonna stay home with me. (smiles) My wonderful husband is gonna stay home, right where he belongs. So, uh, why don't you just go upstairs and have a little talk with him, just one more time.
(Jill turns to go, then Delia starts laughing.)
DELIA: Oh, this is too much! This is really too much! You know, I finally won. Jill the good, the smart, the talented sophisticate, done in by poor, dumb Delia!
JILL: Are you finished?
DELIA: No. No, you are. So, uh, after you've had your little talk with my husband, why don't you just go home and just cry into your lawbooks? And just remember, I'll be in bed with Frank.
(Jill, trying to hold back her emotion but clearly shaken, heads upstairs. She enters Franks room and kisses his cheek.)
JILL: Oh, I never wanted to be with you more than I did today.
FRANK: You were right beside me.
JILL: Could you feel me, loving you?
FRANK: Uhm-hmm, yeah. I wish I'd made them understand the way I love you, how right you are for me.
JILL: Oh come on, now wouldn't that be asking a bit too much of our district leaders?
FRANK: Yeah, I had a hard enough time dealing with the facts.
(She smiles.)
JILL: Frank, you faced them, you told the truth, and Nick Szabo can eat his heart out! Oh, Frank, you did the right thing and I'm really proud of you.
FRANK: I had a few bad moments.
JILL: Well, I was afraid that Ray Castro(?) might give you a rough time.
FRANK: Nobody took it well, and Charlie was awfully hurt. But he hung in there for me.
JILL: That's a blessing.
FRANK: Even so, they were ready to accept my resignation when they broke for dinner.
JILL: But Frank, they didn't.
FRANK: Jill, I don't know whether I'm grateful or furious. Delia's the one who talked them into backing me.
JILL: (less enthusiastic) I ran into her on my way here. She told me a couple of things, but Frank, I didn't know if I should believe her or not...
FRANK: Ah, I was afraid she'd get to you.
JILL: She said that she saved your seat on the council.
FRANK: Tonight, before I went back to hear the final decision, I had it out with her. I said I was leaving. Not a half hour later she burst into the meeting and started telling them some carefully thought-out lies.
JILL: Frank, please, you don't have to tell me. She already did.
FRANK: She said I love her and I want to stay married to her. I sat there and I couldn't believe she was so pathetic.
JILL: But the district leaders, they bought it?
FRANK: Jill, they ate it up. Delia said exactly what they needed to hear. In two minutes, they'd given me a vote of confidence - Charlie, Ray, every one of them. I swear, I could see the relief flooding all over them. They had their happy ending.
JILL: (sadly) And you couldn't take that away from them, could you?
FRANK: Jill, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't decide. I still can't. She's back me into a corner and I...I know there must be a way out. I just haven't found it yet.
JILL: Frank, I think that maybe you and I should stop dreaming about a life together.
FRANK: No! No, don't say it. Give me a little time, I'll figure something out. Right now, this whole crazy day is spinning around in my head. I can't think straight. I'm trapped, I'm saved, I'm pleased, I'm angry.
JILL: Frank, you know what I think?
FRANK: Tell me.
JILL: I think that you've already made your decision, and that Dee really has won.
FRANK: Don't worry, she just took this round. That's all.
JILL: No, Frank, I mean it. If you were going to leave her, you wouldn't be talking about it. You would have done it. Today, Frank, this was a banner day for the truth, and there it is. You're married, and you are going to stay married.
FRANK: No.
JILL: (whispers) Yeah.
