CANDICE
                         You know something?

                                   TOM
                         What?

                                   CANDICE
                         In the three months we've been
                         together, you've never talked about
                         your past relationships.

                                   TOM
                         I haven't?

                                   CANDICE
                         No.  Why is that?

                                   TOM
                         Nothing much to say, I guess.  At
                         least, not as much as Marvin.
                             (he laughs.)

                                   CANDICE
                         C'mon.  Tell me.

                                   TOM
                         What's to tell?

                                   CANDICE
                         There must have been someone before
                         me.  Or more like 20 or 30, with
                         those smooth pick-up lines of
                         yours.

                                   TOM
                             (deep sigh)
                         Naw.  Not really.

                                   CANDICE
                         C'mon, Tom.  I poured my heart out
                         the first 10 minutes we met.  You
                         can tell me.  I'm not going to run
                         away.  Unless you're some kind of
                         serial killer or something.

                                   TOM
                             (chuckles)
                         It's just hard to talk about. 
                         Maybe some other time, Snickers,
                         Ok?

                                   CANDICE
                         No time like the present.  You can
                         tell me.  It's all right.

                                   TOM
                             (gathering thoughts.)
                         Well...I was in love, I guess, once
                         before.  It was three years ago. 
                         She was the woman of my dreams. 
                         The woman who I would live the rest
                         of my life with.  The mother of my
                         children, my pillar, my rock, blah,
                         blah, blah.
                             (pause)
                         My everything, ya know?  Until one
                         cold November evening.  The night
                         before Thanksgiving, in fact.  I
                         was in a rush to  catch a plane
                         back to visit my folks in Des
                         Moines.  I found this letter taped
                         to my door.  I knew it was from her
                         because of the cute way she wrote
                         the "m" in my name.  I'm thinking,
                         how sweet, it's a  "have a nice
                         flight, I'll miss you" note.  "Hugs
                         and kisses."

                                   CANDICE
                         What was in the letter?

                                   TOM
                         It was a Dear John.
                             (pause)
                         I still have it somewhere.

                                   CANDICE
                         Why?
                             (The song "First Song" by
                              Abbey Lincoln comes up
                              lightly underneath the
                              following dialogue.)

                                   TOM
                         I don't know.  I suppose I wanted
                         to remind myself not to be so
                         stupid the next time I fell for
                         some woman.
                             (catching himself)
                         Which it has, right here.

                                   CANDICE
                             (quietly, affectionately)
                         Oh, Tom.

                                   TOM
                             (pause)
                         Don't you just love it when someone
                         just rips your heart out of your
                         chest and hands it to you like a
                         fucking Valentine?  I mean, I was
                         devastated.  No warning.  No signs. 
                         No nothing.  I felt like someone
                         stuck their hand down my throat and
                         yanked every bit of life outta me.
                             (pause)
                         It took me two and a half years to
                         recover.  But what scared me the
                         most is that, until she came in to
                         my life, I had never hated anyone
                         before.  Never had someone make me
                         hate them.  It terrified me that
                         she could make me hate her. 
                         Especially someone I loved.

                                   CANDICE
                             (excitedly)
                         I hate her for hating you enough to
                         make you hate her!
                             (Tom laughs. Candice then
                              gently pulls his face
                              towards hers. She looks
                              gently into his eyes.)
                         I'm sorry that she hurt you.

                                   TOM
                         Yeah, well, like they say, only two
                         things in life are for sure.  Death
                         and the Cubs never winning a world
                         series.

                                   CANDICE
                         I promise I...
                             (Tom cuts her off.)

                                   TOM
                             (gently)
                         Don't.  Don't say things like that. 
                         All right?

                                   CANDICE
                         All right.  But can I say, at least
                         I'll try?

                                   TOM
                         Sure.  You can say that.

               The two embrace deeper.  They have a quiet moment together.

                                   TOM
                         I like this feeling so much.  But
                         it scares the hell out of me.

                                   CANDICE
                         You're not alone.
                             (The two keep holding each
                              other tenderly for a few
                              moments.)