I thought your story was beautiful.
Like I'm hearing your most private, most intimate thoughts.
This wonderful hidden life you have access to.
I'm completely jealous.
Thanks.
For reading it.
What will you do with it? Don't know.
You should submit it.
To the magazine.
They liked the last one. I don't know.
Don't know if it's good enough.
Nah, you're just fishing now.
It's brilliant.
♪ Happy birthday to you
♪ Happy birthday, dear Marianne
♪ Happy birthday to you.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Make a wish.
This looks so yummy. Can't believe you made this.
It's perfect essay distraction.
It's very sweet. Totally unnecessary.
Shush your face, you have to have a cake!
Did you get good presents, Marianne? Lovely presents, thank you, Niall.
And what did you get her, Connell?
Uh... a book.
Some Frank O'Hara poems.
CONNELL CHUCKLES
Anyway... I love it.
And what about your family,
did they get you anything nice? A sports car or a pony?
What are you implying? Well, I'm just going off my own birthday list?
They don't really go in for birthdays. Oh, fair enough.
LAUGHTER
This cake's fucking delicious.
PHONE BUZZES
Birthday message.
Yeah.
My mother.
Not exactly happy birthday.
What does it say?
"Send me back the keys to the Dublin flat as soon as possible".
So...
Sorry.
It's OK.
I'm OK.
♪ Keep climbing into my head without knockin'
♪ And you fix yourself there like a map pin
♪ Darling, darling that dam's gonna give
♪ It's inevitable...
Did you like that?
Yeah.
Very much.
Good.
♪ Bottles in brown paper and a mouth that slurs
♪ All the shit that it stirs
♪ Let that dogwood blossom
♪ Darling, darling, that dam's gonna give.
♪ It's inevitable the way that you live
♪ Bottles in brown paper and a mouth that slurs
♪ All the shit that it stirs
♪ Let that dogwood blossom
..what could be described as bureaucratic inertia.
♪ There'll be hell to pay in heaven. ♪
What do you fancy doing tonight?
Watch a film.
Sounds good.
Well, I might go for a swim. Another one.
But I could pick up some food and come to you after?
Great.
Did we get married and become 50 years old without noticing?
Maybe.
I actually love it.
Do you think our first-year selves would hate what we've become?
I should've known, to be fair.
I think first-year me would've been amazed.
Look at her, she's actually content.
Wow.
You all right?
Mm-hm, yeah.
Just got this e-mail.
From who?
Connell, from who?
It's...
It's from this university in New York.
They're offering me a place on their MFA creative writing programme.
Oh.
I didn't even know you'd applied.
I mean...
..congratulations, I'm not surprised they've offered you a place.
I'm just a bit... surprised you didn't mention it.
Why would...? Such a long shot.
I was embarrassed.
To be honest, I...
..I still look up to you a lot and I...
..I wouldn't want you to see me as, like, I don't know, deluded or...
Connell.
I don't even know why I applied. I wasn't even my idea.
Whose idea was it?
One of my tutors.
It's really brilliant, Connell.
You can see me in New York, can you?
Yeah, actually.
I can. I can't even...
It's making me feel...
Now is not the time for me to go halfway across the world
and live in a city where I don't know anyone.
Like... I could barely walk down a street in Dublin
a couple of months ago without having a panic attack.
How's that going to work in New York?
Put it away for a bit.
It's brilliant they offered you a place.
Don't think about what to do with it for now.
I am not going.
OK.
APPLAUSE
And, of course, we have to thank Connell...
CHEERING
..for stepping up and turning out to be
the most naturally fucking gifted editor of all times.
CHEERING
Leaving me to announce that our latest brilliant issue
launches tomorrow and we could not be prouder.
CHEERING
And I made punch and it's fucking delicious.
And it's fucking lethal! LAUGHING
Drink up!
SHE MOUTHS: Well done.
Marianne?
Yeah?
Can I ask you something?
Mm-hm.
Christmas.
What about it?
Would you like to come to ours?
I don't know, Connell.
That's kind.
Lorraine'd love to have you.
You don't know that.
Hm.
What? I mean, I do know that.
It's her idea.
That's kind of her. Mm-hm.
So?
♪ You're all I want
♪ For Christmas... ♪
Oh, Connell... Yeah? ..it's not funny.
♪ All I want
♪ My whole life through
♪ Each day
♪ Is just
♪ Like Christmas
♪ Any time
♪ That I'm
♪ With you... ♪
There they are. Oh, look at the two of you, a little Christmas miracle.
Been cooking for weeks. Get in here.
Hi. Hello, sweetheart. Oh.
Thanks for having me.
Where shall I put these?
CHATTERING
Editor? Well, that's impressive.
No, well, I'm just really doing it as a favour.
Sure, people edit newspapers as a favour.
He's doing brilliantly.
It's a literary magazine, it's absolutely not a newspaper.
What is an underground train full of professors?
A tube of smarties.
Am I involved in politics?
Yes. What?! No!
Why is that funny?
Am I Dobby?
CHEERING
Do I like me?
Oh, no. I don't think so.
You all right?
Yeah.
Is it too much?
No.
It's so nice.
Proper Christmas.
It's lovely.
Well, you have to do something.
What are all your school friends up to?
At Brennan's, like every year.
Just not sure I can see a New Year's in at Brennan's.
Hello, Denise, Happy New Year.
ENGINE STARTS
What do people in town think of her?
I suppose...
I suppose she'd be considered... a bit odd.
Oh.
Your cheeks are red.
It's cold.
Will you come tonight?
You should.
Far be it from me to disobey an order.
CHATTER
All right? Hey, how are you doing? What's the craic? You all right?
Good to see you. Good to see you, too. Happy New Year. Happy New Year.
Hey, so nice you see ya.
Nice to see you.
You look amazing. So do you guys.
You look gorgeous.
How are you getting on?
Happy New Year, how are you? Good, how are ya getting on?
Good, good. Good, good, yeah.
Get you a drink? Yes, please.
Would you like a drink? No, no, thank you.
See you in a second. Back in a second.
Can I get two pints of Guinness, please?
Marianne Sheridan, long time, no see. Hello!
CHEERING
I love you.
I love you, too.
You all right?
Yeah.
I am.
It never felt like home.
Didn't feel right to be here, to be honest.
What?
I've been thinking about New York.
The offer.
What about it?
I don't know, I just...
I keep imagining you being there.
Writing.
Right.
You've been thinking about it. Yeah.
A bit.
Like, obviously, I've thought about it a bit, but that doesn't mean...
It just feels too hard.
Everything recently has been hard or it's been an effort,
and maybe this year just needs to be straightforward.
I don't know. There's...
There's been a lot of stuff that's been difficult and painful.
And this would be difficult and amazing. Potentially.
It's New York.
It's writing.
It'd be fucking amazing, Connell.
Yeah.
Yeah, maybe.
Would you come with me?
We could be there together,
and you could study or work and...
Why?
I want to stay here.
I want to live the life I'm living.
It's quite a thing. Yeah.
And I'm getting better at it. Yeah.
I'd miss you too much.
I'd be sick.
At first.
But it would get better.
Mm-hm, yeah.
Yeah, and it's only a year and then I'd be back.
Don't promise that.
You don't know...
..where either of us will be...
..or what will happen.
I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you.
No.
That's true.
You'd be somewhere else entirely.
You'd be a different person.
And me, too.
But we have done so much good...
..for one another.
You know I love you.
And I'm never going to feel the same way for anyone else.
I know.
I'll go.
And I'll stay.
And we'll be OK.