My name is Melinda Gordon.
I just got married, just moved to a small town,
just opened up an antique shop.
I might be just like you.
Except from the time that I was a little girl,
I knew that I could talk to the dead.
It's all right, honey.
Earthbound spirits, my grandmother called them,
the ones who have not crossed over
because they have unfinished business with the living.
And they come to me for help.
To tell you my story, I have to tell you theirs.
I love your apartment.
- Yeah? - I do. It's so you.
It would be more me if I were, like, four feet tall.
He's disgusting, isn't he?
- He said... What you say? - Find the end of it.
Wait, wait.
I'm so sorry.
What are you doing?
I just can't do this anymore.
No! Stop! Don't!
You guys, honestly, it's getting so old.
- I'm serious. You've got to stop. - I'm sorry.
Are you certain that he got...
Gwen, please!
Gwen, please! Think about what you're doing.
Not like this. Gwen, please!
Gwen, stop it!
Don't! This isn't right.
Please. Stop it!
I swear I could hear somebody yelling up there.
Oh, I'm telling you, sometimes I think the walls in this building
are made of tracing paper.
We gotta get up there.
She lives alone. I haven't seen her all day. Hello?
- Gwen, listen to me! - Can anybody hear me in there? Hello!
- Break it down. - Gwen, stop!
Break it down.
Oh, my god!
- She took pills. - What kind?
Aticar, proxitine, others, I think.
Jim, she took pills, aticar, proxytine. Maybe more.
Great. Call 911.
Okay, okay.
Ma'am? Ma'am?
Hi, I have a woman, and she's unconscious.
259 West Main Street.
I'm not getting a pulse. Tell them that.
He says he doesn't have a pulse. He's doing CPR.
I lost her.
No. Gwen, not like this. It isn't right.
I just wanted to be with you. Take me with you.
Can you see us?
Dr Carlyle, report to Radiology.
You can see me!
Not now. Go away.
I'm looking for my doctor. Where is he?
- Not now. - I'm sure he's here.
- Go away! - Tall.
You know what? It's really not a good time.
Thanks.
Hey, they got her stabilised. She should be all right.
What's gonna happen to her?
Well, all they can do is hold her for a few days.
The hospital psych team will evaluate her.
If they feel like she's not a threat to herself or anybody else,
they gotta let her go.
Let's get out of here.
You know what? Why don't you guys go ahead and I'll catch up.
All right.
How come you're the only one who can see me?
I've been asking myself that question for years.
Who are you?
Uh, Conor Donovan.
I'm her fiancé.
You mean were her fiancé.
Semantics.
Has she tried this before?
No. Well, I mean, she's been depressed since...
Since I left.
- Can I ask how... - How I left?
It was a year ago.
My third triathlon.
I was KicKing ass.
A two-and-a-half mile swim, 112-mile biKe.
I was just getting ready to start the 26-mile run.
I was heading for my best time ever.
Nothing was gonna stop me. Nothing.
Except a little Kid on a Speedster B500.
I remember thinKing how much I envied that Kid.
My father gave me that same biKe when I was about his age,
and I just wanted to talK to him all about it.
I wanted to ride that biKe again so bad,
but then, just liKe that,
no more Conor Donovan.
I'm sorry.
I didn't even know what sorry was until I saw Gwen get the news.
To see the life just go right out of their eyes.
That was a year ago, and you're still here.
Why?
Well, look at her.
I mean, how can I leave? She's got no family. She's all alone.
I have to take care of her.
You can't. You... You're not really present with her.
Semantics again.
- There is something else. - What?
We have to move her now, ma'am.
Did you stop by the hospital?
On my way in. She kept asking for you.
I've known her for a year, but she asks for you?
I mean, how could she even know you?
She was unconscious the entire time.
- She saw me. - When?
She had an out-of-body experience before Jim brought her back.
I should have known it was something simple like that.
She also saw her dead fiancé. He's haunting her, just FYI.
That's how you knew about the pills.
He was at the hospital with her, too.
That is so creepy.
Wait a minute.
This can't be.
What?
The county tax bill.
$ 15,000?
Small business assessment?
This is like three times what I thought it was gonna be.
If this is right, it's gonna totally blow through my savings.
I saw him. I saw Conor at the apartment.
- I knew he was there all along. - I know.
And I saw you, too. I saw you talking to him. How did you do that?
Tell her I'm here now. Tell her.
I know that this is gonna sound strange,
and it's not your medication messing with your head.
I can see spirits.
Earthbound spirits who haven't crossed over.
You mean like ghosts?
I don't know if they actually told you, but you...
You died, only for a few seconds
while my husband was working on you.
He's a paramedic and that's when you saw me.
And Conor.
You can talk to ghosts?
And hear them?
How?
It's a long story.
Is he here now?
Baby, I'm right here. I've always been here.
- He's here. - Where?
Right next to you. On your left.
Conor, you didn't leave me.
No, baby, I told you I'd never leave you.
Can he hear me? Can he hear us?
Yeah.
I just... I wanted to see you so badly.
Tell her how much I miss her. I miss talking to her.
He wants you to know that he misses you.
Oh, Conor, I miss you, too. I feel you everywhere.
It's like my skin hurts, and the inside of my bones hurt
and it's just... It's so deep I can't grab ahold of it.
- I know, I know. - I can't even touch it. It's like I...
Baby, I feel it, too.
Tell her I'm furious at her. Don't ever try that again!
He's mad at you for what you did,
- and he doesn't want you to ever... - No, I won't. I won't.
That's enough for tonight.
Don't go.
I won't. Baby, don't worry.
Hey, we'll see you soon, okay? Get some rest.
Okay.
You see what I mean? She's the same now as she was the day I died.
You said there was one more thing you needed to do before you could go.
What is it?
It might sound kind of morbid.
Hello. I'm talking to a dead person.
I was an organ donor and the day I died, they took my heart.
I need to see who has it.
Why?
I've got to see what kind of person is...
I need to know that they're taking good care of it.
Like waxing and cleaning it?
No. I just want to be sure they...
You know, that it went to somebody worthy.
I'm sorry.
And if you find that person,
if you see them, will you cross over, move on?
What if I am happy here?
This isn't the place for you anymore.
If Gwen gets better,
if I feel she is taken care of...
Then you'll go?
Yes.
He was the kindest man.
He was always trying to make somebody else's job easier.
We would be at a restaurant and he would brush the crumbs off the table,
sweep them into his palm and just hold them
until he could throw them out.
And he would grin at me and wink, like it was our little secret.
That was the thing about being with Conor.
You felt like he was letting you in on this big secret,
something just for the two of us.
Ask her if she remembers the time we got lost in Boston.
He's here.
I knew it. I thought I felt him touch me.
Well, kind of, anyway. It was like a feather against my arm.
Sometimes spirits can let you feel their energy.
It's no more than like a little rush of air.
Yeah, right. I feel that a lot.
Does he dim the lights sometimes, too?
They can also use their energy to affect electricity,
if they try really hard.
How do you know all this?
Gwen, the thing that I do, my job, I guess you could say,
is to help people get closure.
Make peace with death, sometimes get important messages across.
But it's all so that people can move on,
people who die, people who are left behind.
The idea is to move on.
It's time for him to go.
Did I tell you he used to read to me if I couldn't fall asleep?
There will never be anybody else like him, not for me.
- I know it seems that way. - No, it is that way.
Everything happens for a reason,
and that is why Conor is still here.
That's fate, and there's nothing that you can do about it.
Okay.
I want to talk about Boston.
How come a ghost wouldn't know where his heart is?
I'm sure he stayed with Gwen after he died. Followed her everywhere.
I'm not sure it's such a great idea.
Why not?
Well, maybe a recipient doesn't want to know
where his organ came from, especially a heart.
I mean, that's a hard enough ordeal to go through.
And they're asking you to meet the person who gave you your heart,
and by the way, that person's dead.
Well, it's been a year. Maybe he's curious.
Besides, it's the only way I'm gonna get this guy to cross over,
so just tell me where to start.
Well, if he died at Mercy, they've got a helipad,
so his organs would have been harvested immediately
and choppered right out.
But you are gonna need somebody at the hospital
who's willing to bend the rules a little bit.
We never give out that kind of information.
Yeah, I know, but the thing is,
I'm not trying to get you in any trouble.
It's just the information is for someone very...
Are you family?
Well, in the family of man sense, I guess.
Sorry. No way. Anything else?
Can you at least give me cities and initials?
This isn't Jeopardy! Bye, now.
Ah, damn. The second generator didn't kick in.
Please wait here till the lights come back.
Can you help me?
Donor's name, date of death,
and the code R-W-H-O-D.
Hurry.
Okay. Got it. Thank you.
Can I do anything for you?
Rain check.
Everything okay?
You can go now, if that's what you mean.
Damn.
Anyway, I've been coming these past few weeks, listening, watching...
It was my doctor's idea, not mine. He's always telling me to try...
We usually begin our talks with the introduction.
Oh, yeah. Okay. My name is Cliff Aimes,
and it's been a year since my surgery.
Please tell everyone what kind of surgery.
Transplant.
Congratulations on your "surgiversary."
Yeah, the thing is, I've had a bad heart my whole life.
I always felt like I had one foot in the grave
and the other one on a banana peel.
Wow. It's a tough room.
I mean, it's not like I'm not grateful for the heart I got. I am.
I just...
I feel even more afraid now, like...
Maybe I don't even deserve to have it.
Maybe someone else should talk.
I really liked what you had to say.
Why?
It sounded like the truth.
Melinda Gordon.
Cliff Aimes.
Don't tell me you're a heart patient.
No. No, I'm more like a student.
Studying what?
The impact on people of things like this.
- Things like? - Transplants.
The emotional impact, you know, what it's like to get a second chance.
I'm still trying to figure out what went wrong with the first chance.
Maybe you could help me.
I don't think so.
I'm just curious.
You may have noticed, I don't excel at talking to groups.
I'm not too good at talking one-on-one, either, so, it was nice to meet you.
Do you ever find yourself thinking about the donor?
Why would you ask me that?
I mean, it's a natural thing to...
What else do you want to ask me?
If I get hungry for things I never liked before?
If I smell things so freaking familiar
I just can't figure out what they are?
Do you?
Ask me if I feel guilty because some guy I didn't know is dead
and I'm here talking to you about it.
Well, what did you expect?
I expected somebody filled with joy about having a new lease on life.
And you got Andy Rooney.
Hey, how's Gwen?
Feeling better.
Her fiancé is still making things go bump in the night?
Sometimes I don't know who's holding who back.
But every time I see them together,
the only thing that I can think of is how lucky we are.
And what they'd give to have what we have.
Let's not ever take that for granted, okay?
Deal.
Even so, if something ever happened to me
and you were alone, I would want you to be happy.
No. I'd want you to find someone and find love again.
I mean, wouldn't you want the same thing for me
if something happened to you?
No.
No? You wouldn't want me to be happy?
Fine. Sure I would, okay?
Make friends, go out and make money, be happy, but no other guy.
Okay.
Out of the question.
How did I snag such a sensitive, modern man?
I guess just call me lucky.
Hey, Lucky, you want some more wine?
Hey, look at this.
It says that my tax bill was paid in full. Who could have done this?
Wow! I don't know. Maybe somebody you helped or something?
Who? I don't know anybody who has this kind of money,
and how would they know?
I'm gonna call the Tax Board and find out.
Anyway, I decided that we should get Gwen out of her apartment.
Right? I mean, she really needs a giris' night out.
That's a great idea.
Cool. So Saturday night, Lento's on the Square?
- No karaoke? - Cross my heart.
I'll be there.
Aren't you haunting the wrong girl?
Is that him?
Hi.
What are you doing here?
Take my picture?
You don't meet the height requirement.
Excuse me. I have to develop these.
Develop? Thought everyone uses digital now.
Everyone does. I don't.
Listen, can I talk to you?
Digital is electronic. It's cold. Film is chemical.
It's emotional. No comparison.
Did you take these?
You have a wonderful eye. You should put them out, let people see them.
Yeah. They'd just remind me of something else I never became.
No! Does he have any idea what he is doing to my heart?
Do you smell that?
What?
Like flowers?
Gardenias.
No.
Now it's gone. That drives me crazy!
Weren't you happy to get a new heart?
What? You don't think I'm grateful?
You don't think I wake up at night and hear it beating
and just not understand why I should be so lucky?
Sometimes I think they just wasted this on me.
He thinks too much.
Maybe I just don't know how to use it.
I know you've been sick for your whole life,
and maybe you've just been sick for so long,
you don't know how to be well.
Look, there's no reason for you to listen to me
and there's no reason for you to trust me. I'm just...
There's someone I'd like you to meet,
someone I think you'd have something profound in common with.
I think you'd both get a lot out of it.
You have to have an open mind, though.
Who?
Cliff Aimes, I'd like you to meet Gwen Alexander.
Sorry. You just look so familiar.
Hi.
Well, we have a table all ready, so...
Well, why don't you two go on ahead,
- and we'll be in in a minute. - We will?
I'm starving.
Then why don't you show them the table
and come back out and talk to me for a minute?
Okay. Let's go.
What are you doing? You were supposed to introduce him to me.
Semantics. You said you wanted to see him.
You said nothing about meeting him.
He's not her type.
Look, we'll talk about this later.
Lucy, you have some "'splaining" to do.
Oh, I just want to give them a few minutes alone. Let's take a walk.
Maybe we should order.
Yeah.
You said that I looked familiar. What did you mean?
Like I've seen you somewhere before.
I get like this a lot lately.
- Do you smell that? - The bread?
No. Sweet. Like gardenia?
Oh, that's my perfume. It's too much, maybe.
No. No, I...
I've been smelling it for such a long time,
I just... I can never figure out where it's coming from.
Excuse me. There's a couple over there in the corner breaking up.
I think they need you more than we do right now. Thank you.
Play a happy song, at least.
What sort of work do you do?
I'm a teacher, fourth grade.
I haven't felt much like working since...
I love kids. They're the only original thinkers in the worid.
Really?
Do you have any kids?
No. Hell, no.
I've had a lot of health problems lately,
so I figure I'd never be around long enough to have them.
Sorry, did I say something...
No. I'm sorry. I do this a lot lately.
Me, too.
You cry?
Especially lately.
I don't know why. I just...
I'll see something,
the look on someone's face or...
Or the way a dog watches me.
All of a sudden, I just can't stop crying.
Are you okay?
I'm sorry. I have to go.
Excuse me.
Was that a date?
Did it feel like one?
Considering she left before we even ordered food,
I'd say, roughly, yes. That's my usual date.
But what did you think of her?
I feel like
I know her.
How weird is that?
It felt...
Forget it. Forget it.
No. She's someone worth knowing. Take a chance.
Why?
Look, you're all about avoiding. I get it.
But just ask yourself this, why did you accept that heart?
Was it to avoid death, or was it to choose life?
I think you owe me an explanation.
Okay, it seemed to me like Cliff and Gwen
might have some things in common.
Me.
She doesn't need this. Can't you see how much pain she's in?
We had a deal.
You promised you would cross over.
Gwen's not ready.
Conor, let me be honest.
It's not Gwen that has the problem here. It's you.
And it's not like she doesn't want to move on, it's that you won't let her.
That is ridiculous. I don't interfere in any way.
She feels your presence. She knows you're there,
and you are holding her back by staying in her life,
and this thing with Cliff, it's not about him.
It's about her taking a step. It's about her moving forward and you letting go.
She loves me.
I know that, Conor.
And I know that you love her, too.
But she can't love a dead man, not the way that you want her to,
and you can't love her the way that she wants you to,
the way that she needs you to,
and it's not right to expect it.
Everything all right?
Yeah. Sorry if we woke you. This one's having a bit of a boundary problem.
Don't they all?
Okay.
Let's have Gwen decide.
- What? - Tomorrow.
We'll ask Gwen straight out what she wants, and I'll respect her wishes,
but if she says that she wants me to stay with her,
I want you to leave us both alone.
It was a very interesting conversation.
I asked the Tax Board who paid my bill,
and they said it was one Andrea Moreno.
I didn't want you to know.
Obviously.
How do you have this kind of money?
I have a little nest egg put away.
And it's fine, okay? So don't worry.
I'm stunned.
And...
I can't accept it. It's just too much.
Look, just pay me back when you can afford it, okay?
- Or better yet... - What?
You could accept the $ 15,000 as a down payment.
For what?
For making me your partner.
Andrea, I already consider you my partner.
Look, Melinda, I love it here. You know, I love the people, and I love this place,
and I have a little bit of money put away,
and I could pay you something really fair,
and we could grow this place together.
I don't know what to say.
Well, say, "Yes."
I mean, "yes" is all you have to say. You could say, "Yes."
Yes.
Yeah, yes?
Yes, I would love for you to be my partner.
Oh, thank you so much.
You don't know how much this means to me.
We're gonna be partners.
My life just got much easier
I've been doing a lot of thinking lately
about the whole man-woman thing.
And why I've never been too good at it.
Maybe it's because I would always hide inside my illness.
I never had to give too much.
I never had to take too much.
After all, I had other things to worry about,
like, "Would I be alive next week?"
And after a while, I...
I stopped thinking about it, and it got easier to be alone.
I didn't have to take any chances. The joys of a risk-free life.
And now...
I have this strong, new heart,
and I can feel it beating inside my chest, like it wants to come out,
like it's saying, "Give me more."
And I don't want to stop this feeling,
but I want to fill it.
Like I have to fill it.
And I don't even know if I know how exactly.
But I'm gonna try.
He could have been talking about Gwen.
You never told me what you thought of Cliff.
Is Conor here?
You can speak freely.
I did like Cliff. I did. He was funny.
God, I feel like I'm being unfaithful.
It's like Conor is my guardian ángel.
And it's so comfortable when he's here, it's so familiar.
So safe?
Being with Cliff, even for a few minutes last night, it was fun.
I feel like I knew him.
We talked about kids for a second,
and it made me want to go back to work.
But I crave Conor so much.
Conor.
I love you so much.
All I want is to be with you every day and every night
just like it used to be.
Will you tell her that, please?
He's telling you that he loves you,
that he wants to be with you all the time.
I love you, too, Conor.
But I don't want you to live a risk-free life.
You shouldn't waste your heart on a dead man.
He's letting you go, Gwen.
No. No, Conor.
No. I didn't mean what I said before. I want you.
Don't let me go. I can't do this without you.
That's why I have to go.
What is he saying? What...
He's leaving. Gwen, he's crossing over.
Wait until after I go,
and when she thinks of all the things we did,
it'll remind her that love is possible.
Conor, don't...
She'll find it again.
I will.
What? What is he saying?
- I love you. - Love you.
He's gone.
I have been dying to do this since we moved here.
"Saturday night, Grandview Players."
High drama.
I just hope that the theatre isn't haunted.
Be nice to sit through the entire play.
Hey. You know, Cliff and Gwen saw this last week, and they loved it.
What do you think's gonna happen with those two?
Who knows? It almost doesn't matter.
You know, they're good for each other right now. That's all that counts.
Right now is all that counts.
You think so?
As in, "Why don't you and I sneak out right now?"
Don't you have a life to save or two?
Probably. Whatever.
- Yeah. I should get back to work, too. - All right.
Oh, look, I'll lose these.