[As their small raft nears the beach, Tea's nerves become overwhelming for her. Del has remained silent since they set off from the boat, knowing that his sister needs time to deal with the conflicting feelings she's facing. As much as he hates knowing that Tea will once again throw her life away on the bum she used to be married to, he does envy Todd for having someone love him so much she's willing to face rejection and humiliation time after time, just for the slight chance that this time he'll return her love. He also envies Tea's strength in facing this moment. He knows her head is screaming at her to turn around before it's too late, but her heart won't allow it, even though she knows that heartache is certain.
Del has always prided himself on being more analytical than emotional. Tea was the same way, until Todd Manning started playing games with her heart.
As they reach the beach, Tea and Del jump out of the raft and pull it onto the beach.
Del continues his silence as he watches Tea nervously look at the surroundings she had been forced the year before to endure.]
Tea: Stay here.
Del: Are you sure?
Tea: I brought you here for moral support, and maybe a part of me, a very large part, hoped you would stop me from doing this at all. But, I need to do this...alone.
Del: I'm proud of you.
Tea: You are such a liar.
Del: Manning is beneath you. He doesn't deserve what you offer him too freely. That's obvious. But, I do admire how easily you give your heart to him. That takes a lot of guts.
Tea: You think this is easy? This is not easy. This has never been easy. Todd never allows anything to be easy.
Del: If it had been anyone else who had treated you the way he had and then expected you to return to him, you would have laughed your ass off and stayed home. What is it about Manning that makes you do whatever he wants?
Tea: This isn't about what Todd wants. It's about what he needs. He needs me. No one else ever has.
Del: That's not true.
Tea: It is true. I've felt unneeded and unwanted most of my life.
Del: Maybe you should see a shrink to help you deal with what your mami did, instead of putting yourself through this again.
Tea: I wish I could do something else, find someone else who could give me the incredible feeling that only Todd can give me.
Del: I don't want to hear about that from my baby sister.
Tea: I didn't mean that kind of feeling. I can get that feeling from any man.
Del: I really don't want to hear about that from my baby sister.
Tea: The feeling Todd gives me is...
[Tea touches her hand to her chest, unable to adequately communicate verbally what being with Todd means to her.]
Del: Indigestion? I know that's the feeling he gives me.
Tea: I'm being serious.
Del: So am I. That guy's lies don't digest as well with me as they do with you.
Tea: I'm not here because of any lies Todd may have tried to convince me of in the past. I'm not here expecting any semblance of a happy ending for us as a couple.
Del: Given his track record, that's a good thing.
Tea: I'm here because I know what it will be like the first moment we see each other. I know what his eyes will look like. I've seen that look each time we've done this in the past. I know that it will end disastrously. Of course it will. But, no one has ever looked at me the way he does the first moment we see each other after a separation.
Del: If you're looking for a companion that gets excited when you show up, get a dog. Get a great big dog that will bite a huge chunk out of your ex-husband's ass whenever he tries to come near you.
Tea: Why are you being so negative?
Del: After everything he's put you through, do you have to ask?
Tea: Why did you come all this way with me? Why didn't you just make your argument against my being with Todd back home? Why come all this way?
Del: Someone had to make sure you didn't end up stranded on a deserted island again. We both know Manning can't be trusted with that job.
Tea: This was a mistake.
Del: Giving Manning another chance to play his games with you? I agree.
Tea: I meant, my not coming alone.
Del: I know you're lonely, but is this guy really worth the hell he puts you through? Really think about it this time, Tea. Is Todd Manning worth it?
Tea: Yes.
Del: Think about it some more. Make sure you focus on all the lousy things he's done to you, including all the humiliation he's put you through.
Tea: Don't you think I have? Todd makes it impossible for anyone to have a lasting relationship with him.
Del: If you know that, why do you keep putting yourself through this?
Tea: I told you...
Del: It can't just be about a look. There has to be more to it than the first few seconds you spend with the guy.
Tea: If you ever had someone look at you the way he looks at me when he first sees me, you would understand. That look is the one thing that I know I can still count on from Todd. I know it.
Del: What if you're wrong? What if he's become just as lousy at the beginning of a relationship as he's proven himself to be in the middle and at the end?
Tea: When that happens, maybe I'll finally give up.
Del: Maybe?
Tea: You'll never understand because you've never been in love.
Del: Lust makes more sense.
Tea: I agree.
Del: If you're so anxious to see that magical look, why are you still standing here talking to me, instead of tracking down that ex-husband of yours?
Tea: Do you think less of me because I came?
Del: I think you have a big heart. It's too bad you're so determined to waste it on the wrong guy.
[Reluctantly, Tea leaves her brother and seeks out Todd, uncertain of what to expect this time from her unpredictable ex-husband.]
