Dallas Scene of the Day: ‘Mama, You Didn’t Take Any Licorice’

He remembers, Mama

In “Dallas’s” fourth-season episode “Full Circle,” Cliff (Ken Kercheval), dressed in a three-piece suit, nervously straightens his apartment when there is a knock at the door. He opens it, revealing Rebecca (Priscilla Pointer).

REBECCA: Hello.

CLIFF: Hi. Come on in.

REBECCA: You look wonderful.

CLIFF: You too. Maybe I should have known who you were when you came in the office the other day but then, I don’t know. You didn’t look exactly like I expected you to.

REBECCA: Oh?

CLIFF: No. You look kind of um … poised.

REBECCA: [She smiles, then notices the spread on his coffee table] Oh, Cliff. You didn’t have to go to that trouble.

CLIFF: No, it’s no trouble. I’ve got some coffee going. I’ll check to see if it’s done. [Walks into the kitchen] Uh, it’s done. [Peering into the living room] You want some coffee? How do you take it?

REBECCA: Black, please.

He pours two cups, carries them into the living room on saucers and hands one to her.

CLIFF: We can sit down.

REBECCA: You’ve done very well for yourself, haven’t you Cliff?

They sit on the sofa.

CLIFF: Uh, I’ve done OK. I’ve bounced around a bit, from job to job.

REBECCA: But you put yourself through law school.

CLIFF: Yeah, I did that. [Not making eye contact] But that’s a long time ago. Now Pam. Now, let’s see. Now, I don’t think she told me where she found you.

REBECCA: The first time was in Houston.

CLIFF: [Looks at her, then looks away] Did you live there very long?

REBECCA: Yes, we…. We, we sound like two strangers, don’t we? I didn’t want it to be that way. [Moves toward him, but he rises and stands]

CLIFF: It wasn’t my decision. You ran out on me. I was barely 5 years old and you pretended to be dead and you left me with a baby sister and a drunken father. Why?

REBECCA: It wasn’t like…. It’s so, it’s so hard to explain.

CLIFF: I can imagine it’s hard to explain. A mother running out on her own two kids. I don’t know how in the hell a woman can do that. [Screaming] Do you have any idea what it’s like to be 5 years old and be told that your mother’s dead only to find out the truth is that she didn’t want you! That she was only thinking about herself!

REBECCA: [Grabs her pocketbook, rises and walks toward Cliff, who stands not looking at her] I, I didn’t expect you to forgive me anymore than I can forgive myself. [Voice cracking] But, oh how I prayed that you could try.

CLIFF: I have tried! [She opens the door.] Mama. [Grabs a bowl from the coffee table, holds it out for her] You didn’t take any licorice and I remembered you liked it.

He walks toward her and they embrace while sobbing.