"Hey, Riley." "You in or you out?" "I tried telling it the other day, and I screwed it all up." "What pickle-slicer joke?" "Oh, well, this guy he works at a pickle factory, and he goes home and tells his wife that he got fired because he stuck his dick in a pickle-slicer." "That one." "Sounds hilarious." "She says:" """You stuck your dick in a pickle-slicer." "Are you all right?""" "And he answers back with something, and that"s the part I can"t remember." "She asks if he"s all right, and he says, ""lt"s not so bad." "They fired her too.""" "There you go." "lf you say so." "How"d you do tonight?" "Broke even." "Give or take a grand." "Lost again, huh?" "Who says I lost?" """Broke even"" means you lost." """l did all right"" means you won." "Who says so?" "Me." "I got you down cold." "Remind me never to play poker with you." "It"s a waste of money if you ask me." "Well, I never do ask you, but that hasn"t stopped you from telling me that every Thursday night..." "...for the last, what?" "Hey, Vivian." "Four years." "There you go." "Thank you." "Four years?" "Am I boring you?" "No, ma"am." "Am I boring you?" "Not yet." "Waffle man." "I got this convention to go to in New Orleans at the end of the month." "Why don"t you come along?" "Don"t do that." "What?" "Be unpredictable." "Come on." "We"ll have fun." "Just the two of us." "Why not?" "I mean it." "l don"t even have a suitcase." "l"ll buy you a suitcase." "How about you buy me dinner at the Canterbury?" "I like their spinach salad." "All you want for your birthday is a spinach salad when you can have a trip to New Orleans?" "l don"t know. I just...." "All right." "Just...." "Just think about it." "Okay." "Baby, it is time for you to go home." "Nope." "Get some sleep." "Ten more minutes." "All right." "How was your poker game?" "Broke even, just about." "Want me turn out the light?" "Nope." "Doesn"t bother me." "Good night." "Sweet dreams." "You too." "and questions about other stuff that brings up a whole can of worms, you know?" "We"re just gonna take the RV and park the motor home in our backyard wait for her to kick the bucket, I guess." "And watch over her and take care of her until then." "Sure gonna miss you, Brenda." "Oh, Lois. I"m gonna miss you too." "I got my grandkids up here." "I"ll be back up here from time to time." "Would you like some more coffee, Sharon?" "Oh, no, thank you, Mrs. Riley." "Call me Lois, honey." "Where is your bathroom?" "Coffee goes right through me." "Right down at the end of the hall." "Can"t miss it." "But, you know, you"ll be in great hands with Sharon." "She"s a real whiz." "Besides, Walt"s just tired of living in Indianapolis." "You have a beautiful home." "Thank you." "How old is your daughter?" "Did you see Lois" craft room?" "She...." "She paints and does pastels and all that." "She"s a real artist." "Hey." "Hey, Doug." "Yeah?" "Hey, can I talk to you outside for a second?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Sure." "Where"s Viv?" "I tried to get ahold of you at your office, Doug but I didn"t wanna leave a message with your secretary." "What message?" "Doug, Vivian"s dead." "It was a heart attack." "You gonna sit out here all night?" "Just smoking a cigarette." "Wish you wouldn"t smoke in the house." "Well, I"m not in the house." "I"m in the garage." "When you open the door, all the smoke comes inside." "Then close the door, Lois." "What are you doing home so early?" "That headstone you got us at Gold Hill that"s a unique experience." "Seeing your name carved on a piece of granite." "How do you mean?" "Well, I mean I"m not dead." "And you"re not dead." "Now, there"s enough people out there that are dead." "They need headstones." "We don"t." "Because we"re not dead." "A lot of people do this, Doug." "It"s called pre-planning." "Well, I don"t like having my name carved on a tombstone while I"m still alive." "I can"t believe you did that, Lois." "Hello?" "Kind of early, aren"t you?" "Oh, yeah." "Traffic, you know." "Gonna be a bear." "Doug, let"s go." "I just hate driving to the airport." "Do you mind picking up my mail and newspaper while Doug is gone?" "Why can"t your neighbor across the street do it?" "She moved." "What about all your other neighbors?" "Just till Doug gets back." "Okay. I have to drive over here all the way from Zionsville every day because my nutcase sister can"t walk down her own damn driveway." "Lois?" "Somehow, someway, and someday you"re just gonna have to walk out that door." "Give me a Sweet"N Low." "So I sent every truck we own down to the construction site paid off the night watchman, and we went floor by floor and pulled every one of our fixtures:" "faucets, sinks, fire-hose valves drinking fountains, sprinkler heads, you name it." "You"re lucky they didn"t charge you with breaking and entering." "I"m not standing at the back of the line in some bankruptcy hearing." "Screw that." "Pay me, or I"ll repo your sorrowful, broke ass." "That"s why it"s 30 days net with us." "Why go 90 days out with someone?" "I don"t need that kind of suspense." "Right, Doug?" "No surprises." "That"s my motto." "Gonna hit the little boys" room." "All right." "How are you?" "How you doing?" "Hey, Doug." "How you doing, man?" "Here we go." "Hey." "Hey, Doug." "Where you going?" "Right there." "Thank you." "How you doing tonight?" "l"m okay." "How about you?" "Oh, I"m real good." "Good." "You want a private lap dance in the vip room?" "What?" "You want a private lap dance in the vip room?" "No, not right now." "Thank you." "Not right now?" "Sorry." "l"m gonna be off work soon." "All right." "Wait." "Come on. lt"s right upstairs." "It"s only 250." "You get a bottle of champagne and me for an hour." "l don"t drink champagne." "l do." "Thank you, but...." "Come on." "An hour." "Just you and me." "Shit." "You know those guys?" "Yep." "You want the room?" "Oh, hello." "All right." "Give me a hand?" "Make yourself comfortable." "I"m Mallory." "What"s your name?" "Doug." "lt"s nice to meet you, Doug." "Nice to meet you too." "We actually have to wait for the drinks to come before we can have any fun." "Wait." "Hold on." "I"m not here for the fun part." "Well hand jobs are 50 and I can do oral, but it"s 1 00, and you"d need a rubber." "No, thank you." "I get 60 out of the 250 you gave the guy at the bar." "You"re not gonna tip me nothing?" "All right." "Here." "This make it worth your while?" "Knock, knock." "Thanks, Doug." "Hi." "There you go." "I"ll need you to sign this for downstairs." "Plus the champagne." "Hey, Tara." "Here you go." "You gonna tip the girl?" "Wouldn"t wanna forget to do that." "No, we wouldn"t." "There you go." "Thanks." "Y"all have a good time, okay?" "Come here." "Come here. lt"s okay." "Over here." "I really, really like older guys." "They get me really wet." "Yeah." "Sweetheart." "Sweetheart." "Just" "Sit still." "Sit still." "You don"t wanna have any fun?" "How about we just talk?" "Do you want me to talk dirty..." "...so you can get yourself off?" "Jesus Christ." "No." "No." "Okay?" "Well, all right." "You don"t have to get mad at me." "It"s fine." "I"m not mad at you." "Just persistent, that"s all." "Now...." "Trying to keep the customers happy." "l"m happy. I"m happy." "You don"t look very happy." "How old are you?" "How old do I look?" "Fifteen." "You can"t be 1 5 and work in any strip club I"ve ever heard of." "How old are you?" "Twenty-two." "You don"t look 22." "That"s what it says on my id." "Well, I could buy a driver"s license says I"m 22." "That doesn"t make me 22." "So is Mallory your real name?" "You-- Fuck me." "You"re a fucking cop?" "No." "Oh, you"re not a cop?" "Then come here and show me your cock, then." "Stop it." "Stop that." "Yeah?" "Prove you"re not a cop!" "l"m not a cop." "Take this back." "That"s about as close to my pussy as you"re gonna get tonight, fuck nuts." "Hey." "How"s it shaking, baby?" "It ain"t." "Felix kicked me out early." "There"s too many girls in tonight." "Can I get a meatball po"boy to go?" "Thanks." "Excuse me. I"m not a cop." "I"m from Indianapolis, Indiana." "I run a wholesale plumbing-supply business." "I"m here for a convention." "Okay. I"m sorry about that." "I just got cops on the brain, you know?" "Can"t help it." "Snooping around the club." "And they just towed my car for unpaid parking tickets." "It"s like 35 bucks a day in storage fees, and I don"t got that." "It"s been in there for like a week." "How the fuck can I get it out?" "So, anyway, that"s...." "That"s why I don"t like cops." "How much do you owe?" "Eleven hundred for the tickets and I guess whatever 35 times seven is." "Two hundred and forty-five dollars." "What is that altogether?" "Well, $ 1 1 00 plus $2 45 is $ 1 345." "Fuck me." "You have a terrible vocabulary." "Fuck you." "All right." "I didn"t mean that that way." "Me neither." "Here you go, babe." "Anyway...." "l got it. I got it." "Sorry." "Where you from?" "Why?" "Just making conversation." "I"m from Florida." "Where in Florida?" "Panhandle." "And you work in a strip club?" "Better than working peep shows in Atlanta." "Guys jerking off, staring at your cooter like it was singing ""The-Star-Spangled-fucking-Banner.""" "Here." "Hey, you think...?" "I mean, now that, you know...." "Now that I know you"re not a cop do you think I could have that 1 00 bucks back?" "I mean, you said you just wanted to talk, right?" "And we"ve been talking." "And I could do something else for the money too, if you want. I mean...." "You can have your money back." "Put it away." "l know." "Thanks." "Thank you." "It"s getting late. I"ll take you home." "It"s just a ways down this street, so just...." "This is your neighborhood?" "Yep." "It"s this whitish one, right here." "Hey, do you mind coming in with me for a second just to make sure it"s chill?" "My electricity"s off." "All right." "Motherfuck." "Shouldn"t keep your key in your mailbox." "I"d just lose it if I didn"t." "Jesus." "You weren"t kidding." "I know." "Place gets really fucking creepy." "How come you haven"t paid your electric bill?" "I have." "My landlord keeps locking the fuse box." "It"s supposed to be included in the rent, but he"s, like, this...." "He"s, like, this freak who wants me to suck him off while he videotapes it." "He"s a regular at the club." "It"s this whole scam he"s got going." "He only rents the place to strippers." "But I told him, like, ""l"m not gonna do your blow-job videos and I"m not leaving, because I got my rights.""" "And he tries to scare me with this ""for sale"" sign shit." "Like, yeah." "Like people are dying to buy this shithole." "You wanna smoke a spliff?" "What?" "Like, a doobie." "You know, like, a joint." "Weed." "Marijuana?" "Yeah." "I haven"t smoked marijuana in 20-odd years." "What"s so funny?" "This whole night." "I feel like I landed on Mars." "Well, welcome to New Orleans." "Yeah." "Here." "How come you don"t wanna fuck me?" "l prefer women my own age." "Why?" "They know what they"re doing." "l"m pretty good." "Sure, you are." "l think I give some pretty good head." "l"m sure you do." "Let me show you." "No." "No." "Lie down." "It is so weird being with a guy who don"t wanna get it on." "Yeah, well, it"s pretty weird being with you too." "You don"t like me?" "I do. I like you a lot." "I like the train." "I like you too." "Hello?" "Where in the hell are you?" "I overslept." "Goddamn." "Banged on your door for five minutes." "You all right?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I"m fine." "Why didn"t you check in with Lois yet?" "Just talked to Harriet." "I forgot." "l forgot." "Are you sure you"re all right?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I"m all right." "I"ll see you at the convention." "And get that jacket of yours back from that girl." "Personal space." "Stop loaning your things to people." "Riley residence." "Hey." "Sorry I didn't call when I got in last night." "Well, I checked your flight on the Internet so I know you didn"t crash." "How"s New Orleans?" "Listen, I think I'm going to stay here for a while." "Can't come home right now." "What are you talking about?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "But I just know that I can't come home right now." "I know I'm not dead yet." "All right?" "Doug I"m not mad about Vivian." "What?" "A year or two ago, I found a nametag in the pocket of your windbreaker." "It's not like I had no idea what was going on." "And I know I haven't been...." "Oh, Lord." "I'm sorry." "I am." "I"ll make a list of people you gotta take care of." "l will." "We got a deal?" "Not yet." "But almost?" "You got the money?" "Shake?" "Almost." "All right." "Oh, God." "Not guilty." "Morning, Ham." "How are you?" "Had ourselves some French Quarter fun last night, didn"t we?" "Took old Jer to the swankiest strip joint in the Quarter." "And I"m talking tender to the bone." "Give us a minute, will you?" "Oh, you bet." "We"ll have ourselves a good time tonight, boys, so take your vitamins." "I like the blue ones, myself." "So, what"s up?" "l"m selling Circle City." "Are you fucking nuts?" "What"s going on with you?" "You"re gonna make a good profit on your shares." "You"re gonna get a nice bump to run the company." "Don"t do this to me." "Do what?" "Make you richer?" "You"ll get over it." "Wait." "Hey." "Goddamn it." "So, what--?" "I mean, what, you"re just gonna pull the plug?" "Yep." "Christ, Doug." "Where the hell are you going now?" "Need a pair of bolt cutters and a toilet snake." "Morning." "Jesus Chr" "Turn the water on in the tub so I can rinse this thing off." "Oh, my God. I"m out of here." "Got a business proposition for you." "Well, I told you that I don"t do porn tapes." "I"m not gonna fuck your German shepherd." "l"m not going to Tokyo to turn tricks." "Can I just talk for a minute?" "Yes." "But the answer"s no." "I"ll give you $ 1 00 a day to stay at your place." "What?" "One hundred dollars a day if I can stay at your place." "I don"t like hotels." "No pussy?" "No." "And I don"t do anal either, just so you know." "Thank God there"s something you don"t do." "So 1 00 bucks a day, and you just live at my house?" "Yep." "So you"ll be my sugar daddy?" "You know what that is?" "Kind of." "You"ll buy me cool things." "I"ll buy you a broom and a dustpan." "It"s me, Charlene, Mrs. Riley." "You remember me, don"t you?" "I saw the garage open." "Didn"t look right to me." "You okay in there?" "Just taking a nap." "You want your paper?" "Put it on the hood, please?" "Shouldn"t leave your garage door open like that." "I know." "Thank you." "Good to see you." "Been a long time." "Evening." "Hi." "Who are you?" "Doug." "Who are you?" "is Bridgette home?" "Who?" "Oh, you know, Bridgette." "Roxy?" "Jennifer?" "Mallory?" "Yeah." "Mallory." "She home?" "No, she"s at work." "Saw the lights on." "You wanna leave her a message or...?" "Oh, just dropping by." "No big thing." "Another time." "Good night." "I got a lot of 20s tonight." "That"s crazy." "Shit." "Okay." "Here"s another three, four, five" " Fuck." "Wait." "Ten." "Twenty." "Okay, that"s 30" "First of all, put your money in the right order." "Twenties, tens, fives, ones." "Okay." "Chill out." "Show your money some respect." "Oh, I respect money." "Oh, fuck." "God." "Somebody open a can of tuna fish?" "I bet your balls smell just like apple fritters, right?" "Wouldn"t know. I don"t keep my money in my underpants." "Well, you would if you did what I do." "I know girls that keep their money inside their cooters." "l guess it"s safekeeping." "Jesus Christ." "What"s your problem?" "I don"t know." "I guess I"m just not used to being around young women who talk about their private parts." "Like, hello." "Like, I have private parts." "Wait till you see your house." "All right, top of the sheet matches the top of the bed." "See?" "Level right here." "Now straighten it out." "Looks good to me." "Both sides even?" "Yeah." "They do, huh?" "This side"s too long." "Nope." "They"re both too long." "Does it make that much of a difference?" "Yes." "All right, now tuck it in." "Over here." "Under." "Tight." "Okay." "Now this is the tough part." "All right, now, come here." "Forty-five degree angle." "Forty-five degree-- Where do you get this shit?" "What, nobody taught you how to make a bed before?" "There." "See?" "Nice and tight." "Tuck here." "Put your hand here." "All right?" "I"m not some kind of fucking idiot who, like, doesn"t know how to make a bed." "I didn"t mean to imply that." "Okay." "Now, you tuck it here." "Tuck it under." "Well, then maybe you shouldn"t say shit like that and think that I should know shit that I haven"t figured out yet." "Okay." "Okay. I"m sorry." "All right?" "Okay?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Where you headed?" "New Orleans." "I like New Orleans." "It"s a very special place." "ls it?" "Yeah." "I like about anywhere." "Except Vegas." "I don"t like places invented to hold you upside down and shake all the money out of your pockets." "Name"s Roger." "What"s yours?" "Lois." "You married to Superman, Lois?" "But you are married, right?" "Thirty years next June." "You are too young to be married that long." "Am I bothering you?" "l"m just not used to" "Not used to talking to strangers." "That"s all I do." "Talk to strangers." "Comes with the job." "You got kids?" "No." "Do you?" "Nope." "Think I might be able to buy you a drink?" "I don"t think they serve liquor here." "No." "There"s a bar up the road a piece." "Nice place." "Real clean." "No. I.... lt"s okay." "I bet you get tired of guys always trying to get personal with you." "No, I wouldn"t say that, exactly." "It"s been a long time since anything." "Everything." "It"s nice of you to ask me." "I"m very flattered. I mean that." "Oh, I...." "Better hit the road." "Yeah, me too." "It was nice talking to you, Lois." "Nice talking to you too." "Josh?" "No way." "It"s robot love." "Hello?" "Doug, I just got ripped off." "What?" "All my fucking money is gone and I'm gonna fucking kill this guy." "All right." "Calm down." "Where are you?" "I'm at the Aloha Motel." "You don't know where it is." "You all right?" "I can"t stand on the street without the cops coming by..." "..." "like I"m a crack whore." "What happened?" "I came here with this guy, and he kept trying to stick it in my fucking ass." "And I was like, ""Yo, pencil dick, back the fuck up.""" "And he wouldn"t." "I went to piss. I came back out and my wallet"s on the bed, and all my shit is everywhere and his car"s gone, and all I"ve got is fucking shoes, and, like...." "l"m out 900 bucks." "Nine hundred dollars?" "Why in the hell would you carry that much money around with you?" "Where else am I gonna keep it?" "I don"t know. ln the bank?" "What?" "I don"t have a fucking bank account." "What?" "This fucking asshole won"t give me the guy"s address because he"s fucking friends with him!" "Hey." "Hey." "l"m gonna fucking kill him!" "And what are you gonna do with his address?" "I"m gonna go get my money back." "No, you"re not." "You"re either gonna call the police, or you"re gonna drop it." "I can"t call the police, Doug." "Oh, don"t be so fucking stupid." "Just help me." "I"m stupid?" "You bring $900 to a place like this, and I"m stupid?" "You come here with assholes from that club." "That"s stupid." "That"s really stupid." "Okay, I"m really fucking stupid!" "Where are you going?" "l"m gonna turn some tricks..." "...and make my money back." "No, you"re not." "Come on." "We"re going home." "Then go ahead!" "Go ahead, then, goddamn it!" "Okay." "Okay." "I mean, fucking...." "Fucking everything." "Always. I"m, like...." "Like my whole life. I...." "l mean...." "l mean, forev" " Forever." "I know." "Baby, I know." "You"re gonna be okay." "Look at me." "Come on." "Come on." "Let"s go." "You up yet?" "Go away." "You gonna sleep all day?" "Fuck off." "Come on." "Let"s go." "What do you think you"re doing?" "Going to the Laundromat." "What the fuck time is it?" "Two fifteen in the afternoon." "Come on." "Let"s get moving." "What are you doing?" "Laundry." "You wanna do laundry?" "Here." "Wash my laundry for me." "You break my heart." "Why?" "Because you wanna fuck me, and you can"t?" "Come on." "We"re going to the Laundromat." "Let"s go." "You gonna give me my money today?" "Put your clothes on." "Give me my money or get the fuck out of my house!" "Here." "Here"s your money." "You know what?" "You wanna parade around here in your birthday suit, if displaying your vagina"s the only way you can feel in control, well, you knock yourself out." "But I"m tired of your language, especially the word ""fuck"" and all its various permutations." "I know it"s your only adjective but it makes you sound cheap and immature and uneducated." "And that may be the truth, but why advertise it?" "Now, starting today, I"m docking you a dollar every time you use that word." "So get up, get dressed, get in the shower, brush your teeth." "Let"s go." "Let"s go." "Let"s go." "Don"t be mad at me." "I mean, I don"t like being told what to do. I can"t help it." "And I"ll lay off the curse words." "I will. I promise." "Okay?" "Goddamn it, Doug, please, don"t be mad at me." "l"m not mad at you." "You"re acting like you"re mad at me." "No, I"m not acting like I"m mad at you." "Now, sit down." "Take it easy." "Come here." "Come here." "Come on." "Fuck." "Just don"t be mad at me." "You can"t." "Hello?" "It's me." "Hey." "I called you last night." "You must"ve gone to bed." "Did you get my message?" "I'm here." "Well, like I said last night, I"m very sorry about not" "I'm here." "Well, I know you are, and I appreciate it." "Damn it, Doug, I"m here, in New Orleans." "I was supposed to get off on Basin Street and somehow I got on Royal and I"ve run out of directions now." "You"re in New Orleans?" "Yes. I drove down." "You drove down?" "You know I don"t like airplanes." "Jesus Christ." "You drove down from Indianapolis?" "Yes." "By yourself?" "Yes." "You"re not gonna be happy when you see your car, but I"m here." "Where did you say you are?" "Yeah, Royal and" " Hold on." "Orleans." "Royal and Orleans." "All right." "Just stay there." "Stay right there, and I"m gonna come get you." "Great." "Excuse me." "Can you tell me where Royal and Orleans is?" "Two blocks past Jackson Square there, make a right, and up two blocks." "All right." "That"s my car there." "Here are the keys. I"ll be back." "You park there, you"ll get towed real quick." "Well, then tow it. lt"s a rental." "Excuse me." "Sorry." "Surprise." "I"d have left a lot sooner if I"d have known it would"ve gotten you out of the house." "I"m not even on my pills, if you can believe that." "You feel all right?" "Feel all right." "Haven"t seen you in the daylight in a long time, you know." "You look beautiful." "So good to see you." "You want a drink, or something to eat, or...?" "A place I could freshen up a little first?" "Your hotel or something?" "Well, I guess there"s someone that I want you to meet first." "Okay?" "Well, okay." "Where"s the car?" "lt"s over there." "Got a ticket." "Damn." "Well, that"s all right. I got towed." "What?" "I did. I left it on the corner up on the sidewalk trying to come and get you over there." "How are you?" "l"m okay." "Here we are." "That"s quite a shade of green." "Not that one." "That one." "Oh, you can"t be serious." "Come on inside." "The person you want me to meet lives in here?" "Her name is Mallory." "Now, her real name is Allison." "She"s got a lot of names because she works in a strip club." "She"s a stripper?" "You"ll understand once you meet her." "Understand what?" "That you"ve lost your mind?" "Jesus, Doug." "Lois, just come inside." "Lois" "Hey." "Hey." "Where"d you go running off to?" "Well, Mallory, this is my wife, Lois." "Lois, Mallory." "Hey." "How you doing?" "Lois." "Hey, Doug, Tara"s gonna give me a ride home from work so you don"t have to-- And I"m going early, so...." "Lois, hold up." "No." "Hold up." "Lois." "Hold up." "Come on." "Come here." "No." "No." "You"re crazy." "All right." "Calm down." "Calm down." "This is insane." "She"s just a child." "She is a 1 6-year-old runaway from Florida, okay?" "All right?" "What do you think you are doing?" "I don"t know." "That"s what I"m trying to tell you." "Okay?" "No, no, no." "This is a nightmare." "Lois." "Lois." "Lois." "Just calm down and talk to me." "Doug, let go of me." "Let" "All right." "All right." "Calm down." "l-- No." "I have made a terrible mistake." "All right." "Maybe you have." "Take the keys drive down to Indianapolis and lock yourself up in your goddamn house again." "So it's your job to take care of her?" "Why not?" "No." "For heaven"s sake, Doug, she"s not a stray cat, she"s a child." "Got no one else to take care of." "What about me?" "Want another beer?" "l said, what about me?" "I"m your wife, damn it." "You don"t just walk away after 30 years." "You don"t just call one day and say:" """Oh, by the way, I"m not coming home.""" "No." "That"s not the way it works." "You tell me what you want, Doug." "I don"t know." "You wanna run away?" "You wanna hide?" "Maybe." "You wanna pretend some runaway stripper is your daughter?" "What time is it?" "I"m selling Circle City." "This fella from New Orleans wants to show me a written offer." "He"s over at the Omni Royal Hotel and I"m supposed to meet him in the lobby in a half-hour." "I"ll get you a room there." "It"s a nice place." "Where are you staying?" "Here." "With Mallory." "I"ll stay here too, then." "You can leave me if you have to but I will never leave you." "So you just do what you have to do here, huh?" "Hey." "Sorry." "I didn"t mean to wake you up." "That"s all right. lt"s been a long day." "Where"s Doug?" "He"ll be back in a little while." "Okay." "Are you hungry?" "Yeah." "I got off early tonight." "Business sucks." "You wanna go around the corner and get a po"boy?" "What"s a po"boy?" "It"s like a sandwich." "All right." "I figured he was married." "Did you?" "He doesn"t like being alone, you know?" "I know." "Hey, you know, me and Doug like, we don"t fool around or anything like that." "I"m just saying, I mean, like, nothing like that." "lt"s just-- -l believe you." "Because, like, he"s completely old-school. lt"s crazy." "l believe you." "He even fines me, like, a dollar if I say the word ""fuck.""" "Can you not tell him that too?" "Because I think that he"d" "Fine you a dollar." "Yeah." "l won"t tell him." "How long you guys been married?" "Thirty years next June." "That"s basically forever." "Got any kids?" "We had a daughter." "She died in a car accident." "My mom died in a car accident." "I was in the car accident as well." "How old were you?" "Four." "Or 5. I don"t really-- l mean, I don"t remember it." "Which is good." "It would be kind of fucked up to remember that." "What was your daughter"s name?" "Emily." "Emily Eugenia Riley." "How old was she?" "Fifteen." "That sucks." "Yes." "It does." "Night owl." "It"s just so unusual to be outside." "Yeah, I"ll bet." "Had dinner with Allison." "You did?" "She home?" "Went on a date." "Come in." "Did you bring your migraine medicine?" "No." "Why?" "Because you need to take one of those pills before we make love or you"re going to get a headache." "I haven"t had a headache in a long time." "I know." "We haven"t made love in a long time." "Allison?" "Can I come in?" "Yeah." "Sweetie, what"s wrong?" "I don"t know." "There"s something...." "There"s something really wrong with my cooter." "Your cooter?" "My pussy." "Did you pee?" "Does it burn when you pee?" "Yes." "Okay." "All right." "Okay." "Okay. I"ll be right back." "I"m gonna get something for you." "Doug, honey." "Wake up." "Doug." "I need you to go to the drug store." "You all right?" "l"m fine. lt"s Allison." "What"s wrong with her?" "Just female trouble." "Come on." "Get up." "Let"s get you in the shower." "It"s just me." "Come on out." "Let"s get you dried off." "Come on." "That"s it." "Come on." "That"s it." "Sit down." "Oh, fuck." "You have a pair of clean white cotton undies?" "No." "Well, then you don"t need to wear any." "Oh, God." "Just put you in a clean nightgown." "I don"t have a nightgown." "You can borrow one of mine." "Excuse me." "Excuse me, ma"am?" "Your daughter wants you." "What?" "ln the dressing room back there." "Your daughter needs you." "Thank you." "Thank you very much." "No problem." "Allison?" "Yeah, I"m in here." "This is so not jiggy." "lt fits well." "Oh, you just have to adjust these straps." "There we go." "Bet you were a good mom." "l" " That was stupid." "No." "No, sweetie. I just think of things sometimes." "What things?" "I went after her." "I didn"t tell that part about how Emily died." "Tell me what?" "I was awake that night." "Doug was at his poker game." "I always stay up till he gets home." "I heard something." "Went to the window." "Saw Emily get into her boyfriend"s car." "So I put on some clothes and got into my car and went looking for them." "Did you find them?" "Parked in a shopping center not far from our house." "I"m sure they were really happy to see you." "He took off." "I tried to catch up." "I couldn"t." "He was driving so fast." "Lost them for a little while, and then...." "They crashed the car?" "Ran a stop sign and hit a truck broadside." "By the time I got there, everything was on fire." "Couldn"t get to them." "Wouldn"t have happened if I hadn"t gone after her." "You get changed." "We"ll go meet Doug." "Hey." "It"s not your fault." "That"s not your fault." "Just like, I mean, my mom getting in a car accident"s not my fault." "Your mother must have been very pretty." "Yeah." "She had bigger tits than me." "I got my dad"s tits." "I don"t know what happened." "I got my dad"s too." "See you out there." "I said get white ones but she likes them." "Watch out." "Sorry." "Can I take a shower yet?" "Nope." "Thermocouple"s screwy, and the pilot keeps going out." "Why"d you dump Lois?" "Goddamn it!" "l didn"t dump her." "You"ve been living here with me." "What"s up with that?" "l don"t know." "You think it"s all her fault?" "What?" "Your daughter in the car crash?" "She told you about that?" "Yeah. ls that, like, a secret or something?" "Give me my lighter back." "Because it would really suck shit if you blamed her for that." "I don"t blame her." "What are you talking about?" "l mean, she was being a good mom." "Who said she wasn"t?" "So you don"t think it"s all her fault, then?" "No. I don"t know." "We don"t talk about it." "Give me my lighter back." "You should talk about it." "l"ll see you later." "Where are you going?" "Club." "Don"t you think you should take a few nights off until your, you know...?" "I got my cranberry juice." "I"m good to go." "Allison, I don"t think you should do this anymore." "Do what?" "You know what I"m talking about." "You don"t work, you don"t eat." "Wait." "l can"t let you do this." "Lois, don"t." "What?" "Don"t be stupid." "I apologize for being so unsophisticated but I cannot let a 1 6-year-old girl prostitute herself." "l"m a fucking dancer." "And a prostitute." "Well, you"re not my fucking mom, so get the fuck out of my way." "No, Allison" "All right, don"t fucking touch me." "All right." "Listen to me, though." "Please listen." "l don"t have to listen to you." "You"re not my fucking mom." "Doug, never mind." "This is my fucking house." "Just get the fuck" "You don"t know what you"re doing to yourself, sweetheart." "Don"t." "Please, Doug." "And I know more about what I do than you will ever know." "How many cocks you swallowed?" "Hey." "All right." "All right." "All right." "Fuck!" "Fuck!" "My fucking" " Fuck you!" "Take it easy." "She didn"t mean it." "Okay, just stop fucking touching me!" "Calm down." "She didn"t mean it." "All right?" "Get the fuck off me!" "l"m sorry." "Allison." "Allison." "lt"s okay." "Let her go, Doug." "Doug, let her go!" "l just wanna talk to her!" "Mallory!" "Doug, let her go." "There"s a train to Chicago in the morning." "I can take a bus from there to Indianapolis." "We"re out of beer." "I"ll be back in a little while." "Hello?" "What?" "Where are you?" "All right. I"ll be right there." "What name are you under?" "What?" "All right." "All right." "Sit down." "You wanna know what she did?" "Yeah." "She had an altercation with an unsatisfied customer." "He...." "He"s dropped the charges, and they"ve shaved down the ""resisting arrest"" to ""disorderly conduct"" so everybody gets off cheap." "Here"s your receipt and my card." "You"re free to go." "Thank you." "You"re welcome." "Thank you." "Goddamn it." "Doug." "Where you going?" "Where you going?" "Get back in the car." "Doug." "Goddamn it." "What are you doing?" "I"m nobody"s little girl." "It"s too late for that shit." "She"s not Emily." "I know that." "You leaving?" "Yeah." "You...?" "You seen Mallory?" "No. I ain"t seen her." "She got arrested last night." "Yeah, I know. I was there." "We got raided." "They shut us down." "I bailed her out, but she ran off." "I haven"t seen her." "I don"t know where she went." "Give this to her for me." "All right." "Tell her she"s got my number." "Okay." "You take care." "You too." "Tara." "Oh, it"s a mess back there." "l"ll put soup on for lunch." "All right." "And you"ll eat it. lt"s good for you." "Hello?" "Hey." "Where are you?" "Houston." "But I"m cutting out and heading to Vegas." "Are you okay?" "Yeah, I"m fine." "Don"t sweat it." "Well, I do sweat it." "I can't help it." "It"s been two weeks." "Yeah, I know." "I was gonna call. I just" "Thanks for the cash that you left me." "And the bag too." "It"s really getting a lot of use." "You're welcome." "We"re here, you know, anytime." "Will you tell Lois I"m sorry?" "For what?" "Well, you know just about getting all up in her face like that." "All right. I will." "And don"t be mad at me." "l"m not mad at you." "Not at all." "I miss you." "If that means anything to you." "I miss you too." "So Lois isn"t gonna mind if I call you every once in a while, right?" "No." "No." "Absolutely not." "And Lois wouldn"t mind hearing from you either, you know if you ever need female advice, or whatever." "She thinks you're smart." "Too smart to be doing what you're doing." "Okay." "I gotta go." "My bus is leaving." "All right." "Try to stay out of trouble." "Yeah." "l quit smoking." "Really?" "Good for you." "Me too." "Really?" "Well, maybe there is some hope for us." "Maybe so." "Maybe so." "Never know." "You never know." "Never do." "All right." "Bye, Doug." "Goodbye, Allison."