"Hey." "Hey." "Your autograph, please." "Sure." "Thank you." "Thanks for this." "Good." "That's it." "Good." "Okay." "All right, I'm pushing the air in now, just a little." "So the pressure in your chest will change." "You're doing a great job." "Hey." "Do you need a ride, Lucy?" "No, I'm all right." "Thanks." "Think I might do the dry cleaners." "Seek help." "Aye, aye, me hearty." "See you." "See you." "Can I interest you in a line?" "Yeah, why not?" "Thanks." "My pleasure." "This is Lucy." "Hi." "Hi, Lucy." "Lucy in the sky." "We were just talking about which one of us is gonna fuck you." "Really?" "Mm-hmm." "Well, why don't you toss for it then?" "Are you in?" "Okay, heads or tails?" "Head." "Cunt." "Head it is." "Yes, my prince." "Did I say when?" "Did I say tonight, this year, next year?" "Fair enough." "We'll toss." "Tonight or next year." "Tonight: head." " Tonight." " It's my lucky night." "Now or in five hours?" "Okay, now." "Tails." "Tails never fails." "All right." "Let's go then." "Shall we?" "Bye." " Morning." " Morning." "Have you got the rent?" "The rent?" "The rent..." "As in, the rent." "The rent is due." "The rent is overdue." "Here's some." "Won't kill them to wait." "You have no idea, do you?" "It's her house." "Is it your house?" "It's her parents' house." "There's no virtue on being born." "Just pay the fucking rent." "All right?" "And while you're at it, clean the fucking bathroom." "As we all agreed, it's your turn." "I did clean the bathroom." "You have to grout." "Grout." "In between the tiles, the black stuff." "It will give me great pleasure to grout." "Lucy." "Telephone." "It's your mother." "Line three." "Thank you." "Hi, Mom." "How did you get this number?" "No." "Do you want me to lose this job?" "Okay, yes." "I've got it in my hand." "It's Visa." "5464." "6870." "1390." "The expiry is 04/15." "Uh-huh." "Sorry?" "Yeah, I can see it." "It's 399." "Okay." "I have to go now, Mom." "Yeah, all right." "I have to go." "Okay, bye." " Hello, Lucy." " Hey, Birdmann." " Come in." " I bear gifts." "Thanks." "So how are you?" "I'm very well, thank you." "And you?" "Oh, yes, very well." "Thank you." "And how's the family?" "Oh, very well, thank you." "And yours?" "Oh, yes, very well." "And how are the kids?" "Yes, they're fantastic." "That's great." "It's good to see you." "You look beautiful." "Thank you." "I have something important to tell you." "Do you remember that time on the beach after we'd been to Andy's place, that moment?" "I wanted to kiss you." "You must have wanted me to kiss you." "I couldn't because of my tongue." "My tongue was furred." "Furred and thick." "Putrid." "The asshole of the asshole of the asshole." "I couldn't kiss you." "That's okay." "I wanted you to know that." "I just want to love my friends." "I know." "It's not an unreasonable request." "I'm so fucking tired of watching Oprah." "Hi." "Um, Melissa?" "I'm calling about the ad in the student paper." "Red." "Uh, slim." "Um, pert." "And what should I wear?" "Okay, great." "I look forward to seeing you." "Okay, bye." " Thanks." " No worries." "Are you sure you wouldn't like a cup of tea or coffee?" "Water?" "No, I'm fine." "Thanks." "Yes, I think we're ready." "Yes." " Hello." " Hi." "Please, come in." "Sit down." "Thank you." "Thank you for coming." "Such a pleasure to see such a unique beauty." "Let me tell you how things should proceed." "I'll describe the job, and then if you're interested, we'll discuss particulars." "How does that sound?" "Yes." "Good." "We're looking for a silver service waitress to work at private functions in lingerie that we will supply." "You will be working with other girls, some of whom will have more responsibilities." "There is room for promotion." "The pay is $250 an hour, cash." "You will be engaged on a freelance basis, job by job." "Either one of us can terminate our arrangement at any time, so please be sure to maintain another more reliable source of income." "I understand." "We rely on mutual trust and discretion." "And I'm obliged to tell you there are heavy penalties, very heavy penalties for any breaches of discretion." "Okay." "Am I clear?" "Yes." "My sincere advice to you is to use the money wisely." "Think of it as a windfall." "Pay off your student loan." "Please, please, do not think of this as a career." "Just work hard for a short amount of time." "Your vagina will not be penetrated." "Your vagina will be a temple." "My vagina is not a temple." "While that's quite true, my darling, you won't ever be penetrated." "Now would you stand up for me, please, and strip?" "Thomas?" "Open your mouth, darling." "Not pierced?" "Do you have any tattoos?" "Good." "Stand your feet apart a few inches." "What's this?" "I had a mole removed." "Please get dressed." "I have some questions that I need to ask you." "Are you on any medication?" "Just the pill." "Anything else?" "No allergies, antidepressants?" "No." " Prozac, Effexor?" " No." "Are you a smoker?" "No." "Maybe the occasional..." "jazz cigarette." "Very rarely." "Other drugs?" "Anything at all toxic?" "No, never." "Why not?" "Oh, throughout history, humankind have used drugs." "Drugs are a form of grace, aspirin for the soul." "My mother is an alcoholic with a violent temper." "She runs an astrology hotline." "We have a doctor that we'd like you to see for blood tests." "Will that be a problem?" "No, that's fine." "You called us on a public telephone." "You have a mobile?" " Yes." " Good." "We'll cover all your expenses, all your work-related expenses." "Now, silver service." "Are you familiar with silver service?" "Yes." "From what side does one serve the fish?" "Right side." "Left side." "Thomas, take note." "Thomas is going to help you." "You are very beautiful, very talented." "But we're going to make you even more beautiful, even more talented." "Come." "Oh, and your name, we'd like to call you Sara." "Okay." "Thank you." "Oh." "You all right, darling?" "Yeah." "Would you like a lavender tissue?" "Sure." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "Ow!" "Fuck." "Good afternoon." "Good afternoon." "And how are you?" "Very well, thank you." "And how are you?" "Oh, yes, fine." "Thank you." "Okay, sit down at the table." "To what do I owe this extraordinary pleasure?" "Nothing special." "Just upgrading my skill set." "Nothing special?" "White or white?" "Can we watch some porn?" "No." "Okay." "What have you done to your fingers?" " Beetles." " Beetles." "She's here." "Sara?" "Hi, Sara." "I'm Sophie." "Hi." "You look lovely." "Thanks." "Okay, now I need you to go into the dressing room for me and fix your makeup." "You'll find a lipstick palette in there, and I want you to match – an exact match – match your lipstick to the color of your labia." "You're kidding me." "Okay." "It's not a game." "You okay?" "Good." " Ready?" " Mm-hmm." "Let's go." "Thank you, friends, for coming here tonight." "As ever, it is wonderful to see you." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Thank you." "This evening, we're serving beluga caviar with toasted brioche." "Okay, in." "All right." "Service." "Galantine of quail stuffed with black truffle on a nest of fried leek and herbs." "Curious choice." "I first tried that dish many years ago, on the occasion of my 20th wedding anniversary." "But tonight, I've asked my chef to do what he can to bring it back to life." "Perhaps you will be able to tell me whether it really does taste so good or if it is the memories of Elizabeth and that night that make it so special." "To the dish itself." "To the dish." "To the dish." "The memories." " Brandy?" " Thank you." "Such fair skin." "Why, thank you." "Brandy?" "Brandy?" "Thank you." "Brandy?" "Not to worry." "Upsy daisy." "No harm done." "I'm sorry." "Don't worry." "You did really well." "Oh, leave those for the cleaners." "We won't be needing you any more tonight." "Thanks." "Baboon." " Hi." " Hey." "Very lovely." "Yeah, you too." "Your hair looks great." "Oh, ta." "Sophie, can I leave early tonight?" "Just this once." "Thank you." "It gets a bit easier." "It's never easy, though." "How long have you been doing it for?" "What kind of a question is that?" "I'm sorry." " Thanks." " No problem." "May I?" "Yeah, be my guest." "Some people fake their deaths." "I'm faking my life." "Well, you're doing a good job." "I want to show you something." "I would really love to suck your cock." "Hallelujah." "Hello, Lucy." "What time is it?" "It's morning." "Can I get you anything?" "Coffee?" "Yeah, coffee." "Thanks." "Hey, Birdmann?" "Will you marry me?" "Yes." "Thank you." "Not at all." "It's very kind of you." "It's a pleasure." "Thanks." "I'm ready, I think." "I think I'm nearly ready." "We could get you back into detox." "I could." "I'm flush." "Thank you." "I don't think I'd make it this time." "You could." "Do you believe that?" "I don't know." "The sandhill dunnart." "Nocturnal and endangered, a marsupial mouse thought to be extinct until recently." "Its main predators include owls and bats." "Little is known about the animal due to its rarity." "It prefers to eat insects but will also eat meat on occasion." "Sharp carnivore's teeth." "A scared sandhill dunnart will make a loud noise as it moves into an offensive position." "What it really is, the sandhill dunnart, is a miniature and more tenacious kangaroo." "Hey, Thomas." "Long time, no hear." "I'll be happy to do what I can." "Try me." "Sorry?" "For how long?" "That's it?" "How much?" "Okay, yes." "Yeah, I understand." "Okay, bye." "Hey." "Good afternoon." "Come in." "Come through." "Welcome to my home." "I hope the trip wasn't too grueling." "No, it was fine." "Thank you." "Wonderful." "Well, perhaps you'd like a shower to refresh you after your long drive." "There's a bathroom down the end of the corridor on the right." "You'll find a robe behind the door." "Okay, thanks." "Oh, and try not to let your hair get wet." "Sure." "I'm ready." "Are you feeling well?" "Pardon?" "Are you in good health?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "You'll go to sleep." "You'll wake up." "It'll be as if those hours never existed." "You won't even dream." "For an hour or two after you wake, you'll feel, yes, slightly groggy, but then fine, perfectly fine." "Not nearly as bad as a hangover." "Such a sleep works wonders." "You'll feel profoundly restored." "Thank you, Clara." "A few months ago, a strange thing happened." "I was idling through my bookshelves when I noticed a book my brother had once given me for my birthday:" "a collection of short stories." "Well, I started to reread one of those stories." "It was about a man who one morning wakes up and cannot bring himself to get out of bed." "He shuts his eyes in self-defense." "He reexamines his life." "He's seized with a restlessness." "He packs his bags, cuts all ties." "He can no longer live among the people he knows." "They paralyze him." "He's moneyed." "He goes to Rome." "He wants to burrow under the earth like a bulb, like a root." "But even in Rome, he cannot escape people from his former life." "So he decides to return to the city where he was born and educated but which he can't quite bring himself to call home." "Well, the move doesn't help." "He feels he has no more right to return than a dead man." "What can he do?" "He desires an extreme solution to his conundrum." "He aches for nothing less than a new world, a new language." "Nothing changes." "Out of indifference, and because he can't think of anything better to do, he decides once more to leave his hometown, to do some hitching." "A man picks him up." "They ride off into the night, when – bang!" "The car smacks into a wall." "The driver dies." "Our man is hospitalized, broken up." "Months pass." "His wounds heal." "Now he wishes for life." "He has a confidence in himself, in things he doesn't have to explain, things like the pores in his skin, all things corporeal." "He can't wait to get out of the hospital, away from the infirm and the moribund." ""I say unto thee, rise up and walk." "None of your bones are broken."" "The end." "When I reread those words," ""Rise up and walk." "None of your bones are broken,"" "I felt a tremendous sadness." "Do you know what the opening line of the story is?" ""When a man enters his 30th year, people will not stop calling him young."" "30." "I'd been given the book for my 30th birthday." "The Thirtieth Year by Ingeborg Bachmann." "So I had heard." "I had been told." "I knew all along, even if I didn't really know." "The great true things are unsurprising." "But what did I do back then?" "I carried on." "I carried on dutifully." "We were the happy couple, Elizabeth and I." "That's how people saw us." "But in truth, I did not cherish my wife." "And I did not cherish my friends or even my children." "I just carried on." "I was a success." "I made my way." "But with each step, I cringed." "I was on the back foot, the defensive." "And now, tonight, for the first time, I say," ""My bones are broken."" "Broken." "One day, I will need your help." "All of my bones are broken." "You're safe." "There's no shame here." "No one can see you." "But our rules must be respected." "No penetration." "Thank you, Clara." "Take care." "You will feel better very soon." "Thanks." "Your instinct was right." "We'll see." "You really are a fuckwit." "Two weeks, and you're out." "Adios, amigo." "Chinga tu madre." "I'm really sorry." "Yeah, me too." "Good morning." "Hi." "Is this Excelon still available?" "Uh, that's right." "Fantastic place, out of the city." "I have keys." "I can show you if you like." "No, it's fine." "I'm sure the Excelon will be excellent." "Right." "It is better to see it, though." "No, it's okay." "I have a friend in the building." "Okay, well, if that's the case, then we can definitely do that." "So do you have photo ID?" "Yep." "Some paperwork." "You know how it is." "A stitch in time saves nine." "Here you go." "Thank you." "All right." "Hi, Thomas." "This is Sara." "I was just wondering if Clara was out of her meeting." "Okay." "Uh, maybe you could give me a hand." "Thing is, I have a new lease." "I was just wondering if there was any work available." "Okay." "I would be really grateful if you could keep me in mind." "Thanks very much." "Bye, Thomas." "Nearly done." "And..." "Oh, okay." "Okay, it's okay." "It's okay." "Here it comes." "It's all right." "It's all right." "Sorry, sorry." "I have an important call." "I really have to take it." "I'll be back, Dr. Frankenstein." "Okay... bad monster." "Look." "Here's my bag." "I'm coming back, okay?" "We have one rule:" "no penetration." "Yeah, well, the only way I can get a hard-on these days is if I swallow a truckload of Viagra, and then some beautiful woman jams her fingers up my ass." "I'm the one that needs the penetration." "I don't expect that good fortune tonight." "You're quite right." "Thanks, Clara." "Stretch your cunt, you little bitch." "I'm gonna press your button and make you all wet." "Then I'm gonna fuck you with my big dick." "I'm gonna fuck you with my horse's prick and make you fucking scream." "You fucking little bitch." "You fucking little whore." "You..." "You fucking little bitch." "Hi." "Okay, okay." "I'm coming, all right?" "I'm coming." "Excuse me." "Sorry, excuse me." "It's okay." "I'm here." "Hello, Lucy." "Hi." "Take your top off." "Excuse me." "I love drinking." "I'm really good at it." "When did you last see him?" "About three or four months ago." "Took him out to dinner." "He was wearing your old suit, I think, the gray one." "Hmm." "I hadn't seen the Birdmann in..." "Well, when was the last time I saw you?" "A year?" "They say it was two weeks before his brother found him." "Two weeks in this weather." "Will you marry me?" "What?" "Why?" "I mean, why now?" "You had your chance." "Go on." "Fuck you." "Fuck you to death." "Well, that's one way to put it." "I'm with Helen now." "I can't believe you." "I don't believe you." "You don't believe you." "Fuck it." "Helen is courteous." "You should try it sometime." "Courtesy." "Courtesy." "You'll be safe here." "There's no shame." "No one can see you." "Thank you, Clara." "I do ask that there be no penetration." "I also ask that you take care not to leave any marks." "Thank you." "We do fire people here, you know?" "Well?" "All right, you're fired." "Thank you." "Excuse me?" "Hello." "Excuse me?" " Hi." " Hey." "Can I get some help?" "What do you think of this one?" "Yeah, not bad." "Okay, I'll take it then." "Cool." "Up here." "Okay, let's get going." "We pick up with black 129, making a bold move to attack this triangle." "It's an aggressive move, unexpected." "And then what does the master Shusai do?" "He counterattacks with white 130 to the right." "White 130?" "Why did he do that?" "After 27 long minutes of deliberation, why did the master play a move that would result in his own defeat?" "Are you gonna come to the party?" "I can't." "Got a big day tomorrow." "How big?" "I'm sleeping." "What?" "Live a little." "Just a little." " What is it?" " I don't know." "But it's something good for you." "Why not?" "There you go." "Back from the dead." "Fear of death is the number one hoax." "Lucy." "Hmm?" "Luce, turn it off." "Yeah." "Hello?" "Yeah, yeah." "Yeah, I'll be two minutes." "Okay, okay." "You need to get some blinds." "Fucking hell." "What was in that shit?" "That was fucking nasty." "Lucy." "Come back inside." " You're sure?" " She's fine." "Can you pull over?" "Pull over!" "Hello, darling." "Hi." "Are you well?" "Fine, thank you." "You sure?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "A shower always works wonders." "I'd like to ask a favor." "I need to see what goes on in there, just once." "I understand." "Believe me, I do." "But my clients, how can I expose them, to be frank, to blackmail?" "Just once." "That's not the way that we do things." " Please, Clara." " I'm sorry." "And I can assume you're quite well?" "Perfectly fine." "Thank you." "And you're in good health?" "Yes." "Good girl." "Thank you, Clara." "Are you sure?" "Thank you." "Good night." "Good night." "Oh, Lucy, please, please." "Please!"