"This is John Dixon." "Are you in there?" "Darrius?" "Oh, that's" " Lawrence, I'm sorry to bother you, but people's been worried about you— the store being closed and all." "Are you okay?" "Darrius?" "Darrius." "You didn't call anybody?" "Before too long, the dog—" "I was sittin' on top, and the deer came runnin'." "Yes." "This is John Dixon." "I wanna report a death." "Yes." "Darrius Batiste." "Darrius." "Lawrence, what's the address here?" "Hold on." "It's 69— It's 69 Clayton Road." "No, I'm just a neighbour." "His brother's here, but there's something wrong with him." "I can't get anything out of him." "He just walked out." "Yes, I'll stay here until someone arrives." "Yes, that's correct." "Okay." "About how long will that be?" "Okay." "Oh, Jesus." "Oh, man." "Oh, God." "They're coming." "They're coming." "Just hold on." " Hey, what's his name?" " I only heard one." "Lawrence." "Know any kind of medical history on him?" " Is he allergic to anything?" "Diabetic?" " No." "No. I really don't know." "Yeah, we're definitely gonna have to load and go with this guy." "Wow." "What's this guy going?" "About 270?" "Lawrence." "Hey, buddy." "Lawrence, stick with me, man." " Go ahead and get that IV on that side." " Okay." " How far are we from the hospital, man?" " Ten minutes." "Emergistat 101." "Emergistat 101, Baptist ER." "This is Baptist." "Go ahead." "En route with about a 35-year-old male, gunshot wound times one to the right chest." "Initial GCS was about a six." " Dropped down in the ambulance." " Okay." "Got him decompressed times one." " He's been tachycardic the entire time." " Okay." " About 110." " Okay." "On three." "One, two, three." "Last set of vitals- 90 over 40." " How much fluid did he get?" " He's got about 250 in him." "Dopamine's at five." "Tube's at 25 at the T, 1 4 gauge, right AC." " No other injuries, Doctor." " Okay." "Somebody help me turn him over." "Turn him over." "Let me have a look." "Give me a pad." "Come here, boy." "Come on." "Here." "Come on." "Come on, puppy." "Here." "Here you go." "Hello, Lawrence." "You're in the hospital." "You've been here for about 10 days." "You had surgery, and you're doing fine." "Your right lung was pretty severely damaged." "You also had some pneumonia after surgery." "That's why we had to keep you sedated till it all cleared up." "I know the tube is bothering you, but we'll remove that soon." "Okay?" "Mr. Batiste?" "Hey, Lawrence." "How you doing?" "I just wanna tell you that I'm really sorry about your brother." "Are you doing okay?" "I've been keeping your dog." "I thought you might want him back." "I guess you got a lot to deal with right now, so I'll keep him a bit longer." "Are you sure you're all right?" "You let me know if there's anything I can do to help you, okay?" "Come with me today, James." "Nuh uh." "Come on now." "I'll be by myself." "So you can help me." "You can't sit here the whole break by yourself doing nothing." "Just keep me company ." "James?" "Shit." "What the fuck you doing up in here, little ass nigga?" "Man, leave that nigga alone." " What's up, man?" " Nothing much." " You all right?" " Yeah." "Yo, I got another drop for you Tuesday, man." "Still got that bike?" "All right, come by Tuesday around 2:00, man." "I get that green stuff you gave me last time?" "I don't know, man, 'cause last time you still owed me.'" " So no, I don't think" " I thought you said we were even." "No, man." "Hey, look though, man." "Got to go, man." "You said I was gonna get caught up last time." "Nah, dude." "Look though, man." "You got to go, man." "Remember you said you were gonna— how I was gonna get caught up—" "Get the fuck out of here." "Yo, come by here Tuesday, man." "From now on, man, you got to pay for what you want free." "No more freebies." " Nigga's trying to get some free shit." " Yeah, man." " Bring your bike, dude." " Leave that nigga alone, man." " He's just a little kid and shit." " Kid, my ass." "You have anything planned for tonight?" "I was thinking about cooking up a porterhouse." "Do you like steak?" "Well, you wanna come over about 6:00 then?" "Okay." "You shot yourself?" "Why?" "With this?" "Why'd you steal my gun?" "Go inside." " Did you call the police?" " No." "That's from the gun?" " You got a dog?" " Yes." "Where is he?" "He's at a neighbour's." "Is it a wolf?" "He's a halfwolf." "Is he mean?" "No." "Let me see where you shot yourself." "I said let me see where you shot yourself." "Why is it like that?" "Like what?" "There's two of'em." "That's from the gunshot." "That's where they took part of my lung." "Hey, sweetie, what you doing still up?" "You get that message I left you?" "I had to work a few extra hours." "You know how that is." "If I didn't, he would have fired me." " You get that sandwich I left you?" " Uh-huh." "Is that my present?" "It's a Xbox?" "I thought we couldn't afford one." "How was your day?" "Okay." "Ready to go to bed?" "Mama." "I seen this small sign on a telephone pole say youth basketball sign-ups." "Think I could play this year?" "I don't see why not." "Sound like a good idea to me." "It costs $20." "Well, maybe we can figure something out." " When is it?" " Friday." "From 5:00 to 9:00." "In Tchula?" "Uh-huh, the community centre." "All right." "Well, when I come back from that lawyer, then we'll go, okay?" "All right." "Come give me a hug." "I love you so much." "You love me?" "Uh-huh." "Tell me." "I love you." "Good night." " You need something, James?" " You got money ?" "In my wallet, on top of the microwave." "You only got nine bucks?" " Where's his wallet?" " It's next door." "Go get it." "I just need to get those key s there." " Where is it?" " In the bedroom." "Go get it." "So how did he die?" "He took pills and fell asleep." " On purpose?" " Yes." "So how does that make you feel?" "Just give me the wallet." "I don't feel nothing." "He was an asshole and a fucking coward." "Did your mama tell you that?" "You both are." "I know you think a lot of ugly things about Darrius, but he really loved you." "No, he didn't." "He never even came to see me once." "He couldn't, James." "Your mama asked the court to make it illegal for him to see you." "You didn't know that?" "It made his heart sick." "Well, he shouldn't have left if it made him so sick." "Now, give me the wallet." "What up, man?" "Hey, you got to leave, man." "I got money ." " How much?" " Enough." " What up, man?" " What up, man?" " Get your little ass away from the door." " How much?" " Two rocks." " Two rocks?" "Two rocks?" " That's 40." "You got that much?" " Yeah." " Where did you get it?" " I took it." "From who, your fine mom?" " His fine what?" " His mom." " You'd fuck her too if you had the chance." " I ain't fucking no old-ass pussy ." "No shit." "Two rocks." "Straight." "Yo, dude, we're just messing with you though, man." "You be all right." "And Baby's about his height." "Baby 's about— I'd give him about this here tall." "He's very short, but he's a stocky type dude." "I thought that motherfucker was like about 6'3", 6'4"." "Hell, no." "Hell, no." "Shit." " Oh, for real?" " Them two used to click." " Yep." " Yeah." "That'd be cool right there." " What's up, man?" " Nothing much." " What you doing?" " Playing Xbox." "Xbox?" "What's up, little man?" "All right, yo, man, you know you owe us some money , right?" "Huh?" "You owe us some money, man." "All that stuff we've been giving you, man, you ain't never paid me back for it." "I do drops for you, and then plus I just gave you 40 yesterday." "That's the point." "Go back where you got the 40 from and get more." "Everything will be straight." "Where she keep it anyway?" " Who?" " Your mama." "She ain't got no money ." " Hey, don't lie to me, man." " l ain't lying to you." "I got it from somebody else." " Who?" " A dude down there in Marks." "Well, until you get your money from over in Marks, I'm taking this shit." "This shit too." " Man, you can't take my mama's stuff." " Get the fuck off of me." "I said get the fuck off." "Get the fuck off of me, nigga." "Yo, man, you owe us a hundred bucks, man, you get your stuff back." "Let's go, man." "Let's go." "Try to catch up with those guys." "You're fucked, bitch." "Hey, baby , come on." "We're late." "James, where you going?" "James, did you forget about basketball sign-ups?" "I don't wanna do it." "Why not?" "Close that door." "Come here." "What's wrong with you?" "What happened to your face?" "You got in another fight, didn't you?" "Damn it, James." "You're not even in school now." "Come on." "We'll talk about it in the car." "Come on." "I'm already late for the lawyers." "Well, fine then." "I'll come back and pick you up after I get back, okay?" "And then we'll go to basketball sign-ups." "Damn it." "What can I do for you, Ms. Sykes?" "Recently , someone I know died and left me and my son something... and he left it on a piece of paper... and I wanted to know how to go about legalizing it." "Is it a will?" "No." "It's a letter." "Is it from the deceased's attorney?" "No." "It's just a letter from him." "Do you have it with you?" "Yes." "But..." "I don't have any money ... and I plan on selling what it was left— that he left us, but—" "How much is this gonna cost?" "My hourly rate's $200." "Well, how long do you think something like this may take?" "I can't tell you that for certain until I see what you've got there, ma'am." "Well, how much would it cost me just for you to read it?" "Not a penny." "I'll get your money today." "I promise!" "There ain't nothing in there." "You took it all last time." "Got more anywhere?" "I'll give you money if you need it, but you have to tell me what it's for." "Just give it to me!" "If it's to buy drugs, I ain't giving you any ." "Just give it to me!" "Not for that." "You're all fucked up now, aren't you?" "You want me to shoot you?" "You can shoot me if you want." "I'll shoot you!" "I don't care." "I'll shoot you, motherfuck!" "Motherfuck!" "James, what's wrong?" "What's going on with you today?" "Come here." "What's wrong?" "Come here." "Tell me." "I need a hundred dollars." "You need a hundred dollars for what?" "I broke somebody's TV." "You broke somebody's TV." "Whose?" "Sit down." "Sit down." "And when do you have to have it?" "Fast." "Like today?" "James, I ain't got that kind of money ." "All right." "Maybe we can go to the ATM and see what we've got... and we'll figure out what we can do about the rest." "Come on." "Get away, Mom!" "Get away!" "Boy, what is wrong with you today?" "Damn, James." " Go around, mom." "Mom, go around." " Look at this fool here." " Who is this?" " Go around, Mom." "James, what is going on?" " Get away from 'em." " Get away from who?" "Who is that?" "Get away from 'em, Mom." "Mom, look out." "Look out." "Mom, get out!" "Mom, get out!" "Jarrel, car!" "Come on, man." "Sweetie, you gotta tell me what is going on." "Sweetie— Talk to me, sweetheart." "Tell me what's going on." "Tell me!" "This is our house." "I got the papers to say so." "So stay the fuck away from here!" "Look." "We ain't gonna be here long." "So you stay away from us, and we'll stay away from you." "And I'll let you know what we're gonna do about it later." " About what?" " The house!" " What about it?" " Selling it!" "You can't sell that house." "I can do what I want." "He gave it to us." "You delivered the letter." "You don't know what it says?" "This is all one property." "You can talk to my smart-ass lawyer about that." "And we'll figure out what we're gonna do about the store later." "The store?" "What are you doing to me, Marlee?" "What am I doing to you?" "This is your fault." "If it weren't for you and your brother, I wouldn't be in this situation." "Now, stay the fuck away from us!" "Stay away from him." "You got my keys?" "And don't go anywhere until I get back from work." "He fired me." "He said I couldn't work this way." "I had to take a sick leave." "And I've already had too many, so I'm out!" "He said I couldn't work like this 'cause it's disturbing for the clients." "Like the motherfuckers even know I'm there!" "I'm invisible to them!" "I'm so sick of this shit!" "Mom?" " Hi, Mr. Dixon." " Hey, Lawrence." "I was wondering if I can have Juneau back now." "Good boy ." "I'll see you tonight." "Whoa." "Who dog?" "Juneau." "Where you get that?" "Up there." "There's another one." " You gonna make another one?" " Uh-huh." "For me?" "Yep." "Sweetie, sit down." "Go on." "Sit down and eat." "I'll do this." "Is that Lawrence's dog?" "And my dad's." "James, we can't afford to feed no dog right now, especially theirs." "Come on." "Out, out, out, out." "Out, dog, out." "Out." "Who are you and you and you?" " I'm Little Bo Peep." " And we're her sheep!" "Are we gonna get more stuff to eat?" "Mom?" "I have to get another job." "When?" "It's for groceries." "My mom only has three dollars." "Does she know you're here?" "No." "She's sleeping." "So what do you like to eat?" "This too?" "Take what you want." "We're gonna have to go to Simpson's for perishables." "Anything?" "$33.99." "Where'd that box come from?" " I got it for us." " Where?" "Lawrence gave it to us from his store." "I told you not to talk to him." " So what we gonna do about it?" " What?" " The store." " Sell it." "I don't care." "Well, how would that work?" "You gonna buy our half out from us?" "We sell it to someone and split the money ." "Someone will want it." "Then what you gonna do?" "What about the house?" "The same." "Sell both?" "No one's gonna buy one of these houses by itself." "The property's only worth something intact." "This ain't no more of your manipulating shit?" "I'm just trying to do what's right about my child." "I don't need this shit right now, Lawrence." "Do whatever you want." "Juneau.Juneau.Juneau." "My dad was a deejay or something?" "We had a show at WPPK." "Remember that old radio tower on Money Road out by you guys?" " Uh-huh." " That was it." "So why aren't you still doing it?" "We had to work the store when daddy got sick." "Do you take the dog on walks?" "Sometimes." "Could I take him on a walk?" "You better put this leash on him." "If he scents a deer, he'll strike out." "You can come if you want." "If you're almost the same person... and have the same feelings as my dad, did you love my mom too?" "No." "Did she love you?" "No." "Why not, if you're the same as him?" "We're not exactly the same." "What's different?" "Little things." "I'm a half inch taller." "He's better at math." "Things like that." "So how'd it happen?" "Talking about twins?" "Uh-huh." "You know about the eggs in a woman's ovaries?" "Yeah, they teach us that in school." "They come from one egg that splits in two." "They form two people that are genetic copies of each other." "Did you ask the court to make it illegal for my dad to see me?" "You no good motherfucker, you never stop, do you?" "How the fuck you gonna tell James I had Darrius barred from seeing him?" "'Cause it's the truth." "He left us first." "Why the hell you didn't tell him that truth?" "How you gonna fill his head with some fucked-up bullshit about his father loving him... making him out like some goddamn hero and me some crazy woman?" "He left us like a fucking coward." "Look" "Are we gonna start this again?" "Hell, yeah." "If you gonna poison my child against me... like the only other person I loved against me" "You never loved Darrius." "You only wanted what he could offer you." "Why you don't know shit about your own twin?" "It took our dad a whole lifetime to save up enough to buy this property... and you just think you can walk in our lives in one day and piss that all away?" "That's a pretty fucked-up kind of love, don't you think?" "A fucked-up kind of love?" "Let me tell you what's a fucked-up kind of love—" "Being so terrified of your brother wanting—" "You were an addict, Marlee." " Where was that money really going to?" " Fuck you!" "You were so terrified of him having something out of life, wanting something different... you was willing to destroy his whole damn family !" "Huh?" "Weren't you?" "For what?" "To be caught in some sick little prison of yours?" "That's a truly fucked-up kind of love!" "You will never comprehend my love for him." "You call that shit love?" "That bullshit you whispered in his ear about me was love?" "Look what your love did to him!" "I don't think selling the store is a good idea." "Like you said, it's a good solid business." "It's making money." "I can't help you." "That's okay." "So, I don't know how that would work." "I can do it myself." "I can get James to help me." "I can do it." "I can." "I'm a hard worker." "And when I feel passion about something, I work hard at it." "I can make it happen." "So you feel passion for that store now?" "I can't help you." "Then I'm going to do it, okay?" "I need a salary or something." "Lawrence, please." "Your cash sales will be about 2,000 a week." "Take it out of that." " Well, how much?" " However much you want." " You all open again?" " Yes." " Pumps too?" " Yes." "Is Lawrence back?" "No." " All right, I'll just go ahead on and—" " Hey , how you all do it?" "Do you pump first then pay, or do you pay first then pump?" "Well, I usually pump then come in and get my coffee and pay for it at the end." "Excuse me?" "Excuse me." "I only can take cash today." "Okay." "Twenty-seven new messages." "Tuesday, 1 :59 P.M." "Hi." "This is Jumbo calling from Delta Wholesale Beverage." "We been trying to get in touch with you over the last couple days." "Haven't heard back from you yet." "We wanted to make sure that you still needed deliveries at your store." "We sent two trucks by and—" "Jorgenson's Dairy calling for Lawrence Batiste or Darrius Batiste." "Apparently, no one has been available at your store... to accept deliveries in our last three attempts" "What about the cancelled accounts?" "I can call and have them— and set them up for you if you want me to." "I don't want to deal with that place any more." "You have to." "Why do I have to?" "Right." "Everything with an expiration date on it." "We're running low on beverages too." "So what do you supply to us?" "So do I call you with that or fax it?" "No. "Sykes."" "S-Y-K-E-S." "No, he's not." "What up, player?" "What's up, little man?" "Hi, Uncle Lawrence." "Hi, James." " Hi." " Hi." "Delta delivered again?" "Yeah, I worked it out with them." "I can go over those things with you now, if you want." "Want to start with the credit card machine?" "I figured it out." "You did?" "I called the number on the machine, and they walked me through it." "You know about running the batch at the end of the day?" "Uh-huh." "Okay." "This is the paperwork for the store." "This is the rest." "It's not safe to keep anything in the register overnight... so we deposit each day ." "We should make you a co-signee now... so you can start writing checks and making deposits." "Okay." "You should probably start checking the mail every day for supplier invoices now." "Okay." "Did you figure out the gas machine too?" "Okay, will this be all for you?" " That's all, thank you." " Okay." " And 22 cents is your change." " Okay, thank you." "Here's a bag for you." "Thank you." " Okay, have a good one." " You too." " Hello." "How you doing?" " How are you, ma'am?" "Fine." " Have a good day." " You do the same." "So, we're good?" "Uh-huh." "Tomorrow then?" "Bookkeeping?" " Around the same time?" " Okay." "So what about school?" "What happens when his break ends?" "I don't know." "He ain't going back to that shit school." "You're transferring him?" "No." "All the schools around here ain't shit." "He has to go to school." "Why?" "They ain't teaching him nothing." "The only thing he learning up there is how to take drugs and get beat up on." "You could home school him." "I could help you." "Why?" "See you tomorrow about the same time." "Okay." "Could I call you if I have any questions?" " All right." " I need your number." "Hold on." " Okay." " All right, see you." "All right, see you later." "Kitty." "Hello, kitty." "Kitty." "Hi, Lawrence." "It's me, Marlee." "No, it's fine." "Actually, I was calling about the homeschooling thing." "I wanted to know if you had time to talk about it." "That's it?" ""File a certificate of enrolment... with the admissions office in the county of residence"?" "What if they reject it?" "They can't." "There's requirements for what he has to study, right?" "No." "It's whatever you think he should learn." "Does he have to pass a test or something to keep qualifying?" "We could sign up for those youth leagues." "Basketball, football, soccer." "I bet— I bet we'll have enough now." "He could do some of the teaching." "Can't be no worse than the teachers you already have." "But only if you want to." "If you don't want to, we don't have to." "You think it could work?" "So this alternating days thing, is that gonna be okay with you?" "What if I worked some of the hours at the store on the days you teach?" "So you can just teach in the day." "How would the salary work?" "Just take what you're taking now, full-time." "For half the hours?" "That's the way it worked with Darrius and me." "But you both worked full-time." "We were both there full-time, but it only takes one person." "So we basically just double-paid." "But you were the owners." "It's your money anyway." "You're an owner now." "So why didn't you alternate days and pay yourself the same?" "You could've had all that time for yourself." "For what?" "I don't know." "You could've travelled somewhere or something." "We'd want to do that together." "I'm sorry about your brother, Lawrence." "It's hard for me to talk about it too." "But I want you to know I'm sorry." "What's that?" "Pre-algebra." "Yikes." "We're making some spaghetti." "Would you like some?" "No." "I'm all right." "It's just spaghetti." "No big deal." "I know... that the things you been doing... with James are genuine." "It's confusing, but it makes sense." "I mean, genetically and all." "That's why I'm saying I'm sorry." "I don't know what I'm saying, but—" "What the fuck you doing?" "Shit!" "Is this what it was all about?" "Is this what you was after?" "God damn it, I already took him out of school!" "Why you doing this?" "!" "Is he still gonna teach me tomorrow?" "I don't know." "Am I going back to my school?" "No." "Come on, Lawrence." " Lawrence—" " Please just leave me alone." "He's gonna try it again." "I'm late, James." "I'll help you with your math when I get back tonight... but until then you're gonna have to try by yourself, okay?" "Hey, baby, it's me." "Pick up." "James?" "Hello?" "Uh-huh." "I tried, but it's too hard." "I did." "I don't know how to do it." "I did look at that one." "No, he went somewhere." "I don't know." "Where are the shells, James?" " Show me." " Shells for a gun?" " They 're not in there." " Where are they ?" "Out in the field." "Where?" " You took his gun?" " No." "Because I hid it from you." "But you got another one, don't you?" "No." "God damn it, James!" "You promised me no more guns." " Where?" " Farther." "Why you doing this?" "You got your books?"