"Want to take a walk with me?" "...continue to protest the presence of a convicted sex offender in their neighborhood." "Michelle Betler reports." "Thanks, Rick." "I'm standing here on Woodward Court, the quiet residential street that has become the focus of controversy ever since 48-year-old Ronald James McGorvey returned here after serving a two-year prison sentence for indecent exposure to a minor." "In the past few days an organization known as the Committee of Concerned Parents began distributing these notices throughout the community warning neighbors of what they call a quote," ""Dangerous predator in our midst."" "I don't really like having him that close to my family." "I think it's outrageous." "This block has too many children for a sex offender to, uh, be moving in the neighborhood." "I" " I don't think it's a good idea." "Makes me very nervous." "Makes me a little enraged." "Um, I'd have a problem if I see him on the street." "It's like having an alcoholic work in a bar." "They don't mix." "They shouldn't be together." "The conditions of his parole expressly forbid McGorvey to be within 100 yards of any playground, school or recreation area where children normally gather." "These conditions seem to be of little comfort to the many parents whose children play and go to school in this formerly tranquil community, and who in the coming days and weeks will be hoping for the best but preparing for the worst." "Rick, back to you." "My husband and I had an actual spiritual experience." "We did this intense spa treatment" " Oh, come on." " No, listen to me." "It was on our vacation in Cabo and there were eight other couples and this Mayan woman." "A goddess, just a goddess." " She had" " She's due in September." "She thinks she's gonna take three months off, then it's Christmas, then she'll be back to work the first of the year." "Please." "Six months from now she'll be right here on this bench with us." "My friend Beth said that the way she did it was to just take him with her every time she went to the bathroom." " I find that strange." " Yeah, that's what I said to Beth." "It's Oedipal." "What's the rush?" "Although I will say, when I was trying to potty-train Christian," "I opened the diaper and it was huge!" "Like a grown man." "Smiling politely to mask a familiar feeling of desperation" "Sarah reminded herself to think like an anthropologist." "She was a researcher studying the behavior of typical suburban women." "They weren't organic?" "She was not a typical suburban woman herself." "Troy, stop that!" "Paul and I were having sex the other night and I drifted off right in the middle of it." "It happens." "Yeah, I guess." "But when I woke up and apologized he said he hadn't even noticed." "You know what you should do?" "Set aside a specific block of time for it." "That's what Louis and I do- every Tuesday night at 9:00." ""Whether you want to or not" Sarah thought, her eyes straying over to the play area." "Even at such a tiny playground as this" "Lucy didn't interact much with the other children." "Sarah didn't really know why they even bothered coming here, except that she'd probably go crazy trapped in the house all day with this unknowable little person." "Morning snack time was 10:30 on the dot..." "Snack time!" "...a regimen established and maintained by Mary Ann, who believed that rigid adherence to a timetable was not only the key to a healthy marriage, but to effective parenting as well." " I'll take this one!" " I want that one!" " Can I do it?" " Yeah." "Ready?" "Mommy... where's my snack?" "I'm sorry, honey, Mommy can't find it." " I forgot the rice cakes." " Poor thing." " I'm sure it's in here somewhere." " Second time this week." "Well, who's going to keep track of everything?" " Bad mommy." "Bad mommy." " Just calm down, please." "No calm down!" "I want my snack!" "All right, you know what?" "It's- it's just not here, okay?" "See for yourself." "Wait!" "Troy, honey, give Lucy your goldfish." "No!" "Troy Jonathan, give me those goldfish!" "But, Mama, they're mine." "No back talk." "You can share with your sister." "Troy has goldfish for you." "Go sit down." "That's much more than 10." " That's great." " Look how big I made my lawn." "Thank you, Mary Ann, you're a life saver." "It's nothing." "I just hate to see her suffer like that." "Maybe you should make a checklist and tape it to the door so it's the last thing you see before leaving the house." "That's what I do." "Yeah, thank you." "That's- that's a really helpful suggestion." "You're welcome." "Drink your juice." "Are you the plane again?" "Look." "Now you have to act like me." "The prom king." "Oh my God, he's back." "Sarah followed the other women's gazes over to the entrance of the playground, eager to finally get a glimpse of the prom king, the handsome and mysterious young father who had been a regular at the Walker Street playground" "for several weeks this past spring before abruptly dropping out of sight." "I don't need a rest." "I need an airplane ride." "His departure had left a gaping hole in the emotional lives of Cheryl, Theresa and Mary Ann." "Barely a day went by without one of them speculating wistfully about the reason for his absence and the likelihood of his return." "Here I come." "There's no room for two of us, diesel." "You've done it again." "I hate steam engines." "When I come back I will pinch you with my pinchers." "Yeah?" "Well, when I come back" "I'm gonna ram you with my rammer." " Ready?" " No, you won't." "Every time you win, diesel!" "I know." " Hello!" " Mommy's home." "The jester's cap was something that truly disturbed Brad." "All day long the boy ate, played and napped in it." "But the moment his mother stepped in the house he had no more use for it." "As if the entire day up to that point had been a pointless and somewhat useless charade." "You got some sun today, didn't you?" "Did Daddy forget the sunscreen again?" "What are you doing?" "That's his full name." "What's your favorite thing about him?" "Um..." "I like to come over to his house." "Hmm." "I think I'm gonna finally break down and get a cellphone." " Really?" " Mmm." "Why?" "I have no way of reaching you when I'm out with Aaron." "You're done, right?" "You've got one." "Don't you think it's strange that I don't?" "Yeah, I do." "You just never wanted one before." "Yeah, I know." "There's a family plan." "We can talk for free." "Okay." "Let's just see where we are at the end of the month." "Yeah?" "Are your hands okay?" "As was her custom each week night after dinner, the boy's mother sent Brad down to the municipal library to study for the bar exam." "But he never quite made it through the door of the building." "Brad had been watching the skateboarders for weeks now, sometimes for as long as an hour at a stretch." "But he never received the slightest acknowledgement from any of them." "He'd been the same age as these boys when his mother died." " You do that!" " No way!" " Nice." " Hey, that was nice, dude!" ""I must have been like this," Brad sometimes thought." ""I must have been one of them."" "Awful." "He should be castrated." "Quick and clean, just chop it off." "Then you wouldn't have to worry about notifying the neighbors." "You know what else you should do?" "Nail his penis above the entrance to the elementary school." "You know, as a warning to other perverts." "You think this is funny?" "I just can't believe you want to castrate a man for indecent exposure." "My brother used to expose himself when- when we were teenagers." "He'd do it in my bedroom, he'd do it in the dining room, he'd do it in the back seat of a car." "He'd always figure out a way to do it so that nobody could see him except me." "Didn't you tell anyone?" "No, I didn't want to get him in trouble." "Maybe he should be castrated." "It's not the same thing." "He wasn't doing it to strangers." "Oh my God, there he is." "After all this time, two days in a row." "Where's the fire?" "Maybe he needed a vacation." "From what?" "From being the prom king." "It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it." " Close it?" " Close it." "Close the gate." "There you go." " It's open." " It's all right." " Somebody else will close it." " Are we practicing?" "Are we playing up on the swings?" "Swing time!" "What's he do for a living?" "We've never actually spoken to him." "Really?" "We don't even know his name." "I thought you guys said he was a regular here." " It was awkward." " He made us nervous." "You had to think about what you were gonna wear in the morning." "You know, put on makeup." "It was exhausting." "Mommy, push me!" "Okay." "I'll be right there." "Wait!" "Five bucks if you get his phone number." "How old is she?" "Lucy, tell the nice boy how old you are." "I'm three." "My grandma lives in New Jersey." "She doesn't have a swim pool." "Do you like to swim?" "I don't like sharks." "They eat you up." "Don't listen to him." "We go to the town pool almost every day." " I'm Brad, by the way." " Sarah." "You guys come here a lot?" "No, just the last few weeks." "I usually go to the one over on Harris, with the big wood things, you know, and the slide across." "Yeah, we actually rent a house right around the corner from there on Ashforth." "That ice cream truck never leaves." "Such a nightmare." "Yeah, tell me about it." "You know, you're the first person here who's ever talked to me." "You make 'em nervous." "Oh, right." "I guess they don't see too many fathers here during the weekdays." "You don't have to be polite." "Go ahead and ask." "What?" "You know, what the person who wears the pants in the family does for a living." "Oh." "All right, what does your wife do?" " She makes documentaries." " Oh, wow." " Like Michael Moore?" " Uh, like PBS." "Oh." "Well, I think it's admirable you're here." "There's no reason fathers can't be primary caregivers." "I finished law school two years ago, but I can't seem to pass the bar exam." "Failed it twice now." "Maybe you just don't want to be a lawyer." "I'll take the test one more time." "If I mess up now" "I'll just have to find something else to do with my life." " Right, buddy?" " Right." "Sarah was shocked by how Brad delivered this confession, with no apparent sense of being in the least bit embarrassed by his failure." "Most men weren't like this." "Her husband Richard certainly wasn't." "She wondered if Brad was always this forthcoming." "If anything, he seemed a little lonely, all too ready to open his heart at the slightest sign of interest, like a lot of young mothers she knew." "I couldn't help noticing your stroller." "Do you have another child?" "No, just Aaron." "Got that at a yard sale." "Extra seat comes in handy for the bear, though." "Lucy refuses to go in a stroller or a car seat." "We have to walk everywhere." "It takes us half an hour to go three blocks, unless I carry her." " Daddy, I'm finished." " Are you sure?" "We just got here." "I'm finished right now." "Okay." "All right, here we go." "Ready?" "One, two, three." " Oops." " Oh, hold on for a second." " There, thank you." " Are you okay?" "No problem." "It was then while watching Brad kneel down at his son's feet that Sarah found herself gripped by an unexpected pang of sadness." ""Don't go," she thought." ""Don't leave me here with the others."" " It was nice talking to you." " Same here." "Wait!" "Um..." "Come here." "Just... come here." "You see those women over there?" "Just, yeah, don't- don't look." "You know what they call you?" "What?" "The prom king." "Oh God, really?" "Yeah, they mean it as a compliment." "You're a big character in their fantasy lives." "Wow." "Um, so one of them bet me $5 I couldn't get your phone number." "Five bucks, huh?" "Yeah." "Could we split it 50-50?" "It could be arranged." "It doesn't have to be your real number." "Oh, well, you know, in that case, sure." "You got a pen?" "Great." "Oh shit, no I- um, no I don't." " Uh..." " Well..." "No wait, just- wait." "You know what'd really be funny?" "If you gave me a hug." " You think?" " Yeah." " Yeah." " All right, come here." "Oh my God." "Do you want to really freak them out?" "Yeah." "Who's gonna talk in there?" " Oh my God!" " Troy!" " Lucy!" " Isabelle!" "Isabelle!" "Come here, Isabelle." "Okay, we have to go." " Isabelle!" " Troy!" " I think that worked." " Yeah, I think so." " Um, well, it was nice meeting you." " Yeah." "It's okay, yeah." "We're gonna go." " It's all right." " Lucy?" "We're gonna go home." "Okay, here we go, good girl." "Good girl." "I'm sure your daughter found that very educational." "His name is Brad." "He's a lawyer and he's really very nice." "For the past few days Sarah hadn't been able to concentrate on anything but the prom king and the curious thing that had happened between them on the playground." "She didn't feel shame or guilt, only a sense of profound disorientation, as if she had been kidnapped by aliens then released unharmed a few hours later." "As he had so often in recent days," "Brad mentally reenacted the kiss by the swing set." "He still couldn't believe it had really happened." "And with all those women and children watching." "Troy!" "Troy!" "Aaron had been particularly curious about what he'd seen." "Why you hugging that lady?" "Well, that's what I'm trying to show you with Bozo." "Sometimes it's a game that adults play to show that they're friends." "You say, "Hi, I'm your friend."" "Aaron was skeptical." "They returned to the playground the following morning, but no one was there." "Sarah hadn't shown up at the town pool either, though Brad remembered telling her that he and Aaron could be found there most afternoons." "It didn't seem to matter that Sarah wasn't his type, wasn't even that pretty- at least not compared to Kathy, who had long legs and lustrous hair and perfect breasts." "Sarah was short, boyish, and had eyebrows that were thicker than Brad thought necessary." "But even so, she'd walked into his arms that day as if she were fulfilling a secret wish he hadn't remembered making." "Hey, pervert!" "Yeah, you, you pervert!" "You like little boys, do you?" " Larry?" " Yes, it's fucking Larry!" "Jesus, man, don't even joke about that." "What are you doing?" "Are you busy?" "Uh, actually I'm supposed to be studying." "Taking the bar exam next month." "I thought you did that last year." "Yeah." "See how well I did?" "I got a better idea." "Get in." "Come on." "Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on." "Do you mind holding these?" "Try to keep them nice." "Oh, uh... are you, uh, part of the committee?" "I am the committee." "Wow." "That's- that's quite a commitment." "Yeah." "Aren't you full time on the force already?" "Yeah, I'm" " I'm taking a little time off." "You know what they should do to this bastard?" "Just castrate him." "You know, pfft!" "Get it over with, right?" "Yeah." "You look good." "You've been, uh, working out?" "Uh, just push-ups, crunches... a little light running." "The guys are gonna love this." "What guys?" "Wow, this is something." "Yeah, it's pretty, but doesn't have a lot of give." "It's like playing on cement." "Hey, hold on a second." "Duane, I've really gotta talk to you about the committee." "I mean, it would mean a lot to have your support on this thing." "I told you already, Larry, none of us are gonna get involved in that shit." "We're here to play ball." "If that's your thing, fine, but leave us out of it." "Okay okay, fine." "I get it, I get it, I get it." "Guys!" "Bring it in!" "Come on, come on, hustle up!" "I want you all to meet our new quarterback." " Quarterback?" " Guy better not be a pussy." "He played in college." "Uh, I'm a little behind the curve." "Who are you guys?" " We're the Guardians!" " We're cops." "Welcome to the Tri-County touch football night league." "Let's just work on some simple pass patterns." "Brad waited for his good sense to kick in." "There were lots of excuses available to him." "But it felt so good to be standing here beneath the bright lights." "And he was filled with a feeling similar to the one he'd had right before kissing Sarah, like his world had cracked open to reveal a thrilling new possibility." "Okay, just let me warm up a little." "All right!" "Let's go!" "Set, hut!" "What the fuck?" "That's a late hit!" "This ain't Pop Warner, ace." "You fucking faggot." "You call yourself a quarterback?" "Oh, this isn't me." "What are you doing?" "What is that?" "What's that for?" "I want the scumbag to know I'm keeping an eye on him." "Oh, shit." "Oh, uh..." "I don't think we want to be here, Larry." "It's not a question of want." "Joanie thinks I'm obsessed with this creep." "She thinks if I had a job, I wouldn't be driving past his house five, six times a day." "But you know what?" "I kinda think this is my job." "There's a roll of duct tape in the glove compartment." "Would you grab it for me?" "Honey?" "Hi!" "Where were you?" "Oh my God." "What happened?" "I" " I" " I joined this group." "The Committee for Concerned Parents." "We're distributing flyers about that creep on Woodward Court." "These guys play a little touch football after." "This late?" "Uh, it's a night league." "So it's gonna be a regular thing?" "No no no no, just once a week, after I'm done studying at the library." "Is that okay?" "Uh, who are the guys?" "You remember Larry Hedges?" "The guy from the Sprinkler Park with the twins?" "It's his organization." "I thought you didn't like him." "He's okay." "This committee makes a lot of sense." "I mean it's- it's pretty scary having a weirdo like that living right by the playground." "Mmm." "I know." "I hate to even think about it." "Guess you'd better take a shower." "Brad showered quickly, sensing a rare opportunity to have sex with his wife." ""This is just what I need," he thought." ""Something to take my mind off that kiss."" "Please don't." "Come on, Kathy, we've been through this before." "He needs to start sleeping by himself." "I know." "He looks so comfy." "Well, he'll be just as comfy in his own bed." "I just miss him so much." "I'm getting a little tired waking up with his foot in my face." "It's a perfect foot." "Look at him." "Just look at him." "He's a handsome devil." "Mmm, he's perfect." "Good night." "Number 2 Hillcrest was an impressive piece of real estate." "Even so, Sarah was ambivalent about the house she occupied." "She wasn't involved with its purchase or design." "The place was a hand-me-down of sorts from Richard's mother." "And the furnishings were leftovers from his first marriage." "By the time Sarah arrived here" "Richard wasn't all that interested in redecorating." "And so she decided to leave it as it was, with the exception of a single room that she staked out for her own and gradually began to populate it with the remnants of her former self." "From the moment Lucy was born" "Sarah had refused to hire someone for child care." "Read me a story?" "In a minute, okay?" " Can I sit on your lap?" " I said in a minute!" "Go finish your program, go." "She wasn't exactly sure why she had taken this stance." "The truth was she spent most afternoons marking time, waiting desperately for the moment when her husband returned from work and she could finally have a moment to herself." "But even this was not something she could rely on." "You're ready to roll?" "Could you wait a few minutes?" "I'm sorry, Richard's barricaded in the upstairs office" " finishing some stuff for work." " No problem." "I've got a little surprise for someone anyway." "She's a terror at night." "I couldn't get her to nap again." " Oh, the poor thing." " Poor mom is more like it." "Hello." "Is there a cute little girl in the house?" "Oh, my goodness!" "What- what have I found?" " A beanie." " Oh, a beanie." "Jean, you didn't need to to that." "Oh, this little dog needed a girl to take care of him." "And I know a little girl who needed a dog." "Let me see." "Sarah was beginning to get angry." "Her evening fitness walk was the one thing she looked forward to all day, and Richard knew this." "But if there was one thing life had taught Richard, it was that it was ridiculous to be at war with your own desires." "He could easily imagine what people would say if they could see him now" "Exactly the same thing they'd say if someone had told them that Ray from next door was a transvestite, or that Ted from work had anonymous gay sex at highway rest stops." ""But we want what we want," Richard thought," ""and there's not much we can do about it."" "He had stumbled on the site 11 months ago while doing research for a consulting firm." "His office door was wide open." "But he clicked on the link anyway." "He was deeply engrossed in his discovery when Ted knocked on his door." "I'm taking lunch orders." "You want something?" "Casually, but with great haste" "Richard banished Slutty Kay from his screen..." "Uh, yeah, I'll have a chicken Caesar." "...and reentered the flow of an ordinary day." "It wasn't until several months later that Richard gave the slightest thought to the site he had stumbled upon." "Do you need me for anything else?" "Uh, no no, you can head home." "I'm just gonna catch up on some e-mail." "Well, don't stay too late." "Your dinner will get cold." "Lately Slutty Kay had become a problem." "He thought about her far too often, and spent hours studying the thousands of photographs available to him." "Some of Kay's practices struck him as bizarre, even off-putting." "She had a thing about kitchen utensils, spatulas, and dressing up like a little girl and playing with balloons." "But who was Richard to judge?" "Oh, that's it." "Though as close as Richard sometimes felt to Slutty Kay, as much as he believed that he knew her, he could never get past the uncomfortable fact that she existed for him solely as a digital image." "The panties were an attempt to solve this problem." "Maybe a sniff or two would hurry things along, so he could get back downstairs to his real life, where his wife was waiting for him her impatience increasing by the minute." "What are you doing?" "Are you almost finished there?" "'Cause I'd really like to go for my walk?" " You could have knocked." " I did!" "We need to talk." "You're awfully quiet this evening." " Everything okay?" " What?" "Yeah." "You'll have to walk without me tomorrow night." "I've got a book group meeting." "Okay." "You're sure everything's all right?" "Yeah, sorry." "I guess I'm just a little tired." "So what are you reading?" ""Crime and Punishment."" "Wow." "That's pretty highbrow for a book group." "Well, we have some very stimulating discussions." "You should come next month." "We're doing "Madame Bovary."" "You could be my little sister." "Little sister?" "We're trying to get younger women involved." "We call them our little sisters." "I don't know, Jean." "I read "Madame Bovary" in grad school." "It's a pretty misogynist text." "Well, that's an interesting perspective." " You should come." " Let me think about it." "Oh, would you excuse me, Jean?" "Someone's at my door." "I'll call you, okay?" "Hi!" "Hi!" "Wow, God, this is a surprise." "I haven't seen you since" "I" " I hope you don't mind." "Your husband said you'd be back any minute." "Oh, no, not at all." "It's good to see you." "God, um, can I get you some tea or something?" "I can only stay a minute." "I just came to warn you." " You know that guy, the pervert?" " Uh-huh." "He's been riding his bike near the playground" " checking out the kids." " Oh, God." "Oh, God, do the police know?" "Nothing they can do." "He's not breaking any laws." "I guess they're just waiting for him to kill someone." "I just thought you should know." "Thanks, that's nice of you." "Let me get you some tea." "I'm sorry." "I" " I don't think it's a good idea." "I didn't mean to kiss him." "I don't even know how it happened." "I'd better go." "Mike's gonna worry." "You wanna talk?" "I'm tired." "Hello." "Hey." "No, he's still sleeping." "Yeah, I'm, uh, I'm going through it right now." "No, I guess I don't need them." "Okay." "All right, bye." "H- hi." "H- hello?" "Yes, I'd like to place an order." "Pierce, Sarah, Mrs." "Um... it's the red bathing suit on page 29." "The hide-your-tummy halter neck." "Uh, I'm size... 10, eight?" "I mean, I think." "E- eight." "You want to go in the pool?" "You do?" "One, two." "Daddy, can I go in the pool now?" "In a minute, okay?" "Okay." "There you go." "Mommy, I have to go pee-pee." "Just go in the pool." "Huh-uh, I want to go to the bathroom." "Really?" "Okay, come on." "Okay, ready?" "There." "Swing down." "Hey, I'm drumming it." "Oh." "Wow." " It's you." " Yeah, hey." " Hi!" " Okay." "I hope you don't mind." "Lucy has sensitive skin." "She's better off in the shade." "Oh no, not at all." "It's nice to see you again." "Yeah, you too." "I'm sorry, would you get my back?" "Um..." "okay, sure." "Thanks." "Right." "Who is knocking on the door?" " Thanks a lot." " Knocking on the door" "Knocking on the door" " Who is knocking on the door?" " It's okay, just..." "A way, hey hey." "Lucy, say hi to the little boy from the playground." "Hi." "You remember him?" "The pool became a ritual." "I was trying to think." "I just didn't know the way." " Oh oh, okay." " I'm here, I'm here." "We have the creature and we have flower." "Right." "Day after day they sat together in the shade getting to know each other." "This needs mustard." " Mustard?" " Yeah." "Having little choice in the matter," "Aaron and Lucy formed a fragile friendship." "Aw, that's perfect." "Sometimes Brad and Sarah traded offspring." "Mama said, "What Papa told you was right." "It's not a good idea to talk to strangers."" "It was the most fun Sarah had had in years." "But there was always that longing to touch, to be touched by Brad." "And, as badly as she wanted this, she wanted just as badly to hold on to the innocent public life they'd made for themselves out in the open." "So she accepted the trade- the melancholy handshake at 4:00 in exchange for this little patch of grass, some sunscreen and companionship." "One more happy day at the pool." "Okay, no pasta for dinner, okay?" "We eat way too much pasta around here." "I thought you liked my pasta." "No, I do." "That's the problem." "Pretty soon I can sell advertising space on my ass." "No, that's okay." "I've got to go." "I've got a 9:00 at Taps." "I thought you were already editing." "Yeah, so did I. It was just- there's something in this family's story that really got to me." "The father was..." "K" " I-L-L-E-D in a, um, mortar attack, and, um, left behind a little boy." "I was talking to the mother the other day on the phone, and she was saying she didn't know what she was going to do next Christmas." "Jeez, I bet." "No, it wasn't like that." "It was more... she was wondering, should she keep this tradition with her son that began with the boy's father." "And she was saying he had this knack for requesting odd Christmas gifts- scuba gear one year and rappelling gear the next." "She said he wasn't afraid to try anything." "Trying new things made him feel... more alive." "I've got to go." "See you later." "Patch one of your best and then we'll patch both of them." "Okay?" "Hey, I got something." "Hot enough for you?" "Yeah." "Yeah, it's so humid." "I've got football practice tonight." "Be like playing in a sauna." "Watch out for that Italian guy." "What's his name?" "Corrente?" "Yeah." "Remember what happened to your knee last week?" "You should be careful, Brad." "I'll be careful." "Promise?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I promise." "Weatherman said scattered showers." "I don't see scattered showers." "Mom, could I please have some money for a snack?" "No, sweetheart." "You guys just had a snack." "No." "Oh, okay." "All they want is sugar." "Constantly." "Oh, no." "It's him." "Oh, Jesus." "Oh my God, it's him." "He's in the pool." "Oh my God!" "Jacob, get out of the pool now!" "Oh my God." "That's him." " Get away from that man." " Why is everybody running to the pool?" "Brooke?" "Jake?" "Dale, you'd better get over here." "Get out of the pool!" "Where's your sister?" "Why'd we have to get out, Mom?" "I'm scared." " What did he do?" " What's going on?" "I'm scared." "Um, why the police is here?" "Um, there's a man over there who doesn't have a ticket to get in, so they're asking him to go home." "Mr. McGorvey." "Mr. McGorvey." "It'd be wise for you to get out of the pool at this time." "Did that man go near you?" "You're sure he didn't touch you?" "Step out of the pool, sir." "I was only trying to cool off." "All right, let's go." "You can go back in the pool." "Bear with us, please." "You know what that sounds means." "Let's go." "Out of the pool." "We're closing her up." "Let's go." "Exit the pool and vacate the grounds immediately." "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." "You're going to carry her?" "Come on, put her in the stroller." "No, she won't do the stroller." " Really?" " No, she will not do this." "Lucy, would you like to go in the stroller?" "Can I interest you in a stroller?" "It appears she'd like a stroller." "It's out of your way." "No, it's fine." "You don't mind, do you, Aaron?" "Run!" "You'd better come inside." "You can't walk home in this." "Oh!" " You can put him down in Lucy's room." " Okay." "This is amazing." "She never naps." "Well, he'll be out for the next two hours." "We'll have to get him out of that nightgown, though, before he wakes up or he'll never forgive me." "Nice place." " You think so?" " Yeah." "Well, Richard does all right for himself." "What's he do, again?" "Lies." "Um, please have a seat." "Make yourself comfortable." "Better not, I might ruin your furniture." "I'll put these things in the dryer and get us some towels." "Okay." "Oh, God!" "Oh, God!" "Do you feel bad about this?" "No, I don't." "I do." "I feel really bad." "Okay." "Son?" "Son?" "Be well." "May knew it wasn't natural for a grown man to be living with his mother." "No hobbies, no diversions." "It was like he was still in prison." "What he needed was a girlfriend, and May intended to help him find one." "There are four whole columns of lonely women here, and only a handful of men." "The odds are on our side." "Why wouldn't one of these women want to meet a nice person like you?" "I'm not a nice person." "You did a bad thing." "But that doesn't mean you're a bad person." "I have a psychosexual disorder." "You're better now." "They wouldn't have let you out if you weren't." "They let me out because they had to." "Well, maybe if you found a girlfriend closer to your own age you wouldn't have the bad urges so often." "I don't want a girlfriend my own age, Mommy." "I wish I did." "What are you going to do when I'm gone?" "Who's going to take care of you?" "What's the matter, Mommy?" "Are you sick or something?" "I'm an old woman." "I'm not going to live forever," "Who's going to cook for you?" "Who's going to wash the dishes?" "I can wash the dishes," "You've never washed a dish in your life." "I could do it if I had to." "I'm not a retard." "No, you're not." "You're a miracle, Ronnie." "We're all miracles." "You know why?" "Because as humans, everyday we go about our business, and all that time we know, we all know that the things we love, the people we love... at any time, it can all be taken away." "We live knowing that and we keep going anyway." "Animals don't do that." "Now I'm not asking you to get married, Ronnie." "I'm just saying put an ad in the paper, see what happens." "Fine." "I'll do it if it will make you happy." "But just one date." "All right?" "You have a nice smile, why don't we start with that?" "What else?" "You always eat what I put in front of you." "You never complain." "What else?" "You're trying to get back in shape." "You exercise." "Wait right there, young man." "If you're going out for some exercise, you can post this now." "Hmm." "Mmm." "Come on." "Let's do it again." "All right." "God, it's hot as hell up here." "What's wrong with the laundry room?" "No mattress." "Come on." "Lie down." "You're nervous, aren't you?" "What?" "What do you mean?" "The game." "Don't worry." "You'll be great tonight." "I don't know." "I haven't played in 10 years." "It used to be my whole life." "Then when I stopped, I just... stopped." "I didn't even miss it." "Now that I'm playing again, I... feel I" "I don't know." "You feel alive." "Yeah." "That's good." "That's how you're supposed to feel." "You're right." "I guess it's just been awhile." "Yeah." "Shake." " Call it." " Heads." "Heads it is." "Ready?" " Hello?" " Hi, Mom." "Did I wake you?" "Oh, no honey." "Is everything okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "You don't sound fine." "No, there's nothing wrong." "I just wanted to say hi." "Well, hi." "Hi." "So how's my little guy?" "He's great." "He's sleeping right here next to me." "He's such a cutie." "So where's Brad?" "Brad's out." "Oh, I'm surprised the library stays open this late." "Well, he's not at the library." "He's playing football with some buddies." "Oh, honey." "Do you remember when your father took up golf?" "He's not like dad." "Honey, they're all the same." "Well, he's not." "You work so hard." "Now listen..." "I could keep an eye on the boys when you're at work;" "make sure they're staying out of trouble." " Do you want me to come up for a visit?" " No no, Mom, don't come." "Well, honey, I worry about you kids." "Now what are you going to do if he fails the test again?" "He's not going to fail the test." "Oh, honey, that's what you said last time." "Now how are you doing for money?" "We're fine." "I'm going to send you a little extra this month." " Mom..." " Honey, it's no burden." " Mom..." "Mom, please." " I'm happy to help." "Aw, shit." "Although the Guardians lost by 26 points," "Brad felt oddly exhilarated in the bar after the game." "He could feel a new respect in the way the cops looked at him." " What you drinking, buddy?" " He wasn't on probation anymore." "He was a member of the team." "Ice and Advil." "If all else fails, you can always see the team physician," "Dr. Daniels." "All his friends call him Jack." " To the good doctor." " Hear, hear." " Larry?" "Here, you go Larry." " Oh, thanks." "Let me just grab a chair." "Oh, we just gave you a shot." "We just gave you a shot." "I had no business being on that field tonight." "I let you down." "I let the whole team down." "I'm slow and I'm fat." "I let that guy piss all over me." "Come on." "That guy was offsides the whole night." "Joanie left me." "Took the kids and went to her mother's." "Jesus, Larry, that's a tough break." "Oh, I deserved it." "Me and my big mouth." "I called her a fucking whore, right in front of the kids." "Why did you do that?" "Huh, I don't know." "I was in a bad mood or something." "Now I'm fucked." "Hey, did you hear about the pervert?" "He went swimming at the town pool." " What?" " Yeah." " Who told you that?" " Nobody." "I saw it myself." " The town pool?" " Yeah, during the heatwave." " The town pool?" " Yep." "Th-that place is crawling with kids." "I mean, my boys go there." "Yeah, well, you know what, it was just that one time." "Um, he- he won't be back." "The cops came." "Cops?" "What cops?" "Anyone from the team?" "Uh, no." "You sure?" " Anyone from the team show up there?" " No no." " Yes or no!" " I'm saying no." " No, nobody..." " Jesus Christ, that little fucking weasel." "Larry, slow down." "Slow down, Larry!" " What now?" " Good evening, Mrs. McGorvey." "We were wondering if Ronnie was home." "You leave him alone." "We just want a little moment of his time." "Just a little chat." "This is my house." "I pay the mortgage, and I say who is and isn't" "Yoo-hoo, Ronnie!" " Get your perverted ass down here now." " I'm calling the police." "I hear they're well-disposed to child molesters." "It's okay, Mommy." "Can I help you, gentlemen?" "Ronnie, you go on upstairs." "Larry, let him go." "I think he gets the point." "We can go home now." "You listen to me, you little piece of shit." "You stay the fuck away from the town pool." " You hear me?" " You're a bully!" "My Ronnie would never do what he did." "That poor child at the mall- what you did to him." "Larry?" "Larry?" "Why did she say that?" "Oh, don't pretend you don't know about me." "Everybody knows." "Everybody!" "Look, h-honestly, I" " I don't know anything." "I remember hearing something... a few years ago when we first moved here, but- something about a- a shooting at the mall." "That's- that's it." "That's all." "I didn't even know you then." "I'm sorry." "Sorry." "It's okay." "Dispatch said there was a shooter loose at the mall." "It was 10 minutes from the end of my shift." "10 minutes and there would have been someone else." "I can still see that boy's face staring up at me." "Yeah, but- but it was an accident." "You were trying to stop a guy, and the- the boy g- got caught in the crossfire, right?" "No, I panicked." "There was no shooter." "Just the boy." "Antoine Harris was his name." "He was big for his age, only 13 years old." "He was a good kid." "Thought it was a joke, waving around an air gun at his friend in the Big 5." "They were acting out some scene from some movie they liked." "Shop girl saw it from across the way, called 911." "Jesus, that's terrible." "That... well, you didn't know." "It could have been real." "But it wasn't." "His parents... uh, his parents" "I had to..." "I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome by three different psychiatrists." "That's why I retired." "I couldn't do the job anymore." " So why don't you do something else?" " Like what?" "Drive a forklift at Costco?" "Maybe you could go back to school." "I loved my job." "I don't wanna do anything else." "You ever think about the term "homeland security"?" "I mean, really think about it?" "The day that you found out that your father had been killed in Iraq, do you remember that day?" "Can you talk about that?" "You feel comfortable talking about that?" "After the men came to tell my mom," "I cried, but she didn't." "She just went up to her room and grabbed the pillows off the bed, cut the tops off of them with a pair scissors." "There were feathers all over the place." "That must have really frightened you." "No, she was trying to find the crown." "The crown?" "The crown you leave in your pillow when you've slept on it for a long time." "My- my father had two crowns." "Stop there." " You hungry?" " No." "Mind if I get some lunch?" "No, go ahead." "Brad?" "Honey, you there?" "Pick up." "I know you're there." "It's Aaron's nap time." "Okay, I guess you guys are out somewhere." "Um..." "I love you both." "Bye." "I certainly did." "Here we go." "I don't know, Jean." "I don't think I'm up for this." "Well, now don't be silly." " It'll be fun." " Really?" "You're not the only little sister here tonight." " Oh, that's good." " Oh!" "Hi, would you like a glass?" "Did anybody like this book?" "Because I really just hated it." "It's so depressing." "She cheats on her husband with two different guys, wastes all his money, then kills herself with rat poison?" "Do I really need to read this?" "Well, there is a lot of good descriptive writing." "It's supposed to be depressing." "It's a tragedy." "Madame Bovary was undone by a tragic flaw." "What's her flaw?" "Blindness." "She didn't see that the men were just using her." "She just wants a little romance in her life." " You can't blame her for that." " It's about women's choices." "Back then, a woman didn't have a lot of choices." "You could be a nun or a wife." " That's all there was." " Or a prostitute." "She had a choice." "She had a choice not to cheat on her husband." "I found it refreshing to read about a woman reclaiming her sexuality." "Is that a nice way of saying she's a slut?" "Madame Bovary's not a slut." "She's one of the great characters in Western literature." "I was a little puzzled by some of the sexual references." "Look, like this one." "Um..." ""He abandoned every last shred of restraint and consideration." "He turned her into something compliant, something corrupt."" "Does anyone know what that means?" "It means she's a slut." "Is he tying her up or something?" "Anal sex." "Mm-hmm." "Mm-hmm." "Did everyone get that but me?" "Let's set that aside for now." "I'm really eager to hear what our other little sister has to say." "I'm not sure if you know this, but Sarah has a Ph. D in English lit." "Just a masters." "I never wrote my dissertation." "Well, you still have a lot more expertise than the rest of us." "I think I understand your feelings about this book." "I used to have some problems with it myself." "When I read it in grad school," "Madame Bovary just seemed like a fool." "She marries the wrong man, makes one foolish mistake after another." "But when I read it this time, I just fell in love with her." "She's trapped." "She has a choice." "She can either accept a life of misery or she can struggle against it." "And she chooses to struggle." "Some struggle- hop into bed with every guy who says hello." "Well, she fails in the end, but there's something beautiful and even heroic in her rebellion." "My professors would kill me for even thinking this, but... in her own strange way," "Emma Bovary is a feminist." "Oh, that's nice." "So now cheating on your husband makes you a feminist?" "No no no." "It's not the cheating." "It's the hunger." "The hunger for an alternative, and the refusal to accept a life of unhappiness." "Maybe I didn't understand the book." "She just looks so pathetic." "Is she pretty?" "Who?" "Your wife." "Degrading yourself for nothing." "It's a simple question." "She's pretty, okay?" "Do we have to talk about this now?" "I mean, did she really think a man like that was gonna run away with her?" "Possibly." "How pretty is she?" "A knockout." "Beauty's overrated, Sarah." "Brad had meant this to be comforting." "But at 3:00 in the morning, it had precisely the opposite effect." "He had a beautiful wife, a knockout, and she was sleeping beside him right now." "Only someone who took his own beauty for granted would have been able to say something so stupid and with a straight face." "Weekends were difficult for Sarah." "48-hour prison stretches separating one happy blur of weekdays from the rest." "I'm going to the ocean." " You are?" " I'm going to the ocean." "Is he doing his ocean dance?" "Sarah sometimes let herself be carried away by fantasies of a future very different from the life she was living now, in which she and Brad were free to love each other in broad daylight;" "where they had no one to answer to but each other." "It could happen, she thought." "It had to, because she wasn't sure she could keep living like this for very much longer." "Open your mouth again." "No, I don't want to." "May your mouth be open." "May your mouth." "This is coming into your mouth." "Open your mouth, little fishy." "Hungry, hungry." "Little fishy is not hungry?" "You okay?" "Yeah, fine." " How about you?" " Great." "So how was your weekend?" "You really wanna know?" "It sucked." "How was yours?" "Terrible." " Really?" " Yeah." "Yeah, we went to the beach and all Kathy and I did was argue the whole time." "Oh, you did?" "Yeah, it was our annual argument over taking the bar exam, like our whole life depends on it." "Get it over with." "You'll feel better." "It's this whole thing." "Gotta take a train on Wednesday." "It's a two-day ordeal." "I'm not even gonna pass." " You'll be fine." " No." "No, I won't." "I haven't cracked a book all summer." "I missed you." "I missed you, too." "Don't- don't do it." " What?" " The test." " Oh." " Blow it off." "We should go somewhere, just for a night, you know?" "Richard's out of town till Friday, and I'm sure I can get a sitter for Lucy." "No, I can't do that." "I gotta take the test." "That's good." " Looks good?" " Yeah." "Well, I have a good feeling about this whole thing." "In fact, I think I'm gonna go buy a bottle of champagne and put it in the fridge, and we can open it to celebrate when we get the good news." "Don't get your hopes up." "We've been through this before." "Huh-uh." "This time's gonna be different." "I can feel it." "Can you believe it?" "This is our first date." "Like a date, you know, without the kids, I mean." "How was Lucy?" "Did she cry or anything?" "No, are you kidding?" "With Jean there, she just about shoved me out the door." "I thought we could make something really beautiful." "I have so many things here." "We could make... a picture frame." "Or a jewelry box." "Or a hat." "Something for my mommy." "Okay." " Stop it, stop it." " No, Ronnie." "Ron" " Ron" " Ronnie, just hold on." "Now there." "You look handsome." "She won't be disappointed." "Wait'll she hears about my criminal record." "I don't think you need to get into that just yet." "Why don't you stick to small talk?" "What if someone recognizes me?" "That's highly unlikely." "I made the dinner reservation at a restaurant over in Haverhill." "Sheila." " Sheila." " Yeah." "Something wrong with the food?" "No, it's fine." "Back at the house you mentioned you were on medication." " What kind?" " All kinds." "Mostly psychotropic." "So you had some kind of a breakdown?" "Mm-hmm, my junior year in college." "You were that young?" "What happened?" "I don't really know." "Well, nervous breakdowns don't just come out of nowhere." "Something must have caused it." "I guess." "But I was fine before I left for college." "I don't know." "Maybe it was the stress of being on my own." "Maybe it's a chemical imbalance in my brain." "Every psychiatrist I go to has a different opinion." "This one guy, Dr. Faris, he said I must have been sexually abused as a child." "When I told him I wasn't, he said I must be repressing the memory." "Right, um, so what happened after that?" "Did you drop out of school?" "Not right away." "My mother wanted me to go to the campus counseling center." "And they wanted the problem fixed, like I could just snap my fingers and everything would be okay again." "Yeah, I know all about that." "You do?" "Yes, I do." "So they said I could leave school and get married and have lots of kids like my sisters, and I can't take care of kids." "I can't even take care of myself most of the time." "Besides, who's gonna marry me?" "You're not so bad." "What?" "You're- you're not so bad." "I haven't had a real boyfriend in six years, not since my second breakdown." "I had this thing happen on a Greyhound bus." " I was" " Do you want me to wrap that up?" "Oh, no, thank you." "No, wrap it up, please." "I'll take it home." "Folks gonna want dessert?" "What do you say, Sheila?" "You wanna share something sweet?" "Let's make a little stop." "Take the next left." "Turn off the lights." "I had a nice time tonight." "The last guy I went out with, you know what he did?" "He ditched me." "He got up to go to the men's room, never came back." "Stuck me with the check." "Never said goodbye." "Never called to apologize." "He wasn't my type anyway." "He was a big-shot CPA." "Super normal guy." "Didn't want to be dating some psycho." "But you seem like a nice person." "Better not tell on me." "You hear me?" "You better not tell, or I'll fucking get you." "Hold on, Mom." "Hold on, Dad." "You should park the car on the escalator, and back..." " So?" " What?" " Up, down and then up." " Test, dummy." "How'd it go?" "It was all right." "You didn't call home last night." "I was worried." "Go on the escalator." "Guess I could really use that cellphone." "Go on the escalator." " Well, look who's back." " Oh, hi." "Hi, Jean." "Thanks." "You're a lifesaver." "So how was your old roommate?" "Oh, great." "Yeah, thanks for doing this on such short notice." "Let me give you something for your time." "That's not necessary." "No, really." "I insist." "Please don't." "Okay." "Uh, any calls?" "Nope, it was very quiet." "She's asleep on your bed." "It was a very busy day." "That's great." "Um, Jean, is everything okay?" "Yeah, she's a wonderful child." "Mommy." "Mommy!" "Yeah." "Are you coming?" " I have something." " What?" "I have something for you." "Just give me a second here, okay?" "Brad." "Brad." "Hmm." "Aaron's been telling me about his new friend Lucy." "She sounds like a sweet little girl." "What's her mother like?" "Nice enough, I guess." "I can't even remember her name." "Isn't it Sarah?" "Sarah?" "Yeah, Sarah, from the pool." "Her daughter's name is Lucy." "Oh, Lucy's mom." "Yeah, I forgot." "That's right." "Her name is Sarah." "Hmm." "Yeah, it might be really nice for Aaron if they came over for dinner." "Okay." "So you're in advertising?" "No, that's- that's a common misconception." "I'm not in advertising." "I'm in branding." "And that's very different." "Richard's pretty high up in the company." "Yeah yeah, I have these clients and they'll come to me when they have, you know, a new product they wanna sell." "Like, um, these guys, they were in a couple weeks ago." "They're trying to open this chain of Chinese restaurants, right?" "They're talking to me and I" " I look down at the table and I realize that none of these guys were Chinese." "Where were they from?" "They're a bunch of fat cats from Tennessee." "They think they can start a chain of Chinese restaurants good enough to fool the average American boob." "Oh, God." "Mmm!" " This is delicious." " Isn't it?" "Brad's a fantastic cook." "So you guys see these fliers with the guy's face plastered all over our village?" "Lots of Sturm und Drang in our quiet little town, huh?" "Yeah, it's crazy." "What I want to know is why they let a creep like that out of prison." "Some of the people going after him are just as crazy." " What do you mean?" " Well, just today I heard that some nut's been spray-painting the poor guy's house, lighting fires on his porch." "God knows what else." " Do they know who's doing it?" " Huh-uh." "They think it's some ex-cop." "You know, that guy who killed that kid at the mall." "Yeah, I don't think it's him." "You're biased." "You're friends with the guy." "Brad's on that Committee of Concerned Parents with him." "I didn't know you were on that." "I play on his football team." "He asked me to distribute some fliers." "He's on your team." "You never told me that." "Yeah." "You know what's weird?" "I've never even seen this McGorvey guy." " We did." " No, we didn't." "Not you." "Me and Brad." "That day at the pool, remember?" "Yeah, I-I totally forgot." " Well, what happened?" " Sexual tension is an elusive thing, but Kathy had pretty good radar for it." "It was like someone had turned a knob a hair to the right, and the radio station clicked in so loud and clear it almost knocked her over." "Once she became aware of the connection between them, it seemed impossible that she'd missed it before." "On a hunch, Kathy dropped her fork in the hopes that while retrieving it she would catch Sarah and Brad playing footsie," " but she was mistaken." " Asked him to leave, and he left." "But you know what?" "He didn't look scary, right?" "I mean" "No, it- it wasn't that big of a deal, you know." " No, he's like a regular guy, you know?" " Yeah, I mean" "Kathy, are you okay?" "Uh, yeah." "Just a sec." "Brad had convinced himself the dinner party had gone well." "That he and Sarah had managed to put Kathy's suspicions to rest, at least temporarily." "She certainly hadn't accused him of anything, or behaved in a way that made him think she'd noticed anything untoward." "I'm really glad they came over." " Good night." " Good night." "Two days later, however, his mother-in-law showed up for a surprise visit..." " Thank you, John." " ... of ominously indeterminate length." "And from that moment on, she accompanied Brad and Aaron everywhere:" "To the playground;" " We need some butter." " To the supermarket;" "And to the town pool." "Hi, Aaron." "Hi, Lucy." "The worst of it was the pool." "Nevertheless, after threatening all week to go the football game, Brad's mother-in-law decided against it at the last minute." " So are you coming?" " Well, I'd like to, but I'm a little tired." "You sure?" "You're welcome to." "No, go ahead." "You and Aaron sure kept me hopping this afternoon." "Looks like you're on your own." "Oh, that's my ride." " What time are you gonna be home?" " I don't know." "Pretty late, though." "Be careful and stay out of trouble." "Winds whisper of high hopes, victory is in the skies." "One joins with many on the summer's green field." "At 0 and 5, the Guardians were the basement dwellers of the Tri-County Touch Football Night League." "The Controllers, a team of young hotshots from the financial district were 4 and 1 with an explosive offense that regularly racked up 40 to 50 points a game." "But from the opening kickoff, this ragtag group of law enforcement officers decided to crunch their own numbers." "But the Controllers scored first after recovering a Bart Williams fumble deep in Guardians' territory near the end of the second quarter." "The Guardians evened things up early in the second half... moving methodically downfield on an 80-yard touchdown drive." "The Controllers regained the lead with a fourth quarter field goal." "With less than a minute to go, trailing by three, the Guardians faced the extinction of their hopes." " Down!" " It was their last chance- 4th and 5 on their own 35." "Set!" "Hut, hut!" "Yeah yeah yeah!" "Yeah yeah!" "Yeah!" "Oh my God!" "Yeah!" "Brad, Brad!" "What do you want?" "Everyone is waiting for us at the bar." "Are- are- are you coming?" "Why don't you go on ahead?" "I'll catch up later." "You're gonna come, right?" "I mean, we gotta celebrate." "Yeah yeah yeah, I'll be there." " You promise?" " Jesus, Larry, I just told you." " Well, you got a ride?" " Yeah." "Okay." "I'll have a cold one waiting for you." "Larry, you have to go home now." "Just give me five more minutes." "He promised he was coming." "I don't care what he promised, I want to lock up." "Now get your butt out of here!" "Now!" "When I looked up there and saw you it was just... wow... wow." "Thank God you came." "I don't want to go home." "I want to stay right here forever." "No, I do." "For the first time in my life" "I feel like anything is possible." "Like I can do anything, you know?" "What are we doing?" "What do you mean?" "It's not real, Brad." "What?" "This." "It's wrong and it's weird." "How long are we gonna sneak around together?" "How long can that last?" "I can't do this anymore." "No, no don't say that." "As long as I know that we're gonna have this" "Have what?" "What is this?" "Look... if that dinner at your house was any indication, you seem pretty happy with your wife." "You know, you have a perfect life" " and I don't wanna to be the" " Okay, stop stop stop." "Run away with me." "What?" "You don't mean that." "You believe in me." "Come on." "We'll go away, figure this thing out." "It's not weird." "The kids are comfortable with each other." "I know there's more to it than that, but... let's do this." "Please." "Please, Sarah." "Oh my God." "You really mean it, don't you?" "Yes." "Okay." "Okay." "Okay." "Yes!" "Yes!" "Okay, yes." "Fucking Brad, I'm so sick of hearing about Brad." "I'm fucking over it." "I don't even like him." "He's a loser." ""Brad made the fucking touchdown."" "Yeah, you know why he hasn't the balls to show up here?" "'Cause I fucking made the block." "It's bullshit." "That's why he's not even here, he's fucking embarrassed to see me." "I don't even like anybody in this fucking town." "Wake up, wake up!" "Wake up, Woodward Court!" "Okay, I'm awake." "Open your eyes!" "Get your goddamn heads out of the sand!" "My heads?" "My goddamn heads?" "Don't you people love your children?" "Don't you want to protect them from evil?" "Woodward Court, there's a pervert in your midst!" "There's a goddamn pervert in your midst!" "Open your eyes!" "Protect the children!" "Save the children!" "Wake up and see the grass!" " Just stay inside, Ronnie." " Save the children!" "Open your goddamn eyes!" "Wake up and save your children!" "You dirty son of a bitch!" "Get off my lawn!" "Who the hell do you think you are, Mr. High and Mighty?" "No perverts in Woodward Court!" "You think you're God?" "Far from it!" "I don't think I'm God!" "I never said I was!" "You murderer, you killed the boy." "I didn't murder anyone." "Now why don't you go back inside, put some clothes on?" "You shot him through the neck." "I read it in the paper." " No perverts in" " You son of a bitch." "Give me that." "Hey hey!" "Give me that!" "You're" " You need to go home." " The police are coming." "I mean, you're scaring my kids." "Your kids need to be frightened!" "They live across the street from a pervert!" "Ow!" "Oh!" "Oh my God, Mrs. McGorvey." "Are you okay?" "May." "May!" "May" " I think we should call an ambulance." "Karen, call an ambulance, right now!" " I'm doing it!" " Oh, fuck." " May!" " This is all I need." "Excuse me, Mr. McGorvey, we need to ask you some questions." "$14.35." "The Fed continuing its campaign against inflation by raising short-term interest rates for the 10th time yesterday." "Usually there is a correlation between inflation and gold prices." "Let's take you over to our stocks desk..." "Cafe con leche?" "Thank you." "Kim Bryson, please call the operator." "Madre." "Me too." "She's resting." "Get down, knock it off!" "Quiet." "Bring him around." "It's all yours." "Mr. McGorvey." "Mr. McGorvey." "I'm afraid we have some bad news." "Do you have a mortuary to make arrangements for you?" "It's not a problem." "The hospital has a list that I can provide you with." "Here's what's going to happen:" "Your mother's body will remain in her bed for up to three hours." "Three hours is typical." "But if there's a request for more time, depending on our occupancy, that's usually not a problem." "If there's anyone you need to call- family, friends- they're welcome to full bedside visitation privileges before the body is taken downstairs to be prepped for transport." "Do you have any questions that come to mind?" "Anything I can help you with?" " No." " Okay." "I'd like to remind you to take your mother's personal belongings with you before you leave the hospital today." "And all I need from you now is to sign this release- of-remains form." "Aaron." "Hey hey, buddy." "Can you wake up?" "Could you take your hat off for me?" "Just for a second." "Are you mad at me, Daddy?" "No." "No no no, not at all." "I just want you to know that I love you very much, and I would never do anything to hurt you, okay?" "Okay." "Now you can go back to sleep." "Lucy, come on." "Let's go." "I will not go in the car seat!" " You have to go in the car" " I will not go in the car seat!" "Yes, you will!" " You will go in the car seat." " No, I won't!" "Yes, you will." "Go in the car seat." "I will not go in the car seat!" "Okay, just... you don't have to go in the car seat." "You can just go here." "No, actually... go on the floor." "Okay." "Okay, go down on the floor." "You have to stay down, okay?" "Mommy is gonna get arrested." "Just stay down, okay?" "Okay." "Mommy, I want to go home." "Yeah, in a minute, as soon as Brad gets here." "Hello?" "Ronnie?" "Oh my God." " Are you all right?" " Yeah!" "Let's do it." "Let's go!" "Hey, dude!" "What's the hurry?" "Yeah!" "Oh!" " This is so sick." " Damn." " Nice." " Oh, man." "Yeah, man." " How about you take a run?" " What?" "Yeah, give it a shot." "See what happens." "You guys are crazy, I can't do that." "It's not about that, it's about skating." "Whoo!" "Come on." "Come on." "Do you need help?" "She's g- gone." "She's gone." "Who?" "Who's gone?" "Mommy." "Mommy's gone." "I..." "I'm sorry." "She loved me." "She's the only one." "Mommy died." "Mommy died." "Lucy?" "Lucy!" "Lucy!" "Lucy!" "Lucy!" "Lucy!" "Lucy!" "Get in the car seat!" "Get in the car seat!" "It's okay, Mommy." "Lucy." "I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry." "Would you like to go home?" "Yeah?" "Brad." "Brad, can you hear me?" "D- don't move." "The ambulance is on its way." "Jesus." "What happened to me?" "These kids say you've been out cold for the last five minutes." " You almost had it." " Dude, you were awesome." " That shit was gnarly, son." " Back up, back up!" "Give him some space." "You just hold still, all right?" "Hold still." "Hey, bro!" "Here, this fell out of your pocket." "I don't need it anymore." " Hey, Duane." " Hm?" "Could you call my wife?" "You got it, buddy." "Here we go." "I'm so sorry, Ronnie." "I really am." "I never wanted anything like this to happen." "Are- are you- are you okay?" " Oh, no!" " Gonna be good now." "Oh my God!" "Hold on, Ronnie." "You hold on." "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." "You hold on there, okay, buddy?" "In his wildest dreams" "Larry would never have imagined he'd once again be in this position, where precious minutes count." "Tonight he could save a life." "He knew Ronnie had done some bad things in the past, but so had Larry." "You couldn't change the past." "But the future could be a different story." "And it had to start somewhere."