"Dear Vista," "I've been meaning to write this note for a long time but I'm not very good at expressing myself." "So I'll just say this." "I miss your smile." "I'd say that I hope this note finds you well but as these things go... that won't be the case." "A few hours ago" "I found this girl looking a little too peaceful in the last bathroom stall of The Devoe." "I didn't know what to think of it." "I checked her pulse, but... she was gone" "And the scary thing is she reminded me a little bit of you and just like you, she left someone behind." "I'm sorry you had to see this, Richie." "A beautiful young girl dead on the toilet seat." "I mean, nobody needs that kind of excitement am I right?" "What do you owe The Devoe?" "Because that debt is gone." "It's gone, Richie." "Okay?" "You and me, we're even." "The money you owe everybody else, I'm gonna look the other way on that too." "You're like a son to me, Richie." "I feel like a father to you all these years." "I know we don't hang out together butthat's how I feel." "I really feel that way." "I do." "Take this." "That's on me." "You don't owe me nothin'." "Take that and, uh... justjust keep what you saw here tonight between us alright?" "Hey." "Alright?" "I appreciate that, Richie." "The world is a cold and lonely place without you in it, Vista." "I just miss you." "And since you've been gone" "I've been accused of being an observer a user, a loner, a cleaner, a failure and a fool... but never a participant." "No." "No one's ever accused me of that." "Anyway, I decided it's time to call it quits." "The drugs no longer work." "I'm coming home to see you and there ain't nothing gonna stop me this time." " Hello." " Richie." "I need someone to pick up Sophia from her school recital." "Can you do this?" "I know, I know, we haven't spoken in a while but I'm not gonna be able to pick her up from school 'cause something's come up." "I'm just so fucked right now." "I'm in a fucked-up situation and I need a favor on this one." "Say something." "Jesus Christ, I know you're not doing anything important!" "You want me to beg you over the phone?" "This is me begging you, okay?" "I'm begging." "Listen, when you get there, there's a password, okay?" "Only she and I know it." "The password is "Chestnut"." "Are you hearing me? "Chestnut"." "Okay?" "Can you be there in 20 minutes?" "Can you do this one fucking thing?" "What's it gonna be?" "Please, Richie." "Okay." "I've had the privilege of seeing these children grow and move on to pursue their dreams and I must say, this class has some of the smartest and most talented children I've ever seen." "So let's have another round of applause for the 5th grade choir." "My name is Sophia Holy Hill." "and for tonight's recital, I have chosen" ""Because I Could Not Stop For Death"" "by the 19th century American poet, Emily Dickenson." ""Because I could not stop for death" ""He kindly stopped for me." ""The carriage held but just ourselves in immortality." ""We slowly drove." "He knew no haste." ""And I had put away my labor and my leisure too" ""Since then, 'tis centuries and yet each seems" ""shorter than the day." "I first surmised the horses' heads were toward eternity"." "Thank you, Sophia." "Let's give a hand" "I'm not done yet." "I will now recite the exact same passage in Mandarin." "Password." "Chestnut." "Where's mother?" "I have gymnastics rehearsal in 27 minutes." "If I'm not there on time, there'll be hell to pay." "After that, you've to escort me home." "I have a test tomorrow, I need to be home by 7 in order to study for it properly." "If I'm not home by 7 P.M. on the dot, there'll be hell to pay." "Well, now that we cleared that up" "I don't know if you remember me butmy name is Richard." "And I am... your uncle." "I don't care." "So, what, you, uh, take school in the summer?" "Yes." "What, did you flunk?" "No, I'm skipping 6th grade." "You're skipping 6th grade." "Skipping 6th grade." "I loved 6th grade." "I loved it so much, I took it twice." "You don't have to go beyond this point." "Okay, yeah." "Well, uh, it's nice to meet you." "Tell your mom I say hello." "Goodbye." "Dear Vista you're not gonna believe this but I now feel worse than I did before." "I'm not even kidding." "Still, my plan remains the same but I cannot bear to return to the red water." "I'm gonna try a softer approach this time." "Something that won't leave us quite a mess." "Normally, as you know, I try to stay away from the pills because of the adverse side effects especially the paranoid delusions." "They're usually the first to surface." "I really hope it doesn't happen now." "Particularly the one delusion where I owe people money." "Richie!" "Yeah?" "You got our money?" "Who is this?" "You know who this is." "And you know the number." "It's $800." "$800?" "Yeah, I thought it was $600." "No, that was yesterday." "Today it's $800." "Well, what if I give it to you tomorrow?" "What's it gonna be then?" "You won't have it tomorrow, Richie." "That's the point." "You'll never have it." " I'll have it tomorrow." " Yeah?" "How you gonna do that?" "Don't worry about it." "Okay?" "I'll have it for you tomorrow." "I'm gonna have it for you tomorrow at dinnertime." "Dinnertime." "So 5 o'clock?" "Dinnertime is 7 o'clock." "Dinnertime is 5 o'clock where I come from." "Yeah?" "Well, I guess you come from America." "I come from New York where it's 7 o'clock." "You're full of shit." "You won't have our money by tomorrow." " I ain't full of shit!" " You're so full of shit." "You're so full of shit" "You know what I'm full of?" "I'm full of 20 sleeping pills, you pile of dung shit." "So I'm gonna be long gone by tomorrow comes around." " What are you talking about?" " Yeah, that's right." "I'll be facedown in a puddle of my own puke by the time you show up here, okay?" "So meet me up whenever." "5 o'clock, 7 o'clock, I don't care." "I'm gonna be long gone, you understand?" "You fuckin' psycho." "$600, $800, why don't we just make it $1,000?" "Go fuck yourself!" "Richie." " I'm coming to see you now." " No, that doesn't work for me." "We'll just see about those sleeping pills." "You come tomorrow night, dinnertime." "You just stay right there." "I'm gonna be long gone by the time you come around." "I'm already in the building." "What?" "I said I'm in the building, Richie." "Bullshit!" "There's a party going on up there, right?" "Yeah, Richie." "Party celebrating the longest day of the year." "Nah, there ain't no party going on up here." "Oh, yes, there is." "They're playing music up there." "I can hear it." "Yeah?" "What song are they playing?" "It's a good song, Richie." "It's David Bowie, I think." "Yeah, that's it." "It's "Five Years" by David Bowie." "I'm gonna shoot you in the face with a bow and arrow." "She hasn't come home." "Huh?" "Mother hasn't come home yet." "Are you sure?" "Pretty sure." "Okay." "Well then, I" " I guess" "I'll try to make it over there in a couple minutes." "There's no smoking in the lobby, sir." "There's no smoking in the lobby, sir!" "Would you give me a fucking break?" "It's my last day on Earth, okay?" " Hello?" " Hey, hi, listen." " Jordan?" " Yeah?" "These- these pillsthey don't, uh, they don't work." "Which ones?" "How can you tell?" "It says Opadin, you know." "That's supposed to put you into a long sleep." "Oh, sleep." "It's Opadin." "Nah, man, that's not what you asked for." "What are you talking about?" "I thought you asked for Zolufen." " Zolufen What is that?" " Yeah." "I don't know." "Zolufen?" "What- what is that?" "You know, it's for, like, menopause or something." " Menopause!" " I don't know." "Yeah." " Menopause?" "What" " Yeah." "Why would I want a menopause medicine?" "I don't know." "I don't ask any questions, Richie." " Menopause?" "!" "Ah!" " Yeah." " Oh, you stupid, stupid" " You alright?" "What?" "Stupid!" "Menopause?" "Really?" "Fuckin' stupid!" "Hey, are you Margaret's husband?" "No." "Well" "Well, I just wanted to make sure she was okay." "Yeah, okay." "What's your, uh, what's your name?" "I'm just a friend." "She's my best friend." "And you think she's here?" "Is that what you think?" "You know, uh... if you're really her best friend you know that, um..." "she doesn't have a husband." "Even when she was married, she didn't have a husband." "Hey, who are you?" "Who are you?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Miss Best Friend!" "Who are you, Miss Best Friend Person who are you?" "There was ablonde woman over here." "I bet." "Alright, never mind." "Wow." "So she, uh, she hasn't called yet or anything?" "No." "Is she ever late like this?" "Never." "Well, let's not get worried, I guess." "Maybe- maybe it's possible that she, uh, I don't know hung out with some friends after work or got a drink or something." "No." "Never." "It's not possible?" "No." "It is not possible." "She never hangs out with friends." "She's never late." "She never allows me to be late." "She never drinks." "She never smokes, and she never has left someone like you looking after me." "Ever." "Yeah, well, there's a first for everything." "As soon as she gets home, you can get back to your life." " Did you draw this?" " Yes." "Huh." "Another artist in the family." "That's really good." "You know, it reminds me, uh" "I draw too." "I used to draw these flip-books when I was younger." "You know what flip-books are?" "Anyway, I had this cartoon character named Sophia." "Sophia and all her little adventures." "Your mom used to love 'em." "She'd laugh at them, she thought they were funny." "She thought they were real cool." "I don't know." "I don't remember us growing up with anyone named Sophia." "Sometimes I wonder, if maybe she named you after... these flip-books I used to make." "I don't know." "Maybe she mentioned something." "She doesn't talk about you." "Actually, she said you were passive-aggressive." "Passive what?" " Passive-aggressive?" " Passive-aggressive?" "Passive-aggressive?" "What does that mean?" "Look, I have a test tomorrow morning." "So if you wouldn't mind" "You got a pencil over there?" "Make sure you return it." "Dear Vista this is the third draft of a letter that is supposed to only be written once." "I'm writing to you from a view of the beautiful city that I know you loved." "I, unfortunately, need to stick around a little while longer." "But I'm starting not to feel so good and I'm wondering how long I can keep this thing up." "Mom?" "Okay." "He's here." "I love you too." "She wants to talk to you." "You can use that phone." "Go into the other room." " I give you one thing to do." " What?" "You dropped her off alone?" " She told me to." " She told you to?" " I don't know what to do." " Clearly." "Nothing changes with you." "It's incredible." "You're a marvel of modern science." "You asked me to pick the kid up and I did." "You didn't tell me what to do afterwards." "What was the plan then?" "You were gonna drop her off alone and disappear for another 5 years?" "Hey, I didn't disappear." "I didn't disappear" " You disappeared." " Don't start with that." "You told me to fuck off, I fucked off." " For 5 fucking years?" " I don't see you calling me." " I called you today." "Okay?" " Yeah." "And why is that?" "I'm not getting into this with you right now." " I made an error in judgment." " An error in judgment?" "Like when you punched my husband in a restaurant?" "Darren can go fuck himself, that little bitch." "That's very apologetic." "Thank you." "That's great." "That weasel." "He's lucky I didn't kick him in the nuts." "He's still reproducing, can you believe it?" "I should've kicked him in the nuts." "You don't have the ability to understand the consequences of your actions." "You know what?" "I'm all out of sorrys." "I ran out of those in the 20th century." "Just leave the apartment." "I don't wanna fight." "What do you want?" "I'm doing the best I can." "I've got a kid giving me permanent stink-eye old people are yelling, I don't know where you are" "I don't know where I am, I don't know what's going on." "Just get out of my apartment and have her lock the door." "Why don't you have your blonde friend take care of her?" "I'm just a little tired of doing all the wrong things." "What friend?" "Your friend looking for you in the hallway." "Blondie McGee or whatever her name is." "What are you talking about?" "What friend?" "Some cracked-out bird was looking for you in the hallway said she was your best friend." "I don't know." "What did she look like?" "She was like, uh, blonde and looked like she was trying a key into your apartment and then she sprinted down the hallway like a crazy woman." "Hello?" "Oh, my God!" "Look, MaggieI don't have a lot of time left, you know?" "I'd rather not end things like this." "You need to get Sophia out of that apartment right now." "It's not safe there." " Huh?" " Get her out of the apartment." "Go down the stairwell, exit through the street not through 3rd Avenue." " Go down a stairwell?" " Just do it!" " From the 20th floor?" " Get her out of the building." "Okay, so you want me to sneak Sophia out of the side entrance?" "Yes!" "That's exactly what I want you to do!" "What am I?" "James Bond?" "You see that woman again, you don't talk to her you don't interact with her, you don't do anything stupid." "You keep her far away from my daughter." "So, you want me to stay with Sophia now?" "Just do one fucking thing right!" "Please, just do this one fucking thing that I tell you to!" "Can you do this?" "Can you get her out of there, please?" "Yes, fine, whatever." "Okay." "Fine." "Are you listening to me, Richie?" "Yes, yes, steer her away from Blondie, get her outta here." "Take her to your apartment." "I'll call you later." "Look, I'll do whatever you want." "Maggie, but I don't think she likes me very much." "You know, I think she'd like to be with her mother." "Sophia, hang up the phone." "I don't want her to see me like this, Richie." "Why don't you tell me where you are and we'll come over there to you." "Can you just" "Can you just get her out of the apartment, please?" "What's- what's going on?" "Are you- are you alright?" "This is my one phone call." "Huh?" "This is my one phone call." "What do you mean it's your one phone" "Maggie?" "She said to take me to your place." "She what?" "Oh, no, no, that's not gonna work." "That's what Mother said." "Yeah, well, she's not my mother, okay?" "My apartment isn't exactly suitable for guests right now." "Well, that's what she said." "She told me to take you out of the apartment." "There was no directive as to any certain destination." "There certainly was." "I'm not budging until we sort this out." "Are you gonna picket me?" "I'll tell her you find the terms unacceptable." "You do what you gotta do, okay?" "We are not going to my place." "That is an indisputable fact." "She's not picking up." "What are you looking for?" "I don't know." "I got a headache." "Something with electrolytes." " Electrolytes?" " Where's your bathroom?" "What are you doing?" "Nothing." "Why?" "Who does this?" "You know who does this?" "Animals do this." "Huh?" "I don't understand." "Why would you do that?" "Alright, I'll check the security footage see who's responsible." "Here's some emergency money for you to spend on me." " Let's go, come on." " Let's clear those out." "Hill." "H-I-L-L." "Margaret Hill." "One moment please." "Yes, we do have Margaret Hill in our system." "You do?" "Okay, so, what, uh, what is she doin' there?" "I can't tell you what she was brought in for, Sir." "I can tell you she was transferred to central booking about 2 hours ago." "Central booking, okay." "What- what happens there?" "She's placed in a holding cell and she's waiting for her arraignment." " She's in a holding cell?" " Yes." "Okay, what- what" "Do you know what time the arraignment is?" "Let's see." "Her arraignment is scheduled for 4 A.M." "4 A.M.?" "Are you fucking kidding me?" "What am I gonna do with the kid till then?" "I don't know how to respond" "Holy crow, I'm fucked." "I'm so fucking fucked." "Let's go." "What the hell is this?" "It's called a bowling alley." "I work for the guy who runs the place." "We can bowl for free." " I don't bowl." " You don't bowl?" "Well, this is all that I can do for 10 o'clock at night, okay?" "It's either this or the bar." "You know what I mean?" "What are you doing?" "What does it look like I'm doing?" "I'm doing homework." "Alright, so you don't bowl." "Okay, I get it." "There's other things to do." "There's food." "There's arcade games, there's other activities." "What don't you understand about homework?" "Alright, fine, but you know... do you not ever havefun?" "I mean, don't you ever let loose?" "Gymnastics is fun." "Gymnastics." "Okay." "So you did a triple-backflip whatever you call it but you did it with the face of an assassin." " I mean, where are the smiles?" " You don't smile." "What about your friends?" "What do you do with them?" "I don't have many friends." "Is that what you wanna hear?" "Just me and Mother, and that's just fine." "You and Mother, huh?" "You ever heard of the movie "Psycho"?" "You know, there's always a test, by the way." "Your whole life is gonna be a test, alright?" "I mean, sometimes I'd skip out, I'd not do my homework." "Yeah and look how you turned out." "Gideon wants to see you." " Gideon would like to see me?" " Yeah." " What for?" " I don't know." "Well" "I have" " I have my niece here, you know?" "I mean, I'm gonna" "We need somebody to watch her." "It'll only be a couple of minutes." "Get somebody to watch my niece or I'm not moving." "I'll watch her." "Get somebody else." "Look, I, uh" "I have to go for a couple minutes um, I'll be right back, okay?" "You'll be alright?" "Richie!" "Gideon." "Who's the, uh, who's the girl?" "Oh, that'sthat's my niece." " Oh, yeah?" " Yeah." "Uh, brother or sister?" "Sister." "Yeah?" "How's she doing?" " She's in jail." " Now that's cool." "Calls me tonight, out of the blue." "To torture me, I guess." "I haven't spoken to her in years." "You worked in The Devoe last night?" " Yeah." " Yeah." "I got this, uh..." "I got this problem, Richie." "I, uhI met someone recently, who changes the way that I see things." "The way that I operate." "It's a, umit's a girl." "It's not just any girl." "She's, you know, she's red-hot." "I wake up sweating thinking she won't be lying next to me." "Maybe I'm thinking I might get burned." "Whatever it is, it's the worst-case scenario, you know?" "I've dreamed up all the bad scenarios." "I mean, this girl, Richie." "This girl has me under a fucking spell, you know?" "I just can't shake it." "It scares me sometimes, the things I'd do for her." "I know the feeling." "I know you do, Richie." "That's why I can talk to you." "Because unlike these other assholes, you have been in love." "Am I right?" "With that girl?" "What's her name?" " Vista." " Vista." "Right." "Vista." "You're probably gonna be surprised by this since you and I don't talk so much, but when I met my girl..." "I kinda thought of you guys." "I thought of what you guys had." "Well, um, what's your girl's name?" "See, that's the thing, man." "She's, uh, she's gone, you know?" "She's been ignoring me for the past 24 hours or so." "She completely disappeared, you know?" "Here." "Take a look at her." "Beautiful, right?" "Anyway, she doesn't come home last night." "There's no call, no text, no e-mail." "There's nothing." "I ask around when was the last people heard from her." "I don't like the responses, you know?" "Something about the tone of a person's voice." "So, day keeps moving on without her and my imagination starts running wild, Richie." "And I start thinking about other guys I've seen her look at." "I started thinking about her friends that she doesn't know I know about." "I started thinking what I'd do to someone if I found out he bedded her." "I would shackle the fucker up for a year and I would slowly and systematically torture him every day until he finally shuts down." "I would burn off all his fucking skin is what I would do." "These are the kinds of things I'm thinking about, Richie." "I'm thinking about bad things." "Right." "So, do you recognize her?" " Richie." " Yeah?" "You do?" "Yeah, no, I mean, I, uh, I" "I see her, I see her around The Devoe sometimes." "I mean, I don't know her, but" " Hard to miss, right?" " Right." "It's the arguments about the little things that get you." "We got in some little spat about something." "I don't even remember about what, and then, poof she's gone." "She's out the door." "You know where she goes, Richie?" "She goes to The Devoe." " Really?" " Yeah." "She marches over to that shithole club she texts me that she found her friend Flora and that was it." "That was the last I heard from her." "I got friends over there." "I keep tabs on the competition." "The bouncers tell me that she goes into the club around 1 A.M." "and then she doesn't come out." "She goes in, but she doesn't come out." "At least, not through the front door." "You did the late shift last night, right?" "So I wanna know." "Did you see anything?" " Did I see anything?" " Yeah." " Did I see anything?" " Mm-hmm." "My late shift is later than most." "As you know, I don'tI don't see much of anything ever." "You know, most days, nobody even talks to me at all." "I mean, nobody sees anything in me and I don't see anything inin anybody else." "And that's, uhthat's my life." "You didn't answer my question." "Forget it, Richie." "You're good people, I just, uh" "I don't know." "I thought maybe you knew something." "You know, it's just... my head is just all fucked up right now, you know?" "I" " I'm sure that, you know this will allbe sorted out." "I mean, these things happen." " These fights, right?" " Yeah." "I mean" "Look." "Heroin does strange things to people." "What was that?" "I" " I was just saying that I think" "How'd you know she does heroin?" " How would you know that?" " I must have misunderstood." "What's there to misunderstand?" "You said heroin, I didn't say anything about that." " Didn't you?" " No, no." "I didn't tell you." "I haven't even told my best friends." "Why would I tell you?" "You said that that she went looking for her friend Flora." "Flora is slang for heroin." "Flora is slang for heroin." "You ever heard of that?" "Ever heard of Flora?" "No." "Boy here knows everything about that, he says no." "Would you fuckin' lie to me?" "I had a very intimate relationship with the lady." "I know all her secrets and I know all her names." "I know who Flora is." "I know what she does." "I don't know much about many things, but I do know that." "I have my niece with me." "Yesterday, I would've told you to kill me but today I have a niece." "Hey, listen, it's Richie." "Uhabout that girl from last night umGideon is asking around about her and he'she's saying that she was his girlfriend and I'm just" "Hold on a second." "Hello?" "Bill." "Bill?" "Um, what happened with that girl last night?" "Did she" "Did the police show up or" "What girl?" "The girl from the bathroom." "What girl?" "From what bathroom?" "Was there a girl in the bathroom last night, Richie?" "Is that what you're sayin'?" "No." "You'd tell us if you saw something in the bathroom last night wouldn't you, Richie?" "I didn't see anything in the bathroom last night." "Where are you, Richie?" "Who are you with?" "Let's just make this easy." "Why don't you come into your shift early tonight?" "Say, 1:30?" "Yeah, sure." "You've heard all about your raggy melodies" "Everything from opera down to harmony" "But I've a little song that I will sing to you" "It's going to win you through and through" "There ain't much to the words but the music is grand" "And you'll be singing it to beat the band" "Now you've heard of your "Will O' The Wisp"" "But give a little listen to this" "It goes..." "Dear Vista, even Death doesn't want me." "But he wanted that dead bird who's flown back into my night again to haunt me." "Meanwhile, my sister normally Miss Perfect Pants has gotten herself into some sort of jam and left me with her kid." " Richie." " Devin." "I wish I was on my way to seeing you but the night is really starting to get away from me and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight." " Homework done?" " This place is unacceptable." "Take me to your apartment." "Not gonna happen." "I have a test tomorrow at 8:22 A.M. for second period and so help me God, if I bomb that test" "I'm going to kill you." "Yeah, well, get in line." "We gotta go somewhere." "I gotta pick something up." "Is it at your apartment?" "Is what at my apartment?" "What I gotta pick up?" "No." "If it's not to your apartment, I'm not going." "It's just around the corner, okay?" "It's gonna take 2 minutes." "I'm not going." "Game over." "Pack your bag and let's go." "Hey, man." "Look, I'll be back in a second, alright?" "Just stay right here." "I'll just be one second, okay?" "One second." "What's wrong?" "What's the problem?" " I wanna go home." " Look, I'm sorry, okay?" " I wanna go home." " I'm sorry." " You spent the money." " I what?" "Your money?" "I didn't spend your money." "I got it right here." "What does your mother say about me?" "She doesn't talk about you." "Would you please stop walking?" "Look, I went to get these- these flip-books" "I was telling you about, alright?" "I didn't spend your money." "I wouldn't do that." "I didn't spend your money and I don't lie, alright?" "I don't lie." "I just" "I thought you'd wanna see these, I don't know." "Why were they in there?" "Becausebecause I used to, I used to live there." "Look, I'm sorry, alright?" "I shouldn't have taken you there." "I wasn't clear-headed, I just was" "I thought you might like to see these." "Would you like to see one?" "She got shot by an arrow?" "Yeah, yeah, see?" "It's like- it's like Looney Tunes." "See?" "She dies, right?" "But then, she comes back to life, see?" "Sophia always comes back to life." "How did you do all this?" "Well, I was bored, you know?" "I was a kid and your mother and I, we didn't have a lot of toys or video games so we had to find ways to entertain ourselves." "How many of them did you make?" "I got a box of these." "Like 60 of these." " 60?" " Yeah, like 60 of them." " 60?" " Yeah." "Well, I was bored!" " Yeah, but 60?" " I know, it's ridiculous." "Can we please get into the air conditioning?" "Please?" " Favorite number?" " 3." " Favorite color?" " Blue." " Favorite book?" " Don't read." " Who's the letter to?" " What letter?" "The girl you've been writing a letter to." "Doesn't matter." " But I wanna know." " That doesn't matter." "You know you're not allowed to smoke indoors?" "Yes." "You know smoking is one of the leading causes of lung cancer?" " Yes, I do." " Then why do you smoke?" "Because it feels really good." "You don't look really healthy." "Do you take vitamins?" " I take drugs." " Those aren't vitamins." " I know." " Do you have a girlfriend?" " No." " Why not?" "It doesn't matter." "Maybe it's 'cause you don't look healthy." "Maybe." "Can you please finish up eating your fries?" "Maybe it's because of the bad breath." "I don't have the bad breath." "Smoking is one of the leading causes of gingivitis." "You're really giving me a headache right now" "You don't take care of yourself." "You're giving me a huge migraine headache." " You should get a girlfriend." " I can't" "You clearly can't take care of yourself." " Totally believe you." " You have to do it." "Will you please stop knocking?" "There's a little girl in there, can you please stop knocking?" "Excuse me." "Can you stopknocking?" "Hello?" "Will youwill you please shut up?" "Will you please shut up?" "Shut up!" "Shut up." "Shut up." "Shut up." "Shut up." "Would you shut the hell up?" "Just shut the fuck up!" "Please!" "Shut your big, fat cow mouths!" "Shut it the fuck up!" "Just do it, man!" "Shut it, please!" "God, shut up!" "Seriously, alright." "Hold on." "Listen, uh, get Bruce on the phone." "Ask him to find out what's up with Richie's sister." "Have him help her out." "What's going on with my mom?" "I'm not gonna screw anything else up by telling you something I shouldn't." "It's from Gideon." "How come you guys don't talk anymore?" "Well, it's not just one thing." " I wanna know." " It's a bunch of things." "We grew up in an unhealthy home, your mother and I." "She had you when she was really young." "She had you when she was a teenager." "And I guess, she didn't wanna bring you up in that environment and I was part of that environment." "So what happened was you grew apart?" "What happened was..." "I became a bad person." "I" " I don't think that at all." "I" " I think you're a dumb person." "Oh, my God!" "I love this song!" " Come dance with me." " I don't dance." " Come on!" " I don't dance." " Come on." " I don't dance." "A-ah!" " What happened?" " Nothing." "Nothing." "It's just, uh" "It was an accident." "I think you need stitches." "You're the public defender?" "No, I am not." "My name is Bruce Warham." " I work for Gideon Young." " Who?" "Mr. Young has asked me to represent you" " as a favor to your brother." " My brother?" "From what I understand, the gentleman who assaulted you has filed a cross complaint, right?" "My brother?" "I want you to know something." "I, uh..." "I'm really glad that I met you." " Richie, are you alright?" " Yeah." " You okay?" " I'm fine." "I'm sorry, Miss Hill, I don't have a lot of time." "Are you aware of the cross complaint?" "Yes." "You should know that even though you're the one with the shiner, he also has grounds." "Grounds?" "Grounds to what?" "Oh, my God." "You're bleeding a lot." " There's a pharmacy there." " No, no, no." "I'm gonna go there." "I promise, I'll be right back." "Well, he could sue you, for one." "He could press charges, although I don't think that's very likely, but... they could try and frame it that way." "You should know that." "Excuse me." "This man hit me, he assaulted me." " I understand." " So why am I here?" "How can he sue me if I'm the victim?" "This man punched a wall and then he punched me." "But you were sleeping with this man, right?" "This man is married, right?" "This man has children, this man has a lawyer who can frame this any which way he wants." "But I didn't know he was married." "I understand that, but do you see where I'm going?" "You're the mistress." "I'm what?" "You're the other woman." "I'm the other woman." "It won't hold water." "I'll take care of it." "We'll get you out of here in a few hours." "Miss Hill, it'll be fine." "Hey, Richie." "This might sting a little." " Ah!" "Jesus Christ!" " I'm sorry." "It'll be over in a second." "Breathe." " Breathe, Richie." " I'm fine." "Then count to 3, then breathe out." "This is a temporary fix." "We need to get you to a hospital." " No, no hospitals." " Go to a doctor." "I ain't goin' to a doctor." "If you won't do it for you, do it for me." "Look, I just wanna get you back home safe." "I just wanna do one thing right, okay?" "Then what?" "I'll have to worry about you?" "That I'll never see you again?" "That you'll be gone forever?" "Instead of thinking about yourself, think about me." "How's Sophia supposed to go on more adventures if you're not around?" "Sophia's gonna have a lot of adventures, no matter what." "I know you're down on yourself, Richard but there are much worse people out there, alright?" "Look, your mother doesn't want me around you for a reason and they have good reasons." "You're better than a lot of people." "At least you wouldn't say that I shouldn't exist." "Huh?" "Who- who says you shouldn't exist?" " Dad." " Dad?" "Darren?" "Yeah, he's a jerk." " When does he say that?" " All the time." "His life would've been better." "I see him on the weekends." "Life would be better, huh?" "What does your mom say about this?" "I don't bother mom with it." "It's just noise." "He called me a failed abortion in front of his friends." " Failed abortion?" " It's just his idea of humor." "It's just the way he is." "Just the way he is, huh?" "Just the way he is." "Does he still work at that, uh the store down the street?" "That music store?" "Does he work there on Wednesdays?" "We're closing in a few minutes." "Darren working here?" "Darren here?" " He's in the workshop." " The workshop." "Give me one minute." "One minute." "Stay there for one minute." "What the f" " Richie?" " Failed abortion?" " What the fuck are you" " A failed abortion?" "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about!" "Richie, what the fuck?" "Get the fuck off!" "A-ah!" "Fuck." "What the fuck, Richie!" "What the" "I don't know what there is to live for anymore, Darren but I swear to God..." "I swear to God... if you say any more fucked-up things to my sister or her kid again" "I will stay alive." "I will stay alive to make sure your life is a living hell." "What the fuck, man?" " Have a seat, Richie." " No, that's okay." "We're not stickin' around." "Gotta get her home." " I'm hungry." " No, you're not." "Sure I am." "Howdy, folks." "I'll have some of those ribs, please." " With some vegetables." " I don't want vegetables." "Put some vegetables in there." " These are vegetables." " Those don't have vegetables." "Please put some green things in there." "Green vegetables." "Got it." "Greenish vegetables." "Thank you." "Guys." "So who is this fine young lady, Richie?" "My niece, Sophia." "Hello, Miss Sophia." "Delightful to meet you." "Precious." "You never told me you had family." "You never told me you were friends with Gideon either." "I'm not friends with Gideon." "I work for him the same as I work for you." "Is that all I am, Richie?" "Just the boss man?" "Did you make that date with Flora last night?" "No." "That stuff will kill you." "Is that what you think I was trying to do?" "Hmm?" "Is that why you think I gave it to you?" " Gave what?" " 8 years." "8 years you worked for me." "I never asked you for nothin'." "I treated you great even when you went across the street to work for that kid." "Never yelled at you, never made you feel small never asked what was bothering you." "Never cared." "I cared enough to leave you alone!" "I respected that your business was your own business!" "Even when it cost me money!" "Even when you couldn't afford to live in the city no more" "I lent you money!" "Pretended like you had a home." "Like you had a life." " Like we were equals." " I guess we're not equals." "I was in a tough spot, Richie!" "They see what happened here, they're gonna shut me down!" "That's it!" "Over!" "You'd be out of a job." "We all would." "The dream would be done." "That stupidstupid girl." "The difference between 20 jobs and a rock club that's been lodged on Ludlow since before Joey Ramone was taking the 7 train!" "It's either that or the wrecking ball wipes out this entire block and replaces it all with fucking condos!" "Sorry." "I'm under a lot of stress." "This MSG will do it to you." "I'm not usually this direct." "I've never been in a situation like this before." "I'm not the best at handlin' situations like this." "I just wanted to let you know where I'm coming from." "I like to talk about other things." "Your niece." "World affairs." "These fuckin' ribs aren't doing it for me today." "You're gonna have to eat more than that, darlin'." " No I shouldn't." " You asked for it." "I just said that to get back at someone." "I didn't mean it." "Come on." "It's on me." "You can't quit all at once." "You gotta wean yourself slow." "Well, this will make you feel real good." "Trust me." "I'm gonna go to the bathroom." "Alright, well just make sure you bring that cute little ass back here, okay?" "I have a man now." "You got a boy, darlin'." "You want a man?" "You know where to find me." "You're a repulsive, pathetic old man." "We're finished here." "Come on, finish that up." "We gotta go." "There's nothing good here." "Nothing good." "You alright, Richie?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "I'm fine." "You gotta come to work tonight." "No, not tonight." "You know the wonderful thing about you, Richie?" "It's that death isn't just a destination for you." "It's a part of you." "It lives in you." "It's woven into the fabric of your soul." "There's nothing you could do but embrace the fact that every day of your life ought to be your last." "Let's go." "Let's go." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." "Did you brush your teeth and everything?" "Mm-hmm." " You brushed your teeth?" " Mm-hmm." "Okay, good." "You're not leaving me, are you?" "No, I'm gonna be in the next room." "Promise?" "I promise." "Oh, I" " I read your letter when you weren't looking." "I was curious." "I hope you don't mind." "It's a love letter, right?" "Right?" "You forgot to tell her you love her." "That's why it doesn't work." "Why you keep rewriting it." "That's the word that's missing." "We're gonna need you to come with us, sir." "You wanna explain this to us before we call the police?" " I'd love to hear this one." " I don't remember this at all." "You don't remember this happening a few hours ago?" "No, I do not." "No, I do not, sir." "At the time that this incident took place" "I was under the influence of a menopausal medication." "I don't remember much of anything that happened." " Let's take a walk." " Until a couple" "Maybe you'll remember this." "Listen, my niece is up there, okay?" "You gotta let me back up." "If we ever see you here again, we'll call the police." "Please let me back up there." "You have 2 minutes to get outta here." "Come on." "Come on!" "Dear Vista, I have stumbled upon a part of me that wants to see the sun rise tomorrow." "A part of me that has been buried deep inside for so many years." "I wonder if it's better to go through life thinking that a loved one who's missing could still be alive out there." "I'm guessing the answer to that question is no." "But I've been asked to do a favor that I don't feel like delivering any longer." "It's a debt that I need to settle before I go." "Hey, hey, have you seenGideon around?" "Yeah, man, he's fucked up." "Do you know where he is?" "No, I haven't seen him in like an hour." "Yeah, thanks." " Rich, Rich." " He invited me here." "He- he invited me." "Devin, it's important." "It's important." "Richie!" "Hey, come here!" "It's good to see you, man." "Hey, I'm real sorry about before." "I fucked up." " I overreacted, okay?" " You don't have to apologize." "No, no, no." "I fucked up." "Okay?" " I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." " You don't have to be." "Come on, let me get you a drink." "I've been thinking about it, man." "I've been thinking about a lot of things." "And I" " I gotta stop losing my temper, you know?" "I gotta approach things in a positive and constructive way." "Because when I think about it, I was 18 years old when I first got into this business." "I didn't know what the fuck I was doing, but I had a positive attitude." "I took this abandoned warehouse dumbo." "I turned it into the hottest party in New York." "I was cleaning 60 Gs a night." "I was 18, on top of the world." "You know how I did that?" "You know how I did that?" "I seized the moment." "I seized the moment." "Anyway, enough of that shit." "Did you say your sister was in jail earlier?" "Or am I just making that shit up?" "It's not jail, it's called Central Booking." " She's in Central Booking." " Yeah." "It's on Center Street, right?" " She gets out in a few hours." " Good." "I was thinking about maybe picking her up." "You should." "I don't know what to say to her." " What do you mean?" " I don't know what to say." "It's easy." "You just tell her you love her." "That's it." "Who else is gonna pick her up?" "She got a husband?" " She has an ex-douchebag." " A douchebag, huh?" "Ex-douchebag." "He knocked her up when she was 17." "You gotta go there." "Here's what you gotta do." "You gotta go there and be supportive." " Right." " She's your sister." "She's had a rough night." "I'm real glad you came by to my little gathering" "I didn't think you were gonna come." "I'm not here for the gathering." "I'm here to talk to you about something." "I think I know what you wanna talk to me about." "I don't think you do." "People come to my gatherings not to see me they come for other things." "No, that's not it." "I'm not here for other things." "Gideon, I'm not" "I got uppers, downers, I got whatever you want." "You don't have to lie." "I don't give a fuck." "No, listen, I don't lie." "I don't lie." "Okay?" "Relax." "I don't lie." "I want you to know that about me." " Okay, okay." "Okay." " No, it's not okay." "Because I was dishonest with you before." "I was dishonest with you." "It's been eating me up all day." "And I try never to lie." "I hurt someone once by lying and it just, it" "I wanted you to know that about me." "I don't lie." " Okay?" " Okay." "It's important that you know that about me." "Alright." "It's duly noted." "Now that we've cleared that up, I need you to do me a favor." " Alright?" " Alright." "Ask me what I know about your girlfriend." "You fuckin' with me?" "No, I ain't fuckin' with you." "I ain't fuckin' with nobody, but I wasn't very truthful before." "So if you wanna redo that thing, you wanna go ahead and ask about her, you go ahead and ask." " Okay." " Okay?" "What do you know about my girlfriend?" "I know that she came into The Devoe sometimes." "I met her." "I met her a few times." "She was a real sweet girl." " Yeah." " But she's gone." "She's gone." "What do you mean she's gone?" "I mean she's dead." "She's dead." "Do you hear what I'm sayin'?" "Hold on." "I don't know what you're doing right now." "Why you saying this?" "Let me tell you something." "You're talking about the love of my life." " I know." "I know." " If you are fucking with me" " I'm not." " If you are fucking with me" "The love of your life died of a drug overdose in the fourth bathroom stall of the ladies restroom in The Devoe last night." " I was there." "I found her." " What?" "What?" "She's beautiful." "She was beautiful to you, and she was beautiful to me." "But to Bill" "I guess she was bad for business." " Where is she?" " I don't know." " Where is she?" " I don't know!" " Why are you doing this to me?" " I'm not doing it to you!" " Why you telling me this?" " I'm sorry I lied to you." "I'm sorry I lied." "I didn't know what to say." "I didn't know what to do." "Whatever you do to me, I forgive you." " I forgive you." " Why are you doing this to me?" " I'm sorry." " Why are you telling me this?" "I forgive you." "I forgive you." "Pull over." "Get out." "Get the fuck out." "Your sister's fucking my husband." "What was your plan?" "I don't know." "Stab her in the eye with a pen, maybe." "I'm so sorry." "I'm never gonna leave you like that ever again, okay?" "What happened to your eye?" "Go back to bed for a couple of hours before school, okay?" "Be right back." " I love you." " I love you too." " Goodnight." " Night." "I can see it in her face." "She's changed since last night." "You got her liking you now." "10 hours and suddenly you're Mr. Wonderful." " Don't pay me." " Take the money." " I don't need the money." " Take it." "I don't need the money anymore, Maggie." "This is just between us." "This whole thing." "Okay?" "I'm gonna call out of work for a couple of days." "Just do it from home." "It's work." "It's fine." "You don't want anyone seeing you like this." "You called me because you don't want your friends seeing you like this?" "I've a lot of people depending on me." "Unlike you." "There's a lot of money on the line." "I walk into that office with a black eye with any scent of emotional baggage, it's done." "Everything I worked for." "Gone." "We come from different worlds." "I know exactly where we come from." "And I know that we used to be friends." "We used to be close." "Well, we were young." "And we could make mistakes." "Yeah, but I mean, don't you miss anything, you know?" "I miss what we had." "Yeah, 'cause you got to be a teenager." "You got to do stuff that other teenagers do." "I had a kid." "I didn't have the luxury of hanging out with friends from the neighborhood." "I didn't have the privilege of making bad choices." "Look, this is just a" "This is just a onetime thing, Richie." "I don't want my daughter having any more false idols." "Okay?" "So, please... if you can just... leave." "4th grade, PS 164." "Scottie Evans and Jimmy Knight, they got to me." "Sometimes it was a black eye." "Sometimes they cut me." "Then one day, you come down there." "You remember?" "You put your fist up real highand boom you punched Scottie Evans on his chin he goes down like a ton of bricks." "I never seen anything like it." "They said, uh, "You embarrassed that your little sister fight your battles for you?" I didn't think so." "Just seeing you standing there, you know?" ""You don't mess with Richie, you don't mess with my brother"." "I knew the truth." "I had the coolest sister in the world." "And then we, uh... we grow up." "We change." "I changed." "And you go and you have this- this beautiful girl, Maggie" "I mean, she's a one in a million." "She's so smart." "I know you don't get to be like that unless your mother is the best of the best." "And then I realized that, uh... some things never change." "You're still the coolest sister in the world." "Look." "Why don't you come over for dinner on Friday." "Around 7?" "We'll talk." "But if you're late or you disappoint Sophia" "I'm gonna kill you." "Okay?" "Okay." "Okay."