" You know, I'm not really sure I even want to do this, but this couple down at the precinct, they been at me for this for a year now." "We've known 'em for 15 years, I mean, Don and Jan Connolly." "They're real good people, but, you know, but they can't have kids, so he goes, you know," ""If I had a child, I would want him to be like Hollis. "" "Shoot, I ain't even told my wife." " Mr. Lucetti." "Mr. Lucetti." " I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I'm just so nervous." "This ain't my normal routine, you know, in a jar before breakfast." " Hollis." " Yes, Doc?" " This woman is not going to be having your baby." " Why?" " You have a birth defect." " You mean I'm infertile?" "Sterile?" " Everything else functions, but..." " Have I always been infertile?" " Yes." "I'm afraid so." " We got a jumper." "He's on the roof at the Tamlacker Building." " Look, I'm not feeling so well today." " Well, I'll get Partridge in to relieve you." "Let's go." " Please stay behind the barricade, ma'am." " Hey, how you doing?" "I'm Hollis." " You a cop?" " Yes, but it's okay." "You can call me Hollis or Holly." "Some of my friends call me Holly." " Is this your specialty, Hollis?" " Well, I'm a detective in this precinct, and I do other work, but I take care of this kind of thing too." " What's your success rate?" " It's decent." "Tell me, what's your name?" " Gavin." " Are you married, Gavin?" " No." " Then what in the hell are you doing up here?" " That was a joke?" " It was an attempt at a joke." " Well, you're married, obviously." " Listen, I'm trained to talk to you for hours on end, and I'll go around and around in circles until you're so dizzy that you fall off of here, but my gut tells me that you're too smart for the standard bull," "so why don't we just cut right to it and you tell me what's your problem?" " No, I think I'd like to go around in circles for a while." " Okay." " So how long you been together, you and your wife?" " 15 years." " Is the sex still good?" " Do we have to talk about this, Gavin?" " No." "I could jump." " Yeah, well, from way up here, there's nothing we can put down that's gonna save you." "You know that, right?" " So is it still good?" " Better than when we first met." " Isn't it usually the other way around?" "I mean, isn't that the way it's supposed to go?" " Yeah, a lot of things that are supposed to go one way end up going the other." "That's one of the things you learn in my job." " You been faithful?" " Yes." "But on the subject of faith..." "Do you have any?" " Do you?" " Yes." "I'm Catholic." "So no faith, huh?" "You got you a girlfriend?" " Not exactly." " I understand." "You one of them gay guys, huh?" " No." "Although I do live with one." "He got kicked out of his job when they found out he was HIV-positive." "I took him in, helped him get a newjob." "And now he's" " Gavin!" "Hey!" "What are you doing?" " Hey, hey, hey, hey!" "Gavin!" "Gavin, stop for a second, man." " What are you doing?" " Gavin." " Fuck me." "Why is this so hard?" " You don't have to do this, you know." "You really don't." " No, actually, I do." "And when I'm gone, you're gonna have to take care of something for me, okay?" " I won't do it." "If you got something that you need to handle," "I suggest you climb in here and you take care of it yourself." " I can't." " You're not up here by choice, are you?" " No." "I have to stay up here until noon and then jump." "If I don't, someone else is gonna die." " Why?" " Mornin'." " How's it goin'?" " Good." " Morning, sir." " Hey, guys." "Oh, please, come on in." " You used to be a teacher, right?" " Yeah." " So I'm in this art history class, and we're studying religious art, and my assignment this week is to write about an object that's sacred to me to which I have an emotional attachment," "and I need your advice." " Okay." " I found this in one of the rooms, and I'm thinking, tonight," "I'm gonna have a religious experience." " So your question is," ""Does having a religious experience" ""with this intimidatingly large dildo transform it into a sacred object?"" " You're so smart, Gavin." " Well, it's highly questionable." "Maybe the real question here is," ""Is your attachment to this going to be emotional?"" " Oh, my emotions get aroused pretty easily." " I'll bet they do." " Although looking at Buzz here and then looking at you," "I can't help but think "three-way. "" " Jesus Christ." "I always enjoy talking to you, Harper, but you're gonna get me fired." " Come on, I'm just flirting with you." " It's a slippery slope." " How would you know?" " Good one." "Haven't you got some work to do?" " Oh." "Oh." "This is Shana Harris." "She's in the art history class too." "Looking for a job, so be nice to her." "But not too nice." " I didn't realize you worked here." " No, I don't work very hard." " Does that make it less of a coincidence?" " I'm Gavin." "Assistant manager." "Please have a seat." "You live with that guy?" " Yeah." "We only just moved in." " How do you like it?" " I like it." "My husband's not so sure." " What's your major?" " Accounting." " Ah." " I always thought I'd do something in music." "I took lessons as a kid." "But got to earn a living, you know?" " People don't earn a living with music?" " I'm just looking for a part-time job to help with tuition." "I'm a serious person, and I'm very hardworking." "I could do anything." " What do you play?" " I play piano, but we don't have one right now, so I'm actually learning guitar." " Cool." "Well, start when you want." " Really?" " Hey, it's not my hotel." "What do I care?" " Thank you." " So I see this very pretty girl comin' out of 213." " Yeah." "Shana." "Married." " Right, Shana." "How'd you know that?" " Little early for whiskey, don't you think?" " It's Saturday." " Yeah." " I've spoken with her a couple times in the hallway." "They just moved in." " Anyhow, I see her saying good-bye to the guy, the husband." " Yeah?" " Next thing I know, she's on the bus." "Then she's at the hotel, wanting a job." " I suppose you think that's all just coincidence, right?" " Well, yeah, Chris." "Why else would I be telling you?" "What else would it be?" " Why can't you just accept that things have meaning, Gavin?" "Meaning." "What possible meaning could that have?" " Connections." "Destiny." " She's married." "Where's the destiny in that?" " Why do you always have to be so rational?" " Why is it wrong to be rational?" " Okay, we're gonna get into a fight." " So how was your week?" " Full of light." " Fuck off." "Both:" "Hi." " Hey." " My wife tells me you're her new boss." " Yeah." "Well, sort of." " I'm Joe Harris." "How's it goin'?" " Gavin." "This is Chris." " Hey." "Hi." " Hi." "Both:" "Hi." " How are you, Shana?" " I'm good, thank you." " You guys want to come in for a beer, sandwich?" " Uh, no, thank you." "Actually, we wanted to invite you guys over for dinner some night." " Great." "Any night but Fridays." " How about Wednesday?" " Good." " Sure." "Why not?" "Can you email directions?" " 7:00?" " Fine." "Lookin' forward to it." " Great." " Bye." "Front desk:" "Landon." "How's it goin', Landon?" " Fine, sir." " The geniuses at head office want to get rid of him, project a younger image." "I tell 'em he goes, I go." "Reservations:" "Selena, the most inhospitable reservationist in the hospitality industry." "Probably responsible for 50% of the empty rooms in the hotel." "Right, Selena?" " Hi, Papi." " Don't call me Papi." "Head of security." "We all feel much safer knowing he's asleep in here." "So I don't have any room service slots available yet, but you can do some housekeeping shifts, and then I'll switch you over." "I'll assign you your own floor." "That way, I can tell from the complaints if it's you who's screwing things up." "Consuela, this is Shana." " Hi." " Show her how to do a housekeeping shift, okay?" " Sure." " Show a little respect." "I'll see you later." " Hi." " Hey." " Hi, guys." "Come on in." " Thanks." "How's it goin'?" " Good." "How are you?" " Gavin." " Hey." " Chris, how are you?" " Hi." "This is lovely." " Thank you." " Here." " Oh, thank you." " Yeah, you're welcome." " Thank you for the gift." " We need this." " Please sit down." "Would you like a glass of wine?" " Sure, thanks." " Shana." " I could do that if you like." " Thank you for having us over." "That's very nice of you." " Our pleasure." " Thanks." "Is that yours?" " Oh, yeah." "But I wore out the strings." " How's school going?" " It's okay." " You doing that same essay as Harper, sacred object?" " Yeah." " So what's your sacred object gonna be?" " Um, a teddy bear." " Wow, that's pretty radical, Shana." "Harper's going in a whole different direction" " It's more complicated than you think." "It's a good essay." " Oh, I'm sure it is." " Maybe you could critique it." "You're good at that, right?" " So who else is gonna get lubed?" " We don't drink." " Oh." " But please, feel free." "Chris?" " Uh, no, thanks." "I'll take a water, though." " Glass of water, Shana." " So what do you do, Joe?" " I work at the oil refinery." "I'm a systems manager." "And you?" " I'm in TV." "I'm an editor." "Yeah, right now, I'm working on a show about the long-term psychological effects of disaster." " Okay." " Oh." " So you guys want to watch the game here tonight?" " Oh, no, thank you." " No?" "You don't like baseball?" " It's okay, I guess." " Chris?" " Well, yeah, sure." "Maybe a couple innings." "Why not?" " How long have you two been friends?" " About a year." " Yeah, we're coming up on our first anniversary." " That's right." " Would you mind if we prayed for you both?" " No." " Lord, thank you for this wonderful meal, and thank you for bringing these two men into our lives." "And please grant them the strength to fight what is abominable in your eyes, for we are all sinners." "Amen." " Amen." "And what exactly is it that you find so abominable about us, Joe?" " Well, it's not my judgment, Gavin." "It's God's." " Well, I hope God's a good shot with those lightning bolts, or one of us is gonna get wrongfully struck." "Well, thank you for dinner." " He has very strong beliefs." " So do we, Chris." "You know, there are programs that can help you." " Joe." " I can" " That's enough." " Hey, you know what?" "Honestly, Joe," "I think if you knew all the facts, you wouldn't want me on your team." "Okay?" "Thank you." " Let me show you out." " Well, we're here if you change your mind." " I'm sorry." " Un-fucking-believable." "I mean, what a hateful fucking pair." "The food wasn't even that good." "And you know what pisses me off most of all?" "Is that you buy into his horse shit in your own way." " They don't talk about that stuff at the Kabbalah center." "It's never an issue." " Oh, read the damn book, Chris." "It says right in the Torah," ""If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman," ""both have done what is detestable and shall be put to death. "" "Jesus Christ," "I let them hold my hands and pray for me." " I don't think she's that bad." "She apologized when I left." " Did she?" " "The object that's most sacred to me" ""is a small fluffy bear my dad gave me when I was nine." ""He left when I was ten, and I haven't seen him since." ""I try not to blame him for what he did" ""and remember that he loved me." ""At least he did then," ""because he told me so with tears in his eyes." ""I guess he knew he was leaving" ""and this was his good-bye present." ""It is sacred to me because it represents my capacity to forgive. "" " Good job." "How many beds you get done in a day?" "One?" "Two?" " I get my work done." " Just making a bed in our own little room." "It's okay to laugh, you know." "It's in the employee manual." "In fact, it says when the management makes a joke, you have to laugh." " Ha-ha." " Actually, I just came by to thank you for dinner last night." " Yeah, I'm sorry about that." " What are you sorry about?" " The gay thing." " I'd like to say I'm sorry I reacted the way I did, but I'm not, so I won't." "I read your essay." "It's pretty good." "You want to grab lunch and talk about it?" "I'll promote you to room service." " How corrupt you are." " All right, forget about it." "I'll see you later." " I'd like to." "It's just one of the maids here goes to the same church as me and Joe." " I'm inviting you to lunch, Shana, not to a hotel." "In fact, we'd actually be leaving a hotel." "You'd be a lot safer." " He was a truck driver, my dad." "He had this huge red truck." "He was gone a lot, and then he'd come back, and me and my mom would be waiting for him." "And the first thing he'd always do was find fault in something." "You know, like he had to remind us who was boss." " Did he hit you?" " Yeah." "Both of us." "But I don't think he could help it." " Maybe he left 'cause he was scared he'd really hurt you one day." " I'd like to think so." " Want a beer?" " Beer at lunch?" "Quite the role model, Boss." " You never drink?" " Almost never." " You want to make an exception?" " Why would I?" " I don't know." "'Cause it might be fun." "Well, in that case..." "You got an opener?" " It's not a twist-off?" " It's okay." " Holy shit." "Note to self:" "Decline blowjob if offered." " Oh, my God." "So your friend Chris, he's into that Kabbalah thing?" " Yeah." " What's it about?" " I have no idea." "Some new age crap like, E.G.O., ego:" "Everyone's Got One." "It's a total crock of shit." " Wow, you're kind of an angry person, aren't you?" " Me?" "How can you not be?" "I mean, take this homophobia crap, for example." "If I was in charge of this country," "I'd ban heterosexual marriage." " What?" "Why?" " 'Cause heteros breed too much." "Gay men tend to adopt." "In an overcrowded world, why would any reasonable person discourage them in any way?" " Hmm." "I better get back to work." "Want my beer?" " Sure." " Thanks for lunch." " Jesus Christ, Gavin." "What the hell's the matter with you?" "I'll tell you what's the matter with me." "The minute Joe started off on that homophobic biblical bullshit," "I decided to liberate his wife." "I was thinking of it as, like, a Operation Rescue type of thing." "I mean, come on, what's a woman like that doing with a man like him?" " Excuse me." " Daddy!" " What are you doing back?" " I forgot something." " You okay?" " Yeah." "Why don't you all get to your bus before you're late for school?" " Hi." "Is everything okay?" " No." "Come inside." " Hollis, what's wrong?" "Tell me." " Whose kids are these?" "Whose kids are these?" "I'm asking you whose kids they are!" "Will you just tell me how you can let me, for all these years, go around thinking these are my damn kids and I can't have any!" "Whose kids are these?" "Tell me!" " This is not what you think." " What am I supposed to think?" "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," "I will fear no evil." "Hey, forgive me." " You okay?" " Yeah, now, don't worry about me." "All right, then, where were we?" " Oh, whoa." " Excuse me." " Morning." " Mornin'." " Hey, Gavin." "Sorry about the other night." "Thought you were gay." " Hey, I'm a nonbeliever." "You can hate me for that instead." " Well, I don't hate gay people, Gavin." " Love the sinner, hate the sin?" " Absolutely." "You know, if your friend doesn't correct his ways, he's going to hell." "And I'd do anything to avoid that, Gavin, because hell's a reality." " Well, I'm late, so maybe you can tell me how you know this some other time, okay?" "I mean, have you been to hell?" "Ever met anyone who's" " How about Wednesday night?" " Hell and homos, Wednesday night?" " And philosophy." "Salvation." " Look, I got to go, or I'm gonna miss my bus" " Hey, you know, don't be so close-minded." " Are you willing to admit that God might not exist?" " No." " So who's being close-minded here?" " Maybe you can change my mind." " Okay." "Philosophy, Wednesday night." " There you go." "7:00." " Sure." " So how's the gay lifestyle treating you?" " Fine." "How's the hetero lifestyle treating you?" " You ever been married?" " Yeah." "But something tells me the problems I had are not the problems you're having." " What do you think the problems I'm having are?" " Appreciating someone's kindness isn't necessarily the same thing as being in love." " Man, you have a big mouth." " Sorry." " Have you ever seen a happy marriage?" "I mean, really happy?" " I have to say, for the first few years of my marriage, I was very happy." " And what happened?" " And then she left me." " When was this?" " Two years ago." " Boy, you sure take your time to recover, don't you?" " You know what, Shana?" "You're right." "Way too long." "But if you do the charitable thing here and start having sex with me on a regular basis, pretty sure I'd start healing right away." "You have a very sexy mouth." " A very sexy married mouth." " That's right." "I forgot." "You see, the trick, I figured, having been on the receiving end of such a thing, was just to open the door." "After that, if she had the slightest interest, well, next time her husband's cold to her, couple of thoughts blow in." "Pretty soon, what blows in is more than just nice." "It's perfect." "I mean, why wouldn't it be?" "It's in her head." "She thinks, "What's the harm in just thinking about this if it makes me feel good?"" "And then it's, "Well, what's the harm in just thinking about this and coming?"" "And so she comes." "Well, that takes care of that." " Here we go." " Thank you." " What a relief." "Never again." " The cantaloupe looks great." " Trouble is, a connection's been made." "She remembers it vividly." "I kissed her lips." "I was inside her." "Maybe I even said I loved her." " Hey." " Hi." " So look what we got from a single remark." "Now we add in something else." "Look, I'm embarrassed." "What I said the other day was totally out of line." "I'm really sorry, okay?" " It's okay." " It's not, really." "I've never done that before with an employee, and I won't do it again, okay?" " You're forgiven." " Abandonment- clearly a big issue for her." ""What, I haven't even had the guy for real, and now he's slamming the door in my face?"" "I know." "But don't hate me yet, trust me." "I got mine coming." " Now, let me ask you." "You ever look around and the world just seems empty to you?" " Oh, yeah." " Has it ever occurred to you that maybe it's because you don't have God in your life?" " No." " Never?" " Look, Joe, when I was a kid," "I totally believed in God." "But, you know, you grow up." "Well, I did." "I looked around." "I said, "Santa Claus:" "No evidence." ""The tooth fairy:" "No evidence." ""God, the same thing:" "No evidence. "" "And then you think," ""Hmm." "I wonder if I really need all these imaginary friends. "" " So you think God's just a pleasant thing?" "Like it's easier to believe than not?" " Well, easier for you, clearly." " No, Gavin, faith is hard." "God tests you time and time again." "Sometimes He even demands that you die for Him." "You think that's easy?" " For people of faith, sure." "That's the problem." "Like, I could never fly a jet into a building." "But those 9/11 guys could 'cause they had faith in an afterlife, not to mention 72 virgins, though why anyone would want virgins, I don't know." " What did God do to you to make you so angry at Him?" "Look at the world that He created, all the beauty." " Wars and plagues and genocides and earthquakes and tidal waves." "And then, after all that suffering, what does your God do next?" "He sends most of us to hell." " Well, not if you've been born again." " Right, the old baptismal Jacuzzi." " You have to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior." "That is your only entrance requirement." " Okay, so the Hebes, the Hindus, the Muslims, the atheists, the Buddhists, all damned, right?" " They have to accept Jesus Christ." " And the Catholics, 'cause they're not born again, right?" " Right." " Face it, man, it's kind of crazy." " No, it's not crazy." "God gives us free will for that purpose." "Otherwise, we would just be puppets." "Life would be..." "Life would be meaningless." "That's the beauty of eternal salvation." "You see, anyone can go to heaven or hell, because anyone can be saved." "It's your choice." " Unless you're a kid in China who gets hit by a bus and never even heard of this getting saved deal." "Where's his choice?" " Well, that's why it's so important to spread the gospel, try and save people." " I'm sorry." "I don't mean to laugh." "I just find this kind of fundamentalism incredible." "I mean, all of you, totally convinced you know exactly who God is and exactly how He wants to be worshipped and all without a lick of evidence He even exists." " No wonder there are so many holy wars." "Without evidence, how else would you win this argument except by killing each other?" " See, I see evidence in all kinds of things." " So do they." "And sooner or later, one of these guys who hears God in his head is gonna get ahold of weapons of mass destruction, and then, when it's way too late, we're finally gonna ask ourselves," ""Why, after thousands of years of bloodshed," ""didn't we at least try to do away" ""with this insane concept of faith before it fucking killed us?"" " You know, maybe I'm just coming at this from a different angle." " And what angle would that be?" " Well, it's not abstract to me." "I go to the hospital, and I visit sick children, right?" "Two days ago, I was at the bedside of a dying child." "His mother and father were killed in an auto accident." "He's about to pass as well." "And he asks me if heaven really exists." "I say, "Yes, it does." "It's where Mommy and Daddy are. "" "About an hour or so later, he dies with a smile on his face." "So what would you have said in my place" ""Sorry, kid, no evidence"?" " No." "I probably would have told him exactly the same lie you did." "But, Joe, I'll tell you one thing" "I damned sure wouldn't have said, and that's, "I'm sorry kid." "You're going to hell if you haven't been baptized. "" " Lord, forgive this man for his hard heart and his blasphemy." "I think he has suffered much more than he knows, and he needs your love and support now more than ever" " No!" "Joe, I'm sorry, but you don't know a damned thing about me, and I don't need your help or your salvation or any other fucking bullshit you may have to offer." " Don't swear in front of my wife!" " Gavin, I think you should leave." " With pleasure." " Why can't you leave people alone?" " Don't you dare talk to me." "You get out of my sight." " What the hell are you doing, Chris?" " It's blessed water from the temple." " And how much did you pay for that?" " I'm not going to tell you." " I'm surrounded by imbeciles." " Hi, I'm Frank." "I met Chris at temple." " Hmm." "Hey." " Can we meet where we met before?" " Sure." " When I was 18, I got into drugs and then into harder drugs, and then I couldn't afford them anymore." "And then I met a pimp." "And one night, he sent me to see this john who liked to do it in church." "But what he didn't tell me was that the guy liked to beat the girl when he was done." "I woke up in the morning, and I couldn't even walk." "I didn't know what to do." "So I started to crawl towards the altar to see if there was something I could steal." "But I didn't realize it was Sunday morning, and I got caught." "That was the day I met Joe." "And he took me to the hospital, and he stayed with me." "If it weren't for him," "I don't think I'd be alive right now." "He was the first man who ever saw something better in me than what I was." "Joe takes care of me." " You don't need anyone to take care of you, Shana." "You're a strong, intelligent woman." " Yeah." "Will you do me a favor and stay away from my husband?" "Please?" " I'll do whatever you want." " Believe it or not, you actually got through to him." " Really?" " He's decided we need to be more evangelical." "We're going to a new church." "They do missionary work in Uganda." " What else?" " They're against smoking and drinking, immodest dress for women, and secular music." " Pfft." "Jesus Christ." "Restrings your guitar one day, stops you from playing it the next." " You're so flippant, aren't you?" "You have no idea what it's like to lose everything and to try and put it all back together again." " Actually, Shana" " You don't know what it's like for me and Joe." "I'm sorry." "I really didn't mean to cause you problems." "I'm a fuckin' moron." " Not even a little smirk, Gavin?" " I think I made a big mistake." "You're so beautiful." " You're pretty cute yourself." "That's why I'm gonna ask you to stay away from me too." "Don't make this hard for me, okay?" " Fuck." " She said stay away, huh?" "Guess you didn't listen." " No, I did." "I stayed away for, like, three weeks." " Consuela, what's wrong?" " My father died." "Please let him into heaven." "You ask, too, Gavin." " Please let Consuela's father into heaven." "He must've been a good man, or Consuela would not be such a good woman." "I'm so sorry, Consuela." "Getting serious, huh?" " He's a nice guy." "We have a lot in common." " Is the rabbi gonna marry you?" " Don't provoke me." " Sorry." " Look, as it happens, we're gonna ask, just hypothetically." "We have an appointment." " Good luck." " Since when do you smoke?" " I don't smoke." " Mind if I join you?" " Not at all." " Can I have a drag of that?" " You sure?" " Don't you start." "I was on my way to the store." "Got kind of claustrophobic." " Things not so good, huh?" " Yeah." "Not so good." " I'm sorry." " You know what the problem is?" "When I was doing what I was doing," "I enjoyed it in a sick kind of way." "I really liked getting high." "It was a relief." "But it was killing me, and Joe showed me something better that wouldn't kill me." " What?" "What did he show you?" " How to be at peace by being in touch with something bigger than myself." " I got that for you." "Come on." "Lie down over here." " That's not exactly what I had in mind." " Come on." "Trust me." "Lie down." "There you have it." " What?" " The universe." "I mean, look at it." "It's incredible." "You know, some of the stars you can see on a clear night, their light, it's taken 21/2 million years to get here." "When that light started out, the Ice Age hadn't even begun." "When you want a connection to something bigger, how much bigger can you get than this?" " It's pretty big." " Yeah." "And we're a part of it, a lucky part of it, 'cause as far as we know, only Earth came together in a way that enabled life to exist." "I mean, what a break, right?" "Thank you, universe." "And then you die, and that's it." " Oh, now I'm definitely feeling better." " You should." "Once you understand that life is finite, you don't want to waste a moment of it." " I hate to say it, but I'm not getting the same buzz I get from church." " Why not?" " 'Cause I want someone up there I can talk to." " That's what I thought, see?" "You don't want a spiritual life based on truth." "You want a daddy in the sky, and even if he is totally imaginary, he's always gonna be there when you need him." " What I want is to be loved." " I'm sorry." " We thank you, Lord, for your love and salvation, but we are afraid." "If you call us to do your work in Uganda, please give us courage." "And also, Lord, please give us the strength to resist temptation, for sometimes we are sorely tried in this evil world." "Amen." " Amen." " I don't think I've ever loved anyone before you." "Now I'm not even sure I could live without you." " Joe." " But if we are to be laborers together with God, then we have to answer when He calls." " What about my education?" " Is that what this is about, Shana?" "Really?" " Yes." " I don't want us to live a small life, Shana." " Yup?" "Hold on!" "Here." "Call me." " Who's Exley?" " Oh, he used to work here." " I have to go to school." " Hold on!" " I'll call you as soon as I can." " Okay." "Here." "Hello?" " Tonight around 8:00?" " Yes." " Where?" " The hotel." "I'll find a room and email you." " You really put some thought into this, huh?" " Yeah." " So did I." " When do you reckon you'll get back?" " I'm just filling in for someone." "I don't know when they'll show up." " Okay." " Hi." " Want a drink?" " I think I need one." "Are all these flowers for me?" " Stole 'em from the ballroom." " Wedding?" " Memorial service." "You don't have to do it." "Let me undress you." "You're perfect." " Years float away on the wind" "Give me this day I can win" "Give me your hands to forget" "Everything" "You know the feeling when your heart walked in" "And you remember why you kiss first, stare" "She remembers all the good up there that I've done" "But I found you're like a ghost of me" "Like a secret sea, you were stealing me" "Mm" "And it feels like I'm remembering" "Years float away on the wind" "Give me a moment to win" "Give me your lips to forget" "Everything, everything" "Years float away on the wind" "Give me this day" "Give me your hands to forget" "Everything" " Oh, my God." " You have a job." "You have God." "I am washed, sanctified, and justified." "Help me." "Help Shana." " When I got home last night, he wasn't there." "Then he came back, and I asked him where he'd been, and he said, "Thinking." "Where have you been?"" " Then what?" " And then this morning, he was distant, and then he just went to work." " Why don't you leave him?" "I mean it." " I'm afraid of what he might do to himself." " Like what?" " I don't know." "I feel scared of him, and I feel sorry for him and grateful and ashamed." "But at the same time, it's" "I sort of can't even think about him." "It's like he's disappearing." "All I can think about is you." " I feel the same way." "I didn't sleep at all last night." " Really?" "Could we see each other again tonight?" " How would you get out?" " He's going to some church thing from 7:00 to 10:00." " Chris too." "Finally something to thank God for." " I'm sorry." " Take it." "I'll wait." " What do you want?" " Hey." "I just wanted to give you a family." " What makes you think I want to talk about this now?" " Hollis, it was just an arrangement." "That's all." "Hollis, I was just afraid of losing you, so I just" " I'm up here on the ledge with somebody and" " Please, Hollis." "I love you." " I cannot have this conversation right now." " I love you." "I love you more than anything in life." " Look, I got to go." " You have to go?" " No, no, no, no." "I'm good." "So what happened next?" " Well, I better be going." " Okay." " Bye." " Bye." " I want to do it here." " Okay." " Take my panties off." "Oh, my..." "I love the way you touch me." " Who is that?" " That's my daughter." " You have a daughter?" " I had a daughter." " What happened?" " She died two years ago." " Oh, I'm so sorry." " I'm sure she's up in heaven with all the other little baby angels." "I'm sorry." "I don't mean to be such an asshole." "I really don't." "I was driving her to school one day." "And we'd had a fight." "The radio was on." "There was a song we both really liked." "She was singing along." "I was watching her in the mirror, and I was just about to tell her that it was all okay, and then a truck swerved from traffic from the opposite direction, and I had less than a second to think." "And I don't know if it was instinct or a bad guess or maybe self-preservation, but..." "I swung the wheel the wrong way, and the truck hit her side of the car." "And five minutes later, she's dead." "My wife never blamed me, exactly." "It was-the truck driver had a heart attack." "It wasn't my fault, but..." "It was in her eyes." "I needed her to forgive me, and she couldn't do it." "And so we split up, and I totally fell apart." "And then I got a job in the hospitality industry." "And now I'm just dandy." " Oh!" "Uh, I thought you were out." "I was gonna get a sip of your whiskey." "We" " You ever think of knocking?" " Excuse us." "Sorry." " What happened?" " Uh, you were right." "Turns out this center is a little more conservative than we thought." " Light gets switched off before it reaches the homos?" " Not exactly." "Dimmed." " Sorry." "Really." " Hey." "To the grave, okay?" " Oh." " It's okay." "He's cool." "Both of them." " You know, if you and I could ever be together," "I think we'd be really happy." " Strange thing is, I felt the same way." "I had to make a game of it at the start... 'cause I wasn't really up for it, you know?" "Love." " No wonder." " I guess it's always inexplicable why you fall in love, isn't it?" "I mean, you tell me, why do you love your wife?" " To be honest with you, Gavin," "I don't think I do anymore." "As a matter of fact," "I don't even think I'm going home tonight." " Why not?" " She cheated on me." "I kind of lost both of my kids today." "My little boy and my girl, you know." "Found out neither one of 'em was mine this morning." " Why?" " 'Cause I'm sterile." "I just found out." "I've always been." " Did you want kids?" " Like you wouldn't believe, you know?" "I mean, we tried and tried for years, and when nothing happened, eventually we went over to the clinic, and we got tested." "And I never bothered to go and get the results." "But she did." "And when she told me everything was okay, I was..." "And then nine months later, we" "She said that she was afraid she was going to lose me and that it was just an arrangement." " Who's the father?" " She wanted the kids to look as much like me as possible." "I got a younger brother, man." "Look, I'm sorry, Gavin, but please don't make my day any worse than it already is." "Why don't you just come on in here?" " Believe me, if I could, I would." " Hollis." " Excuse me." " Spoke to the roommate, Chris." "He says he thinks Joe's capable ofjust about anything." "Shana never made it to school." "Joe never showed up for work." "I've been trying both their numbers." "I got nothing." " Please, keep calling them." " All right." "How's he doin'?" " Do I think he might do it?" "I think he could." " All right." "Are you good?" " I'm having a rough day." "Hey, forgive me." " Look man, the point is, you got kids, even if it wasn't exactly how you wanted." " Let's just go on with your story, okay?" " Okay." "We decided to tell Joe the truth." "But Shana wanted to speak to the pastor first 'cause she was so scared he'd kill himself." " I know I haven't been an exciting lover for you." "I know that I have been too dominating in a way that wasn't interesting." "But I wasn't always like this." "I know how bad things are." "I just want one night." "Borrow an apartment." "Go to a hotel." "A night away from what we're supposed to be, a night to prove I can make you happy that way." "Don't I at least deserve that?" " I have to get out of this the right way." "I owe him so much." " I know." "I know, and I know I have no right, but..." " We only have to get through a couple more days, okay?" "Okay?" " Okay." " I should go." "I'm doing the night shift, and then I'm gonna go see the pastor in the morning." " Come by after." "Let me know how it went." " I love you." " Crescent Riverview." " Hi." "I'd like a room, please." " When would it be for?" " Tonight, if you've got one." "Come on in." "Would you mind if we talked?" " Oh" " Please, it's important." "Sit down." "You know what the difference is between you and me, Gavin?" " No." " There are two differences." "First of all, you don't see the world as it is." "This world is a disgusting place." "I know this because I've seen some of the worst it has to offer." " I find that hard to believe." " Did you know I was married before?" " No, I didn't know that, Joe." " Mm-hmm." "A lovely wife, two beautiful children, great home." "But I couldn't stay home, because I was drawn to sin." "I'd go out for a drink, and five hours later," "I'd be coked out of my head and in a booth in a porno shop, or I'd get a hooker, or I'd go-go gambling, or pretty much whatever you can imagine, I did." "And I lost it all." "My wife left me." "She caught diseases from me." "I lost my job." "I lost my children." "But even still, I couldn't stop." "I mean, so what do you think that is?" "You think I'm, like, a sex addict or a junkie or a gambling addict, alcoholic?" "What?" " I don't know, Joe." "I have no idea." " The answer is none of the above." "I just had to have sensation." "I had to feel alive, because inside, I was dying." "Spiritually, right?" "I was lost." "See, I was, you know, half an inch from death when Jesus came to me." "I was." "I was lying in the gutter and got up, stumbled into a church, and I was born again." "I was saved." "I was a new man." "The joy-the relief, really..." "You have no idea how that feels." "About a year later, the Lord, having given me so much already," "He gave me Shana." "He brought her into the church." "And the moment that I saw her," "I knew that I loved her." "Then we were married in His sight, in His house." "And loving her was the" "It was such a pure love." "Until two nights ago." "When you were... fucking her in your kitchen," "I was outside the door, listening." "And I thought of smashing down that door and killing you both." "But I just ran away." "I ran away, and I did things that I have not done in a long time." "And when I came home, she was asleep in there." "And I watched her lying there." "And she was smiling." "It's hard when we lose someone we love, isn't it?" " Yes, it is." " So I came in here, and I opened up the Bible." "And I read Psalm 23." ""The Lord is my shepherd." "I shall not want." ""Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," ""I will fear no evil, for thou art with me." "Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. "" "And I took this gun, and I put it right here." "Now..." "You think I'm still here because I was afraid?" " I don't know, Joe." " No." "I have no fear, Gavin." "You ever been totally without fear?" " No." " That's the second difference between us." "I have the courage to die for my beliefs because I know where I'm going." "You have the courage to die for your beliefs?" " I guess so, you know, if I had to." " I don't think you do." "But I figured out" "I was the last person that should die." " Joe." "Read the marked passage." " "The man that committeth adultery" ""with another man's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. "" "But, Joe, what about the New Testament?" "Doesn't Jesus say about an adulteress," ""He who is without sin amongst you, let him cast a stone at her?"" " That's right, and no one did, because no one was without sin." "And Jesus said to the woman," ""Neither do I condemn thee." "Now go and sin no more. "" " Right." " Are you prepared to sin no more?" "Is Shana?" "I am washed, sanctified, and justified." "And if I say I'm gonna do something, you better believe I will." "Get out." " Listen, Gavin." "For God's sake, just come in here." "I promise I can help you." " You think I want this, man?" " We just got five minutes left." "Please let me..." "Excuse me." "If you were gonna kill someone that had an affair with your wife and you were doing it this way, what would you want?" " Gavin!" "Get down from there, man!" " I'd want to watch him." " Me too." "I think I just saw something on the ninth floor at the Crescent Hotel." " What are you doing?" " Look, for God's sake, Gavin, please just come in here." "Let me help you." " There's nothing you can do." " Hi." "This is Shana." "Please leave a message." "Beep!" " Fuck." "Shana." " You know how I said I had the courage to die for my beliefs but you didn't?" " Yeah." " You disagreed." " Yeah." " You still think you have the courage?" " Yeah, Joe, but what does that matter?" " Yeah, will let me tell you what the situation is here, Gavin." "See, I've decided I'm more of an Old Testament sort of guy." "But I am willing to compromise." "Only one of you has to die today." "I have Shana right in front of me, and I have my gun pointed at her head." " Listen, Joe, whatever" " Stop." "Stop." "Go to the Tamlacker Building." "There's a door around back." "Take the staircase all the way up to the top." "On the roof, you'll find a utility shed." "You get on the ledge in front of it." "You stand there and think." "At noon, you jump, or I put a bullet in her head." "Maybe you'll find God." " What in the hell is wrong with you?" "Don't you realize if you had told me this from the start," "I could've found him?" "I could've done something." " He would've killed her." " How do you know he's even capable of killing her?" "You don't even know what you're capable of." "I mean, would you kill your mom in order to save your father or kill one of your kids in order to save another kid?" "These are things that we cannot know." " I know what he's capable of, Hollis." "I saw it in his eyes." " Look, man, I am not gonna blow smoke up your ass." "You are in a terrible dilemma." "But I swear to you, if I was in your place" " Who do your kids think their dad is?" " Gavin" " You get over it for them." " Gavin, please." "Please just come in here" " Where's your faith now?" "Your wife says she loves you and she did this for you, right?" " Why can't you have faith in that?" " Why don't you just mind your own fuckin' business?" "Listen, man, if you do this to me," "I'm gonna carry this shit the rest of my life." " Not if you do what I want you to do." " Tell Shana" " I will not do it." "I will not do it." "If you got somethin' that you need to tell her, you climb your ass in here, you tell her yourself!" "You're always so rational." "I mean, does this sound rational to you?" " Whoa!" "Get out of here!" " I mean, think about it." "What makes her life more valuable than yours?" "Please." "Gavin." "Just come here." "Just come here, man." "Now, Gavin, please." "Gavin, please come here." "Just come here, man." " Look, I feel like I've gotten to know you." "And I like you, and I'm sorry I'm gonna have to do this." " Please." " But if you were standing where I am and your wife or any one of your kids had a gun to his or her head, this time, you did have time to think, could anyone on Earth stop you from jumping?" " I'm begging you." "Please don't do this." " Here's what I want you to do." " Gavin, please don't do this." " I never told Shana I loved her." "You tell her for me." " I will not do it." " Yes, you will." "Then you go home, okay?" " Gavin, don't you do this." "Please, Gavin." " Fuck." "Here." " Gavin, please!" " Freeze." "Freeze!" "On the ground, now." "Drop it." " Do you have anyone to stay with?" " I think I'll try being alone for a while." "Never really done that." " Well, at least for tonight, like, a friend?" " I guess I'll find out." " Look, not that I imagine you're doubting it, but he did want me to tell you that... he loved you." " Thank you." "Both:" "Daddy!" " They heard what happened today." "The guy on the" " It was on the TV?" " I'm really sorry." " It's okay." "Life goes on." " So shall we say grace?" " No, not tonight." "We don't say grace tonight, okay?" " Why not?" " Because I'm your father, and I said so, okay?" " Okay." " Okay?" " Okay." " Let's eat." " Hey, will you pass me the bread, Junior?" " Thank you for this day" "We walked downtown in our heavy coats" "She held my hand" "And pulled me through" "The crowds" "I watched her smile" "As the sun burst through" "The clouds" "Is there still love" "In this heart" "Is there still love" "In this heart" "Thank you for this dream" "Though everything feels real" "Waking up" "Pale and shattered" "In her arms" "Heavy rain" "Bouncing through her bamboo blinds" "Is there still love" "In this heart" "Is there still love" "In this heart" "If I had a message" "For the universe" "She asked, "What would it be?"" "If I had a message" "For the universe" "She asked, "What would it be?"" "Thank you"