"Previously on October Road..." "I haven't left the house in six years." "I am the neighborhood weirdo." "Are you okay?" " Rooster!" " What?" "I'd like you to see a friend of mine-- an oncologist." " That's cancer." " I'm not afraid anymore." " We should just move forward." " I wanna make peace." " Get me an audience with my daughter." " He shows up once or twice a year, full of promises." "Let's give this a shot." "You're not saying you just came back into Aubrey's life just to leave it again." ""A marked man"?" "Aubrey's dad is a marked man." "What does that mean, "a marked man"?" "It means he either pays back some crazy, vast sum of gambling debts, or he has to flee the country or he gets beaten beyond recognition, and the worst part is that I'm the one who reunited him with Aubrey." "I don't think that's the worst part." "I mean, "the beaten beyond recognition" is pretty bad, in fairness." "Nobody said anything about "beyond recognition."" "I actually added that part for dramatic effect, but the point is, he gets beaten badly." " I'm such an idiot." " Why are you an idiot?" "Aubrey was fine without her father in her life, and then I, weakened by the very scoundrel charm that she warned me about, insisted on bringing them back together." "And now it's Aubrey's fate to be heartbroken forever." "Fate is not something you accept, my friend." "It's something you shape." "Take me going to Sully's to find the amazing woman who saved my life." "To mold my fate," "I-I-I-I could let her disappear forever, but I'm not going to." "What are the odds of publicly tripping three different times in three different locations on one day?" " Hey, sorry I'm late." " No, you're right on time." "I was just telling Gabe about me getting my clumsy on last week." "Oh, yeah." "Three times in one day." "Your daughter-- she's like a regular Jerry Lewis movie." "Yeah, a very lovely Jerry Lewis movie." "Six weeks?" "She only comes here once every six weeks?" "That's how often we get delivery from Paul Revere beer." "Aw, man." "Next time, fall for the White Zinfandel guy." "He's here once a week like clockwork." "Rooster, refills?" "Can I get one more for Nick, please?" "What's up, Owen?" "I got a fate that refuses to be molded." "You're glowering at me." " You lied." " A little, all right?" "I needed something done." "You were the conduit." " I don't want to be the conduit." " You're not the conduit now, all right?" " You were the conduit." " I don't want to have been the conduit." "I appreciate how much you care for Aubrey, Nick." " I'm in the middle of a real" " Hey, hey, you have to..." " You have to tell her, okay?" " Or I don't." "Or you don't..." "In which case, I will." "You see, you're glowering again." " You're home tonight, right, Eddie?" " Oh, yeah." "'cause I'm making my supreme combat showdown supreme pasta." " Come again?" " Supreme combat showdown." "It's a "sport." It's part boxing, part wrestling, part disgusting." "It's on tv." "Phil makes a pasta for it with a carbonara sauce, which puts me in a difficult spot." "He caters an event that makes my stomach turn." "It's just another saturday night." "Well, I have an idea." "Come out with me and Hannah tonight." "We're doing girls' night out." "Oh, girls' night out?" "But-- but Phil's making supreme combat pasta." " I don't want to intrude if you guys are" " Are you kidding?" "The more the merrier." "We're going to Sully's." "Wait." "You work at Sully's." "Why would you go there for a girls' night out?" "Girls' night out is more fun when the drinks are free." "Okay." "I'm in." "Yay!" "Wow." "I don't usually say "yay." Just clearly, the prospect of no supreme combat showdown is beginning to assert itself." "Hello." "Kelly Bernard's boyfriend is coming home from college for the weekend." "Okay." "Is that code for something?" "Well, it's code for Kelly Bernard is the babysitter." "No babysitter equals no girls' night out." "Not necessarily." "I just called Paul Revere beer, and they won't give out any information about their employees." "Rooster said she only comes to Sully's once every six weeks to make a delivery." "She works out of the Paul Revere beer headquarters located in Cradle Bay, which is three hours from here." "So..." "I guess I'll have to wait." " Wait?" " Wait." "You wait for the mail." "You wait for the new James Bond picture." "You do not wait for love, and you do not wait for-- what's her name?" " I-I don't know." " Well, she needs a name." " I want to name her." " Take it away, my dear." " Sienna." " Sienna?" " Definitely Sienna." " You do not wait for Sienna." "I do not!" "But, um, what-- what do I do?" " Uh, you go to cradle bay." " I do?" " Yeah, we do." " We?" "Sure." "Don't you want to be part of this journey of love?" "O- okay." "Nick?" "Journey of love?" "I'm in." "I'm fine, Leslie." "No, I don't need you to go with me." "It's-- it's my first appointment with the oncologist." "I'm sure I'll be fine." "Talk to you later?" "Me, too." "What's up, dadster?" "Get what you need, Nicky, and let's roll." "We're coming back tonight." " Going on a road trip to Cradle Bay." " Cradle Bay?" "Oh, I love Cradle Bay." " You do?" " Yeah." "You remember that trip we all took to Cradle Bay the summer of '92?" "That little motel your mother loved?" "Octopus's garden." " Remember that?" " Uh, vaguely." "Oh, it's great." "They had these little plastic squids attached to the room keys." "There was a clam shack just nearby and best batter ever." " And they let you night-swim." " Nick, we gotta go now." "Okay." "Let's go." " What-- what if Ronnie and I tag along?" " Dad, I can't." " I got stuff to do." " What stuff?" "You don't have stuff." " You never have stuff." " I have stuff." "Look, stuff that doesn't involve sitting in the car with you three." " Five of us." " What?" "Five who?" "Aubrey and her dad are coming, too." "Let's go." "You in?" "Maybe I could shuffle my stuff around." "Come on, Ronnie." " Gabriel Diaz, Robert Garrett." " Nice to meet you." " Likewise." " Oh, and that's Ronnie." " Ronnie, how are ya?" " Let's go." "I call shotgun." "I'm not sure what this is all about, but if you're trying to avoid telling Aubrey..." "I'm not trying to avoid anything." "I want to spend the day with my daughter here, worry-free... before I have to say good-bye." " I think the fall would be great." " The Ridge is so pretty in the fall, but it can get cold, and I've always pictured the wedding outside." "I mean, we could do the spring date, but then-- then we might as well wait until the summer." "But the problem with summer is that it's the farthest away, so I don't want Ray to think I'm reluctant about starting our lives together." "There's been a little bit of weirdness about that lately." "It's like he's questioning my commitment, which..." "I mean, I can understand." " What do you think?" " Whoa!" "You look hot." " You don't think I look like a soldier?" " Like a hot soldier." "Ray knows how much you love him." "If you want a summer wedding, he'll know it has nothing to do with how you feel about him." "Go with what you want." "I know, but the only problem's..." " I'm not sure." " You're not sure?" "I mean about the fall or the spring." "Right." "Give me a heart attack, why don't ya?" "She's gone." "It's over." "This was dumb." "What were the chances she was even gonna be here?" "You said brown hair, little button nose, twinkly eyes?" "Look, look." "Jenny." " Her name is Jenny." " Let me see." "Look at that." "She is the most courteous and prompt of all the employees, but she still found time to save my live." "Mission accomplished." "Accomplished?" "You have to meet her." " You have to." " How?" "She's not here." "Well, she will be." "Once she is... she's gonna read your note." " My note?" " Yeah, your thank you note" ""Dear, jenny, I'm the guy." ""I'm the guy whose life you saved." ""I wanted to say thanks." ""You know, perhaps you'd allow me "to buy you a nice gratitude meal." "Nothing with bones in it, of course."" "And then, you know, "sincerely, Owen."" "You don't forget to leave your number." " What-- what do you think, Nick?" " You should listen to him." "It's like talking about dental floss to the guy that invented teeth." "Let's fetch a pen." "Make sure that lid's on tight." "Ma, the bugs are dead." "And while dead bugs in the dining room are leagues better than live ones," "I prefer the time-honored "no bugs in the dining room" policy." "Are you sure you're cool working on your project at the guys' house tonight?" "Definitely." "Eddie's got "metroid prime 3:" "Corruption."" "It's a video game." "Oh, and I'd put good money on Phil having "star wars" dvds." "Silence isn't usually the response I get to "star wars."" "Doodie says that when neighborhood cats wander into Phil's yard, he steals them and drink their blood and that he never leaves the house except at the stroke of midnight on halloween, and he wears a suit made of dead men's flesh." "Okay, I know that you don't believe that." "So none of it's true?" "The true part is that Phil doesn't leave the house." " Why not?" " I don't know, but I'm sure if you asked him, he would tell you." "Okay." "Everybody ready to go?" "Now?" "It's gonna be dark soon." "Perfect time to use the handy new invention, dad-- headlights." "Oh, no, I'm" " I'm just saying why do we wanna drive back to the Ridge now?" " Let's spend the night." " What for?" "Hey, Ronnie-- he's got... stuff to do, and..." "I'm sure Gabe has things he needs to take care of, resolve, et cetera." "I think it's a great idea to stay." "We're all together here, right?" " It's like a party." " We are here... and it was a long drive." "I'm in." "Me, too." "I got an idea." "We...we'll go to the octopus's garden, with the little squid room keys, and-- and-- and-- and we'll have the fried clams." "Best batter ever." "Hey." "Maybe we'll go night-swimmin'." "What do you say, Nicky?" "I just don't see..." "What?" "A night in Cradle Bay?" "What could be better?" "All right." "Let's go!" "Go put your stuff down, bud." "So, um, it turns out that he's a little spooked by Phil." "Sam?" "By physical Phil, the world's most harmless human?" "Well, to you and me, but when you're 10-- certain complexities, like not leaving the house-- it can be hard to grasp." "Do you remember weird Mr. Boothby when we were kids?" "The guy who made pies out of pigeons?" "Exactly." "So Phil is Mr. Boothby-esque in the eyes of the children." "Don't worry." "I'll get this squared away." "Sam Daniels!" "I haven't seen you since you were a wee lad." "And I mean "wee" as in wee in your diapers." "Man, has this place gone downhill." "Are you sure this is it?" "Yeah." "I remember the blue doors and the pool, and you can plainly see the octopus's garden sign." "Oh." "Right." "Wow, this place is great." "The old places, right?" "Nothing compares to the old places." "I hope there are rooms." "Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem." "There's not a car in the lot." "Well, probably a bonfire at the beach." "Maybe a dance." "Everything just falls apart, don't it?" "Dad, it's fine, all right?" "Everything's gonna be fine." "Well, it kinda reminds me of a motel in an old movie." "I saw that old movie." "It was called "Psycho."" "Got the keys." " Uh, where's the little squid?" " I asked." "No squids." "The squids haven't been around for a while." "Maybe they all got made into calamari." "I feel bad for that Ikey." "Imagine waking up one morning and no one's talking to you." "Which happens, when you're waking up that morning with your best friend's wife snoring beside you." " There's Rooster." " I know." "Don't make it weird." "Too late." "Did you know there are over 360,000 species of beetles?" " Yeah." " Well, I was thinking, if we made a diagram of a few of the different kinds, you could do an overlap of the common features." "Well, that sounds like a great idea, doesn't it, Sam?" "In fact, why don't I go pick up the burgers, and you guys can finish up here?" "You don't want burgers?" "We could get pizza." "I got an in at Ridge pizza." "I'm not hungry." "You should stay here, Eddie." "I mean..." "Uh, you know, "supreme combat showdown" is on upstairs." "So... you guys can take it from here, and I'll just catch up with you later." " To old friends." " To new friends." "To a night with no "supreme combat," air bands, or $2 bets to see who can get from the kitchen to the living room using the fewest number of steps." " For real?" " Sadly, yes." " Who wins?" " Eddie." "It's a real nail-biter, though." "Wow, I needed girls' night more than I knew." "Compliments of..." "Brian." " For me?" " See, I told you-- very hot soldier." "This pool used to be beautiful." "They had these Big umbrellas that were the colors of candy canes." "I'll bet." "That Nick's a great kid, though, you know?" "He's nothing like me." "Makes him perfect for Aubrey." "You must've done a couple of things right." " Aubrey's a Big bowl of sugar." " I never much got the hang of... sticking around, you know?" "You always had it figured out, though, huh?" "How to be a father?" "I-I think I did." "Um... but I want them to know how to live-- really live." "They know." "Because they're young." "When you're young, you live like a giant." "As the years pass, you get noticeably... smaller and... smaller." "I think the trick is to get out before you're the size of a pea." "Hannah Jane Daniels?" "It's Lucy!" " Lucy Fisher." " Lucy Fisher?" "Oh, my god." "God, it is so great to see you." "You look amazing." "How are you more beautiful now than you were in school?" "I don't know." "You guys, this is Lucy Fisher." "We went to high school together." "I remember you." "She used to write for the yearbook and-- the unofficial "historian" for Knights Ridge high." "Class of '98." "I-I write the yearly "newsletter."" " God, I haven't seen you in ages." " Well I got married, moved to Carver." "I'm just in for the weekend, but the smell of the Ridge in the spring?" " It so takes me back to high school." " Yeah." "Speaking of which, I heard the Big news." "Hello! "Newsletter" time!" " Yeah, I'm..." " Nick Garrett is back?" "Yes, he is." "And of course everyone expects the traditional senior prank." "Taking the Knights Ridge knight from the main case in the lobby and moving it somewhere else on campus, like the girls' locker room, the library, the cafeteria." "And this is a heavy knight, b-t-w, okay?" "It has a sword in one hand and this little Knights Ridge flag in the other." "It's really heavy." "But our year, Hannah and her friends-- Nick, Owen, Eddie Latekka, Philly Farmer-  they take it another step." "Go." " Yeah, we moved-- we moved the knight into the main assembly hall where the entire high school is gathered." "Sounds like fun times." "They put the knight back, and the sword's there, too, but the flag is missing." "And no one knows where it is." "And then, the next morning, when everyone's all gathered on the hill where the cool seniors hung out, there it is." "Planted in the grass and it said," ""N.G. Hearts H.D. always."" "I'm dense." "What does that mean?" "Nick Garrett hearts Hannah Daniels." "Nick Garrett hearts Hannah Daniels always." "Hey, whatever happened to that flag, anyway?" "After all, that was the reason that the administration padlocked the glass case, never allowed that prank again." "Yeah, I don't know." "Nick and Hannah-- it does not glimmer any brighter than that." "So the... the section on tiger beetles goes here?" "Right next to the burying beetles." "Hey, you know what's weird?" "In real life, beetles freak me out." "But tonight I learned that ladybugs are beetles, which is cool, because I'm" "I'm definitely not scared of ladybugs." "My point is, I'm glad I learned that, 'cause it turns out that beetles are scarier in my head" " than they are in real life." " Maybe that's 'cause they're dead." "Or maybe it's because I gave 'em a second chance." "Hey, you know who was really good at science projects when we were in school?" "Oh, don't tell me" " Physical Phil?" "You know, I know he wanted to watch that "supreme combat," but if it's over, maybe we could ask him to join us." " Do we have to?" " No, we don't, but then I guess I could just stay scared of beetles." " You see where I'm going with this?" " Yeah, a 9-year-old could figure it out." "Eddie, I'm 10." "Come on." "What do you say?" "Okay, but if he has kitty whiskers in his teeth, I am so outta here." "Gabe Diaz is cool." "The man's a pimp." " He's, like, out of a novel." " Yeah, "confessions of a slimeball."" "I don't think so." "I think he's colorful." " What do you know from colorful?" " Colorful's appealing." " It beats beige." " Hey, I like beige." "Beige is nice." "Beige is neutral." "Beige doesn't pick up on the coat check girl and have sex with her in the closet" " during their daughter's dance recital." " But beige wishes it could." " Get ready to have your lives changed." " Yeah!" " Where's Aubrey?" " Oh, she went for a walk with Gabe." "Gather 'roun lads." "The fried clams have landed." "Look at this place." "I love ferris wheels." "Should we take it for a spin?" "I think it's died and gone to amusement park heaven, Gabe." "Let's just take one ride, huh?" "It's closed." "Never stopped me before." "Maybe that's the problem." "So... maybe the problem is we missed all the open amusement parks," "and we've just got some catching up to do." "You guys called me?" "Hey, man." "Hey, um, yeah, we were just wondering if maybe you could help us out with some of the essay part." "Eddie said you were good at science." "I get by." "Hey, I thought I'd at least get a conversation in return for the drink." "That's very sweet." "But actually, I have a boyfriend." "Do you think your boyfriend would object to you joining us for a game of darts?" "I mean, I'll give you 15 points." "My boyfriend might object to you thinking I need 15 points." " Really?" " Yeah." "After you." " These are good." " Yeah, delicious." "Get off it." "They're terrible." "Oh, thank god." "I thought mine were the only ones that sucked." "What?" "It's not like we're never gonna eat fried clams again." "You are good." "Looks, talent and skilled with the feathers." "You're like Robin Hood." "That's what they call me." "Must've been nice to be cool in high school." " I wasn't cool in high school." " Oh, I don't believe that." "Trust me." "I was all indie rock and nose rings," " Sylvia Plath poems." " So... you were college cool?" "Yep." "College cool in high school-- not cool." "I was cool back then... and I didn't even know it." "Why is it that when memories are happening, you don't know that they're gonna be memories?" "So you don't get to appreciate them until it's too late?" ""Youth is wasted on the young."" "George Bernard Shaw said that." "Maybe George Harrison." "The two are often confused." "Nick and Hannah." "Do you think it's true?" "That it doesn't glimmer any brighter than that?" "Sure, it does." "It's just a different kind of glimmer." "Now we knowing some beetles, the ability to fly has been lost." "And all the ground beetles, like tiger beetles." "Exactly." " Hey, is, "supreme combat" still on?" " I'm not sure." "I'm just going to, uh..." "I can't believe you got the lights to work." "Ah, it's all about the sleight of hand." "I know sleight of hand isn't exactly the quality most little girls are looking for in a father." "More like reliability... security... physical presence, an ability to keep their mitts off their daughter's seventh grade geometry teacher." "Although I did get an "A" in geometry." "So... you see?" "I was contributing... somethin'." "You know what I hate?" "I hate that I wake up every morning, and I look in the mirror, and I try and see mom in me-- sweet and kind and gentle." "But I only see you-- sly and crafty and with one eye on the door." "I hate that." "I hate all the you in me." "Because I don't wanna be sly and crafty and with one eye on the door." "Because there's nothing there that can afford happiness to anyone." "I can understand that, yeah." "I want to try... to change your memories." "I don't know if you can." "But I guess you could try." "You know what's cool about the tiger beetle, is that if you scale speed for body length, they're about ten times faster than the best human sprinter." " I did know that." " Well, of course you did." " Can I ask you a question?" " Sure." "Do you really drink the blood of the neighborhood cats?" "I enjoy a nice tomato juice every now and again, but that's about it." "Do you really go out at the stroke of midnight on Halloween wearing a suit made of human flesh?" "I haven't in years... ever since the dry cleaner lost my human flesh suit." "Do you really stay at home all the time?" "Yes." "How come?" "Because I'm afraid." "Of what?" "I'm not exactly sure." "Were you ever brave?" "I think so." " Eddie's brave." " He is." " Nick's brave." " Not as brave as Eddie." "But he is brave." "I'm not so brave." "You will be." "Mind if I join you?" "What?" "What do you think about parallel universes?" "I don't think about 'em all that much." "Why?" "I hope they exist." "I mean, I'm sure they do, beyond the physics of it all," " you know, wormhole theory, all that." " If you weren't already Phil's girl, my next line would be, "boy, do I have a dude for you."" "I mean, they just have to exist." "Because there's gotta be another me that was one of the cool kids in high school." "You know, who all the kids whispered about and who played a prank in a knight costume during seniors week." "That would be ideal." "Another me?" "I hope there's a whole bunch of stuff he's doing out there now." "And a whole bunch of stuff he's not doing." "You know?" " Two shots of tequila, my good man." " Got it." "We need more milk for the white russians." "Well, what's next on the agenda, pop?" "I'm gonna turn in." "Whoa!" "How come?" "The whole trip is a bust." "The motel's a dump." "The clams are chewy." "And there ain't no damn squids on the room keys." " What-- what about the night-swimmin'?" " It's too cold." "The pool's probably teeming with parasites," " and we don't have any bathing suits." " It's not that cold." "All the white russians will probably kill the parasites." "And we got our boxers." "I gotta say, she ain't exactly my type, but I was this close to banging Eddie Latekka's girlfriend." "I would've made some sacrifices to check that scene out." "Hey, hey, hey, three shots of vodka, bro." "That's it." "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave the premises." " What for?" " I will not be called "bro"" "in my place of employment." "Not here." "Not ever." "Are you kidding me?" "Bro?" "You know why they call me "rooster"?" "A lot of people think it's because of the hair." "Nope." "You ever seen two roosters fight?" "It ain't that pretty at all." "People pay money to see the blood, know what I mean?" "Now you're out." "All right, all right." "Get off me." "I found one." "Owen, you getting in?" "Yes!" "Owen, we're wearing our boxers." "Boxers, Owen!" "Owen, we're wearing boxers, man!" "Why'd you kick out the townies?" "'Cause they were spending time with me?" "They were groping the staff." "Okay?" "Including me." "I may have never been a cool kid at school, Janet, but here, I am the prom king." "Let's go." "No matter how much time passes," "Hannah Daniels will always be the coolest... frickin' ever." "Where's Aubrey and gabe?" "I'll get them." "Aubrey?" "Where's your dad?" "He's gone." "Gone where?" "Who knows?" "Barcelona?" "Tuscany?" "The washington zoo?" "Who knows where he goes when he goes?" "But he's gone." "Sorry." "He wanted me to thank you for helping him get what he came for." "Get what he came for?" "To reconnect with his daughter and then get out of dodge." "So he had this planned all along, huh?" "Pretty much." "To come here and... leave the Thunderbird at the motel so they wouldn't know he left." "You okay?" "I'm okay and not just because my dad is gonna be safe." "He's not the only one who wanted to thank you." "So thank you... for getting involved." "Anytime." "The fall." "You picked a wedding date." "It must've come to me in a dream." "Either that, or a night out with the girls really made you miss your man." "You picked the earliest of the three dates." " How'd it go?" " We had the best time ever." " "We"?" " Me, Eddie and Physical Phil." "Pizza girl ain't the only one who delivers around here." "Take it from me, little boy, stay away from the drink, and you will know joy." "You have a really cool boyfriend." "Let me guess." ""Supreme combat" pasta?" "No, just bugs and tennis rackets." "Bugs and tennis rackets?" "I do have a really cool boyfriend." "I don't know what this road trip was about, Robert, but if there's something wrong with you, you need to know what it is, not avoid it." " Now the doctors-- they want to" " I know there's something wrong with me." "I don't need a doctor to tell me." "Because it's never good news when they wanna run more tests." "And they will... tomorrow." "But before that happens," "I just wanted to have one more day." "One more day with my boys... where we lived... like... giants." "And did you?" "We did." "Hello?" "This is Owen." "Jenny?" " Jenny who?" " Dude?" "Oh, Jenny!"