"Death has come for me on the first day of spring." "It has not arrived at all in the way" "I've always expected it to." "There is no blinding white light." "Or some demon dressed in black." "It has come like an assassin in an unruly ambush and I am totally unprepared." "Death has finally come for me and left me to grieve the loss of someone very dear." "I'm just not sure who." "It is awesome." "They have $4 margaritas till six and then, if you show them your teacher ID, you get free nachos." "Sounds tempting, but I actually have a prior commitment." "Mrs. Osborne, Timmy keeps trying to..." "One second, Gabby, it is very rude to interrupt people when they're talking." " But, Mrs. Osborne." " It's Ms. Osborne remember?" "You only use Mrs. If someone's married." "Oh, like Mrs. Austin?" "Hey Eric, it's Melissa." "Long time, I, um..." "I hope you're doing well." "Look, I'm calling because I've been clearing out" "Gretchen's old room here and I came across some things that I think might be yours." "So, I thought I'd see if you wanted to come by and pick them up." "I'm actually going to be home tonight if you want to swing by after work." "Just buzz up and I can let you in and..." "Morning, sunshine." "Hey." "You working today?" "Just about to jump in the shower." " Wait, did you go running?" " Yeah." "Even in this weather, what is it 13 degrees outside?" "I don't know, I'll check the farmer's almanac and get back to you." "Hey, we're grabbing drinks for Gary's birthday tonight." " You down?" " Maybe, I'll see." "It's just going to be a few of us, very low key, I promise." "I'll see, I'll see." "You know, it is the first day of spring in case you need an excuse to have some fun." "Rachel Austin, as I live and breathe." "Tried you on your cell, but no answer, again!" "Are you out of minutes, girl?" "Should I only be calling you on nights and weekends?" "Anyway, it's Carrie if you haven't already figured that out, so if you're not too tired and you can manage to drag your old bones into the city, we're all going to grab dinner at some tapas place tonight." "Call me if you're interested or text me or send an eCard." "They're free, bitch, no excuses." " Good evening." " Good evening." "Our celebrant this evening is Father Denary and this mass is being offered by Rachel Austin in memory of her husband Robert, on the second anniversary of his death." "Please rise as we sing our opening hymn." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Eric?" "Excuse me, I'm sorry." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Excuse me?" "Is this seat taken?" "Oh, no, sorry." "Oh!" "That's amazing." "Just amazing." "I'm sorry..." "I didn't mean to." "No, please, laugh." "Laugh all you like, I deserve it." "Guess alcohol and commuters don't mix." "I guess not." "Sometimes I kind of see where Colin Ferguson was coming from." "You know what I mean?" " Who?" " Colin Ferguson." "The guy who shot up a whole Long Island railroad car in the '90s." "Oh." "Too far, too dark?" "Just a little bit, yeah." "Yeah." "Well, fortunately, I came prepared." "Peace offering, please?" "There's nothing sadder than a guy in a suit, drinking by himself on a commuter train." "Yeah, nothing that comes to mind, actually." "Help me out, please, I'm begging you." " I'm good, thanks." " All right." "James." "Rachel." "Rachel." "Cheers." "Cheers." "Will you just shut up for five seconds?" "Okay, just please, I got through War and Peace faster than this." "No, you never read that book, dum-dum." "Long story long, I never put the address on the envelope, but it bounces back to my office." "So the guys in the mailroom, they have no choice but to look inside there because they don't know who actually sent it and inside, they find a check from me for $500 to a man named Nick Zani and lest we forget, the note I wrote." "Which reads, "Can't wait to put it in you in Vegas, you little whore."" "You're the dumbest person I've ever met in my life." "Yes, I am, not very smart." "So, there you go, Happy Birthday." "Thank you so much." "Your unbelievable stupidity is the gift that keeps on giving." "And with that, I'm gonna take a leak." "You following me to the bathroom?" "Yeah, I was hoping you could tell me another great story while I tinkle." "Some fun times, right?" "Look man, I'm so sorry..." "Eric, stop it, you don't need to apologize." " I know..." " Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!" "I'm sorry, did I ruin the moment?" "You have a knack." "Oh, God, we should get some shots, right?" "What am I your dad, order them." "Ah, miss." "Can we order some drinks?" "For Eric Battie, absolutely." "Oh, my God!" "What are you doing here?" "I work here." "No kidding, wow!" "Yeah, for a few months now." "That's great, how are you?" "I'm good, how are you?" "Good, yeah." "Andy told me about Gretchen." "I'm so sorry to hear." "Yeah, thanks." "How are you holding up, you know, really?" "Hey, Battie?" "Hate to break up the reunion, but can we order?" "All right, gentlemen, what can I get you guys?" "All right, get these nancies two more light beers." "I'll have a Goose soda and whatever this idiot wants." "Jack and coke." "Oh!" "And six shots of Jãger." "Jãger!" "I had to." "I'm sorry." "What do you mean you have to?" "Darlin', can we order some food whenever you get a sec?" "Absolutely, what would you like?" "What's good, we're riding a nice, little buzz and we're really in the mood for some good, old fashioned bar food, so, why don't you just..." "Why don't you stop being an asshole and tell her what you want, douche bag?" "Okay, um, tell you what." "I'm going to let you guys just mull this over and figure out what you're in the mood for and, um," "I'll get you guys another round." "Thank you." " Dude, what's your problem?" " Shut up!" "Mitch, you've been acting like an asshole since you got here." " I'm the asshole?" " Everybody just calm down." "Try and have a smidge of respect, okay?" " That's a friend of mine." " Yeah, I know." "I saw you practically crying in her arms." "Shut the fuck up, Mitch!" "Easy, man!" "Jesus." "Eric, what is with you, man?" "Okay, I'm gonna go to the bathroom." "I hope the waitress doesn't spit in our drinks now." "Yeah, I'm gonna make Eric check mine and see if it tastes like wee-wee." "Geez, he's still messed up, huh?" "It's been a couple months, man." "I mean, give the brother a break." "So what, you're just gonna bail?" "I shouldn't have come, man." "I'm not..." "I'm not right." "Eric, come on, let's go sit down." "No, man." "Eric, come on, let's go sit down." "It's always worse at night." "On Sundays, Ellen and I used to go get FroYo and then we went to see a picture at the Ziegfeld." "Even if we had seen it before, we would go again." "Last year, we saw Titanic six times." "Yeah, it's one of the nice things that sisters do and here it is Sunday, and I'm here." " Oh, no offense." " Oh, none taken, Jules." "And if you ever want to get FroYo, I'm game." "Thank you." "Okay, anyone else want to share?" "Yeah, Ed." "The United States is an empire and all empires, ultimately, fall." "Thank you, Ed." "Who else, Rachel, we haven't seen you in a bit?" "Anything on your mind?" "Yeah, actually." "I've been thinking about when I got mono in college." "I mean, I know it's not uncommon." "A lot of people get it at that age, but I had it pretty bad." "I was in bed for almost a month and my spleen was really swollen." "I know it sounds stupid, but it was huge." "The swelling just would not go down and I remember, after about two weeks of it," "I honestly couldn't recall what it had been like to not feel sick." "To just feel healthy." "Of course, two weeks later, I was fine and I probably soon forgot what it had been like to feel so sick, but with this..." "I can't seem to get to that point." "For two years now, I've been waiting for the swelling to go down, I've been waiting to feel healthy again... and I almost can't remember what that's like anymore." "Thank you, Rachel." "I think we all kind of understand how that feels." "Okay, why don't we hear from one more person before we break?" "How about you?" "This is your first time here, right?" "What's your name?" "Eric." "Welcome, Eric." "Is there anything that you'd care to share with us?" "Um, nope." "Why don't you just start with telling us who it is that you're grieving for?" "My girlfriend." "And did you lose her recently?" "A little over two months ago." "And if I may ask, how did you lose her?" "Suddenly." "Well, is there anything that you would care to share with us about how you're feeling or?" "Look, um, I don't mean to sound... but this whole process," "I think I'm at a different stage or..." "Well, the Kubler Ross Model of five stages of grieving is really only supposed to act as a loose framework of the grieving process, accounting for everything from the grief of losing a loved one to the grief of somebody who's dying himself." "Is there a difference?" "Um..." "No, thanks." "Smart move." "It's actually my first pack in three years." "Really?" "Why'd you start up again?" "I don't know." "I guess it is pretty..." "Lame?" "I was going to say dramatic, but sure, that works." " Well, I wouldn't recommend it." " You don't say?" "No, no, it's not that, I've just..." "I've found that in trying to deal with this, the more bad habits you can avoid, the better you'll feel." "Has that worked for you?" "I'm still waiting for it to kick in." "I don't know, I guess I just needed something to focus my energy on." "And of all the things you could've chosen, you picked cigarettes?" "Well, it was this or learning guitar and nobody wants that." "No, just this and running." "Smoking and running?" "Isn't that a little..." "Self defeating?" "No, it's very self defeating." "Um, Eric." "Um, Rachel." "Well, bye." "See ya." "Ah!" " Hey." " Yo, where you been?" "Just out." "Have you been smoking?" "No." "No." "Hey, do you know a good dermatologist?" "For what, your emphysema?" "Yeah, I need a skin doctor for my emphysema, idiot." "For what, your hemorrhoids?" "Oh, calm down, you baby." "Jesus, yeah I know a guy." "Why, what's wrong with you, besides the obvious?" "I've been getting these weird little moles." "Oh!" "Not down, uh, you know?" "No, my stomach, but thanks." "When members of the local police force opened fire." "It has been described as an isolated incident." "Though, recent events would seem to indicate otherwise." "Located in the once hotly contested border region, the province had, in recent months, been viewed..." "Have you heard from Steve lately?" "Making this mutinous attack by local police force that much more troubling." "Hi, Eric." "It's Melissa again." "Look, I know this is hard, but we're really trying to get the rest of this stuff sorted out and it would be a really big help if you could come pick up your things, soon." "I mean if you don't want them, I can get rid of them, but..." "Thanks." "Hi." "Hi, how are you?" "Good, good." "Do you live around here?" "No." "I'm out on Long Island." "My dad works in the area." "We had dinner." "Nice." "Yeah." " You?" " Yeah, yeah." "I live right down the street actually." "Oh, wow." "So, getting a little caffeine to go with your nicotine?" "Yup, I've heard the coffee, smoke breath combo is a killer." "Yeah, no, I actually took your advice." "You mean you quit?" "If you can even call it that." " Here you are, sir." " Thank you." "I've actually taken up binge eating instead." "You know what, could we get the tray of biscotti and a dozen or so bear claws, please?" "She doesn't like my jokes." "You know, I haven't been, but I hear it's great though." "Yeah, the staff's a little rude, but the food's good." "Thank you." "Did they redo this place?" "You know, it's been the same since I've been up here." "How long is that?" "Almost a year." "Do you like the neighborhood?" "I do, you know, it's cleaner, quieter, outrageously expensive." "I don't know, I do miss living downtown though." "Why did you leave?" "Well, my old roommate got married." "Loser." "And, um, my girlfriend Gretchen, she lived about five blocks up, so, yeah." "So, you live in one of those Brownstones right off the park?" " Wow, that's pretty..." " Pretentious?" "I was going to say impressive, but..." "Yeah, well, I'm a big shot investment banker." " Really?" " No, I'm not that lame." "My husband was a banker." "Of course he was, Jesus." "No, it's okay, I didn't get it either." "Well, I did do a semester of business school so I'm at least partly lame." "Oh, at least." " Why only a semester?" " I don't know." "It was fine, but, you know after..." "I just decided to take a break for a semester or forever, we'll see." "So, what are you doing in the meantime?" "Just loitering in coffee shops?" "Pretty much, yeah." "No, I work for a commercial real estate firm." "But what do you do, how do you spend your time?" "Um, I'm a teacher." " Oh yeah?" " Yeah, second grade." "That sounds about right." "Hey!" "No, seriously." "In a good way." "So, what brings you from Long Island to a church all the way on the upper Westside?" "Um, well my husband and I lived on 73rd." "And the group meets up here, so." "And how long have you been going to Lazarus Lives?" "I went pretty regularly for about a year or so, but I actually hadn't been in months until that meeting." "Was it helpful?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "I don't know." "It's kind of like Tylenol or muscle rub." "It doesn't really cure anything, it just sort of..." "Masks the pain." "I was going to say, "Relieves the pain," but..." "I didn't see you there this Sunday." "Yeah." "Yeah, I don't think I really belong there." "Well, nobody belongs there, but if you've lost someone..." " Where on Long Island are you?" " Sag Harbor." "Wow, house in Sag Harbor, that's pretty pretentious..." "I mean, impressive, how did you swing that?" "Pennies from heaven." "I never would've expected it." "I mean, all the bureaucracy and what not, but they covered his full funeral expenses." "They paid for the limo." "Um, so, anyway... they did some arranging with my father's vacation days off and my mother is gonna receive his full benefits even though my dad was two full years away from his pension." "Well, that was quite an entrance." "I know, this damn daylight savings thing." "I still haven't adapted to the time change." "Wasn't that like a month ago?" "Never you mind." "Actually, I think it's because I still haven't had my fix today." "Still coffee or have you moved onto the harder stuff?" "Still coffee for now." "I think I might grab some before my blood pressure gives out and I faint." "Well, um, enjoy." "Try not to knock anything over on your way there." "No promises." "He's out." " Are you kidding?" " Yep, another one." " Hey." " Hey." "Yo, buddy." "What's the score?" "Life 1, me 0." "It's the only recurring dream I've ever had, but no matter how many times I have it," "I never realize I'm dreaming." "At least not until I wake up." "But what really sticks with me is that the whole time, we don't say a word." "We don't speak because we don't have to." "And that connection, that unspoken is gone." "It's something I'll never feel again." "At least not while I'm awake." "Thanks, Eric." " Anyone else?" " That was very nice, hun." "Yeah, Ed?" ""We must guard against the unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex."" "Dwight D. Eisenhower." "Thanks, Ed." "Okay." "So, Ed?" "His son was killed overseas." "It was a while ago, I think." "You okay?" "Yeah." "I just didn't know that." "My brother's over there." "Really, how long has he been there?" "Well, he did two tours already and then he was home for about a year, thought he was done, but then in December, he went back." "That must be hard." "Yeah, not only because he's over there, but because, you know, he's not here and he's the one person I really wish was right now." "I feel that way about my mom sometimes." "She died a long time ago, don't, and it wasn't unexpected." "It's strange how different they are." "I mean, the long, drawn out kind is its own type of animal, but when it's sudden..." "Well, I mean, you know." "Which one's worse?" "Um, I'm sorry." "Hello, I just wanted to let you know that I've hired a private detective to look at your whereabouts." "Had to take a second job, but hey, you're worth it." "Be on the lookout for a guy driving a Ferrari, wears a Hawaiian shirt, has a killer mustache." "Seriously, Rach, please call me back." "There's something I want to talk to you about." "Eric, it's Melissa." "This is getting a little crazy here." "It would be really good if you would call me back one of these days." "Sooner rather than later." "I'm moving, Eric." "I'll be gone at the end of May, so." "We're running out of time here." "Please call me." "Soon." "Well, the good news is it's nothing to worry about." " That's good." " Yes, but these aren't moles." "They're called mollusca, now, pull down your pants." "Um." "Come on." "Oh, yeah." "Yeah, you have a lot of little ones running down the inside of your thighs." "Looks like a couple on the penis." "I do?" "They're small, so they're harder to spot." "Well, what did you say they're called?" "Molluscum contagiosum." "It's a virus that's transmitted by sexual contact that produces these painless little papules all over." "I'm sorry." "Is this an STD?" "Well, technically, in your case, yes." "The vast majority of adults contract it from skin to skin contact during intercourse and judging from the location of the papules, it's pretty clear that's where you acquired it, but not to worry." "Unlike herpes or HPV, once the initial symptoms clear up, they don't come back." "Now, uh, are you sexually active now?" "No." "When was the last time you were?" "About two months ago." "Or more like three, I guess." "Well, these guys sometimes take a little while to show up and when they do, people tend to ignore them since they don't hurt." "Now, I'm going to give you a cream to apply directly to the penis at home and then, we'll freeze off the ones in the surrounding areas every two weeks or so." "How long did you say the incubation period is?" "Between two and twelve weeks from exposure." "That's it?" "All right." "Now, just lie back." "Hey, where you been?" "Sorry, I totally lost track of time." "I tried calling you." "I know, bad reception." "Thank you." "Who is that?" "Nobody." "Just somebody from work." "I'd been dreading that day for six months." "I just never thought I would be able to make it through Samantha's birthday, but George insisted that we celebrate it, so that's what we did." "Is it weird for you coming back to this neighborhood?" "Sometimes, but not in a bad way." "I do try to steer clear of 73rd street though and keep somewhat of a safe distance from our old place." "When did you know you wanted to marry him?" "Sometime during my senior year." " Oh, God." " What?" "Nothing, it's just all I was focused on senior year of college was fast food and keg stands." " Well, so was I." " Mhm." "Hey, I wasn't born a second grade teacher." "Oh, okay, well, what about you?" "Haven't you ever thought you would marry someone you dated?" "I mean, didn't you think you might marry Gretchen?" "She's the first person I'd ever even thought about it with." "Before that, I don't know." "I just never really saw it happening with anyone but with her, it just seemed to make sense." "I'd actually started saving up for a rock." " Really?" " Yeah, well, not a rock." "More like a pebble, student loans kind of put a damper on the diamond fund." "Why did you drop out of business school?" "Technically, I haven't dropped out." "Thank you very much, I've simply deferred my matriculated studies." "Okay, well, why did you do that?" "I don't know, I've been working in non profit for a few years and it was pretty great, but it's not exactly lucrative." "I just thought getting an MBA would show initiative and show that I was serious about her." "Then, after, you know..." "I don't know, I guess I just didn't know why I was there anymore." "What?" "Sorry, I don't know, I just..." "It just seems like you did a lot for her." "I don't know." "Never really felt like enough." " Hey, easy with the flipping." " What?" "You're only supposed to flip them once otherwise, they get dried out." "Sorry, I didn't realize I had the charbroiling queen of Sag Harbor right here in my backyard." "Well, now you know." "Hey, did you ever worry about Bobby, you know..." "What?" "Never mind." "Never mind." "Being unfaithful?" "How'd you go from grilling techniques to that?" "What, you don't see the segue?" "I'm not saying that he was." "I'm just curious if... you know." "I don't know, never mind." "I never worried about it really." "It crossed my mind once or twice." "At our first homecoming, after college, we were saying hi to all these people we hadn't seen since graduation and there was this girl." "She had been a couple years behind Bobby and me and she lived across the hall from him our senior year and she and her friends were always hanging around his place and I don't know, I just..." "I always thought she had a thing for him, you know?" "Anyway, when we saw her that day, she gave Bobby a hug and she gave me this look." "I don't know, it's just this look like she had something on me, you know?" "That was the only time really." "Did you ask him about it?" "About a look?" "Yeah, I just..." "it was just probably all in my head." "Why'd you ask me that?" "What's up, dudes?" "Hey handsome." "Tony, this is Rachel." "Rachel, this is my son, Tony." "I adopted him last month." "Hey, how are you?" "Hi." "I thought you were playing ball tonight?" "There's some event going on at the gym so we got pushed back an hour." "Fuckin' kids." "Ugh, the worst." "What about you guys?" "Little Sunday night burger action?" "More like hockey pucks if this guy has his way." "Um, is there a bathroom I can use?" "Yes, upstairs and through the kitchen." " Thanks." " Yeah." "Remember what I said." "Yeah, yeah." "She's cute." "So are you." "Reporters at a press conference this morning that the body of a prominent businessman found late last night in a parking lot might be related to the robbery." "Thank you, Eddie." "Up next, a helicopter is shot down in what is now being reported as the worst day of U.S. casualties in 10 years." "Thirty Americans, including twenty-two Navy SEALs and an interpreter, died early Saturday when their Chinook helicopter was shot down." "Dan Lichtenburg reports directly from the Pentagon." "Melissa?" "Hey, it's Eric." "Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm sorry" "I haven't gotten back to you sooner." "Yeah, well I can come by later today." "Will you be around?" "Yeah, I'm around this weekend but I'd honestly rather do it today if that's okay with you." "Sure, that's totally fine." "Yeah, I still have my key." "Okay." "Thank you." "Can you believe it, dude?" "She actually put all my stuff in garbage bags." "Those aren't garbage bags." "They're recycling bags." "Ah!" "Friday!" "Yeah?" "You have any plans this weekend?" "Maybe." "Ow." "Hi." "Hi." "Is Eric here?" "Uh, no." "I'm not sure where he is." "Oh, okay, no big deal, I just, um..." "Do you want to come in and wait?" "I'm not sure how long he'll be but..." "No, no, it's okay." "Just tell him that I'll see him at the church tomorrow night." " Church?" " Yeah, yeah." "The Lazarus Lives thing." "Oh, right." "Okay." " Thanks." " Sure." "Well, looks like the cream worked." "By "worked" you mean "burned like battery acid,"" "then yeah." "Actually, that is what I meant." "Now I know the nitrogen can sting too, so it's probably best to think about something else while I'm spraying." "I do." "That's good." "What do you think about?" "I think about my girlfriend having an orgasm with somebody else." "And that makes the pain better?" "Oh, hey." "I know skin is your thing but I got this pain along the top of my right foot." "It kinda came out of nowhere." "Well, as you say, skin is my thing." "I know, just any idea off the top of your head what it could be?" "Well, it could be anything, it could be a break, a tear, a sprain, anything." "Excuse me, Dr. Rice, your daughter's here." " Really?" " She's in room two." "Oh, thank you... oh, Lydia." "Mr. Battie needs to see somebody over in podiatry." "Could you call over and see when they could squeeze him in?" "Absolutely." "See you in a couple of weeks." "Can't wait." "Hi, sweetie." "Hi, Dad." "Well, look at you." "What's the occasion?" "All right." "Thank you." "All right, she said that you can head over there now and they can squeeze you in." "Lydia, you do good work." "Don't worry, I'm sure it's not a big deal." "Okay, this is the kid they just brought up today." "I don't know anything about this kid." "I scouted this kid, he's on my minor league team and they just brought him up." "I activated him today." "What do you mean I'm not a scout?" "I have a minor league team, I..." "You work in the financial district." "You don't even know where the financial district is." "Sure I do." "Buzz?" "Buzz Aldrin, is that you?" "What an honor, sir." "Did you just get back from the moon?" "What in the world is that thing?" "Called a foot cast, dummy." "For who, Paul Bunyan?" "I'm just kidding man, you can hardly notice it." "Well, why are you wearing it?" "Because apparently, I have a stress fracture." "A stress fracture?" "What the hell is that?" "Is it from all your stress?" "Give me those shoulders." "What are you doing to yourself, buddy?" "Doctor says, it's brought on by an excessive amount of exercise." "Apparently, if I don't wear this," "I might wind up needing surgery." "Jesus." "How long do you have to wear it for?" "Three to six weeks." "Sounds like your body's telling you to ease up, man." "Maybe give yourself a break." "Excuse me, ma'am." "Can we get a high-chair for my friend here?" "His bones haven't formed yet actually." "Very brittle." "So, I'm out of options." "I've been waiting to hear back from you but no luck and now I have to leave this on your machine like I'm, I don't know," "Publishers Clearing House or something." "Rach, Josh and I are getting married." "He asked me a couple weeks ago." "I wanted to tell you on the phone, if not in person, but I just..." "You're getting married?" "Ha!" "She lives." "I just..." "Oh, my God!" "Congratulations!" "Experience bereavement in any number of ways." "The most important thing to remember is that it is not your place..." "So, how was the moon?" "Sorry, has everyone been doing that to you lately?" "No, you're the first one." "I can't even be annoyed because I started the trend." "I got married first and they all came to my wedding and then, I skipped all of theirs." "Why?" "They weren't just my friends and to them, it's like everything from before Bobby died, never happened, like the person I was doesn't even exist anymore." "Does she?" "That can't be the only thing that defines who I am." "It can't be." "But, Carrie, she is such a good friend." "So, tell her how you feel." "How do you tell someone that you've been good friends with for 10 years who has never done a bad thing to you in her life that you've avoided hanging out with her because you're afraid it will make you feel weird." "Well, I could tell her for you." "I mean, if you give me her number," "I will straighten that girl out right quick." "When's the wedding anyway?" "October." "Oh, do you have to go?" "Well, she asked me to be her maid of honor." "Well, maybe you could compromise?" "Maybe you could DJ or valet, can you drive a stick?" "You're a huge help you know that?" "Okay, okay." "I mean, October is like five months away." "It's plenty of time to mentally prepare yourself." "Actually, I kind of offered to have them and a few other people over to my place next week to celebrate their engagement." "Well, that was nice of you." "Yeah, well, you know, it seems selfish to have a place on the water and never let your friends take advantage." "Plus this way, if you lose your shit and you burn the place down, at least you're insured." "Yeah." "It's actually next Sunday." "So, I won't be at the meeting." "Well, Jules will be crushed, but I'll break it to her gently." "Do you need any... any help?" "Any backup?" "I think I'm okay." "Well, okay." "Cool." "Hey, man, where you..." "Where you coming from?" "Just out." "With your friend Rachel?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I meant to tell you she stopped by yesterday." " Okay." " Yeah but she said she'd just see you tonight at the meeting." "Eric." "Eric, look." "What are you going through my stuff now?" "I'm worried about you." "Look, I'm not judging you for going to this thing." " Maybe it was helpful for you." " Tony." "But this girl, Eric, this whole thing, you gotta to be careful here." "Don't be like Gretchen, man." "You know, everyone always thought she was hot shit." "Pretty and funny and whatever else but what I mostly saw was a girl who did whatever she wanted whenever she wanted regardless of how it ever made you feel." "Whatever made her happy was what always came first and you know what, somewhere along the line you started believing that was okay." "You bought right the fuck in, man." "You put aside everything that was important to you and you started trying to fit into this mold of what you thought she wanted you to be and she let you do that." "So, what am I supposed to think?" "And now this whole thing with this girl." "Eric..." "Was it her husband?" "Oh, man." "You don't understand." "Hey, John Glenn!" "Shouldn't you be in orbit?" "What's his problem?" "Hi, it's Rachel, did I wake you?" "Okay, good." "Yeah, yeah, everything's all set up." "I just um..." "Well, I was thinking about your offer for backup and well, um, do you have any plans today?" " Hi." " Hi." "Wait, you said your train was 1:45 right?" "12:45 but..." "Oh, my God, shit, I'm so sorry!" "No, it's okay, it's..." " Wow." " Yeah." "Good thing it comes in black, huh?" "I'm wildly overdressed, aren't I?" "Come in." "They fit." "Yeah, how about that." "Sorry." "I just heard "engagement party"" "and I figured..." "Oh, it's totally my bad." "I should've told you." "So, what can I do to help?" "You're already doing it." "Oh." " Hi!" " Hey!" "Are we early?" "Oh, no, not at all." "Come in, come in." "Lord girl, look at this place!" "It's unbelievable." " Hi." " Hi." "Don't mind me, I'm just dropping off my dry cleaning." "Eric, this is Carrie and Josh." "Carrie and Josh, this is Eric." " Hello." " How's it going?" "Good, good, nice to meet you and congratulations by the way." "Oh, thank you so much." "Is there some place I should put these or maybe just chuck them in the trash you think?" "Oh, yeah, I think that would be best." "No, you can just put it in that room you got changed in." "Okay." "So it was AmeriCorps?" "Yeah, well, I did a year with Habitat as part of AmeriCorp and then I signed on full time for another three years after that." " Oh, wow, so, oh." " Wow, girl!" "This is a real pool service resort you're running here." "Yeah, just charge these to the room, please?" " Oh, you got it." " Okay, so, you're not there anymore though?" "No, helping low income families just seems so shallow, you know?" "Yeah, totally." "So I went to business school instead because the world needs sell outs right?" "I don't think it's selling out." "I mean, it's not like business and non profit are mutually exclusive." "Yeah, totally." "Like, my cousin went to Stern, and now she works for this NGO where she helps small business owners in developing countries." "Wow." "She sounds like a real bitch." "Wow." "It was a joke." "Hi." "Excuse me." "Okay, so we are stuck in this airport in Houston on like a two hour layover and Rachel is running into the bathroom like every 30 seconds." "Hey, I'm standing right here." "Because this one thought it was okay to drink the water in Cancun but not bathe in it." "Okay, I see, Carrie wants to have story time." "Okay, okay." "I digress, my lips are sealed." "♪ Keep coming back for more" "It was hilarious, when we get back to New York and Dr. Rice picked us up at the airport, he looks like he wants to have Rachel quarantined." " Dr. Rice?" " Yeah, Rachel's dad." "He's the sweetest." "He treated me for psoriasis a few years ago." "It was really gross." "Thank God for doctor/patient confidentiality, right?" "This was supposed to be your thing, man!" "Was this not supposed to be your thing?" "No kidding, you just got beat by a couple of old ladies." "Oh, my Lord." "Jimmy, it's a long train ride home, you better think about what you've done." "Chin chin." "Speaking of which, it's time for us to go." " Boo!" " Oh, I know, I'm lame." "Would you let me help you clean up before we go?" "Oh, no, no, no, I got it, you just catch your train." " No." " Oh, come on." "This is a lot of shit here." "Are you sure?" "Is there another train after this one, or?" "I think the last was 8:43." "All right, well, you guys go and I'll help clean up and catch the next train after this." " Yeah." " That's good for me." "All right, cool." "Well, it was so, so nice meeting you." "It was nice to meet you too and congratulations again, guys." " Thank you." " Thanks." "All right." "Get, get." "Go." " Will you please stop?" " Okay, okay." "♪ So I'm here with smoking guns ♪" "♪ Please forgive me for what I've done ♪" "♪ I apologize, I know that was wrong ♪" "♪ From the bottom of my heart" "♪ Though I never meant to leave those scars ♪" "♪ I apologize, I know this is hard ♪" "♪ Yes, I apologize, I know this is done ♪" "Seriously, don't worry about it." "I'll take care of it tomorrow." "Hey, just because I only have one foot doesn't mean I can't lend a hand." "Ugh!" "Oh!" "Ooh." "How long have I been doing this?" "I'm going to go with the better part of our adult lives." "You know what." "Here, let me try, gimme me this thing." "I have a lot of experience getting stains out of carpets." "Pudding, urine, tears, you know?" "Okay, we are definitely going to need something stronger." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Um, what do you got back there?" "What do you think?" "I dunno, should we burn it?" "I don't know." " I think maybe..." " Um-hmm." "Oh, man." "Rach, I, uh..." "I don't know how to..." "I'm sorry, I uh..." "Morning." "Morning." "Don't you have school?" "Spring break." "I should head in, I'm already late." "You need a ride to the station?" "I can call a cab." "Okay." "There's a number on the fridge." "Well, thanks." "I'll see you Sunday." "♪ I apologize, I know this is hard ♪" "♪ Yes, I apologize, I know this is hard ♪" "Come in." "Hey, sweetie." "Aren't we meeting at noon?" "Yeah, I thought I'd beat the traffic." "Smart girl." "Just give me a minute." "You okay?" "Mm-hm." "You sure?" "Mm-hm." "Rachel." "It won't go away." "It won't go away." "I know, I know." "It's okay." "Two years, God!" "I know." "And now, there's..." "there's this guy." "He's a part of that group I go to sometimes." "Right?" "We've become friends and I just..." "I don't know, does it..." "Does it ever go away?" "I don't know, Rachel, but it'll be different." "I promise you." "How, I mean, every time" "I feel like I might be getting a little bit better I just go right back to where I was." "Rachel, sweetie." "That's not true." "Do you remember the first six months?" "Yeah." "Thank you." "So, I guess spring has finally arrived, for real this time." "Yeah, and in a month, dry summer." "You been shopping classifieds?" "Yeah, the personals," ""Lonely, creepy bachelor seeks same."" "Oh." "Actually, I'm thinking about finding a new place." "Neighborhood's a bit of a ghost town for me." "Have any plans for the summer?" "You know, not really." "I don't know." "I make a lot of..." "Every summer I make a lot of big plans, you know?" "Whether or not they happen." "Yeah, I know what you mean." "Look, Eric, um..." "About that night I, um..." "I wanna..." "I just want to make sure that you know that I am..." "Rach, hold on!" "Rach!" "Rachel, listen, listen!" "I know how this looks, okay?" "Rachel, I know you think I lied to you." "I know you think I made this whole thing up but I didn't, Rach." "Okay, I didn't!" "Everything else I told you was true." "No, it wasn't." "Four months ago, she disappeared without any warning whatsoever." "She moved 3,000 miles away and I was never going to see her again, ever!" "And yet, here she is." "Rach, until today, she might as well have been dead." "Eric, Eric!" "If she was dead, you would never have to explain it, ever!" "♪ And you asked what you wanted ♪" "♪ And the rest, it begins" "♪ With attacking tone" "♪ For crying, I don't understand ♪" "♪ When you find it's over" "♪ Seeing the light up ahead ♪" "♪ Is the darkness over" "♪ Starting to break and forget ♪" "♪ Cause I know one way out" "They seemed to have isolated themselves to the inner thigh." "Everything else looks pretty good." "How much longer do you think?" "Till they go away." "You still think about something else each time I spray?" "Yup." "Still the same thing?" "Really depends." "Okay, you're good for today." "Let's see." "It's pretty good, huh?" "I thought the cold sore one had a better ending but that is a pretty solid page turner." "What are you doing here?" "Dr. Rice is my dermatologist." "Dr. Rice is my father." "Small world." "Hey sweetie." "Hi." "Here they are." "Thank you, thank you." "Um." "So, I guess you already know Eric Battie?" "Yes, indeed I do." "Eric and I, uh..." "We both used to go to that group together." "Ah, oh." "Oh." "Well, I have someone waiting." " Okay." " Have fun, sweetie." "Thanks." "Any plans?" "Another wedding." "Have you been going to the..." "Yeah, me neither, obviously." "Well, I mean, don't worry." "No one knows about it." "I didn't belong there to begin with." "Besides, I'm actually moving back downtown." "When?" "Today." "Yeah, I think it's more my speed and plus it's closer to school." "Oh, so you decided to go back?" "Yeah, figured I'd give it another shot." "Well, um, good luck with that." "Thanks." "Enjoy the wedding." "Did you talk to her?" "What did she have to say?" "Doesn't matter." "Anyway, she took off again, so." " She did?" " Yeah, she was just in town picking up the rest of her stuff." "She's back in Oregon for good." "Did you say anything to her?" "Yeah, I told her to find a good dermatologist." "Well, I'm gonna go." "It was good seeing you again." "It's from my brother." "Oh." "How's he doing?" "Surviving." "Rachel..." "I'm so sorry." "I never meant to..." "I just..." "I couldn't shake it." "I couldn't shake the feeling that someone had died." "I was certain of it but I was wrong about who." "Eric, no part of you has died." " Eric." " I can't imagine what you went through." "I just can't imagine." "How did you survive?" "Thank you." " Oh, man." " We're going downtown?" "Yes." "Yes, please."