"Hi, honey." "Hi." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Dr. Shapiro to radiology." "Dr. Shapiro, please report to radiology." " Hey, Joel." "I'm Les, man." " Pleasure." "Sorry I'm late, man." "Man, these people around here got me running around like a dog." "Broke your neck, huh?" "I was hoping no one would notice." "That halo's a dead giveaway, man." "How'd it happen?" "Hiking accident." "Damn!" "Out enjoying nature." "So, what do you do for a living, Joel?" "I'm a writer." "Is that right?" "I'm a Stephen King man myself." "You like him?" "He's fast." "Yeah, he's something else, man." "You got your hands?" "It's all right, man." "Don't sweat it." "They got computers, right?" "You can type with your tongue." "Les!" "Cincinnati trails 3-1." "They push one run across." "Three-one delivery..." "Baby's comin' home" "Les!" "Be right back, man." "I am!" "I am!" "I am!" "Les, I am!" "Les, Vernon's calling you." "Yeah, thanks a lot." "Maybe I oughta teach him your name." "Joel, this is Rosa." "Rosa, this is Joel." "Hi, Joel." "Les!" "See, the way it works around here..." "Is she's got the certificate, but I really do all the work." "Don't listen to him." "He's always complaining." "Just stating the facts, ma'am." "Just stating the facts." "I am!" "Hey, Jimmy, how ya doin'?" "Mr. Gibson, hope they had you up walking." "Oh, you know they did." "Rosita, Rosita, eres tan bonita." "Victor!" "Flirting in front of your wife?" "Shame on you." "Um, everybody, say hello to Joel." "He'll be with us for a while." "I am!" "The guy almost kills me, and he sends me fucking candy, mom." "They look really expensive, Bloss." "Did you see the card?" "The card is really nice." "Mommy, what do you want?" "You want me to send him a fucking thank-you note?" "Les, I am!" "I'm here, Vernon." "Don't worry about that." "You'll get used to it." "I'll go get your bed." "Les!" "Yeah, look, I just wanna talk to my woman." "A man has got a right to talk to his woman, doesn't he?" "No, I don't wanna hold!" "Shit, I'm... shit." "I am!" "I'm gonna fuckin' kill you, Vernon, if you don't shut the fuck up!" "I'm gonna slap you silly if you don't shut the fuck up." "He does it just to bother me, mom." "Rosa, we got to do something about these phone people." "I can't even call my woman." "I know, Raymond." "Well, it's frustrating." "Rosa!" "I need you in 57 right now." "Just a second." "If you need anything, just holler, okay?" "I'll be back." "Mom." "Mom, I'm interested in stories, okay?" "What?" "I am!" "I am!" "Ready to put you through." "It's about time." "What the hell y'all doing over there, playing dominoes?" "There's no need for sarcasm, sir." "I am!" "Signorelli's pizza." "Gotta put you on hold." "Now this is ridiculous." "Mama, please, look." "Did you get the lawyer?" "Well, I tell ya, I tried, Bloss, but I couldn't get that blond off the phone today." "Did you know she's going out with that Arthur again?" "Yeah, mom, you told me." "I did?" "I told you?" "You told me." "She's sleeping with an army a week, mom!" "And she's still leading the man on." "Mom, look, we gotta get this lawyer thing arranged, mom." "Les!" "I swear to God, Vernon!" "Got you in the halo, huh?" "Yeah, man, I call that thing a crown of thorns." "I thought they was gonna screw that thing right into my brain." "How you doing?" "My name is Raymond hill." "My friends call me Ray." "Joel." "Nice to meet you, Joel." "Nice to meet you." "Oh, this here?" "Yeah, well, crazy man chewed it off in a fight." "But that was in my lawless days." "Look, Joel, if you need anything... glass of water, something from the snack bar, Les!" "Anything like that..." "you just call on me, okay?" " Thanks." " All right." "It's a hard knock, isn't it, buddy?" "Yeah, but one thing you got to remember through it all..." "Is that God got his plan." "Now take me, for instance." "I mean, I got a wife, a beautiful child." "I was treating' 'em bad, you know..." "lying', cheating', drinkin'." "I guess God just slowed me down now so I can appreciate 'em." "Know what I mean?" "I am, Les, I am!" "Goddamn!" "Pile of brain sludge!" "Les!" "Les, I am." "That was not nice." "I should get you out of bed..." "And make you apologize to that poor man right now." "Hey, hey, there you are." "How you doing?" "Raymond hill." "My friends call me Ray." "Hi, I'm Anna." "Well, it's nice to meet you, Anna." "You two are married, huh?" "No, we're friends." "Oh, excuse me." "I saw the ring." "And I just..." "I'm married." "You are?" "Oh, right, right." "How is Donald?" "David." "His name is David." "Oh, I gotcha." "Yeah, Raymond hill understands these matters." "Ooh!" "You're a lucky man there, Joel." "A very perceptive guy." "Yeah." "Friends, huh?" "Well, I like you." "I'm back, gentlemen." "Boy, did we miss you, nursey." "Love you too, Bloss." "Hey, we're gonna have that bed in five minutes." "I won't move." "Mr. Gibson, ready to get in bed?" "Oh, you know I am." "Let's do it." "I went over a couple of chapters, but you don't wanna start back so soon, do you?" "There's not much else to do." "I brought you..." "These." "Kinda quiet in here, isn't it?" "Yeah, very unusual." "Yeah." "Very unusual." "Be right back." "Thanks." "Shit." "Vernon's not breathing." "Call the code." "Pulse?" "He's back." "Okay, respiration is spontaneous." "Let's get him to I.C.U." "What are you thinking?" "Did you tell Donald?" "David?" "Yeah, of course I did." "I mean, about us." "I'm going to." "I should go." "It's late." "Okay?" "Good night." "Anna." "Hmm?" "You seem to be taking all this rather well." "Oh!" "Sleep well." "If he died, I mean, there could be murder charges, then we'd have to be called in as witnesses." "Bullshit." "It's not bullshit." "That's the truth." "You know this hospital isn't concerned about you." "Take care, beautiful." "Good night." "At least, manslaughter." "Shut up, Raymond." "Well, I think I should be more depressed than I am, but I'm not." "Why is that?" "My mom and my sister came to visit when I was in intensive, but I was..." "I was so high on morphine, I didn't really notice." "I couldn't really tell who they were, which pretty much sums up my family, I guess." "It's a nice sweater you've got on there." "Do all shrinks wear sweaters?" "I remember Judd Hirsch had a nice sweater on inordinary people." "I really rely mainly on my girlfriend in this." "Yeah, she is nice." "She's great." "She's a great girl." "Smart, funny." "Unfortunately, she's married to someone else, so that he does not know what's really going on." "It's really... it's not my problem." "He's her problem." "And... she's my problem." "And... now there's this problem, so... what, uh, what are you writing there?" "Well, you know, I'm-I'm-I'm hopeful." "I am." "I'm hopeful." "Oh, no, no, no." "I'm anticipating a psychological crash." "I have it penciled into my calendar already." "I think it happens, you know, next week sometime." "You know, I'm a writer." "That's what I do." "And I don't need to walk to do that." "So, uh, this is denial, right, doc?" "Hey, Victor." "How you doing?" "Bien, bien." "I have five months of this." "Well, it could be worse." "It could be your cooking." "Anna, I never cooked." "I heated." "How we doing, Mr. Gibson?" "All right." "Yeah, I figured that." "How you doing, nurse?" "Here you go, Ray." "Sorry, man, but that was the last extra one they had." "You have to go with what the good lord gives you." "Fish is pretty good, huh, Joel?" "You'll think so too after a few months." "Macradenal." "Wh-what about a painkiller?" "I want a painkiller." "Later." "Enjoy your fish." "Oyeles, mi amigo." "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I almost forgot." "Teatro de kung fu, right?" "Wait a minute, man." "Oh, come on, Bloss, man." "You know that every time we vote on this stuff, it always ends up the same way." "Oh, yeah?" "In case you haven't noticed, there's another patient in the room." "Not to mention, one less Mexican." "Eh, amigo?" "Why don't we take ourselves another vote?" "All right, you wanna vote, we'll vote." "We already know your vote." "Victor, we know your vote." "Mr. Gibson, what do you say?" "Les, you know me." "Whatever's on is all right with me." "All right, fair enough." "Ray, what you say?" "Don't like football and I don't like kung fu." "Okay, we have three abstentions, we got one kung fu, we got one football." "Joel, it's on you, man." "Uh, yeah, I'll just give my vote to you, Les." "Yeah, great." "We're gonna have to flip a coin." "Flip a coin, my ass." "Hey, we gotta stick together on this thing, Joe." "I-I don't really watch tv." "Ain't about tv, man." "It's about football, man." "Motherfuckin' raiders!" "Listen, around here, you and me, we gotta stick together, man." "What are you talking about?" "I'm talking about not letting these niggers and spicks take over this room, man." "My last name is Garcia, Bloss." "Joel Garcia." "Hey, hey, come on, big guy, call it." "You should channel this hostility in a more positive direction." "You're a little prick, you know that, man?" "Come on, Bloss." "Heads or tails, man." "Heads." "Tails it is, man." "Whoo!" "Garcia!" "Garcia?" "Oh, boy, that's deep." "That is deep." "Les..." "I am." "Guess who's in the private room." "I am." "Here we go." "Ready to roll." "Gonna have to buy me one of those vans with a lift." "All right." "Okay." "You clear over there?" "Yeah, I'm good." "All right." "You okay?" "Yes, I'm fine." "Whoo!" "Whoo!" "Cheryl, get him... get him under the chair." "Now." "Looks a little pale." "Are you okay?" "Maybe a little dizzy, but... get that chair under him, Cheryl!" "I got him." "It's nothing to worry about." "Here he goes." "Joel." "Joel?" "Here he is." "Ah, better wait on that van." "Mm-hmm." "Make way, harley!" "Ooh, you're so pitiful." "Pitiful!" "Fuck you!" "You're pitiful." "You know you're so pitiful." "Shut the fuck up!" "What's the matter, harley, you running out of gas?" "Uh-oh." "Uh-oh!" "Come on, harley." "I'm gonna wait for you." "Come on, baby." "Harley Davidson ain't shit compared to a Cadillac." "Fuck you, motherfucker!" "Whoo!" "Yes, can I help you?" "Yeah, hello?" "That's mine." "Yeah, I've been waiting for about ten minutes." "That's just the way things are sometimes, isn't it?" "Please hold." "Wait." "Wait." "No, no." "Forget it." "Hey there, Mr. Gibson." "How you doing?" "All right." "Wonderful." "Wonderful." "Hi." "How are you?" "Hey." "Psych!" "Les!" "Hey!" "Won't be too long before the new bambino is here, huh?" "That's wonderful." "You know, I got a little girl..." "Starletta." "Beautiful child." "There's a picture of her over there." "Les!" "Rosa, why don't you go see what Vernon wants?" "It's not my name he's calling." "Les!" "What's wrong with him, anyway?" "Broken neck, a head injury." "Kind of cut his vocabulary to a minimum." "Les!" "I'll be right back." "Les!" "Les!" "Look, man, I'm all wet again." "Gizmo done busted." "Give me five minutes, okay, Ray?" "Okay." "Okay." "Hey, how you doing there, halo head?" "So, you're a writer, huh?" " Some people think so." " Yeah?" "Well, that's great." "That's great." "You know, Raymond hill is a man of many stories." "True things... make your asshole go tight." "See, see, I was settled down when this happened to me." "You know, just on my way to buy a pack of cigarettes." "Two guys jumped me, beat the hell out of me and throw me in the L.A. river." "Joel, ain't no water in that river." "I mean, I have to admit, I was kind of wild and kind of crazy." "Take this, for instance." "Now, you see this?" "Crazy ass ho chopped it off with a straight razor." " I thought that a crazy man chewed..." " Joel!" "You got to watch those women." "They're soul stealers." "Now let's take that one you got, for instance." "Now, she a pretty one, but she's a soul stealer." "N-now no matter what happens, part of your soul is gonna be gone, so you might as well be glad to give it on up." "You know, I do remember that." "I had one woman like that once." "Oh, she was a beauty." "White woman." "Her name was Annabelle Lee." "Stripper." "Three weeks in a tiny little bed in a tiny little room." "Ray." "Ray, what do we gotta do, man, huh?" "We gotta listen to your stories all day and night, man?" "Just mind your business, Bloss." "Me and this man here are talkin'." "You're talkin', man." "He's being polite while you're telling him lies." " What lies?" " Lies, man." "Just shut up." "You know, Bloss, I'm gonna tell you something." "See, it don't matter to me none if you keep your mind closed." "That's okay." "But it does concern me when you start libeling my good name." "Gonna do more than libel your name, man." "This man got a problem with the race." "I told him it's nothing but ignorance and fear." "That's all it is..." "ignorance and fear." "You're a writer, tell him." "Tell him!" "Ignorance and fear." "Fuck you!" "Well, it could just be a zinc deficiency." "That's exactly what I was gonna say to him!" "I told that man there." "I said, "the black man know how to please a white woman."" "Hey, Ray, wh-where is this white woman if she's in love with you?" "Where is she?" "I don't know where she is, bubblehead!" "Oh, yeah." "Mr. big shit with all the women, man." "Your wife don't even come to visit you, homey." "I'll tell you what, man." "Just to shut you the fuck up." "I'll wager good money that this white bitch don't even exist, except in your fuckin' black head, man." "Mm-hmm, fantasy island, motherfucker." "Oh, yeah?" "Yeah, right." "Yeah." "All that money that you're supposed to be making from this lawsuit of yours, huh?" "Mm-hmm." "Money that you couldn't match, man." "I'll match anything you put down." "Come on, you two." "What, man?" "What do you want, man?" "Come on with it." " Come with it." " Fifty bucks?" "That ain't shit." "Hundred dollars." "Oh, a hundred dollars." "That's shit, man." "Whatever you wanna bet, man." "Just shut up." "You got it." "You got it." "Rosa, you hear that?" "You're a witness." " You leave me out of this." " We got a bet." "Yeah, we got a bet." "Now you gotta prove yourself." "Don't worry about it." "I'll figure it out." "You boys better not cause me any trouble." "Just tell him to shut up, all right, man?" "Does any of these people go home around here, man?" "Rosa!" "Rosa!" "They said they were going to keep the hardcover graphics." "I put in my two cents, but I don't run the place." "Sexy picture of you, though." "Before the haircut?" "Okay, try the keyboard." "They told me it's the softest touch." "Okay." "How does it feel?" "It feels... it feels great." "Joel!" "I have to see him." "I have to go home." "Type." "No!" "Type." "Even though the spinal cord patient can get a reflex erection, it's not going to feel the same." "Orgasm, as you've known it, is very rare." "You have to learn to experiment..." "With your partner." "Communicate." "Learn what you like, find out what they like." "Oral sex comes in handy." "Whoa, wait." "No, there ain't gonna be none of that." " Did you say something, Raymond?" " Look, doc," "I don't mean no disrespect, but a woman was put on this earth to serve a man." "I just... that's just a biological fact." "I think there are a few of us in this room, Raymond, who might argue that point." "Doc, what you saying to me is that you want me to eat some pussy." "Now, now, black men don't eat pussy." "What you gonna do, Raymond, use a straw?" "Maybe I'll use your big, nappy head." "That's what I'll do." "It is your choice, Raymond, but I've been in this chair for 18 years." "Oh, and you're saying you go down on a woman?" "Every chance I get, Raymond." "Well, that's disgusting." "That's just absolutely disgusting." "Dear Anna," "I wish I could say all that needs to be said about us." "From here, just now, I cannot." "The halo is off, thank God." "For the first time since the fall, I'm allowed the luxury..." "Of warm, free water to cleanse me." "Every third day at dawn, I'm showered." "What a simple pleasure that is." "Such a short time ago..." "it seems like forever... we lay in your tiny room in Santa Monica, not caring as the cool night melted into morning." "Now's not the time to decide the future." "I'm sorry for trying to force things." "Time here has stopped." "Visitors come and go." "Each face blending into the next." "No face yours." "Everyone tells me I look good." "I smile, make jokes." "They laugh, wish me well." "They leave." "I remain here, this place." "They packed us into the van and took us to a football game the other day." "On the way back, we passed a strip joint, and Raymond told us therein danced his Annabelle Lee." "Bloss called him a liar." "I'm convinced that in a perfect world, those two men would be lovers." "My wild, optimistic imagination." "Anna, three weeks without you seems such a long time, especially now." "But I understand." "Nothing is easy." "You'll be back soon." "We'll play scrabble." "We will find the words." "Love, Joel." "What?" "The keys to the van." "I hope you trust my driving, 'cause tonight I'm taking you out to eat some crow." "You're on, man." "Fifty-five." "Is there a certain dog in here somewhere?" "Hey, hey, what the hell is this?" "Who let this low-life element in here?" "Hey, hey, calm yourself down!" "I got family coming today." "Hey, hey, hey, hey, look!" "Shut the fuck up, Raymond." "This drinking is against the rules." "Fuckin' crazy nigger, man." "Thinks he's the fuckin' mayor of the hospital, man." "Got some presents for you." "This one's named Lucille." "Gimme a kiss, Lucille." "You kiddin' me, man?" "I'm gonna be motherfuckin' rollin' in the money, man." "First thing I'm gonna do, I'm gonna buy my mom a new house, then I'm gonna get myself a motherfuckin' harley with a lift on it, man." "Hey, what's the, uh, what's the deal with the dude?" "You know, the money guy." "I don't know, man." "Let's give him a call." "Number's over in the top drawer." "Gimme the phone." "We'll have some fun." "This must be it." "Operator." "Give me 555-9030." "All my lines are busy right now." "Please hold." "I ain't got all day to wait on hold, motherfucker!" "Big man's got this Asian woman walking on his back." "Wait a minute." "Hello." "Hello?" "How ya doin', Mr. Raider?" "Uh, who is this?" "It don't matter who this is, man." "It's the fuckin' L.A. times." "I don't understand." "Who is this?" "You care to comment on this $2.5 million lawsuit you got going, man, huh?" "Make you think twice before you go runnin' over innocent people..." "With your fuckin' Mercedes Benz, huh, man?" "Don't you hang up on me, motherfucker!" "Got him running scared, bro." "Don't forget who your friends are when you're a rich man." "Hey, what the fuck you lookin' at, Garcia?" "Want a beer, bro?" "Raymond." "Hey, Rachel." "Baby, I was watching for you to come in over there." "I parked on the other side." "Girl, you know, you look good." "Mm-mm-mm." "Boy, you look good!" "Hey, Starletta." "How you doing, baby?" "Look." "Look what daddy's got for you." "Come on." "Give your father a kiss, girl." "I need to sit down, Raymond." "Starletta wants a coke." "Okay." "All right." "Yeah, we'll just go into the snack bar." "Come on, girl." "Now, Rachel, you know, baby, I get outta here in two months." "I mean, a woman needs a man." "A child needs a father." "Please, Raymond." "Baby, I devote my life to you, now you..." "I mean, besides, who's gonna... who's gonna take care of you, anyway?" "Look, Raymond, I'm doin' fine." "I've always done fine." "Yeah, I know that, and I know I've treated you bad in the past." "But the past is the past." "Look, I don't want to go through this again." "Just do this for me, okay?" "Rachel, we are a family." "I'm not gonna divorce my family." "You're just making this hard on me, then." "Rachel, we are a family, and I can't divorce my family." "I gotta go." "Wait." "Wait." "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." "Baby, I give you God's love, if you just give me a chance." "I mean, I'm a changed man." "I ain't the way I used to be." "Come on, Starletta." "Rachel, you can't walk outta here like this." "Tell your daddy thank you for the coke." " Thank you for the coke." " You're welcome, baby." "Wait, give daddy..." "Rachel!" "Ra-Rachel!" "Rachel, you my wife!" "You supposed to be at my side!" "Rachel!" "What time?" "What time for what?" "Annabelle Lee." "There ain't no Annabelle Lee." "We got a bet or what, man?" "Forget the bet, forget the trip and just leave me be, okay?" "Get that cigar out of here, Bloss." "You know the rules." "There's the motherfuckers that won't put our calls through." "Hey!" "Hey, in there!" "Bring your asses out here." "I wanna make a complaint!" "Hey, goddamn it!" "I know you hear me!" "Probably sitting' on your butts like you usually do!" "Hey, bring your asses out here!" "Raymond." "Goddamn..." "get your hands off me!" "Hey, don't you know you're fuckin' with people's lives?" "Squeaky-voice motherfuckers, maybe I'll break your fuckin' neck!" "Are you all right?" "No, I'm not all right." "He was handing them the money, and they shot him." "Poor kid." "Right there in his father's store." "Fuckin' punks, man." "Mom!" "Come on, cut the fingernails, not my fingertips." "You're such a baby." ""Worms." "Snoot."" "That makes 9, 10, 11, 12... 16." "I loved your letter." "Well, why didn't you write me back?" "I can't write." "You know that." "Maybe you're afraid of what you might say." "Anna... don't." "Is this okay?" "Yeah." "What's your name, man?" "My name's sang." "I'm Bloss." "Listen, man, if you need anything around here, you know, anything at all, you let me know, okay?" "I mean that." "You play tennis, man?" "Gimme the juice." "Knock, knock." "Medication time." "Just a minute." "Hold on." "Okay." "Oh, Jesus." "Hope I'm not interrupting anything." "Um... here." "Thanks." "He refuses to learn his bowel program." "Me and Rosa had to spend all last week just trying to get him up on that toilet." "Cheryl Lynn says he won't even dress himself in the morning." "Mm-hmm." "It's not our problem the nigger won't dress himself or dig his own shit." "When his day comes, he's outta here." "You tell him that." "I already did." "Rosa!" "You're adorable." "Well, good night." "Good night." "You still like me?" "You're okay." "Anna?" "Do you have a minute?" "Sure." "Um, we understand the patient's need for..." "sex therapy." "But on the ward, well, the other patients tend to feel..." "Left out." "Of course." "Then, there's something about insurance, which even I can't figure out." "If it were up to me, I'd change the rules." "I understand your dilemma." "I'm sorry to embarrass you." "We all have our needs." "No, it's, um..." "I mean, y-yes." "Middle button." "Hey!" "Here we go, back into gimp palace." "All you gimps." "You cripples!" "Whoo, she's gonna ask me, "can I still get it up?"" "Shit, yeah, I can get it up." "I'm Raymond hill." "Got plenty of women." "Women all across the country." "Shoot!" "Gonna ask me if I don't know what I'm doin'." "I know." "Matter of fact, gonna call her right now..." "And tell her she can come and sit on me and this chair." "Hey, Rosa?" "Rosa?" "Carmelita?" "Rodriguez." "Concepcion." "Why the hell you all got so many damn names?" "Shh!" "Family." "Every man..." "daughter needs a father." "Rosa!" "Rosa!" "Shit!" "Jesus Christ, Ray!" "What the hell are you trying to do, man?" "What does it look like I'm trying to do?" "Get to bed." "That's what I'm trying to do." "It's all right, Les." "It's okay." "I'll get up there myself." "I don't give a shit." "Goddamn only..." "I ain't nothin' but a goddamned statistic around here, anyway." "Les, all these people in here is prejudice." "Shh!" "People are trying to sleep." "All of them is prejudice." "Where is Rosa at?" "She was supposed to give me my pain... you've been drinking, Ray." "I ain't been drinkin'!" "You've been drinkin', and you know the rules!" "Les, I ain't... you're supposed to be my friend." "I ain't gonna sit here and let you libel my good name." "Get off of me." "Where's the supervisor?" "People are trying to sleep, Ray." "Supervisor!" "Sleepin'?" "Oh, okay." "Hey, hey, halo." "Halo." "He can't hear you, Ray." "He's asleep." "I'm sorry I woke you up, motherfucker." "I went out and got some women!" "Come on, Ray." "Hey, Bloss, I saw Annabelle." "I saw Annabelle, Bloss." "Okay, okay, okay, you just keep quiet." "You'll be all right." "Oh, Les!" "It'll be all right." "Call my wife, Les." "That's all right." "We'll call them in the morning." "No, no, no." "I wanna talk to Starletta." "She need a father." "You just need to sleep." "I need a family, Les." "I ain't gonna be nothin' without no family." "What am I gonna be?" "It's gonna be all right, Ray." "You just relax." "G-g-get my wife on the phone." "Just go to sleep." "I ain't got no family." "What am I gonna do?" "We'll call them in the morning." "So, they're just gonna dump this guy on the highway with 20 bucks..." "And a new leg bag and say, "good luck, Raymond"?" "Yep." "I'd, uh, I'd feel sorry for him, but I'm saving up all my pity for myself." "You haven't used any yet?" "That much." "Sorry I took so long." "At last." "You two have fun today." "Thanks." "So long, saps!" "I bought you this tape, didn't I?" "Our third date." "I already had the cd, by the way." "I never told you that." "Obviously, I was not thinking too clearly." "Half a year of those looks every time I went in the office." " I never gave you looks." " Oh, now, you gave me looks." "You gavemelooks." "You gave me looks." "Oops!" "Oops!" "A wind!" "It blew out of my hand." "You fucker!" "I'm sorry." "I'll buy you another one." "I hate you." "Ah, good choice." "Yeah." "Romantic." "Now, you were heading?" "Uh, I was heading this way, east." "And, um, he was coming up brower, heading north." "And?" "I went through the intersection." "Roughly how fast were you going?" "Mr. Dorsinski?" "What?" "About how fast were you going?" "I don't know." "About 30, 35." "You all right, Bloss?" "I'm fine, mom." "So, he crossed through and hit you in the middle of the intersection." "That's what I said, didn't I?" "Look, can we talk about this in a restaurant?" "I gotta find a bathroom." "What?" "I want to look at you." "Joel, I'm shy." "Let me." "Please." "What's wrong?" "Mm, it's wet." "Oh, shit!" "The gizmo slipped." "It's okay." "It's okay." "Damn it!" "Son of... it's not okay!" "It's fucked!" "We have another one." "We'll just clean it up, okay?" "It's only a little wet." "It's no big deal, okay?" "I got it." "Hey, it's okay." "I might go again." "I never know when I'm gonna go." "We'll put on your other gizmo." "It's not worth it." "Just forget it." "Fuck it." "Hey, come on." "I don't feel anything, anyway." "Can we just... just forget it, all right?" "Oh, isn't she beautiful?" "Isn't she beautiful?" "Oh, she looks just like you, Victor." "Oh." "Uh-oh." "Let's go to daddy." "Let's go to daddy." "Watch the neck." "Vengase, mi hijita." "Travelin' baby." "Ah!" "Mom, if he's a lawyer, he should be able to answer our questions." "Probably has to talk to Mr. sparks first." "Who's Mr. sparks?" "You know, the guy on tv." "Larry sparks." "Mom, you're telling me that you got these bozos off the tv?" "Yeah." "Mom, that's just plain stupid." "No, it's not." "This is the respectable firm." "It's stupid, mom!" "Bloss, you know, I think you're upset, and I think it's because you went back too soon." "I told you it was too soon." "Don't get on my case about it." "Leave me alone about it and don't make it my fault, okay?" "Howdy, partner!" "Who the fuck is that?" "Hope you're all ready for a little entertainment." "Fucking square dancers in my room!" "Bloss." "Bloss!" "Bloss, these people are trying to cheer you up, and you are being so rude!" "Bloss!" "Bloss." "Bloss!" "Hey, man." "You all right?" "Just go away." "Leave me alone." "Boy, you do know how to trash a place." "Here, have a taste." "Look, it's unhealthy to drink alone." "It's better to drink with a partner, even if it has to be you." "Fuck you, man." "Now look at that." "Why you gonna wipe it off?" "That is just so childish." "You know, my sister used to do that." "Probably good reason, man." "It's childish!" "Ah, yes." "What the fuck is this shit?" "Here, give it here." "Yeah, go ahead." "Have another one." "Don't mind me." "You know, Bloss, I've been thinkin'." "If a man wanna snuff it, bam!" "Aim his chair into traffic, squish!" "Huh?" "But you got to time it right." "You got to pick the right car." "Like a Cadillac." "Mm-hmm." "Oh, no, no, a bus." "Now a bus will squoosh you real good." "So, do it, man." "Oh, shit!" "If I was one of them total quads, then... man, they can't even raise their hands." "You know, they can't even slug a man." "I mean, goddamn, even a quad need to slug a man sometime." "Look at Joe, man." "I hate that motherfucker." "I say you just jealous, that's all." "You just jealous because he got a woman, and he know his place." "Every man got to find his place, Bloss." "When are we going out again?" "I'll have to check my calendar." "Come on, Joel." "I had a good time, really." "We saw a movie." "We saw a bad, bad, bad movie." "We had dinner." "Dinner was okay." "All right." "All right." "The whole day was fucked." "I'm just gonna go inside, okay?" "I'll be all right." "You sure?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Good night." "Good night." "I love you." "Howdy, partner." "Missed you at the hoedown." "Next time, huh?" "So long." "Bye." "Vernon's wife." "Give up?" "No, fuck that." "Give up." "Fuck you, man." "Kick your ass, man." "So when you gonna pay up that bet, man?" "Ain't that some shit?" "Mr. lawsuit here worrying' his ass about $100." "Will you stop?" "Well, it's the principle, man." "Don't worry about it." "She's dead." "You can guarantee it." "One hand, motherfucker." "One hand, my man." "We dumped." "We fucked up, man." "Oh, lord." "I sure hope somebody comes along." "Hey, Bloss." "Did I tell you about my dream, man?" "No, man." "You don't tell me about your dreams." "It'll freak you out." "I'm on this lake and I'm standing up." "No chair, man." "The sky, a beautiful blue all around me." "And I'm standing on the water." "But I'm dancing, see." "That's the only way I can stay up is to do this dance." "And I know that as soon... as soon as I quit..." "Forget it, that's it." "I'm going down." "I can't swim." "No land for miles around." "So I keep doing this dance." "And I get tired." "I keep doing this dance, tired of doing that dance." "I get tired, so tired." "And then I wake up." "Oh, man." "It freaked me out." "Hel... help!" "I stitched it up for you." "It's like new." "It was pretty messed up." "Listen, I want you to tell me something, man." "And don't be stupid about it." "I want you to tell me what happened on the day that I dumped, man." "What happened?" "The guy ran the light." "He fucked you up." "What really happened, man?" "I want you to tell me what really happened." "I don't remember." "Look, we were racing', man." "We were just tooling' around." "We were pretty blasted, but that don't make you blind." "Don't think about it, man." "Here." "No, I'm..." "look, go to dinner, please." "I'm not gonna..." "no, I'm fine about it." "I'll get Florence to do it, all right?" "It's her job." "She gets paid for it." "If it's gonna make you happy, please, by all means, do it." "I'm..." "I-I... hey, I gotta go." "If you wanna come, just come, all right?" "Bye-bye." "Hey, uh, got in a fight with your girlfriend, man, it ain't no big thing." "Leave me alone, Bloss." "Just tryin' to be friendly." " What?" " I said I'm just tryin' to be friendly." "Oh, well." "Do me a favor, huh?" "Just leave me the fuck alone." "Now you're showing some spirit, Joe." "You know what your problem is, man?" "You know what your problem is?" "You're determined to pick a fight, huh?" "Your problem is that you ain't got no problem, man." "Look at you, man." "You call yourself Garcia." "You ain't no Mexican." "You ain't no nigger." "You certainly ain't no white dude." "You're just better than everybody else." "You and your fucking glasses, man." "I got news for you, pal." "How long you think it's gonna take before that pretty little girl of yours..." "Leaves you for somebody who can tune her engine, my man?" "Are you done?" "No." "No, I ain't." "They're pretty good." "I think they'd be better if they'd stop, but, uh... oh, come on, please." "Will you move sometime tonight?" " Hey, Rosa, can you give me a darvadol?" "Oh, how about Percocet?" "Oh." "No, no, no." "How about demoran?" "That's even better." "Hey, Rosa, can you swing that?" "Morphine, you could shoot him up with some morphine." "Bloss can get me some heroin." "That'd be wild, wouldn't it?" " Hey, Rosa, ask Bloss if he can score me some smack, huh?" " I'll get you a darvadol." "Well, hurry up, huh?" "You're an asshole, you know that?" "You're a hemorrhoid on an asshole." "You're an inflamed hemorrhoid on a donkey's asshole." "Well, you're a cunt." "Why do I even come here?" "What makes you say that?" "You just called me a cunt." "Well, when you imply that I'm a drug addict." "It was a joke, come on." " What is your problem?" " I broke my fucking neck!" " I know." " You don't know." "If any walking person knows, Joel, it's me, all right?" "Don't give me that shit." "I know." "I think about it for two hours on the freeway." "I think about it while I'm washing your clothes." "I think about it while I'm looking for accessible apartments." "I'm sorry, all right?" "My heart really bleeds for you." "Fuck this." "Where's your laundry?" "I said you didn't have to do my laundry." "I live for your laundry." "I live to come here and argue scrabble rules with you, really." "It makes me whole." "I love how your face brightens up when I walk in a room." "I lost something too, you know." "You may not understand that, but it's true." "You're out of shampoo." "I love you." "Enjoy the show?" "If it isn't Garcia, man." "Senorgarcia to you." "Hey, did you and Raymond ever settle that bet?" " What do you care, man?" " Maybe I want some of the action." "Too late, Joe." "Hey, Joel, you wanna play?" "Yeah, come on out and be a gimp, Joe." "I hate badminton." "Rosa!" "Rosa!" "Rosa!" "Hey, Vernon." " Rosa?" " No." "My name is Joel." "Would you fix the tv, please?" "Sure." "How's that?" "I saw your wife." "She's very beautiful, beautiful." "It's hard, isn't it, vern?" "Do you love her?" "My girlfriend, she touches me now..." "And I don't feel a thing." "I feel like nothing, like piss and shit." "Like the smell of this place, it's... and I-I can't be nice to her." "Sometimes, I hate her." "I feel this anger coming up inside me, and I lash out at her, but I don't mean to." "I don't know." "She's so good to me, you know." "I hate her for walking..." "For feeling." "If we live together when I get out... oh, God, I can just see the pity in people's eyes..." "Falling over themselves to help me..." "Or pretending not to see me or pretending that nothing happened to me..." "When it did." "It did." "I fell, vern." "I can't walk." "Oh, God." "Damn." "I'm sorry, baby." "Oh, God." "I'm sorry, vern." "Vern?" "What do you mean an old folks' home?" "A place where they keep old people." "He didn't have anywhere else to go." "It's no piece of news to me." "What about his wife?" "I just suppose it didn't work out." " What, Bloss, you suddenly concerned about Raymond?" " He owes me money." "Where is this place?" "What?" "I took the keys to the hospital van, Joe." "What do you say we go on a little field trip and settle this bet?" "You've got room in your life for a little adventure, don't you?" "You drive." "Why don't you drive?" "I don't have a license." "I'll watch the door while you get dressed." "I need you, Joe." "Bloss, what you doing?" "I'm gonna go see some naked ladies, man." "Live naked ladies?" "You think I'm gonna go see some dead naked ladies?" "What are you doin', man?" "Forget about it, man." "You ain't going, all right?" "I'd have to dress you, I gotta put you in your wheelchair, man." "Forget about it." "Besides, your mother would kill me, man." "You ain't goin'." "Hey, this is fun." "Have you got your headlights on, man?" "Oh, yeah." "Shit." " Turn left up ahead here." " I thought the strip joint was on devaulle." "Look out, man!" "Boy, that guy sure came out of nowhere." "Good thing we're already paralyzed." "Yeah." "Don't go anywhere." "Raymond, Raymond hill, this is the ghost of all your past white pussy." "Bloss." "Oh, shit." "Oh, man." "What time is it?" "A man's gotta get his sleep." "Not tonight, man." "Tonight I'm taking you out to eat some crow." "Wait." "What-what are you doing?" "Get dressed, man." "What are you doing?" "We're gonna go see Annabelle Lee." "Bloss, there ain't no Annabelle Lee." "Bullshit, man." "There ain't." "I was lying." "Yeah?" "Tell you what, man." "I'll bet you the same $100 that you ain't lying, man." "Where's your socks?" "Get dressed, man." "Damn it, Bloss." "You can't come into a man's room in the middle of the night..." "And expect him to get up out of bed." "Shut up, man." "Forget the bet." "We'll go out." "We'll get drunk." "We'll go get some pussy, man." "What, is this place so fucking good, man?" "Get dressed." "Don't nobody control my life." "This is my life." "I do with it what I wanna do." "I'm gonna call the nurse..." "If you don't get out of here." "Hey, is he coming?" "Oh, man." "It must be the wrong place." "Look." "We're out, man." "We might as well party." "Okay." "Ten bucks, big guy." "Ten bucks?" "Yo, I need 30 bucks, man." "Thirty bucks?" "Jeez." "Give me some money for a tip." "How do you like that, sang?" "Here you go, bro." "Coke or juice?" "Juice." "Forget the juice." "Three cokes." "Seats by the stage over there." "Hey, look who's here, man." "Who is that?" "Check him out, man." "Hey, Les." "Les, buddy." "Les, my man." "Lester." " What the hell are you guys doing here?" " Little night pass, man." "Hey, Les, does your wife know you're here, man?" "Does she know you come to places like this, bro?" "Nine dollars, gentlemen." "Yo." "You took my money." "I'm-I'm broke." "Nine dollars, gentlemen." "My main man Lester over here is gonna pay for it, honey." "Thanks, Les." "Tip me a dollar." "You really are a charmer, Les." "You really are." "How'd you like that, Joel?" "Pretty good." "Pretty good, man?" "She was serving you up hair pie, dude." "What you want, cool whip on it?" "Give her a hand and hand her some green." "That luscious lady's name is Stephanie." "All right." "Peking's a city in China but tipping's not." "Show a little appreciation for this lovely creation..." "Yeah, baby." "Named Stephanie." "Thank you." "They're bound to notice you guys gone by now." "Maybe you ought to be getting back." "Hey, man." "We came here for a reason, all right?" "So why don't you just chill out on all the bullshit?" "You know, if we were a zola novel right now, we would be just symbols of society's decay." "That's so fucking obvious." "But if we were a flannery o'Connor short story, you know what?" "There is no telling which one of us might find redemption in a place like this." "It's true." "Redemption." "You guys ready for a little more sweet entertainment?" "Let's hear it now." "Okay, Tarzan, just take it easy." "We got your Jane comin' out right now." "Here she comes, the fabulous Annabelle Lee." "Annabelle Lee." "Give me some cash." "Why don't you bring your own money?" "Give me some cash." "Do I look like a bank?" "Don't be tight, man." "When troubles weigh me down there's a place I can go" "you know a guy named Raymond hill?" "A black dude?" "A lady's man, missing a finger?" "What, is he a friend of yours?" "Yeah, you could say that." "How's Raymond doing?" "He's good." "You ever spend time with him?" "Spend time?" "He tell you I did?" "Let's just say something slipped out." "You tell Raymond I said hi." "So Raymond won the bet?" "Yeah, I guess." "It was sad, really." "I mean, all those young, beautiful, attractive women..." "Bouncing around with their perfect breasts in the air." "Sounds sad." "You know they shave around their... all right." "Thank you." "You can spare the details." "I don't know." "It makes you... it makes you wonder what's wrong with them, you know?" "What happened to their lives?" "Have to pay their rent." "Hmm." "I get out in two weeks." "I think I found an apartment that's accessible." "Thank you." "Thanks." "You don't have to thank me." "No, I do." "I want to thank you for that." "Thank you." "Have I thanked you enough?" "Is something on your mind?" "Why?" "Is something on yours?" "I left David." "I told him." "What?" "I told him about us." "You, uh... what?" "What's so funny?" "How did he respond?" "What-what did he say?" "He knew." "Yeah." "Of course he knew." "He's known for months." "So, he's accepted it in a graceful way?" "Well, he put the phone through the living room window." "He got eight stitches." "Stay with him." "What?" "Stay with him." "What?" "What are you thinking?" "What?" "What, you just decide this for both of us?" "Well, no." "I decided it for myself." "When?" "You figured this out in the strip joint?" "I figured it out." "Oh, I see." "I don't know what to say." "Tell me that I'm wrong." "Fight me about this." "Tell me that I'm absolutely, 100 percent wrong." "You are." "You're wrong." "That's it?" "That's all you've got to say?" "You just hit me with this." "You can't expect me to have an argument." "Stay with him." "He's your husband." "Stay with him." "He'll understand." "I-I love you." "I love you too." "Come here, baby." "We'll go to bad movies." "You'll still be in my life." "You'll still be..." "I'm sorry." "Oh, baby." "You can't use Korean words." "This is not Korean." "What, "bozo"?" "You're a bozo." "This is a Korean word." "You can't use this." "You can't use Korean." "You can't use vietnamese." "You can't use Chinese." "You can't use Mexican." "You gotta use fuckin' English words." "Yeah, hello." "Hey, Bloss." "Bloss, old buddy, how you doing?" "What?" "Who is this?" "Raymond, man, Raymond." "Oh, man, it's motherfucking cold." "It's Joel, hold on." "Hey, Bloss, it's for you." "He didn't wanna put his words on, you notice?" "Don't be lookin' at my letters." "You got some more three-point wonders waiting' over here?" "He sounds drunk." "What do you want, Raymond?" "Hey, Bloss, how you doin', man?" "I'm doing good man." "I'm hangin' out playing scrabble with my mother and sang, man." "Oh, yeah, sang." "I'll bet he's kickin' your big butt." "You okay, Raymond?" "I'm great." "I broke out of that old people's place." " What are you talking about?" " I found it." "It's perfect." "I-I ain't seen no Cadillacs come by." "But the bus come by every 20 minutes." "Aw, shit." "There goes one now." "Listen to me, man." "Don't do anything stupid, okay?" "I'm just waitin' for the bus, Bloss." "Tell me where you are, man." "I'm just waitin' for the bus." "Ray, tell me where you are." "I don't know." "Some street, man." "What fuckin' street, man?" "Look up at the street sign and you tell me where you are." "Ready to put you through." "Motherfucker, man!" "You didn't have to hang up on me." "Aw, fuck it then." "I heard him." "He was dead serious, okay?" "You gotta tell the police." "They gotta put out an a.P.B. On him." "Look, Bloss, we already called the convalescent hospital." "We have called the police, man." "Why don't we just go out and look for him together, man, you and me?" "Be serious, man." "Look, everything that can be done is being done, okay?" "Bullshit, man!" "The fucking phone people, man." "Fuckin' phone people." "I feel like killing somebody, man." "Look, Bloss." "You know Ray." "You know that he talks, man." "I heard him." "I'm telling you, he was serious." "Look, I told you the police are already on their way, okay?" "So why don't you just go outside and meet them?" "Heck of a help, man." "Hey!" "Hey, come on out here, you slimy fucks!" "I know you're in there, you squeaky-voiced motherfucker." "Shit." "Come on out here, you little scum-sucking prick!" "Fuck." "Let's kick some ass, college boy." "Hold, please." "Darn it, will you quit?" "How did you get in here?" "What are you doing?" "I'm gonna kill you." "Why don't we talk?" "Every day we try to talk." "A guy's about to kill himself and you cut him off." "I don't wanna hurt you." "Oh, hurt me, asshole." "Go ahead!" "You ain't gonna hurt anybody, motherfucker." "Oh, this is ridiculous." "You're choking me." "Kick him, Bloss." " How the hell am I gonna kick him, man?" " What do you want from me?" "Apologize." "Okay, I'm sorry." "Sheila, get security." " I said I'm sorry." " For what?" "For putting you on hold." "Look, I got a wife and kids." "You're choking me." "Yeah, we've got lives too, asshole." "Tell him, Joe." "We got lives." "We're not just noise." "I never called you noise." "We're in wheelchairs stuck in a fucking hospital ward." "I'm sorry for that." "And I'm sorry for making your life harder." "You're killing me." "Fuck off." "You really ought to channel those hostilities there, Joe." "Don't think I'm not gonna press charges, buddy." "I don't care who the hell you are or what your problem is." "I've got a family." "And you... you better pray that Raymond hill is still alive, motherfucker." "You want me to press charges?" "They assaulted me, didn't they?" "What if they just said they were sorry?" "Sheila, tell them." "The guy comes in and grabs me around the throat... they found Raymond." "He was asleep in his chair over on Finch and Holden." "What about these?" "Toss it, mom." "They've been in there five months." "Oh, no need to waste them." "Bloss?" "Raymond's upstairs." "Thought you might wanna know." " How is he?" " I haven't talked to him." " Got time for a visitor?" " Hey, come on in." "Rosa said you were here." "Yeah." "They cut me up tomorrow." "Gonna sew some of my stomach onto my bladder." "You know a man's gotta have a big bladder." "I got something for you." "What's this?" "You won the bet, man." "I talked to Annabelle Lee." "You talked to her..." "About me?" "Mm-hmm." "She remembered you." "Well, of course she did." "Shoot." "How a woman gonna forget Raymond hill, God's gift to the female species?" "Yeah, that was her words exactly." "I can't take your money." "No, man." "A bet's a bet." "No, I can't take it." "No." "Okay, if you insist." "I mean, a bet is a bet." "Where's the other 40?" "I gotta get back to you with that." "You still livin' in that home?" "Yeah." "I ran away a couple of times." "Didn't I call you once?" "Yeah." "Don't you remember?" "Oh, man." "Things get a little crazy every now and then." "But it ain't so bad." "They got this cute little nurse there." "She got a thing for me." "It ain't so bad." "Yeah." "I gotta go, man." "You take care of yourself, Raymond." "Nobody else to do it." "You know, maybe one of these days you're feeling better, you and me, we'll go out and see Annabelle Lee together, man." "Not much stuff after six months." "It's better that way, don't you think?" "Rosa, let me help you with that." "No, I'm fine." "Oh, now she's superwoman." "Les, this is for you." "I forgot to give it to you." "Oh, thanks, Joel." "Uh, I already have one of these, man." "I mean, I haven't read it yet, but... well, this is inscribed." "It's a gift." "Thanks a lot." "Thank you." "Les!" "You take care of yourself." "Bye-bye." "Les!" "How are you and Anna?" "Well, we're still friends." "Lots of fishes." "You know, Joel." "If I wasn't married..." "Oh, yeah." "I bet you say that to all the boys." "Well, yeah." "But don't think I never mean it." "Hey, get your hands out of there." "Bye-bye." "Bye." "Hey, scrappy Joe, my man." "I'm off, buddy." "Me too." "Well." "Hey, uh..." "You take these, man." "Oh, gee, thanks." "Now, you do know that my name is Joel, don't you?" "Joel." "Yeah." "Adios." "Hi, pat." "Hi..." "Anna." "This is all your stuff?" "Yeah, that's it." "Say all your good-byes?" "Too many." "Let's go."