"#" "This performance is weaker than it was expected, and in light of the  crisis, the housing market never fully recovered from the downturn." "Many buyers are worried that home prices will keep falling even further." "The real difficulties of the problem are tight lending standards put in place in the wake of record foreclosures." "Forecasters have predicted sales in existing homes nationwide..." "Come here, girl!" "Come on!" "Nice arm." "You know..." "The latest victim in a rash of home invasions in the area will be home from the hospital today." "A statement made by the family..." "Since when do they start calling burglaries home invasions?" "I just have it on for the weather." "They say the storm's coming up from the Caribbean." "They always say that." "The whole side of the house is exposed." "How's the writing?" "Good." " Yeah?" " Yeah." "You're late, Mr. Gavin." "Come on!" "It's so bright." "She still watching you?" "Yep." "You should really say something." "Well, I don't want to make any trouble." "She's an old woman." "You're so polite." "You know, people mistake good manners for being weak." "You're gonna make Leo late." "Okay, what else, you guys?" "Hysteria, repression." "What else you got?" "Katelyn?" "Gabe?" "Nothing?" "Thank you." "Evan?" "Brad?" "Aren't we making a mistake discussing the psychosexual element to the exclusion of everything else?" "We're ignoring the underlying political tensions." "Such as?" "Well, the Royal Charter, for one thing." "The king nullified the colonists' land claims the same year the trials began." "Uh-huh." "People got paranoid." "It's like, imagine if suddenly your next-door neighbors could lay claim to your parents' backyard." "They'd freak." "So?" "So, what the colonists had assumed was theirs is suddenly called into question, and..." "People always look for the easiest scapegoat when their sense of entitlement is threatened." "That's a rather bleak outlook, isn't it?" "We are talking about a species that would tie one of its own to a stake and strike a match." "Jesus." "All right, you guys." "We'll finish this up next week." "If you guys could bring in that scene from Mary Warren and Elizabeth, I'd really appreciate it." "Hey." "I'm gonna be late for calculus." "You were late for my class." " You okay?" " Yeah." "Hey, Jason?" "I almost forgot..." "the new light board arrived." "Will I see you after rehearsal?" "I don't know." "Um..." "I have a test tomorrow, so..." "Hey, Leo." "What?" "What?" "Why aren't we married?" "What?" "I mean, it's... it's legal, for now... here, anyway." "You really want to have this conversation now?" " Really?" " Mm-hmm." "Okay." "Um..." "Oh, my God..." "Um..." "Obviously, I think we should have the right." "Uh, yeah." "Obviously." "I just think that the institution itself, of marriage, it's... a failed experiment." "How many good marriages do we know?" "Okay, yes." "We've been together longer than your parents." "We're not talking about other people." "It's a cop-out." "Well, the statistics speak for themselves." "They do." "Okay, okay, fine." "I think that a lot of couples feel that they have to get married just to try to fix their problems." "Well, what kind of problems?" "I don't know... insecurities..." "Boredom." "Are you bored?" "With you?" "No." "Are you happy?" "That's an awfully big question, isn't it?" "Well?" "What?" "What is it?" "I..." "I can't see you... there." "I can't see you standing up in front of everybody, standing up in front of all of our friends, and actually making that..." "declaration." "Sometimes I don't know if... if I'm okay with that anymore." "Well, the problem is underneath." "Yeah." "See, this is the original roof." "Come on up and take a look yourself." "No, thanks." "I trust you." "Are you scared of heights?" "So, what do we do now?" "We'll have to see." "Thanks, George." "See you later." "Come on!" "Do it!" "Do it!" "Do it!" "Well, look at that." "I remember that." "I remember that - when the parts that moved were the ones that were supposed to." "Oh." "Can you believe this crazy weather?" "It's gonna rain again." "I think the entire northeast is gonna float away." "Hey, what's that?" " I never noticed that before." " Oh, yeah." "Oh, got it years ago." "I fell..." "Running." "Running?" "See?" "Exercise is very dangerous." "Philip's on this whole tennis kick now." "He wants me to play doubles... with Stuart and Bethanne." "Ugh." "Ever notice my sister-in-law always smells like a first edition of "Beowulf"?" "You have Jason Williams again, right?" "Yes, your pet project from the projects." "Well, you should see the stuff he's been turning in." "It's like looking at those creepy" "John Wayne Gacy clown portraits he did in prison." "I'm serious." "He's gonna be one of those kids that ends up in a tower with an AK-47." "Stop it." "His stuff is usually so good." "It's just..." "I'm worried about him." " I think something's going on." " Uh, yeah." "No, I'm serious." "Well, his mom took up with push-broom." "Ought to keep her occupied." "For what it's worth," "Jason said they stopped using drugs when they got..." " No, they met in N.A." " Michael..." "Just watch your step." "What's that supposed to mean?" "It's supposed to mean I've been doing this for a long time and I understand, you know, when you get a student that seems like he's got a lot of... talent and potential and hope... very dangerous thing." "Oh, Michael, there you are." "I've been looking all over for you." "My, um, sister's kids are here from Syracuse, and they're coming to Open Studio Night." "My nephew Steven, in particular, is very theatrical." "What's this?" "Oh, no." "Um, I'm collecting $5 from everybody for, um... for Midge Herkell." "They just moved her to rehab, and they think that she might regain movement in her left leg." "I thought we could send her some flowers." "Boy, that is rich." "I go through two rounds of chemo, and all I get is a card that sings" ""Roll Out the Barrel."" "Oh, and, Michael..." "Too bad about Jason Williams, huh?" "What about him?" "What?" "They're rescinding his scholarship." "I thought he would have told you." "No, he didn't." "Damn it." "God damn it!" "It's just aspirin, Brenda." "If it was anything fabulous," "I would be sharing it with everyone." "Right, Mervin?" "Wait!" "Michael!" "Oh, hey, Michael." "I'm just getting myself organized here." "This place is gonna be swarming with parents in a few hours." "Bethanne has been hounding me about straightening up all month." " How's Dan?" " He's fine." "Listen, Stuart, what's all this about Jason's scholarship?" "Oh..." "That." "Well..." "It shouldn't come as a surprise." "Times are tough." "We can't allow a pupil who isn't serious about his future to take a spot that could go to somebody more deserving." "Deserving?" "What are you talking about?" "He's one of the smartest kids here." "Come on." "You know that." "It's just... you know, his home life is..." "Jesus Christ." "Where do I begin with that?" "Look, we can't turn our backs on him." "I mean, he's just going through something right now... you know, some phase." "Show me a teenager about whom that can't be said." "Half our kids have divorced parents, 30% are on Zoloft or Ritalin." "Stuart, you're just..." "you're making a huge mistake." "Well, you're entitled to your opinion, Michael, but the fact remains, he's failing... three classes." "He's chronically late, and he's been warned." "Now, I know this one is special to you." "I get that." "I do." "And I know he's helped you out at the drama club in Midge's absence, but..." "I'm afraid my hands are tied." "The decision's final." "Hey, careful." "Yeah, I'm not the one who's scared of heights." "Hey." "So, are we gonna talk about next term?" "Here." " Thank you." " Mm-hmm." "I mean, how did you let it get to this?" "Don't you realize what's at stake here?" "Maybe this place just isn't for me." "That's bullshit." "You have any idea how hard people fought for you to be here?" "You're just gonna throw it all away like that?" "Look, high school is hard, but you can get through it." "What are you doing?" "Let's go." "Just let me put the remote away." "Well, get a move-on." "Your mom's waiting on us." "Got to go." "Where are all the other kids, Mr. Gavin?" "Oh, they left a while ago." "We're just trying to get this board running." " See you, Mr. Gavin." " See you." "So long, Mr. Gavin." " Hey, Michael." " Hey." "You look great, dude." "You workin' out?" "Oh, I don't know." "Just a little." "I mean, I'm still running at school, so..." "Hey, Glenn, your girlfriend called." "Okay." "I just know you two are gonna run off together... leave me a sad, old queen in the suburbs." "Aw, you'll be just like Brenda and her cats." " Not nice." " How was school?" "Don't ask." "Well, I have some stuff to finish before tonight." " You want some coffee?" " No, thanks." "And pretty much everything is from local farms." "As long as the wine's imported for the hospital benefit..." "The swill they are churning out at these local vineyards is an abomination." "Oh, I'm gonna make it my mission to change your mind about that." "A fool's errand, Daniel." "Once my wife makes a decision, it's unlikely it will ever change." "And that's a good thing for you." "It took me two years to convince the committee to hire you instead of that..." "Sandy Brown." "I swear, the food at last year's benefit was inedible... not that anyone eats at these things anyway, but..." "Darling, napkin, please." "I've just done a few small pieces for Connecticut Magazine, and..." "I had a novel in the '90s." "Oh, and what does your wife do, Mr. Gavin?" "Oh..." "I'm not, uh..." "Excuse me just a second." " Nice jacket, young man." " Thanks." " He took his piece down." " Mom." "Well, he's still a student here, at least until june." "Last year, he was second in his class." "Now he's flunking." "Well, we'd send him off to Afghanistan if we could." "Don't be stupid, Leo." "He's only 17." "I'm sorry." "You know, they haven't asked him to leave yet, Janette." "Maybe if we can get him to prove himself by the end of the semester..." "Yeah, and maybe I can get Leo to win me 20 grand at Mohegan's." "You know any other Yardley parents that work at the Mill Mart, Mr. Gavin?" "Listen, Michael, can you come with me before my, uh, sister-in-law absconds with Daniel?" " Excuse me." " Okay." "He thought you needed a rescue." "Look down their fucking noses at us." "You're paranoid." "He always tries to be nice." "Well, too nice, if you ask me." "What's that supposed to mean?" "I see stuff that goes on around here." "Okay." "Whatever." "You see stuff." "Listen..." "You ever call me 'stupid' again in front of people, then we're gonna have a real problem, all right?" "Okay." "#" "Hey, sweetie, I'm not gonna be able to pick you up in the morning." "I've got my oncologist appointment." "No problem." "I'll work it out." "Oh, don't say you'll come with me or anything." "Oh, sorry." " Bye, sweetie." " Bye." "Good night." " Good night." "Love you." " Get home safe." "Yep." "Let's go, babe." " Got the keys?" " Yeah." "Whoa!" "Where's your..." "Where's your boyfriend?" " Come on!" " Hey!" "Hey!" "Knock it off!" "Reggie, I said knock it off!" "You guys, get out of here!" "Knock if off!" "We're just messin' around!" "Yeah, I'm not stupid!" "Now get the hell out of here!" "Go on!" "Go home." ""I'm not stupid!"" "Yeah, I heard that." "You okay?" "Can't you see this is all your fault?" "Why do you think they hate me?" "Jason..." "Get your fucking faggot hands off of me!" "Whoa-ho!" "Great." "Jason!" "Knock it off!" "You might want to keep your distance." "Got enough problems." "You still think I'm paranoid?" "I'm gonna need to speak with Jason alone." "Well, I'm not leaving." "Is it Trish?" "What?" "Hold my calls." "What's going on here?" "Well, that's what we're trying to find out." "I don't know quite how to ask you this question, Michael, so I'm just gonna come right out with it." "Have you been engaged in some sort of inappropriate relationship with Jason Williams?" "Of course not." "Did he tell you that?" "Brenda's debriefing him right now with somebody from the state." "Debriefing him?" "Stuart, this is absurd." "You know me." "I would never put a finger on that kid." "There were witnesses..." "parents, students." "Some sort of altercation last night after I left?" "That was a big misunderstand..." "They say he had to push you off him." "My phone's been ringing off the hook." "I want to talk to him right now." "I'm afraid that's impossible, Michael, 'cause it's a legal matter now." "Mr. Gavin, we're gonna have to ask you a few questions." "No, wait, wait." "This is a big misunderstanding." "Everybody just calm down for a second." "If you'd just let me talk to Jason by myself, we'll clarify what happened last night." "Jason, just tell them what happened last night." "Mr. Gavin, you can't be in here." "It's all right." "Just tell them how... ow!" "Okay." "Mr. Gavin, how do you respond to those charges?" "Abigail, come on." "Shhh." "I just don't understand it." "I mean, why isn't he speaking up?" "Why isn't he telling the truth?" "Don't you get it?" "It's deliberate." "She knows that they can't take away his scholarship now, not after one of their own teachers molested him." "Abigail, come on." "Go!" "Go to your room." "Look, she wouldn't do that." "Our regard is that's precisely the stance that we need to take." "It's not a stance!" "You're talking as if I did something!" "I didn't molest Jason Williams!" "Abigail!" "Be quiet, Goddamn it!" "Michael..." "We're tired." "I should go." "None for me, please." "Thank you." "It's been a trying day for everyone." "Trish will be worried." "Oh, my God." "Her appointment." "I forgot." "How is she?" "Well, the news is a bit sobering, I'm afraid." "Oh, no." "Yeah." "Her insides are a real damn mess." " I'll go call her." " No, no." "Let her rest." "She's a tough one." "She'll be ready to face this thing square in the eye again first thing in the morning." "What we all need right now is a good night's sleep." "I'll be sure and say you asked after her." " Thank you." " Thank you, Philip." "Tomorrow we'll drop her off at Glenn's for a few days." "Shit." "Good morning, George!" "Mr. Gavin." "So, what's going on?" "Oh..." "I see." "God knows it's not like I got anything else lined up." "And you've been real good to us, but it's just..." "It's just the wife." "This business was her grandfather's." "She saw our sign out on your front lawn on the news last night and about had a cow." "You don't have to explain." "Yeah, well, we're gonna tarp over that roof for you, but you better have somebody come and, uh, take care of it." "All right." "You know, for what it's worth," "I always believed a man is innocent till he's proved guilty." "That's what makes us different from China, right?" "Yeah." "Yeah, that's him." "He's with the guy..." "the teacher." "Hey, ladies..." "Why don't you just say it out loud?" "No?" "Not so much?" "Hi." "Uh, could I just have a large coffee, please, with a little bit of cream?" "Um, yeah." " I think that's him..." " Who?" "The teacher that was in the paper this morning." "Come on, let's go." "Here you go." "Oh, no..." "Uh, I forgot my wallet." "I-I can come back." "That's fine." "Just, uh, take the coffee." "No, I can..." "I can come back." "Just go." "Please?" "Please, sir, just go." "Oh, Daniel." "This business with Michael has me completely in knots." "I know." "And it's just..." "it's unbelievable." "It's an outrage." "Yeah, but Philip seems pretty optimistic, you know, considering." "My brother is an old Swamp Yankee lawyer." "I suppose if you needed a will drawn up, he'd do just fine, but this..." "Michael trusts him." "Well, I'm sure Michael knows what he's doing, but what about you?" "Um..." "I'm..." "I'm fine, I guess." "I hope you know you have our complete support." "It's kind of hard to see that from where we're sitting, Bethanne." "I mean, Stuart did suspend Michael." "Daniel, that decision was based on protocol." "Stuart didn't sleep all night." "You're right." "You're right." "I'm relieved to hear that, because I told the other committee members just now that you'd do the right thing and bow out gracefully." "The hospital benefit." "The committee asked Sandy Brown to step in." "What?" "!" "It's out of my hands, Daniel." "I did my best, but I'm afraid we need our deposit back." "You're fuckin' crazy, lady." "What did you say to me?" "Glenn." "Bethanne, the deposit has been spent." "The event is Friday." "You're not saying that you'd refuse to return money intended for a cancer wing?" "Of course not." "Listen, this is a mess." "That's an understatement." "But Michael is innocent, and this is all gonna blow over." "For your sake, I hope that's true." "You know, you surprise me." "I can't believe you put me in this position to have to debate the matter." "And if I were you," "I'd do something about that waiter's mouth." "You're gonna have enough trouble getting business around here." "You have to forgive my sister." "She can be a bit of a hothead." "Hothead?" "She's an imperious, self-absorbed bitch." "Now, Trish." "Well, if I keep it in, my cancer will get worse." "And for the record, they don't call us Swamp Yankees anymore." "We crawled out of the swamp quite some time ago." "Well, let me tell you something... you guys are very lucky you will never have in-laws." "Did they forget we're back here?" "I doubt they forgot." "So, how are you feeling?" "I don't want to talk about it." "Well, you can count on us." "Well, right back at you." "Excuse me." "So, did he really call her "fucking crazy"?" "Yep..." "And it was awesome." "Oh, God damn it!" "Michael, your computer." "Wait a minute!" "That's mine!" "What are you..." "Are you fucking..." "What are you expecting to find?" "!" "Are you fucking kidding with me?" "Daniel, just..." "I thought you said this couldn't happen." "Calm down." "Don't tell me to calm down!" "All my work stuff is on there!" "I've already lost half my business." "You know what?" "Fuck this!" "I'm finding my own lawyer." "The warrant's all in order." "It's..." "Is this what you had in mind for a retreat from the big, bad city?" "Where's the fucking phonebook?" "This could happen anywhere, Dan!" "He's got a point, sweetie." "I mean, his livelihood's been affected..." "Maybe he should have his own lawyer." "Thanks for pointing that out, Trish." "I..." "Look, philip and I..." "we each have our own lawyers, and we're married." "What?" "Nothing." "Well, it obviously isn't nothing." "It's just that what you said," ""And we're married,"" "as if to draw some kind of distinction." "I didn't mean anything by it." "Yeah, of course you didn't, just like you didn't mean the in-law remark at the restaurant." "Yeah, we're lucky, all right." "We're really lucky!" "Don't you walk away from me!" "That is so unfair!" "Hey." "Hey!" "Why'd you choose that restaurant tonight?" "I thought you would like it." "Mm-hmm." "It's a little out of the way, don't you think?" "No." "What are you insinuating?" "I don't know... maybe just that our usual places were a little too public for tonight?" "You are way out of line, because I have never been anything but completely supportive and accepting of you and Daniel!" "Accepting?" "Accepting?" "What does that mean?" "Well, I'm accepting of you and Philip, too." "Thank you so much for deigning to accept me, Trish!" "Now you're just twisting my words." "You know what?" "Let me ask you something." "Has Stuart or Brenda ever heard you refer to Jason as 'my boy' - with that knowing little smirk of yours, my 'pet project from the projects'?" "Let me tell you something." "They didn't have to hear it from me." "It was all over school!" "And I tried to warn you, but you didn't want to hear about it!" " You do think it's my fault." " I never said that!" "No wonder people are assuming the worst about me." "I mean, with purported friends like these," "I ought to be burning at the stake by Christmas." "Hey, I got an idea... why don't we put you on the stand in my defense?" "You have one hell of a nerve." "Who was it who bailed you out of jail?" "Who was it?" "It was me and Philip!" "And I'm grateful." "Grateful?" "!" "That was the night I found out my goddamn cancer came back!" "Trish..." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry that I say a lot of stupid things, okay?" "Is that a big surprise?" "But look around you, Michael." "Where are all your other friends?" "Huh?" "Where are all your other friends that know the right things to say?" " They're gone." " Excuse me." "I think I'm gonna wait in the car." " Hey, I'm sor..." " No." "Please." "Michael..." "Why didn't you tell me you had a prior arrest?" "Oh, I see." "That was a mix-up." "The charge was dropped." "Reduced..." "From soliciting sex to indecent exposure." "That's pretty serious, all things considered." "You might have told me." "It's irrelevant." "It was years ago." "Well, that's why it took this long to surface, but it's surfaced now." "I'm sure you can imagine how something like this is gonna look around here." "This is a game-changer, Michael." "Geez, I don't know..." "Maybe my sister's right about all this." "I could probably get that builder of yours to finish what he started." "I'm good with contracts." "But this is..." "And now with Trish sick again..." "There's this lady over in Branford." "Off the bed." "Come on, baby." "Go, go, go, go, go." "They didn't find my pot." "Sorry about your computer." "Oh, my God - your book." "You'll get it back." "Maybe." "You know, you got to go easier on Trish." "People..." "People say things that they don't mean sometimes." "Well, it's what she means that I wonder about." "She's not the problem." "I know." "Come here." "Oh, fuck." "I was your student." "You were in your 20s." "We both were." "It's totally different." "I was your T.A. In college." "You think what they're saying is true." "No..." "No, I don't." "No." "I..." "You know what?" "I understand if you have to get your own lawyer." "No, no, no, no, no." "Wait, wait." "No." "Come back here." "Don't leave." "Philip thinks that he's out of his league." "He wants to call in an expert." "Yep." "Yeah, I know where that is." "Uh-huh." "Hang on a sec." "We will see you there." "Thank you." "That was the lawyer." "Philip briefed her on the case, and she wants to meet this afternoon." " Oh." " What?" "Nothing." "It's..." "I mean, I just..." "I just didn't get a chance to think about it yet." "What is there to think about?" "I see gay people." "Hmm?" "Hey, there." "Sorry to keep you guys waiting." "Come on in." "Come on!" "This room is so stuffy." "This house belonged to Jennifer's grandmother, and apparently the entire family was allergic to fresh air." "We'll just do this." "Have a seat." "Um, Michael?" "Michael?" "Uh, Michael." "Daniel." "Well, thank you for seeing us on such short notice." "Oh, no worries." "I actually didn't have any appointments today." "It's our, um..." "it's our anniversary." "Aww." "Congratulations." "Thanks." "You guys married?" "Uh, no." "How come?" "Uh, we've lived together for almost 15 years, so..." "Wow." "You got us beat." "Not all of them here, though, right?" "No, we just moved here from New York a few years ago." "Us too..." "After 9/11." "The whole idea filled me with the heebie-jeebies, quite frankly." "You know, especially with Noah and two mommies." "All of that just..." "Anyway, Jennifer didn't feel safe in the city anymore." "What made you move?" "We..." "I wanted to see green." "Bet you wish you stayed now." "So, um..." "All right..." "Here is how I see things." "Without the kid having made a statement, they can frame this any way they want." "And that's not good for us." "The kid's just not talking." "Well, that's 'cause nothing happened." "Then why isn't he denying it?" "I mean, that's what I've been trying to work out all morning." "And the social worker's report says he's exhibiting signs of trauma, but she doesn't make any connection with the bullying." "Brenda Laughlin..." "she's pretty much incompetent." " Dan." " No, he's right." "I mean, having the boyfriend in the room for the interview?" "That's pretty fucked up." "And, of course, we'll argue that her report is inadmissible because of that." "We'll also argue hearsay, but I wouldn't rely on that." "Great." "And all of this is beside the point." "You're a teacher, Mr. Gavin..." "a gay teacher." "There's been an accusation, and that's all that matters." "Anything that we can remove from the equation because of procedure, it isn't gonna do anything to change the fact that as far as anyone around here is concerned, you're guilty." "My job, if they decide to move forward with this, is to make sure that you're not convicted." "Great." "All right?" "All right?" "Now, before we go any further, you're all right with Daniel being in the room?" "Yeah, of course." "All right." "Is there anything I need to know?" "Uh..." "Did you ever put an arm around his shoulder, give him a pat on the back, give him a present, anything, anything at all that could somehow have been misconstrued?" "Yes." "Yes..." "He needed that." "He needed encouragement." "Kay, uh, you need to see this!" "Jason Williams ran away this morning!" "I mean, me and his mom are really broken up about this." "The family released this picture of the 17-year-old Yardley Academy student at the center of the sex scandal with..." "Noah, sweetie, go upstairs to do your homework." "... yesterday afternoon wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt and jeans." "Did he leave a note before he ran away?" "No, but I think it's pretty clear what's going on here." "I mean, a fancy school like that that let something like this go on..." "And for how long?" "I've seen them sweep stuff under the carpet before." "That's why they tried to kick him out." "Why else?" "He was honor roll... before all this talk about him and that teacher." "Kids started pickin' on him, and..." "Look, all I'm sayin' is that someone's got to be held responsible." "In other news..." "Thank you." "They always reveal their motives in the front yard." "What do you mean?" "This is a shakedown." "It's all about money." "Michael, what do you know about the mother?" "Alcohol?" "Drug use?" "Tell her." "She's a cokehead." "She is not..." "she drinks... drank." "Jason was in foster care." "Dan!" "Okay, well, her credibility is halfway shot to shit, and now he's run away." "She had a problem, which she apparently got over, and then she and Leo met in A.A., recovery, whatever." "We have to expose her as a mercenary profiting from the fabricated abuse of her kid." "I'm gonna go check on Noah." "Okay." "So, what does this mean for Michael?" "Well, I'm getting the sense that you're not comfortable with a lot of this." "So, if we're all on the same page... that what these people are after is money... even if it does mean throwing your reputation under the bus, our other option is to approach them with a settlement." "It happens all the time." "Isn't that an admission of guilt?" "That's not a possibility." "Guys, I wish I could give you an ideal option." "It is settle or strike back." " What do we do about press?" " Nothing." "Don't talk to anyone." "It'll force them to find the story someplace else." "And if I'm right about this, eventually, they'll start to follow the money." "He doesn't know, does he?" "About the arrest in '98?" "I'll see what I can do, but I think you need to tell him, Michael." "Just out of curiosity, can you name a single drug you haven't tried..." "I mean, designer or otherwise?" "I mean, do you remember your 20s?" " 'Cause I do." " What are you talking about?" "Just this whole approach - dragging up a person's past." "I told you those things about Janette in confidence." "Jason trusted me." "I mean, if we go this way, are we really any better off than they are, just slandering someone to get out of an untenable situation?" "Untenable?" "Is that the best you can do?" "These people are trying to destroy you, probably for money, and we're not making shit up like they are." "So, we get out of this by destroying Janette's credibility so much that no one believes a word that she says anymore?" "It's an ugly world, Michael." "You got to expect to get a little dirty if you're gonna dig out of a dirt pile." "What?" "I know what I saw, okay?" "You were there." "We don't know what that was all about." "What if it's a big mistake?" "Hey..." "Don't you trust me?" "I just want him to come home." "Which is why I went on the news, okay?" "Look, just let me handle this, okay?" " Hey." " Hey." "Well, the reporters are gone." "You were right;" "They must have been following the money." "What's with the weather?" "Oh, it's the tail end of the tropical storm in the Atlantic." "Don't you watch the news?" "Never." "It's supposed to make landfall by tomorrow." "Michael's battening down the hatches." "Door's open." "There you go." "Oh... my God." "Oh, my God." "Thank you, thank you, thank you." "Your property wasn't on the warrant." "If you'd been married, it would have been more complicated." "You should probably backup your stuff just in case they change their mind." "Yeah." " Hey." " Hey." "Welcome." "Uh, let me just throw this stuff upstairs." "Can you... can you toss me that roll of duct tape?" "Duck what?" "Looks like a roll of tape." "Oh." "Sorry." "Not one of those lesbians who's good at fixing things around the house." "Well, good, 'cause I'm not one of those homos who believes in stereotypes about lesbians." "Here." "Come on in." "I got a call from a reporter friend of mine at The Courant." "They want to run the story of your arrest in '98." "Shit." "I think I might have got her to hold off." "I gave her something I found on Jason yesterday." "Did you know that he was expelled from public school for stealing money during a fire drill?" "Yeah." "He didn't do that." "He just took the rap for a couple of upperclassmen." "And it was obviously more than one kid." "One of them pulled the fire alarm near the gym while the other one broke into the cash register at the cafeteria." "Well, then he lied, and either way, it helps." "No." "Look..." "I'm not comfortable with it, but I'm willing to do whatever we have to to fight Leo and Janette." "I mean, they made the first move." "Just..." "Leave Jason out of it, okay?" "He's a kid." "All right, but I can't promise that she won't run the story." "What story?" "What?" "What story?" "There was a... mix-up." "I was arrested." "I'm gonna..." "It was years ago, back in New York..." "A cop said that I..." "That I exposed myself in a bathroom." "What?" " When?" " Summer of '98." "Wait..." "Sum..." "Whoa." "So, we were together then, but it was the..." "That was the summer I was in Paris..." "Why didn't I know about this?" "I can explain, okay?" "It was a sting." " I was fucking entrapped." " So, you kept this from me?" "It's not what it looks like." "It looks like you lied to me." "Don't." "Don't!" "We don't have secrets." "You two need to be on the same page right now, Michael." "The police are interviewing everyone who knows you, and if you've kept secrets, people are gonna wonder what else you're hiding." "Who's on the other side of that mirror?" "There were things that I heard." "Things you heard?" "Yeah." "Subsequently, or?" "The students said things." "They were targeting Jason because of Michael's affinity for him." "We're not speaking right now." "Well, I never had a student accuse a teacher..." "You mean the friend of a parent of a student?" "Is that normally how you handle such cases... having a friend of the pupil's parent right there in the room?" "Did Mr. Gavin ever talk about gay issues in class?" "You do know there's a difference between gay people and old dudes that mess around with boys, don't you?" "Look, I followed the steps exactly." "I mean, th-th-there was no reason for me to doubt what I was told." "Earlier, you said that you never suspected a thing, that you and Mr. Gavin were close." "We were." "I don't know." "You're... you're..." "You're getting me all turned around." "Did he ever discuss sex?" "Come on." "I'm almost 18, detective." "I came out to my parents at 12." "I was sexually active at 14." "I've been buying porn on my mother's AMEX for three years, and she doesn't even know about it." "By the time I had class with Mr. Gavin," "I could have taught him a thing or two." "Dan?" "Please unlock the door." "So, that year I got back from Europe, and you were volunteering?" "Community service." "Wow..." "Wow." "I know." "I just..." "I cannot believe you didn't trust me enough to tell me about this." "I wanted to... over the years." "Over the years?" "What about the last two fucking days, Michael?" "We're fighting for our lives here!" "I know." "I..." "There's no excuse." "I want you to say it." "Say what?" "You've never said it... not once during this whole time." "I want you to look me in the face and tell me that nothing happened between you and Jason." "No." "Fucking tell me!" "Danny, what..." "Who are you right now?" "Who am I?" "!" "Who the fuck are you?" "!" "I leave my life, I leave my job, and I follow you here to this fucking backwoods, bucolic fantasy for what... for some novel that's never gonna happen?" "I didn't drag you here!" "You packed the boxes and drove the truck!" "I have done my best to make a life for us." "I have loved you, I have trusted you," "I have stood up for you, and I don't get to hear you say, once and for all, that nothing happened between you and Jason?" "No, you don't, because if you have to ask, that means that you believe them, and I can't take that right now." "Could I get one of those?" "Wow." "You smoke?" "No." "Oh..." "What the hell?" "Wait, should you be doing that?" "No." "Cute." "I'm sorry." "I don't know what's wrong with me." "I've been crying like this for three days." "I was talking to my sister in Syracuse yesterday, and I... cried so much that I shorted out the number 4 on my phone." "I swear to God, it doesn't work anymore." "You press it and... nothing." "You know, I was thinking earlier about the... his first day at school." "He checked into the office, and afterwards, you went running into the lounge and said," ""Trish, have you seen the new teacher?" "He's really cute." "He's so cute."" "I did, didn't I?" "He was just... so quiet..." "And gentle." "I think I really loused this up." "I jumped the gun, didn't i?" "I mean, there's no way, right?" "No." " When are you coming back?" " I don't know." "Daniel..." "It won't look good if you leave right now." "None of this looks good." "I'm still here." "I just wanted to make sure that you're okay." "Thank you." "I was running..." "around Washington Square Park." "And this couple with a stroller crossed my path, and I didn't see them in time, and I fell, and I scraped my knee really bad." "And so I went into the restroom in the park, and I grabbed a bunch of toilet paper off this damp roll in the sink, and I tried to clean myself up." "It hurt like hell." "Anyway, there were these two guys... and they were standing, uh, like, back-to-back at the urinals." "I barely even noticed them..." "Until I was about to leave." "And that's when I had to pee." "Really, I did." "So, I limped over to the urinal, and then the guy... the one that was standing right next to me... he says," ""Nasty scrape." "How'd that happen?"" "Something." "And I remember telling him that..." "I-I couldn't pee in front of people." "So, then he turned to face me..." "He was playing with himself." "And, yes, I looked." "I mean..." "Who doesn't look?" "And then I glanced behind me, and I noticed that the other guy now was watching both of us." "And this is all happening in a matter of moments, you know..." "just seconds, and..." "I remember thinking to myself," ""What the hell are you doing?" "I have a boyfriend." "I love him." "He loves me." "And we don't do this."" "And then he touches me, and I remember I took in this quick, jagged breath." "I mean, it was so..." "I don't know, unexpected, you know?" "I mean, I didn't come here looking for this." "And it was exciting." "The anonymity of it was... hot." "And the rest happened so fast." "The expression on his face changed, and then he took off, and then..." "I saw a badge or... flash of a badge and then this smug, satisfied face on the cop, and before I knew it, I was jacked up." "My face was smashed against the tiles on the wall." "He was pressing my bloody knee against the concrete so hard." "I still have a scar." "Why didn't you tell Dan?" "The judge reduced the charge." "I did the community service." "I paid a fine." "It went away." "But why didn't you tell him?" "I wanted to protect him." "I..." "Didn't want to lose his trust." "I was afraid of losing him." "I was ashamed." " Hello?" " Hi." "Uh, uh, can I speak with George, please?" "Sure." "Who is it?" "It's Michael Gavin calling." "Listen, look, I know we're not working together anymore, but, please, it..." "with this rain..." "I'm sorry." "George isn't here..." "If you could see this place..." "He can't come to the phone." "#" "... blanketing the northeast right now." "Strong winds with gusts reaching 30 miles an hour." "This is a massive storm." "You can see right here  Parts of New Jersey, Long Island, and shoreline Connecticut will see a lot of action throughout the night..." "Michael, it's me." "I've called three times." "I'm starting to worry." "Call me, okay?" "And for those of you in the northeast, particularly those of you in the southern Connecticut  the eye of the storm system is right over you right now, so you'll be getting a bit of a break" "from the heavy rain, but winds will pick up again..." "Shit." "Damn it." "What are you looking at?" "!" "This is my house... my house!" "Mr. Gavin?" "Are you okay?" "Let go of me." "Why are you looking at me like that?" "You want to help me now?" "Where the fuck have you been?" "Hey." "Wait, wait." "Oh, God." "Wait!" "Jason!" "Go through the back door, up a staircase, and down a long hallway to get to room 114 in Rosa Parks Junior High School in Brooklyn." "When you enter the room, as we did at 10:00 A.M. On a recent school day, you don't find kids." "You find senior citizens..." "eating bagels, playing cards, doing all the things that golden agers normally do in a program for retired people..." "Oh, my God." "What the fuck is this?" "!" "I knew it." "We had a deal." "Hey!" "Jason!" "Just talk to me!" "Wait!" "Jason!" "Jason?" "!" "Wait!" "Hey!" "Jason!" "Come on!" "Where is he?" "Come on!" "Get off of him!" "You're gonna kill him!" "Shut up!" "Oh, my God!" "Stop it!" "No!" "Jason!" "Jason!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her why I'm late for school every day." "Oh, my God." "No." "Oh." "What are you gonna do?" "Huh?" "Are you gonna kill me?" "Huh?" "Do it." " Jason." " Do it!" "Jason, no!" "Come on, Jason." "Don't listen to him." "Jason." "Stay there." "Stay there!" "Jason!" "Jason!" "You do that to him?" "Stay here." "Oh!" "Think you can take me, faggot?" "No!" "Oh, my God!" "Stop it!" "Come on." "Come on!" "Leo, stop!" "No!" "Leo, stop it!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "No!" "Oh!" "Oh, no, no, no." " Leo!" "Leo!" " Oh, my God." "Call 911!" "Come on, Leo." "Leo." "Give me the knife." "You hear me?" "Drop it." "You hear me?" "Drop the knife, Jason." "Hold on." "They're on their way." "Jason, why didn't you tell me?" "I just want him to go away, and just..." "you were doing so good." "It's not your fault, okay?" "None of this is your fault." "It's not your fault." "L- 23, headquarters..." "They're taking him in for surgery." "There's not gonna be any charges." "They'll let him go." "You're free to go." "Michael." "What the hell happened to you?" "Get in." "You gonna be okay?" "She's over here." "I know, sweetheart." "The light bothers his eyes." "Oh, you complain every time, but I've got to see what I'm doing, don't I?" "There..." "Right as rain." "Mmm." "Daniel?" "You do know a little part of me died when you told them we weren't suing?" "The look of relief on their faces... it just made me want to do a table toss." "They were so afraid." "Are you sure about this?" "I don't know if I could go back there." "Sure, you could." "You..." "Okay, here we go." "There she is." "Do it!" "Do it!" "I'm sorry we're late." "It's my fault." " You okay?" " Yeah." " Hey." " Hey." "We should check in." "How was that car ride?" "You have no idea." " Well, I told you." " Yeah." "Whole northeast is just gonna float away." "They say it might clear up later." "Yeah." "That's what I heard." "Oh, boy..." "Are we just..." "Two friends that are gonna chit-chat about the weather?" "Hope not." "You okay?" "Yeah." "We okay?" "Who else is gonna put up with me in this stupid town?" "You coming?" "Are you okay?" "It's okay, it's okay." "It's gonna be okay." "Can't believe you fell for that." "Come on..." "Let's go get our chemo on." "Yes." "Come here." "Come here." "Oh..." "Trish says hi." "Aw." "How is she?" "She's good." "She had her last treatment today." "She misses you." "Yeah." "I owe her a visit." "Do you miss me?" "Well..." "I should go." "George is teaching me how to sheetrock today." "That's impressive." "I'm very impressed with myself." "Hey, hey, hey." "Should I take her with me?" "No." "She'd just get in the way." "Come here, Abigail." "But maybe I could bring her over tonight..." "For dinner." "Good..." "We'll see you then." "I might get held up a bit." "I'm just, you know..." "want to work on the house." "I can wait." "Good." "Bye, baby." "#" "# I pledge my allegiance and bite my tongue #" "# As I say goodbye to the only thing I care about... #" "# I bury my knees in a shallow grave #" "# There's no more reason to miss me #" "# And I stand alone... #" "# All tied up, and I feel no shame #" "# It's a very long evening when all my angels drift away... #" "# I cool my fever and bite my tongue #" "# As I remember the dreams with the brightest dawn... #" "# It's the color It's the color of rain... #" "# One, two, three #" "# You went to places that you wanted #" "# And wanted to figure out #" "# You went to places that you wanted #" "# And wanted to figure out #" "# You took the traces that you cornered #" "# And cornered and took around #" "# You took the traces that you cornered #" "# And cornered and took around #" "# You ripped the pages and you faulted and faulted #" "# And took it down #" "# You hide the faces that you wandered #" "# And wandered and went around #" "# You count the paces that you wanted #" "# And wanted to measure out #" "# You tried to rate it #" "# But you couldn't, you couldn't #" "# You played it down #" "# You couldn't take it but you wouldn't #" "# You wouldn't let it out ##"