"Mm, oh." "And here's another money saver." "If you buy a big bag of irregular socks you can pair up the good ones and use the cash you save for underwear." "Good to know." "And you can use the leftover misfit socks for dusting gloves golf club cozies, even a hand puppet." "A hand puppet?" "Oh, sure." "A couple of buttons for eyes and you're ready to go." "Hello, pretty lady." "Funny." "So have you done Internet dating?" "All the time." "If you're interested, I know a couple of tricks to weed out the losers." "I'm very interested." " Hey, how are you?" " Hi." " Oh, you know him?" " No." "Oh." "Talking to strange women." "Must be drunk." "Anyway, my profile says that I am a chiropractor but I also do a lot of holistic work." "You know, acupressure, tissue massage both of which promote a sense of well-being and also a heightened sexual sensitivity." "Heh." "Assuming, of course, your sexual sensitivity requires heightening." "I have absolutely no intention of sleeping with you, Alan." "Whoa." "Whoa, where'd that come from?" "I'm just talking about my job." "Making conversation." "And when you say "absolutely no intention," you mean tonight, right?" " You look like you could one of these." " You're a mind reader." "Excuse me, but I am with this lady and if she would like another drink I am more than capable of providing one." "But the dinner's still Dutch." " What's your name?" " Louanne." "Hi, Louanne, I'm Marcus." "All right, all right, fun time's over." "Look, Marcus the lady is on a date with me and you are intruding." "Ask the lady what she wants." "Not necessary." "I can tell you what she wants and it's not me." "But there's a principle involved and that is one of poaching another man's gal." " Is that so?" " Yes, that's so." "Now take a hike." "Just sit down and finish your peanuts." " Don't you touch me!" " Hey, hey, calm down." "You're right, you're right." "We should just take a deep breath and calm down." "That's a good idea." "So, what are you doing after Potsie here drops you off?" "Hey, Marcus?" "How's that, bitch?" "What are you doing in there?" "Be patient." "I got you a surprise." "You hear that?" "She got us a surprise." "You gonna grab that?" "You'll have to be more specific." " Answer the phone, Charlie." " Right, right." "Hello?" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, slow down." "Who is this?" "Oh, hi, Alan." "Not a good time right now." "Really?" "What the hell are you doing in jail?" "You're kidding me." "That's hilarious." "All right, all right, I'm on my way." "What do you think?" "I was gonna save it for our wedding." "Couldn't wait." "Oh, baby, by the time we get married that thing's gonna be half-eaten." "Who was on the phone?" " Alan." " Everything all right?" "Yeah, he was calling to say he wouldn't be home tonight." "Oh, did he get lucky?" "Not yet, but the night is still young." "Ten hours!" "Ten hours I sat in that urine-soaked jail cell!" "You shouldn't have peed yourself." "You said you'd be right there!" "Look, look, I understand your anger, but you gotta see it from my side." " What's your side?" " I get really sleepy after sex." " What's going on?" " Oh." "Your gallant fiancé let his brother rot in a prison cell all night." " What?" " Oh, come on it was the Beverly Hills jail." "I've been there plenty of times." "Slip the booking officer a 20, he'll send out for Starbucks." "You know I don't carry that kind of cash." "Regardless, it was just one night." "Nobody took your man cherry, did they?" "Was that why Alan called last night?" "Uh..." "I assume so." " Oh, Charlie." " Hey." "You had that sexy lingerie on and you were so beautiful." "Plus, you know how I hate to waste an erection." "I can't believe you abandoned your brother when he needed you." "Horrible." "How'd I become the bad guy in all this?" "He's the felon." "Why were you in jail, Alan?" "I was forced to use my hands to defend a lady's honor." "Ask him what happened to the lady." "She drove the guy I punched to the emergency room." "Why would she go with him if you were defending her honor?" "I would've asked her, but I was busy being handcuffed and dragged off to jail." "Where I spent the night covering my behind with a food tray." "Shame on you, Charlie Harper." "Oh." "Now she's mad at me." "Happy?" "Oh, yeah, I'm thrilled." "If my transsexual-biker cellmate had only been a little more affectionate my life would now be perfect!" "I don't know." "I just snapped and hit him." "First time in my life that's happened." "You mean it's the first time you've ever won." "The important thing now is for you to know that your family is a hundred percent behind you." " Thanks, Mom." "Now, before we waste money on some expensive lawyer how much jail time are we talking about if you just roll over?" "I don't wanna go to jail." "And if he does, he certainly doesn't want to roll over." " Charles, that is crude and uncalled for." " Thanks." "You're welcome." "Nobody wants to go to jail, sweetie." "Let's face it, if all we're talking about is 60 days alone in a room with no friends how is that different from two months squatting in your brother's house?" "You're kidding, right?" "I guess." "Don't worry yourself." "I'll get a public defender and take care of this." " There you go, problem solved." " Charlie." "Kid out of law school, hungry to make his bones." "What's wrong with that?" "He gets his hair cut by trainees at the barber college." "I'd be happy to help you hire a lawyer." "No, I couldn't take money from you." "That's an honor he reserves for family." "So you guys aren't gonna help him?" "Of course we are." "But if we didn't torture him he wouldn't be comfortable accepting help." "You don't know that." "Try me." "I'll find the lawyer and we'll split the fee." "Not fifty-fifty, because I'm out six years of room, board and incidentals." "And by incidentals, I mean mostly Kleenex and hand lotion." "Oh, please, I paid for four years of college and chiropractor school and he still gives me handmade tchotchkes for Christmas." "You said you loved the pot holders I made." "I said they made me cry." "Okay, okay, okay, fifty-fifty." "But we'll put it on my card so I get the miles." "I can't believe you two." "That's okay, Chelsea." "I'm used to being treated this way." "The mocking, the insults, the humiliation." "It's all part of the festering ugliness of this family." "See?" "He's fine with it." "Thanks for coming, you guys." "Your support means a lot." "Thank her." "If it was up to me you'd be in San Quentin wearing lipstick and a mop wig." "Okay, Mom, I gotta go." "No, I love you." "What?" "No, you're not bothering me." "No, I'm happy to take care of it." "Okay, okay, bye-bye." "Sorry." "I bought my mom a new computer and it's opened up a can of worms." "Ironic." "I just bought my mom a can of worms." "Brad Harlow." "Are you Alan?" "No, no, no, I'm his brother Charlie." "That's my fiancée, Chelsea." "And that pasty-faced jughead is the family rottweiler." "I just want it on record that I am not by nature a violent man." "My fuse is long, but it is attached to dynamite." "Shut up." "I'm paying by the hour." "Would you two just stop it?" "I'm sorry." "That's all right." "I have siblings too." "We tease each other constantly." "You know, sometimes I think it's just easier than saying "I love you."" "Okay, well, I got some good news for you, Alan." "Hey, when's the last time you heard that?" "I made some calls." "The fella you punched has alcohol-related priors and is definitely not looking to press charges." " I don't have to go back to jail?" " Not even a court room." "Oh, thank God." "I can't go back to the joint again." "All right, great, we're off the clock." "What do I owe you?" "Relax, you don't owe me anything." "Even better." "Thank you." "Charlie." "We have to pay you for your time." "Oh, you hippie." "Well, you can always make a donation to my charity." "What's that?" "Lawyers without yachts?" "No, no, it's for inner-city kids." "They come out to my ranch once a month learn to ride horses, get out in the fresh air." "Oh, that's wonderful." "I love horses." "I used to ride all the time." " Shall I write you a check?" " No, no, no, I got it." " Who do I make it out to?" " Danielle's Darlings." " Who's Danielle?" " My late wife." " Oh, I'm so sorry." " Oh, thank you." "I started the charity to keep her memory alive." "She loved horses." "Crap." "That's another zero." "There you go." "Wow." "This is incredibly generous." "Thank you." "You're very welcome." "We're having a nature ride and barbecue for the kids Saturday." "You should come." "Really?" "That sounds wonderful." "Doesn't it, Charlie?" "Do the kids race the horses?" "What?" "No." " There's no action?" " No action." "I don't see the point." "He's just joking." "No, I'm not." "I really don't see the point." "If you change your mind, here's the info." "We'd love to see you." " Thank you." "Maybe we will." "All right." "Yeah, maybe." " Thanks very much, Brad." " Always nice to bring good news." "I think having a criminal record is really gonna spice up my online-dating profile." "Might even post the mugshot." "Wasn't Brad terrific?" "Who's Brad?" "Alan's lawyer." "Uh..." "He's okay, I guess." "You guess?" "Not only does he have a successful law practice he's doing so much to help poor kids." "What?" "By sticking them on horses?" "How's that gonna help?" "Get them a high-paying job with Pony Express?" "It's not about jobs it's about getting out of the city, into the fresh air." "Fresh air?" "Have you ever smelled a horse?" "You know what I mean." "And did you hear the way he talked about family?" "They obviously mean a lot to him." "Family also meant a lot to Charles Manson." "That's a terrible thing to say." "Sorry." "Hey, speaking of horseback riding, hop on and I'll race you to the finish." "You know what?" "I'm not really in the mood." "That's okay." "I got enough mood for both of us." "Good night, Charlie." "But Charlie's a frustrated pony." "Go to sleep." "You know I was pretty charitable today." " Mm-hm." "I guess the spirit of giving doesn't extend to the bedroom, huh?" "Good night, Charlie." "Pbbt." " Hey." " Hey." " Can't sleep?" " Nope." "Me neither." "Even though I dodged the legal bullet I've got all this stuff building up inside me and I'm afraid I'm gonna explode." "I'm afraid I won't." "The other night in that bar, I just snapped." "It's like I became a different person." "Well, that had to be a nice break for you." "I'm scared, Charlie." "I mean, there was a part of me that really enjoyed driving my fist into that jerk's stupid face, watching him crumple to the floor in agony." "So, what are you scared of?" "What if this is just the beginning?" "What if I've awakened some long-dormant monster inside of me who revels in violence?" "What if I can't control the monster?" "What if the monster takes over?" "Ouchie." "You're fine." "Go to bed, monster." "Okay, good night." "What happened to your hand?" "Oh." "Oh." "I won't lie to you." "I got into a bar fight and punched a guy in the face." "Yeah, right." "No, I'm serious." "I spent the night in jail." "Fine, don't tell me." "I was just trying to make conversation." "I'm warning you." "There's a monster inside of me and you don't wanna wake him up!" "Oh, hot, hot, hot." "Did the monster burn his mouth with his chamomile tea?" "It's oolong." "Where's Chelsea?" "She went to that charity thing for inner-city horses." "You let her go without you?" "Why the hell would I wanna go?" "I hate kids and I'm scared of horses." "Maybe you didn't notice the way my lawyer looked at your fiancée." " What are you talking about?" " Or the way she was looking at him." "That's ridiculous." "I'm telling you, there were definitely sparks between the two of them." "You think?" "Charlie, that guy is everything you're not." "Well, what's that mean?" "He likes people he loves his mother works with children and he doesn't stumble through life stinking of whiskey and K-Y Jelly." "Hey, hey, hey, K-Y Jelly is odorless." "Not where you put it." "I'm just saying that if Chelsea were my fiancée I wouldn't leave her alone with this guy." "If she was your fiancée, you'd have big problems." " Like what?" " Like being the last man on Earth." "I don't understand why I have to go." "Because your uncle wants to use you to camouflage his growing fear his girlfriend is interested in another guy." "Hey, hey, hey, I have no fear." "Of course not." "You just got a sudden craving for barbecue and horses." "Whoa, there's gonna be barbecued horses?" "Cool." "Where the hell is this lawyer's stupid ranch?" "You must've passed the turnoff." "Put the GPS back on." "I don't need the GPS." "Take the next legal U-turn." "Then proceed 22 miles to main road." " Okay, turn around." " There's no room." " Well, then back up." " Twenty-two miles?" "Just till you find a place to turn." " I'm hungry." " We're almost there." "I don't think so." "I'd smell the barbecue." "Jake, would you pipe down so I can concentrate on...?" "Oh, damn." "You have reached your destination." "I don't think so." " Un-freaking-believable." " Still no signal." "Well, of course there's no signal." "We're in the middle of nowhere." " I'm starving." " What do you want?" "Go catch a squirrel." "This is why I always tell you to keep an emergency kit in your car." " Yeah." " No matter what happens I know that in my trunk is a thermal blanket flashlight, batteries, bottled water and assorted protein bars." "You hear that, Jake?" "You have an inheritance." "I already ate the protein bars." "You were right, Alan." "The more time Chelsea spends with this Brad guy the more time she's gonna have to compare." "I'm not gonna come out of that looking good." "If you're really worried about her being attracted to a better man why don't you become a better man?" ""Why don't you become a better man?"" "Yeah, like that." "You guys think there are mountain lions up here?" "Hadn't given it much thought." "Till just now." "Relax, there's no mountain lions." "You know, this is where it normally goes bad in slasher movies." "One guy falls back a little bit, usually to smoke pot or have sex and then he gets his head hacked off." "Well, let that be a lesson to you about drugs and premarital sex." " Good parenting, Alan." " Thank you." "Mountain lion!" "Mountain lion!" "Oh, crap." "Hey, guys, wait up." "Psych." "I can't believe you really thought I was a mountain lion." "Go to your room." "You punish me because you're gullible?" "Yeah, pretty much." "Still not funny!" "Chelsea's not home." "How could she not be home?" "That thing was over hours ago." "Worried she might be cheating on you?" "No, I was thinking car trouble, but thanks for that." "Sorry." "Chelsea and I have been together for over a year." "We're engaged to be married." "What are the odds she's gonna leave me for a lawyer because he's rich, handsome loves his family and named a charity after his dead wife?" "I don't know." "Even money?" "At least." "So 10 bucks just to make it interesting?" "Ouchie!"