"Mind if I split?" "Sure." "All yours." "Hi." "Hi." "Oh, God." "I'm sorry." "That's okay." "It was nice to meet you." "Hello, friend." "Hello, friend." "Have you been swimming already?" "Mm-hmm." "Oh, Jesus." "I don't think we have time." "Mom!" "Oh." "Are you awake?" " Oh." " Mom." " When is she going to college?" " 12 years." "Mom!" "Oh." "Where's my shoe?" "Have fun loading the van." "Nice ass." "You packed?" " Yep." " You excited?" "You're hiding it well, but I can tell that you are." "I want to stay here for the summer." "I know." "I want to go to league camp." "Well, next summer, if you get that GPA up, you can stay and go to league camp." "That's ridiculous." "Why is that ridiculous?" "You said I can go to league camp." "If you get your grades up." "You seem to have forgotten the second clause of the contract." "It sucks at grandpa's." " That's not true." " It is true." "Martin, your grandfather has a swimming pool, two tennis courts, and a sauna on his property." "It categorically does not suck." "You suck." "That's a more defendable hypothesis." "Oh, shit." "I've been looking for that." "No, wait!" "That was not my fault." "I believe that it was." "Trevor, come here a second." "What are you gonna read this summer?" "Come on, man, you got three glorious, uninhibited months ahead of you, and you got a whole bookshelf in front of you." "Pretty soon you're gonna be 9, then you'll be 10, then you'll get a job, then you meet a girl, and then you'll have kids." "You will never have the chance to read for pleasure ever again." "Seize this opportunity, little man." "Oh, not that one." " Why not?" " 'Cause you're too young." "But I want to read dad's book." "Well, when you're older." "Why?" "Is it dirty?" "No." "It's derivative." "Told you not to read the reviews." "You were right." "Mr. Solloway, hi." "Thanks for coming in." "Not like I had much of a choice." "Well, we'll try not to take up too much of your time." "I'd like to begin by asking you a few questions about how this whole mess got started." "Morning, daughter." "Good morning, father." "Is that all right with you?" "It's a free country, pal." "Ask away." "You need your sunglasses in the car?" "I'm breaking them in." "All right, you think we got everything?" " Mm-hmm." " Yeah?" "Okay." "Here we go." "Hop in." "Where's Martin?" "He's still in the house, isn't he?" "I don't think so." "Shoot." "Here." "Martin!" "Martin!" "So can you tell us a bit about who you were back then..." "Mr. Solloway?" "I don't understand the question." "What exactly do you want to know?" "Martin!" "Anything you think is relevant." "How were you feeling about your life?" "Fine." "Fine." "Martin!" "Come on, dude!" "This isn't funny." "Everyone's waitin' on you." "Can you say a little more?" "Great." "I was feeling great, you know?" "My children were healthy." "My wife was beautiful." "My life was pretty fucking perfect." "Jesus!" "Jesus!" "Christ." "It's okay." "You're fine." "Martin, it's okay." "Oh, Jesus." "What the fuck?" "Jesus." " Get up!" " Ow, dad!" " What the fuck?" "!" " Come on, get out." "Get in there." "Get in there." " What is wrong with you?" "!" " It was a joke." "Oh, you think that's funny." "You think killing yourself is..." "I didn't kill myself." "I faked a hanging." "It's totally different." "It was really hard to figure out." "I had to look it up online." "Are you insane?" " Take that off." "Take it off." " Ow." "Take it off." "Everyone's in the car waiting for you." "Is it so much to ask that for one day, one day in your entire life, you think of somebody other than yourself?" "I thought you'd be proud of me." "Dude." "What is goin' on with you?" "Last summer you were this happy guy." "What happened?" "Come on." "Let's go before your mother comes up." "I hate grandpa." "I know, so do I." "Look at it this way." "At least you stand to inherit some of his money when he dies." "I won't take a penny of it." "Martin, I'm a public school teacher." " So?" " Take the money." " Is everything okay?" " Ow!" "Hey, careful." "Everything okay?" "It's fine." "What happened?" "He couldn't find his bathing suit." "Oh, I packed it for you, honey." "One, two, three, four." "That's all of 'em, right?" "Yep, that I know of." "Whit, can you please take those off inside?" "I'm sure I can." " Hey!" " Where were you last night?" "I was at Courtney's." "What were you doing at Courtney's?" "Hey, what can I get you all?" " We were studying." " Really?" " I'll have the burger." " Really." " Studying for what?" " For the S.A.T.s." "That test is in November." " Something to drink?" " Surprise me." "Something stiff." "You know, your father and I aren't morons." "We know what it looks like when someone's been smoking pot." "Oh, my God." "First of all, no you don't." "Because I've been high, like, 50 times in the past year," " and you have never noticed." " Excuse me?" "And second of all, is there anything on this menu" " that's under 1,000 calories?" " Probably not, no." "That's what I thought." "I'll just have a diet coke." "Oh, for God's sake." "Now, hold it." " Do you have a salad or..." " Forget it." "I'm not hungry." " Well, you have to eat." " Can I have blueberry pancakes," " please?" " Excellent choice." "Look at it this way... if she's not hungry, she's not high." "Oh, my God." "I could get the cooks to make you an egg white omelet." "Fine." "Captain Hook!" "Oh, that's right." "Yeah, we have those at home." "Thank you." "I'll have a lobster roll, please." " Okay." " Noah?" "I... a lobster roll, too, please." " Thanks." " You guys here on vacation?" " Certainly are." " For how long?" "All summer, actually." "Well, welcome to the end of the world." "I'll go get these drinks." "Do you remember the first time you saw her?" "Like it was yesterday." "What do you remember?" "I remember her face, asshole." "What do you want me to remember?" " Noah?" " That's the one" " with the spikes." " Noah." "Noah!" "Is she choking?" " Stacey." " Shit." "What did she eat?" " All right, baby, come here." " Oh, my God!" "Try and spit it out." "Spit it out, Stacey." "Good girl." "Come on, honey." "Can you cough it up?" " Honey, look at me." " Good girl, it's coming out." " Noah!" " It's all right, Helen." " All right." " Spit it out." " Come on, good girl." " Spit it out, Stacey." "Good girl." " You're all right, honey." " You're all right." " You're all right." " Oh, my God." " It's okay." " Dad." " Come here, honey." " Oh, my God, dad." " All right." " Come here." "Let me see." " Whitney, please." " No, you totally" " just saved her life." " No, I didn't." "Yes, you did." "No, she was totally gonna die." " No, she wasn't." " Yes, she was." " No, no, no, no, no." " You don't always have to say everything that pops into your mouth." "I have to go to the bathroom." " Let me out." "I have to go now!" " Ow!" " Come on." " Trevor, get up." " But he hurt me." " No, he didn't. get up." " Come on, it's all right." " He pushed me off of there" " for no reason and he took..." " You're all right." "Sit down." "What is happening here?" "I have no idea." "Martin, you in..." " Oh, I'm sorry." " Oh." "I thought my son was..." "You all right?" " What's the matter?" " Yeah, I am, I'm fine." "Oh, it's just your..." " your daughter, uh..." " Is that why you..." " Yeah." " Oh, please, she's a kid." "You know, can't take your eyes off of them." " Hey, buddy." " Hey." " What's goin' on?" " Nothing." " I was worried about you." " Don't be." "I'd better..." "Yeah." "Your food will be up soon." "I'm Noah, by the way." "I'm Alison." "You sure you're okay?" "Yeah." "I'm fine." "How are you feeling, sweetie?" "You okay?" " Mm-hmm." " Hmm?" "We'll be at grandma's soon, and you can take a nap." "No nap." "Come here." "She's okay." "No, I know." "I know." " Oh, shit." " What?" " I forgot to leave a tip." " That's okay." "No, no." "They live on those tips." "I'll be right back." "Miss." "I forgot to leave a tip." "I'm so sorry." " Oh, no, no." "That's okay." " No, no, please." " Please." " No." "Okay." "Thanks." "Alison, right?" "Yeah, that's right." "Well, here you are finally." " Whitney, let me look at you." " Hi, grandma." "Oh, my God." "You're so thin." "Have you stopped eating or something?" "Practically, yes." "Well, keep it up." "You look fabulous." "It's not a behavior pattern we want to encourage, mom." "Don't listen to your mother." "She was always a doughnut." " Hi, honey." " Hi, grandma." "Lose a couple more pounds, and I'll take you to Paris." " Hi, grandma." " Hey, honey." "Oh, thanks, Martin." "Ow." "Dad, who's your least favorite member of this family?" "Uh, I don't really know how to answer that question, little man." "Let me put it to you another way." "If we were on a plane and it was going to go down, and the pilot said you had to push one family member out in order to save the rest of us, who would it be?" "That's easy." "I'd jump myself." "Oh." "I was hoping you'd say Martin." "We're family, little man." "We're stuck together." "Come on." "I don't..." "I was a happy man back then." "I was proud of my family." "My first book had just come out." "I'd... everything I'd promised myself" "I'd achieve when I was a young man, I..." " I'd done it." " But?" "Well, that's it." "There I no "but."" "When I look back, I..." "I can't tell you what happened." "Noah." "I thought I might be able to interest you in an aperitif." "Oh, thanks, Bruce." "I-I got a beer." "Where in the world did you find that?" " In the refrigerator." " Huh." "Must have been left by one of the Mexicans." "A gift from Paramount." "Oh, that's right." "The new movie opens soon, doesn't it?" "Mm." "Next month." " You seen it?" " Couldn't bear to after the mess they made of my last book." "Nobody out there listens to me." "They say they will." "They ask for my input, but it's all bullshit." "They really just want me to cash the check and show up at the premiere." "So that's what I do." "And I feel like a bit of a whore, of course, but then I come home and I look around, and I feel better." "Sit." "So I read your book." "I enjoyed most of it very much." "Of course, you could have used a decent editor." "But first novel by an unknown writer..." "I'm sure you didn't get to pick." "No." "Helen says it did rather well." "Well, not really." "But I did secure an advance for a second book, though." "Well, congratulations, son." "Now you can finally quit that horrible job of yours." "Actually, I-I like teaching, Bruce, and I wouldn't quit it even if I could." "Everyone has one book in them." "Almost nobody has two." "Thanks for the reminder." "Any time." "Say, how's the brownstone?" " It's good." " Turns out you got in at the bottom of the market." "Yes." "We appreciate the loan." "It was my pleasure." "Got to spend the money somehow." "Look at me." "Open your eyes." "Look at me." "What?" " What?" " Nothing." " Why are you laughing?" " It's..." " What?" " Nothing." "What are you laughing at?" "Your face is a little funny, that's all." "Sorry." "I'm sorry." " No, you're not." " Come on." "I am." "Oh, come on!" "Don't." " Are you pissed?" " A little." "Don't be pissed." "Come on." "Shh." " You can't laugh." " I know." "I won't laugh anymore." "I won't laugh." "Come on." "Oh." "Mom!" "Dad!" "What is it?" " Mom!" " What's up, honey?" "I had a bad dream." "Oh, no." "You all right, baby?" "Yeah." "Can I sleep with you?" "Yeah, sure, honey." "Come on." "Here, lay down." "You're okay." "Come on." "There we go." "Aah." "I was restless, sure, but all men are restless." "But you... give up certain personal liberties to live in a secure state, on all levels... national, municipal, marital." "I never had any problem with that." "I enjoyed being married." "When other men used to complain about their wives," "I'd just think the poor sucker made a bad choice." " Yeah, right?" " No way." "Alison?" "Hi." "You found me." "No, no." "I-I was..." "I was just out on a walk." "I'm kidding." "It's a tiny town." "Oh, right." "Sorry." "How's your daughter?" "She's fine." "She's, uh, she's completely fine." "She's already forgotten all about this afternoon." "You going to the party?" "The surfers are throwing a bonfire." "Uh, I'm not really a surfer." "No, me neither." "Walk me home, then?" "Uh..." "I'm just up over that dune." "Okay." " Oh." " Sorry." "Oh," "God damn, I'm Sandy." "Want one?" " No." " Ah." "Yeah, I'd love one." " You're a writer?" " Mm-hmm." "God, I could never write a book." "I love reading, though." "Guess what my favorite book is." "Anna Karenina." "No." "Peter Pan." "All children grow up except one." "You know it." "Of course." "I read it to my kids." "You know, that's so funny, I..." " Why?" " Well, look." "I know it's supposed to be a children's book," " but..." " Right, all the stuff about children disappearing, dying, and..." " Yeah, that's terrifying." " Terrifying." "Uh, well, here I am." "Wow." "What a great house." " Thanks." " You own it?" "Oh, my grandparents moved out here years ago when land was cheap." "My, uh, my granddad was a fisherman." " You change it much?" " No, not really." "I mean, I put in indoor plumbing, but I, um..." "I, uh, I kept their outdoor shower." "Oh, I love outdoor showers." "You wanna see it?" "Uh, no, I'm okay." "No, it's... thanks." "I should really get..." "What, past your bedtime?" "Right." "Come on." "I think you wanna see this." "Wow, Alison, this is incredible." "You wanna try it?" "Now?" "Uh, no thanks." "Why not?" "I'm, uh..." "I'm not dirty." "Are you sure?" "I gotta go." "It's late." "I don't know what I'm doin' here." "I gotta go." "So go." "Alison, stop!" "No!" " Leave me alone." " No!" "Come on, Alison." "Let's go inside." "Get away from me." "Right now!" "Mr. Solloway." "Mr. Solloway." "Mr. Solloway." "Then what happened?" "Oh." "Where'd you go?" "Nowhere." "Oh, come back to bed." "Okay." "Oh!" "Oh, Jesus." "How many times do you think we've had sex?" "I have no fucking idea." "Ten thousand?" "Yeah, maybe." " How about you?" " Just... just hold my hand, please." "My mom asked us to drop by tonight." "Oh." "She wanted to do something." "I told her it was all right." "She's gonna cook lasagna." "Everybody's gonna be there." "Great." "Alison." "Let's try to have a good day today." "Cole." "Cole!" "Yeah?" "Be careful." "I always am." "Why don't you tell me how it began?" "Oh, it was so long ago, who remembers?" "We're hoping that you do, Ms. Bailey." "It all began on a dark and stormy night." "Oh, God, no." "I'm kidding." "Please, don't write that down." "Alison, ¿que pasa?" "Mm-mm.." "Hey, good morning." "Oscar, what are you doing here?" "I own the place." "Isn't it your bedtime?" "So what's going on, Ali?" "You know, just dying slowly." "Hey, you know what I was just thinking about?" "That first summer you came to work for us." "How old were you, hmm?" "16?" "My father still owned the place." "I was working behind the counter." "Remember that?" "Not well." "You were the prettiest piece of ass back then in your little candy stripes." "Not that there's anything wrong with you now, huh?" "But 15 years ago," "Jesus." "I thought, if I could just put my dick inside that girl before I turn 18..." "And I did." "The end." "God, I love that story." "So how's Cole?" "Oh, he's incredible." "Sorry I'm late." "What the hell are you doing here?" "I own this place." "Why does everyone keep asking me that?" " How are you?" " Fine." " Isn't today..." " Yes." "Did he call?" "Yeah, twice last night." "I don't know what to do." "He is so hot." "You can't fuck him." "He's married." " How do I stop myself?" " I don't know." "Pretend he's gay." "I've fucked a gay guy." "No." "Did you?" "Six-top." "Awesome." "Do you remember seeing him for the first time?" "Yeah." "Do you remember what you thought?" "Ms. Bailey?" "No." "But I remember he was holding his daughter." "I'll take 'em." "Are you sure?" "Okay." "No, that's not how you play." "You're playing it wrong." "I'm sorry, did you say coffee?" "A cappuccino with skim." "We don't serve cappuccino." " Oh, then an espresso." " It's a diner, Whitney..." " Trevor, Martin." " So they have coffee." " That's gross." " Trevor, get back here." "I'll see what the kitchen can do." "Maybe just put it in a fancy cup or something." "I'll have a diet coke, please, and this little girl will have some milk." " And what do you guys want?" " Ow, Martin." "Move." "Stacey, what is it?" "What is it, Stacey?" " She's choking." " Oh, my God." "I think she just swallowed one of my marbles." " You think?" " What do you mean, you think?" "Spit it out, Stacey." "Spit it out." " Oh, my God." " Spit it out, Stacey." " Noah, that's not working!" " Spit it out." " Spit it out." " It's not working!" "Turn her over." "Turn her over." "What are you gonna do?" "!" " I'll hold her." "You hit her." " She's turning blue." "You hit her on the back." "Oh, my God, she's turning blue." " Hit her hard." " Do something." "Hit her on the back." "I need your help!" "Helen, I need your help!" "Do something!" "Do something!" "Good girl." " Oh, my God." " Oh, thank God." "She's all right." "She's all right." "Mommy's got you." "All right." "She's all right." "Oh, my God." "Oh." "All right." "Oh." "One second." "I'll be out in a moment." "I just wanted to say thank you." "I don't know what to say." "You saved her life." "Oh, it's all right." "Can I offer you some money or..." " Oh, God, no." " No." "Please." "You sure you're all right?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "Well, you gonna come back and take the rest of our order?" "Uh, yes." "Yes, I will." "Just... give me a minute." "Okay." " I'm Noah, by the way." " Alison." "What?" "Uh, nothing." "Look, I can't really tell you what I was thinking." "That first year, everything was still such a blur." "But I do remember the sun was really bright..." "Like, unusually strong for so early in the season." "There was no place to hide." "I liked this one spot by the lighthouse, because the waves out there seemed even angrier than I was." "Hello, munchkin." "Do you know what today is?" "It's your birthday." "So where were we?" ""His sobs woke Wendy," ""and she sat up in bed." ""She wasn't alarmed to see a stranger crying" ""on the nursery floor." "She was only pleasantly interested."" ""'Boy,' she said courteously..." "'Why are you crying?" "'"" "and done!" "He can pick it up tomorrow." "We can hang out tonight." "I'm free tonight." "When he's doing something wrong, he's mine." " All talk, that... that..." " How'd it go there?" "There she is." "Right on time." " Oh." " I'm sorry I'm late." "No, no, no, no." " Mink oil." " Mink oil?" "He won't stop talking about the mink oil." "It's not good..." "it's not good quality, then." "I said..." "I said that a couple of..." "I learned it from a gypsy that came into the fish store last month." "I've been practicing." "It's really hard." "Okay, let me see." " Lucifer." " Oh." " That's worrisome." " Oh, no." "Am I going to hell?" "I'm not sure." "Uh, let me look it up." "It says here, "Lucifer is the card of temptation." ""Something is coming, something powerful, wild." "It may be a very good thing or he may enslave you."" "Hmm." "That's strange." "What could that be?" "Okay." "What about this one?" "That's the page of cups." "What is he?" "Is he a child?" "No, not necessarily." "He's a messenger." "Who, um..." "Let me see." "He is like a child, this messenger." "He is very sensitive." "You must be clear with him or he may misunderstand you." "There you are." "I've been lookin' everywhere for you." "I'm headed down to the bonfire." "You wanna come?" "Can I meet you there in a bit?" "Sure, Ali." "You do whatever you want." "Are you guys okay?" "Yeah, we're fine." "God, you know, he never gives up, though." "I gotta give him that." "Yeah." "How old were you when it began?" "I was 31 years old." "I remember promising myself I'd get to 35." "I'd make it through till then." "And if nothing had changed, well, then, I had tried hard enough." "And Cole, Cole was getting better." "He was recovering." "It was impossible for me." "And I was so angry at him." "I thought it seemed almost evil to be happy." "Hello." "Oh, hi." "I found you." "Were you looking for me?" " I'm kidding." " Oh." "I was just on my way to check out that bonfire over there." "Oh, wow." "You coming from there, or you..." "I, um... no, I, uh..." "Well, too bad." "I could've used an introduction." "You live around here?" "Uh, yeah, a little farther up." "Ditch plains." "What about you?" "Just right over there, actually really?" "Oh, it's not my house." "It belongs to my father-in-law." "Your father-in-law's Bruce Butler?" "Yeah." "You know him?" " Yeah." "Well, who doesn't?" " Oh, right." "Yeah, yeah, I guess he's... he's pretty famous." "Well, you know, I-I don't want to keep you." "No, no, no, please." "No, please, it's okay." "I would probably feel kind of weird going over there." "Those people look way too cool." "No, they're not, really." "Well, maybe not for you, but I get easily intimidated." "You wanna smoke?" " No, I-I don't smoke." " Neither do I." "You were offering me a cigarette." "Yeah, I know." "I should amend that." "I don't smoke except when I'm on vacation." "And even then, I only let myself smoke French cigarettes." "Why?" "It's a self-regulatory mechanism" "I've developed over many years." "'Cause they're so impossible to come by," "I usually give up before I find one." "Come on." "They're gauloises." "Okay." " I'm Noah, in case you were..." " I remember." "I'm Alison." "I'm really sorry about today." "I've been wondering how I could possibly ever repay you." "No, you don't have to do anything." "I..." "No, you don't understand the way my brain works." "I'm totally neurotic." "This is gonna haunt me for years unless I buy you a pony or something." "I don't want a pony." "You see, now you're making it worse." "Listen, could I..." "Walk you home?" "I mean, would you let me do that?" "Okay." "This is where you live?" "Mm, yeah." "Wow, this place is great." "Thanks." "Is that an outdoor shower?" " Uh, yeah." " Oh, man." "I've always wanted one of those." "Can I check it out?" "Sure." "Yeah." "Wow." "Wow." "This is my idea of happiness." "Uh, do you want to try it?" "No, I should..." "I should go home." "Okay." "Well, thanks for the walk." "Oh." "No." "I... sorry, that was..." "I don't know..." "I don't know why I did that." "I'd say it was 'cause I'm French, but I'd clearly be lying." "Well..." "I guess I'll see you around town?" "Yeah, there's no real way to avoid it." "No way." "All right." "Thanks for the ride." "You're welcome." "It was fun." "Yeah, it was fun." "We'll do it again." " Hey." " Hey." "Hi, Jocelyn." "Hey, Alison." "We missed you at the bonfire." "Yeah, I bet you did." "Okay." "Well, it was nice to see you." "See you tomorrow, Cole." "See you tomorrow, Joce." "Joce?" "Fuck her if you want, but just don't make me watch." "Cole!" " What?" "!" " Don't do that." " Why?" " Because you're scaring me, that's why." " I'm scaring you?" " Yes." "I'm scaring you?" "!" "I've done every fucking thing you've asked me, Alison!" "I read all of the books." "We went to see the therapist." " I went to see a fucking priest." " I know." " I know!" " I'm trying!" "I wake up every morning with his face in my mind, too." "You're not the only one who lost child here!" "I know." "I know." "Please." "I'm sorry." "Like, I just..." "It just hurts so much." "Like..." "I know it does, baby." "Just... make it stop." "I don't know how." "Let's go inside." "No." "No." "Alison." " Is this what you want?" " Yes." "Is it?" "Oh." "Oh, fuck me." "Fuck me." "Oh." "Oh." "Oh!" "Oh!" "Oh." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "Ms. Bailey." "Ms. Bailey." "How much longer is this gonna take?" "Am I keeping you from something?" "I have to pick up my kid." "I just have a few more questions."