"You awake?" "Why?" "Redneck foreplay." "Hey, baby, you awake?" " Mmm..." " Or, would you like to get awake?" "Good and awake?" "Mmm... not now." "Aren't you late for work anyway?" "Uh-uh." "Took the day off." "Dad's idea." "Taking Daniel to lunch today?" "Mmm-hmm." "Going to the Country Kitchen in Mattsville." "Mattsville?" "Everybody be watchin' us around here." "You know, it's too much of a statement if we go out to lunch in Pawley, like we're all of a sudden buddy-buddy, you know?" "Statement?" "In everybody's face, you know?" "I wanna be a little like Sweden." "Sell goods to both sides." "Honey, shouldn't you be on his side?" "Huh?" "Shouldn't you be on his side?" "No." "I should be on our side, as in save the damn business side." "Nobody seems to understand that but me." "Daniel?" "Daniel, honey, we're home." "He's not here." "Oh." "Aren't you even a little concerned?" "Concerned?" "He was locked up for 20 years, mother, and he's been out two days, and now he's not here." "No note, nothin'." "Well, what do you want me to do about it, honey?" "I don't want you to do anything, mother." "Just cook." "Hello." "I'll meet ya outside." "It's John." "We're gonna go look for him." "There are people around here, mom, who wanna see Daniel dead, people who would do it themselves, if they thought they could get away with it." "We should at least get him a cheap phone." "My mother is driving me crazy." "What's she doing?" "Nothing." "Absolutely nothing." "Oh." "Let's go." "Uh, okay." "Hello." "Hello, sir." "Does this work?" "Not miracles, I would think." "That'll be $3.16, sir." "Sir?" "Four-nineteen." "Thank you, sir." "_" "There he is." "Oh, pull over." "What's that like?" "I can't imagine." "What's he eating'?" "Looks like a candy bar or somethin'." "He's just feeling the grass." "This isn't very cool, is it?" "Ahem." "Not on our part, no." "Shouldn't we take him home?" "I think we should just leave, you know?" "Yeah, but you don't know this town." "Amantha, we can't follow him around for the whole day." "I know, but" "No." "No, you're-you're right." "Oh, hey!" "Look, it's Daniel!" "John just got here!" "We'll see ya later!" "Ahem." "Hello?" "Anybody home?" "Hello?" "Mom?" "Mom?" "In here." "Oh, hey." "Hey." "You feeling all right?" "Resting." "So, where's everybody else at?" "Out." "I was gonna take Daniel to lunch." "I got here early, so" "That's a sweet gesture, Teddy." "Can I get you something?" "Aspirin" " Tums?" "No." "No, I'm fine." " Just" " Okay." "There's some stuff on the counter, um, milk and meat." "Should I just put those things in the fridge?" "Yeah." "That'd be nice." "Thank you, Teddy." "Okay, mom." "Uh, sorry." "Janet, I keep forgetting." "Oh, you can call me mom, Teddy." "I think that's all right." "I don't know." "I'll tell you what." "How about when he's around, I'll call you "Janet,"" "and "mom" when he's not?" "It'll be our little secret." "I'd like that, Teddy." "You staying the whole week?" "Oh, just a few days." "Try to get the DA to meet with me while I'm in town." "There's not much to do here until they make their move." "Justice Row still feel positive about everything?" "Of course." "What about the press conference?" " Well, uh" " I can take it." "Everyone knows how hard it must be for Daniel," " but we were hoping he could be a little more" " Normal?" "Less esoteric." "Well, he does have a unique situation." " So, by definition" " I know." "We understand." "It's the public I'm worried about." "You know, first impressions." " He is who he is, John." " I know." "But, at some point, he's gonna have to be more proactive." "You know, it wouldn't hurt for him to declare his innocence from time to time." "Do we have to talk about this, right now?" "No." "No." "Ahem." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I just..." "I just thought we'd all get some time off for good behavior." "To gear up so quickly, after all it took to get him out, after all that he's been through, it just seems like cruel and unusual punishment." "Does a girl have to come out and say, "hold me?"" "Hey." "Hi." "Hi." "I needed this." "There is not a lot of hugging going on in the nuclear family." "Amantha?" "What-- am I smushing your droid?" "Amantha?" "Amantha, we talked about this." "Uh-uh." "Somebody didn't get the memo." "We had an agreement." "I know." "Hey-hey, this isn't Atlanta, before the media attention." "The media sucks." " Oh, God... mmm... mmm..." " Oh... okay." "We never even had an official last poke." "Oh, no-no-no." "We-we kinda did." "Okay, look." "This will be the official..." "official, okay?" "Amantha, stop." "Don't turn around." "He's gone." "We are idiots." "Well, wanna get lunch?" "Hey, don't be shy." "You can go back for seconds, thirds, as much as you want here." "People eat more than I recall." "Yeah." "You know, buffets used to just be for Sundays after church." "Now, it's seven days a week around here." "Can't even really compete as a business model without one." "Say, was the Ming Dynasty around before you went in?" "I'm sorry." "Chinese buffet up on the interstate." "No." "You know, when it first opened, it was all you could eat for $3.99." "You never seen so many dumb Georgia crackers descending' on egg rolls and sweet and sour chicken in all your life." "That's interesting." "I guess." "Can we be frank?" "I would hope so." "Do you plan on workin' at the store?" "I hadn't really thought about it, Ted." "Look, my daddy'd kill me, if he knew we were having this conversation." "He'd just as soon give you the keys to the store and walk away, if that's what you wanted." "He's a good man." "And I would, too, for that matter." "Point is, there are small town politics involved here with your, uh, your ongoing situation and all." "You know, some people have made up their minds about things, and there's just nothin' that's ever gonna change 'em." "You know, they're just dug in." "People are funny that way." "But, not "ha-ha" funny." "What?" "No." "Anyway, in these uncertain economic times and tight profit margins," "I mean, I'm just thinking about Jared's future, primarily." "I see." "It's damn complicated." "Well, I appreciate you sharing this information with me, Ted." "I'm sure it's a load to carry." "Kinda sensitive, too." "You know what I mean." "I don't talk." "I guess not-- not after everything you've been through." "You had enough?" "Yes, I have." "All right." "Amantha?" "Amantha?" "We never should've" " I never should've gotten involved with" " a client's sister, much less" " No summation now, please." "Well, hey, there." "Long time no see, Amantha." "Been watchin' my figure." "Well, it shows." "So, ya'll want the meat and three special?" "Uh, sure." "I'll just have a piece of pie." "What kind?" "Doesn't matter." "I'll surprise you." "Great." "God, I hate this town." "Sure you don't wanna hit a bucket?" "I'd rather watch." "Suit yourself." "Yes, my wife says I'm nosy." "I like to think of myself more as-as curious." "So, if I happen to cross some kind of imaginary line with you, just let me know." "Sure." "So, my buddies said you could have conjugal visits on death row." "I told 'em it was all BS, more like an urban legend." "There are no conjugal visits." "I knew it!" "You couldn't even touch another person, right?" "No touching'." "That's gotta work on your psyche." "You weren't supposed to, anyway." "What do you mean, wasn't supposed to?" "Things were a lot different when I was first incarcerated." "A certain element of guards were less supervised." "So, it, uh, created an environment for things to occur." "Things-- what-what, uh, what kinda things?" "Encounters, I guess." "Well, not by chance, more like an initiation of sorts." "Initiation?" "Yeah." "Maybe it was when they first saw somethin' akin to optimism on your face, or a bit of peace, or just that moment when you began to believe that..." "you could survive it in some paradoxical way." "I don't know why they did it." "Justification's a slippery slope, Ted." "So, one mornin', you go off for your weekly shower, and this group of inmates with particular compulsions suddenly appear." "You understand at once why they're there, but there's nothin' you can do about it." "You can fight it, some symbolic gesture to your manhood, but you can't stop it." "So, it happens... repeatedly." "Shit." "But then, it's over." "Just as quickly as they appeared, they're gone." "It's the strangest thing, Ted." "There you are, alone again." "The water's still runnin'." "The guards reappear like they never left." "Maybe they didn't." "I don't know now." "So, you finish your shower and get dressed." "Word gets back before you do." "Decent guys on the row won't look at you now." "They're too embarrassed for ya." "Then, there are the ones who, when you pass by their cells, they look at you with the basest form of curiosity," "Ted, like you were some freak show, and they wanna get all their money's worth because, more than anything, they're aroused by another shame." "You know?" "Then, there's a very special group on the row who look at you with this look, like-- how can I describe it for ya," "Ted, so you can really understand it?" "It's like they can pull you into their cell and not just do things to ya, but literally consume you, take your breath, eat your heart, and shit you out like you were nothin'." "I'm sorry." "I'm sure that was more than you were-- ahem." "But, it is difficult to gauge things in this world." "And like you, I suppose, hard to know where the lines are." "Anyway" "I don't know how he got in." "You need to get that little son of a bitch some action." "He's frustrated." "I don't see how." "I castrated him." "Then, he's pissed off, 24/7." "Awe." "Most of the time, he's sweet." "He's sweet." "Just here for a quickie, Senator?" "Marcy, you need to go easy on the flirting at the cafe." "I flirt with everybody." "Sheriff's suspicious." "Isn't that his job?" "Marcy." "If I stop flirting, won't it make him more suspicious?" "You are way too damn smart to be a waitress." "Life isn't fair." "Guess who came in for lunch today." "I don't know, Marcy." "The ghost of Strom Thurmond?" "No-- that was last week." "Amantha Holden and her lawyer from Atlanta." "Yeah, I heard he landed." "Did your other source tell you that they were doin' the nasty?" "How do you know that?" "'Cause there's a special kind of mad that a girl gets with a boy who's diddling' her." "Is that good news for the home team?" "Well, I don't know yet, but I sure don't see how it could hurt us." "I didn't have time to stop for flowers." "Well, it's the thought that counts." "Oh-- mmm." "How'd you get inside?" "Hi." "Let's go." "He did it." "What?" "I believe he did it." "Maybe he wasn't alone, but he was damn sure in on it." "What makes you so sure?" "Oh, hell, I don't know." "I'm just runnin' my mouth." "Well, you can't just come in out of the blue and say somethin' like that, Teddy." " I mean-- goodness!" " I know..." "I know." " I mean, really." " I know, Tawney!" "Damn" " I'm just blowin' off some steam!" "Well, what happened?" "Did something'-- did somethin' happen today?" "Nothin' I can put my finger on." "He's just a weird guy." " Oh, Teddy, good grief." " I know." "Who wouldn't be weird?" "All right, I get it." "But, when we was at lunch, I just got a really bad feelin' from him." "I gotta share my feelings with somebody." "It's not like I can go sharing my inner feelings about this down at the Masonic Lodge." "No." "I-I'm glad you share with me." "You wanna pray about it?" "What?" "Just about everything that's going on in our lives, right now." "I don't wanna pray about everything, Tawney, especially not about him and his shit." "How's it lookin', Ted?" "Secret is to make everybody so hungry, they'll eat anything." "That's not true." "Big Ted is the best cook in the family." "I guess this could take a long time, couldn't it?" "It could." "Time is money." "Well, not so much for the government." "They get paid either way." "Hmm." "Jared is gonna, you know, need some things over the next few years." "College looming." "Of course." "I guess, what I wanna know is, are you gonna be backin' us, John?" "To bet honest with you, Ted, that's Justice Row's call." "But, they're very positive, so far." "Think there's a chance in hell they'd just cut it loose?" "You know, just let him go?" "If it's in their best interest, politically and otherwise, anything's possible." "I'm the one person around here you don't need to sugarcoat things for." "Anything is possible, Ted." "But, I'd be real surprised, if they let it go." "And they could stretch it out for years, if it suited them." "Ahem." "Uh, didn't we just eat?" "That was two hours ago, which around here is like eight hours in dog years." "Oh." "Well, if it isn't Teddy and Tawney." "Hi-- we-we brought cupcakes." "That's nice." "And some beer." "Is that all right?" "Long as you promise not to shotgun 'em." "Well, you know, I am a pork eater, just for the record." "I just do what I'm told." "I've been known to cook up some baby back ribs myself." "Oh, be careful now." "First, you're eatin' a pork sandwich." "Next thing you know, you're drinkin' the blood of Jesus." "Teddy!" "I'm just kiddin' with him." "Your turn." "Hey, uh, I'm runnin' to the store." "I'll be right back." "Mom?" "Everything's ready." "Great." "Mom?" "Yes, Amantha?" "I don't know." "Can I get somethin'?" "The slaw." "Okay." "Hey, Danny, boy!" "Whoo!" "Top of the mornin' to ya." "Ah..." "I know you're awake, Danny." "Ah... you're always awake." "You know, you'd think you'd get tired of making pancake batter to the same memory, year after year." "Ain't happened yet." "Okay." "So, uh, if you didn't strangle the life out of our sweet" "Hannah, what do you bust a load to, huh?" "Memories of ice cream?" "Prom?" "Ugh... mmm... maybe you just get the shivers from me gettin' the shivers." "Maybe that's all you got." "Why are we the only ones cleaning up, again?" "It's the 1950's, Amantha." "You just don't know it." "Them were some damn fine ribs, daddy." "Thank you, Teddy." "Yeah-- sure were, pop." "You only ate one there, boy." "That's all I wanted." "You ain't going vegan on us now, are ya, Jared?" "No." "Hey, there's not anything else planned, is there?" "I'm gonna have to scoot in a minute." "Planned-- like what?" "I don't know." "Like a plaque presentation?" "I don't know, Amantha." "That's why I'm asking." "No." "The pie was it." "Oh, speaking of, that was excellent pie, Janet." "Thank you, Teddy." "Oh, let me get that." "Thank you." "Hey, you wanna go ahead and, uh, grab your stuff?" "I'll be right back." "Hello." "Hello." "I'm sorry I haven't said more to you." "I guess I was afraid." "Not of you" " I just didn't know what to say, exactly." "I understand." "But, I'm glad you're here, home." "Thank you." "I-I'm glad, too." "Please, take a seat, if you'd like." "Sure is a beautiful day." "It, um, has lots of colors." "Do you have, like, a-a favorite season, Daniel?" "A favorite season?" "Personally, I like the fall a lot." "But also, I love it when it rains on a hot summer day, even though that's technically not a season." "What is it that you love about rain on a hot summer's day?" "I don't know... calms me down." "Makes the plants happy." "And the thunder, I love the thunder." "It makes me think of God, but not in a bad way." "What is it?" "I'm just so aware that most of what I draw on from inside my head are things I've read about." "My real life experiences are actually rather narrow." "I don't think about the seasons, not for the longest time anyway." "I'm sorry." "I don't mean to sound pitiful." "No, oh, no, you don't, not really." "I don't feel that way-- sorry for myself." "I do feel I am being received sometimes that way by others." "And I know I have a part in that somehow." "I just don't have it figured out yet." "That'll probably take some time-- figuring' things out." "What is it?" "The place where I was had no windows." "Just these thick walls surrounded by more thick walls." "So, I never knew if it was rainin' or even heard the loudest thunder." "It's so sad." "Oh, it's-it's not as bad as it sounds, because I-I didn't sense things in a normal way." "I didn't miss them." "If-if I couldn't sense them, I-I-- they weren't real to me." "What was real to you, Daniel?" "The time in between the seconds." "And my books..." "and my friend." "Now that I'm here in this world, where everything's marked by hours, or dates, or events, I find myself in a state of constant anticipation." "What it is I'm anticipating', I'm not always sure, nor is it necessarily a pleasant feelin'." "But, in the case of the inevitable rain and thunder, which I am sure to experience, thanks to you, Tawney," "I am very much looking forward to that." "It will be glorious, Daniel." "You won't be disappointed." "Daniel?" "We'll have more conversations." "I look forward to that." "It's time to go?" "Yeah." "Okay." "I'll meet you out in the car." "Okay." "Uh, listen." "All that stuff you told me today after lunch, I don't know if you was pulling my leg or not." "Why would I pull your leg, Ted?" "I don't know." "Like a game?" "No." "Do you play games, Ted?" "It's just not a world I understand." "Anyway, um, well, this may be stupid of me, or crass, but, uh," "I got you a little eye candy." "A little somethin' to help you, uh, you know, transition into the outside world." "You know, get your mind right." "What was you and star man talkin' about?" "The weather." "On Mars?" "No." "You know, he didn't even hear thunder while he was in there." "Didn't even have a window." "Darlin', he was on death row." "He's not guaranteed a view." "I know." "It just seemed" " I don't know." "What'd ya'll talk about?" "Nothin'." "I just gave him a homecoming gift." "You did-- what?" "Dirty magazine." "You did not!" "Why not?" "I don't know." "Just seems tacky or somethin'." "Hey, he doesn't have a wife or girlfriend to come home to." "He needs some kind of release." "Maybe if he chokes that chicken a few hundred times, he won't be so weird acting." "You keep saying he's weird, but, you know, I don't" "I don't see it that way, really." "Oh, he's weird." "Goodness!" "You've been lookin' at me?" "Yeah, I've been lookin' at ya." "You're my wife." "Can't I look at ya?" "Yeah, yeah." "I just-I just didn't" " I didn't know you were lookin' at me." "Well, I tried to turn away, but you're just so beautiful." "I couldn't take my eyes off of you." "Well, thank you, Teddy." "Why are you still covered up?" "I don't know." "Um, 'cause I just-I just" " I didn't know you were lookin' at me." "And, you know, I-I was just planning on taking bath, and I didn't expect you to come in on me like this." "And, um, I'm a little embarrassed." "Why?" "It isn't a sin." "We're man and wife." "I know." "Let me see ya." "Come on, Tawney." "Let Teddy have a little peek." "Okay." "You've had your look." "Now, can I take my bath?" "Yeah, sure-- if that's what you want." "It is, if you wouldn't mind." "You know, we haven't made love since Daniel got out." "So?" "Maybe it's just coincidence." "What do you mean?" "I don't know." "I thought maybe you had some kinda-kind of big crush on him or somethin'." "Don't be silly." "I'm offended you would even suggest that." "I'm sorry." "You know I get a little insecure sometimes." "Enjoy your bath."