"The key is listening to the signals and hearing what they're saying." "If she touches you soft, that's how she wants to be touched." "You do that until you can hear her get wet." "You gotta know women. I'm serious." "Last time I went home, my girl was so grateful, she went right outside and started washing my car." "Detailed it." "Everything." "Just to thank me." "Now, we gotta stop talking about pussy 'cause if we're not careful, this is gonna get us killed." "Especially in this neighborhood, and I'm not gonna let pussy get us killed." "Wanna go left?" "All right, get around this right here." "Move left." "Watch it." "Come on, man." "You gotta speed up." "Sarnt, you ever had two girls at the same" "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "West!" "l.E.D. l.E.D. l.E.D." "Five points south of Najaf." "Third vehicle." "We got it." "That was fucked up!" "Came right through the door!" "Shit, that was close." "You all right, sir?" "What?" "You all right?" "Yeah." "Sarnt, look." "What?" "Look at your pants, Sir." "Did you tell your girlfriend what happened yet?" "No, sir." "You're gonna have to tell her." "I'll tell her when it's working again, sir." "Okay." "But you don't become functional overnight." "You're gonna have to be patient with yourself." "She's gonna have to be patient with you." "Can you do that?" "I guess." "All right, then." "Good luck to you, Sergeant." "Thank you, sir." "I've gotta be on there." "I don't want to miss this plane." "Told you already." " You gotta see the MCNCO." " Thank you." " Airport?" " Yeah." "Sergeant T.K. Poole." "Listen, buddy, all I want to do is get back to my wife and kid." " You gotta help me out here." " l just go by the list." "Can I see the list?" "Hey." "Here it is." "Hey." "Sergeant Fred Cheaver." "658." "Reserves." "Hello. lt's right here." "That's how you spell it?" "With a C-H?" "How else would you spell Cheaver?" "Probably lots of ways." "Not in English." "Welcome aboard Flight 6240 to New York." "Our estimated flying time this evening to JFK will be 8 hours and 20 minutes." "Hey." "We're all on the same team." "You got leave?" "Yeah. 30 days." "Oh, yeah?" "Me, too." "How long you got?" "The rest of my life, thank you very much." "My tour's over." "I'm going home." "If we go down in the water... you're gonna be sitting pretty." "What?" "I said if we crash in the ocean, your donut's gonna come in handy." "It'll be like an extra life preserver." "If we crash in the ocean, it's not gonna matter." "Don't talk about planes crashing when you're on a plane." "Why not?" "It's basic common sense." "It's the same reason that when you're on a cruise ship, they're not showing Titanic." "It scares people." "Who wants to think about drunk pilots and midair collisions?" "Nothing you can do about it, anyway." "It's good to be home." "We're gonna miss the whole thing." "What the hell?" "Please do not leave your baggage unattended." "All unattended baggage will be confiscated." "Oh, God. I gotta get to Vegas." "I can't be sitting around here." "You're going to Vegas?" "Yeah. I'm going to Vegas." " Hey, are you going to Vegas?" " St. Louis." "Excuse me." "Do you know what happened here, why all the flights are cancelled?" "There was a blackout here." "The city was dark for five hours." "The lights just came back on a little while ago." "What do you think?" "Someone blew up a power plant?" "Could be." "You know attacking us again, taking out the infrastructure, sir." "Man, I wish I had my weapon." "Excuse me, sir." "Do they know what happened?" "Was it some kind of attack?" "What?" "Eh?" "No, it's just the heat." "The power company's going to handle it." "The whole grid went down." "Everything's fine now." "The lights are back on in the Northeast, but the planes are still not moving." "Airline officials say it could be at least two days until they get their planes to the right airports and resume their schedules." " Two days." " Yeah." "They don't know shit." "Supposedly, planes are flying out of Pittsburgh, but they can't even get us there till tomorrow night." "And even that's a big maybe." "Well, it's nice meeting you all." "I'm outta here." "Good luck." "Where are you goin'?" "I want to rent a car before there's none left." "It's 15 hours to St. Louis." "Drive all night, be there having dinner with my wife tomorrow." "Sure as shit not gonna stay here while they run out of food and water." "Hey, man." "I bet you planes are flying out of St. Louis." "Probably." "Maybe I can catch a flight to Vegas from there." "Me, too." "Okay." "But we split everything three ways-- gas, rental, insurance, everything." "No free rides." "That's it." "Sorry." "No cars left." "You got nothing?" "Nothing." "Can you believe this?" "Maybe we can call the Army." "The Army?" "What's the Army gonna do?" "You guys in the Army?" "Yeah." "Were you over there?" "Just got back." "Come here." "All right, listen." "I do have one car left." "I'm supposed to hold it for my boss, but screw it." "You guys can have it." "Oh, my God." "That's so nice!" "Thank you!" "Oh, no." "Thank you." "Sure is beautiful." "I guess we don't have time to stop." "No." "We don't have time to stop." "I never been to New York before." "You been to New York, Sarnt?" "I'm stationed at Fort Drum." "I've been there a million times." "I thought you were from Las Vegas." "No." "I'm not from Las Vegas, either." "Well, my friend's from there." "That's his guitar." "Well, it was his guitar." "I mean, he got killed, so I'm just taking it back to his family." "That's a real nice thing to be doing." "You must be a good dancer, huh?" "Oh, no." "My wife's a good dancer." "I just try to keep up." "She loves all those Latin dances." "Samba, merengue, tango." "She's a looker, huh?" "Yes, she is." "Yeah." "What she's doing with someone like me, I'll never know, and I'm not gonna ask." "We're lucky ones, aren't we?" "We made it through in one piece." "I got shot in the leg, but all I gotta do is put some goo on it, so..." "Did you get shot..." "Sarnt?" "No. I caught a piece of shrapnel." "Where?" "Outside of Najaf." "No. I mean where on your body." "Thigh." "Upper thigh." "How about you, Sarnt?" "I had back surgery." "Three crushed vertebrae." "What happened?" "Porto John fell on me." "What?" "Was it full?" "No. lt was-- lt was brand-spanking-new." "It was completely sanitary." "We were setting up a camp outside of Bandar, and it fell off a forklift." "Well, don't tell the ladies that." "You gotta find something better than that." "You kidding?" "I love that Porto John." "Best thing that ever happened to me." "A week later, my unit shipped off to Mosul, got shot to pieces." "The shitter saved my life." "Wish I could've brought it home, set up a shrine." "If I have another kid, I'm gonna name him Porto John." "That's..." "Porto John Cheaver." "They all look so good." "I don't know what to order." "What can I get for you?" "Give me the Number 8, the Number 9, and the Number 10." "Coffee, orange juice, and milk." "Good, huh?" "I tell you, this woman's smart." "She's got plans for us." "You" " Can't-- She's dying to get married 'cause I'm her ticket to the top." "How are you her ticket to the top?" "She's a lieutenant." "She outranks you." "No." "Right now she does." "I mean, she's got the connections, but I got the juice." "I mean, it's like a merger between us." "You know?" "She's gonna get me into Officer Candidate School." "I'm gonna move up the ranks." "Then I'm gonna run for office." "And you have to have a good head of hair to run for office, and I have a good head of hair." "So your fiancée is meeting you in Vegas?" "No." "She's stationed at Fort Dix." "I'm gonna meet her there afterwards." "Oh, I get it." "First, a little fun at the tittie bars." "No. I got business to take care of." "You paying back a gambling debt?" "Wrong again." "Randy had a gambling debt." "Yep." "That's why he had to rob Lucky Jim's." "He stole $50,000 so he could pay back the loan sharks." "But then of course, the cops got on his tail, and-- and that's when he enlisted." "You know, he just went-- went right into the Army and disappeared." "It was the perfect getaway." "See, that's exactly what the Army doesn't want." "The Army's got standards." "Like, it-- it means something." "It's not like lowlifes and gangbangers." "What?" "The last thing we need is trash like your pal Randy." " They don't want" " Fuck you!" "Fuck you!" " Whoa!" " What the fuck is wrong with you?" "That "trash" saved my fucking life!" "He pulled me outta that truck when I got shot!" "And he took a fucking bullet in the fucking head!" "All I got left is his fucking guitar!" "Get back in the car." "Get back in the car!" "I ought to kick your ass!" "Oh, you're gonna kick my ass." "Yeah. I could do it, too." "I'd just push you down a flight of stairs, punch you in the kidney." "You'd better have eyes in the back of your head." "This is not" " We don't have time for ass-kicking stops." "You just say you're sorry, and let's get going." " l'm not sorry!" " l'm not talking to you." " Say you're sorry." " No. I'm not gonna say I'm sorry." "That's like saying I'm sorry that the sky's blue." "Come on, man." "You just" "You just insulted her dead friend." "Huh?" "Come on." "Suck it up." "Say you're sorry." "Let's go." "I'm sorry that you got so upset." "Okay?" "No." "That's not an apology." "But it's pretty close." "Come on, let's go." "That's not an apology." "Come on." "Let me in." "Dude, let me in." "I can't." "Just press the key thing, man." "The keys are in the car." "Shit." "What the fuck were you thinking?" "I was thinking I had two fucking nut cases throwing shit, getting into a fight." " We didn't fight." " This is not my fault." "Well, it's sure as shit not our fault." "We didn't lock the keys in the car." "Whatever." "We need a coat hanger." "Coat hanger's not gonna work on a late model car." "You need a Slim Jim." "Well, you know what?" "I don't have a Slim Jim." "Thank you." "So, they went on this worldwide tour, and they-- they got-- 'cause they got this contract." "And they got to meet the queen, and they got to meet the president." "And after that," "Randy got the guitar from his daddy, who got it from his granddaddy, who got it from Elvis." "Elvis." "Come on." "It's true." "That guitar's worth a lot of money." "She's a beaut, don't you think?" "Yeah. I already got one, though." " You do?" " Yeah." "Me, too." "That's great." "What color?" "So, how is it over there?" "You guys see any action?" " Yep." " Yeah." "Yeah?" "Well, we all think you're doing a hell of a job." " Thank you." " Thanks." "No, no." "Thank you." "You know, we get clients all the time in the dealership who want their Hummers outfitted just like yours." "The desert camouflage, the whole bit." "One guy even put armor on his H1 ." "They want bullet holes?" "Yeah, they probably do." "Hey, check this out." "Push that third button right back there." "Not bad, huh?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Bet you guys don't have that on your vehicles." "No, sir, we don't." "You got it?" " That didn't take long." " Thank you." "I have to use the bathroom." "I'll pull over by those bushes." "No, I said "use the bathroom,"" "not squat by the side of the road." "And the weird and wacky talent this week is..." "Congratulations, Wayne." "All yours." "Do you want to play pool, or... pinball or something?" "Nah." "We should get going." "Okay." "Turn it down!" "Turn it off!" "is this a good show?" "Yeah." "I've never seen it before." "is it new?" "Not that new." "I've haven't really seen much of anything lately 'cause I've been overseas the past 1 5 months, and... you know, I'm in the Army." "But I'm home on leave for 30 days, so I'm just-- l'm hoping to catch up." "I like your jacket." "It's okay." "What's the "l" stand for?" "Indiana." "You know, the college and the state where you're standing right now." "Yeah, you know, I was thinking of going to college when I get out, but..." "Do you like it?" "Do you think you could be quiet?" "Sure, I can be quiet." "Good." "No way." "You know, I'm limping because when I was over there, I got shot in the leg." "That wasn't very smart, was it?" "Hey!" "Hey, hey, hey!" "Back off!" "Back off!" "What's wrong with you guys?" "Back off!" "Calm down." "No, that's right." "Be afraid." "No, be very afraid." "Go, go, go!" "All right!" "Yeah!" "We won!" "Kicked their college asses!" "Kicked their college asses!" "Oh, this girl's crazy." "Yeah." "Just glad I didn't have my weapon." "TV!" "TV!" "TV!" " l wish we had some booze." " Yeah." "Check my bag." "Doctor in Germany gave me a bottle of schnapps." "And a tough night here at the arena for the home team." " Thank you." " All right." "Not bad." "I mean, what you really want after a fight is whiskey 'cause it mellows you out." "If you want to get mean, you drink gin, vodka if you want to zone out, and you save tequila for when you want to get crazy." "She didn't need tequila tonight." "Did anybody see a straw around here?" "No." "Why?" "'Cause if you drink through a straw, it gets you drunker." "That's not true." "Of course it is." "That's ridiculous." "How could that be true?" "Well, I don't really know how it works." "It just-- lt-- lt just gets in-- lt just goes in faster." "Oh, it's just one of-- one of the mysteries of life?" " ls that what you're saying?" " Uh-huh." "Shit, man." "You okay?" "I was..." "You know." "Sorry." "Honey, it's me." "You there?" "Pick up." "Okay." "Well, we got held up a little bit, but we'll be rolling in in about two hours or so." "is that the Mississippi?" "That's it." "I always wanted to go on one of those riverboats." "You know?" "Do you think maybe we could stop?" "No." "Pat!" "Pat!" "Honey!" "I'm home!" "Honey?" "Sure you got the right house?" "Yeah." "Can't believe your own dog doesn't know you." "We don't have a dog." "Yes, sir." "You have a good life here, Cheaver." "There you are." "Fred." "You're home." "I missed you." "God, I missed you." "Let me get the dog to stop." "Whose dog is that?" "Mine." "No, no, no." "Pogo, you come with me." "Yes." "You come with me." "Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "I'm gonna put you in here for a while." "Yes, I know. I'm sorry." "Mommy loves you." "So." "Where you been all my life?" "How's your back?" "It's fine." "Doesn't matter now." "Scott spent the night at Brad's house." "He should be back soon." "Great." "Where are your friends?" "They're out back." "Don't you think we should get them?" "Well, sure." "Yeah." " Let 'em in." " Okay." "Welcome." "Can I get you something to drink?" "Yeah." "Do you want one, Fred?" "No." "Thanks." "Well, I bet you're all glad to be back." " Yeah." " Oh, yes, ma'am." "Excuse me for a minute." "Sit down." "So." "How are you?" "Fine." "Are you sure?" "is anything wrong?" "No." "Nothing." "Something's wrong." "I don't see you for almost two years, and then... I don't know." "Well... I don't know, either." "Well, I guess they say that... you know, that... it's difficult at first, and-- l'm sorry. I jus-- l really am." "I just can't do this." "Everyone told me to wait, but I don't see the point." "You know me." "I'm no good at pretending." "Pretending about what?" "Fred, you're not gonna like this." "Okay." "Okay." "I think I w-- l need a divorce." "What?" "I'm sorry." "But to go around pretending for a week that it's not true, well, that didn't seem fair to you, either." "Wait a minute... I come home, and..." "Why do-- Why do you want a divorce?" "I didn't plan it this way." "It just happened." "You were gone." "I'm sorry, but I've moved on." "You gotta be kidding." "I got a new job, and I'm finally happy." "Finally happy?" "What" "You mean you weren't-- you weren't happy before?" "Well, I guess I was. I don't know." "l-- l" "You seeing someone else?" " No." " You can tell me." "I'm not seeing anyone else." "I don't want to see anyone else." "I'm happy being alone." "I want to be alone." "I know that sounds harsh, but it's the truth." "I am happy." "Without you." "Oh, my God." "This is what makes a guy flip out." "He's gonna strangle her." "If it were you, you wouldn't strangle her." "Okay." "Shoot her." "Whatever." "Hey." " What's up?" " Hi." "Who are you?" "Friends of your dad." "My dad?" " He's" " Scott." "Dad!" "It's good to see you." "Wow!" "Look at you." "How are you?" "I'm good." "How are you?" "Just great." "So." "Did Mom tell you?" "Yeah." "You surprised?" "Yeah." "Can you believe it?" "Stanford." " What?" " l got into Stanford." "What?" "Yeah, I got in!" "You got into-- l got into Stanford." "Oh, yeah!" "Oh, my" " Yes!" "All right!" " l did it." " l knew you could do it!" "Yeah, and I got a scholarship that'll pay for half the tuition." " Fantastic." " And I made six grand working this year." " Excellent." " And I need $20,000 to pay for the rest." "That's not so great." "Well, I told him I'm not sure we can come up with the $20,000." "It's doable." "I'll just get my old job back, and if we have to, we'll take a second mortgage on the house." "We have a second mortgage already." "Well, then we'll sell the fucking house, all right?" "Okay." "Well, it took the Schneiders two years to sell theirs." "I need the money in three weeks or I lose my place." "I'll get you the money." "I promise." "Can I talk to you?" "What are we doing here?" "We should be focused on Scott." "I am focused on Scott." "We gotta make sure we can do this for him, pool our resources, whatever it takes." "Why do you need a divorce right now?" "I just don't get it." "I'm sorry, Fred." "But this is what I want to do." "Now, I've had some papers drawn up, and I just want to stick to the plan." "Listen." "We're gonna keep it together." "We're gonna stay calm." "Look, there's no killing yourself or anyone else, okay?" "Hey, you're gonna get through this." "All right?" "Do you hear me?" "This is fine right here." "Here you go." "Cheaver." "Cheaver." "Come on, what's your plan?" "I'll take you guys to the airport and then I'm gonna drive straight to Salt Lake, see my brother." "I'm not going back home." "I can tell you that much." "What about your kid?" "I'll figure something out." "Your brother should lend you the money." "My brother is in Debtors Anonymous." "Fred?" "I thought that was you." "You're back." "Hey, Carl." " Hi." " What's up?" "How'd it go over there?" "Great." "You know, it went great." "Well, we all missed you-- you know, seeing you every day." "Well, I'm coming back." "I'm just gonna take a few days off, and then it's nose-to-the-grindstone time." "I gotta earn some money." "Yeah." "But, you know, since Alan's been in charge, he's just been running the company into the ground, and then that lawsuit-- you heard about that." "No." "Already laid off 60 guys, including me." "Shit." "They're shutting down the whole place next month, so..." "Fuck." "Yeah." "Fuck!" " Hey!" " Fuck!" "Oh, my goodness." "Fuck!" "Okay, there's no need for that." "Take good care of yourself." "Don't drive straight through, okay?" "You'll get into a wreck." "Not a bad idea." "What?" "Catch a telephone pole going 90." "Collect some life insurance money." "No, no, no." "No, no." "Forget that." "'Cause insurance doesn't pay for suicide." "Yeah." "Not if it's an accident." " Enough with the crazy talk, please." " Yeah." " You're not being serious-- - l'm kidding, I'm kidding." " Okay, good." "Good." " lt's just a joke." "Yeah, have a nice flight." "And good luck to you." " All right." " Drive safe." " You're on the wrong side, pal." " Yeah, I know." "You know what?" "It's all right, 'cause I'm driving anyway." "What?" "We're coming with you." " No, you're not." " Yep." "Of course we are." " No, you're not." "You got a" " Yes." "You have a flight to catch." "We'll fly out of Salt Lake City." "I feel pathetic enough, all right?" "Crying don't mean you're pathetic, okay?" "I'm fine." "Yeah, you're great." "That's why we're coming with you." "We want to meet your whole family." "This is what you gotta do." "Okay, Cheaver, you gotta get your finances in order." "All right, you buy a house, you gotta have an exit plan." "You gotta know how you're gonna sell it." "You're right." "Hey, easy there, cowboy." "It's for my back." "So what you gotta do is buy an apartment house, rent it out, live in the basement for free." "Six months later, you borrow on it and buy another one." "Am I still living in the basement?" "Absolutely." "Take a left." "You can get around this." "Yeah, a man's gotta be indispensable." "You want to move up in the world, you gotta have skills." "Basic skills." "Yeah, what are your skills?" "Leadership." "I'm a leader." "Me, too." "No, you're a private." "That's the opposite of a leader." "You know computer?" "Yeah, kinda." "You're at a disadvantage if you don't master computer skills." "You gotta build on that." "Learn a new word every day, and... get comfortable with it." "Do you know where you're going here?" "I got a sense of it." "I think you might be making your way around to the east." "No. I'm good." "Cheaver, we going the right wa" "Do you think he's okay?" "He took a ton of those pills." "Cheaver!" "Wake up, man!" "Cheaver!" "Come on, man!" "Wake up!" "T.K., watch it!" "Oh, my God." "Holy shit!" "Oh, my God." "Are you all right?" "Yeah." "Oh, my God, T.K., you're so lucky." "Yeah, well... I'm a lucky guy." "What the hell were you doing, T.K.?" " He stopped short." " lt was a red light." "It was a red light." "There's nothing I could do." "He stopped-- l can't fucking afford it!" "Hey, guys." "I think it opened up." "Come on, keep pressure on it." "They said a left at Templeton." "Did you see Templeton?" "There it is." "What the hell?" "We need a doctor." "Well, the doctor isn't in till 3:00, so you're gonna have to wait." "Oh, it can't wait." "is there a nurse?" "No." "You know what?" "I'm gonna treat her myself." "What do you mean?" "I'm a doctor." "An Army medic." "You can't just go in there!" "You have to wait!" "Yikes." "Here, you're gonna have to take off your pants." "Yeah." " Does that hurt?" " lt's okay." "Have you ever done this before?" "No." "But sometimes you gotta put things out just to get things done, you know?" "Mm-hmm." "You're gonna be fine." "Hey, thanks." "No problem." "Hey, you mind if I use your phone?" "Hey, babe." "Sorry I missed you, and I do miss you, but I'm gonna be another day or two, so... I love you." "Okay." "I'll talk to you later." "Bye." "How you doing, Cheaver?" "I'm okay." "Yeah, you gotta give us those pills." "We're not gonna let you off yourself." "If you kill yourself, Cheaver, do you know where you go?" "Hell?" "Worse." "The Lake of Fire." "Lake of Fire?" "Yeah." "You don't want to go there." "I feel like I'm in it." "Hello." "Theodore?" "Yeah." "I think it's your girlfriend." "Hey, baby." "How are you?" "No." "No." "No, the other guy got shot in the leg." "He's the one whose wife left him, so we're driving him to Salt Lake City, and then I'm going right home." "Okay, babe?" "No, I'm with two guys." "All right." "Well, let" "Let me call you back, okay?" "I love you, too, baby." "Okay." "All right." "Bye." "Oh, my Lord." "You're one good liar." "You know that?" "But just so you know, that's not a good thing." "That just makes you a big phony." "Well, most of what I said was true." "Except you forgot the part about the tittie bars." "That's 'cause I'm not going to a tittie bar." "Seems to me if you can't tell your soul mate the truth, then maybe she's not really your soul mate." "I didn't say she was my soul mate." "If Randy lied to me... I'd take that guitar, and I would bust it over his head and the damn lap dancers, too." "There's no lap dancer!" "Okay, so tell her the truth." "Why can't you just tell her the truth?" "Forget it." "Just... I don't get it." "What's the big problem?" " The big problem?" " Yeah." "is that I got wounded in the dick." "That's the big problem." "What?" "But I thought you said..." "Yeah, and it doesn't work." "I can't get it up." "Okay?" "You happy?" "No." "Why are you going to Vegas?" "I got the name of a place in Vegas where they got real pros, and I'm gonna see if they can get me hard." "Hookers?" "No." "High-end girls who know how to handle special cases." "Why don't you let your fiancée do it?" "Because she doesn't know where l'm wounded." "She's not gonna be interested if she knows I'm not working right." " No." "You don't know that." " Yeah, I do know that." "You gotta give her a chance." "If it's not working, she and I got nothing to talk about." "Well... even if it doesn't work, you can still pleasure her." "That's true." "Yep." "He can do threesomes." "With another girl." "No, another guy." "The guy does it with T.K.'s fiancée while T.K. watches." " Just..." " Colee" "Or you can use a vibrator." "They make 'em real lifelike these days." "You can even strap it on, or, you know, they can put this thing inside your penis." "It's like a balloon, and all you gotta do is just pump it, pump it up." " Colee?" " Yeah?" "Enough." "Well, it's just about how much you love her." "Rent-a-car folks gave me the go-ahead, so I can do it." "But there are about five jobs ahead of you." " Shit." " All right." "So, what are you doing after Vegas?" "Gonna go see your mom or... I haven't spoke to my mom in three years." "No?" "Why not?" "She kicked me out of the house when I was 16." "Wanted to spend more alone time with her boyfriend." "The only people I really want to talk to now are Randy's family." "I'm gonna stay with them from now on." "Well, you can use my phone, tell them we're running late." "No, that's okay." "They don't even know I'm coming." "They don't?" "Nope." "You know that family Colee's bringing the guitar to?" "She thinks she's gonna live with them." "They're gonna be her family." "That girl's living in a dream world." "Plus she's got no skills." "Thanks." "Looks good." "Where's Colee?" "I don't know." " That girl you were with?" " Yeah." "I think she went across the street to the church." "Can I help you?" "We're just looking for someone." "Are you friends of Colee?" " Yeah." " She told me to look out for you." "Just come this way." "He stopped me and then he said, "What do you do?" ""What do I do?" "What business are you in?"" "And it's funny 'cause I always say, "Well, I'm in the love business."" "And don't you know the Lord himself is chairman of the board of this love business." "Think about it." "He is, isn't he?" "And so then, you've got to ask yourself, don't you want to be in business with the Lord?" "Hey!" "Come on in." "I know I sure do." "'Cause the Lord takes responsibility even when you make mistakes, doesn't he?" "He's really good, isn't he?" "That's what I call a good C.E.O." "Now, in the spirit of our Lord, who died for our sins, let's reach out to each other with a greeting of peace." "Peace be with you." " We should get out of here." " Yeah, I know." "Peace be with you." "Now remember the folks behind you, too." " Don't be shy." " Peace be with you." "And if any of you are troubled, I encourage you to speak out." "Testify." "I'm hoping you can pray for us." "We're soldiers home on leave, and my friends here are troubled." "Cheaver has a very bad back and a broken marriage and he wants to take his own life." "And T.K.'s wounded in the private parts, which is why he's lying to his fiancée about going to whores." "Thank you, sister." "Lord, bring your healing touch to Sister Margaret's arthritis... and give her daughter strength and faith in the final days of her pregnancy." "In Jesus' name we pray." "Amen." "And be sure to say a prayer" "Please stand, sir." "Get up." "It's your turn." "Lord, help these soldiers, who have given so much for this country." "Ease the burden of pain from Brother Cheaver's back and heal his broken spirit." "Amen." "And for Brother T.K., make his wounded-- whole again." "Amen." "You soldiers from Kansas City?" "No, sir." "We're just passing through." "Well, I hope you're hungry." "We're having quite a shindig tonight." "Happens to be my birthday." "Happy Birthday." "That's very nice of you but-- l'm Stan Tilson, and you don't need to be polite about it." "I want you folks to come and that's it." "We don't have time for this." "Well, you can't say no to that kind of invitation." "Half of healing is fellowship." "We'll have a quick bite and be on our way." "Ah, welcome, welcome." "Now, we don't start for a little while, but you folks make yourselves right at home." "What are those?" "Lobster." "Big lobster." " Ask her for umbrellas." " How many chairs do we need?" "I've got five set up here, so I need to get a few more." "Give me a hand right here." "This guy's got some serious dough." "Happy Birthday." "Would you care for some stuffed endive?" "No, thank you." "It really is." "The place looks fabulous." "I work for my dad." "I work in commodities." " Really?" " Yeah." "Cool." "Yeah, my dad's a drill instructor." "Yeah, I got a brother stationed in Korea and another brother who's in basic training." "So your whole family's in the Army?" "Yeah. I mean, just about." "You know, my mom's not." "Our whole family is in finance." " Cool." " Yeah." "These are the soldiers that Dad invited." "This is my brother Peter." "Right." "Welcome home." " Thanks." " Thanks." "No, thank you." "It's a big mess over there, isn't it?" "Well, of course it is. lt's a war." "War is messy." "It can't be all perfect." "How would you know?" "Well, how would you know, Peter?" "We don't exactly see you over there." "But I'm not for the war." "I don't think it's a great thing." "Neither do I." "Since when?" "I can change my mind, can't I?" "Like everybody else." "Yeah, go ahead, change your mind." "But these guys are stuck over there." "That's not the point, Peter." "I mean, you don't get it." "You just don't get it." "You can't change your minds, can you?" "You can't just leave?" "No, not really." "We do get some RR." "These guys are screwed and for what?" " Guys" " For what?" "Can we just argue about golf, please?" "There's a lot at stake over there, Peter." "Yeah, a lot of money." "Barbara, what's the name of that woman who's always trying to get that Saturday morning tea time?" " Angela Morton." " Right." "That's her big cause." "What do you really think we're fighting for?" "What are you doing over there?" "Honestly, we're just trying to stay alive." "Stay alive?" "I bet that's not too easy." "Stay alive?" "Jesus Christ." "If that's your attitude, no wonder we're losing." "Bob!" "Hey, that's nice." "Well, I don't have to listen to this crap." " Come on." " No, but you just" "Can't you just shut up for once?" " What?" " You always do this." "I'm sorry." "It's okay." "It's fine." "Parties are supposed to be fun." "White wine, please." "So you're a soldier, huh?" "Used to be." "You saw a lot?" "Enough." "So they have girls in the military now?" "Yes, ma'am." "is that your friend?" "The girl I'm with?" "We're sharing a car." "You married?" "I'm separated." "You?" "What's that mean?" "It means "mmm."" "Okay." "Do you know how to dance?" "As a matter of fact, I do." "Cheaver's got some skills." "I think she likes him." "Do you wanna dance?" "Can you dance?" "Of course I can dance." "Nah, I meant your leg." "Oh, yeah." "I don't know." "We could try." "Does it hurt?" "Yeah, a little, I guess." "I think if you put your foot on mine..." "Put my foot on yours?" "Yeah." " Like, on your toes?" " Sure." " How's that?" " Yeah." " We can try that." " All right." " Yeah, that helps it." " Does it?" "Okay." "Wow." "What?" "You actually know how to be nice." "Where'd Cheaver go?" "I don't know." "Cheaver?" "Where the hell is he?" "Maybe he went home with that woman." "He better not have." "Oh, come on." "Give the guy a break." "Cheaver!" "Nah, I don't want to stay here." "Hey!" "These people are nice." "And we gotta sleep sometime." "Yeah, you could have slept while I was driving." "Look, we'll find Cheaver in the morning and then we'll get going, okay?" "I think these are the guest rooms." "I'm gonna take this one." " Okay." " Okay." "All right." " Good night." " Good night." "Oh, my..." " Oh, yeah." " Oh, fuck." "I think I found Cheaver." "Oh, yeah." "I think I'm fixing to come!" "Don't stop." "Who's that?" "It's just my husband." " What?" " Don't stop." "Keep going." "Give it to her good, soldier." "There's someone else in there." "Cheaver, that woman wanted to make a train with you." "Do you still want to kill yourself?" "Not at the moment." "There's still hope, you know." "That woman wanted you." "Yeah, and that man wanted you, too." "It's not funny." ""l think I'm fixin' to come!"" "I told this guy in the band about Randy's guitar, and he thinks it might be worth thousands of dollars or maybe even more." " Great." " Whatever." "It'd be nice to go hiking when we get to the Rockies, don't you think?" "Have a picnic." "No." "Denver, Colorado." "Where are we?" "What are you doing?" "You'll see." "It's a good one." "I know a guy who'd come over here right now and give you ten grand for it." "10 grand?" "10 grand." "But... it looks like someone just got 22 at auction." "$22,000?" "It's a very special instrument you've got there." "Yes, sir." "Jeez." "$22,000!" "You didn't believe me." "No, I thought it was just a stolen guitar." "It's not stolen." "It belonged to his daddy." "But he stole something, right?" "Yeah, he robbed a casino." "Lucky Jim's." "That's right." "Walked in there by himself, and he walked out with $50,000." "So Randy was, like, a bad ass, right?" "Yeah." "He was a good person, too, you know." "Came from a great family." " He just robbed a little bit, is that it?" " Hello?" " Hey, Scott." " Why'd he start robbing?" "He just got, you know, into a little bit of trouble." "Well, your mom and me have... some things we have to sort out." "No, no, it has nothing to do with that." "You're going to Stanford." "We're gonna get you to Stanford." "No." "No, no, no." "That is not a good idea." "No." "Do not do that." "I will get you the money." "I will take care of it." "I said I will and I will." "Promise me you will not do that." "All right." "I'll call you later." "All right." "And... I love you." "Fuck." "So what's up?" "Kid thinks he's got it all figured out." "He's gonna get the money by enlisting in the fucking Army." "$20,000 signing bonus, has to put off college for God knows how many years, but he's okay with that." "Well, that sounds like a pretty good idea." "That is not a good idea." "They'll send him right over there." "I'm not gonna let that happen." "Maybe he could go to a state school." "No." "You got a shot at Stanford, you go to Stanford." "Exactly." "The problem is you can't go there for free, you know." "I gotta get the money." "Get the money." "I'm gonna just-- l'll get the money." "I'm worried about you, Cheaver." "I'll figure something out." "If you're so worried about him, why don't you give him that guitar of yours?" "What?" "I can't give him Randy's guitar." "Why not?" "It's a stolen guitar." "It's not stolen." "It belongs to his family." "Besides, I mean, I don't see the problem, you know." "I enlisted and I went over there." "Yeah, but what choice did you have?" "And if I was gonna sell the guitar, don't you think I'd use it to pay for my own goddamn college?" "Yeah, but it wouldn't be Stanford." "You don't know that." "Come on, the guy's gonna kill himself if you don't give him that guitar." "I'm not gonna kill myself, and I don't need your guitar." "All right, what are you gonna do then?" "I'm gonna skip Salt Lake, I'm gonna go to Vegas with you guys, I'm gonna borrow some money off my credit card, and I'm gonna turn it into $20,000." "Oh, you gonna play poker?" "No, I was thinking roulette." "You play red and black, guess the right color three times, I got the money." "If I was you, I'd stick to the skills games-- either blackjack or Texas hold 'em." "But whatever you do, just stay away from craps." "That is the stupidest idea." "Why?" "It's crazy." "You can't just go to Vegas and make $20,000." "That's just" " You're dreamin'." "Wait a minute." "He's dreaming?" "Yeah." "He's the one who's got the stupid idea?" "You're traveling all the way across country to visit a family that you've never even met." "Like, they don't know you're coming." "They don't even know you exist." "You think they're gonna love you or take care of you?" "Like, he's not the one who's dreaming." "Christ." "Are you" "You gotta be kiddin-- l don't want him to lose his money." "Listen." "Don't worry about me, okay?" "Don't worry about me." "I have to give 'em the guitar." "I have to give it to them." " But they don't even know you." " l don't know you!" "Whoever heard of giving $20,000 to someone that you just met?" "Yeah, but the guy's desperate." "He's all fucked up." "Enough." "I can pay for my own kid's college." "I'm just trying to help you, man." "You wanna talk about fucked up?" "Look in the mirror." "I'm not the one trying to kill myself, buddy." "Colee..." "Colee stop crying." "I can't give you the guitar." "I can't give it to you." "I know. lt's okay." "It's not okay." "I want to give it to you, but then I won't have... I won't have anywhere to go." "Colee." "Come on, Colee." "All right, listen." "How about you stop crying and we'll stop." "What do you mean?" "You been wanting to sightsee, right?" "Yeah." "Okay, so we'll go somewhere, do something." "Could we have a picnic?" "Yeah, a picnic." "Whatever." "Yeah." "You know, you can leave your guitar in the car." "I'm not gonna steal it." "Well, you might not think you are, but I'm not chancing it." "I don't want to get ditched." "Why?" "Does that happen to you a lot?" "Look at these rocks." "That's a skipping rock." "That would go far, huh?" "Yep." "Hey, that's a fossil." "That's a nice one." " lt is?" " A mollusc." "See?" "The poor little guy winds up getting squished between two rocks." "Why do we have to go back?" "I like it here. lt's fun." "Oh, fuck." " T.K." " What?" "Guess what." "What?" "I got your problem solved." "What problem?" "I was in the bathroom and I met these real nice girls, and they travel around in that RV over there." "And what they do is they're sex workers." "But they're real professional." "And I told them about your problem and they said" " You gotta stop telling people that!" " But they said they could take care of it." "And they said they'd give you a discount 'cause you're a serviceman wounded in the war." "Sounds like a good deal to me." "That's what I thought." "What do you think?" " Hey, there." " Hey." " Hi." " So here he is." "This is T.K." "T.K., this is Brandi, Kendra and Savannah." " Hey." " Hey." "So how does this work?" "Does he just pick one of you or" "Yep, or he can have all three." "How much?" "He's so cute, I'll do it for free." "For free?" "How does that sound?" "Don't worry." "She'll get it going." "If she can't, nobody can." "You come with me." "Okay." "You're all right?" "We're here for ya." " Colee?" " Yeah?" "Come on." "You all right?" "Yeah." " What?" " Colee." "No good deed goes unpunished." " What's wrong?" " l got to..." "You getting cold feet?" "No, I gotta get something in my stomach" "What's the problem?" "I haven't eaten anything except a hot dog in the last 25 hours." "So what?" "Eat later." "Well, I need to up my electrolytes." "You know, I need a PowerBar or a Gatorade" "Okay." "Do you have anything like that?" "No." "We just got Coke and tossed salad and Marlboro Lights." "Hey, T.K., I saw a store on the way in." "All right, well... I guess they're gonna go to the store." "Get me a fried egg sandwich on a roll!" "Are you mad at me?" "No." "I'm sorry." "I was just trying to help." "I should just keep my big mouth shut." "Don't worry about it." "Wow, look at those clouds." "Wow, it's really coming down." "That's a good one." "This is unbelievable." "Wow." "Holy shit." "Holy shit is right." "Get out of the car." "I'm not getting out of the car." "You stay in this car you might die." "If I leave the car l might die." "T.K., open the door and get out." "It's okay." "You're gonna be fine." "Okay. ls it gone?" "Oh, my God." " Are you all right?" " Yeah." " What's going on?" " Nothing." " You okay?" " Yeah." " ls it working?" " What?" "is it working?" "As a matter of fact, yeah, I think" "Yeah, it's working pretty good right now, so..." "That's great." "Oh, no." "Okay." "Yeah, that's working." "That's great." "Yep." "Wow." "We should get out." "Hey, chief!" "Guess what." "What?" "His penis works." "What do you mean?" "You got wood?" "Yeah." "Definitely wood." "So we don't need these ladies anymore?" "Nope." "He's all fixed up." "He could pound a nail with that thing." "Pound a nail?" "How do you know that?" "Did you touch it?" "No, I didn't have to." "It was just pokin' right into me." "It's a miracle." "You are one lucky bastard, T.K." "You all right?" "Yeah, you don't seem too happy... considering." "I'm all right." "Yeah, I get to see my girlfriend, go back down range like nothing ever happened." "T.K., what are you worried about?" "You're on a lucky streak." "I don't think so." "I mean, you can only get lucky for so long, you know?" "Streaks don't last forever, and I've been burnin' some karma." "Hey, you can't think that way." "It's gonna mess your head up, get you in trouble over there." "Yeah, you gotta forget about luck." "I mean, look at Randy." "Robbing Lucky Jim's, not getting caught." "That was lucky." "Amazing." "But maybe if he had have got caught, he would have gone to jail and he wouldn't have enlisted, and then he might be alive." "That might be luckier." "So, you know, just don't think about luck." "I'm on my third tour." "The odds aren't good." "Maybe you need to change the odds." "Maybe you don't go back." "You can go to Canada." "Take a break." "No, I can't go to Canada, man." "You're a coward if you go to Canada." "Yeah, but you're a coward that's alive." "Plus you've done your service." "Given a lot." "More than most people." "I can't do it, you know." "They got shit football in Canada." "Become a hockey fan." "No." "I don't know anyone up there, anyway." "We'll come visit you." "I've never been to Canada." " Yeah." " Nah." " Yeah." " l'm good." "Hey!" "There's Lucky Jim's." "Robbing a casino's a ballsy thing to do." "In a weird way, you gotta admire it." "You know, he was wearing a gorilla mask when he did it." "On Halloween about three years ago." "Nobody even looked twice at a guy running down the street wearing a mask and carrying a gun." "I'm happy for you, T.K." "You know, you're going home to your girlfriend, and that's gonna be real nice." "You just treat her right." "Okay." "When you get married, let me know 'cause I want to send you something." "You got lots of celebrating to do." "You got your bridal shower and your engagement party" "All right, Colee." " Rehearsal dinner" " Stop, stop, stop." "It's gonna be nice." "Just take care." "That was a bit forward." "Good luck at the tables." "Listen to me." "You go home, do what you need to do there." "If I were you, I'd think twice about going back." "Well, if I go home, I'm going back." "You know, my whole family's in the Army, so it's almost the same thing." "Well, see you guys." "So, uh, you sure you don't want me to drive you over to Randy's?" "No, I gotta do this by myself." "Thanks." "I'll take a taxi." "Well, if you need anything, you give me a call." "All right?" "I'm real sorry about that guitar." "Forget it." "You bring it to them." "They're gonna love you." "...worried about blowing up some abandoned Iraqi tanks and other personnel carriers..." "What'll it be?" "Can I get a shot of tequila?" "Suddenly, out of an alleyway, wham!" "There comes an RPG and missiles from the air." "We have been trying to get a live report..." "Can you make that a double?" " Yes?" " Hi." "I'm Colee Dunn." "I was a friend of Randy's." "We served together and... this is his guitar." "Well, come in." "And these flowers are for you, too." "Thank you." "We love flowers." "Here we are." "You know, you have such a beautiful home." "Thanks." "I guess you didn't-- you didn't really need the flowers." "Well, we're always happy for more." "We have a flower wholesaling business, so..." "Randy probably told you that." "Of course, he never liked working there." "You know boys." "Always trying to prove they're men." "I guess working in a flower shop didn't quite go with that." "I must say, I didn't even know that Randy played the guitar." "I thought that-- l thought that maybe you gave it to him." "It wasn't in your family?" "No." "Our family was never too musical." "So I don't know where he would have gotten such a nice guitar." "That's funny." "How are you doing today, sir?" "I'll know in about 30 minutes." "Never too old to sign up." "You ever think about it?" "I just got out." "That'd be the best time to get back in." "Yeah." "There you go, sweetie." "Your attention, please." "Air Canada Flight 63 for Vancouver will begin boarding in approximately 45 minutes from Gate C29." "Can I help you?" " No, no, no." " No?" " You sure?" " Yes." "Just tell us some more stories about Randy." "Okay..." "All right, I'm gonna get that." "Tom, that toast is burning." "Shannon, this is Colee." "Colee served with Randy." "Hi." "Hi." "And this is little Jessie." "He looks just like his daddy, don't you think?" "He's got Randy's eyes." "But he's got a bald spot just like you." "Give me that baby." "Stop it." "That's my boy." "Yeah." "How you doing?" "I'm good." "I'm sorry, Colee." "You didn't know about Shannon, did ya?" "Yeah, I knew." "I knew about that." "He's a damn fool, Randy." "He never slept with the girl but once." "He barely knew her." "But she got pregnant." "Then he disappeared and, of course, we felt responsible." "She was gonna have a baby." "It doesn't change whatever you had with Randy." "Hope you know that." "This is the final call for Air Canada Flight 63 to Vancouver." "He's looking at me to see if it's okay to eat them." " Yes, you may eat them." " You go right ahead." "That's delicious." "Hey, Colee." "I just want to say that Jeanie and I have talked about this, and seeing that you're kind of out of touch with your own family, well, we want you to know that-- that you're welcome to stay here" "for the rest of your leave." "Really?" "Wow, that's..." "That's so nice." "I have something that I want to say, too." "Shannon... there's a couple things that you should know." "Randy...he loved you with all his heart and soul, and he talked about you all the time." "And, you know, he knew that he had made a big mistake and he was gonna make it up to you." "And, Tom and Jeanie, he just loved you so much." "He knew what great parents you were and grandparents, too, and... and he was just so looking forward to coming home." "Ya'll have been so nice to me." "And I think I should go." " No, no, no." " Yeah, no" "You can stay, can't ya?" "No, I think I should go." "And, you know, I was thinking... would it be all right if I took that guitar?" "Randy's guitar?" "is that okay?" "You take it." "You're welcome to it." "Thank you." "Excuse me." "I have a friend who I think got arrested." "You just brought him in." " What's the name?" " Poole." "T.K. Poole." "Yeah, we got him." "Can I see him?" "He's still being processed." "You're gonna have to wait." "What'd he do?" "Doesn't say." "Must have done something." "Hello?" "Cheaver!" "Guess what. I got the guitar." "I told you not to worry about that." "Are you still in Vegas?" "Can I come meet you?" " Hey." " Hey." "How is he?" "They won't let me see him." "Well, what did he do?" "I don't know." "Sir?" "When can we see our friend?" "You can't." "Listen, we gotta see him." "He's in the Army." "We all are." "And he's home on leave for just 30 days." "Now you might not know what that's like-- l know just what that's like." "I was a Marine in Desert Storm." "Well, then maybe you can help us out." "I have my problems with my approach shot." "Oh, see, yeah." "All you gotta do is just shorten up that back swing, and I guarantee you'll hit the green every time." "That's it." "Like, I don't like to brag, 'cause bragging doesn't come easy to me, but, you know, last time I played Number 5 at Kuwait City, I got a hole in one." " Aw, come on, you're bullshitting me." " No. I'm serious." "And it was amazing because the ball never even hit the grass." "It just dropped straight in the hole." "There was nothing but cup." "Swear" "That's amazing." "Beautiful, beautiful." "You know these two?" "Yeah." "Hey, guys." "Hi." "Hey, your friend here is a real hero." "Yeah, we know, but why is he here?" "He's here because he served his country honorably and then he came back and took responsibility for a past mistake." "That's as brave as it gets." "What's the charge?" "Armed robbery." "Armed robbery?" "What did he rob?" "You ever heard of a casino called Lucky Jim's?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I heard of that." "So you robbed Lucky Jim's?" "Yeah." "And couldn't keep it a secret anymore." "The guilt was just keeping me up at night." "A guy who can man up to his past got my respect." "Could we have a moment alone with him?" "is that all right with you?" "Yeah." "Lucky Jim's?" "Why are you doing this?" "Well, like you said, I gotta do what I gotta do." "Find a way to stay alive." "What, to keep from going back?" "Yeah, it's perfect." "No." "You're gonna go to prison." "Look at me." "Prison's gonna be easy on a guy like me." "I got it all figured out." "I can get a college degree in there." "These guys said I'll be out in 18 months." "This is the best thing that ever happened to me." "You'll be an ex-con." " Yeah, but a living ex-con." " Right." "T.K., this is crazy." "Everybody okay in here?" " Yep." " Yes." "You didn't get hit too hard in the head fighting over there, did ya?" "No, sir." "No." "Well, then you're all very funny." "So funny you can get your asses the hell out of here." "You think I got time to waste, Mr. Big Shot Hero?" "You rob Lucky Jim's?" "Yes, sir." "That's interesting." "'Cause Lucky Jim's has never been robbed." "Sure it has." "I checked all the records." "And I just got off the phone with Lucky Jim himself." "Now come on, get out of here." "Take a walk." "T.K., you okay?" "Hey." "Oh, man." "I can't believe I almost did that." "I can't believe I did that." "Don't worry." "We get it." "I'm sorry, guys." " Don't worry about it." " Nah, I'm real sorry." "It's okay." "Now I'm fucked up." "Wow, it's official." "I'm fucked up." "Did you guys know how fucked up I was?" "Didn't really show...that much." "I gotta reevaluate." "You know what?" "I'm starting to see things more clearly right now." "Good." "Great." "I realize that... I don't know shit, man." "Fuck." "I don't know shit." "You know some things." " Yeah?" " Yeah." "You got the basic skills." "So how were Randy's parents?" "They were real nice." "Good, I'm glad." "And so was Randy's girlfriend and his baby, too." " Oh." "God." " Ouch." "Yep." "But look, I got the guitar, and, Cheaver, I want you to have it." "That's real sweet of you, but I don't need it." "I got the money." " What?" " How much did you win?" "I didn't win anything." "I didn't even place a bet." "I reenlisted." "You what?" "You what?" "I reenlisted." "Got a $20,000 signing bonus." "I'm all set." "That's insane." "You're calling me insane?" "Cheaver, I got you the guitar." "Sell it." "Get the money that way." "You need that guitar more than I do, Colee." "No. I got Army money saved up." "I'm gonna be fine." "And I'm gonna find my mom and patch things up, so you take it." "No. I'm going back." "Recruiter called my home unit." "They're transferring the paperwork now." "You can get out of that." "I don't know that I want to." "Cheaver, take the guitar." "Please." "You take that guitar, Colee." "It's your guitar." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "Thank you." "No." "Thank you." "Sergeant." "T.K." "How are ya?" "Good." "Good." "So you got here." "Excuse me." " Look who it is." " Hey." " How are ya?" " Good." "How are you doing?" " How are you doing?" " How are you doing?" "Where's your guitar?" "Did you sell it?" "Sell it?" "Hell, no. I'm learning how to play it." " You're learning to play it?" " Yep." "All right." "How's your fiancée?" "She's fine." "But she's not my fiancée anymore." "Where are you going?" "I'm going to Diyala." " Where are you going?" " Anbar." "Where are you going?" "Tikrit."