"People always be starting stories with some dick-weed saying, like, "once upon a time,"" "or, "legend has it." Ever noticed that?" "Hey." "My pa used to say that most stories ain't true and usually don't start where you expect." "They really start on some regular day..." "With some regular person." "This is one of them stories." "Exactly." "Well, good morning, New Orleans." "It's 20 minutes past the hour, and it looks like..." "Hey, penny?" "Honey, have you seen my brown loafers?" "Yeah." "Great." "Where are they?" "Oh, I threw those away." "You... okay." "Why?" "Because they're brown loafers." "But what am I gonna wear to work?" "Darling, just look under the bed." "Look under the bed?" "That's a good idea." "Oh, boy." "What is this?" "Hmm." "Mm-hmm." "Mm." "Well?" "Hon, I can't wear purple sneakers to work." "They're not purple." "Those are magenta." "And trust me, my love, they're the shit." "They are?" "Try something new, Henry." "Be bold." "Plus, you could use a little bit of style." "You gonna work late tonight?" "Yeah." "Well," "I don't know." "Depends." "You know, if the developers like my plans," "I'm sure Wendell would want me to jump right in." "It's a huge account for us." "I mean, they could hate it." "Whole thing goes south, it'd be really embarrassing for me." "I don't know." "It's actually a lot of pressure." "Don't worry." "They're gonna think you're brilliant." "I'm so proud of you." "Well, if you're right, could be a huge promotion, a pay raise at least, so we won't have to worry about paying for that new kitchen." "Or you could take me on that trip you promised." "I know." "I know." "I know." "I promise still, okay?" "Next month, all right?" "Well, not next month, Henry." "Oh." "Oh, right, yeah." "Of course." "Baby, yeah." "Hey, babe, have you seen that girl who's been fishing around in our trash before?" "Girl?" "No." "What girl?" "14, 15 maybe." "Uh-huh." "She's kind of cool-looking." "I mean, she's been rooting around in there for the past few weeks." "Just kind of thought I..." "I should talk to her or something." "If you see her, can you help her?" "Yeah, I promise." "Hey, have you seen my..." "Henry." "What?" "Promise me now." "I promise." "I promise." "Yeah, I will." "Okay." "Have you seen my..." "I'm looking for my..." "It's on the mantel." "For my... oh, yeah." "Oh." "Hey, do you want to have lunch together?" "Oh, I can't." "I'm going to see my mother for lunch, and then I gotta go see Dr. Parker." "Hey, hold on." "You're gonna see Julia?" "When was the last time you guys spoke?" "Besides one very passive-aggressive email exchange, maybe two months." "You want me to come along, you know?" "I could swing by, pick you up." "You know, we could brave the storm together." "Well, there's no sense in torturing us both." "She'll probably cancel on me anyway." "Okay." "All right." "I love you." "I'll see you later." "Oh, no, you don't." "Come and give a gal a kiss." "Yeah, sorry." "Hey, honey." "Honey, it's locked." "Door's locked." "What's the password?" "Penny, come on." "I'm running late." "I'm nervous as heck." "Henry, don't be such a lump." "See that?" "That's where my lips are gonna be." "We're gonna synchronize on three." "Eyes closed." "Okay." "I..." "Are they closed?" "My eye... yeah." "All right." "One..." "Two..." "Mm." "Three." "I love you, but you're kind of crazy." "You know that?" "I'm not the one wearing purple sneakers." "Right." "I'll see you later." "Bye." "Yup, Henry was your average working schlub, 9:00 to 5:00, pay your bills, the whole circus." "He lived each day according to a plan..." "Oh, no, no." "No." "I'm fine." "Thank you." "Knowing exactly how it would go from the start to the end." "He had no reason to think this day wouldn't be like all them others..." "That this day was gonna be different." "Son of a bitch." "They don't like it?" "It's worse." "They love it." "You..." "They love it." "They love it." "I'm kidding you." "Now, listen, I don't like having my hand forced, but if I don't make you a partner, someone else will, so as soon as we close this deal, we're gonna draw up the papers." "Boy." "Good job, Henry." "Thank you, sir." "Thank you." "Interesting shoes." "Oh, yeah, these..." "Oh, my wife got me these." "See, um, they're magenta." "My pa was a man of the sea." "He used to say the wind was like a wild horse, no way to tame her, that's just its nature..." "And that you can be sure in every voyage she'll buck and blow you off course..." "Just a matter of time, really." "At some point, we all lose our bearing." "Sorry." "One second." "I..." "I should take this." "Hello." "This is he." "And when you do, ain't no need to be afraid." "You just gotta believe you'll find your way again." "Uh, it's very, uh, very nice..." "Hey, penny, what are you..." "She likes the rain, you know?" "Yeah." "Um..." "Excuse me one second." "Honey, what are you doing?" "Oh, you're defacing a tree." "I'm not even sure it's on our property line." "We haven't bought the house yet, hon." "Don't you see it?" "The initials?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I see it." "No, silly." "What?" "It's the rest of our lives." "I'm very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Mureaux, but there's just no shrimp listed on the purchase order." "And yet, I ordered them specifically." "I understand, ma'am." "There's just not listed on the purchase..." "Mm, no." "No." "I don't think you understand." "How could you possibly understand?" "You didn't just lose your daughter." "You didn't just lose everything." "You just lost the shrimp." "So I suggest that you get on the phone and you find me some goddamn shrimp." "Does that sound like a plan?" "Thank you." "Whoever heard of a reception without shrimp?" "Henry?" "Hey, Henry." "I'm Dr. Melvin." "Your mother-in-law Julia invited me." "I just want to express my deepest condolences." "Some urn you got there." "Can't say I've ever seen one like it." "I designed it." "Please forgive the crudeness of the sketch." "I didn't have time to digitally render it." "Well, thank you so much." "Excuse me." "I didn't see no Boudin, no croissant." "Mm, that's true." "Yeah." "Uh..." "Mr. Herschel." "Hey." "Um..." "Thank you for coming." "Um, I..." "I know Pascal and me only been working for you for, like, a month, and it just felt like anything we say wouldn't sound good anyhow, so we got you this." "This..." "Is this cannabis?" "No, man, it's pot." "I don't smoke myself, but I get it on account of my pop got glaucoma." "Now that chockablock would have foo' me for the fais do-do." "Mm-hmm." "Excuse me?" "He don't speak English." "No." "I caught that." "Yeah." "I..." "Pascal." "Right." "Well, well, uh, thank you, Pascal, and thank you..." "Dumbass." "Dumbass?" "That's my name." "That's the true." "Oh." "Uh..." "Whew." "Oh, shit." "Shit." "Shit." "Hey." "Is that your cabinet, mister?" "My... oh, um..." "Yeah." "We're renovating here." "This used to all be a bathroom." "You still want it?" "No." "Don't Chuck it or nothing." "I'll come back for it, okay?" "Yeah, yeah, sure." "You okay, mister?" "Yeah." "I mean..." "No." "No." "I-I'm sorry." "You just..." "You reminded me of someone." "That's all." "It's cool." "You put your finger over the hole, inhale, then uncover." "Pretty easy." "Oh." "Thank you." "Oh, and, mister, sneakers are the shit." "Let's go." "Uhh!" "All right." "Pick a film, any old film." "Any one I want?" "Any one you want." "Which one sparks your desire?" "Well, I want the top one." "This one?" "I want the top one." "You know which one you want." "Wait a minute." "What is this?" "This is Kung fu Tuesday." "Heh." "Is that a thing?" "It is now." "I don't have a say in this, do I?" "No, you don't have a say." "All right." "Mm." "Okay." "Ready?" "Yeah." "Hi-yah." "Oh." "So, it's a whole theme?" "Uh-huh, every Tuesday from here on until forever." "Ffects include sleeplessness." "Today's contestants are Amy Osborn straight from L.A., California," "Dave Van Hoester, who comes from the Midwest, and Jamie Kristofferson, coming to us from n..." "My pa always said the sea was a lonely place when you're way out there and there ain't another soul for weeks around, that you can feel the loneliness like a weight around your heart." "I think he meant that we ain't supposed to be alone on our journeys, that we need them other people to know we're alive, that we matter." "Good morning, Wendell." "Good morning." "Jesus." "Henry." "Hey, hey." "Good morning." "Henry, there's an old Japanese proverb." "The wounded koi cannot tend to its gills if it seeks solace and diversion of the pleasant seaweed god." "Do you have any idea what... what that means?" "Am I the koi?" "Look, Henry, I know you're grieving." "What happened was just..." "But this is the biggest account our firm has ever had, will ever have." "We have a chance to transform this city." "Why don't... why don't you take some time off?" "Get your mind right." "Take a week." "Take two." "I mean, I can't have you walking around the office in your pajamas." "You understand, yeah?" "Henry." "Henry, are you there?" "I mentioned to you at the reception that we have a family plot at evermore cemetery that every Mureaux has been buried in for over 200 years." "Now, it's your decision." "I know, but I just don't think penny should be sitting in some cube." "Also, I stopped by, and I've left you some suggestions for the obituary." "I thought you might need some help with that." "So, call me back when you get this, all right?" "Hey." "Jesus." "Don't you know no better than to be sneaking up on people?" "I could have tased you." "Sorry, but do you remember me from..." "Wait." "You have a taser?" "No." "Oh, here." "L-let me give you a hand." "No, no, no, I got it." "It's the rules." "You lug your own crap." "What rules?" "What's with all the junk?" "I'm building something." "Oh, yeah?" "I'm an architect." "You know, maybe I could, uh, help you out." "No." "Ah, come on." "We all need a little help, right?" "Not me." "Thanks for the junk, punk." "It's just that I promised..." "You're not one of them pervs likes to touch little girls, are you?" "What?" "Don't guys like you have to put a sign on your lawn?" "No!" "I'm not a perv, okay?" "I-I'm..." "let's just start over, okay?" "My name... my name is Henry Herschel." "W-what's yours?" "Why?" "So I know what to call you." "Fine." "Call me Oprah." "Oprah?" "Okay." "Fine." "Oprah," "I-I'd really like to help." "I don't need your help, mister." "Thanks for the offer." "I'm sorry..." "Good luck, okay?" "Let's go." "Bonjour." "Hey, boss." "Hi." "I hope you don't mind, but Ms. Herschel always told us to just help ourself." "Pascal having them three kids, and, well, I got this tapeworm." "Uh, no." "I-It's fine." "Um, help yourselves." "What's the list for?" "Oh, no, that..." "That's... uh..." "I-It's nothing." "Excuse me." "Um, actually have either of you guys seen, um, a teenage girl, uh, going around the neighborhood, getting the trash and stuff?" "Mm." "That Chile with the chien." "What?" "Yeah." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Yeah." "The girl with the, uh, bike and the dog." "Yeah, that's her." "What's her name?" "Mm." "Uh..." "Uh, she told me her..." "That her name was Oprah." "I don't think that's her real name." "I think she just said that because she thinks I'm a... a pervert." "Pervs got mustaches." "Everybody know that." "Have a good day, Mr. Herschel." "Henry?" "Henry, are you there?" "Well, as you know," "I'm on the board of the Nola revitalization coalition, and I'm hosting a benefit tonight, and it's important that you be there." "I have chef Robaire from Sariette catering." "Be here at 7:00." "It's black tie, of course." "It'll give us a chance to discuss options for penny." "Anyway, give me a call." "Hey, Mr. Herschel, we done for the day." "Um, okay." "Actually, did you guys, uh, by any chance see the... the girl that we were talking about earlier?" "No." "Oh." "No, man, I know where..." "You... what did he..." "What'd he say?" "Um, he... he say he know where Oprah live." "Why didn't you tell me that earlier?" "Well, can you take me there now?" "That Chile in there with..." "Okay." "Well, I'm gonna go over there." "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "This is a bad idea." "Hey, guys, relax." "Okay?" "I'll be right back." "Boudin?" "Étouffée?" "Oh, yeah." "Let go to the Maison." ""If found, I'm probably screwed." ""Please return to 234 ransom Lane," "New Orleans, Louisiana." "Thanks."" ""September first, 2008." ""Set sail today." ""First time I've said goodbye to land in ten long years."" ""This'll be the most worthwhile thing I've ever done." ""I'm scared, but I think that's how you're supposed to feel when you're doing something extraordinary."" ""September 20th." ""Rain today for nearly an hour." ""I was able to save a few cups." ""Feeling incredibly weak." "Have not seen land or birds in a few days."" ""October eighth." "They came again this morning." "I'm not the only one starving out here."" ""October 15th."" ""A storm, a bad one." "The devil has come."" "Oh." "Oh, shit." "No." "No, no, no." "No." "No, no, no, no." "Oh, shit." "Oh, no." "No." "Oh, no, no, no." "Hey." "Oh, no, stop!" "Don't go in there." "Get the hell off of me!" "I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry." "What did you do?" "!" "It was an accident, okay?" "I..." "Fire!" "Fire!" "It's ok... you have to get the hell out of here." "Okay." "I..." "Now!" "Henry!" "Henry, I know you're in there." "Henry, did you forget about the benefit?" "I had a seat for you in my table." "Open up, dear." "I just want to talk." "Brought you some crawfish." "Or I'll leave it on the porch, I guess." "Okay, then." "Damn it." "My pa used to say the most important thing to have on any journey was a compass." "It tells you where you're going and where you been." "If you ain't got one, you'll end up lost and adrift." "Then all you can do is pray for some help to show you the way home again." "Hmm." "Morning, perv." "I told you I'm not a pervert." "Just 'cause you shaved your 'stache, don't mean you can fool me." "Now, where is it at?" "Here." "Here you go." "Hey, hold on." "Can we talk for a second?" "No, asshole!" "You torched my shed." "That... that was an accident." "It was everything I had, dick-weed." "You got any idea how long it took me to..." "What, build a raft?" "That's what you're doing, right?" "Wait." "Wait!" "Hold on!" "Back off!" "Oh!" "Whoa." "Merde." "Um..." "Every..." "Everything's fine." "I'll be..." "I'll be right back, okay?" "But..." "Ho ho." "That's Oprah." "Hey, wait a second!" "Suck it!" "Uh, why are you building a raft?" ""F" off, Amber alert." "Wait." "Hey, look, I got..." "I have the plans." "I have your plans right here." "I did... i did this... i mean, it's just from memory, but I mean, you know, with a few modifications, but I-I've got a ton of ideas, okay?" "Well, you..." "You can use my backyard, okay?" "Please, this is my fault." "Let me..." "Let me help you." "Forget it." "Oh, okay, stop." "All right, now, look, I know you don't know me at all, and you're right to be dubious of strangers, but I just..." "Well, I..." "I really think I'm supposed to do this, to help you." "Sorry." "What's this?" "What do you think it is?" "I lost my tools in that fire, you little shit." "It was an accident." "I don't care..." "Not anymore." "Ah, I promised your old man I'd look after you, and..." "It ain't worth the money from the state." "Tomorrow morning, you're on the bus to Biloxi." "You're your aunt's problem now." "Let's get one thing clear." "I ain't doing this 'cause I like you." "I'm doing it 'cause Ahab and me has got no choice." "Got it." "And if you mess with my stuff," "I'll beat your ass." "Okay, I won't." "Promise me." "I promise." "There's a spare room upstairs." "Oh, we'll sleep in the backyard." "Thank you." "My pa used to say that most stories usually don't start where they're supposed to." "Henry's story really started on April 28th, 1947." "That's when this dude, Thor Heyerdahl, sailed from Peru to the Tuamotu islands on a raft made of balsa wood and scrap." "Months later, he completed the first trans-pacific crossing on a raft in, like, 700 years." "You know his most famous quote?" "Some years later, he died of a brain tumor." "Think that's some shit." "You little shit." "Yeah." "My entire yard is filled with junk, but, you know, I mean, I haven't seen her in two days." "Uh, I'm just saying, I..." "You know, I just don't think it's safe for a young girl to be out all night." "I wouldn't worry." "Man, she seemed tough." "She probably out looking for more crap." "She ought to go to Pascal's." "He got a crap-load of crap." "Heh." "Dumbass." "Dumbass!" "Hey, I-I gotta go." "Okay." "Have a good night." "Okay." "You just add the pot." "You let it cook down for, like, 20 minutes, and then, Voilà, tasty, tasty treat." "Now I like to pair this usually with, like..." "Gonna get the munchies, Ahab." "Ahab." "Hi." "You f-ed with my stuff." "I don't... i don't know what you're talking about." "Why the hell's Ahab asleep, then?" "Oh, I..." "Maybe he was tired." "My white ass." "Hey, hey, what..." "What are you doing?" "Bingo." "What bingo?" "What..." "Your eyes darted." "No." "No, my..." "No, they didn't." "I..." "Y-you're sweating something." "I'm not sweating anything." "Over..." "Here?" "What's this?" "Pfft." "That's... nothing." "A stew that I made earlier." "Oh, yeah?" "I'll have some then." "No, no, no!" "Don't!" "Don't!" "Don't!" "You don't want this..." "No, this..." "You wouldn't like this." "It's... it's gluten-free and very..." "Mmm." "Oh, delicious, though." "And then..." "Either you're eating the rest of this shit, or I am." "No." "No." "Okay." "Can I ask you a question?" "What have you got against me?" "Nothing I ain't got against nobody else." "That's a non-answer." "What's a non-answer?" "Wouldn't you like to know?" "You want to know what I think?" "No." "I'm gonna tell you." "I think a girl like you has never really had anybody help her, and so she doesn't know how to trust anybody." "Thanks, Dr. Phil." "What, you think I'm wrong?" "I think you're pretty much nuts." "Says the girl who's building a raft out of garbage." "Open." "Mm, seriously, though, what are you gonna do with that thing?" "Where are you gonna go?" "Seriously, though, shut up." "Okay." "Then tell me about the guy in the... who wrote the journal." "You know, does he make it?" "Does he die at the end?" "Keep eating." "You know, even if you finish it, you gotta leave before the trade winds change the whole north Equatorial current, right?" "Yeah." "So?" ""Yeah, so?"" "You're not impressed that I know that?" "Internet, brain, equals answers." "So I went ahead... here." "I went ahead, and I made a list of all your stuff." "I knew it." "Mm-hmm." "And that's all the stuff that we still need to get." "We?" "Yes." "You, me, and..." "What is the dog's name?" "Ahab." "Ahab." "Me, you, and Ahab." "This is all we got..." "Ahab." "Ahab." "We gotta get this stuff." "All that stuff, it'll help make the raft more worthy, like, um..." "Worthy of the... the sea." "What is the word for that?" "There's a word for that." "Well, what makes you think I'll let you help me?" "M-mmm-mmm." "Because." "That's an non-answer, ain't it?" "That is." "You're a quick learner." "That's good." "I gotta pee." "Whoo!" "Don't eat any more of that stew, young lady." "It's adult stew." "Ow." "Oh, my god." "Mister." "The floor attacked me." "I'm sorry I lied about the stew, little girl." "I'm not a pervert." "I promise." "Mildred." "Hmm?" "That's my name." "But it's for shit, so you can call me Millie." "Mildred?" "Heh heh." "Yeah, right." "Millie." "All right, Millie." "Hey." "Legend has it, in 1959, an average plumber from Montauk, New York," "William Willis, believed he could talk to his wife with his mind." "It's called telemetry or some shit." "This one day, while watching TV..." "Progress is man's ability to complicate simplicity." "Grooves in each log to house... he got this crazy idea." "And to provide the basis for a deck." "So he grabbed his journal and started drawing, not really knowing why." "A few weeks later, he set sail on his own raft made of only the wooden junk he could find, just like that Thor dude." "He done made it halfway to south America all by his self, surviving the sun and thirst with nothing but peaches and tomatoes to fill his belly." "And after almost two months, his voyage came to an end." "He found what he was looking for." "And at that moment, when he realized he was gonna make it..." "Only one person in the whole world ever knew what he was thinking." "67% of deaths happen when nobody's looking." "I read that in a book once." "Oh, whoa." "And with the support of the mayor and the city council, the New Orleans waterfront and commercial redevelopment project is going to transform our city." "Hello." "Henry, I know you did not forget about the groundbreaking today." "Wendell?" "Wendell, hi." "Where you been, Henry?" "Do you remember when you said I needed to heal my gills?" "I... you know, I'm doing that." "Now, listen, Henry, I..." "I feel for what you're going..." "I feel for what you've gone through, Henry." "I really do, but you are the brains of this project, and you are beginning to jeopardize the account." "Now, I need you to focus and get to work." "Yeah." "Yeah, you're right." "Yes, I'm right." "I'm gonna need a truck, right?" "A..." "What?" "A... a big truck." "W-why do we need a truck?" "The, um... yeah." "I mean, I..." "I can also ask, uh, Pascal and dumbass to help." "Henry, I don't know... i don't know what you're talking about." "Uh, the raft." "Uh, I'm building a raft..." "Well, I'm helping to build a raft." "I don't... what raft?" "And... and the best things about rafts is that they can break apart, a-and they still float, especially if we use garbage like the girl wants us to." "All right, son, there's an old Japanese saying." ""When the noble carp has lost its hatchling..."" "Wendell, thank you." "I'm gonna get started on this right away." "Bye." "Henry, Henry, you didn't hear the end of carp." "Ah..." "God damn it." "Hey, guys." "Hey." "Fellas, we've got a new project." "Oh." "This, uh..." "What is the name?" "It's garbage." "No." "It's a raft." "Come on." "Let's go." "Hey, check it out." "What the frick is that?" "I traded the Volvo in for it." "Pretty cool, huh?" "Who are they?" "I'm dumbass." "Yeah." "Hop in." "No way." "Ah, come on." "Don't be a chickenshit." "Where are we going?" "Now what?" "Ta-da!" "What are we doing here?" "We're shopping." "You gotta get that raft in the water before storm season, right?" "Well, it gives us a few weeks." "And what kills most of your time?" "I'll tell you." "Gathering up all the junk." "So I figure why not do it all in one fell swoop?" "Let's go." "Let's split up." "Pascal, you come with me." "Sorry about the flare gun the other day." "Ah, that's all right." "So Mr. Herschel say you building a raft." "Yup." "Never built one of those before." "Can I ask you something?" "What do you make of Henry?" "No, give it!" "He for real?" "What you mean?" "I don't know." "He's just weird, like he ain't all there, you know?" "It's probably on account of he lost his wife last month and all." "Car accident." "She's a artist or something, made us beignets for breakfast every morning." "Heh." "Had a fire about her, the kind you see on people..." "She... she kind of like you." "You know, like a hurricane." "A hurricane?" "So why they call you dumbass?" "Well, that's just what my pop calls me." "He was in the Navy, got a medal." "Compared to him, I ain't done a thimble full of pig shit." "That's bullshit." "Sounds like a dick to me." "Ah, it's just my pop." "Family." "Couldn't choose him." "He couldn't choose me." "Hey, guys, over here!" "What are those?" "Those are pontoons." "Every good raft starts with good flotation, yeah?" "I think we found it." "Do we just wait till the tide washes them in?" "No, I..." "I think they're pinned underneath that barge there." "I think we should maybe grab some of this rope, maybe attach it to the dingy over there, and we'll just try to drag 'em in." "Whoa!" "Hey, Millie, what are you doing?" "I'm getting the damn poles." "Now, where that chien going?" "Oh, just give me a second." "I know I got stuff in here you could use." "Uh..." "Where is that box?" "I just saw it." "Why don't I just wear some of these?" "Oh, no, no, no!" "Um..." "It's, uh... no." "No, you don't..." "You don't want that." "Trust me." "I've got something a lot Bett... oh, here..." "For you." "Yeah." "You doing all right in there?" "I look like a douche." "What?" "No." "Come on." "I'm sure it's not that bad." "Hey, look at you." "All right." "That's great." "You know, that was my, uh..." "That was my Halloween costume in..." "Uh, I think, like, fifth grade." "It's awful." "Well, anyway, I mean, it's dry." "Do you even play baseball?" "Yeah." "I mean, sort of." "I played tee-ball when I was a little guy." "I was catcher." "You was the catcher?" "At tee-ball?" "Yeah." "I like your crib." "Oh, thanks." "Did you, like, design it?" "Well, no, we..." "We were, uh, remodeling." "Uh, so, you didn't have any other, like, clothes you could bring from home, huh?" "That ain't my home." "Hmm." "It's my uncle's." "And there wasn't really too much to bring." "Yeah." "Um, but where are your... your parents?" "Uh, you know, it's... it's really, uh, cold out there tonight, so if you wanted to use the spare room, you're..." "No, that's cool." "Um..." "Thanks for the threads." "Yeah." "Stupid." "What do you want?" "Sorry I lied about the marshmallows." "This is all I had." "I didn't know that at the time." "I promise." "It's all right." "The charms are cool." "Yeah." "My wife, she, um..." "Was one of her cravings." "Yeah." "Um..." "The Azores." "What?" "It's where I'm going." "Oh." "Oh." "Tell anybody, and I swear..." "Uh, why the Azores?" "Why not?" "Now that's a non-answer." "That's a non-answer." "Yeah." "I'm..." "I'm only asking because that's really far away, and you're, like..." "What, 13?" "I'm 16." "Oh, sorry." "Amelia Earhart was younger than me when she started flying." "Yeah, but, you know, she, uh, was lost at sea." "Whatever." "Flying is a lot harder than floating." "Okay." "You're right." "Besides, haven't you ever wanted to do something extraordinary?" "But you'll be alone out there." "Doesn't that scare you?" "I've been alone most of my life." "Does being alone scare you?" "Yeah." "Yeah, it does." "But you're a pussy, so..." "Was it a boy or a girl?" "I don't know." "We were waiting." "But I could totally see her asking..." "And then finding out and just not telling me." "Oh, that wouldn't surprise me at all." "Oh." "I hope she did." "Thanks for the hot chocolate." "Of course." "The story goes that David Pearlman, an insurance something-or-other from New Orleans, was getting a Mars bar for his daughter the moment his wife died." "Or maybe it was a butterfinger." "His daughter was with him the day he went to spread her ashes and say goodbye..." "But he wouldn't say it." "David was drawn to the sea." "This one day while walking along the shore with his little girl..." "He found a bottle that had washed up from the water and, inside it, a familiar journal that would change the course of both of their lives." "You promise me, when you're older, you come find me." "I'll be here." "She was there the day he left." "But she wasn't there that night her daddy met the devil out over the deep blue sea." "No one was." "But that's okay." "Death ain't about the people who died anyway." "It's about the ones who have the shit luck of having to go along without 'em." "Some people try to hold on to their memories." "Others try to forget." "Neither works." "And after enough time passes by, you find you ain't the same as you used to be." "Julia." "What are you doing here?" "Oh, Henry." "Oh." "Well, you are a sight." "You've been hiding for three weeks." "What have you been doing?" "Well, Wendell is none too happy." "He was gonna fire you, but I reminded him of how the firm got the bid in the first place." "He said something about building a boat." "No, I never said anything about a boat." "Oh, good." "Good." "Because he was going on and on about..." "No, it's a raft, actually." "I'm, uh, building a raft currently." "Probably what he meant." "Are you on the drugs?" "What?" "No!" "No, the..." "No, they would be out of my system by now." "Henry, I'm concerned about you." "What was that?" "What was..." "I didn't hear anything." "No, I heard somebody." "Do you mind coming back a little later?" "I..." "I feel, like, a little bit, um..." "What the hell is that?" "This is that raft you were talking about?" "Yeah." "No, that's it, yeah." "You are not right, and I'm not leaving here until you agree to talk to someone." "Yes." "Yes?" "I..." "I should talk to someone." "Yes, absolutely." "No, I..." "I would actually..." "Oh, Henry, I'm so glad to hear you say that." "It's very important." "I agree." "Yeah." "I just... i just want you to feel better." "Yeah, I'm feeling better already, actually." "Good." "Good." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Yeah." "Who was that?" "Nobody." "Come on." "We got a lot of work to do." "Come on." "I'm sure you think I'm crazy, but I'm not." "I'm fine." "I'm quite well, actually." "And if I'm being honest," "I..." "I think Julia's concerns," "I think, are misplaced." "I see." "Why do you believe that I think you're crazy?" "Um..." "The whole raft thing for starters." "I'm sure Julia told you all about that and know how that must sound." "How must that sound?" "Fucking crazy." "You know, a... a guy starts building a raft with a 16-year-old girl to sail across the Atlantic ocean a month after his wife passed..." "It must sound completely nuts." "Does it?" "You tell me!" "What would you like me to say?" "Like, "you need to resolve your feelings,"" "you know, or..." "Or something like," ""you need to come to terms with the events of your life,"" "or "why the hell are you building a garbage raft, you nut ball?"" "I'm not the one building the raft, Henry." "You are." "Okay, we're done here." "Henry?" "There's nothing..." "There's nothing wrong with me." "I'm fine." "Hey, Henry, can I ask you something?" "Yeah." "I heard about this thing that happens out past the delta." "Apparently, the river water from all them farms up north comes down and heads to the ocean." "You know the place?" "Damn it." "Well, that water is grimy as shit from all them pesticides and stuff, you know." "None of this stuff's gonna work." "And after all that crud mixes into the sea, it sucks the air out of the water, and all them ocean fish, they drown." "They call it phenomena." "They say you could see the fish jumping in the air and skipping on the surface, trying to get the hell out of the water, you know, trying to get out, trying to stay alive." "It's a little out of my way, but I was thinking I should go see that." "What do you think?" "What do I think about what?" "Oh, never mind." "Hey, guys, none of this wood's gonna work." "Every single piece is rotten." "Swear that dog..." "He sail off the edge of the earth for her." "Henry, don't get me wrong." "I like building this raft." "Yeah, yeah." "Beats the heck out of drywall." "Yeah, yeah." "I was just wondering, why you doing this?" "She goes out on this, she ain't gonna make it." "Whaah!" "See?" "That's exactly what I'm talking about." "Hey." "Millie!" "Yeah!" "I'm in here." "Oh." "Listen." "This isn't working, okay?" "You're gonna have to let me buy some wood and..." "What are you doing?" "What are you doing?" "Jesus!" "You just don't touch things that don't belong to you!" "I'm sorry." "It's okay." "I'll clean up." "No, it's not okay, all right?" "All you did was give me shit about touching your stuff, and then you waltz in here..." "Why the hell are you even building this thing, huh?" "!" "You're gonna get yourself killed!" "You know that?" "You're just a goddamn kid!" "Millie?" "They didn't have mint chocolate chip." "Can you believe it?" "Anyway, so, I got chocolate chip, green food coloring, and junior mints, and I figured we'd do it ourselves." "What do you think of..." "Whoo." "Who cares what you think?" "The baby's really happy with that." "I think it's gonna be great." "Heh." "Am I going crazy?" "The whole world's crazy." "It's all for shit." "Henry, you don't have to do this." "No, no, it's okay." "I'm okay." "This is a good thing." "See?" "We got all the wood we need." "Now we just need more help." "Hey, what about your three boys?" "Ahh." "Here we go." "Here we go." "One more." "Coming hot." "What's next?" "Um, take all those photos and put 'em in that room for me, okay?" "Sure." "Hmm?" "Yeah." "Looks great." "Now all we need is a mast." "You sure about this?" "I have no idea." "Keep going." "Pull." "It's almost there." "It's in." "Good?" "Good." "Hey." "You awake?" "Nope." "Won't be long now till you sail off into the horizon." "That's the plan." "Um..." "You know, I..." "I just wanted to say that I'm..." "I'm sorry that..." "Well, for being a real a-hole the other day." "It's all right." "We all lose our shit sometimes." "Yeah." "Oh, oh, and, uh," "I was thinking, um, you should go see those leaping fish you were talking about." "I think that would just be really something." "All right." "Hit it." "C'est bonne." "Not bad." "Yeah." "Henry?" "Henry?" "Good lord." "Cool if I join you?" "Sure." "Pull up a plank." "Feels like we should be celebrating or something." "Hmm." "Yeah, it's a shame Ahab and I ate all the pot." "This is all gonna be condominiums soon." "My firm, we were hired to reinvent the city." "I don't know." "I like it the way it is, all the old boats, the wood." "My pa used to bring me down here to fish when I was little." "Sometimes, things are better when they're not perfect, you know?" "I was wrong about you." "How so?" "You're not a perv." "I'm glad that's finally cleared up." "It's just that ain't nobody really cared about me before..." "Since my daddy, anyways." "Is that what..." "Is that why you're doing this?" "'Cause if it ain't, that's cool." "I..." "I was just..." "I just thought that..." "No, I do." "I care about you." "I saw the cube on the shelf." "She in there?" "What was she like?" "Hmm." "Um..." "She was a bunch of things." "She was a photographer, really bad sculptor, terrible cook." "Was a clown." "A clown?" "Yeah, for children's parties." "Oh." "She used to make up these stories about how we met." "For years, she had a bunch of the people in our neighborhood convinced that we used to be spies." "She was just always doing..." "Little oddball things like that." "Even the day we met, she fell off her bike, hit her head right in front of me." "Then I helped her up, and I got her to a hospital, and then she asked the intern to take a picture of us in case she got amnesia." "She was, uh..." "She was kind of wild, you know." "Like a hurricane." "Yeah, I guess so." "She sounds like she was the shit." "Yeah, she was the shit." "You mind if we stay here just a little longer?" "Sure." "You know how they say just before you die, your whole life flashes in front of you?" "Well, that's a load of crap." "Most people only have time to think of, like, a few things." "Penny could only think of one." "Shit." "Who is she?" "Her name's Millie." "Well..." "She's missing." "You know that." "She's not missing." "No, she's in the truck." "What is she doing here?" "Where are her parents?" "I don't know." "Gone, I think." "How old is she?" "She's 16." "Oh, my, god, Henry." "Are you and she..." "What?" "No!" "No, of course not!" "No, I-I'm helping her." "Helping her with what?" "I told you." "We're building a raft." "Oh, my god." "You've lost your mind." "Actually, Julia, for the first time in a long time, I..." "I feel good." "You feel good?" "Yeah." "'Cause you smell like a vagrant, and the house looks like a storm hit it, and you're about to lose your job, and I guess that's good." "You know what?" "I don't really give a shit." "This is madness." "No, it's not!" "And you're wrong, Julia!" "This isn't madness!" "And penny would have loved this." "She would have loved building this raft with us." "All she ever wanted for me was to do something nuts, do something crazy." "Well, congratulations." "You've succeeded." "And all she ever wanted from you was to love her for who she was, not for who you wanted her to be." "You're Millie?" "Yes, ma'am." "I'm really sorry about your daughter." "Did you know her?" "No." "But I know what it's like to lose people you love." "I lost my ma when I was little, and my pa, he did the best he could, considering." "And that's really all Henry was doing." "He's helping me, and I'm gonna help him." "See, I'm leaving tomorrow on my journey, and I was thinking I would take penny with me." "I think that she might like that." "Yeah." "Yeah, she would." "Look, we ain't lost our minds, ma'am." "We just lost our way a little bit." "Ain't you ever felt that way?" "She was..." "She was..." "You call me if you finish that obituary." "Ah." "Thank you." "I got it." "Hey, what's wrong?" "Nothing." "Scared?" "Are you sure you still want to do this?" "Yeah." "Hey, Henry, is that all?" "Um, I'll go check." "We wanna put this bait..." "Hi." "All right." "What the hell is this?" "How did you get this?" "!" "Penny always kept this in her car." "Why the hell do you have it?" "Henry, I can explain." "I..." "I should've told..." "Told me?" "Told me what?" "!" "Come on." "Come on now." "No, no, no!" "I want to hear this." "Explain this to me." "Why do you have this?" "Hey!" "I knew I'd find you here." "Oh, shit." "You're gonna pay for my car, you stupid little bitch." "Who are you?" "Mind your goddamn business." "You're coming with me." "Get off of me, you asshole." "Ah, hell." "Ah, come on." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Get his legs." "Get off now!" "Quit moving!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "What are you doing?" "Millie!" "Millie!" "33% of deaths happen while someone is watching." "But Henry wasn't there on that Tuesday penny died." "I wonder why it is, when life turns on you, you go back to those places in your mind, those places you knew, that made you happy, made you feel safe." "Sometimes it's the spark of a memory, like the places we've been, things we done before, or people we knew or loved." "In the end, I think that's what it's all about, the people that left a mark on you." "You want to hold on to 'em." "You want to take 'em with you, but you can't." "When you're in trouble, you hold on to anything that makes you feel right again," "but it's like holding on to water in your hands." "No matter how hard you squeeze, it all drips away." "You're Mildred's father?" "I'm, uh, her..." "Her guardian." "She's a very lucky girl." "She took quite a hit, but she'll be fine." "She has a severe concussion, a couple of stitches in her forehead." "We'll need to keep her for a few days." "She's awake, but heavily sedated." "Hey." "Hey, kiddo." "I talked to the doctor, and she said everything's gonna be just fine." "Just got a little bump on your head there." "But you look..." "Like shit?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Yeah, kind of." "I should have told you." "It's okay." "You know how?" "You were there." "I'm sorry." "It's okay." "I'm so sorry." "Hey, it's not your fault." "I'm actually glad." "I'm glad she wasn't alone." "My daddy died seven years ago, disappeared off the coast of Tahiti." "That's what they think." "I always knowed that." "I just miss him, you know." "I miss him to the bone." "He left me." "He left me behind." "She was thinking of you when... when she..." "Wait." "How do you know that?" "I just know." "Henry, it's Wendell." "It's been a mon..." "Henry, if you don't call me back wh..." "Listen, Henry, just call me back." "The inve..." "No new messages." "I can't believe this is ours, our home." "You know, our kids are gonna live here." "You happy?" "I'm stupid happy." "Dr. glass, line two." "Dr. glass, line two." "I figured we could use an extra set of paws for our trip." "You look different." "Oh." "I shaved." "Uh-uh, no." "Something else." "You know, I just realized..." "I don't know where we're going." "Doesn't matter." "We'll make it." "Bon voyage!" "And don't forget to write!" "My pa used to say every great journey is filled with surprises." "Henry and I's was no different." "Hey." "Hey, you should see this." "Ain't never gonna be in no history books what me and Henry done, but that's all right." "That ain't why we done it." "It's just our story." "Most stories are the same." "There are good guys and bad ones." "Some have happy endings." "Others have shitty ones." "Our story ain't what we expected, but it's the one we got." "People always be ending stories with something like "the end" or "happily ever after."" "I think that's dumb." "I don't think much is ever that simple." "Like most stories don't really start where you think, they don't end where you think neither." "I've read in a book once that 67% of people die when nobody's looking." "What I never could find out is how many people lived while nobody's watching." "But I guess they just don't print shit like that."