" Come on!" " OK, OK." " Everything out of the tray too, bitch." " That's all of it." " This it?" " That's all I have." "Now you take it." " Fuck!" " Get the fuck out before I call the police!" "Barb, it's Nate again." "Did I wake you up?" " Are you kidding?" " Have you heard anything?" " Is she there?" " No." "Did you call the police?" "Yeah." "They filed a missing persons report." "Good." "I didn't know they could do that if it was under 24 hours." "I did the same thing up here." "They said not to bother calling the highway patrol cos everyone has it statewide." " But I say fuck it, let's just keep calling." " Has she ever just taken off before?" "No." "She'd go off for a day or two where nobody knew where she was, just to clear out the cobwebs, but not since she had the baby." " Yeah, her vision quests." "I know." " Right." "She used to do that in Seattle, but she'd always tell somebody about it." "If you're wondering whether I think she might have left you, I truly, seriously doubt it." " Not without Maya." " You think she might have left me?" "No, I don't." "We'll just keep checking with the police and the highway patrol." " She'll turn up." " Yeah." "Yeah, she'll turn up." " Hello." " David?" " Yeah." " Did you feel that?" " Feel what?" " Earthquake." " No, I guess I missed it." " Sorry, I forgot." "You're in San Diego." "Actually, I'm not." "I came back early." "What's going on?" "Lisa still hasn't shown up at her sister's." " No one's heard from her?" " No." "She hasn't called you?" "Have you tried her cellphone?" "Yeah, like 30 fucking times." "I'm really starting to freak out here." "I'll be right over." "Give me half an hour." "I'm on my way." " I'm sure she's fine." " Yeah?" "Then why hasn't she answered any one of the 40 messages I've left for her?" "Maybe the battery on her cellphone ran out of whatever they run out of." "It's been almost 18 hours since I spoke to her last." "You said yourself she does this kind of thing from time to time." "She would have told me about it." "Lisa strikes me as very capable of taking care of herself." "Morning." "Anyone else feel that earthquake?" " I did." " Why all the doom and gloom?" " Lisa is missing." " She's not missing." "We just don't quite know where she is." "Holy shit." "Hello?" "Yes, this is the Fisher and Diaz funeral home." "Of course." "We could take care of all your arrangements for you." "Yeah." "All right, we'll see you then." "Goodbye." " Got a family coming in at 10:30." " We already have two intakes today." "Great." "If this is too much for you, I can get Rico to come in early and Arthur can help." "Thanks." "I just... think trying to work will be better than waiting for the phone to ring." "You do whatever it is you need to do." "I'll take Maya for the day." "Thank you." "I'd better get dressed." " Hello." " Where are you?" "In a doctor's office waiting for Vanessa." "We have three intakes this morning." "I need you here." "I've got both kids." "I'll be there as soon as Vanessa's done." "All right, fine." "Don't be giving me attitude." "Vanessa is sick." "I'm sorry." "Just get here as soon as you can." "You don't have to be here, I mean, if your job is more important." " Yes, I do." "She's my wife." " And she's my sister." "I can take care of her too." "Maybe she needs a little time away from you." "Did you ever think of that?" " Is Mommy sick?" " No, Mommy's not sick." "Mommy's just fine." "5mg of Ativan to take the edge off the 40 mils of Celexa." "20 mils of trazodone to help me sleep at night." "And sometimes I take a little Ambien too. 5 mils." "Buspar, 10 mils a day." "300mg of Wellbutrin to help me with all the compulsive eating." "I have been putting on a shitload of weight." "Who prescribed all this medication?" "My doctor." "Well, not all of it." "The trazodone, the Ativan and the Ambien, I got on my own." "But it's my friend." "She's an RN and she knows about this stuff." "Your doctor is your psychiatrist?" "He's an internist." "I see." "Well, first of all, we need to get you off a lot of this medication." "Some of what you're taking could be counteracting or even aggravating your symptoms." "Shit." "I feel like I'm in a hole and I just feel like the hole keeps getting deeper and deeper." "I'm not surprised, but we're going to try to fix that." "Antidepressants aren't magic bullets." "Nate." "David told me about Lisa." "Please make yourself comfortable." "I'll be right with you." "Yes, and?" "According to statistics compiled by the US Census Bureau, women are three times less likely to die from misadventure as men." "I find statistics to be comforting in times of stress and uncertainty." "I've got an intake right now." "I was wondering, may I join you?" "You know me, I'm always hungry for new learning experiences." "Sure, why not?" "We have been robbed before." "Three times in ten years." "Dorothy wanted for us to retire, but I just kept putting it off." "Maybe next year, maybe the year after that." "And now she's taken away from me." "How can she not be here?" "One minute she's there, the next she's gone, like she was never there." "At least she's no longer suffering." " She had cancer, right?" " No!" "She was shot in a hold-up!" "I am so sorry." "What kind of interment were you interested in?" "We have a plot at Forest Lawn." "I see." "Would you like to look at our line of caskets?" "I don't have much money." "I'm sure we can find something to accommodate your budget." "Right?" "Nate?" " Absolutely." " Thank you." "Absolutely." "He was electrocuted." "I don't want my children to see him like that." " We have an excellent restorative artist." " No." "I don't want my children to see him dead." " If you'll excuse me for just a moment." " Sure." " What do you mean, missing?" " She was on her way to her sister's." " She never got there." " Oh, man." "I still have a couple of contacts with the sheriffs department." "Do you want me to make some calls?" "Nate's already talked to them." "They filed a missing persons report." "If you think you can find anything else out, sure, why not?" "We need to talk." "About us." "I know and we will, but not right now." "I have a woman waiting for me in the pastoral room." "OK." "I'll make some calls." "I'll get back to you if I hear anything." "Thanks." " This is so Day Of The Locust." " No locusts here." "Cockroaches maybe, but no locusts." "Here we are." "Now, that there is a sleeper sofa." "They come in very handy when you have overnight guests." "Like family, that sort of thing." "You do have family, don't you?" "No, actually." "They were all killed in a flood." " Honey, I'm sorry." " Don't be." "I'll be honest with you." "We do have the occasional break-in every once in a while." "If I were you, I would sleep with a can of pepper spray under my pillow." "Just in case." " Smells like cats." " We don't allow pets." " We used to, but not any more." " How much?" "175 per week, payable every Monday and two weeks' security deposit." "I'll take it." " What are you doing here?" " I made this for you." "Russell..." "Claire, I just want you to know that what happened between Olivier and me was totally fucked up." "What happened between you and me wasn't fucked up at all." "It was the opposite of fucked up." " What did happen between you and Olivier?" " It doesn't matter." " It matters to me." "Did you fuck him?" " What we did or didn't do isn't important." "What's important is that I love you." " Did he fuck you?" " I was drunk and stoned." "And he was playing this head trip on me." "You know what he's like." "Did you give each other blow jobs?" " Claire, I love you." " Jesus, you gave each other blow jobs?" " I didn't say that." " Jerk each other off?" " I didn't say that." " What are you saying?" "That I love you, OK?" "Why can't you hear that?" "When are you gonna get over your wounded pride for one second and realise what we have is too good for you to throw away?" "For me to throw away?" "That's funny." "You're funny." "And that's hideous." "I don't want it." "Maybe you can sell it to your fucking boyfriend for another $500." "I'm sure you were worth it." " I don't wanna live without you." " You're gonna have to." " I'm not gonna give up." " That's your fucking problem." " Hello." " Hello, Brenda." " Hi, Mom." " I heard you freaked out on Billy." "You really shouldn't do that." "He's on medication." "You know how sensitive he is." "Is there any other reason you called?" "If this is it, I'm hanging up." "Well, we're disposing of your father's ashes tomorrow." "I thought you might wanna be there." "I really don't wanna be round Billy right now." "Darling, we owe it to your father." "Dad's dead." "He doesn't care." "Well, I care, OK?" "I'd like to at least pretend that we all love each other and that your father and I created something worthwhile." "For a fucking hour, however long it takes to dump his ashes." "Is that too much to ask?" " Have you decided where?" " No, not yet." "We're all meeting here around 11.30." "The whole ordeal'll be done by two." " Fine." "I'll be there." " OK, bye." "Give yourself the grade you think you deserve." "Is that paying me to keep my mouth shut?" "I'm letting every student give their own grade." " Who am I to judge anyone's work?" " Oh, God, you're ridiculous." "You contradict yourself so nothing ever means anything." "Is meaning what you're really after?" "Your work this semester would suggest otherwise." "Your technique is excellent, but that's all it is-technique." "Your work is safe, limited." "Cos you hold yourself back from life." "Well, call me crazy, but I think an artist has a responsibility to do more than just give in to every emotional impulse." "Because some impulses are wrong." "And some impulses violate the regulations of this school." "I checked." "Exactly how many schools have you taught at?" "You sit in such judgement of the world." "How do you expect to ever be a part of it?" "I don't wanna be part of your world, a manipulative loser who fucks his students." "What do you wanna be?" "An uptight puritan who's not even in her own body?" "Or a brilliant artist with blood and a heart and a cunt?" "God, you're such a fucking phoney." "At first you actually inspired me." "It took me half a semester to realise you were using us to work through your own shit." "When are you gonna get over the fact that you never became Picasso and now it's too late?" "When are you going to get over the fact that if you take a chance, you might fall on your face?" "But that's the best thing that can ever happen to you, as an artist and as a human being." " Are we done?" " Absolutely." "Get out of my office." "Who do you think you are, the Pope, just because I fucked your boyfriend?" "What a baby!" "You need some real pain." " Fuck you." " Fuck yourself." "Russell will always be a better artist than you." "He's braver, more willing to take chances." "He's certainly more ambitious." "That seems obvious." "If it hadn't been me, it would have been somebody else." "Trust me." " I'll take an A." " Undeserved." "Unimportant." "I know I've already called!" "I've been call..." "My wife is still missing and I can't seem to get anyone to take me seriously." "Yes." "I have called the sheriffs department and the highway patrol." "I spoke with Officer Polk." "Go ahead." "Thank you." "Yes, I know." "Thank you." "No, I will call back in a few hours." " Any news?" " No." " I'm gonna take Maya to the park." " Great." "Nate, dear, everything is going to be fine, you'll see." "I made some apple crumble." "Why don't you have a piece?" "Here's the gentleman who passed away at the health club." "What shall I do with him?" "Put him in the reefer." "I believe that the refrigerator is already full." "Then you'll have to leave him out, won't you?" " But that would be a code violation." " We'll just have to take the risk." " As long as you both understand that I..." " You're not responsible." "We are." "Perhaps I could just try and make a little more..." "Just stop fucking whining and get the hell out of here already, OK?" "OK." " You all right?" " Not especially." "Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" "You really wanna know or are you just being polite?" "I asked, didn't I?" "My wife is clinically depressed." "On top of that, my sister-in-law, who I have problems with on a good day, is at my house taking care of her right now." "I don't even wanna think about that." "On top of that, these electrocution burns are a serious bitch." " Has anybody heard from Lisa yet?" " Not yet, no." "I'm sure it's only a matter of time." "A matter of time before what?" "Before she calls and tells us she's had a little car trouble or..." "I don't know, that she's OK." "No one in this family ever talks about what's really going on." "What is that supposed to mean?" "We have to deal with the possibility that something bad has probably happened." "We do not!" "You may not believe this, but I have a lot more life experience than you." "At times like this, it's important that we keep a positive attitude." "Why must you always be so negative?" "Why must you always be in such deep denial?" "I am not in denial!" "I'm just trying to prepare for the worst, so that when it happens, it's not so awful." "Well, don't." "Lisa is going to turn up and she's going to be fine and there'll be a logical explanation for all of this." "Yeah, you're right." "And they're gonna put an end to world hunger and people'll stop killing each other and the oil companies are gonna stop running everything and apologise for global warming." "I'm sure it's just a matter of time." "When you talked to her, she said she was at the ocean." "Did she say where?" "No." "She just said it looked nice." " How long had she been gone?" " Two, maybe three hours." "Long enough to switch to highway one at San Luis Obispo?" "Yeah, maybe." "But probably not." "She's not the world's fastest driver." " Why wouldn't she stay on the 101?" " She wanted to drive through Big Sur." " She loves Big Sur." " Did you contact the credit card company?" " She may have stopped to get gas, right?" " Or lunch or a motel room." "Any purchases that might indicate the car's been stolen." "I should do that right now." " Hello?" " Hey, Nate." "It's me, Brenda." "I just wanted to call and apologise for last night." "It was really unlike me and..." "Look, Brenda, I can't talk to you right now." "I've got a lot more important shit to deal with." "Fuck!" "Fucking come on." "I'm already on hold." "I'm gonna get going." "I'm gonna stay here." "OK." " Call you tomorrow?" " Or sooner, if you hear anything." "When I'm feeling a little bit shaky..." "OK, so we know that she stopped for gas in Santa Barbara." "But that was yesterday." "You'd think she'd use the card again between then and now." "Unless she had a lot of cash on her." "She didn't have a lot of cash on her." "At least, I don't think she did." "I can't talk about this any more." "What's going on with you and Keith?" "Nothing much." "You guys seemed a little tense tonight." " You think we were tense?" " Yeah." "I guess we are." "We had this big fight down in San Diego in front of his mom and dad." "I butted in." "Maybe I shouldn't have." "Now I don't know where we are." "We love each other." "At least, I think we do." "Lately, though, I just feel numb when we're together, and better when we're not." "It's not like we don't want the same things." "We do." "I think." "Maybe we don't want the same things." "Maybe we're just pretending that we do." "Maybe we're just not meant to be together." "...artefacts from the near and distant past were emerging from the ice." "Steven Hiller reports on the discovery of archaeological treasure." "Steven." "During the short Siberian summer, our anthropologists discovered..." "Hey, sweetie." "Hi, my love." "Where the fuck have you been?" "Do you know how worried I've been, how worried we've all been?" "I filed a fucking missing persons report on you." " Oh, my God." "I am so sorry." " Why the fuck didn't you at least call me?" "I left 100 fucking messages for you on your cellphone." " I must have turned it off after you called me." " Jesus Christ." "Jesus Christ." "Don't ever fucking do that again." "Oh, God." "Come here." " Did she call?" " No." "Can you watch Maya for me, just for a little while?" " I'm just gonna get some air." " OK." "There you go." "Nate." "Hello?" "Speaking." "What?" "Where?" "Yes." "I'm on my way." "They found her car." "It's totally cool." "The streets are old-timey and there's an anthropology and a Nike goddess." "Everything is as clean as Disneyland, even the bathrooms." " What are you guys talking about?" " The new shopping mall." " The Grove." " I don't know why we haven't been." "There's a dance lesson tonight." "You feel up to it?" "I don't know." "But maybe." "If we're gonna cancel, we should let them know, otherwise they'll charge us." " Can we decide later?" " Call me at work after lunch." " OK, I will." " OK." " I need the credit card." " What for?" "I'm taking her shopping." "A little shopping is good for depression." " You're gonna go shopping?" " It'll be fun." "We're just gonna get her a new pair of shoes." "Maybe lunch at Farmers Market." " Please." " Of course." " Here." " Thank you, baby." "Where did he want his ashes spread?" "He told me to surprise him." " Maybe we should take him out to Catalina." " I'm pretty sure you need a permit for that." "Why don't I put him in my backpack and no one's the wiser?" "Are you two not speaking to one another?" "It's really starting to annoy me." " Can we do this?" "Then I can go." " I'm speaking." "OK, whatever, but I am not going out to Catalina in some goddamn boat just because you were there once when you were 12." " What about the beach in Malibu?" " That's where everyone throws their ashes." " So?" " I don't want him co-mingling with strangers." "We drive him up into Angeles National Forest and plant a tree." "Plant a tree?" "You must be kidding." " Then I say we drive him to Malibu." " I'm not going all the way out to Malibu." "Besides, the traffic'll kill us on the way home." "This is giving me such a goddamn headache." "Fuck it." "There." "Now he'll be in Westwood for all eternity." " What?" " We need your help, Claire." "I'm kind of in the middle of something right now." "Hurry it up." "What am I supposed to do?" "Give these to people and make sure they're here to see Mrs Su." " You need help for that?" " Yes." "And smile." "Not too much." "Compassionate but not happy." "That should be no problem." " Mrs Su?" " Mr Tully." "He's in there." "What's up with you?" "Nothing's up with me." "Am I not allowed to be in a bad mood?" "If that's what you want." "My boyfriend had sex with another guy and we broke up." "Are you happy?" " I'm so sorry." " What is it with you people?" "You can't figure out what you are, so you've gotta string along girls to ease the transition?" "Mrs Su or Mr Tully?" "Mrs Su, please." "Right through here." "It's probably best you found out about Russell now before it went any further." "The timing of all this is just so fucking perfect, it's not even funny." "What do you mean?" "With what's going on with Lisa, and how terrible things always happen at the same time, like when those celebrities die in sets of three." "Mrs Su?" "Right this way." " You don't think Lisa might have..." " What?" "Offed herself?" "No way." "Things seemed pretty tense between her and Nate for a while there." "She had that weird look in her eye, like it wouldn't take much to send her over the edge." "There's no way Lisa would do anything like that, not with the baby." " How are we doing?" " So far, so good." "We've only got about half an hour, an hour tops, to get the Sus out of the pastoral room so we can get Mr Monroe in there." " Goodness." "We're not gonna make it." " Of course we will." "We don't have a choice." "You must be here for Edward Tully." "No." "I'm here for Dorothy Su." " Am I in the wrong place?" " Over there." "I parked on the street right in front." "I'm not going to get a ticket there, am I?" " You should be fine." " Thank you." " He could get a ticket." " It'll take too long to move it." "When we're in the weeds the way we are today, you gotta move 'em in and 'out." "You don't understand." "This is my wife's car." "She didn't just leave it here and disappear." "There's her cellphone, her wallet and her overnight bag, but her backpack's missing." " You checked the trunk?" " It's not in there." "And also Lisa doesn't drink Dr Pepper." "She doesn't drink soda at all." "She thinks it's toxic." " I'm sorry, Mr...?" " Fisher." "We've got a missing persons report on file." "A missing backpack and a can of Dr Pepper is not evidence of foul play." "Without evidence of foul play, we can't treat this as anything more than it appears to be - a missing person's case." "I'm not gonna pretend there's nothing to worry about." "Possibly there is." " My wife is fucking missing!" " I can see that you are genuinely distressed." "But at this point, there isn't a whole lot I can do." "If it were me, I'd stick around the area, in case she finds her way back to pick up her car." "There's a motel just up the way." "I would make sure to move it by this time tomorrow, unless you want it towed to the impound lot." "God, how long is she gonna go on like this?" "With any luck, she'll throw herself over the railing." "Tell Roberta Flack I couldn't take it any more." " We have to talk." " No, we don't." "What is there to say?" " I'm in love with you." " Jesus, don't." "I need to say it." "I need to say it." "I know I can't have you." "I know it's wrong to want you like this, but that doesn't make it any less true." " And what am I supposed to do with that?" " Nothing." "I have to..." "let it go." "And maybe saying the words will help." "I want to let it go." "You have to believe that." "I just have a feeling about this and everything is going to be all right." " I've always been right about my feelings." " Mom, they found her car." "There are a hundred explanations for that." "She could have run out of gas." "She has a triple A card, a cellphone." "She would have called." " Maybe the battery went dead." " I just want you to be prepared." "I am sick of hearing that!" "I will not be prepared and neither should anyone else." "I refuse to believe that anything is wrong." "I have to trust my feelings." "Right now they're all I have." "Just where do you think you are going?" "To relax in my study with a nice cup of tea, my succulent compote." "You may have some tea later after you find those rats." " What the hell is all of this?" " What?" "The TV." "A refrigerator?" "The delivery guys couldn't get the refrigerator through the door." "You have to take out those old cabinets first." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "OK." "Julio." "Come on." "Get your brother." "Let's go in the other room." " Where's Vanessa?" " She's asleep." " We have a dance lesson tonight." " Wake her up if you want to." "But if I were you, I would let her sleep." "You told me you were taking her shopping for a new pair of shoes." " Don't start with me." " We cannot afford this shit." "Bullshit!" "You are a partner." "You have the money and she wanted them." " She never gets anything for herself." " We have a rule, Angelica." "If we're gonna spend more than $100, we check in with each other." " She knew you'd be pissed." " I am pissed!" "She takes care of your kids every single day and works a full-time job on top of that." "Look at this place." "No wonder she's depressed." "So she bought a new TV and a new refrigerator." "They were both on sale." "Give her a fucking break." "She deserves it." " May I help you?" " Thank you." "I was here earlier today for Dorothy Su's funeral." "I think I may have left my reading glasses." "I think I was sitting here." "Maybe it was over here." "Here they are." "I misplace them all the time." " Thank you." " You're welcome." "I feel terrible, although to be perfectly honest, I really didn't know Mrs Su." "I used to see her every morning, though." "It's where I get my newspaper." " I'm sorry." "Did I say something wrong?" " No." "My daughter-in-law's missing and I thought I had a feeling things would turn out all right, but now they've found her car and I still have a feeling, only now it's a feeling that something terrible has happened." "I'm so sorry." "I just cried all over your jacket and you're a complete stranger." "Not any more, I'm not." "I'd have been more than happy to bring some stuff over." "No, thanks." "This way is easier." "So how's everybody holding up?" "About as well as can be expected." "My buddy at the sheriffs department put it on the state-wide Teletype system." "Thank you for doing that." " I didn't do anything." "I just made a phone call." " Well..." "Thank you for being there." "Here." "Whatever." " How are you doing?" " Me?" "Fine." "Liar." "You wanna stay for a little while?" "No." "I just don't think that would be such a good idea right now." "OK, then." "Call me if you hear anything." " Or need anything." " I will." "We thought maybe you could use some company."