"My mother could be rich." "She could be rich and smart." "Or she could be rich and stupid." "On the other hand, she could be just poor and good-hearted." "Or she could be poor and mean." "I mean, I have no idea what she's like." "And there's my father, right?" "I look at guys on the street every day, walkin'down the street." "And depending on my mood, I imagine that any one of them could be my father." "This guy." "How 'bout this guy?" "Hi, Dad.!" "Then I have to picture these two people having sex." "Okay, maybe they're not together now, but at least 30 years ago... they had to hook up in order to have me, right?" "Mix and match, mix and match." "All these people together." "I can't help feeling that if I had been raised by at least one of my real parents..." "I wouldn't be such a nervous person, you know?" "I might be leading a completely different life... in a totally different city." "I could be married to a totally different person with a different job." "How do I know?" "I don't." "Anything is possible." "Well, the mystery of your unknown self is about to unfold." "Your mother lives in San Diego, California." "Her name is Valerie Swaney." "Valerie Swaney?" "I told you it wouldn't take long." " Can we arrange a meeting... soon?" " How's next month?" "No, no." "I told Nancy I'd do it sooner." "L" " I've been driving her crazy." "Because you can't name your son?" "I've been distracted and tense ever since the baby was born." " A little unsteady?" " Preoccupied." "I heard a song 'bout clouds and rainbows" "I hum a tune that sings like a dove" "Found words 'bout anything" "Anything but love" "I paint a picture of my prison" "With blue and gray for the skies above" "Framed and signed with the title" "Anything but love" "He had to go but I won't miss him" "I have got better things to do" "Like writing' stories and painting' pictures" "Of anything but love" "Oh, anything but love" "Anything but love" "Nancy.!" "I'm in the bedroom!" "Big news!" "I got big news!" "Hi, sweetie." "You look great." "Why are you dressed like that?" "Did you forget about our date?" "Oh, my God!" "I'm sorry!" "I'm sorry." " No." "It's okay." "You're here now." " No, no." "I feel so bad." " We're not gonna fight about it." " Mmm." "Aw, look at you." "You look so sexy." "But I want to tell you why I forgot." " Take your shoes off." " No, no, no." "Wait." "Wait." " We have to talk." "We have to talk." " No." "No." " Honey, no talking." " No." "We have to talk about why I'm late." " A control freak, huh?" " No." "Yeah." "Maybe I am a control freak." "Don't!" "Mmm-mmm." " Nap time's over." " Nap time's over." "Wait, wait." "I'll get him." "I'll get him." " You don't have to put your pants on to get the baby." "Honey, you think we're ever gonna have sex?" "Definitely." "There, buddy." "How ya doin'?" "Yeah." "You okay?" "We'll be out in one second." "No." "I feel like I'm keeping you from something." "No!" "No, no, no." "This is a priority." "Is this a bad time for your wife?" "'Cause I could come back." "Not at all." "We just need a couple of minutes." "This is crazy." "I mean, all right, I feel guilty 'cause I missed the date." "I just gotta tell her." "What am I afraid of, right?" "This is stupid." "Hey." "Hey." "Here you go." " No, no." "This is good." " What?" "This is good." "You stay with Daddy." "Keep his hands occupied." "Oh, Nancy." "Nancy." "No, no, no." "Honey." "Honey." "Can't we make another date, please?" "Ple..." "Sweetie, this is..." "Sweetie, he's lookin' right down at you." "This isn't..." "Oh." "Oh, no, no." "No." "Oh." "No, no, no." "My real mother lives in San Diego." " What?" " That's what I was trying to tell you." "I went to the adoption agency and they found my real mother." " Just like that?" "You walked in, they found her?" " It was the second trip." " I know." "I know." " Honey.!" "Why don't you put something on, come over and say hello to Tina?" " Who?" " The woman who helped arrange everything." "This woman's in our apartment right now?" "She's here?" "Yeah." "Well, you know, I was trying to tell you before... but you got all sexed up and everything." "I got sexed up because we had a date, not because I'm some kind of freak." " I didn't say you were a freak." "Did I say you were a freak?" " No, but..." " Come on." "This is good, right." " Hi!" "I'm Tina Kalb." "I'm sorry to burst in on you like this, but Mel said he didn't want to waste any time." "That's all right." "Nancy understands how important this whole thing is." "Great." "The baby's gorgeous, by the way." "It looks just like Mel." "Thanks." "Really?" "You think so?" "Everybody always says he looks like me." "Well, what do I know?" "I'm just another 30-year-old woman desperate for a baby of her own." "Your husband doesn't want to have kids?" "Yeah, I'm in the middle of a divorce, actually." "I just can't seem to part with the ring." " Sorry." " Oh, no." "You know, it was one of those dead marriages... the kind where you have to start making dates to have sex." " Oh." " Hmm." "I'm sure it'll work out." "I'm sure you'll meet somebody else... and you'll be happy, and you'll fall in love again, and things will be wonderful." "I don't know." "It might be easier at this point..." " just to find an intelligent man to impregnate me." "I'm sorry." "I don't understand exactly who you are." "Didn't I tell you?" "She's doing the study." "I'm going to be coming along to San Diego next week to document the reunion." "In fact, Nancy, I've got some waivers I need you to sign." "You see... there's such a dearth of in-depth documentation into the psychological impact... that these reunions have on for instance you, the spouse..." " as well as Mel's adoptive family." " Ah." "So you're a psychologist." "Not quite." "I'm just finishing my doctorate." "Tina used to be a dancer." "Oh, those days are long gone!" "Listen, I've got to call the office." " There's a phone in the kitchen." "It's there on your left." " Got one right here." " Well, next week..." "That soon." " Yeah, yeah." "They're gonna pay for everything." "Isn't that great, sweetie?" "Honey?" "After I had my baby..." "I wanted my husband to stay home and help with night feedings..." " not drag me on some plane for San Diego." " I like traveling." "The baby's five months old." "I really think this is gonna get us closer together." "Oh, honey, after you're married, he feels like he's kissing his mother half the time anyway." "Our kissing is still nice, but he's so controlling about the oral sex." " I just..." " Well, have you tried the warm water method?" " Are you kidding?" "You're kidding." " No." "Joe loves it." " Hey, hi!" " Oh, hi, Mel." " Look what I found." " What did you find?" " Ah!" "What made you dig these out?" " I don't know." " I was just feeling nostalgic for some reason." " It's so sweet." "We found these on our first field trip together." "Very sweet." " Oh, congratulations on finding your mother, Mel." " Thank you." "That oughta settle some big issues for you, huh?" "Definitely." "Which issues are you talking about?" " Starting with the whole sex thing." " Sex, the baby's name." " The baby's name." " No, wait a minute." "She just said "the sex thing. "" " You said that Ethan was too feminine." " Right." " We were trying to think of a more masculine name." " Okay." "But shejust said "the sex thing. " Didn't you just say "the sex thing"?" " But she meant that." " Let her speak for herself." "What did you mean?" " Tell him." "Go on." " Actually, it was oral sex I was referring to." "Oral sex." "Really?" "I think I just walked in..." " on a ladies' conversation that guys aren't supposed to..." " No you didn't." "No, no, no." " I'm gonna go." "I'm gonna leave." " No, stay." "Don't go." " No." "Leave." "Go." " Come on." "No!" " Stay, no." " Honey, we weren't talking about us." " L..." "What?" "No." " I wouldn't..." "You've gotta know that." " I know that so much." "So true." " All right." "Hey, I didn't go around telling my friends you didn't want to make love..." " for almost two months after the baby was born, did I?" " Probably." "Okay, but it didn't get back to you, did it?" "Are you sure you're okay about this woman coming along?" " It's not weird or anything?" " It's a little strange... to be traveling with a chaperone." "But if you're okay with it, I'm okay with it." "It's that she's been through the process so many times, I think it's a good thing." "Honey, if this helps you get what you need inside, then I'm all for it." "Thanks, sweetie." " This cheese is disgusting." "Get it away from me." " What's wrong with this cheese?" " It smells like vomit." " Stop being such a baby." " Mom, Dad, this is Tina..." " I'm a baby?" "It smells like vomit." " Nancy, did you get that support bra yet?" " Not yet." " What are you waiting for?" " I want to introduce you to somebody." "Please, don't make such a big deal out of it." " It makes a real difference." " Could we not talk about this right now?" "Yes, we're gonna talk about this because she's not listening to me." " I want you to see something." " Very nice, Pearl." " Consider my age and ask yourself how I maintain this." " Mom, why are you doing this?" " How?" "I don't know." "How?" " I couldn't have a baby... but I had to fight the laws of gravity just the same... and you need the help of a good bra." "Believe you me, you want to keep your husband's attention, you'll get one pronto." "If my breasts drop, they drop;" "and there's nothing I can do about that." " Wrong.!" " That's right." "Good for you, honey." " Wrong.!" " Just back off." " You've had five of these." "I don't think..." " Don't monitor me." " Your new friend is, uh, very long-waisted, isn't she?" " That's it.!" " We're not talking about this." " It's a free country." "Why can't I talk?" "Let him alone." "You're making an ass out of yourself again!" " Why don't you leave me alone?" "Have a little sniff." " Don't do that." " The baby's crying." " Get that away from me or I'll knock it off." " You're gonna hit me in front of all these people?" " Don't tempt me!" "Would you stop acting like this?" "That's it!" "All right?" " Don't yell in front of the baby." " Don't yell in front of the baby." "It's not good." "He wouldn't have to yell if you'd listen for two seconds." "What's gotten into my sweet daughter-in-law all of a sudden?" "Hormones.!" "No mystery there." "Does this baby have a name yet?" "Four months old, doesn't have a name?" " Don't blame me." "I like the name Ethan." " No." "Ethan's too lame." " Everything's too lame, too bold." " This is becoming... an embarrassing, neurotic thing, Mel." "It's not an embarrassing, neurotic thing." "This is about my real identity, my background." "Don't be ridiculous." "You're Mel Coplin, that's who you are." "This process will go a long way toward clarifying that identity issue." "What process?" "Who is this new friend with the camera already?" "I've been trying to introduce her to you for ten minutes." "Her name is Tina Kalb." " She's here for an important reason." " You're getting a divorce." " She's a counselor." "No, she's a lawyer." " Would you just zip it.!" " Don't talk to your mother like that." " We're not getting a divorce." "Maybe you should if you can't name the baby." "That is a terrible, sick thing to say!" " You said it first!" " That's no excuse." " If you say it, fine." "If I say it, I'm sick." " Maybe." " Tina is with the adoption agency." " What adoption agency?" "The adoption agency where you adopted me when I was a little baby." "Remember?" "Oh, my God!" "Oh, God!" "I have to have a cigarette if we're gonna talk about this." "Can I bum one of those?" " You can't smoke around the baby." " Show a little compassion." "This might be a good time to make an exception... for her." "Pearl.!" "I'd like to know what happened to the Constitution in this country." " Can you please put it out?" " All right.!" "Why does he have to do this..." "roots thing?" "Aren't we good enough parents?" "I think you probably did the best that you could, but psychic scars can't be helped." "Psychic scars?" "What is she talking about?" "She's saying we failed completely." " That's way too extreme." " Yeah, maybe just 40 percent." "Mom, you can't quantify it like that." "What difference does it make whether it's 40 percent..." " or 60 percent?" " Sixty percent?" "Why is everybody getting so serious all of a sudden?" "I thought we were gonna talk about buying new carpeting... getting rid of this crap, putting in the wall-to-wall." "Your life is so rich, so full." "You have a wife, a child, a good job." "Why are you doing this?" "If I could pop in here for a second, I think what Mel is trying to communicate... is that no matter where we are in our lives, especially if we're adopted... we can't help but feel that there's something missing... that there's something out there that's going to make us feel... complete, give us a sense of belonging, connectedness if you will." "This woman strikes me as being very dangerous." "It's understandable that you would find me threatening." "Why don't you psychoanalyze me?" "I'd love to hear this." "Go ahead." "I'm abrasive, pushy, defensive." "My husband is food-phobic, passive-aggressive." "Huh?" "Come on." "The point is, we're going to San Diego in the morning." "What about your father's sixtieth birthday?" "If you'd let me finish what I'm saying, we have every intention of coming back for it." "You are aware that they have a very big car theft problem in San Diego." " I wasn't aware of that." " Oh, yes, very big." " I hadn't heard anything about that either." " They bump you... and when you stop, they mutilate you and then take your car." "It happened to Art Sackhein." " Huh?" " They killed Art Sackhein?" "Don't be ridiculous!" "They bumped him and took his car." " Nobody said anything about killing." " You said mutilate." " Anyway..." " Please!" "Enjoy yourself." "I understand they have a lovely zoo in San Diego." " Are you ready for San Diego?" " Yeah!" " My God, you look beautiful." " So do you." "Thanks." "I'll run upstairs and change, 'cause I don't think..." " Don't be silly." "You look adorable." " You look so elegant." " I love that print." " Honey, you look great." "Come on." "Do you have the keys?" "I left with the feeling this road was endless" "Now it seems there's three days to heaven" "It's okay, 'cause these wheels are takin'me home again" "It's all right" "I've got three days to heaven and I'm gonna make you mine" "Boy, it's beautiful here, isn't it?" "Sweetie, I'm so happy we're doin' this together." " Watch the road, please." " Me too." " How's the baby's diaper?" " He's fine." "Good." "What's that?" "Oh, my God.!" "It's happening." "Shit.!" " What's happening?" " It's the bump and rob." "This is it." " Get down!" "Get down with the baby!" " What?" " He's gaining on us!" " Slow down!" " Back off, Jack!" " Pull over!" " How do you close this window?" " Wait." "I've got some mace in my bag." " It's not working." " Listen to what he has to say." " Here it is." "Mace him!" " Get him!" " Oh!" " Fucker!" "You left your jacket in the parking lot." "Asshole.!" "Thank you for thejacket." "Sorry about the mace." "Very sorry, sir." ""The Trinity Church Ministry of Hope. "" "Oh, my God.!" "They bump you, and when you stop... they mutilate you and take your car." "I don't think it's funny at all." "I mean, his father created this fear..." "Would you both just stop, please?" "We're almost there." " I'm getting nervous." " I'm not surprised at his reaction or by my reaction." "Okay, just breathe." " Should I ring the doorbell?" " Okay." " I mean, no." "Wait." "I told you to wait." " You said yes first!" " You didn't give me a chance to say no." " I would've, but..." " Hi!" " Hi!" "What a pretty wife you have!" "And I see you brought your nanny." "I'm not the nanny." "I'm the wife." " Oh, excuse me." "What a terrible way to start!" " Don't be silly." "Tina Kalb from the Maidstone Adoption Agency." " Hi." " Hi." " Valerie Swaney." " Mel Coplin." " This is great." "I love the stained glass." " Thank you." " Oh." " Now, he was a great president." "You know, I always felt like I should've appreciated him more." "I know just what you mean." "Let's get something to drink." "Your daddy was short." "That would explain it." "We have the same forehead, don't we?" "And the same eyes?" "This is amazing." "I never shared physical traits with family before." "I'm a bad person for what I did to you." " Don't say that." " It's true." "Tina says that most women who gave up their children for adoption in the '60s... were independent young women acting against a conservative world." "You're sayin' I was a slut?" "No." " Oh, God!" " I didn't think..." "You're not a slut." "I was tall, and I developed earlier than..." "If that's a crime, go ahead and sue me, but I am not from trashy people." " I wasn't suggesting that at all." " Your daddy was poor." "He worked in my father's liquor warehouse in Baton Rouge." " Really?" "Baton Rouge." " That's where you were conceived." "In the liquor warehouse on the cement floor..." " Wow!" " In Baton Rouge." "Oh, my parents hated Lars." " Lars Waara was his name." " Waara?" "Lars Waara!" " What kind of name is that?" " Finnish." " Finnish?" "I'm Finnish!" " I knew that." "Look at your face." "Absolutely." " Finnish-American." "Half Scottish-American." " Scottish-Finnish." "What is that?" "I don't know how to do that?" "That's..." "I'm gonna help you with that." "This belonged to my great-great-grandmama who was of the Clan Bucanon... married to the Confederate General Beauregard Clifford." " I want you to have it." " A Confederate General?" "Mm-hmm." "Expert boxer and marksman." "Really?" "Wow!" "What an athletic family, huh?" " I was on two championship basketball teams myself." " I'm not athletic at all." "Look at this picture." "This is..." "Let's name the baby Beauregard!" " Beauregard?" " Beau." "Beau Coplin." " Damn it." " What?" " The camera just jammed." " You didn't get that just now?" " No." "A terrific moment." " Forget the camera." " Forget about it." " Don't you want to get this on tape?" " I'd like to have it on tape." " I know." "I'm sorry." " The light's better in the living room." " Honey, I'll be right back." "He's a very decisive man, isn't he?" "Well, actually he's not." "But today, for some reason..." "Do you see that wheel in there?" "There's like a glob of gunk." " Yeah, I do." " Tar." "We need something to wipe if off with." "If we could get like a..." " You know what?" "Let's just use my skirt." " Your skirt?" " I don't care about it." "It's old." " Really?" "Okay." " Just hold this, okay?" " Okay." " Here." " Just..." "If you can..." " Hold still." " Yeah." "Okay." "I'm Beauregard from Dixie Hooray..." "Technically he's from New York." "Right?" " I'm sorry." "Oh." "I'm sorry." " Well..." " You got it, though." "You got it." " Good." " How long did you say you were a dancer for?" " Oh, God, don't remind me." "I haven't been to the gym in months." " You don't seem like you need to go to the gym." " You're very generous." "But when I was dancing, my calves did not look like this." " Those look like very strong calves." " Strong, yeah." "They've always been strong." "When I was a kid..." "I used to beat my brothers at Indian wrestling all the time." "Way down South in Dixie" "He's a little cracker." "Yes, you are." " No, I'm not a cracker." "I'm not a cracker." " Oh." "You feel it in your legs?" " It's really more about upper-body strength, isn't it?" " No, it's all in the legs." " How?" " You'll see when you lose your balance." "Oh.!" "What in the world?" "Oh, my Lord!" "My Chinese zodiac is ruined.!" " I am so sorry." "I really feel badly." " What else happened?" "We were just in here, and then, um... freak accident." " Yeah." "Just..." " What happened to the tail of my rooster?" " Is this it... maybe?" " No." " That's the dog's pillow." " Oh." "Don't throw it!" "I want to pay for all this." "Can I do that, please?" " Absolutely not." " Why not?" "All children break things, and all children are forgiven." "You have never had that opportunity with me." "Let's take this as a gift from God." "And look, here's another gift from God." "Ooh." "Why is that a gift from God?" "The rabbit is still in one piece, and both you and your daddy were Year of the Rabbit." "I always thought I was Year of the Dragon, at least on those Chinese restaurant place mats." "No." "Lars is 1939, you're 1963." "Those are both rabbit years." "Actually, I was born in '65." " Don't you think I know when my own son was born?" " 'Course you do." "That would make me two years older than I thought I was." "Wow!" "How is that?" "I can clear this up with one phone call to the office." " Why don't you make sure?" "It kinda freaks me out." " Hi.!" "We're here.!" "Hey, girls, look who's here.!" " What happened to your animals?" "These are my twins from my third marriage." " This is Jane, and this is Sandra." " Hello." "This is your half brother, Mel." " Oh, man!" "Look at his nose." " What's so funny?" " What's so funny?" " He looks just like Uncle Freddie." "Yes, he does." "Why didn't I see that?" "Oh, Uncle Freddie." "I'm flattered." "What's he like?" "He's really sweet-natured." "He's just that weird thing." "What do you call it?" " "Frateurist. "" " Yeah, he's a frateurist." " Frateurist?" "What's that?" " You rub up against people in crowded public places." " That's how I met Mel." " Seriously?" "No, she's kidding." " This is not somethin' to kid about." " Yeah." "He went to jail for it." "Oh." " Can he come to the beach?" " I don't think he's got time for that." " Why not?" " We're in the volleyball finals." " He can wear one of my shirts." " Yeah, give him a shirt." " You girls!" " We're in the championship." " Man, you should've been there yesterday." " It was so amazing." " Match point." "I went up for the spike." " She went up for the spike." " Shut up." "Let me talk." " It was so intense." " Shut up!" " Girls, girls.!" "Calm down." "Listen, I don't believe this, but there's been a terrible, terrible mistake." " Valerie's not your mother, Mel." " What?" "What are you talking about?" "Of course she's my mother." "We have the same forehead." " And he looks like Uncle Freddie." " I look like Uncle Freddie." "Please, just don't make this any harder on yourself than it already is." " Are you positive?" " He's not our brother?" "How could you make a mistake like that?" "Our computer files were in transition." "Valerie's son is named Martin Coplin." "He lives in Orlando, Florida." " Who is this man?" " Not your son." "Mel, your father is named..." "Fritz Boudreau, and he lives in Gundall, Michigan." " Maybe on our way back to New York..." " Who are these people in my home?" "I feel like a complete idiot." "I'm so..." "I know." "We fly all the way out here, have this tearful reunion..." "Get it out, Nancy." "It's gonna make us all feel a lot better." " Are you humoring me?" "I don't think this is funny." " I'm very serious." " Excuse me." "I expect you to pay for this damage." " Wait a minute." "You said it was a gift from God, remember?" "That's when you were my son." " Don't you have insurance?" " And raise my premium?" "No, thank you." "May I have my pendant back, please?" "Can we have our shirt back?" "We'd let you keep it." "It's just that we don't have very many of them." " There's only ten left." " No, sure." " Sorry." " I understand." " Thanks." " Have a nice life." " Good luck with this whole family thing." " Thank you." "I hope it works out for you." "You have my other knee pad?" "How could you be related?" "How?" "She is a six-foot blonde descendent from the Clan Bucanon." "We were only trying to be open to them." "We can be open with them, but we don't have to become them." "I thought she was my mother." "Come on, gimme a break." "How did you happen to knock down those glass shelves anyway?" "I don't know." "I just..." "We were trying to fix the camera, and we bumped into them." "It's strange you wouldjust happen to bump into them." "We were also Indian wrestling." "Indian wrestling?" "What is that?" "It's just this game that kids play." "A very innocent kids'game." "Why were you playing that?" "Because we were talking about athleticism in Tina's family." "Then how Valerie's family was athletic also, and..." "I don't know." "You're attracted to her, aren't you?" "No." "That's okay." "She's attractive." " Yes, she's attractive, but I'm married to you." " You know..." " she may be attractive, but she's got a screw loose." " Yes, I agree with you." "She's very eccentric, but I'm definitely in love with you." "Honey?" "The revolution came and left today" "Nobody knew it came and went" "And so did Judgment Day" "In somebody else's body with someone else's head" "In somebody else's body when I was someone else instead" "In somebody else's body with someone else's head" "When you're somebody else's body in someone else's bed" "Okay, I think this is the place." " This looks muy macho, doesn't it?" " Creepy to me." " No, look." "Somebody's coming out." " Hey, hi!" "Excuse me." "Is one of you fellas Fritz Boudreau?" " Did I invite you onto my property?" " Take it easy." " Tina, don't go over there!" " Hey!" "Oh, my God!" "Would you let me explain?" "We can talk about..." " Fuck!" "Run!" " What's happening?" "Fuck!" "The car's this way!" "Would you stay away, sir?" " Doesn't he want to see me?" " I felt so bad about San Diego..." " I bent the rules a little bit." " Did you call them?" "I tried to." "His phone doesn't work." " What the fuck you people talking about?" " We wanted to know... is one of you Fritz Boudreau because they said he was my father." "What..." "Who said I'm your father?" " She did." " The Maidstone Adoption Agency." "Why, you little shit!" "Look at this turd face, Mitch." "This turd is my son." "I'm sorry, man." "Did we scare you?" " Yeah, a little." " We were scared too." "How did we know?" "I dropped a lot of baby batter in my days, but this is the first son I ever met." "What a wonderful moment." "I wish I had my camera." " You picked a hell of a time to drop by, turd face." " Your phone wasn't working." "Nah!" "I don't need no son to gimme no guilt trip about a phone." "Fritzie, we gotta get goin', pal." "Remember?" " Shit." " What?" " Come on, yeah." " Goin'somewhere?" " Where do you have to go?" " We gotta get the wheels balanced for a big trip tomorrow." " Where you goin'?" " After Eugene balances the wheels..." " we're gonna be out for about three weeks." " Three weeks?" "Really?" "Bad timing." "Why don't we bring 'em along?" " Huh?" "It's only 20 minutes over to Eugene's." " Yeah." " Come on with us!" " In the truck?" " You ever been in a truck before?" " No, not really." "Whaa" "How do you like this?" "First time in a rig, huh?" " It's great!" " It's really fabulous, Mr. Boudreau." "Some people look down on drivers, like we're low class." "Not me." "I always wanted to learn how to drive a big rig." "You never told me that." "I might not have voiced it until now, but it's always been a fantasy of mine." " You want a lesson?" " You'd give me a lesson?" " Sure!" "Why not?" " Let's not do this while the baby's in the truck." " Don't you trust me?" " Of course I trust you." " But he's never done this before." " She's not gonna let you drive the truck, so forget about it." " Are you sayin' my son's a bitch boy?" " I didn't say that.!" " What's your name again?" " Mel." "You ain't no bitch boy, are you, Mel?" "No, I don't believe I'm a bitch boy." "Don't let him bait you into doing something stupid." "Nancy, Mel needs your support now." " Yeah, I need your support, honey." " Yeah.!" " I support you, Mel." "Me too!" " I wanna get out." " You're acting like a real asshole." " Ooh!" "Pussy-whipped!" "We're comin'back in 15 minutes." "What's the big deal?" "Hey!" "Get away!" "Have a great trip." "Okay?" "We'll be supporting you from out here." " May I have my baby, please?" " Nancy." "Just send us a postcard, 'cause we'll be right here at the Gundall post office." "This isn't gonna take long, honey." "Just calm down." "So remember, it's like a butterfly's wings." " Use a little gas, a little clutch, a little gas." " Gas, a little clutch." "What happens if I hit this?" "What does that do?" "Is that okay?" "You know somethin'?" "You've got a kind ofJew look, don't you?" "The people who raised me areJewish." "Maybe that's what you're picking up on." "They gave you a real "Hebe" look, kid." " Don't say that." "That's not nice." " Wait a second." "No, it's not a Jew face." "It's a face like Old Needledick's!" "Yeah!" "You're not in some kind of science, are you, kid?" "Science?" "Actually, I'm an entomologist." " Entomologist sounds like science to me." " Wait, wait." "Who's Old Needledick?" "What are you talking about?" "When I met your mother, I was ridin' with the Angels in Oakland, Cal." " Uh-huh." "The Hell's Angels?" " Yeah." "And we got invited to all these fancy parties... because rich people liked to hang around with the Angels... and musical bands and whatnot." "And your mother meets this guy, Richard Schlich..." " I can never pronounce that cocksucker's name." " "Schlichling. "" "Okay, so she meets this guy, Richard "Schlichling. "" " And what?" " They ran off together to Antelope Wells." " You're saying..." " This can't be happening." " You're saying you're not sure if you're my father?" " I'm sorry to disappoint you." "But the records show that you're the one..." " who brought him into the agency." " I did a good deed as a favor... because his mother and father were indisposed." " Indisposed how?" " You'll have to ask your mother about that." "We don't know where she is, so isn't it possible that you got her pregnant..." " before she left you?" " No, no, no!" "With this face, this science thing..." " We're movin' backwards." " Where's the brake?" "Do I..." " Put it in first." "Oh, my God!" "Mel!" "I don't think it's wrong to want to take a driving lesson with your father." "Right?" " I'm not speaking to you." " Sweetie, I'm sorry about this." "Gimme a kiss." "Sweetie, gimme..." " Mr. Boudreau, where's Antelope Wells?" " Please step off." " Do you know where Antelope Wells is?" " I have no idea." "She doesn't know what the hell she's doing." "That man was a lunatic, a stranger!" "Okay." "Okay." " Mr. Boudreau, please, just tell me where Antelope Wells is." " Tommy, get her off me!" " When I say step off, I mean step off." " Hey!" "I'm from New York, okay?" "On the upside, Antelope Wells should be warmer than this place." "So we're just gonna jump on a plane to New Mexico?" "Is that it?" "I think that we should finish what we started." "Agent Paul Harmon, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms." "This is agent Tony Kent." "Now let's see." "You thought Fritz Boudreau was your father..." " but, in fact, he's not your father." " No, I..." " Tony Kent." " Nancy Curwin." "This is unbelievable!" "We went to high school together in Chicago." " You look fantastic!" " No.!" " God.!" " What are you doing in this police job?" "I need a health plan while I'm writing my first book." "What are you doing now?" " I'm curating." " Excuse me." " There's something here we gotta take care of." " I'm sorry, Paul." "Go ahead." "You do know it's a Federal offence to destroy a United States post office." " It wasn't like it was some premeditated act of terrorism." " I'll be the judge of that." "Now, the ostensible purpose for this truck ride was what exactly?" "He was giving me a lesson." "It was very simple." " He just wanted to teach me how to drive the truck." " This baby is beautiful." " Gorgeous blue eyes." " Tony, Tony, Tony." " He looks a lot like you." " Thank you." " Tony?" " In a minute." " Give the baby back." " Feel his little grip." "It's so strong." "Jesus Christ!" " I'm s..." "I'm..." " You're under way too much stress." "This man drove a semi into a Federal building." "You were gonna give him a warning." "It's an accident, remember." " There's certain procedures that you have to follow." " Right." "He's got a valid license." " Not to drive a truck, he does not!" " It was the trucker's fault..." " for letting him drive in the first place." " Can I talk to you in private?" "This is my investigation." " I just said you didn't have to suspend his license." " I'll take the baby." "What's the deal with this guy, huh?" "We went to high school together." " You just... went to high school together?" " Mm-hmm." "Did you know him well, or..." " He was on the football team." " Oh, the football team." "Oh." " It's not a murder." "It's not a bank robbery." " Okay, okay." " Just cut the baby crap." " Oh, all right." "I'm sorry." " So it looks like this Boudreau fellow..." "Is gonna take the rap for you driving the truck, so..." "I'm just gonna give you a warning." "But I'm..." "If you..." "If you drive a truck again, they're gonna take your license away for sure." " Okay." " You understand?" "Yes, I understand." "Thank you." " Is that it?" "Are we free to go now?" " You are free to go, yes." "Do you guys have a place to stay tonight?" " Probably check into a motel." " No, don't do that." " There are so many wonderful B- and-B's here in Lake Michigan." " I hate B-and-B's." "Why do you hate B- and-B's?" " First of all, there's no privacy." " No privacy." "Uh-huh." "And you have to make chitchat with the boring old lady who runs the place." " That's kind of the fun, isn't it?" " There's always the little cat." "You have to pretend you like the cat." "Whatever we do, we need to eat first because I'm starving." " Why don't we take you out to dinner?" " Are you apologizing for the arrest?" "No, but it would be nice to catch up with Nancy." "We could take them to Minetti's." "Minetti's is great, but you're not gonna get a reservation this time of night." " Thanks anyway, but we'll be fine." " We don't want to intrude, Tony." "No, no." "Don't be silly." "We're getting sick of each other's company anyway." "You see?" "I told you." "Stop that!" " I can't believe you're a writer now." " An aspiring writer." "I'm trying to get this whole book together, this crime fiction thing." "You were such a jock in high school." "You were so wild." " I know." "And you were such an egghead, remember?" " No." " You were an egghead." " No!" "What I'm asking is, you fly into Albuquerque and rent a car, how far..." "It's way down at the southeastern corner of the state." " Excuse me." "Have you been there before?" " I've been near there." "Antelope Wells is right near the White Sands National Monument." "They've got this fantastic hot springs nearby that not many people know about." "I wish you could come and show me around while Mel meets his family." " You have the personal days." "You should do it, Paul." " I can't take time off work." " Unbelievable line!" " I told 'em they gotta get a bigger bathroom." "Look at him." "He loves you." "You're wonderful with children." "Oh, I want one of these so badly." "I'm tellin' you." "Hey, could you help me out with an adoption, Tina?" "Well, that depends on the specifics of your situation." " Well, like what?" " Number one..." "Are you married?" "Yes." " Number two..." "Does your spouse work?" " Yeah." " Is she willing to adopt?" " You see, that's where the snag is." "Then you've got a real problem." " What would my chances be as a single parent?" " Excuse me, please." "Why can't you stay and discuss this?" " 'Cause I believe in privacy, that's why." " Right." "We have nothing to be ashamed of, though." "I don't want to share my personal life with everybody I meet." "Okay?" "She's not just anyone." "She works in an adoption agency." "I thought that she could be helpful." "God.!" "You know, I keep telling him that having a baby... will reduce stress by taking his mind off work, but he doesn't listen." "Where did you folks come down on the circumcision controversy?" "'Cause you know there's movement afoot these days to keep the foreskin." "Personally, I think a boy's penis should look just like his father's." " You know?" " Yeah." "Mm-hmm." " Can I have... the baby?" " Oh, sure." "Yeah." "Here we go." "Oh, so cute." "My late husband devised his own... anti-erosion system, that later on we had patented... on the advice of a dear friend... who was in a law office with Gerald Ford." "My brother has the same birthday as President Ford... who is a very sweet man." "We met him twice." "Once at a political rally and once at a golf tournament." "And his wife is such a sweet lady." "Betty Ford is so pretty." "Why couldn't we go to a motel?" "Because at a motel we don't have the bonus... of someone related to Gerald Ford's... birthday." "We forgot your father's birthday." "Oh, fuck." " Hello?" " Hi, Mom." "So, how's the psychic healing going?" "I am really sorry we didn't get back for Dad's birthday." "It's all right." "We'll try it again when he turns 65... provided he lives that long and you're not too busy." "I said I was sorry." " Why are you whispering?" " Because I'm not supposed to be using this phone." " Are you all right?" "We're fine." "There was a big mix-up in San Diego... and then I ended up flattening a post office with a truck." " What truck?" " Truck?" "What's happening with a truck?" "We had the wrong information." "We have the right information now." "We're going to New Mexico." " New Mexico?" " Tell them they've got uranium in the water down there." "Shush." "He's in some kind of trouble." " Did your car get bumped in San Diego?" " No!" "I mean, yes, there was a minor incident..." "No, no." "We don't do this here unless it's an emergency." " What's the emergency?" " Is it the baby?" " Oh, my God!" "What's wrong with the baby?" " The baby is fine." " Good." "Then hang up." " Do you need help?" "Do you see this sign? "No phone calls after 8:00 p. m." "Use gas station at corner. "" "Could I just have 30 seconds, please?" "No." "Do you want to pay my phone bills?" " Thirty seconds." " Hang up.!" "Is that tyrant your mother?" "No." "I have to go." "We're gonna be with the Schlichtings." " The "Shitkings"?" " What kind of a name is "Shitking"?" " Schlichting." "They're my parents." " Verboten means verboten!" "I don't know." "I think it's German." "We're gonna be at Antelope Wells." "Hello?" "Mel?" "I used my calling card." "That's not the point." "I think something terrible is happening to him!" " Calm down, calm down." " I can't calm down!" " What did he say?" " We have to do something." " All right, we'll call back." " We can't." "He's on his way to New Mexico, for God's sake!" "Who knows what kind of people he's with?" "Anything is possible." "Don't say that!" "You're starting to scare me." " I am not." "You were already scared." " I was not." " Yes, you were." " Eddie, we have to do something!" "Like what?" "There's nothing we can do." "The kitchen's off-limits after 8:00." "What are you, her spy?" " Why didn't you use Tina's phone?" " 'Cause Tina's phone isn't working." "You know, it's starting to feel like this whole thing is a big waste of time." "You know, it's starting to feel like this whole thing is a big waste of time." " You're feeling frustrated." " Yes, I'm feeling very frustrated." "I was worried your expectations were too high for all of this." " You know, maybe we should just forget everything and go home." " Don't do that." "You always get so pessimistic when you're close to finishing something you've started." " I do not." " Yes, you do." "You did it with the apartment." "You loved it so much." "The day we go to sign the lease you start freaking out." "And the wedding." "How many times did you change the date?" "You're right." "You're right." "I do this all the time." "So, stick to your plan for once, okay?" "If you want to find your parents, find your parents." " Oh!" " Oh, hi." " Hi." " Are you okay?" "You seem upset." "I owe you a big apology." "I mean, this is not the way I planned this trip, not the way I wanted it to turn out." "Look, it's been kind of difficult, but I think we've gotten past the bumps." "You know, I feel really good about where we're going." "I really think it's going to be great." "You're such an optimist." "Where does that come from?" "Well, you know, I've always said it's a mistake to let pessimism take over... right before you're about to finish something." "That's the complete opposite of my ex-husband." "He was such a pessimistic pig." "Well, I think you're doing a great job." "Really." " Really." " Thanks." " Good night." " Good night." "Good night." "Thanks." "Shit." "What was that noise?" "Did you drop something?" "Goddamn cat flew out of nowhere." "Scared the hell out of me." " What are you doing?" " Huh?" "Where'd you get that pup tent?" "L..." "I'm feeling very sexual!" "I don't know." "I'm just feeling like I wanna..." "Let me just take my glasses off." "Wait a second." "Wait, Mel!" "Mel, look at me." "Just slow down for a second." "Let's take our time." "Look at me." "Why aren't you looking at me?" "What, what?" "I'm looking at you!" "Why do I have to look at you?" "Why can't you look at me?" "I don't know." "I don't know what's going on." "I mean, don't you ever think that maybe it's not natural... for two people to be together their entire lives?" " Do you ever think that?" " Oh..." "I get it." "Your parents weren't good enough for you." "And now I'm not good enough for you because Tina's a skinny dancer, right?" " No." "What?" " It takes some women... more than a year to get back to their normal weight after having a baby." "You are not good B-and-B people.!" "That's because we hate B-and-B's!" " Look, we need to talk." " Okay." "I'm not sure I'm ready for an affair with a married man right now." "I'm feeling just as confused as you are." "Okay?" "About the whole thing." "I'm in the middle of a divorce." "I'm going to school at night." "You know, I need to be taken seriously as a woman." "I want to have my own children." "I want to have my own life!" "You know?" "Not just some vicarious semblance of like somebody else's life." "Shit." " What's the matter with her?" " Hi." "She's upset about the way everything is going." "She's really..." " Listen." "I feel like I owe you an apology about last night." " Okay." " We should discuss it because there's two sides to everything." " Hey, you guys.!" "That doesn't sound like an apology." "What the hell?" " Hey.!" " Hello again, strangers." "I'm sorry that I stormed out like that last night." "But I suffer from hypertension." "You probably already knew that." "The whole thing was a blessing." "It finally made Paul realize how much he needs R-and-R." "Sometimes you gotta be zonked on the head." "What can I say?" " Wait a minute." "You guys are going to New Mexico?" " We're goin', yeah." "Nothing like the cruel acceptance of a casual invitation, right?" " What invitation?" " I think you were in the bathroom." " Oops, did we jump the gun here?" " No, this'll be fine!" "No, wait." "What do you mean it's fine?" "It's fine?" "We're just gonna do some sightseeing." "We're not gonna get in your way." "I'm glad to have the company." "It's gonna be fun!" " We already checked in." "Why don't I find a row for the baby?" " Terrific!" " Bye-bye." " Thanks." "We'll see you on board, Mel." "I'm sorry about that." "I didn't expect them to show up." " So, what?" "You had a little hostility to work out?" " It isn't hostility." " I just barely mentioned it to them." " Right, great, great." "Whatever, okay?" "I wasn't circumcised until I was a year old." " Wow!" "Why?" " I had hypospadias." " What is that?" " Well, hypospadias is like a curvature of the penis." " They have to adjust it with a whole operation." " Really?" "Yeah." "I had it done when I was young." "I mean, it's fine now." "Here you go." "Honey, why don't you cover yourself up?" "I just finished nursing him, okay?" "Ever heard of hypospadias?" "Is there something wrong with the plane?" " How is the nipple irritation?" " It's really bad, actually." "You know why?" "Because I was watching you... and I think you might be holding him at the wrong angle." " I've been doing this for a while now." " I know you have." "But you see, when he's under your breast like this... see, he pulls down on the nipple which obviously causes more irritation." "But if you're out here and bring him straight in to the breasts..." "You know?" " I mean..." " How'd you get to be such an expert on all this?" " I went out with a woman who was a midwife." " Really?" " Yeah." "You have very beautiful breasts." " Thank you." " I remember them from high school." " Do you?" "Not that I was like looking at them, but I just saw them in passing." " Hey, Paul, do you mind finding another seat?" " I won't look." "No, no, no, no." "We need it for the baby to stretch out." " It would really help us out." " Oh." "Another seat, huh?" " Yeah." " Oh, oka..." "Yeah." " Yeah?" " Thanks a million." " No, that's..." "Okay." " Thanks." " Hey, thanks for the water." " Yeah." "That's the headache pressure point." " Can you feel it?" " Yeah." "Is there something happening here that I haven't been clued into?" "Paul, would you mind finding another seat?" "This is wonderful." "This is great." "I can't believe how naive I am." "Sir, I can't have you moving around." "Please sit in your assigned seat." "Okay, okay." "Is anybody sitting here?" "Does anybody actually own a white Taurus, or are they all rentals?" "The is the most reliable midsize in America according to all the big reports." " I'm feeling very depressed." " What are you feeling depressed about?" " I feel like there's an agenda and it's not what I had in mind." " What agenda?" "Do I have to spell it out?" "I'm the fifth wheel." "How do you think that makes me feel?" "We're riding in two cars until we get to the B-and-B." "That's not an agenda." " Let's just hit the road." " You don't mind if he rides with you, right?" " Why can't he ride with you?" " See what you're doing to me?" "Ride with us!" "I don't care." "Ride with us." "Oh, that's so generous of you." "You know, I think I'll ride with illicit couple number two." "Oh, no." "He does this to me every eight months." "I ought to get used to it by now." " What?" "What does he do?" " He gets antsy and he runs off with somebody else." "I think that's common among certain types of married men." "I'm the rock, he's the flake." "So that's life." "That's what my ex-husband used to say when he was trying to feel superior to me." "Tony's flights of terror from his own life have nothing to do with my superiority." "Well, it's not terror that makes people wander." "It's vitality." "I see." "Is it vitality that led Mel to leave his wife for you?" " Paul, would you mind riding in the other car?" " I don't know." "I don't mind." " Good." "Could we just pull over here?" " Yeah." "So what happened in the other car anyway?" "Paul was probably lecturing them, right?" "I wasn't lecturing them." "I was asking questions." "That's all." "I wasn't lecturing." "Oh, my God, is that..." "You brought your gun." "Absolutely, I brought it." "You never know when you'll get beeped for an emergency." "You're such a hopeless workaholic." "We're on vacation, for God's sake." " It's such a good time!" " Mel gets like that too." "Then he can't enjoy anything." "If you can't commit to our marriage now, what are you gonna do when we have a baby, huh?" "Why can't he ride with you, huh?" "You invited them in the first place." " Could you pass me the Baby Wipes?" " Where are you going?" " To pee." " You just gonna..." "Right here?" "You're just gonna..." "squat." "Why did you have to take your keys with you to pee, anyway?" "I just wasn't thinking, okay?" " I don't know how many times I've told you to keep your keys in one place." " Shut up!" "Fuck." "Nancy was saying you guys were having some tension around oral sex." " Oh, was she?" " Yeah." " Really?" " Hey, it happens to me too." "You know a technique that I find useful:" "Humming to myself." " Humming to yourself?" " Yep, humming." " Seems to release the tension so I can enjoy the fellatio." "It's great." " Great!" " Thank you." "Thanks for the tip." " You bet." "Do you worry about the risk factor involved in gay sex?" "It may be news to you, but not every gay man has anal sex." " That's where a lot of the H. I. V. Risk lies." " For example, I'm very anal." "I mean, in the sense that I'm compulsively careful and clean about what touches my body." " Not into penetration at all." " To a fault." "Do we have to talk about this right now?" "Why not?" "Are you a homophobic?" "I think it's interesting." "Really, I think maybe..." " Nancy's just testing the risk factor for sex with Tony, Mel." " What?" " Paul, don't patronize her." " I'm not patronizing." "She knows that I came of age in the era of Al DS." "And even though I'm bisexual, I've been incredibly careful." "Okay?" " Tested negative three times in the last seven months." " Really?" "You remember correctly." "Three times." "I'm sorry." "Maybe we should've sprung for an updated edition, huh?" "I mean, the picture's right here." "It was a nice B-and-B." "They probably had something about the uranium contamination in the new edition." "Did it ever occur to you to call first?" "Without spontaneity, the world of B-and-B's is fairly meaningless." "I hope you have a tent, because that's the only way... you can be spontaneous in the desert at this hour." "Maybe Mel's parents can suggest a place." "Oh, right." "I'm gonna show up with 50 people." ""Hi, I haven't seen you for about 30 years." "This is my posse." "And Nancy invited along these two gay guys just for fun." "And, you know, we're gonna be here for a while. "" "What does gay guys have to do with anything?" "It has nothing to do with anything." "I didn't mean to be insulting." "Then why'd you say it, neurotic guy?" " That's my designation?" "I'm neurotic guy?" " Mm-hmm." "I don't think you know me well enough to call me neurotic guy." "Oh, really?" "Gay guy isn't intimate?" "Look, do you want to file an anti-defamation suit... or get to the Schlichting's before midnight?" "Is this another surprise visit or did you call first this time?" " I spoke with them already." "I told you that." " What?" "What?" "What, do you want to get intimate?" "Is that what you're saying?" "Huh?" "No?" " Did you hear that?" " Yeah." "Lend me your comb It's time to go home" "Gotta confess" "My hair is a mess" "Your mama will scold" "Your daddy will shout" "Unless we come in" "The way we went out" "Kissing you was fun Honey bun" "Thanks for the date" "Time has come Honey, honey bun" "You know, baby it's a-gettin'late" "Just wait 'til I" "Straighten my tie" "Lend me your comb" "This is a long porch." "It's a beautiful house, though." "Sorry." " Think you could wait back in the car?" " I gotta go to the bathroom." "Hi!" "It's so late, we were getting worried." " Hope my directions were all right." " They were great." " This place is so isolated." " That's what we love about it too." "I'm Tina Kalb." "We spoke on the phone." " Oh, yeah, right!" " We were shocked to get your call yesterday." "I'm amazed you ran into Fritz Boudreau after all these years." " He's something." " Well, he never got over the fact Mary left him for me." "Which one of you is Mel?" "That's me." "Mary Schlichting." " Oh, so that's how you pronounce it?" " Nobody ever gets it right." " And this must be your wife." " Nancy." " Nancy, hi." "Welcome to our family." " Look at the baby!" " He's sleeping." " These are friends." " Tony and Paul." " Mr. Schlichting." "Mrs. Schlichting." " Paul." "How you doin'?" " They were gonna stay at Rancho Arroyo." " Oh, my goodness." "You can't stay there." " No." "They found that..." " Uranium, yeah." " Highly toxic." "Thank God that's far away." "You don't have to worry." "Could you recommend a motel?" " No!" "There isn't a decent motel for 100 miles." " No need to go to a motel." " And we have plenty of room here for all of you." " Oh, thank you." "Great." " I don't want everyone to stay here with you." " Why can't everyone stay here?" " This is a private thing." " If I could just lay down." "I'd like to go right to bed." " Sure." "Let me help you." "Do you want to eat before..." " No, thanks." "I'm not hungry." "Nancy, come on." "You're always hungry." " Fuck you." " What?" "I'm, I'm sorry?" "This isn't the time or the place for this." "But it was the time and place to wrestle with her in San Diego, right... and break a bunch of glass animals?" "That's fine?" "That was a perfect time?" "I'm sorry." "Is this inappropriate?" "Nothing in this house is inappropriate." "We'll be upstairs." "I'll get the bags." "I think I wanna lay down too." "I bet you would." "Hmm." " Having some problems?" " Yeah, we're kind of having a little bit of a..." "Yes." "It's some kind of a swapping thing you've got here?" "No, no, no, no, no." "Just there's a little friction." "That's all." " And these guys came along with us." " You know, marriage is tough." " You gotta be flexible in marriage." " Yeah." "This thing is wonderful, by the way." "Who made this?" " That's my work." " Really?" "You did this?" "I got a blacksmith's shop out in the barn." "I do my sculptures there and Mary throws her pots." " Really?" "She's into pottery?" " She's gonna love showing you her pottery." "This is slab construction." "If you can see the..." "When I roll it out that I have weeds in with the rolling pin." " I press them into the surface." " Just ordinary weeds." " You put the weeds in the clay?" " And when you fire it, the weeds burn off." " Where the weeds were, you get..." " Stick your fingers in here." " Oh, yeah." " No, stick two fingers inside and just caress it." "That's it." " There you go." " Now feel the texture on..." "Against your face." "Oh, it's very rough." "It looks rough, but it's very smooth, isn't it?" "Right." "It's smoother than you would think, but still..." "This is wonderful." "Great stuff." "And you guys, you make your living through the arts, huh?" "Well, we try." "Sometimes you have to supplement." "Yeah, you have to supplement with other things." "These are all mine." "Every one of them, I made them." "Oh, I want to show you a big one I love!" "This environment is so much more creative than the one I grew up in." " Thanks, that's nice." " This is a wood fire process." "Who's that?" " That's our other son." " You mean I have a brother?" " Mm-hmm." " Want to say hello to Lonnie?" "He's feeling a little threatened about meeting you, so be patient with him." "Hi!" "How you doin'?" "That's a beautiful song you're playing there." " Is supper almost ready?" " We better go in and eat." "He's been cooking all day." "Bagged the quail himself this morning." " Ooh, wild quail!" "Terrific." "You're in for a great treat." "Lonnie's a really good cook." "Ooh, the Special Son is here tonight" "Little Cinderella better cook up something special for him" "Lonnie, can you make your quail tonight" "Okay." "You know what I want to have happen?" "I want Mel to sit over there next to your father." " Oh, okay." " For what?" " Then I'll have all three of my fellows in a row." " All right, c'mon, c'mon." "Maybe you should take your plate with you?" " That's all right, I didn't touch it." " Sit down." " Do you like quail?" " I never had quail." "Are you all right?" "Just don't want to talk about it." "I need to calm down." " Well, if you do wanna talk about it, I wanna be here for you." " Thank you." " Want me to take care of the baby?" " He's fine." "He's sleeping." "Um, do you mind if I take a shower?" " No, I don't care." "But could I just have a second?" " Okay." "So, Fritz said you were a scientist, Richard." "Yeah, I was a chemist for Maple Brothers in the Bay Area before we came here." " Right, the aspirin company." " Yeah." "Decongestants, nasal sprays, all that consumer crap." "I couldn't wait to quit." "He hated it." " I'm a scientist too." " No, you're kidding!" " Oh, my God." "What's your specialty?" " Entomology." "Isn't that incredible?" "The genetic connection." "Oh, my God, that's incredible.!" "For some reason, Lonnie never seemed to have an interest in science." " What does that mean?" " She doesn't mean anything." "It means simply that you never had an interest in science." "Look at the other things you do." "Who knows?" "I might've had an interest in sculpture... if these guys hadn't given me away." "Who knows what might've happen?" " Gimme a kiss." "Yeah, what, what did happen?" " About what?" " Why did you guys give me up?" "Why did we give him away?" " The big question." " That's the question." "Fritz Boudreau said that you were indisposed..." " and so that's how he came to bring Mel to the agency." " Indisposed?" " Is that what he said?" " That's the word Fritz used?" " That would've been nice." " Big word for the fella." " I wouldn't mind being indisposed." " I'm gonna tell the story." "How much detail do you have to go into here?" "I want Mel to know what happened or he'll never believe we cared about him." "What are you hanging onto that for?" " You're holding onto it." "I'm letting it go." " I'm not holding onto anything." "You're holding onto these things." "Go ahead, tell 'em." "I don't care." "Mel, you know we were living in San Francisco..." " and it was the mid '60s, right?" " Uh-huh, yeah." "We were part of a progressive group of artists, and there was one band at the center of it." "A band?" "W" " What band?" "Jerry Garcia, blah, blah, blah." "I am so sick of this fucking story.!" "It is so boring.!" "You've been telling it for years." "Give it up.!" "It is so boring." "He doesn't like it when I tell this story." " What happened with Jerry Garcia?" " Nothing." " Nothing with Jerry Garcia, but Richard and I went to prison." " Right after you were born." " That's why we had to give you away." " You went to prison?" " Don't be stigmatized by it." "It wasn't a serious crime." " Oh, God, it was nothing." " Not even a crime." " It was absolutely nothing." "Less than nothing." "Have you ever driven a few miles over the speed limit or something like that?" " Yeah, sure." " It was less than that!" "If you speed, you could hurt somebody." " You were jailed for driving?" " No, no, no." "There was no driving." "How did they get that?" "I'm sorry, I'm totally lost." " Hi." " Hi." "Here, I'll get out of your way." " What are you doing?" " I don't know." "What did I do?" " It's okay, relax." " Watch out." "You could hurt your fingers." "Whoops." " I'm so clumsy." " No, you're not." "You know, I have these three Italian prints at home that I keep..." "I don't know what to do." "If I should frame them myself or take them to somebody else." " I would take them to the framer." " Yeah?" " Maybe that's what I'll do." " Do you want to take a shower?" " No, go ahead." " I mean together?" "Your husband's been taking you for granted a little bit, don't you think?" " Yeah." " Yeah." "Here." "Let me go get my shower cap." "You made L. S. D.?" "That's what you're saying?" " Yes, yes." "We made acid." " We gave it out to people who needed it." "You know that there are hundreds of pharmaceutical executives in this country... that are selling drugs, F. D. A. Approved drugs." " On the open market." " Over the counter with incredible side..." " Horrible side effects." " Terrible side effects." " And these people are not in jail." " They're not in prison anywhere." "They're in country clubs or playing golf." "They're having drinks." "They're running the country." "Running the country, Mel!" " L. S. D. Shouldn't be a felony in the first place." " It's not addictive." "It doesn't lead to violent crime." "It's really the only hope for the species." "Did you take acid while you were pregnant with me?" "You're not gonna bring that thing up, are you?" "You know the stuff they tell you about chromosome damage and all that?" " Yeah, I do!" " That's government propaganda." " Total propaganda." " Theyjust wanna get ahold of your head, that's all." "I was relieved, though, when you came out in the hospital... and you only had one head." " Very funny." " She kills me.!" " He was such a cute baby." " It would've been kinda nice if he had a third eye there." "You know, a third eye is a symbol of enlightenment." "He's not getting it." " Mel, identity is nothing but a mental construct." " Mental construct?" "You mustn't fixate on it." "Have you ever read any Tibetan Buddhism like Chaos theory?" "Paul?" " Is he okay?" " Are you okay there, Paul?" "Is this a musical table?" " Is this a musical table?" " Can I get you something?" " I'm not feeling very well." " What is it?" "What are you going through?" "Do you want to lie down?" "Can I get you something?" " How do you feel?" " Vivid." "I'm seeing colors that I don't want to see." " He's seeing colors." " Just go with it." "He needs to lie down." "Wait, let me move this." "You're gonna have to help me." "Paul, can you hear me?" " Goddamn it!" "Lonnie!" " Don't fly off the handle." "Come in here." "Come here." "What did you do to Paul's quail?" " Nothing." "Why?" " Don't give me that fake innocence." "What did you do?" "I dosed Mel's dish." "I meant it for Mel, and then he ate it." " Oh, my God." "How much?" " Two and a half tabs." "Two and a half tabs?" "Are you crazy?" "Are you nuts?" "Doesn't your mother have enough to worry about tonight?" "Why do you have to talk to me like that?" "It's embarrassing to me and I don't appreciate it in front of him." "I mean, who is he?" "You got the whole science thing going... and the next thing I know you like him better than me because he's more like you." "We love you very much." "Even if you wereJeffrey Dahmer we would love you." " I'm not here to take your..." " Spare me the hyp..." "Please, Mel, please!" "Where do you get this insecurity from?" "I don't understand it." "This drives me nuts!" " Richard, you're criticizing." " All right, all right." "I want you to apologize to Mel and to Paul right now." "C'mon." " I'm sorry." " You're sorry for what?" "I'm sorry... that I put windowpane in Mel's quail." "And I'm sorry you ate it." "All right, go sit down." "I can't believe he..." "Let's not blow this out of proportion." "Paul's gonna come down in about ten hours." " Ten hours?" " I, I..." "I can't believe you're actually keeping acid in the house after you went to prison for it." "Wait 'til your son is 19." "See if he does everything you want him to do." "This is classic.!" "Keep blaming it all on me, all your crap." "You just simmer down, you." "And take a little responsibility for what you've done." "Thank you, Mrs. Cleaver." "Excuse me." "I'm sorry." "This is a nonsmoking house." "Are you kidding?" "You know, it's been a long day and I'm really tired." "So I'm gonna hit the hay." "Thank you very much for dinner." "It was wonderful." "My love in Paris knows my secret" " Just go with it." " He's gonna be fine." "She's a great guide." "I'm sure you are an excellent guide." "Thank you again for this wonderful evening." "It was really great." " It was great seeing you." " Yeah." "Thanks." " I loved meeting you." " I loved meeting you too, and I'm just gonna hit the hay." "Now, you're sure that you don't want dessert?" "I think I'm gonna lay off the food." " If you get hungry later, it's in the fridge, okay?" " Will do." "Chocolate mousse." "You're gonna love it." "Very nice to meet you." " Tina, good night, dear." " Go with it, Paul." "I guess it's just one of those ex-felon, pro-acid kind of nonsmoking homes." "It's a weird, weird home." "And where's Nancy?" "Where is she?" "She's somewhere in one of these rooms with Tony." "They're in there..." "Mel, you need to settle down." "This is overwhelming." "This is hitting you all at once." "You know what, sweetheart?" "Just come in here for a second." "We'll sit down, cool off." "Boy!" "Oh, boy!" "Well, you know, what did I expect, right?" "I'm sorry this is all hitting you at the same time... but after it passes and things settle down, you can think about starting over." " Why can't you just use soap?" " Soap dries your skin out." "Not that I'm one of those women who obsesses about old-looking skin after pregnancy." "I just happen to be obsessing about it right now." " Wait, wait, wait." " You're absolutely right." "We don't need to rush into this." "I haven't even finalized my divorce yet." "No, I could've kissed you and felt okay about it, but I didn't." "And I felt really wrong." "Don't take this personally... but with all your nervous energy, you kinda remind me of my mother." "Ow!" " Do you mind if I look at your armpit?" " My armpit?" "It's my favorite part of a woman's body." " What's attractive?" " Are you kidding?" "Lots of things." "Look at this, the definition." "Look at the contours." "The depth of the pocket." "Feel that?" "So nice!" " Of course I feel rejected." " I'm sorry." "But I shouldn't." "You're not an appropriate partner for me." "Your life's a mess, and you don't make enough money anyway." "That's a really nasty thing to say." "You just told me I reminded you of your mother." "Well, I mean, she's a good person." "She's got a lot of great qualities." "I don't want to wreck your marriage." "I know how painful that can be." "My marriage is obviously vulnerable at this point." "Every marriage is vulnerable, otherwise being married wouldn't mean anything, would it?" "I need to see Tony." " No, I want you to tell me if you have a favorite animal." " Oh, that's so stupid." "Listen to what Mary says." "She's a great guide." "Okay?" "Just listen to her." " Okay." "A dog." " A dog." " What is your favorite dog?" " A collie..." "St. Bernard." "I want you to picture a big, furry St. Bernard curled by the fireplace." " Can I change my mind?" " No, we're gonna stick with the St. Bernard." " I want do to a Springer Spaniel." " It doesn't have to be the perfect dog." " Dalmatian." " No, no." "Okay, Dalmatian." "Now, this dog represents security..." " Schnauzer." "Schnauzer." " What?" "Shut the fuck up!" "I am trying to help you." "Do you understand me?" " C'mon, sweetheart, you're so good." "Just relax." " Paul!" "Paul!" " Oh, my God!" " Oh, my God!" "Can we stop all this craziness, huh?" "Yes!" "I wasn't even enjoying that." " It seems like you were enjoying it." " The attention, maybe." "Okay, all right." "Time for you to go." "You haven't been treating her very well." "Do you know that?" "You know what, buddy?" "You got a lot of nerve." "You come in here, you lick my wife's armpit." "I'm gonna have that image in my head for the rest of my life..." " of your tongue in there." " You deserve it." " This is felonious and I want to make an arrest." " Shh." " What?" "What did he say?" " He's tripping his brains out." " He said arrest." "We don't know who he is." " He's Mel's friend Paul." " I know exactly who I am." "I'm Paul Harmon." " Good." " Bureau ofTobacco, Tobacco, and Tobacco." " Good." " What is this, Paul?" " It is a badge." " What kind of badge?" " I'm a Special Agent man." "Twenty years in the service." "Graduated fourth in my class." " Is this a joke?" " I don't joke about those things." "Goddamn it." "I knew it was weird." "When they called out of the blue, I knew." " No, you had to see your son." " He's kidding." "He's making a joke." "He's..." "Oh." " You're not kidding." " I am not kidding." "Everything is under control." "I want you to both move over against that wall." "This is an arrest." "You have the right to remain silent." "You have the right to an attorney." "If you cannot afford an attorney, we will provide an attorney for you... because we provide things for you people all the..." "Oh!" "That really hurt." "I can't follow your fickle little moods all over the place." " That has got to change." " Okay, I will." "I promise." "If you just give me a chance." "Let me show you I can be less selfish." "I will show you." "You will get concrete results." "You have got to earn that back with some consistent behavior, pal." "I'm sorry I acted this way." "I'm sorry I've treated you this way." "I've got to be out of my mind to risk losing you." " You don't hit another human being!" " My..." "Just shut the hell up!" "Just be quiet." "All right, nobody heard us upstairs." "We're all right." " We have to get him to a doctor." " There's no doctor." "Forget the doctor." "I've gotta think of what we're gonna do." "Just give me a minute." " Paul, wake up." "Wake up, Paul." " I'm not goin' back to jail." "You know where I'm goin'?" "I'm goin' to Mexico." "We're all goin' to Mexico." " And we're taking him as a hostage." " A hostage?" " Cool!" " What are you talking about?" "I'm not going to jail again." "You understand me?" "I'm not going to jail!" "This has to be a mistake." "Mel wouldn't do this to us." "How do you know who Mel is?" "Mel is probably in on this." "How do you know it's our son?" "It's not our son." "It's some fucking Federal agent!" " Goddamn it." " I know it's our son." "You think a mother doesn't know?" "Just shut up and listen." "We take him in the car." "We're gonna go to San Miguel to Stuart's place." "We can be there by morning." " Grab his foot." " Wake up." "No!" "I am not walking away from a home... it took us 20 years to put together.!" "This is insane." "We can't take him hostage." " This is a much bigger crime." " What'll we do with him?" " Dump him in the brush." " Brush!" "Good, good." " Leave him and get outta here." " Lonnie, go clean out the lab." "Don't break anything.!" "No, no." "Wait a minute." "Shit!" "This truck is not going to make it to Mexico." " What are we..." " Oh, shit!" "Put it in here." "My sciatica is killing me." "Would've been here an hour ago if you'd listened to me." "It took two hours to find that there's no place to get a good sandwich here." "You can't keep making U-turns in the middle of the highway..." " even if you see what looks like a sandwich shop." " Let's get this over with." "Eddie, wait." "Don't." "What's the matter?" "Come on!" " I can't go in there." " Why not?" " Look at this house." " What's the matter with it?" "It's so..." "all-American." " It's..." " What are you talking about?" "They're probably quiet, reasonable, sensible people... and Mel loves them, and, you know, we're a source of embarrassment." "But he's in trouble and that's why we came!" "It's possible I overreacted." " Now you think you overreacted?" " Yeah." "We just got off an airplane." "We drove five and a half hours in the desert..." "I am not going in there to be rejected in front of his new parents!" " Yes, you are!" " No, I'm not." "Let go of me." "You're hurting my arm." "Get in the car before they hear us." " I thought we were gonna eat here." "I'm starving." " We'll go back to the taco place." " Tacos have cheese in them." " Not all tacos have cheese in them." " Wait, is this our car?" " Of course it's our car." " Do you remember this truck?" " Do you have early Alzheimer's?" "It's a white rental..." " Where's the car?" " It's over here." "What's the matter with you?" " Why did you move it?" " I thought you moved it." "Why would I move it?" "What are we taking that car for?" "I wanna take the blue truck." "We can't take the truck." "The truck can't make an 800-mile trip." "I want my blue truck." "My water broke in that truck." "Get in the car." "I love you." "Get in the car." "Are you sure all your doubting is over?" "Sorry I took you for granted." "I'm sorry I hurt you." "I want to go home tomorrow." "So do I!" "I want to get out of here." "Slow down." "There's the taco place." " Why didn't you tell me you saw it?" " I did tell you." "You were driving too fast." "You can't make U-turns like this, Eddie." " Relax, we're in the middle of nowhere." " The sign, the sign!" "The car!" "Damn tourists!" "What did I just tell you about the U-turns?" " He was in my blind spot." " You could fit the state of Wisconsin in your blind spot." " It's their fault." " Doesn't matter." "I don't want some sheriff to come." " Where's the acid?" " It's in the trunk." "Look, if things get tight, why don't you do that spastic colon thing you do?" " No, I'm not gonna do spastic colon." " Something." "That thing you did when the cops stopped us in Albuquerque." "That ulcer thing." " Okay..." "I'll do reflux." " All right." "That's good." " I am so sorry!" " Are you all right?" "Yeah, we're fine." "You can't just make a blind U-turn like that!" "I've got a sizable blind spot, is my problem." " I don't see much damage." " It looks mostly cosmetic." " It's nothing." "Why don't we just forget about it, all right?" " No." "We shouldn't leave the scene of an accident." "I'll call the police from the taco place." "You can call the police if you want, but I'll tell you this is your fault here." "We make a report, your insurance rates are gonna go sky-high." " It's up to you, but I don't see the point of it." " Pearl, he's making sense." "No!" "I have never broken the law." "I am not gonna be irresponsible now." " There's nothing irresponsible about this." " We're all fine." "You can see that we're perfectly okay." "I just have this preexisting medical condition." "My ileocecal valve doesn't work as it should." "It allows corrosive juices..." "They seem to rise into my esophagus... and I..." "I need to get home... so that I can lie down..." " We really have to go." " With my head elevated." " Ileocecal valve?" " It's chronic." " Nice meeting you." " Why did you let them get away?" "We're better off." "Who knows what our liability is?" "Yes!" "What exactly is our deductible damage waiver?" "Here." "Oh, my God, the car..." " It's registered to Mel!" " What?" "Look at..." "Check and see if our luggage is in the trunk." "Huh?" "What the hell is this?" "Sometimes the light's all shining on me" "Other times I can barely see" "So then what happened?" "I don't know where anybody is." "Look at this place, it's a wreck." "I see the place." "I'm looking for him, and I can't find him." "Where..." "They probably took him to the hospital." "He was..." "They didn't take him to the hospital." "Paul!" "Oh, my God!" "Truckin' I'm a-going home" "You can't catch the wind!" " Jerry?" " Mm-hmm." " Jerry Garcia Jerry?" " Yeah.!" "It's in the family." "It's got a whole history to it." "You don't even like the Grateful Dead." "I never said I don't like them." "I just haven't listened to that much of their music." "Unless you still like Ethan." "This is obviously much more important to you than it is to me." "Okay?" "So you pick the name." "But I'll say one thing." "I think Jerry is very pedestrian." "How 'bout Garcia?" " Garcia?" " Garcia Coplin." "Garcia!" "Garcia Coplin." " Look, he likes it." " I like it too." "Garcia Coplin." " Garcia." " Yeah." " You think I should get that?" " Sure." "Hello?" ""Shit... " "ShitKings... "" " Schlichting." " Schlichting's residence." " What kind of trouble are you in?" " Us?" "You're the ones in jail." "There were drugs in the trunk of your car." "Why are there drugs in the trunk of your car?" "How did you get our car?" "We tracked you to the "Shitkings" because we thought you were in trouble." " Why did you think we were in trouble?" " Because of the phone call." "The truck and the baby." "No, Ma." "I was talking to that evil dwarf woman at the B-and-B." " We weren't in trouble." " Your mother as usual has overreacted." "I did not overreact!" "If I overreacted... why am I wearing handcuffs in the middle of a jail?" "There's obviously been some mishap, sir." "These people are not drug runners." "Look at them." "They're from New York." "They're my parents." "You hear that, Eddie?" "He called us his parents." "Of course you're my parents." "Mom..." "Oh, Mel!" " Ow, Mom, your chain's pulling my hair." " Wait a minute." "Sorry, darling." "Bobby, take these forms back to the office, these release forms." "And get these nice people their car keys." "This is all over here." "This is a Federal Agent and he just told me the whole story about the "Shleektings. "" " "Shitkings. "" " No, Schlichtings." "Well, anyway, it's clear that we have the wrong people here." "That's what I've been trying to tell this guy for the last half hour." "And by the way, why are you not wearing pants?" " I had an experience." "That's why." " What do you mean?" "I resisted at first, and then it evolved and it continues to evolve for me." "I don't know what the hell he's talking about, but I got some jewelry somewhere." "Sure, let me get those cuffs." "We may be able to work out a private adoption through some people I know in Colorado." " How long will that take?" " Usually six months to a year." "But if you're willing to wait, I may be able to find lesbians willing to conceive..." " Lesbians are good." " And then you could share the baby with them." " No?" "Why?" " I'm not gonna do that." " I think these two are homosexuals." " They want to adopt." "That's so sick!" "Can you image the neurosis that child would be exposed to?" "Okay, here we go." "Everyone, pull together." "Paul, smile." "One, two.!" "Whoo-ee" "Are you okay?" "Through this barren desert" "In search of truth and some pointy boots" "And maybe a few snack crackers" "Oh." "All right." "All right." "Why do we have to baby-sit tonight?" "Come on, come on." "Ahh, yes." " Because the kids need some time alone." " The kids need time alone?" "Yes!" "God, Eddie, where's your sense of romance?" "Who's in charge here" "I can't." "I can't." "It's making me too nervous." "He made you nervous when he was in the other room." "Come on." " You both make me nervous." "Is that my beeper?" "No." "Let's get this beeper and this gun out of here." "Wanna walk like a camel" "Whoo-ee" "It's a blind date." "I don't know." "Some benefit or something." "No." "I am not smoking, Mother." "Look, I gotta go." "He's here." "Yeah, he knows." "Uh-huh." "Yeah, I know." "I'll call you tomorrow." "Uh-huh." "Pain in my ass!" "I'm coming!" "Hey, you don't think there's any way" "I could get that quarter from underneath of your pointy boot, do you" " Shalom, shalom." " Shalom." "Shalom." "Deeper." "You guys, this place sucks." "Everybody speaks Spanish." " Did you ever hear of knocking?" " What are you looking for?" " I'm looking for some weed." " No, you find your own weed." " Get out of that drawer." " Guys, I'm totally bored here." "Honey, it takes time to make new friends." "Be patient." "Hey, you don't think there's any way" "I could get that quarter from underneath of your funny boot, do you" "All I want is just one more oatmeal pie" "Whoo-ee" "Little Debbie, little Debbie I'm a-comin'on home, baby" "'Cause you make me wanna walk" "Like a camel" "Whoo-ee" "I sing a song 'bout clouds and rainbows" "I hum a tune that sings like a dove" "Found some words 'bout anything" "Anything but love" "I paint a picture of my prison" "With blue and gray from the sky above" "Framed and signed with the title" "Anything but love" "He had to go but I won't miss him" "I've got better things to do" "Like writing stories and painting pictures" "Of anything but love" "Anything but love" "Anything but love" "It's a terrible predicament" "That we're in again" "Goin'down faster and faster" " Feel like we're fallin'" " With the ceiling plaster" "Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm" "Flirting with disaster" "It's a revoltin'development" " Amen" " Amen" "Say it again" "This old world is tryin'to trash us" "Love is here if it don't gas us" "Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm" "Flirting with disaster" "Caught in a whirlpool my thinkin's too heady" "Life is going by and I'm not ready" "Tryin'to find out who I am" "Roarin'like a lion" "Gentle as a lamb" " I'm gettin' a bad reputation" " You bet" "For not knowing my mind" "That's what I heard from the schoolmaster" "Rabbi, I ain't a bastard" "Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm" "Flirting with disaster" "It's a terrible predicament" "Oh, that we're in again" "Goin'down faster and faster" " I feel like I'm fallin'" " With the ceiling plaster" "Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm" "Flirting with disaster" "It's a revoltin' development" " Amen" " Amen" "Amen" "Say it again" "This old world's trying to trash us" "Our love is here, babe" "If it don't gas us" "Oh, yeah here" "Flirting with disaster, baby" "Oh, we're flirting with disaster" "Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm" "Flirting with disaster" "Amen"