"What are you doing?" "Look, I don't stay over, I don't fall in love, and I don't fuck the same guy twice, okay?" "Okay, all right." "Well, I mean, we don't have to do anything." "I just thought we could hang out, you know, but I mean, whatever." "It doesn't matter." "Just thought it'd be nice." " Sweetie, I'm sorry, but I can't let you have that room for free anymore." " It's not free." "I do all the cleaning." " I know you do, and you do a great job." "But like I always said, this was just a temporary situation till you get yourself sorted out or till we get busy." "And you know what?" "We just got busy." " You need some help there, little man?" " Okay." " You want to go higher?" " Sure." " Hey, miss?" " What the fuck do you want?" " Well, you could address me in a civil fashion for a start." " You got a light there?" " Sure." " Uh, you-- you kind of smell." "Mind cleaning yourself up a little bit first?" " Oh, yeah, sure." "It's been a long day." "You got a condom, right?" " No." " I don't either." " Not a problem." "I hate those things." " It's a problem for me." " Be a real man, William." "Condoms are for homos." " I need to use a condom." " You lied to me!" " Never lied to you, sweetie." " But that was my job." "That was my fucking job." " It's my fucking job, and it's mine to give to whoever I want." " Hey, there." " Why are you being nice to me?" "What, that's such a hard question?" " No, but you're not gonna like the answer." " Try me." " You ever pull half the legs off a spider, you know, to see if it could still crawl around?" "Or bury a dog up to its head in the ground to see if it'd eat the dirt to get out of the hole?" "Or pour paraffin over a parakeet and see if it'd fly twice as fast to put out the flames?" " Of course not." " Well, I have." "All of 'em and a lot more besides." "The parakeet was my little sister's, and my mama caught me setting fire to it." "It was quite a family to-do." "Not surprisingly, I guess." "My daddy wanted to send me to the shrink, but my mama wouldn't let him." "Instead she bought me a beautiful little kitten." "She made me totally responsible for it." "I had to feed it, worm it, pay for its vet bills, all that kind of stuff." "She figured it'd teach me the value of life over death, so I guess it kind of did." "Man, that little cat meant the world to me, and I looked after it like it was my own little baby." "While I never hurt that cat, it didn't stop me messing with other animals." "Just made me better at hiding it from my folks." " What the fuck's that got to do with anything?" " Hey, there." " Look, just 'cause I listened to your retarded cat story don't mean shit." "I ain't gonna fuck you, and I don't do friends." "I appreciate what you done for me, but that's as far as it goes." "So, please, just... don't waste any more of your breath on me, all right?" " Hey." " Hi." " You're new here, right?" " That's right." " Nice." " Hi." " Why you sayin' hi to me, Erica?" "You don't want to fuck me, and you don't do friends." "So why are you even wasting your breath on me?" "That was a real nice note you wrote me." " Thank you." " Well, I guess I should say, "thank you."" "Apologies are never easy." "I mean, this red cedar is good." "It lasts a long time." "But for the price, this is fine." "I'd go for this, 'cause, you know, it's good to go." " Hey, Nate." " Hello, Lee." " Would you excuse me a second?" " Hey." "Is everything okay?" " Everything's okay with me." "Everything okay with you?" " Everything's okay with me." "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with you." " Everything's okay with me, Nate." " Hey." "I'm Steve from Garden and Leisure." "Lee tells me you been doing some pretty good work for him, and, well, we could use some help ourselves." "So as of this afternoon, you're gonna be working for me." " Whatever." "First week's rent." " Hey, that's my girl." "How's it feel now you're a working woman?" " It feels good, actually." "It feels really good." " Take your boyfriend out." "Have a drink on me." " He's not my boyfriend." " Not yet he ain't, but I know how these things work." "I've seen the way he looks at you." " Man." " Thank you." "So what's the rest of your story?" " What makes you think there's a rest of my story?" " Well, I reckon when your little sister found out about the parakeet that she tried to kill you, but actually, you killed her." " No, I didn't kill my little sister." "She's alive and kicking in Tallahassee with two kids of her own." "Thank you very much." " Okay, glad to hear it." " Yeah." " So?" " Well, I got an honorable discharge from Iraq, and now I'm here." "Pretty simple, really." " You got chucked out of the army?" " No, I got an honorable discharge." " What for?" " That's not important." " Now you're drifting around, trying to make sense of your life?" " Actually, I just been offered a job by the ClA." "Trying to figure out whether to take it or not." " Are you serious?" " Why not?" " What the fuck are you doing working here then?" " Well, if I ever wanted to get a perspective on my life," "I used to go to my folks' home." "And for whatever reason, takin' a bath in the guest bedroom, well, it's what I used to like to do when I was a kid, and it would kind of take me back to that mind-set." "My folks have moved on now, so I can't do that anymore." "But I used to work in a hardware depot after college-- not this one but a similar one," "So here I am trying to figure out if I met myself when I was 21, would I be proud of who I am now and what I've achieved in this life?" "Would I want to go into the ClA, or would I want to put all that shit behind me?" " Hello, Mrs. Jack." "My name is Mal, short for maladjusted, malcontent, and..." " Malicious?" " I got you something." "You don't have one already, do you?" " Wow, cool." "Thanks!" " What happened?" " Your door was open." " No, it wasn't." " Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Erica, is this you, honey?" " No!" "Get the fuck off!" "Don't." " No, man, no." "Far out, man." " Hi." " Hey, happy birthday." "Are you having fun?" "Hi." " Thank you for coming." " Ready, set, go." " Nice." " You got blue." " Whoa!" " Put your soul into it a little, okay?" " Good luck, Mary." "Stop by and see us the next time you're in." " Thank you, but I'm never coming back." " Well, good night, Erica." " It was a lovely day, wasn't it?" "Thank you so much." " Thank you." " I was just wondering" "I mean, I don't want to do anything with you." "But can we..." "Can I..." "Can I sleep next to you?" " Last time I touched you, you kind of freaked out." "Now, if you sleep next to me, well, I'm probably gonna put my arms around you, consciously or not." "You gonna freak out again?" " Hey, Erica." " What?" " I've been thinking for a while now." "I got this real crazy question I got to ask you." " Hey, Mom." " Hey, baby!" "You should have told me you were coming." "I would have put my face on." " You look beautiful just the way you are." " I don't want you to remember me like this." " Hey, what's up, man?" " We sold another five CDs this morning." " Wahoo!" " It all counts." "We're almost up to 1,000 now." " Fucking rocks, man." " Fucking A, it does." " One new message." "First new message." " Hey, Franki, it's me." " Hey, give me another one, Al." " Dude, you're fucking driving." " Give me another one, bitch!" " * I shook my head and I said I am not gonna be the man *" "* God damn, I am not gonna be the man!" "*" " Franki, what the fuck are you doing, man?" " I'm talking to my bassist." "What the fuck are you doing, Ed?" " Don't fuckin' talk to me like that." "You're still on shift." "This is why I never hire friends." " Give me a break, man." "It's 4:00." "I'm done." " It's not 4:00." " "It's not 4:00"?" " If you still want a job here, you stand the fuck up." "I'm not fucking around here, man." " It's 4:00." "I'm done now, Carl." "See you out back." " Dr. Kravitz, you have a visitor in the main lobby." " Hello?" " Sarah?" "So you're not even seeing him anymore." "This was all for a month?" " I'm sorry." " Fucking right, you're sorry." "I hope it was worth it." " Of course it wasn't worth it." " Was he a good fuck?" "Was he?" " I just wanted to apologize." "What I did, it wasn't nice, and it wasn't fair." "And you didn't deserve it." "And I'm sorry." " Please?" "Look, it's just-- with my mom and everything, you know, it's just, like-- it just has not been a good time." " How is she, your mom?" " I'm proud of her." "I mean, it's a complete mind-fuck, but we're taking it one day at a time, and she's being really strong about it all, so-- so yeah." " Send her my love, won't you?" "If she doesn't hate me, that is." " She'd only hate you if I hated you." " Does she hate me?" " She could never hate you." " All right." "Okay." " We got the European support." " Hey, Tiger." "It's okay." "Don't get up." "You look great." " Thanks." " Hey, Franki." " Franki." " What?" " I'm not gonna beat around the bush with you, Mrs. Morrison." "We got good news." "The biopsy tests say that you are now officially in remission." " Yes." " Congratulations." " Oh, my God." " Congratulations." " Thank you." " Oh, that's lovely." "Oh, thank you so much, guys." "I am so happy for you all." "Really, I am." " Mom, this is about you for a change, not us." " Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I prefer that on the TV." " The shelf." " No, the TV." " No, the shelf!" " Guys, guys!" "Mom, it's fine on the TV." " Actually, the TV is good." " Hey!" " Hey, sorry." "I didn't know you were entertaining." " You remember Franki's friends, right?" " Hey, guys." " Mr. Morrison." " You want a drink?" " No, I can't stay long." "I got Pamela waiting in the car." " Mm-hmm, well, bring her in." " Mom!" " It's fine, really." "Life is too short." "Tell her she's perfectly welcome." " I just wanted to give you these." " Those are beautiful." "Oh, thank you very much." " I'm not sure I understand what you're saying." "Yeah, I can do that." "I just-- I don't understand why." "Yeah, you just said that, but why?" " There's no real easy way to say this, Mr. Morrison, so I'm just gonna come out with it." "Your blood sample has been tested positive for hiv." "Do you know what hiv is?" " No, no." "No, there's got to be a mistake." " The human immunodeficiency virus is the virus that leads to, or I should say, can lead to aids." "I say "can" because the good news these days is that medicine is such that many hiv patients have the same life expectancy as people without hiv." " But I've been donating blood to my mother for the last eight months." "Nothing's ever shown up before." " Do you use intravenous drugs?" " No." " Have you ever?" " No." " Have you had unprotected sex with anyone in the last six months?" " Yeah, but" "I mean, it was only once." " Once is all it takes, I'm afraid." " What about my mother?" " Mrs. Morrison has been informed of your status, and she's been tested too." " Oh, your mother's upstairs." " You prick!" " Out of my way." " Franki, your mother's tired." " It's okay, Arnold." "Why don't you just shut the door behind you?" " Did you get the results back?" " Not yet." "I don't know what to say." " You're my baby, Franki." "You don't have to say anything." " Table five sent back." "Too fuckin' well done." "Whoa, what the fuck?" " * And now I see that you are right by my side *" "* Leaving the notion that I cannot deny *" " I'm clean." " Me too, man." " Sorry, man." " Wouldn't want it any other way." " Nope." " No." " No." " No." " No." " No." " No." " Who knows, maybe this European tour is finally the start of something." "And I want to keep doing it until it happens, right?" "But part of me is like, do I really want be scraping around for cash in my 30s and 40s," "living this deluded dream that may never happen?" "You know, I see those guys on 6th Street all the time, and I don't want to be like that." "I don't want to be a loser, you know?" "I mean, we did sell, like, 1,000 copies of our CD, which is great." "And we often get orders for T-shirts from, like," "Tokyo and London and wherever." "But I'm just thinking if I want to get married and have kids," "I can barely support myself right now," "let alone anyone else." "So when does the dream stop?" " When we first started dating," "I thought it was so cool that you were in a band." "I never told you this, but I never actually wanted you to succeed, 'cause part of me," "I was always petrified I'd lose you." " You wouldn't have lost me." " Temptation, Franki, night after night." "It would happen." "Even if you didn't want to, one night, a couple of J.D.s too many, cute girl with a nice smile." "It would have happened." "Please, Franki, please." "What's wrong?" " I got to tell you something, Sarah." " No." " No." " No." " No." " No." " No." " No." " No." " We're in business, boys." " I saw it in her eyes." "She knows." "Did you know?" "Did you know?" " Did I know what?" " Did you know?" " I don't know what you're talking about." " Did you know that you had hiv when you first met me?" " That's a yes." "That's a fuckin' yes, man!" " She knows." " Did you know?" "Did you know?" " That's a yes." "That's a fuckin' yes, man!" " She knows." " Did you know?" " Did you know?" "Did you fucking know?" " You knew, didn't you?" " You know how old I was when I lost my virginity?" "Four." "Two days after my fourth birthday." "You know who I lost my virginity to?" "My mama's boyfriend." " Why are you telling us this?" " You get fucked two days after your fourth birthday, you tend not to care about anything much." "Everyone says it's this horrendous disease, but I don't know." "It's okay." "It doesn't hurt." "Hasn't ever stopped me from doing anything I wanted." "I live a pretty normal life." " What, like fucking everyone you meet?" " If a guy thinks he can get away with it, mostly he'll give it his best to do so." "That's what my mama's boyfriend thought." "And you know what?" "He was right." "Credit to you for not joining the party." "There aren't many of you around." " How many guys have you slept with?" " 130, 140, I don't know." "Kind of lost count awhile back." " Guys, I love you, and I know y'all had my back in what's been the most fucked-up year ever." "So I think I'd like to buy you a few beers at the diner," "Cucaracha's, wherever." "More than I thought." "Looks like a couple shots as well." " Why don't you just come with us, Franki?" "We'll go down to Emo's." "We'll go to the Mohawk." " Yeah, dude." "A-Line's on the decks tonight." "It's gonna kick the shit, man." " I'm cool." " What about her?" " I'll take care of her." " You're not gonna do anything stupid, are you, Franki?" " Not me, man." "I guess I offered my boys a drink." "I should probably offer you one too." "Would you like something?" "I don't know what I thought I was gonna do when I got you here." "I mean, there was a part of me." "There's a part of me." "I knew." "But now you're here." "I just want to hold you in my arms and tell you everything's gonna be okay." "It's not what I ever imagined, I have to say." "Can I do that?" "Relax." "Just relax." "I'm not gonna do anything." "Maybe we can help each other through this." "I know what you did to me wasn't personal, given that we never met before that night." "And I'm a pretty good judge of character." "And underneath everything, I think you're a good person." "And I bet you never got close to anyone before." "Have you?" "You never quite trusted anyone, because you couldn't tell them the whole truth." "Do you think you could change your rules for me?" "Do you think that you could love me?" " What are you doing?" " I want to make love to you." "I'm sorry." "I don't even know your name." " Erica." " Can I do that, Erica?" "Can I make love to you?" "Hey." "I don't know if this is the right thing to do, but, well," "I want be there for you when you need me, and I'd like for you to be there for me too." "Will you marry me, Erica?" "Please say yes." "It makes sense, right?" " Can I use the bathroom?" "I just need some time to think." " No, no, no, no, no!" " No!" "Somebody!" "Get the fuck off of me!" "Help, help!" "Help!" " Jesus!" "I'm just trying to be nice to you here, Erica!" " Doin' okay?" " Yeah." "Just rushed off my feet, man." " Anything you want to tell me?" " No." "Back to the grind, right?" " Do you ever cut yourself, Erica?" "Thought you might have." "It's something a lot of girls do, apparently." "It takes away the numbness, makes them feel more alive." "I think I just fucked up big-time, man." " Oh, fuck." "We need to call the cops, man." "Right fuckin' now." " We're gonna take you to the hospital." "You're gonna live through this." "I just need you to relax, stay calm as possible, and don't waste any energy, okay?" " Thank you." " Let's go." " Grab the door." "Get the door." " Hold up!" " What?" " Turn the car off." " What's wrong?" " Just turn the fucking car off!" " Honey?" " No fuckin' way!" " Honey?" "Honey!" "Shit." " You're kidding." " Jesus Christ." " We're brothers, right?" "You guys aren't gonna let me down here are you?" "Are you?" " Hey, Marty." "You got it?" "That's fuckin' great, man." "I've been goin' stir-crazy here." " Hi." " Hi, Mrs. Lantane?" " No." " Oh, I'm sorry." "I'm looking for Mr. Edward Lantane." " He's actually not in at the moment." "Can I help?" " Yeah." "He left this in a bar, and I just wanted to return it to him." "Do you know what time he'll be back?" " How do you know where we live?" "Sir?" "Sir?" " You know, you got lovely hair." "No!" "No!" " I'm gonna take that tape off your mouth, and I'm gonna ask you some questions." "I want you to answer me quickly and correctly." "Is that understood?" "Is that understood?" "If not, I will start hurting your daughter, and I mean that most sincerely." "Question number one:" "where's Erica?" " It wasn't me!" " It's okay, honey." "It's okay." "The pain will go away." "The pain will go away." "That wasn't what I asked." "I'm gonna ask you again." "Where's Erica?" " In my car." " Did you do that?" " Are you scared?" " Are you scared?" "Let me ask you a question." "Would you prefer to stay alive without your mommy and daddy or die with them?" "Shh." "It's a tough question, huh?" " I'll ask you again." "Would you prefer to stay alive without your mommy and daddy or die with them?" "Nod your head which one." "Stay alive without your mommy and daddy?" " Die with them?" "That's a brave little girl you got there." "It seems so unfair to involve her in all this." "It's not what I had planned at all." "I got some questions." "I expect you to answer them succinctly and to the point." "If you do, maybe we can leave your daughter out of this." "Who did this?" "Where are they?" "Where's the rest of the body?" " I'm begging you, please!" " Man, didn't you understand what I just said?" "Do you think I'm fuckin' around here?" " Who the fuck are you?" " You put a guy in a room with an interrogator, and you ask him a question," "95 % of guys will tell you the answer straightaway." "Now, I got a question for you, and I know you're gonna tell me the answer." "But unfortunately for you," "I'm the guy they always bring in for the more headstrong 5 %." "And even more unfortunately for you," "I'm a guy who really fucking loves his job." " Son, if I asked you where Erica was, you'd tell me, wouldn't you?" "Yeah, of course you will." "It's funny, you know." "I shouldn't be enjoying myself right now, and believe me, I really wish I didn't have to be here." "But I got to tell you." "Right now, I feel like a little kid in a toy store again." "And, boy, you better believe me when I say, when I was a kid I wasn't very nice." "How do you like that, sonny?" "Yeah, you should be scared." " Al?" "Who the fuck are" "What are you doing?" " I'm just watching you." "I've got some money upstairs." "Take it." " I don't want your money." " Then what do you want?" " I told you." "I'm just watchin' you." "Where is she?" "Where is she?" " Who?" " Where is she?" "In the freezer!" " Eternal God, receive our thanks for this woman known to us, loved by us, and now grieved by us in her passing." "Help us through our sorrow that we might be strengthened by one another and that we might renew our reverence for life and that we might treasure the mystery of love that comes to us in our courage to risk its very loss." "Into your hands, O God, we commit Ellie, your child, a woman of your own creation." "As we bid farewell to her, we reaffirm our trust in your eternal love, which receives her into everlasting life." "Let us pray." "Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name." "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." " What the fuck, man?" " Where is she, Franki?" "Huh?" "You're gonna tell me, right?" "Yeah, you're gonna tell me." "You're gonna tell me, right, huh?" " You're gonna tell me." "You're gonna tell Nate, huh?" "Yeah?" "Yeah." " Where is she, Franki?" " In the basement, in the gray box." " Hey, Marty." "Yeah, mission accomplished." "Well, that's why I'm calling." "I appreciate the offer." "I really do." "But I'm gonna have to say no." "It's not that." "It's just--I feel like I've done about as much as I can do in that particular field." "And I'm gonna go down to Tallahassee, see my sister and my nieces." "I haven't seen them since they were little kids." "Yeah, that's right." "Just kick back for a while." "Okay, you take care now."