All language subtitles for The.Life.of.Chuck.2024.1080p.BluRay.x264-PiGNUS-English

"It is not chaos or death.

"It is form and union and plan.

"It is eternal life.

"It is happiness.

"The past and present wilt.

"I have filled
them, emptied them,

"and proceed to fill my
next fold of the future.

"Listener up there! What
have you to confide to me?

"Look in my face while I
snuff the sidle of evening.

"Talk honestly, no
one else hears you,

and I stay only
a minute longer."

"Do I contradict myself?

"Very well then, I
contradict myself.

I am large, I
contain multitudes."

My God.

What is it?

Clearly something more
interesting than Whitman.

California. There was
another earthquake.

A huge chunk's gone from
Santa Barbara to Fresno.

- It's fucking crazy.
- Into the ocean.

- Just like that.
- Alright, alright.

Settle down.

Got no connection.

Anybody else have one?

No.

Oh, eh, sorry.
Network's still down.

I've got his file here, though.

Uh, Dylan's been diving lately.

I mean, this semester, he's gone

from As and Bs to Ds.

You keep hard copies?

When the network
started acting up,

a lot of us started
keeping hard copies.

What do you think? I mean,
you think it's coming back?

Well, I don't, I don't know.

I remember the world
before the internet.

Why is it so hard to imagine
carrying on without it?

It is, though, isn't it?

How do we go back?
How... Can we go back?

What if it's down
for good this time?

Internet's still down.

Yeah, but lucky for us,

I've got hard copies
for each student.

I think this might be it.

I don't think it's
coming back this time.

You might be right.

But I do think we
should talk about Emily.

Her attendance has
really fallen off.

Her attendance?

Absenteeism's at
an all-time high

all over the world.

We got doctors and
pilots and cops

and everyone's just pissing
the fuck off, right?

But you, you want to
talk to us about Emily?

How are they supposed
to study, anyway?

Web's been on the
fritz for eight months.

Half those sites
are just garbled.

I mean, I get it, sites go dark.

But what about all
that other stuff?

Like, sites are there, but
all the punctuation's wrong.

Words spelled wrong.
How do you explain that?

Well, I can't,

but Brian can still
prepare for class.

I mean, the library's still
here. Internet or not.

Pornhub's down.

Did you know that, Mr. Anderson?

Yeah, I, uh,

I, I, I had noticed that. Yeah.

Sorry if Bri's been any trouble.

It's just me now. His mom...

she left, I don't know where.

That's been happening
a lot more I hear,

people just ghosting.

Hers was some star-crossed
boyfriend from high school.

They dated a month.

Goddamn month. She's
gonna throw 20 years

in the trash to
chase down a month.

I guess she never stopped
thinking about him.

I guess we've all got
someone like that.

I mean, I get it, if
it really is the end,

like those kooks in
the purple robes say,

then who do you want
to be with for it?

But to leave her son?

Uh, she says she'll be back.

I don't know. Um...

Fuckin' Pornhub.

What if that never comes back?

Fuckin' tragedy.

I mean, even if it is
the end of all things...

that's just fuckin' mean.

- Sorry.
- Yeah.

It's a scene of devastation

and heartbreak in California,

as rescue workers sift
through what remains

of the northern
portion of the state.

Reporter 2:350 dead
in North Yorkshire

as water levels continue to...

The day Marty Anderson

first saw the billboard

was just before the internet
finally went down for good.

It had been wobbling
for eight months,

but other problems,
like fires, earthquakes,

and whole species of
birds and fish dying off

had taken priority.

Till today, thought to be

the largest wildfire in
United States history.

♪ Well, I feel so good

♪ Everything is getting high

Ordinarily, Marty
would've driven home

by way of the Turnpike bypass,

but that wasn't possible

due to the collapse
of the bridge

over Otter Creek.

♪ So glad we made it

♪ You gotta

♪ Gimme, gimme some lovin'

♪ Gimme some a-lovin'

♪ Gimme, gimme some lovin'

♪ Gimme some
a-lovin' every day ♪

Well, with what
happened in California,

that officially makes
Nevada one of the most

populous states
in the Union now.

The thing that must
be said here is...

Felicia Gordon is a nurse

at City General.

Though for the last few weeks,

she's felt more
like an undertaker.

The staff, whose numbers
have been dwindling

since late summer,
have begun referring

to themselves as
the Suicide Squad.

We'll be back to
talk more about this

and, uh, also about the
fires in the Midwest,

speaking of water scarcity,
back after this break.

We'd like to say thank you

to Charles Krantz

for 39 great years.

Thanks, Chuck.

Hey.

Heard you got another one.

Yeah. One more.

Mine wasn't so lucky.
Slit wrists, so...

what were we supposed
to do really?

Hear about Marilou?

No. What about Marilou?

She left!

- Her ex. Remember Pedro?
- Mm-hm.

He showed up, and I don't
know what he said to her,

but she walked out
holding his hand.

And I remember how
bad that divorce was.

- Do you remember?
- Yeah, I remember.

Well, I guess that's
all bridge water

'cause off she went.

Sinkholes that
have been opening up.

I wonder what the stats are.

You think more people
are splitting up

or getting back together?

I mean, do you think
marriage rates are up

- or divorce rates...
- Marriages.

- You're an optimist.
- No.

Divorce takes way longer,

and I don't think
anyone's filing.

Why bother? Six months
of paperwork at least.

Probably more.

Marriage license is one page

and it takes an hour or so.

I'm gonna guess marriages.

Missed you for lunch,
missed you for dinner.

What's the matter?
Don't you eat anymore?

Well, I wasn't hungry tonight.

Weren't you hungry
this morning either?

Who stole my nylons?

Egads! The very... Not very.

Too much rehearsal
last night, huh?

It was kind of a workout.

That why you slept late?

Oh, I didn't sleep late.

I went uptown.

- Shopping?
- No.

Hey.

Hi.

You hung up?

Yeah.

But then I figured you
probably saw it. So...

How are you?

Marty Anderson:
I'm okay, I guess.

How are you?

I was, um, thinking
about you today.

We were at work talking
about marriages and divorces.

Like, which are
happening more now...

Marriages, I bet.

Ain't nobody waiting
on a divorce.

What about remarriages?

You want to buy a guy
a drink first or...

I bet those are happening.

I mean, it makes sense.

People wanting something
comforting and...

familiar.

So... how was your day?

You're just going right
for it, aren't you?

Humor me.

It was, um...

It was a day, I guess.

You know? Weird.

Parent-teacher sessions,

felt like pissing in the wind.

You know about
California, right?

Yeah.

I know they're saying most
of it was already evacuated,

but I heard today there
are hundreds of thousands

of refugees trekking east.

Did you know Nevada
is one of the most

populous states
in the Union now?

I heard a, a
scientist on NPR say

California is peeling
away like old wallpaper.

And another Japanese reactor
got inundated this afternoon.

And they're saying, you know,
it was shut down and all's well,

but I just, I, I don't
think I believe that.

Cynic.

Well, we're living in
cynical times, Marty.

I mean, some people think
we're living in the last times.

Not just the religious
crazies either. Not anymore.

And you are hearing that from
a member in good standing

of the City General
Suicide Squad.

That's what we
call ourselves now.

No lie.

We lost six today,
but there's 18 more

we dragged back,
mostly with naloxone.

But supplies of that
are getting very thin.

And I heard the
head pharmacist say

we might be completely out
by the end of the month.

That sucks.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, that sucks.
It, it really sucks.

The internet's down,
and California's hanging

by a thread.

There's fires and famines

and plagues and all the rest.

I mean, it just

the center doesn't hold.

It just won't let up.

How long is this gonna go on?

How much can we take
before the whole thing...

before the whole thing
goes apart, I mean.

I'm teaching the kids
Carl Sagan right now.

You ever hear what he said
about the cosmic calendar?

Uh... I don't know.
I don't think so.

Well, the universe is
15 billion years old.

And if you took all of that,

all, all 15 billion years

and compress them into
a single calendar year,

then the Big Bang happens in
the first second, January 1st.

And, and today,

oh, right now, we're in
the final millisecond

of the last minute
of the last day,

December 31st.

But if you go back to the start,

if the, if the Big Bang happens

at midnight, January 1st,

then each month of this calendar

is one and a quarter
billion years long.

Hey, nobody told me there
was math on this exam.

The universe starts January 1st,

but the, uh, the
Milky Way didn't form

until May.

Our sun and our earth,

they don't show up
until mid-September.

Life appears soon
after. But not us.

No. No, no, we don't
appear for guess how long?

Again, I was told
there'd be no math.

December 31st.

Last day on the calendar,

and the very first
human beings on Earth

made their debut

around 10:30 p.m.

10:30 p.m. on the last day.

And, um, every minute since then

is 30,000 years.

So, 11:46 p.m.,

only 14 minutes ago,
humanity tamed fire

and now we're out of
minutes, we're into seconds.

11:59 and 20 seconds,

the domestication of
plants and animals begin,

an application for the human
talent for making tools.

11:59 and 35 seconds,

agricultural communities

evolved into the first cities.

Our recorded history,

everyone we've ever heard of,

every single thing in any
one of our history books...

happens in the last 10 seconds.

The last 10 seconds

of the last minute

of the last day on the calendar.

December 31st.

So how long is it gonna go on?

I don't know, Fel.

If you're right,
and you might be,

that this really is
the, the last times

and the universe is dying,

and let's just say
it's a fast death,

even if all of this
is happening in the,

the last split second,

microsecond,

who knows how long that'll last.

Maybe seconds, maybe eons.

Maybe all this is happening
as the cosmos burps out

its last breath.

Maybe it's all
happening in the last

single solitary heartbeat.

Jesus, Marty.

Yeah.

Listen, Fel, I should
go. I've, um...

I've got tests to grade.

Marty...

the world is going
down the drain,

and all we can say
is, "That sucks."

So, maybe we're going
down the drain too.

Maybe.

But, you know, Chuck
Krantz is retiring.

So...

I guess there's a gleam
of light in the darkness.

Yes. Thirty-nine great years.

Oh, you saw that
weird billboard?

No, it was an ad on
the radio that, um,

that NPR show I was
telling you about.

If they're running ads on NPR,

it really is the
end of the world.

Tell me, how does Chuck Krantz

rate this kind of coverage?

I mean... looks
like an accountant.

I've never heard of him.

Used an old photo too, I guess.

I mean, the guy barely
looks 40 at all,

let alone 40 years on the job.

The world is full of mysteries.

And, hey, no hard stuff, Marty.

Okay? Have a beer instead.

You got it.

The Ohio EPA has now issued

a code red air quality alert

for Cleveland and
its surrounding...

Oh, shit on a stick.

We'd like to say thank you

to Charles Krantz

for 39 great years.

Thanks, Chuck.

Gus!

Oh. Hey, Marty.

Where's your car?

It's... it's on,

it's on the sidewalk
halfway down

Main Street Hill with
a hundred others.

I finally just had
to turn around.

Fuck it, I walked...

What do you think it
is, like, three miles?

I just walked three miles.

Oh, you're going to
school. Hold on a sec.

Uh, real quick, you
gotta, you gotta go,

listen to me, you
gotta go out Route 11

and then hook back
on, on, on 19.

Yeah. There's gonna
be plenty of traffic.

You gotta go out
at least 20 miles.

You might make it before lunch.

- I wouldn't count on it.
- What happened?

Giant sinkhole opened
up on Market and Main.

Man, the-the thing,
it, uh, it's huge.

All the rain probably had
something to do with it,

lack of maintenance
maybe more so.

But it's not my
department, thank God.

But, yeah, there's,
there's gotta be

20 cars at the bottom.

And some of the people
in some of those cars,

they ain't comin' back.

Jesus, I was, I was
just there last night,

backed up in traffic.

Thank God you weren't
there this morning.

I assume you know
about California.

I didn't turn on
the TV this morning.

- Oh!
- Is there something new?

The, the rest of it went.

I-I mean, th-they're saying
that 20% of Northern California

is hanging in there, which
probably means, what, 10%?

But the food-producing
regions are... they're gone.

And with the Midwest
turning to charcoal

and Florida
flooding, that's like

all the food-producing regions

in the country just gone.

And the same thing with Europe.

I mean, it's famine
time in Asia.

There's a million people dead.

They're saying it's
the bub-bublonic,

- bubonic plague.
- Bubonic.

Bu-Bubonic plague. Yeah.

And the bees, I mean, they
were in trouble a decade ago,

but they're completely gone now.

I mean, there's a couple
of hives or whatever

down in South America,

but there ain't no honey, honey.

And without those little guys,
like, what's gonna pollinate

all the crops we have left?

I mean, I can't do...

Excuse me. One sec.

Yeah, yeah. That's-that's cool.

A-Andrea? Are you,

are you Andrea
from Midwest Trust?

I'm Felicia Anderson's husband.

Ex, actually.

I think you and Fel
know each other.

We met at a, a, a
game night at David's.

- A few game nights.
- Yeah, sure.

What do you want?

I just had a long walk,
and my car is stuck,

and the bank is,

it's leaning.

Leaning?

Yeah.

It's on the edge
of the sinkhole.

Guess that's the end of my job.

Hey, I'm curious
about the billboard

on the bank building.

- Have you seen it?
- How could I miss it?

And I saw the ads too, on TV.

No more ads for cars
or discount furniture.

Just, "Charles Krantz,

39 great years. Thanks, Chuck."

So, he doesn't work at the bank?

He's not retiring from the bank?

I don't know Charles Krantz.

I think it's just a
prank. Performance art.

Take care.

They look like refugees.

Yeah.

No one looks that concerned.

What good would that do?

All was concerned at the start.

Remember the protests?
You remember...

they knocked over the
fence at the White House,

and all those students got shot?

- Yeah.
- And the overthrow of the Russian government.

You got the Four Day War
between Pakistan and India

and the fucking... the
volcano in Germany.

There was a volcano in
Germany. That's, that's crazy.

And we just kept saying,
"Oh, it's gonna blow over."

That doesn't look to be
happening, though, does it?

No.

I think that suicides
will slow down.

I think people
will just... wait.

For what?

The end.

This is the end of everything.

I mean, we're,
we're going through

the five stages of grief.

Don't you get it?
I mean, we just,

we just landed on
the final stage.

Acceptance.

The waiting...

I think that's the hardest part.

And the whole thing, it just,
it-it came out of nowhere, right?

I mean, everyone knew there was
trouble with the environment.

I mean, I think even
the right-wing nutjobs

were secretly, they got it.

But this...

this...

this is just 60 different
varieties of shit.

It's just so much shit
that happened fast.

It's like a year,
man. Fourteen months.

Sucks.

Yeah. Sucks.

Huh.

Skywriting.

I haven't seen one of
those since I was a kid.

Oh.

What the fuck?

My sentiments... exactly.

Whoa, whoa, whoa,
where have you been?

Are you kidding?

I had to run here.

The traffic's insane, and
half the cars are empty.

Dr. Winston's MIA.

- What?
- Yeah.

He walked in this morning,
and he looked around

and he walked out again.

And now I can't find him.

He dropped his pager
when he walked out.

Okay. I'll scrub in.

The beds are empty.

Most of them walked
out. I-I-I transferred

the last of the stable ones.

But, Felicia, there's
something weird.

What is that?

What's wrong with the monitor?

That's the thing, it-it's,
it's not just that one.

I don't know, Fel. I don't know.

I mean... I might want
to get out of here.

I might wanna go home.

I don't think I need
to be here anymore.

You okay, sir?

Yeah. Just taking a rest.

I walked downtown to
look at the sinkhole

and take a few
pictures with my phone.

Thought one of the local TV
stations might be interested,

but they all seem
to be off the air.

Except for pictures of Krantz.

All Krantz all the time.

- Any idea who he is?
- None.

I've asked two dozen people,
at least. Nobody knows.

Our man, Krantz, is the
Oz of the apocalypse.

Our last meme.

- Where are you heading?
- Harvest Acres.

Nice little enclave
off the beaten track.

I'm heading there myself.

- My ex lives there.
- Huh.

Well...

I can walk with you if you like.

What do you do, Sam?

If you still do
anything, I mean.

Owner and chief undertaker
for Yarborough Funeral Home.

Oh, man!

Yeah.

We had a boom.

It's hard to feel good about it,

but business was never better

than it was a few weeks ago.

But my real interest's
meteorology.

Dreamed of being a
television weatherman

in my salad days, maybe
even one of the networks.

But n-no.

I keep up, though.

Read the journals.

And I can tell you

something amazing
if you want to hear.

You know how people say
there are 24 hours in a day?

Well, they're wrong.

There were 23 hours
and 56 minutes

in a stellar day.

Plus a few odd seconds.

There "were"?

Based on my calculations,
which I assure you

I can back up, my math is good,

there are now 24 hours
and two minutes in a day.

Do you know what that means?

Well, you're saying the Earth's
rotation is slowing down?

Exactly.

Lot of folks think
all of these disasters

are 'cause of what we've
done to the environment.

Not so.

I'm the first to admit,
we treated our mother,

yes, she's our mother,
all of us, very badly.

Certainly molested her,
if not outright raped her.

But... we're puny

compared to the great
clock of the universe.

No.

Whatever's happening

is much larger than
environmental degradation.

The math says so.

And, and math can
do a lot of things.

I mean, math can be art...

but it can't lie.

You know what?

I think I'll sit

and enjoy the sunset

while I wait for the arthritis

to settle a bit.

You care to join me?

I think I'll go on.

The ex. I understand.

Well, it was nice speaking
with you, Mr. Anderson.

Hey.

Hey.

Don't worry. I'm going
to see my ex-wife,

Felicia Anderson.

I think she's back
to Gordon now.

She lives on Fern
Lane, number 19.

Yeah, I know Miss Gordon.

What are you doing out?

I wanted to go skating.

I used to love skating.

Then you should go skating.

Maybe I should.

Why do you see Miss
Gordon if she's your ex?

I still like her.

Do you fight?

We used to.

We get along better
now that we're exes.

Miss Gordon gives us
gingersnap cookies sometimes.

I like Oreos better, but...

That's just the way the
cookie crumbles, right?

Gingersnaps don't crumble.

At least not until
you crunch them...

You better go home, I guess.

It's too dark for skating
without streetlights.

Is everything gonna be okay?

Sure it is.

Go home.

Go home to your Mom and Dad.

Do it now.

Huh?

Oh, thank God. Oh, thank God.

- Thank God.
- They, they just...

They just, they just
started showing up.

No, I know, I know, I saw.

Is it just here?

I think it's everywhere.

I think it's almost...

Yeah...

Yeah, I think it's almost...

It's the brightest I've
ever seen the stars.

Just look at that.

There's Aquila the eagle.

Mm-hm.

There's, uh...

Cygnus the swan.

You see it?

And there's the North Sta...

Did you just see that?

Yeah.

There goes Mars.

I'm scared.

I am too.

It's okay, honey.

You go on.

You go on ahead, okay?

Just thirty-nine years.

Thirty-nine great years.

Thanks, Chuck.

♪ Gimme some a-lovin'

♪ Gimme, gimme some lovin'

♪ Gimme some a-lovin'

Gimme some a-lovin'

I love y...

With the help of
her friend, Mac,

who has an old van,

Taylor Franck sets
up her drum kit

in her favored spot

on the Eighth Street Promenade.

It's Thursday afternoon.

The weather is fucking gorgeous,

and the streets are
thronged with people

looking forward to the weekend,

which is always better
than the weekend itself.

- All good. Taylor?
- Yeah, thanks.

Ten percent is all the
thanks I want, dude.

Taylor, and Mac too,

work part-time

at Doctor Records
on Castle Street.

But on a good day...

Taylor can make
almost as much busking.

Busk-drumming isn't what
her parents saw for her

when she enrolled at Juilliard,

and they don't know yet
that she dropped out.

Juilliard wanted you to think
about what you were doing,

but as far as
Taylor is concerned,

the beat is your friend
and thinking is the enemy.

She starts warming up,
going easy at first.

Slow tempo, no cowbell,

not minding that the
magic hat stays empty

except for her two
crumpled dollars

and a quarter flipped
contemptuously

by a dude on a skateboard.

There is time.
There is a way in.

Finding the in is half the fun.

Maybe even most of it.

Janice Halliday
is on her way home

from seven hours
at Paper and Page,

and may walk all the
way to the ocean.

Her boyfriend of 16 months
just broke up with her,

and he did it the modern way.

Motherfucker!

It was totally unexpected,

like having a door
slammed in your face

just as you were getting
ready to walk through it.

- It was...
- Fucking bullshit!

Fucking bullshit.

She isn't in love with him.

Never even kidded
herself that she was.

- But still it...
- Fucking sucks.

Is a dismaying
shock just the same.

She supposes she'll
have some wine

when she gets home and cry.

Maybe queue up one of
her big band playlists

and dance drunk around the room.

She loved to dance
in high school.

Maybe she can recapture a
little of that happiness.

- Fucking really?!
- Excuse me.

Sorry, sorry, sorry.
Not you, not you.

Fuck!

Got an oat milk latte for Chuck.

Charles Krantz,

Chuck to his friends,

is dressed in the
armor of accountancy.

Gray suit, blue shirt, blue tie.

His Samuel Windsor shoes
are inexpensive but sturdy.

He's here for a
week-long conference

titled "Banking in
the 21st Century."

He's been sent by his
bank, Midwest Trust,

all expenses paid.

Chuck has enjoyed the
speakers and the panels.

He was on one panel

and is scheduled
to be on another

before the conference
ends at noon tomorrow,

but has no wish to
spend his off-duty hours

in the company of 70
other accountants.

He speaks their language,

but likes to think he
speaks others as well.

At least he did,

although some of the
vocabulary is now lost.

Now, his sensible
Samuel Windsor Oxfords

are taking him for
an afternoon walk.

His life is narrower

than the one he once hoped for,

but he's made peace with that.

He understands that narrowing

is the natural order of things.

He has a wife, Ginny,

to whom he is
scrupulously faithful,

and an intelligent,
good-humored son

in middle school.

He also has only
nine months to live,

though he doesn't know that yet.

Taylor has been on the
job for 10 minutes now

and has nothing to show for it.

She sees a Mr. Businessman type

coming toward her

and something about
him, God knows what,

makes Taylor want to
announce his approach.

She slips first
into a reggae beat,

then something slinkier.

And for the first time
today, Taylor feels a spark

and begins to whack the
cowbell on the downbeat.

It's pretty cool.

The groove has arrived,

and the groove is like a
road you want to follow.

She could speed the beat
up, get some tom in there,

but she's watching
Mr. Businessman

and that seems
wrong for this dude.

She believes Mr. Businessman
will just go on past

on his way to the
business hotel,

and when he's gone,

Taylor will switch
to something else.

But instead of floating on by...

Woo!

Yeah!

Woo!

Come on.

Come on, little sister.

Let's dance.

Dance.

Yeah!

I'll lead you. I got you.

Uh.

It's okay. It's my
glasses. It's my glasses.

What are we doing?

I don't know.

No more today, folks.

No more today.

No more today. We gotta
quit while we're ahead.

Do you need a-any
help at all or...

Here, can you, uh, take this?

- Sure.
- Just, just spin the thingy here.

But watch out for your fingers.

It'll, it'll, it'll get 'em
good, you know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah.

What just happened?

That was incredible.

You dance for a living?

No. Oh, no. I...

- No, I do not, sir.
- What do you do for a living?

Oh, no, I think I... Did I...
I didn't break it, did I?

I think he broke, I
think he broke it.

Let's hit the pond.

We'll never find
parking by the Common.

We will today.

Today...

is magic.

Where did you learn
to dance like that?

Oh, no, no, no, that's yours.

Nope, we split it even.

By myself, I wouldn't
have made half as much

if I drummed till midnight.

You okay?

Yeah.

Yeah. Just one of my headaches.

Oh, no, no, no. Come on. I
don't need it. You keep it.

Come on, man, you earned it.

Buy yourself dinner.

Give it away. But I'm
handing it to you.

You could do this for
a living, you know?

I don't know about that.

I really think we could busk
our way to fame and fortune.

What made you stop
in front of me?

Why did you start moving?

He could say it was
because he was thinking

about his old half-assed
band, The Retros,

and how he liked to
dance across the stage

during instrumental breaks.

But that's not it.

I don't know.

Taylor, we gotta roll,

or you're gonna end
up spending your take

on my parking ticket.

So, you guys don't
want a career change?

Career change?
How... I mean...

We'll make a name for ourselves.

You got to get in
here before you go.

- Group hug.
- Oh, oh, okay.

- Group hug.
- Okay.

Go.

Come on.

Buskers forever.

Yeah. Buskers forever.

We gotta roll before
the meter maid shows up.

I'm so sorry.

That sucks.

It does suck.

I thought he was a nice guy.

He was a pretty good lover,
and we had fun and all that.

If I can find a
video of us dancing,

which I'm gonna look
because I bet we go viral,

I'm gonna send it
to him with a text,

a text that says, "This
is what you're missing."

You're gonna be fine.

I don't know a lot,
but I know that much.

You got a bright
sunbeam in front of you,

and you're gonna step
right into it, I can tell.

But yeah.

It sucks. Not much else to say.

Everything goes down the drain,

and all we can say
is, "That sucks."

Mm. Yeah.

Maybe we're going
down the drain too.

Maybe.

I'm this way.

Uh, I'm that way.

Thank you for the dance.

As he passes the place

where Taylor set up her drums,

those two questions recur.

Why did he stop to listen?

And why did he start to dance?

He doesn't know.

And would answers make
a good thing better?

Later, he'll lose
the ability to walk,

never mind dancing
with little sister

on the promenade.

Later, he'll lose the
ability to chew food.

Later, he'll forget
his wife's name.

Later, he'll lose his
grip on the difference

between waking and sleeping

and enter a land
of pain so great

he will wonder why
God made the world.

What he will remember,
occasionally,

is how he stopped and
dropped his briefcase

and began to move his hips
to the beat of the drums.

And he will think

that is why God made the world.

Just that.

Chuck was looking forward

to having a baby sister.

Of course, he was
also looking forward

to having parents,

but none of that worked
out thanks to a patch

of well-hidden ice
on an I-95 overpass.

Chuck wasn't in the
car when it happened

because his parents were
having a dinner date

and he was being babysat
by his grandparents,

who, at the time, he was still
calling Zaydee and Bubbie.

He was seven years old.

Excellent job.

For a year and a
half, it was a house

of unadulterated sadness.

Albie and Sarah Krantz
had not only lost

their son and daughter-in-law...

Why're you not eating?

They had lost the granddaughter

who would've been born
just three months later.

What's going on?

The name had already
been picked out...

- Her name is Alyssa.
- Alyssa.

When Chuck said that
sounded to him like rain,

his mother had laughed and
cried at the same time.

He never forgot that.

Albie processed his grief

by turning to his two absolutes,

numbers and alcohol.

Sarah, though, could find no joy

in her usual pleasures.

She loved the flavors of life,

music, art, and food,

but now, found the world quiet

and gray and flavorless.

Some of the good
feelings came back

into the house with time.

There were a lot
of takeout meals

after the accident,

but around the time
Chuck turned 10,

his grandma started
cooking again.

She liked rock-and-roll
while she was cooking.

Music Chuck would've thought
much too young for her,

but which she clearly enjoyed.

♪ Take your baby by the hand ♪

♪ And make her do
a high handstand ♪

♪ And take your
baby by the heel ♪

♪ And do the next
thing that you feel ♪

Come on, little
brother, let's dance.

♪ We were so in phase

♪ In our dance hall days

♪ We were cool on craze

♪ When I, you

♪ And everyone we
knew could believe ♪

♪ Do and share in
what was true ♪

♪ Oh, I said

♪ Dance hall days, love

♪ Take your baby by the hair ♪

♪ And pull her close and
there, there, there ♪

♪ And take your
baby by the ears ♪

♪ And play upon
her darkest fears ♪

♪ We were so in...

You could learn
those moves, kiddo.

You're a natural.

Wh-Where did you learn?

High school.

What were you like
in high school?

I was a kusit.

But don't you tell your
Zaydee I said that.

He's old school, that one.

Chuck never told.

His grandparents' house became

every inch his home

with one exception.

The cupola on the roof.

Chuck was forbidden
to go into the cupola.

That was his grandfather's rule,

and it was absolute, emphatic.

Albie wasn't a stern
man in other matters.

He was downright gentle
in most respects.

But on this point, he was rigid.

Chuck asked about it, of course,

and more than once.

What was up there?

What could you see
from the high window?

And the big question,
why was the room locked?

- Grandma said...
- Because the floor isn't safe

and you might go
right through it.

- Grandpa said...
- There's nothing up there

because of that rotten floor.

And the only thing you can
see through the windows

is the shopping center.

He said that until, one night,

just before Chuck's
11th birthday,

when he told at least
part of the truth.

The cosmic calendar

compresses the local
history of the universe

into a single year.

If the universe
began on January 1st,

it was not until May that
the Milky Way formed.

Drinking is not
good for secrets.

And after the death of his son,

daughter-in-law, and
granddaughter-to-be,

Alyssa, who sounds like rain,

Albie Krantz drank a great deal.

Everything humans have ever done

occurred in that bright speck

at the lower right of
the cosmic calendar.

I'll bet you could see

way past the Westford Mall

from the cupola.

You gotta be able to see the
whole town from up there,

I bet.

If you went up there,

you might see a lot
more than you wanted.

That's why it's locked, Chucko.

Every month is one and a
quarter billion years long.

Each day represents
40 million years.

He wanted to ask
what Grandpa meant.

But the adult part of
him, not there in person,

no, not at 10, but something
that had begun to speak

on rare occasions, told him

- to be quiet.
- At this scale...

Be quiet and wait.

But all of human history
would occupy an area

the size of my hand.

We're just beginning to trace
the long and tortuous path

which began with the primeval...

You know what style
of house this is?

Victorian.

That's right.

And not pretend
Victorian either.

It was built in 1885.

It's been remodeled half
a dozen times since.

But that cupola was
there from the start.

Been here since '71.

And in all those years,
I haven't been up

to that damn cupola
half a dozen times.

'Cause the floor is rotted?

'Cause it's full of ghosts.

Around 10:30 p.m.
on December 31st.

- Y-You remember Scrooge?
- Yeah.

That Scrooge movie we watched?

I remember.

Do you think of that
as a ghost story?

I-I-I guess so.

Heard someone say it
was a ghost story.

Christmas Yet to Come.

11:59:20,

evening, last day of the...

Jefferies boy was a month later.

Henry Peterson,

that took longer.

Four... maybe five years on.

And by then...

I almost forgot
what I saw up there.

Almost.

Said I'd never go back
up there after that.

And I wish I hadn't
because of Sarah.

Because of your Bubbie, Chucky.

Your sweet Bubbie.

And the bread.

Every person we've
ever heard of,

somewhere in there...

It's the waiting, Chucko.

That's the hard part.

Everything in the history books

happened here

in the last 10 seconds
of the cosmic calendar.

Ooh!

It's getting cold out there.

Vera says hi. She says
thanks for the soup.

She laid the gossip
on me, laid it good.

Of course...

That's why we have
a Vera, isn't it?

So, what's the latest?

Well, I don't know
if you've heard,

but Trish is saying Karen
and Matty are in therapy.

- Again.
- Who's Henry Peterson, Zaydee?

The universe that made us

or we can squander our
15 billion-year heritage.

And get some pancake mix.

Yellow box, not the orange box.

- You got all that?
- I got it.

- Do you need me to write it down?
- I got it.

Don't you think about driving.

The walk will sober you up.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He'll be back with
some groceries.

Then, how about tonight,

we do some s'mores
in the fireplace?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Was he blabbing to
you about his ghosts?

The ones that live
in the cupola?

Yeah.

Well, are there?

What do you think?

I wouldn't pay too much
attention to Zaydee.

He's a good man. But, sometimes,

well, sometimes,
he drinks too much.

Then he rides his hobby horses.

I'm sure you know what
I'm talking about.

Who was the Jefferies boy?

Well...

that was a very
sad thing, kiddo.

He lived on the next block over,

and he got hit by a car

when he chased a
ball into the street.

It happened a long time ago.

And if your grandpa says he
saw it before it happened,

he's mistaken.

He just drinks too much.

You know, I could take those
to Mrs. Stanley if you want.

Oh, that's very
thoughtful of you.

I bet Vera'd love that.

Mm.

Just wonderful.

Your, your grandmother
is an artist.

Thank you for
bringing them over.

Was that your idea?

- Be honest.
- It was.

Well, can I make
you a cup of tea?

Um, I don't drink tea, but, um,

I wouldn't mind a glass of milk.

Well, your
grandmother's a saint.

And what about your granddad?

Did he have that thing
on his back looked at?

Yeah, the, the doctor took
it off and had it tested.

Tell me everything.

It wasn't one of the bad ones.

Thank God for that.

Yeah.

He, um, he was
talking to Grandma

about someone named
Henry Peterson.

So awful.

You know, Henry
was a bookkeeper,

just like your granddad.

He did a lot of the
other businesses in town.

The ones that your
Zaydee didn't do...

How did it happen?

I don't think you want
to hear about that stuff.

Um, w-w-well, Granddad
said it was, uh, peaceful.

Peaceful?

He killed himself. Hung himself.

His wife, you see, she ran off

with this younger man,
barely old enough to vote.

And she was in her 40s.
What do you think of that?

- Wow.
- Damn right, wow.

And then, I heard that...

What's happening at school?

Who's smooching who?

"Talk honestly, for
no one else hears you

and I stay only
a minute longer."

"Do I contradict myself?

"Very well then,"

"I contradict myself,"

"I am large.

I contain multitudes."

On the last day of sixth grade,

Miss Richards,

a sweet, hippie-dippyish
young woman

who had no command of discipline

and would probably not last long

in the public education system,

tried to recite
for Chuck's class

some verse of Walt
Whitman's "Song of Myself."

"Failing to fetch me at
first keep encouraged.

Missing me one place,
search another."

That went well, don't you think?

Yeah, I'm, I'm sorry about that.

What does he mean when
he says, "I am large,

I contain multitudes"?

What do you think he means?

All the people he knows.

Yes.

But maybe he means even more.

Here. Come here.

What's in there?
Between my hands?

My brain.

No, um, that's not
exactly what I mean.

What's in there?

Right between my
hands right now.

I don't know.

All the people you know?

I guess.

Just the people you know?

Everything you see.

Everything you know.

The world, Chuck.

Planes in the sky. Manhole
covers in the street.

Every year that you live,
that world inside your head

will get bigger and brighter
and more detailed and complex.

You will build cities and
countries and continents,

and you will fill them
with people and faces,

real and imagined.

Do you understand?

Don't stop there.

You fill the whole thing

with everyone you ever meet,

everyone you ever know,

everyone you ever just imagine.

It'll be a universe.

A whole universe right
between my hands.

You contain multitudes.

So...

what happens to that
universe if someone...

I don't know,

hits a patch of ice and
goes off an overpass or...

Don't worry too much
about those things.

Just remember that you
contain multitudes, Chuck.

Isn't that wonderful?

Now, go on. You were
such a good boy.

I've really enjoyed
having you in class.

Chuck did enjoy his summer

until August,

when Bubbie died.

It happened at the grocery store

down the street, in public,

which was a little undignified,

but at least it was
the kind of death

where people can safely say...

Thank God she didn't suffer.

The other standby...

She had a long, full life.

Was more of a gray area.

Sarah Krantz had yet
to reach her mid-60s.

Once more, the house
on Pilchard Street

was one of
unadulterated sadness.

Albie wore his mourning
band, and lost weight,

and stopped telling his jokes

and began to look older
than his 70 years.

- That's it?
- Yeah.

Buck 75.

Um, that lady who was
in here a few weeks ago,

the one who died.

Where was she when it happened?

That's a little creepy, kid.

She was my grandma.

She was getting a loaf of bread.

Pulled down almost everything

on the shelf when she collapsed.

I'm sorry if that's
too much information.

Nah.

I already knew that.

- No!
- What?!

- Get away from there! You get away from there.
- What? Hey, hey!

Give me that.

Give it to me. Give it to me.

Give me it.

Oh.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Are you okay?

What did you see?

What did you see?

I'm sorry. It's just, you can't.

You can't do that, Chucky.

You just can't.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.

I'm sorry.

Come on, little brother.

Let's dance.

Hello, twirlers,
and hello, spinners.

What do you know?
Three boys this year.

It's a new record.

You gentlemen might
find yourselves

being teased for your new hobby.

I assure you, you are
the smartest young men

in the whole school.

You'll soon see what I mean.

For those who don't know
me, I am Miss Rohrbacher.

And when I'm not teaching
the girls phys-ed,

I am what a few
students have called,

"The Dance Monster."

Nothing? Alright.

You have chosen what might be

the best club this
school has ever had.

'Cause if we didn't
have girls volleyball,

we wouldn't have nothing.

No, no, no.

Back, Mr. Mulford,
you are mine now.

Waltz.

Chuck knew it.

Cha-cha.

Chuck knew it.

Swing.

Triple step. Rock step.

- Triple step. Rock step.
- Chuck knew it.

Triple step. Rock step.

Samba.

Don't know that one.

He was, by far,

the best dancer in
the little club.

So, Miss Rohrbacher
mostly put him

with the girls who were clumsy.

He understood she did
it to make them better,

and he was a good
sport about it.

Near the end of their
two hours, however,

The Dance Monster
would show mercy

and pair him with Cat McCoy,

who was an eighth grader

and the best dancer
of the girls.

Chuck didn't expect romance.

Cat was not only gorgeous,

she was a full foot
taller than he was.

But he loved to dance with her,

and the feeling was mutual.

Three. Out,
two, three. Switch.

And stop.

In, two, three. Out, two, three.

Turn. Now box.

One, two, three.
One, two, three.

I don't know what that is.

Oh, my God.

Okay, 10 minutes freestyle.

♪ Ooh, my little pretty
one, my pretty one ♪

♪ When you gonna give
me some time, Sharona? ♪

Hey. Watch this.

♪ Ooh, you make my motor
run, my motor run ♪

Show me how you did that.

Ready?

Slide, slide, slide.

Here, ready?

Try it with me.

♪ M-m-m-my Sharona

- Um...
- Uh, kick off your shoes

- and do it in your socks.
- Aye-aye.

Now, slide.

Slide.

Yeah. There you go.

Hey! Show me.

Pop. Slide. Slide. Slide.

Yeah, again.

Pop. Slide. Pop.

♪ Woo!

♪ M-m-m-my Sharona

Twirlers and Spinners let out

half an hour late that day.

♪ My Sharona

That's so rad.

You figured that
out by yourself?

Well, I just kept
rewinding and rewinding

til I figured it out.

We should do that at the Fling.

Uh, not as a date or anything.

I'm going out with
Dougie Wentworth.

You know that, right?

Yeah.

But that doesn't mean
we couldn't show them

some cool moves.

I really want to. Do you?

I-I don't know.

I'm a lot shorter.

I think people will laugh.

- That totally works.
- It totally does.

- Are you sure?
- Oh, yeah, I'm sure.

Well, they feel great!

Uh, just a little big.

That should be enough.

- Little more.
- Maybe one more.

How's that?

Floor feels like ice.

You put scratches on that floor,

- the janitor is gonna beat y...
- Timmy.

There won't be no scratches.

He's too light on his
feet to leave any.

Almost perfect.

Take another run at these two.

You don't need to sigh.

You're good at this, you know?

You're really good at it.

Yeah, but it's boring.

Boring? What, you mean math?

Yeah.

I wonder if maybe next semester

you might want to try
Math League after school.

I did it all high
school, in fact,

and it was so great.

I'm doing Twirlers and Spinners.

Yeah.

Hey, hey, put that down
for a second, will you?

Just a little about math.

Because people
start out thinking

it might be boring,

and that's their first mistake.

It's used in every
career, in every job,

in every facet of
life on this planet.

That's a fact. Hell, the planet.

How do you think we figure
out how long a day is?

Everybody knows
how long a day is.

- How long?
- Twenty-four hours.

People say it's 24
hours, but they're wrong.

There are 23 hours
and 56 minutes

in a stellar day.

Plus a few odd seconds.
Math proves it.

How do we know how
old the Earth is?

How old the universe is, how
long people have been here?

Or how to build a
bridge or a skyscraper

or how far apart the stars are?

How did we land on the moon?

The stars themselves.

Why they burn, why
atoms split and fuse,

and all the rest is just math.

Hey, stars are just math.

When you look at the night sky,

you're seeing the
greatest equation

in the universe.

Heck, your dancing,
that's math too.

I mean, what's the
language of dance?

How do you learn your steps?
It's even in the name.

I mean, they call
it "the count."

One and two and three and four.

What's a waltz? One, two,
three, one, two, three.

Just numbers, just math.

And more than that,

there's an art to it.

What I do, all these files here,

all these folders,

these are all people's lives.

Every choice they made.

Last year, last 10 years.

Everything that's
important to them.

Every weakness they have,
every vice, every dream,

it's all here in numbers.

Some schmuck comes in,
takes those numbers,

does the math without artistry,
someone loses their house.

I take those numbers,
do a little art,

I save someone's life.

That's what I do.

That's what accounting is.

Well, maybe they
should teach that,

the cool stuff,

and not just all
the boring stuff.

Hmm.

Math is something else too.

Some math, math that's
called statistics

or probability,

it can tell you stuff
about your future.

It could tell you, for example,

you're more likely to be drafted

by a major league sports team

than to make a real
living as a dancer.

The world loves
dancers, it truly does.

But it needs accountants,
so there's much more demand,

so there's much
more opportunity.

I know that might hurt,
but it's the truth.

Math is truth. It
won't lie to you.

It doesn't factor
in your preferences.

It's pure that way.

Math can do a lot of things.

Math can be art.

But it can't lie.

So...

take another run at those two

because, Chucko,

you are good.

You... have art in you.

♪ Hugging me like skin

♪ And I'll sweat it clean

♪ Until I can taste

♪ The oxygen

♪ Oh

Hey! You look great!

Thanks. Uh, you too.

Wanna show 'em how it's done?

Uh, I don't know. I kinda, um...

I kinda hurt my leg.

You hurt your leg?

Maybe, maybe let's, let's
wait for a better song.

♪ Today I changed the picture ♪

♪ In our old oak frame ♪

♪ To a painting I made
of a photo inside... ♪

Hey, kiddo.

Hey.

Thought you were gonna
tear it up tonight.

I don't, I don't know.

My shoes feel all funny,

and... I hurt my leg.

Oh, you hurt your leg?

Yeah.

I'm sorry to hear that.

So, you came stag, huh?

- Hmm?
- No date.

Nah, I...

That'll change. Believe
me, it'll change.

Just give it some time.

None of this, none of...

None of that out there
really means anything.

It's all just, just a scrimmage.

Just a practice.

Hey, this is perfect. Come on.

Nah, I'm still, uh...

My leg's still wonky.

Chuck, come on.

We're gonna blow the roof off.

I'm sorry.

It really hurts.

You know, I've been
dancing since I was eight,

and I teach PE,

and I've seen when
my kids get hurt.

I see how their walk changes.

I see how their posture changes.

And don't mind me
saying, but you look...

Well, you look
fine to me, Chuck.

I'm not saying that you
have to dance with the girl.

It's up to you. I'm just saying

dance or no dance,
you don't have to lie.

Tell her the truth.

She can take it.

♪ Well, my
temperature's rising ♪

♪ And my feet on the floor ♪

♪ Crazy people knocking 'cause
they're wanting some more ♪

♪ Let me in, baby, I
don't know what you got ♪

- You ready?
- Yeah. Let's do it.

♪ And I'm so glad we made it ♪

♪ So glad we made it

♪ You gotta

♪ Gimme some a-lovin' ♪

♪ Gimme, gimme some lovin'

♪ Gimme some a-lovin'

♪ Gimme, gimme some lovin'

♪ Gimme some
a-lovin' every day ♪

♪ Well, I feel so good

♪ Everything is getting higher ♪

♪ You better take it easy

♪ 'Cause the place is on fire ♪

♪ Been a hard day and
I have so much to do ♪

♪ We made it, baby, and
it happened to you ♪

♪ And I'm so glad we made it ♪

♪ So glad we made it

♪ You gotta

♪ Gimme some a-lovin'

♪ Gimme, gimme some lovin'

♪ Gimme some a-lovin'

♪ Gimme, gimme some lovin'

♪ Gimme some a-lovin'

♪ Every day

♪ Well, I feel so good

♪ Everything is getting higher ♪

♪ You better take it easy
'cause the place is on fire ♪

♪ Been a hard day and
nothing went too good ♪

♪ Now I'm gonna relax
like-a everybody should ♪

♪ And I'm so glad we made it ♪

♪ Hey-hey

♪ So glad we made it

♪ You got to

♪ Gimme some a-loving

♪ Gimme, gimme some loving

♪ Gimme some loving

♪ Gimme, gimme some loving

♪ Gimme, gimme some loving

♪ Gimme, gimme some loving

♪ Gimme, gimme some loving

One more time! One more time!

One more time!

They may have been young,

but they were smart enough
to know when to quit.

Thank you, guys.

Six months before he died

of a brain tumor at
the unfair age of 39,

and while his mind was
still working, mostly,

Chuck told his wife the
truth about the scar

on the back of his hand.

When they'd first
started dating,

he told her he'd
gotten it from a boy

named Doug Wentworth,

who was pissed about him
dancing with his girlfriend

at a middle school formal

and pushed him into
a chain link fence

outside the gym.

I lied about that, though.

Oh, my.

A man of secrets,

even still.

What happened, love?

When our fabulous
dance was over, I...

I was sweaty and I was so hot.

I-I felt like my cheeks
were gonna catch fire.

You were great.

- Thank you.
- What a star.

All I wanted in that moment

was just darkness,

cool air,

and to be by myself.

There were millions
of stars that night.

Millions of them.

And millions more behind them.

And sure, m-may... Yeah,
maybe they were just math.

But they also danced.

I know 'cause I saw one of them.

And I remember thinking,
the universe is large

and, and it contains multitudes,

but it-it also contains me.

And in this moment...

I am wonderful.

And I have a right
to be wonderful.

Oh!

Why lie about that, silly?

You're a strange
wonder, my dear.

He doesn't offer more

because the scar was
important for another reason.

It was part of a story
he couldn't tell,

even though there was
now an apartment building

on the site of the
Victorian house

where he had done most
of his growing up.

The haunted Victorian house.

Mm.

No reason.

Funny thinking, I guess.

The scar meant more,

so he had made it more.

He just couldn't make it as
much more as it really was.

That made little sense.

But as the glioblastoma
continued its blitzkrieg,

it was the best his
disintegrating mind

could manage.

Chuck's grandpa,

his Zaydee,

died of a heart attack

five years after the
Fall Fling dance.

Chuck was a junior
in high school

singing in a band and
dancing like Jagger

during the instrumental breaks.

He made all the
arrangements himself.

Came in a few weeks ago

just to make sure everything
was to the letter,

which I thought was strange.

Not many people
bother to do that.

Most people,

they come here once
to set it all up.

They aren't anxious
to come back again.

Next time I see 'em, they're
in their Sunday best,

if you get me.

He was a great man
and a good friend.

He's been doing our
books for 23 years

and saved our skin
more than once

when the tax man was coming.

So, do I owe you any money?

Not a penny.

He took care of that
too. Settled his tab

that same visit.

You know...

the strangest thing.

And this will sound
strange, so bear with me.

See, I, uh,

dreamed of being a
television weatherman

in my salad days

with maybe one of the networks.

Wasn't in the cards for me.

But I did spend
a summer at WKNB.

Well, there was a guy

at KNB who they said

could feel a storm coming

two solid weeks away

without the radar.

Had a sixth sense.

Damnedest thing I ever saw.

Uh, used to make this face,

this face when people talked
about their travel plans,

if he knew something
they didn't.

Not... not a smile, per se.

No joy in it.

Just a... knowing.

"Weatherman Stare," I called it.

And I didn't have it, not me.

So, I'm here, not there.

Your granddad had that same face

when he was in here.

Like... he knew
it was gonna rain.

And I was just a guy
selling him an umbrella.

Weatherman Stare.

I'm sure of it.

The strangest thing.

Albie left him everything.

More than enough to pay
for his college education.

And later on, the
sale of the Victorian

paid for the house he
and Ginny moved into

after their honeymoon
in the Catskills.

He flatly refused
to move to Omaha

to live with his
mother's parents.

- Look, I love you guys...
- He said.

But this is where I grew up
and want to stay till college.

I'm 17. I'm not a baby.

So, they, both long retired,

came to him

and stayed in the Victorian

for the 20-odd months
before Chuck went off

to the University of Illinois.

They weren't able to be there
for the funeral, however.

It happened fast,
as Albie had wanted,

and his mom's folks
had loose ends

to tie up in Omaha.

Chuck didn't really miss
them, if he was honest.

His Zaydee hated a fuss

almost as much as
he hated a crowd.

A day before they were
scheduled to arrive,

Chuck finally
opened the envelope

that had been
sitting on the table

in the front hall.

It was from Sam Yarborough,

owner and chief undertaker
at Yarborough Funeral Home,

and inside were Albie
Krantz's personal effects.

In this room, Chuck's
grandpa had seen

the Jefferies boy,

body broken by the car.

He'd seen Henry Peterson
hanging from the ceiling.

He'd seen his own
wife lying dead.

And likely, Chuck supposed,

perhaps the night Chuck
had stolen his keys,

Albie had even seen himself
crumpled to the floor,

still clutching his upper arm.

"It's the waiting," he'd said.

"That's the hard part."

Now Chuck's own
waiting would begin.

How long would that wait be?

Exactly how old was the
man in the hospital bed?

There was a final bip...

from the unseen monitor

and then that was gone too.

The man did not fade,

as ghostly apparitions
did in the movies.

He was just gone.

Insisting he had never been
there in the first place.

- He wasn't...
- Chuck thinks.

And I will insist he wasn't.

And I will live my life
until my life runs out.

I am wonderful.

I deserve to be wonderful.

And I contain multitudes.

♪ Of all the money I ever had ♪

♪ I spent it in good company ♪

♪ And all the harm
I've ever done ♪

♪ It was to none but me

♪ And all I've done

♪ For want of wit

♪ To memory now I can't recall ♪

♪ So fill to me
the parting glass ♪

♪ Good night and
joy be to you all ♪

♪ Fill to me the parting glass ♪

♪ And drink a health
whate'er befalls ♪

♪ Then gently rise
and softly call ♪

♪ Good night and
joy be to you all ♪

♪ Of all the
friends I ever had ♪

♪ They're sorry
for my going away ♪

♪ And all the
sweethearts I ever had ♪

♪ They would wish me
one more day to stay ♪

♪ Since it fell

♪ Into my lot

♪ That I should rise
and you should not ♪

♪ I'll gently rise
and softly call ♪

♪ Good night and
joy be to you all ♪

♪ Fill to me the parting glass ♪

♪ Drink a health
whate'er befalls ♪

♪ Then gently rise
and softly call ♪

♪ Good night and
joy be to you all ♪

♪ Good night and
joy be to you all ♪