All language subtitles for Empire.Falls.Part.1.2005.1080p.WEBRip.DD2.0.x264-NTb.ENG

In the beginning,
the Knox river in Maine belonged to god...

Who leased it cheap
to the algonquins...

who took their stewardship of the land
seriously until they were wiped out...

By rum... And war and the clap

and christianity and
other European diseases.

The new proprietors
were white men...

Who first used the river
for logging...

Timber!

Then for power
to manufacture textiles...

and finally as a toilet

to flush their dyes and chemical
wastes into the Atlantic.

The story was much the same
on every river in new england

where tanneries
and textile mills

sprang from the unoffending
soil like noxious weeds.

The town that shot up along
the banks of the Knox,

midway between Canada
and the Atlantic ocean...

was no better
and no worse than the rest.

Like the other mill towns
along the Knox,

empire falls was built
and populated

by European immigrants...

With names like Robideaux
and Minty and daws...

And comeau and Callahan...
And Roby.

Insomniacs of the world unite!

- 'Morning, Horace.
- 'Morning.

I guess I'm gonna have to
start locking my car, aren't I?

How come you're hot-wiring
my car, old man?

A fella down in the keys
taught me.

I didn't ask how, dad,
I asked why.

I thought you was on vacation.

If I'd known you was back,
I would have asked.

Where is your car?

Went down to Callahan's
one night last week,

when I come out, it was gone.

Somebody stole that old beater?

Not exactly.

I must have forgotten to
set the emergency brake.

Made it all the way
to the river.

Get out of here. Come on.

How am I supposed to
get around with no wheels?

Here, take the bus.

Dick.

Maybe the Robys and
the Mintys and the daws

and the rodrigues
built empire falls,

but... they didn't own it.

No.

The family that had ruled the
town for more than a century

was named Whiting.

The Whitings didn't own
the whole town,

just the parts worth owning...

The textile mill,
the shirt factory

and the paper mill upstream.

When these enterprises
ceased to be profitable,

they were sold to greedy
multinational corporations

that looted their machinery,

converted their remaining
assets to cash,

leaving behind nothing
but decaying hollow shells

inhabited by ghosts.

- Bill, hi.
- Miles Roby.

Did you hear? C.B.'s folly
struck again while you were gone.

Yeah, everybody down by the river
has got a full basement, I hear.

And this isn't even
flood season.

Some spring after a bad winter,

this whole town
is gonna be swept away.

It'd be a mercy
if you think about it.

I don't know about that.

C.B.'s folly...

That'd be
Charles beaumont Whiting,

who took it personally
that every time it rained

the Knox river
deposited garbage...

Great mountains of it...
Right on C.B.'s doorstep.

Was god laughing at him?

If so, the Knox and
maybe god for that matter

needed a good straightening out.

More about that later.

Miles, how was your vacation?

Over too soon.

So did you hear that someone
might be buying the mill?

My restaurant is where all
those rumors start, Lesley.

- That will be $63, please.
- All right.

Miles, you've been summoned.

I was afraid of that.

- Hello, Susan.
- Hello, Miles. She'll be with you in a minute.

Why are we having this
conversation, Mr. Sampson?

We both know this proposal
is a non-starter.

How about this? You...

The storied Whiting males.

Tragic figures, some would say.

Though shrewd in business,

every last one of them
possessed an unerring knack

for marrying the one woman
in the world who would regard

making them utterly miserable
as her life's noble endeavor.

Charles beaumont,
the last of the Whiting males,

imagined he could cheat destiny
by avoiding the altar.

To this end, he decided to
build himself a grand new house

and live in it as a bachelor.

The perfect spot
was called Robideaux's neck,

which was owned not coincidently
by some people named Robideaux,

who regarded it as worthless
unless you collected river trash.

Stunned to learn that C.B. Whiting
wanted to purchase Robideaux's neck,

they quickly sold it to him
at a fraction of the price

he had been prepared to offer.

At the closing, C.B. Couldn't help
noticing young Francine Robideaux

who, unlike the rest of her
clan, had been to college

where she'd learned
among other useful things

the subtle art of flirtation.

Only after they were wed,
did it occur to C.B. Whiting

that he had forgotten his
resolution to remain a bachelor.

He looked his new bride over
carefully and tried to imagine the day

when, like his father, grandfather
and great-grandfather before him,

he would want to
bludgeon her with a shovel.

Being young,
his imagination failed him.

Hello, dear boy.

Hello, Mrs. Whiting.

- It's a rogues gallery, is it not?
- Yep.

They were all mad as hatters.

That one, old Elijah,

once chased his wife around
this very room with an axe.

Nice town.

Where is it?

Seeing you standing there
gives me a good idea.

You should be the mayor.

- Of the model?
- No, of the town.

Are you offering me the job?

- No, you overestimate my influence.
- Do I?

People are always
confusing will with power.

Your mother was like that.

You wanted to see me.

I have a surprise
for you, dear boy.-?

Come to the house on
Tuesday and I'll show you.

It's time we had our
state-of-the-grill meeting anyway.

- Say 2:00?
- Okay.

Incidentally, your father phoned
me three times while you were away,

- asking for money naturally.
- I'll speak to him.

- Please do, he's a pain in the ass.
- You're telling me?

Miles!

I didn't ask you.
How was your vacation?

Short.

Wonderful, actually.

You return to Martha's vineyard
every summer, don't you?

Has it ever occurred
to you to wonder why?

I've got some college friends
who have a house there.

It's the only vacation
I can afford.

Didn't your mother tell me

that she took you there once?

When I was 10, yeah.

"And so we beat on,"

boats against the current,

- borne back ceaselessly..."
- "...Into the past."

- Yes.
- Scott Fitzgerald.

I went to college, Mrs. Whiting.

So you did.

You return to Martha's vineyard
every summer, don't you?

Okay, this is
an adventure, Miles.

Just try to have fun, okay?
It's important to mommy.

When's dad coming?

You'll have to wait
till he's out of jail.

You didn't know that, did you?

- That he's in jail?
- That's a lie.

When I was a boy,

I thought god actually
lived in the steeple.

Imagine god so close,
just a couple of stories up.

Talk me down, okay?

Okay, Miles, you're gonna be
fine, just with your right foot.

Bring it down nice and easy,
you've got about 12 inches.

Now you've got three...

Two. Yeah, you feel it?
There you go.

Now the next.
Bring your foot back in.

There you are.
All right, same thing.

Okay okay. Okay.

I thought we'd agreed
you weren't gonna try

- to paint any higher.
- Yeah, we did, I guess,

but every time I look up
there, it's an accusation.

- Then don't look up.
- That's fine advice

for a man of the spirit to give.

I think father Tom is making
off with the cash-box again.

Yeah, I know. Don't worry, Ms.
Koss will fetch him.

Come back here, you old bat!

Father Tom! Father Tom!
Bring that back!

Who says god has
no sense of humor?

Tick Roby!

Let's just make way
for Tick Roby, make way here.

Just keep walking.

She's got a horny new friend.

My god, Zack Minty is so hot.
I can't believe you broke up with him.

Loser.

Yo, it's Mr. Mayer.
We're busted.

- Let's go.
- We're out of here.

You're okay, John?

Christina!

Mr... bye.

I looked at your schedule

and the only way
that you can take art

is to have lunch
during sixth period.

You're gonna be the only one
in the cafeteria.

That's okay.
Actually, I prefer to eat alone.

Good.

On him.

You've got stuff in your
beard, dad, you know that?

So what?

You look like the village idiot.

Mrs. Whiting says you've
been calling her again.

Why shouldn't I?

We're related, her and me.

The Robys and the Robideaux
are the same family

- if you go back far enough.
- You wish.

You should let me help
you paint that church.

I was a house painter
for 40 years, you know.

You keep forgetting, dad,
I'm painting the church for free.

That don't mean
you can't pay me.

Yeah it does, dad.
That's precisely what it means.

How am I supposed to get down
to the keys with no money?

You always managed when I was a
kid, you disappeared every winter.

That's where the money was.

How come we never saw any of it?

If you paid me to paint that church,
I wouldn't have to feel worthless.

Ain't no law that says old
people got to feel worthless.

If you paid me, I might have some...
Dignity.

The dignity ship sailed years ago, dad.
Decades.

Ya-ya-ya.

Trying to hurt my feelings,
but you can't.

Besides, anytime you feel
like an infusion of dignity,

come on down to the restaurant
and wash dishes for a while.

Is that your idea of dignity?

Cooped up in a back room,
no windows, minimum wage,

half of it goes
to the government.

Now, I would let you hire me,

if you let me work the grill.

Ain't nothing but flipping burgers
and I like to talk to people.

I'd have to run you
through the Hobart first,

wash some of that stuff
out of your beard.

I may be 70, but I can
still climb like a monkey.

I don't get scared up on a
ladder like a little girl.

It works both ways, dad,
you can't hurt my feelings either.

I gotta pee.

Hey, old buddy.

- Hey, Jimmy.
- Hey, long time no see.

Is that your dad you're with?

Yeah, you want a cup of coffee?

No, no time.
I'm glad I ran into you though.

- I thought about you the other day.
- How's that?

I was in the old
neighborhood... spring street.

- Ever get over there?
- Not really.

Just as well. It'd break your
heart... drug neighborhood now.

Every other house falling down.

I go to visit there
every now and then.

Just sit there, across the
street from my old man's place.

Yours next door. Half expect to
see your ma come out on her porch.

She and my dad never got along too
good, but I always liked her.

Awful way to go like she did.

Let's change the subject, okay?

Sure.

Anyway, I was saying sometimes
I'll drive over there,

just stop by the curb and
try to figure it all out.

All what out?

Life, I guess. You know,
the way things turn out.

I guess some folks would
think it's pretty weird,

- me ending up a cop.
- Not me, Jimmy.

My old man is
what I meant, I guess.

He had his run-ins with
the law over the years.

It's probably why your mom
had it in for him?

Yeah, sure.

I saw him beat one of them
union organizers half to death

right outside
the old shirt factory.

Of course, old man Whiting
put him up to it, so...

You know, gave him the nod.

And now here we are,
30 years later,

both working for old Francine.

As a policeman, I thought
you worked for the city.

Yeah? You tell me that woman and
empire falls ain't the same thing.

Okay, they're not
the same thing.

Maybe. Maybe not.

How is that cute
little girl of yours?

Good, good.
Happier than she's been in some time.

Wanna know a secret?

I think my Zack
is still sweet on her.

I told him at the time he
should've let her down gently.

Jimmy Minty!

My god! What a stupid
kid you were growing up.

How the hell are you, Jimmy?

Just fine. How're you
doing, Mr. Roby?

I don't think
I can remember anybody

as untalented as Jimmy here.

My god, it was pitiful.

But, I guess that is
a lesson to us all.

You know... never
give up on a child.

Now...
Miles here is just the opposite.

Straight a's all the way
through school.

I would have sworn he would have
grown up having a good heart

and when his own father
needed a helping hand,

he'd be right there.

But apparently not.

Why don't you go
get in the car, dad?

'Cause I'm having a conversation
with Jimmy Minty here.

He may not be gifted like you,

but I'll bet he can
follow what I'm saying.

To tell you the truth,

I would rather have
a complete idiot

for a child than an ingrate.

I gotta go, Mr. Roby.

- Hey, Miles?
- Yeah.

- Take a little walk with me?
- Yeah, sure.

- Thanks, Mr. Roby.
- Thank you.

Dick!

I didn't want to bring
this up around your dad,

but there's a lot of dope
around town right now,

so tell your brother
to be careful, okay?

Why should David be careful?

Hey, he's your brother.
I'm just saying is all.

A word to the wise, right?

Look, you don't know a damn
thing about my brother.

- Everybody knows he's growing dope out there.
- I don't.

I can't help thinking
how bad your ma would feel.

- You know even less about my mother.
- Hey, I didn't mean...

So don't bring her up in
any more conversations, okay?

- Miles...
- no, just shut up and listen.

You didn't know her.

Say that, so I know
you understand.

You shouldn't tell me
to shut up in public.

This badge
entitles me to respect.

You're right.

It's just that my family
is off-limits. Okay?

Sure.

So did you find
what you were looking for?

All of $10.

I was gonna tell you,
you never gave me a chance.

Will you stop picking at that?
It's holding the seat together.

What are you doing with a Martha's
vineyard real estate guide?

Boy, that would be
just like you.

Move to an island,
leave me here.

Every time I want to visit my
granddaughter, I gotta swim.

Yeah, well,
it would do you good.

Wash some of those
crumbs out of your beard.

Mrs. Rodrigue catches you with
that, it's big trouble.

She won't come over here.

She hates the blue table.

God. My god, you're almost done.
I didn't even start it.

Help me, okay?
What's my most vivid dream?

I don't know any of your dreams.

I think you should get back
together with Zack Minty.

- Yeah.
- He so does not like his new girlfriend.

You should see
how he treats her.

I know how he treats her.
That's how he used to treat me.

What? Hey, Candace,

John says he wants to meet you
in the parking lot after school.

He says he's got
something to show you.

Shut up, you asshole.

I'll tolerate
no more disturbances

from the blue table.

My god.

My god! My god!

- What have you done?
- My god!

Tell me what you've done.

My heavens.
Go see the nurse, child.

Christina,
you're not going to puke, are you?

- No.
- All right.

Damn it, Miles, you scared me.

I just wanted to say hi is all.

Hey. Welcome back.

- Thanks.
- Now go away and let me finish my joint.

- You know I'm not comfortable smoking dope around you.
- Why?

Because you can never quite manage
to conceal your disapproval.

Actually, I was...

What do you think?

I don't eat onions, Miles.

I know you've been away,
but I haven't changed.

I read "the globe,"
I write for "the sentinel,"

I never send Christmas cards
and I don't eat onions.

Thank you.

Your favorite customer.

Pa-pa-papaya.

Good afternoon, ladies,
good afternoon!

"Perry" comeau, right on time.

Hey, big boy. Big boy.

Take a look at me. I'm 50.

50 years old, I've got
the body of a 40-year-old.

Come on, come on,
let me see what you got.

If you pin me,

I'll give you one free month
membership at my health club.

Which by the way, you can use.

And excuse me, Mr. Reporter man,
but do you have any idea at all

about how many pounds
of undigested animal fat

most people have in their
bodies when they die?

- Hey, bro.
- Hey.

- Delicious.
- Very funny.

Well, did you hear
about the mill?

- Jeez, here we go again.
- What?

Let him tell it,
then it'll be over.

- Go ahead, white limo.
- That's right, a...

A white limo
with Massachusetts plates.

Wait a minute, are you
gonna tell it, big boy?

Are you? Because you
weren't even here, okay?

Go ahead, tell it.
Drove right down empire Avenue.

A white limousine with
Massachusetts plates

drove right down empire Avenue

pulled into the old textile mill

and who do you think gets out?

A bunch of guys in $600
suits with shiny shoes

who're gonna buy the mill and give
everybody their old jobs back.

At $20 an hour.

Well, why don't you explain it?

- You saw it, this limo?
- Everybody saw it.

No, that's not what I asked.

Did you see it?

You know what?
The hell with you guys.

Same rumors circulates
this time every year, Walt.

Hey look, all I'm saying
is that we could get lucky.

I mean something good
could happen here someday.

This used to be
a prosperous town, right?

All right,
let's get started here.

- No.
- I've no time to toy with you today.

Not today.
Today I kick your ass.

Anything is possible.

But see, that's what I'm saying.

I've been saying that. I've been saying
that somebody could buy the mill.

- The whole town could go back to work.
- Somebody shoot him.

Tell me something, bro.

Why do you allow him in here?

I think he just comes in here to make
sure I know there's no hard feelings.

He steals your wife and
there are no hard feelings?

Some sins trail
their own penance.

Anyway, it's against the law
to refuse service.

Yeah, so is murder.
It'd be an elegant solution just the same.

Gin!

You just dealt.

Nevertheless.

You've got to be kidding me.

He's kidding.
Girls, he's kidding.

How was the vineyard?

Tick met a boy. Donny.

But don't tease her
about it though.

- You should have fought Janine for custody.
- No.

Once they are married, what's to stop 'em
from moving away and taking her with them?

Tick is the one thing
she can't have.

Anyway, Walt likes it here

and who would Janine blame
for things if I'm not handy?

- Hi, you sweetie pie.
- Hi, uncle David.

Hello, beautiful.

- How are you?
- Good.

- Hi, baby.
- Hi.

So, I hear you had a...
Nice time on the vineyard.

Yeah, there is a bookstore
for sale on the beach road.

If daddy bought it,
we could live there.

- Hey, Tick.
- Hey.

Hey, big boy, you've got a
fitness club on that island?

'Cause I've been
thinking of expanding.

There's a lot of them, Walt.

Did David tell you
how business is picking up?

You should have
seen her last week.

She was like her old self,
before all that shit started raining down.

She had a smile
on her face all week.

You should think
about that bookstore.

There's no way.
I mean not until I can sell this place

and I can't do that, you
know, until it's mine to sell.

What makes you think that Whiting woman
is ever gonna give you this restaurant?

That was our deal. I run the place
till she dies, then it's mine.

- I saw the will, David.
- You saw a will, I mean 20 years ago.

How many times it's been amended
since is what you don't know.

- Also you know how old her mother lived to be?
- No.

That's because she's still alive

out in a nursing home
in fairhaven.

In her mid-90's.

Gin!

Anything is possible?

- How was school?
- Crappy.

Now that I'm not with Zack and friends
anymore, I don't have any friends.

What about... what's her name?
Your new friend?

- Candace?
- Yeah.

My god. My god,
I forgot Candace.

- Yeah and you forgot me.
- I know.

Yeah and you forgot your
uncle David and your mom.

And Donny, you forgot Donny.

I'm never gonna hear
from him again.

The silver fox says
e-mail costs too much.

How come? Why?

Why is it that you always
have my gin card? Why? Why?

If I told you that,
you'd be even angrier than you are now.

I can't believe you're just
gonna let mom marry him.

I mean, think about me.

He's trying.

He just hasn't figured out
how to be around you yet.

Yeah? He could try being dead.

- Tick.
- I know, sorry.

Hey, dickhead!
What are you doing?

You shopping? Let me see that.

You know I think
this is your size.

You know what? I think there's
only one real way of being sure.

You gotta try it on.

No!

Nice tan.

Man, it's too bad looks can't
kill, dickhead?

Yeah.

Shit. Let's get out of here.

It's chief daws.
Let's go. Calm down.

- Hurry up.
- Shotgun!

Zack Minty?

You're okay?
You're the Voss boy, right?

Yeah.

You want to come down
the station, file a report?

No.

No. Okay then.

Here. You need this?

Go on, take it.

You know where we are.

Chief daws.

I don't think Mrs. Roderigue
likes my snake.

What doesn't she like about it?

Well, you see that's the thing.

I think it reminds her
of real snakes.

- 14 is up!
- If true,

that means the better
I draw the snake,

the more it'll remind her
of what she hates,

and the worse grade I'll get.
Hence, I want a good grade,

- I should draw the snake badly.
- Or not draw a snake.

No, but the assignment was to draw
our most vivid dream. That's mine.

You must trust your teacher's judgment
of the merits of your drawing, correct?

- Correct.
- Hence, you might as well mistrust

your teacher's judgment of
the merits of the assignment.

- Right.
- Draw her a... an angel.

But I'm dreaming of snakes.

It's none of her business
what you're dreaming of.

- Hey, eat!
- I am.

- You am?
- She's done pretty well.

No, Miles, you've done pretty well.
What...

And don't be telling me you haven't
either, because I've been watching.

It's not nice to tell a
person's secrets, charlene.

I don't go around
telling your secrets.

That's where you're smart.

Charlene has secrets?

Well...

See, mom bet Walt that
when the divorce is final,

you'll ask charlene
to marry you.

Really?

- She says you've been in love with her since high school.
- Yeah?

That you even took a job here after
school, just so you could be near her.

Yeah well, your mother
says a lot of things.

13's up!

There she is.

- Hello, gorgeous.
- Hi.

You look beautiful.

- 120?
- 125.

Impossible.
I'm gonna have that scale checked.

- You're 120, tops.
- Right.

- Hello, you two.
- Hi, you're early.

Also hot and sweaty.

Don't be staring
at my boobs, Miles.

We were married 20 years,
they never interested you the whole time.

- You're ready to go?
- I guess.

You guess. And who
would know for sure?

Is there somebody who could
give us a definitive answer?

Well, I have to get my backpack.

Do you always have
to be such a bitch?

Yes, I do, little girl.
You'll understand when you're 40.

- You're 41.
- God damn, that's good.

You could order some, Janine.
It wouldn't kill you to eat.

Yeah. You'd like it if I got fat
again, wouldn't you?

There's a word for people
like you... enabler.

Hey, David.
I really hate it when you do that.

- What?
- When you don't say what you're thinking.

You thought, "yeah,
there's a word for people like you too."

I could see that thought scroll right across
your forehead, but you wouldn't say it.

- Dear god.
- You guys fighting?

Yes, we're fighting. You can wait
in the car if you're squeamish.

- Love to. Bye.
- Bye, baby.

- Hey, I saw a great one today, daddy.
- Yeah?

You know that old gay bar,
the one on fairhaven road?

Their sign says "enter in rear."

That's a good one. 10-pointer.

You're back in the lead.

- Good night.
- Good night, baby.

Sweet dreams. And you don't
have to be so tough on her.

- Somebody has to be.
- She's just a kid.

Miles, you're wrong.
If you don't believe me, just look at her,

and try using the same eyes
you look at other people with.

I'm not gonna argue with you.

That's what the last 20 years
have been about, us not arguing.

- Well, I feel like arguing.
- 120 tops.

- I love you.
- I love you more.

We did really well last week.
If you'd let me have custody...

And she'd sleep where? Upstairs?

You're gonna move those
pallets of fryolator grease

down into the cellar
to make room for her?

I'm the one who ended up
without a house, aren't I?

- Speaking of which...
- Don't. Don't go there.

- What?
- I did speak to him about buying you out.

In as much as he's now renting out
his own house and living in mine...

He's sifting through some investment
opportunities right now, okay?

- Come on!
- You should be happy.

A month from now
I'll be Mrs. Walt comeau

and all you'll owe
is child support.

If you hadn't dragged your feet,
it would've been done months ago.

The courthouse
burned down, Janine.

Please, you stalled and stalled,
Miles, and we both know it.

It wouldn't surprise me to find
out you torched the damn courthouse

just to keep me from being
happy and having a life.

Do you know what I still
don't understand? Us.

I mean I told you every single
thing you did to piss me off

- during the whole 20 years, right?
- That's true, you did.

Here I am, getting ready
to marry somebody else,

and you still haven't told me
why you didn't love me.

- I mean, is that fair?
- You took up with Walt, Janine.

- Sure, throw that in my face.
- What...

No, it's not fair
and you know it.

I took up with Walt because
he loved me and you didn't.

Now, I know what I did
hurt your feelings,

but you shouldn't pretend you were
in love with me, because you weren't.

What is my part in this conversation?
If you're gonna speak for both of us...

Are you trying
to tell me you love me?

If that's what you want to
say, I'll shut up so you can.

That's what I thought.

Why are you tormenting
yourself, Janine?

I mean, being with Walt makes you
happy, what else matters?

Beats the shit out of me.

I guess just once I'd like to hear
you say I'm not a horrible person.

Janine, I never said you...

That's what I am trying to tell
you, Miles, you never said anything.

Tab's full, old man.

God, you smell.
When's the last time you had a bath?

- Hello, bea.
- Hi. You're working late?

Yes, covering
the school board meeting.

- You want one, Max?
- Sure.

How'd that go?

The usual. And draw one of
those for my friend here.

Yes, it was civil
for about two minutes.

And after that uncivil
for a while, then rude,

then insulting.
It stopped just short of fisticuffs.

I don't know if I've
told you, bea, but...

In my experience,

most human beings are selfish,
greedy, venal, unprincipled...

utterly irredeemable
shit-eaters!

So I have mentioned it?-!

You should have that thing removed.
Max.

What thing?

I'm always afraid
it's going to explode

when I'm talking to you.

What would it cost you
to have it cut off?

Don't know,
never looked into it.

Boy, I would have.

If I had that thing
growing out of my forehead,

I'd have looked into it pronto.

I don't know, Max,

I think it might be
the source of my intelligence.

What if I had it
cut off and then found

that it was responsible
for all my best ideas?

You've ever been to Florida?

No.

You would like key west.

- Hemingway lived there.
- Hemingway?

Yeah, hell of a fellow.

You met Ernest Hemingway?

Papa. His friends
called him papa.

No, what I asked was,
"did you meet him?"

I drank an awful lot of beer
down there over the years.

He could've been sitting
in the next bar stool.

I bet there was at least
one stool between you.

What was the first year
that you went down there?

Winter, '69.

Then you never sat
next to Hemingway.

He shot himself
in the head in '61.

You and I should go
down there sometime.

The women walk around
there half-naked.

There's a bar down there,

the girls just take
their bras off.

They nail them to the ceiling.

I'm free anytime you want to go.

No, I don't think so, Max.

All those naked girls,
I might get depressed,

end up shooting myself.
That's it.

Yeah?

Try to miss that thing
on your forehead.

My god, what a mess
that would make.

- Pretty good night.
- Yeah.

Wait till the weekend after
all the college kids get back.

I'm not 100% sure we got our
costs in line on the new menu,

but... it's gotta be
pretty close.

Which is why I keep telling you

now is the time
to make our move.

If we went partners with your
mother-in-law over at Callahan's,

she'd do the liquor,
we'd provide the food,

better for both of us.

Why let Francine Whiting
keep pulling all the strings?

'Cause I owe her, David.

You owe her?
You owe her nothing.

She could have gotten rid of this place
years ago. Where would that have left me?

- Free?
- And Janine and Tick.

When mom was sick,
who do you think paid her medical bills?

When I was away at college, I had to come
up with $500 a semester for books and fees.

Where do you think
that came from?

Mom sure as hell
didn't get it from dad.

Well, at least we're finally talking
about the right person... mom.

You don't have to tell me
how much I owe her.

How much was it, the bookstore?

Well...
More like a book barn actually.

New books, a little
cafe downstairs,

used books upstairs, a nice
little cottage out back.

- And?
- What?

How much was it?

Look, I can't make snap
decisions like you do.

Okay? I've got Tick
to think about.

You know, I must
have been doing 100

when I plowed through that
guardrail down into that ravine.

I'd still be hanging up in a
pine tree by my hunting vest

if I hadn't peed on that
deer hunter the next morning.

I'm real glad you're not drinking
anymore, David, but what's your point?

Playing things safe
can be just as dangerous.

If you aren't careful, Tick's gonna be
the next manager of the empire grill.

Another generation
under that woman's thumb.

- Over my dead body.
- Now we've come full circle.

That's what mom always
used to say about you.

And yet here you are,

stuck running this place
nearly 25 years.

And mom, what did she do?

10 years in the Whiting household
looking after young Cindy?

Which reminds me.

This was in the newspaper
when you were gone.

Tell me something.

Are you growing dope?

'Cause Jimmy Minty
seems to think you are.

Jimmy Minty... Actually thinks?

That's mom in the top
right corner.

What a comedown?

Office manager to chief maid.

She'd been turning over in her grave
if she knew you were still here.

Why did they fire you?

They fired a lot
of people, not just me.

But why did they fire you?

I wasn't the only one, you know.

Mom had plans for you too.

Yeah, I know, she told me exactly what
she wanted me to do before she died.

Yeah, what was that?

She said, "David,
look after your brother."

She didn't say that.

She did say that.

Why don't you
take the wheel, Miles?

- Get out of here, Max.
- Go on, go on.

Go!

Good night, old man.

Who, after all,
arrives at his heart's home

at the end of the day?

Given this day,
who can say that the next will bring joy?

Good boy.

Yes, yes!

Or comfort?

Your tea is ready...

You old goat, you're disgusting.

You forgot your pants again.

Honestly, father Tom!

Or justice?

Or release?

Or an end to care?

Lives are like rivers,

eventually they go
where they must,

not where we want them to.

- Miles!
- Cindy, I had no idea you were home.

I so wanted to surprise you and I
have, haven't I?

Let me have a look at you.

You look great.

You're okay?

- Yeah.
- Take it easy.

So how are you?

Well, Miles, I'm so so well.

The doctors are amazed.

I haven't had any setbacks in...
So long.

It seems I'm to begin life
again as a normal person.

- You can congratulate me.
- That's wonderful, Cindy.

Cindy Whiting.

She'd been only three when she
was run over outside their home.

The driver never apprehended.

One desperate heartbreaking
operation after another

had left her as crippled
of mind and spirit

as she was of men.

I'm staying here at present.

Just until I find
a place of my own.

A grown woman needs a place
to come and go as she pleases.

And entertain whom she pleases.

- Jeez.
- Timmy.

It's only Miles.

You don't want to hurt him.

Like hell she doesn't.

It's mother.
She must have heard you drive up.

She's waiting for you
in the gazebo.

- You go along, I'm slow.
- That's okay, let her wait.

God.

She loves the sound of mother's
bell, for some reason.

Cindy, I wanted to tell you...
No, Miles.

I heard about you
and Janine. I'm so sorry.

You never loved her, Miles.

You know you didn't.

That's what she says,
oddly enough.

I lied, Miles. I'm not sorry.

Your divorce gives me
a slender thread of hope.

I still love you, Miles.

I know you wish I didn't,

but I can't help it.

It's the one thing
the lithium can't touch.

It washes into your brain
and it makes things easier.

It can't erase what's here.

It can't change what's here.

What's in a woman's heart.

Cindy.

Cindy.

Please.

- Careful now.
- Yeah, you go.

- You're okay?
- Yeah.

You're sure now?

Damn!

Timmy, you're such
a little pill.

Sorry, Miles.

His little girl's accident

changed everything
for C.B. Whiting.

In a heartbeat, he went from thinking
of himself as someone special

to someone especially damned.

Was it seeing Cindy's limbs become
more twisted with each passing year

that caused his 10-year-long
meander in Mexico?

Was it her continued
suffering that finally

lured him back too late
to his own headwaters?

Or was it some darker
selfish impulse?

But that's in a later chapter.

Hello, dear boy.
Did you like my surprise?

Would you like some iced tea?

Thank you.

I see you've had another
encounter with Timmy.

It's odd how
she hates you so much.

Of course that little
beast detests everyone,

but you she seems to hold
in particula contempt.

You should hold a raffle...
$10 a chance,

the winner gets to beat her
to death with a baseball bat.

You could fund a new
wing of the hospital.

Why is it I always forget
you have a sense of humor?

Did I say something funny?

Yes, but you didn't
get it from your mother.

She was a sweet woman,

but she was not blessed with
a sense of life's grand folly.

Actually, you know,
my mother loved to laugh.

It's just harder when you're
always the butt of the joke.

Yes, well...
She did have a hard life.

However, I have always felt
that people make their own luck.

You needn't smile
that smile, Miles Roby,

I know you think
I married my luck.

But that opinion is unkind.

And it does you no credit.

There is a world of skill in
marrying the right person.

- And most people make a complete hash of it.
- Well...

I'd wager you have no idea
any longer of why you married.

You mean you would wager if you
could find somebody to wager with.

You married Janine in order
to escape an even worse fate.

Could we discuss the restaurant?

Yes, we can discuss
whatever you like,

or not discuss
whatever you like.

It's a lovely afternoon.

Mrs. Whiting, if I am to
continue running the empire...

"continue"?

Of course, you're going to
continue, that was our agreement.

I've been running it faithfully
for over 25 years, Mrs. Whiting.

And I may be a slow
learner, but...

I have learned this much...

There's no money in food.

You know what's troubling you, dear boy?
It's not the restaurant.

Here you are about to be
a bachelor again,

and my daughter has returned
to empire falls.

My brother's
weekend menus are a hit.

Friday Mexican, Saturday thai.

If we could sell
beer and wine...

If your mother had had her way,

you might have found yourself
at the altar with my daughter,

if you hadn't married
when you did.

I thought we were discussing
the state of the grill.

Frankly, I'm curious to see

how you manage things
the second time around.

- Curious?
- Please.

Spare me that tone
of moral superiority

that you do get
from your mother.

It was her one tiresome trait.

And what you really hate
is the fact

that I know you better
than you know yourself.

Maybe I'll surprise you someday.

Well, possibly.
But you haven't yet.

Incidentally,
did my daughter let on to you

that her doctors
now believe that she's well?

Yeah.

Miles!

Before when I was trying
to answer the door,

and you saw it was
me, for a moment...

It looked like
you wanted to run away.

No. It was a surprise,
that's all.

A wonderful surprise.

I can bear that
you don't love me, Miles.

I've borne it all my life.

But if I thought I made you
want to run away...

Hey. Hey.

Have you got plans
for homecoming?

Empire falls and fairhaven,
weekend after next?

You're inviting me
to homecoming?

Yeah, why not?

Miles.

Dear dear Miles.

Okay?

- I'll call you.
- Okay.

Hey hey hey hey! Come here!

You've got to be kidding me.

Your mother, she was
a sweet woman,

but she was not blessed with
a sense of life's grand folly.

Miles, look,
we're coming up on the island.

Isn't it exciting?

You know there'll be lots more little
league games when you get back.

And maybe we'll meet
somebody nice.

When's dad coming?

Maybe later in the week.

Let's try to have fun, okay?

Can we go to the beach?

How about first thing? Yeah?

Mom, your lobster.

- Look at my steamers.
- That looks nice.

Pretty good.

- Who's that?
- Who's who?

I thought you said the dining
room was too expensive.

Well, I think we can afford
to splurge one night.

Will they have steamers?

How do I look?

What? I don't see them.

I know there's no steamers.
You have to order something else.

Clams casino.

Yeah, clams casino.

May I take your order?

Clams casino.

Don't worry,
if he doesn't like them, I do.

I'll... I'll have the lobster.

Thanks.

Pardon me, but are you
eating alone?

Alas!

Would you like to join us?

I seem to have the larger table.

Okay. Come on.

But I haven't introduced
myself, Charlie mayne.

- We're from Maine.
- Really?

Now that's interesting.
M-a-y-n-e is how I spell my name,

- how do you spell your state?
- The real way.

- And I'm grace.
- Yes.

Yes, you are.

I think somebody
needs to thank Charlie

for a wonderful and
very expensive dinner.

Five orders of clams casino,
I bet that's a record.

You know what?
If we hurry, I think there's just time.

Charlie, slow down.

Faster.

Faster!

Charlie, look!

What? Where?

- Can I go walk on the beach?
- Sure.

Take off your shoes, okay?
And don't get your pants wet.

Okay.

Thank you.

What are you trying to catch?

- Fish.
- Fish, big one.

Something wrong?

No. Except how come every time
I look up these days, I see you?

- Small town, Miles.
- It's not that small.

Maybe. Maybe not.

Those napkins cost
money, you know.

I'll pay you for 'em.
I want my new name to be second nature.

Goodbye, Janine Roby;
Hello, Janine comeau.

Did it ever occur to you that I
could use a hand with these boxes?

After all these years you finally
decided you don't like mule work?

Give it up, Beatrice.
I'm not coming back to work for you.

I've got a job at one of the few successful
businesses in this whole sorry town.

I lost 50 lbs.

I feel good about myself for the
first time in my whole damn life,

and you're not gonna bring me
down either so don't even try.

Delicious.

Good.

And I am not trying to
bring you down, little girl.

It's a mother's duty to point out when
her child's acting dumber than usual.

I mean, trading in

a perfectly good man like Miles

for a strutting rooster
like Walt comeau

simply defies imagination.

Maybe one day I'll pack it all in like
you, but not today.

People can change
and I'm changing.

You're not changing, Janine,
you're just losing weight.

There's a difference.

If you thought for two seconds

about the effect of all your
foolishness on your daughter,

that'd be a change.

Okay, John, please.

Grab a seat.

Christina, could I speak
with you a minute?

Christina, I need
to ask you a favor.

Recently there have been some
lunchroom incidents involving...

And... maybe if he could
join you here in six,

since you take art together.

There's a certain element
in high school that enjoys

tormenting that... Unhappy boy.

His parents abandoned him
on his grandmother.

He's missed
an awful lot of school.

What he needs is a friend.
I don't mean a girlfriend or anything.

It would just be nice for him
to know that not everybody...

Right.

It's about time. Come on up.

- That hasn't been scraped yet.
- So what?

What are you doing here, dad?

I'm painting!
You owe me for two hours.

- I don't owe you anything.
- What happened to your car seat?

- None of your business.
- Hey!

Don't get mad at me,
I didn't do it.

I'm just an old man.

- You have crumbs in your beard.
- Yeah, so what?

- Peckerhead!
- Tom?

Where did this evil
bastard comes from?

This is no evil bastard, Tom,

this is Miles Roby.
You baptized him.

- You married his pa...
- I know who it is!

Look at him,
he's a filthy degenerate.

Well, if he's filthy, Tom, it's from
painting our church for free, remember?

He's a peckerhead,
and his mother was a whore!

And don't think
I didn't tell her either.

Tom! Tom, look at me.
Look at me.

Now remember what
we talked about?

I'm sorry you're not
feeling well today,

but this behavior
is intolerable.

You owe Miles an apology.

Forgive me.

Mom, are you all right?

- Should I get father Tom?
- No.

- I'm sorry, Miles.
- I doubt he even remembers my mother.

It's ironic that Tom's condition may be the
only thing keeping us open for business.

Look at my father.

So how come you're
dreaming of eggs?

I'm not dreaming of eggs.

But the assignment was to
draw our most vivid dream.

So how come you're
thinking of eggs?

It's something my mother once
said to me a long time ago.

She said,

"if chickens knew
what they were in for,

they'd stay in their eggs."

She was frying eggs at the time.

Is your mom dead?

It's a possibility.

Do we even want to know

what those two could
possibly find to talk about?

It's hard to imagine all right.

A word to the wise:
Don't let Max in here

unless you want to find your valuables
for sale at empire music and pawn.

He'd steal from god?

Yeah, he's pretty fearless
as far as god's concerned.

I don't know whether
he's an atheist,

or he just thinks he'd be able to
bullshit god like he does everybody else.

Well, you give him this anyway.

Don't worry, it's not too much.

Well, he'll be grateful.

And it is too much.
You know actually, father,

he won't be grateful.

But he'll be glad to have it.

Do you want my other half sandwich?
Because I am full.

I won't eat it.

So this is your new boyfriend?

You're not supposed
to be in here.

I have a hall pass.

Dickhead, get lost.

My old girlfriend is gonna tell me
why she doesn't like me anymore.

Billy wills sprained
his ankle at practice.

I'm gonna be starting
against fairhaven.

Congratulations.

The coach was gonna start me anyway.
Thank you though.

You're gonna come to the game?

Come on, everyone's going.

They're gonna
go hang out afterwards.

Candace is coming.
You should come.

Maybe.

- "Maybe"?
- Yeah.

"Maybe"?

I've changed a lot
since last spring.

It just makes me
really angry when you...

You won't even give me
a second chance.

I've got an idea.

Why don't we bring your new
boyfriend along with us?

- No, leave him alone.
- Dickhead!

- Don't!
- Dickhead!

You! Turn around, look at me!

Yeah, I'm talking to you.

- What's your name?
- His name is John... John Voss.

John Voss.

Hey, no hard feelings
there, John Voss.

- You want to hang with us after the game?
- Okay.

Did you hear that?
It's okay with John Voss.

Look, if you leave him alone,
I'll go to the game, okay?

Hey, dickhead...
I mean, John Voss...

Tick's gonna come too,
all right?

Cheap bastard!

He's a sissy, you
know, that young one.

What?

You're just mad 'cause
I got paid, you didn't.

Actually, I'm thrilled
that you got paid.

Maybe you can make it to the end of the
week without hitting me up for a loan.

What are you doing?

Glove box won't open.

Well, that's because it's locked.
People keep taking money out of it.

That little lock
wouldn't stop anybody.

You're not gonna
get this $20 bill.

Boy, if I was you, I'd start
courting that cripple Cindy Whiting.

And you wonder why I don't
come to you for advice.

If all I had to do to get
my hands on $10 million

was to marry a cripple!
Would I ever.

Yeah, I know you would,
then you'd leave her.

God.

Give me a screwdriver,
I could fix that for you.

You know, if you'd marry that
cripple, you'd own the whole town.

Tick could go to a good college

and there might
just be enough leftover

so that I could spend
the winter in the keys.

- Could you not refer to her that way?
- What way?

As a cripple,
could you not do that?

- What way should I call her?
- Don't call her anything,

don't refer to her
at all, how'd that be?

You know there was a fella down in the keys,
he called himself a cripple all the time.

He'd say, "Max,
don't ever be a cripple."

- Good god!
- Well, don't get mad at me is all I'm saying.

It wasn't me that run over her.

If your mother was here and she told
you to marry her, you'd marry her.

- Then we'd have $10 million to split up.
- That's what you think.

If mom was still alive,
she and I'd have $10 million

and you would be shit out of
luck, partner.

Good lord. That's quite a crowd.

It looks like
you could use some help.

I'm available if
the money is right.

The cavalry has arrived!

How you doing?

Not bad for a one-armed man.
Charlene needs help though.

Here, dad,
put this on before you go out front.

And dad, wash your hands.

Wash my hands
so I can bus dirty dishes?

Just wash them. Hi.

Hey, who's this? Who are you?

This is John from my art class.

Uncle David said we needed a new
busboy and I already showed him how.

Take a look at Brian.
He's a walking appetite suppressant.

- Brian.
- Hey, Miles.

- Come here for a minute.
- What?

- You gotta go home.
- What do you mean?

I can't help it, something bit me.
I can still work.

Yeah, but people eat here,
Brian, go home.

Hello, John. Miles.

Two orders of chicken.

- Hey, grandpa!
- Tickeroo!

Hi.

Your beard is scratchy, grandpa.

- And you smell.
- Well, so do you.

The difference is you're
young, so you smell good.

Here, you just bus
the dishes, dad.

If you take any of charlene's
tips, she'll gut you like a carp.

Down in the keys, the waitresses
split their tips with the busboys.

Why don't you give that a try
and let me know how it turns out?

Old man, you so much as steal one
dime of mine, I will castrate you.

I've already warned him.

Hey, Walt.

- Hey, big boy, business is really picking up?
- It's great.

- This upscale idea of yours is really good.
- Yeah it is.

So I'm in the John
and I'm thinking,

"how can he put even more
money into the box?" You know?

- Yeah.
- "Add even more class?"

What did you come up with?

You add an "e"
on the end of grill.

G-r-i-l-l-e.

- That is a great idea, Walt.
- Thanks.

Why don't you just clean those two tables?
Then you can go join your friends.

Is that Candace out there? Yeah.

I thought you gave Zack Minty
his walking papers last spring.

What's that mean?

I just know how much
you hate him.

I don't hate him.
He's just a boy.

What I do hate is you being
afraid to tell me things.

That's because there's
nothing to tell, okay?

We're going out as a group.
It's not just me and Zack.

Hey, John, can you give us
a minute, please?

Thanks.

What about Donny? The boy from
the vineyard? I thought you two...

I haven't even gotten a letter.

Hey, it hasn't been that long and, let's
be fair, you haven't written him either.

And we still don't have e-mail.

Hey, you want me to
let John off too? No.

Okay.

Hey, where have you been?

I was talking to Audrey,
the manager over at the lamplighter.

She said they were slow all evening,
so was the eating house out on 92.

In fact, the only restaurant in Dexter
county that did any volume tonight was us.

I made great tips too.

Selling fajitas to mainers. Who would've
thought you could make a living doing that?

- You did! You did!
- Yeah, well, the lamplighter

may have done shit,
but they still outgrossed us.

- Because they sell booze.
- They sell booze.

Yeah.

Sure, we did good tonight.

We'll never ever do any better.
We can't put any more tables in.

We can't put any more people
at the tables we already got.

We killed ourselves
tonight and for what?

- I know, I know.
- Don't just say, "I know, I know," Miles.

What do you what from me, David?
I talked to Mrs. Whiting,

I sat down,
I showed her the books.

No, I don't want to hear
about Mrs. Whiting.

Jesus Christ!

What a good catholic
boy you are, Miles.

Somebody tells you
you can't have something,

you just genuflect
and accept it.

Look at yourself. Look!
Have you seen this?

Has it ever occurred to you every time
you come back from that woman's house,

you've got scratch marks on you?

- Have you thought about what that means?
- She's got a psychotic cat.

No, it means she's
toying with you, Miles.

She owns the whole
town, yeah yeah,

but she only owns you
because you let her.

- $500,000.
- What?

That's what the bookstore
on the vineyard costs.

The one you want me
to skip town and buy.

- Tell me, where am I gonna come up with that?
- Screw the bookstore,

- I'm talking about you.
- No, not "screw the bookstore."

Every time you want
something, really want it,

you shove it away in some dark corner
so you don't have to think about it,

as if you're gonna be
punished for wanting it!

Jesus, it breaks my heart!

- And we both know where you got that from.
- David!

And it's not dad, no. You know what,
charlene? This needs to be said.

Tell that woman to get us a
liquor license or go fuck herself!

- David!
- If you don't wanna do it for yourself, do it for Tick.

Because she's soaking up more of your
defeatism and passivity every day.

David. Look at your brother.

Just... be quiet
for a minute and look at him.

Shit.

Okay, I'm going home.

Sorry. I spoiled the party.

David, you don't have to go.

No, I do. It's time I got home
and tended to my pot empire.

That was a joke, Miles.

I've got one plant in the
basement, Miles, under a heat lamp.

- Whatever.
- Whatever's right.

I'd better go.
I'll be right back.

- Miles.
- Hey, bill.

Hey. He does care
about you, you know.

He just thinks
you eat too much shit.

I take it you agree?

I don't know, Miles.

You've got to be the most
cautious man I've ever run across.

Yeah.

You know how when Max wants
something, how he's always got a plan?

No matter how hard you try,
you can't distract him.

David thinks you get
distracted by other people.

Yeah, well, you guys don't
even know the worst of it.

I invited Cindy Whiting
to homecoming tomorrow.

That's really sweet, Miles.

God knows that woman could
use a little joy in her life.

That is a really nice
thing that you've done.

It was Cindy who nursed my mother
through the cancer right to the end.

Mrs. Whiting took her in,
but it was Cindy who took care of her.

I left school to be close by, but the
truth is I never got out there much.

My mother was furious
with me for quitting.

Why do you think I crossed that river
every day for the last 10 years?

So you could end up
working at the empire grill?

Don't do this, Miles.

You go back to school,
you graduate.

I'm going to graduate, mom,

just not this semester.

- For now, this is where I belong.
- No.

- As soon as you are better, I'm gonna go back.
- I'm not going to get better.

- Don't pretend...
- Mom.

- No. Miles.
- Look look.

Mom, Mrs. Whiting is
making me a manager.

- Later...
- but you'll end up trapped there.

Can't you see, Miles?

She knows how much you love me.

Don't be kept from your life.

- Don't for me. Not for me.
- Mom.

I guess you heard most of that.

Miles... It's not your fault.

Thank you for taking care of her.
You have been so...

Don't be silly, Miles.

She's been a mother to me.

All those years
she cared for me.

My only mother really.

I'll go in. I can
usually calm her down.

I went over there
one night near the end.

Cindy was coming out
of my mother's room.

I don't know how
we got started, but...

At first it was
just her kissing me,

and then I was kissing her too.

And then we were, you know,

grappling, groping.

We were half undressed and
then my mother cried out.

Cindy pulled herself
together and went back in.

I was supposed to stay
there and wait for her.

But by the time she got
my mother settled in,

I realized what
I was doing and I...

I just got out of there,
I bolted.

For the longest time,
I've ima... imagined

what her face must have looked like
when she discovered I was gone.

There's no need
to repeat that story.

Get rid of a hangover,
that's pretty good.

Yeah.

David's right about one thing.

I don't really go
after what I want, do I?

Miles.

It's not like I don't know you've
had this crush on me like... forever.

You know how fond I am of you.

You're about
the sweetest man I know.

- Do you wanna know what?
- What?

I'd like to take you home and...

Make love with you.

Except I...

I couldn't stand
how disappointed you'd be,

and you wouldn't be able
to conceal it either.

Not with that face of yours.

Well, the next time
you feel that impulse,

let me know.
I just might want to risk it.

Hey, listen.

You did a good deed
hiring that Voss boy.

You know what they say... no
good deed goes... -...Unpunished.

He's had it pretty rough.

His parents were low-rent
drug dealers down in Portland.

When he was little,
they used to stuff him in a laundry bag

and hang him on the inside of a closet
door while they conducted business.

They didn't always
come back for him right away.

- Good night, bea.
- So long.

It's awful. Did you hear that?

So my dear brother has this notion
that you and I should go into business.

Well, I've heard dumber ideas.

It'd have to be
your call, Miles.

I'm not quite sure
I see how to make it work.

Let me know
if you change your mind.

You married my daughter,
so I owe you one.

I'm gonna hit the shower.

Yeah? I have a better idea.

God. God.

God!

God. God!

Miles never would have
found that spot. God!

- Have a good day now.
- Thanks, you too.

Empire grill.

Father Mark, hi.

Right now?

I'm running late actually.

I can't figure out
how he got it open.

He was always asking me
for the combination

and then he'd get mad at me
when I wouldn't give it to him.

- How much was in there?
- Just a few hundred bucks is all.

And they took
the parish station wagon.

"They"?

I found this
on his bedside table.

Sunny Florida.

I don't believe it.

Forgot my purse. Be right back.

I'll miss you.

1943?

- Couldn't find seats further up?
- No, Janine.

- Put that on before you catch a cold.
- I'm plenty warm, Beatrice.

Yeah, well, your nipples tell a
different story. Where's the silver fox?

You know Walt, someplace he's not supposed
to be, that's where you'll find him.

Right, like your bedroom.

What in the world
are you sitting on?

My hemorrhoid cushion. Why?
Does it embarrass you?

No it doesn't embarrass me. I don't care
if you show people your actual hemorrhoids.

What are you in such
a foul mood about?

I haven't decided whether
to tell you yet or not.

Who is that woman with Miles?
Looks like the Whiting girl.

What are they doing
on the fairhaven side?

Well, there's no room here.

It serves you right.

You divorce that good man,

he turns around
and marries millions

and you end up with Walt.

- Beatrice, screw you.
- Stop it.

How are you doing, miss Whiting?

Hey, why don't you
sit down right here?

Yeah, these folks won't mind
shoving down. Come on.

- On four.
- Watch a reverse!

Saw that cute little girl
of yours across the way.

Her and my Zack might be getting
back together is what I'm hearing.

Which one is Zack?

Right there, number 56.
He plays linebacker.

He's only a sophomore,
but if he keeps on like he's going,

the colleges will be interested...
scholarships and such.

I warned him though,
I catch him eating steroids

and I'll bust him as quick as I
would a kid with a kilo of crack.

Is crack sold by the kilo?

However it's sold, zero tolerance
is what I'm saying. Come on!

Look, they're behind.

- I'll get it.
- Thanks.

Excuse me.

Come on, defense.

They're only down
by two touchdowns.

It's still the first
quarter, miss Whiting.

I'll go in. I can
usually calm her down.

- Miles?
- Mrs. Whiting, her thoughts are just...

It's the morphine
talking, dear boy.

She's not thinking clearly.

She can't admit how much
she needs you here,

how much of a comfort
you are to her.

I don't think I am actually.

Could you do that?

Could you let her die
knowing you just walked away?

You see? This is why I never
tell you anything, Beatrice.

I'm sorry, sweetie, I am,

but there is a kind
of justice in this.

Really? Maybe you'd like to explain how me
getting fucked all over again is justice.

How old did you think he was?

50 is what he tells everybody.

"Look at me, big boy. I'm 50,
I've got the body of a 40-year-old."

I said from the beginning
you were trading down.

"I said from the beginning.
I said from the beginning."

All right then,
make the best of it.

You're always going on about how
great the sex is, so what if he's 60?

Because, in 10 years, by the time
I'm as old as he's pretending to be,

I'm gonna be humping
an old man, Beatrice.

He needs help already.

He takes pills from this
little container with no label.

I think it's Viagra.

Go ahead.

Come on, stop 'em.

Our defense is gonna be plumb
tuckered out by halftime!

Hut hut hike!

Yeah. Yeah!

Did you see that hit?

Relax relax, give him some air.

- Is he hurt?
- No, he just had his bell rung is all.

Actually, I think he is hurt
and the hit was late.

Well, Miles, I know
you went to college and all,

but football is one thing I know
a little more about than you.

Why don't you go sit
with the other experts?

You're too "plumb
tuckered out" to move.

That boy is a class act,
miss Whiting.

Miles here don't agree but...

You know, for some reason, it embarrasses
him that we used to be friends,

which is okay I guess.

Except he seems to think his
kid is too good for mine,

and that I do mind.
That I do mind.

That's what I'm talking about!
Who's the man?

Yeah!

- Hi, grandma.
- Hi there, Tickeroo. Where have you been hiding?

With my friends.

My snake drawing got
picked for the art show.

- I thought your teacher didn't like it.
- You drew a snake?

They brought in a judge
from the college

and he and Mrs. Roderigue got
into an argument out in the hall.

You caused all that ruckus
by drawing a snake?

My friend John,
his got chosen too.

That made her even madder.

Excuse me, don't I rate a hello?

Tell your mother to put her sweatshirt on.
Tell her she looks cold.

- You do look cold, mom.
- I'm not cold.

The way that we cheered whenever
our team was scoring a touchdown.

- Look how terrific you look.
- Thank you.

But you know what, sweetheart,

you should put your sweatshirt on.
You look cold.

Sweetie?

The prettiest place in empire
falls, don't you think?

Yeah, sad but true.

Someone put flowers
on mother's grave.

I always leave flowers.

A bunch on daddy's,
another on grace's.

To me she was like...

I didn't think I could
bear it when she died.

You never noticed before?

I don't come here.

I should, but...

- Tell me that wasn't Timmy.
- Miles.

Mother won't visit
daddy's grave either.

I usually have to come alone.

Look! I don't understand this.

I can't believe this.
It always happens.

I put these here the same
day I did your mother's

and they're dead.

It's as if his grave is cursed.

No, I think a dog,
lifted its leg on it.

It was your mother who told me it
was okay to love him if I wanted to.

What a woman feels
deep in her heart...

Is her own business.

- 'Night-night, sweetie.
- Aren't you going to sleep?

I'm gonna read
a little first, okay?

Mom?

Do you like Charlie?

I guess. Do you?

Do you like him better than dad?

Because I like dad better.

- You know who I like most?
- Who?

You.

I'm sorry I got
my pants all wet.

I know, sweetie.
Sometimes things just happen

whether you mean them to or not, you know?
'Night-night.

I'll be glad
when this goes away.

What?

Today, at the beach,
I want it to be just us.

That's too bad, honey, 'cause I
already invited Charlie to join us.

I'll tell dad.

You'll have to wait
till he's out of jail.

He was arrested last week for
being a public nuisance, Miles,

and not for the first time.

He becomes a public nuisance when
he tires of being a private one.

That's a lie.

No, it's the truth,

and you are old enough
to know it.

And I'll tell you
something else,

when we get home,
there are gonna be some changes,

so be prepared.

I checked with the
restaurant this morning.

That five orders of
clams casino is a record.

You're mad at me?

You're mad at your mom?

She's an awfully nice
person, you know.

I know.

Everybody deserves a chance to be
happy, don't you think?

She is happy.

And there comes a time in
your life when you realize

that if don't take
the opportunity,

you won't ever get another.

She is happy.

I guess I was talking about me.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Tell me this isn't a dream.

Tell me I never have to wake up.

- You... you live here, dude?
- Leave him alone, Zack.

Well, where is your car?

Yeah, where is your car?

We don't have one.
My grandma just...

Do you have indoor plumbing, or do you
and your grandma shit in the woods?

You losing it?

You losing it? You losing it?

Stop it! Both of you, stop it!

No, I just had to get out.

- That's better.
- Sorry.

'Night, dickhead.

Here, boy. Hey, buddy.

- Thanks.
- You're welcome.

- Thanks for everything.
- Okay.

- See you later? Okay.
- Yeah, have a nice evening.

You will tell me,
won't you, dear boy?

Tell you what, Mrs. Whiting?

When you get to the part
where you surprise me.

How easy it is to get
stalled in the shallows,

life's tiny Eddies
swirling all around

close to the shelter
and safety of the shore.

And how hard to strike out
from the middle of the stream,

where the stronger currents
of destiny await.

And where... who knows?

You might
just surprise yourself.

Sometimes all it takes
is being pushed

just a little too far.