harry: Mexico?
carrington: That's what she said.
harry: Damn.
carrington: Oh, she's been there before.
harry: It sounds so far away ...
carrington: She lived there for years.
harry: Why'd she come back?
carrington: Ask her! Sometimes it's hard to get a straight answer.
harry: So I recall. Well, that old girl's trouble anyhow.
carrington: I'll tell her you said so.
harry: Eh, she'd wear it with pride.
carrington: She would, wouldn't she?
...
carrington: How's business?
harry: Shitty.
carrington: Ha ha.
harry: Sure, you laugh.
carrington: Sorry, Harry.
harry: You laugh, but where'll you go to sit and talk all day when they shut this place down?
carrington: Oh, I appreciate the stakes.
harry: It'd be a different story if someone bought a drink with cash now and then!
carrington: Sure, Harry, we've all got our troubles. Which reminds me ...
harry: I'll pour 'em.
carrington: No, it's not that — as I was leaving the Bureau, I ran into someone else.
harry: Uh huh.
carrington: Your erstwhile janitor ...
harry: I bet. What'd he have to say?
carrington: In fact, he suggested he might come by and clean your facilities!
harry: He what? I told him never to —
carrington: Now, now, Harry, be kind.
harry: I told him —
[bar door opens and closes]
carrington: Here he is.
harry: Now?
carrington: `(Quietly.)` Be kind ...
harry: I'm always kind.
carrington: How does it look out there, Brandon?
brandon: It's pretty OK.
carrington: Sure.
brandon: The sun is out.
harry: Imagine that.
brandon: I mean it's clear skies.
carrington: Clear skies today.
...
brandon: Well, I'll get started.
harry: Listen, kid —
carrington: Just go on back, my young friend, we'll check in on you shortly.
brandon: Oh, it's just a couple of bathrooms.
harry: See, that attitude —
carrington: Go on back, Brandon.
brandon: OK. I'll start with the ladies'.
harry: ... fine.
brandon: There's nobody ... ?
harry: Naw, it's just us and the kids.
brandon: Oh, hey y'all. What are you watching?
harry: Some soap opera ...[if show=soap-opera]
carrington: "To Love a Red Moon"[if show=soap-opera]
brandon: Oh yeah, my mom used to watch this one.[if show=soap-opera]
carrington: The woman in this scene, Magda, she's a Martian banker. Her lover is the moon Deimos, but she's unfaithful.[if show=soap-opera]
carrington: It's very compelling![if show=soap-opera]
harry: Looks like a nature thing.[if show=turkey-hunting]
carrington: Hunting, I think.[if show=turkey-hunting]
harry: I guess you're paying closer attention.[if show=turkey-hunting]
harry: Knives. All day it's just knives on this channel.[if show=knife-show]
brandon: Scary.[if show=knife-show]
harry: Naw, it's a shopping thing. Need any knives? Ha ha.[if show=knife-show]
brandon: Uh, I'm good.[if show=knife-show]
harry: I can't tell what it's about.[if show=landscapes]
brandon: Travel?[if show=landscapes]
brandon: Looks like a nice place, wherever it is.[if show=landscapes]
harry: Game show.[if show=game-show]
brandon: Aw, man, I'm no good at this one.[if show=game-show]
harry: What, you've been on this show?[if show=game-show]
brandon: No, like, following along at home.[if show=game-show]
harry: History of the left turn.[if show=nascar]
brandon: Not a fan, huh?[if show=nascar]
harry: Oh, it's the, uh ...[if show=moon]
...[if show=moon]
harry: ... the moon.[if show=moon]
...[if show=misc]
harry: I don't know what this is.[if show=misc]
brandon: Oh yeah I do that, too.[if show=misc]
brandon: Whenever I turn on the TV, I always try to find something I've never seen before.[if show=misc]
carrington: Ah, television static. I'm a connoiseur of the stuff.[if show=static]
harry: Of course you are.[if show=static]
...
brandon: Well ...
...
[footsteps and bathroom door opening]
...
carrington: See Harry? A little bit of kindness, and you got your janitor back.
harry: When was I ever anything but kind to him?
harry: I let him sleep in the office whenever he misses his bus.
harry: But he's not dependable.
harry: Off he goes — always when I need him most!
carrington: He thinks he ought to earn a little pay.
harry: I can't afford to pay any fixed wages, though I wish I could!
carrington: So, when someone else `can` pay ...
harry: Then someone else will have to!
carrington: Not so loud. He'll hear you.
harry: I want him to! He'll have to, eventually.
...
carrington: Harry, I believe you were about to pour us a couple drinks?
harry: This damn bar is like a muddy, black little pond, where everyone who stops to drink falls in and drowns.
carrington: Now, Harry, who would drink from a muddy black pond?
harry: There's always someone thirsty enough.
carrington: Hm. And what are you, in this colorful metaphor?
harry: Just another set of bones at the bottom.
carrington: I'll drink to that ...
harry: Hell, so will I. Ha ha.
[drinks pouring]
harry: They're falling in love.[if show=soap-opera]
carrington: Eh?[if show=soap-opera]
harry: On TV.[if show=soap-opera]
harry: They're never gonna catch that turkey.[if show=turkey-hunting]
carrington: Eh?[if show=turkey-hunting]
harry: On TV.[if show=turkey-hunting]
carrington: Ah. I hope they never do.[if show=turkey-hunting]
harry: Have you ever seen so many knives on one TV show?[if show=knife-show]
carrington: I can't recall.[if show=knife-show]
harry: Seems like the kinda thing you'd remember ...[if show=knife-show]
harry: It looks familiar, right? This place on TV right now.[if show=landscapes]
carrington: I don't believe I've ever been there.[if show=landscapes]
carrington: But yes, it does.[if show=landscapes]
harry: These shows are rigged. They work it all out in advance. All a big con.[if show=game-show]
carrington: It's entertainment.[if show=game-show]
harry: That's no reason to lie about it.[if show=game-show]
carrington: I rather think it's the `only` good reason.[if show=game-show]
harry: `(Gesturing at the TV.)` You follow this at all?[if show=nascar]
carrington: I prefer the horses.[if show=nascar]
harry: Not much happens on this moon show, huh?[if show=moon]
carrington: I find it riveting.[if show=moon]
harry: Not much on in the daytime, huh?[if show=misc]
carrington: Oh, I don't know. I'm enjoying this program, whatever it is.[if show=misc]
harry: Yeah, you would.[if show=misc]
harry: I gotta upgrade this old TV.[if show=static]
carrington: Upgrade?[if show=static]
harry: Yeah, big screen. Digital. No more of this fuzz between channels.[if show=static]
carrington: That "fuzz" is leftover photons from the "big bang," my friend.[if show=static]
carrington: It's like being in the delivery room for the birth of the universe![if show=static]
harry: Well, some of us have the decency not to stare.[if show=static]
harry: So how'd it go? Your play thing.
carrington: My "plaything?"
harry: You said you put on a play, right?
carrington: I `staged an experimental theater production`, yes.
harry: Pardon me.
...
carrington: If you must know ... it was a disaster.
harry: Sorry to hear that.
...
carrington: On the topic of my production, the less said, the better.
harry: Fine, change the subject!
...
carrington: It was doomed from the start, really.
carrington: As I watched the sun rise that morning in front of Equus Oils —[if two:carrington-play-location=gasstation]
harry: What's that?[if two:carrington-play-location=gasstation]
carrington: The gas station! Joseph's place.[if two:carrington-play-location=gasstation]
harry: Oh! How is old Joe?[if two:carrington-play-location=gasstation]
carrington: Reflective, these days. Aren't we all?[if two:carrington-play-location=gasstation]
harry: Wait — you did your play at a gas station?[if two:carrington-play-location=gasstation]
carrington: I `staged` ...[if two:carrington-play-location=gasstation]
carrington: Yes.[if two:carrington-play-location=gasstation]
harry: And nobody came out, huh? I'll be damned ...[if two:carrington-play-location=gasstation]
carrington: I had prepared a small seating area on the first floor of a subterranean self-storage facility.[if two:carrington-play-location=storage]
harry: I won't ask.[if two:carrington-play-location=storage]
carrington: The acoustics, Harry![if two:carrington-play-location=storage]
harry: Pretty nice, huh?[if two:carrington-play-location=storage]
carrington: Tremendous ... lonely ... melancholy.[if two:carrington-play-location=storage]
harry: Sounds like kind of a depressing place for a play.[if two:carrington-play-location=storage]
carrington: I spent hours tuning the Elkhorn Mine's old PA system to carry Frost's words with the perfect tonality.[if two:carrington-play-location=mine]
harry: The old mine?[if two:carrington-play-location=mine]
carrington: Yes. In a flash of inspiration, I decided to stage the production there.[if two:carrington-play-location=mine]
harry: They haven't used that mine in years — isn't it dangerous? Full of bats or something?[if two:carrington-play-location=mine]
carrington: A few bats. Mostly ghosts.[if two:carrington-play-location=mine]
harry: Weird choice. But what do I know ...[if two:carrington-play-location=mine]
carrington: An uncommon venue. By design!
harry: It's unique, I'll give you that.
carrington: Even if an audience had materialized, there were other gaps in the production.
harry: OK.
carrington: The cast and crew ... also absent.
harry: Damn.
carrington: So, I alone stood there at sunrise, with no play, and no audience to miss it.
...
carrington: And you? What's been occupying your days and nights, my friend?
harry: Not much. Sometimes I go down to the store and restock, but then it's straight back home.
carrington: "Home." You mean this place?
harry: I guess. Sounds pathetic, doesn't it?
carrington: Not at all.
harry: No, you had it right at first. This bar is no home.
carrington: It all depends on what you mean by "home."
...
carrington: Talking to Brandon the other day, I got the sense he sees this bar as a kind of home, too ...
harry: Ha! He's like a dog that walked in off the street.
carrington: And what do you do, Harry, when a dog walks in off the street?
harry: You give him some water; a dog never did anything wrong.
carrington: "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."
harry: What's that from?
carrington: A poem.
harry: I bet. It sounds like a greeting card.
carrington: It's meant to sound a little cynical, I believe.
harry: What's the poem called?
carrington: "The Death of the Hired Man," by Robert Frost.
harry: Oh, uh ... of course ...
carrington: Only the poem which served as the basis for my doomed experimental stage production.
harry: I'm sure it's a great poem.
carrington: The next line is, "I should have called it something you somehow haven't to deserve."
harry: Huh.
carrington: Mean anything to you?
harry: Well, uh ... is he a christian man?
carrington: Frost?
...
carrington: Yes, I think he was — with a healthy measure of doubt.
harry: Then it sounds to me like the grace of God.
carrington: Hm.
harry: You get it when you're baptized — it's automatic. You don't have to do anything to earn it.
harry: You just try to be worthy of it.
...
harry: What do `you` think?
carrington: Harry, you know I only attend church for the acoustics.
harry: Then what's the line mean? To you.
carrington: Oh, I take it very literally. It's a `moral` claim.
carrington: There is, for each of us, a place called "home."
carrington: The relationship is inalienable. It's our birthright. No one may keep us from this place.
harry: Says who, though? I mean — who enforces it?
carrington: If God won't, then it's up to us.
harry: And I guess you think the same goes for that kid back there.
carrington: Am I so transparent?
harry: So why's it up to `us`, though? Doesn't his grandma work in a bank or something?
carrington: Does she?
harry: I'm pretty sure I heard that.
carrington: But Harry, don't you think that if he `could` get help from family ...
harry: Sure, maybe they had a fight.
carrington: He looked exhausted.
harry: Yeah, he did.
carrington: Why don't you go check on him.
harry: It's kinda quiet back there, huh?
carrington: Not to scold him, Harry — just see how he's doing.
harry: Yeah, alright.
carrington: `(Turning to the TV.)` I'll catch up on the melodrama of the day.[if show=soap-opera]
carrington: `(Turning to the TV.)` I'll sit and see how the turkey fares.[if show=turkey-hunting]
carrington: `(Turning to the TV.)` I'll catch up with the latest showroom cutlery.[if show=knife-show]
carrington: `(Turning to the TV.)` I'll try to work out what place this is meant to be.[if show=landscapes]
carrington: `(Turning to the TV.)` I'll let you know who wins.[if show=game-show]
carrington: `(Turning to the TV.)` I'll catch up with the races.[if show=nascar]
carrington: `(Turning to the TV.)` I'll sit and see if that small sailing cloud will hit or miss the moon.[if show=moon]
carrington: `(Turning to the TV.)` I'll sit and see if this picture ever resolves into something intelligible.[if show=misc]
carrington: `(Turning to the TV.)` I'll sit and watch the snow.[if show=static]
...
carrington: `(To EMILY.)` Can't settle on a program?[if behavior=restless]
emily: Too many good choices.[if behavior=restless]
emily: Or, I don't know ... I guess I always watch TV like this.[if behavior=restless]
emily: My friend Ted calls it my "hummingbird mind."[if behavior=restless]
carrington: Well, you've been glued to this program all day. What do you make of it?[if behavior=fixated]
emily: Everybody's secretly in love with everybody else.[if behavior=fixated][if show=soap-opera]
emily: It's so boring![if behavior=fixated][if show=soap-opera]
carrington: Too consistent — I see![if behavior=fixated][if show=soap-opera]
emily: I just watch it for the music. And the turkey sounds.[if behavior=fixated][if show=turkey-hunting]
emily: I'm trying to figure out if I went to school with this hand model.[if behavior=fixated][if show=knife-show]
emily: Yeah, I might as well move to ... wherever this is.[if behavior=fixated][if show=landscapes]
emily: Oh, no, it was a different game show before.[if behavior=fixated][if show=game-show]
emily: I mean, they're all kind of the same.[if behavior=fixated][if show=game-show]
emily: Yeah I've never really watched it before, but it's pretty good.[if behavior=fixated][if show=nascar]
emily: I like how the cars all look like these normal sedans, but under the hood they're monsters.[if behavior=fixated][if show=nascar]
emily: It's admirable, to be stronger than you look.[if behavior=fixated][if show=nascar]
carrington: As I understand, the sport began among rum runners.[if behavior=fixated][if show=nascar]
emily: It's the moon! Everybody loves the moon![if behavior=fixated][if show=moon]
emily: Have I? I didn't even notice. Ha ha.[if behavior=fixated][if show=misc]
emily: I guess I have a lot on my mind.[if behavior=fixated][if show=misc]
carrington: You seem to have settled on a program eventually.[if behavior=settled]
emily: I watch this every day.[if behavior=settled]
carrington: An old favorite.[if behavior=settled]
emily: Not really. I just always settle on this. It's magnetic, somehow.[if behavior=settled]
emily: Gotta see what happens next, I guess![if behavior=settled][if show=soap-opera]
emily: I always root for the turkey.[if behavior=settled][if show=turkey-hunting]
emily: I don't even like knives. I just like the way they talk about them.[if behavior=settled][if show=knife-show]
emily: I'm planning a trip to ... wherever this is.[if behavior=settled][if show=landscapes]
emily: I don't even really understand the rules of this game.[if behavior=settled][if show=game-show]
emily: I like how the cars all look like these normal sedans, but under the hood they're monsters.[if behavior=settled][if show=nascar]
emily: It's admirable, to be stronger than you look.[if behavior=settled][if show=nascar]
carrington: As I understand, the sport began among rum runners.[if behavior=settled][if show=nascar]
emily: I mean, who can resist the moon?[if behavior=settled][if show=moon]
carrington: Not I![if behavior=settled][if show=moon]
emily: I don't even know what it is![if behavior=settled][if show=misc]
carrington: Like a moth to a lamp.[if behavior=settled][if show=misc]
carrington: What do you see in it? The TV static.[if behavior=static]
emily: Well, it's not the birth of the universe.[if behavior=static][if heard-about-bou]
carrington: Oh, I just say things like that for Harry's benefit.[if behavior=static][if heard-about-bou]
emily: You like to grind his gears.[if behavior=static][if heard-about-bou]
carrington: Honestly, I don't know why he tolerates me.[if behavior=static][if heard-about-bou]
emily: You're friends.[if behavior=static][if heard-about-bou]
...[if behavior=static]
emily: I just like the way it looks. And sometimes I see shapes, like when you look at clouds.[if behavior=static]
emily: Sorry your play was a bust.
carrington: Ah, live theater is always a risk. That's what makes it interesting!
emily: I agree.
carrington: Sure, you're a performer, you understand.
emily: I was in a movie recently.
carrington: I hadn't heard!
emily: Yeah! A western. Kind of. A glitch western.
carrington: You have my complete attention.
emily: I was just thinking about your poem.
carrington: Oh?
emily: Yeah, but I was thinking about it as a riddle.
emily: Like, "What's the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in?"
carrington: And the answer is "Home?"
emily: No. It's "a grave."
[Harry returns]
carrington: Our host returns! But so quickly ...
...
carrington: ... well? Did you and the young man have a heart-to-heart conversation? How is he?
harry: He's asleep. On the floor, with a roll of paper towels as a pillow.
carrington: Ah ... try to remember, Harry —
harry: No, it's alright.
harry: Let him rest.