helluva talent, that kid.
probably be in the bigs in another year.
must be something to have that kind of talent. he's just a kid, nineteen, twenty tops, and if he stays healthy and he stays focused, the world is his oyster. guys like you and me, we squandered those opportunities long ago.
huh?
and me.
you knew where you were going?
at nineteen?
the only thing i knew for certain was that i would run to the corner store every day for beer.
you could focus?
the duke of diligence?
duck.
the polestar prince.
i thought i did grow up.
yeah.
it's a process.
i thought i got direction.
yeah.
east.
my direction is east. i parked in the deck.
corner?
we're always going in different directions.
and much less adventurous.
go?
then go.
get a beer?
can't.
gotta get home.
family, my man. take time off for a ballgame ya should probably tend to the family too. you should try it sometime.
east.
huh?
what?
what's going.
what the hell? officer two spins rick to face him.
yes.
no sir.
a little? he represents your force?
his psychosis doesn't appear disabling.
why am i here?
are you asking me?
accused? accused of what?
huh?
yes, but.
i do.
i guess.
i am, but i'm not sure it was responsible.
why am i here?
yeah, she's my wife.
no, no i wasn't.
again, no.
yes, but.
how can you be sure it was me?
time.
yes, yes i did.
what about cindy?
my ex, cindy, what about her responsibilities to the children?
guilty of what?
i can't do this alone. don't make me do this alone. i'll never make it.
hi guys.
i love you too, phillip.
i love you more.
come here guys. i want to talk to you. the boys gather round.
i don't know when we're going to see your mom again.
she's kind of mad at daddy.
no, baby, not at all. your mom needs time to work through some things. so, for awhile, it's just going to be us.
to figure out who she is, where she's going, what she wants.
she misses you too, baby. and this isn't permanent.  we're going to fight this.  we're going to appeal. we'll take it to the supreme court if we have to.
of course i want you. i just don't think i should have to do this alone.
huh?
so it seems.
mom, don't.  okay?
i know, but what's done is done.
i know mom.
yeah, i guess.
watch the kids one night? i could use some time to myself.
we're okay.
i like it here, mom.
it's home and it's stable. the one thing the boys need right now is stability.
it's been five days, mom. i'm not hiding. i just need time to adjust.
do i know this guy?
it's hard.
and you can help?
yeah.
no, you seemed to cover everything. ms. heath bends down to the kid's level.
so, did everything go okay?
did you have fun boys?
get those seat belts on. the kids reluctantly comply.
so, how was your day?
didn't they feed you? they said they would feed you. the brochure said meals provided.
thirteen hours a day doesn't leave me much time for my kids, but a job's a job, right?
two hundred and fifty bucks?
two-hundred-and-fifty-bucks?
i give you sixty-five hours of my time and you give me two hundred fifty bucks?
what's not to love?
i'm a little short.
checks?
i'm sorry, i'm clueless. my wife handled the checks.
does it help that i know frank ryan? he told me to mention his name.
i work for him.
great.
huh?
so, i'm forty-five dollars short.
really?
potty train? nicky?
are you a big boy?
big boys go potty on the potty, nicholas. nicholas go potty on the potty?
you're brothers go potty on the potty. daddy goes potty on the potty. nicholas go potty on the potty?
daddy will buy nicky a toy from the store.
if nicky goes potty on the potty.
really?
i think we're making progress.
seventy-two cents. here's two- fifty.
i know and i'm working on that.
he's going to be fine. they're working on him now. from what they told me it's just a few stitches.
mom?
how can i help?
hi little buddy.
i need you to be a good boy, okay?
so, did you have fun today.
did you play with all your friends?
phillip!
that's a big people word. you're a little people, and little people don't use big people words.
i'm sorry.
look i'm really sorry.
sure, i guess.
insurance?
i don't think i have any.
i don't think i do.
can i run a tab?
i'm not even responsible for myself. how am i suppose to raise three kids?
i don't see how.
god doesn't pay day-care.
could you watch them?
how `bout tonight, so i can catch a breath?
i'll just ask god to watch them. he never abandons his children.
i don't want your money mom.
you can do it.
would you do it for a nickel?
watch daddy.
daddy go potty in the potty.
yes, nicky?
hi.
oh, right, i'm glad you could.
i was just demonstrating the art of.
great.
you have a kid.
not criticizing, just surprised. i don't believe anyone at their old day-care had kids. if they did they kept them in a closet and only brought them out on special occasions. christmas, easter, an occasional birthday, and maybe when they had friends over for dinner, but only as a status symbol. it was like they'd say, "here's the white picket fence. here's the suv. here's the dog. oh yes, here's the 2.5 children. kids you can get back in the closet now."
that has potential.
so, what's his name?
hello zach. i'm rick.
you got me there. i am old.
older than dirt. when i was a kid we didn't have dirt. we had rocks and we had hammers. if we wanted dirt we banged a few rocks with really big hammers, and then we had dirt.
this is kristian. this is phillip, and the little guy from the potty, is nicholas. guys, this is zach and.
mel.
thanks. so's your's.
huh?
i'll have to try that. so, any questions about the job? melanie moves towards the boys.
you have a real knack there.
whatever it is, i've never seen them take to a woman like that. melanie smiles.
you want the job?
maybe we should.
i don't know.  maybe.
um.  three.
um.  kinda.
you can't.
that was incredible.
i know i haven't known you very long, but i there's something i need to say.
was it something i said?
yeah, it was good.  kinda okay.  pretty much sucked.
why can't i find a woman like you?
i feel bad for the boys. they don't have a "mom". she'll always be their mother, but she'll never be their mom.
you want to stay and.
going?
you sure?
ok.
almost, baby boy. almost.
yeah, i.
i suppose. i don't know if you'd call it direction, but there's a definite sense of purpose.
yeah, but is it good for the kids?
only two kinds of people make it in this world, boy; those that are smart and those that are strong. if you don't want to be smart and do your homework then you can be strong and do pushups.
i'm probably not as demanding of them as i should be.
 move the hell out of my house.
ya gotta let them be what they're going to be.
and you do this with your kids?
it's a struggle, going at it alone, but.
what?
i'm just saying it's hard.
it does have its advantages, i suppose.
uh.
sure.
he went to grab a couple beers.
carrie, i don't even have the funds to buy my own beer.
for finding me.
go potty, buddy.
i thank you for everything, but it's time to move on.
i don't know, frank, but i'm worth more than this.
phillip, what's wrong?
easy on the drinks guys.
we're not going to fight over the bathroom.
huh? oh, this? nothing!
i took off work to be here.
so, what do you want?
i don't think that's a good idea.
you forfeited that obligation, remember?
you abandoned your kids!
is there?
you think they even know who you are?
you keep saying that.
huh?
hi guys.
come on guys. someone is here to see you.
three hours.
where are you going.
what about the boys? what about me?
what are you talking about?
she's their mother.
she's their mother.
she's their mother.
you think this is easy? you think raising these boys is something i want to do alone? every day is like a prison sentence. every thing i do, every decision i make is directly affected by the boundaries of my responsibility. i have three children, but i have no me. everywhere i go people stare at me.
they stare at me, and i know what they're thinking.
give your mom a hug, guys, then get in the house.
for?
but?
i could have told you that.
at whose expense? huh, cindy? at whose expense? who's going to dry their tears tomorrow when they realize your never coming back? who's going to rock them to sleep at night when they ask why mommy doesn't love them?
i don't know, buddy.
yes nicky?
she loves you too.
don't you yell! if you have something to say, come here and tell me.
yeah?
what were you doing in there?
who locked the door?
they'll be together though, right?
come on guys we're out of here.
i'm sorry, i made a mistake.
can i get some help here.
can you help me?
i don't know.
i don't know.
i can't fucking do this.
but i.
how?
it's not worth a lot, maybe a few hundred bucks, but it might keep you in soap for a year.
i didn't mean it like that?
i'm sorry, i'm going to have to reschedule.
responsibility calls.
once upon a time.
get your coats on.
mom, i have an idea, but i need your help.
put your checkbook away. what i need you can't buy.
for you to believe in me.
well, guys, i guess this is it.
yes we can.
yes we can.
what is it, kris?
yes we can.
kris!
put the stone down.
no buts: put the stone down.
i knew this was a hard climb, but.  a resting climber appears.
yeah.
that too.
so, what's your point.
i'm okay.
go ahead.
we're not stopping. we're just resting.
we can do this.
we can do this!
i just needed clarification.
i know if i have to, i can do this alone, but do i have to do this alone? a hushed murmur rises in the audience. the judge raps his gavel on the bench.
i don't know.
i don't know.
but.
i have. i have laid my heart out on the line time and time again, only to walk away empty handed. this love, this caring, this sharing of life, it's a sentence and my heart has been condemned. it doesn't matter who i've told, what's in my heart is never quite enough. the people i have cared for most have shunned me in life and in love. unanswered phone calls.  unnoticed displays of affection.  a rose that withers on the doorstep.  no matter what i do, it's never enough. just once, just one fucking time, i want to be enough.
i'm a proud man, sometimes foolish.
i have a long way to go before i could ever be the man you need me to be.
and i got confused between what i should have done and what i thought was right.
i put you on a pedestal and then i knocked you down. it wasn't fair.
you were more a mother to my boys than they have ever known. you were more a woman to me than i have ever deserved.
you're not going to make this easy, are you?
i can live my life alone. i can raise my kids alone. i can walk this path alone. i'd much rather do it with you.
can't?
i shouldn't have come here.
get what?
i think so.  i don't know.
i suppose i am.
she's my best friend.  or was.
yes.
yes.
with music and poetry.
there's fire.
she knows.
no.
it only confuses things.
you didn't marry your best friend?
i thought you had things all planned out.
it's not too late, you know?
go home, john. go home and talk to your best friend the way you talk to me.
i need you to watch the boys.
to talk.
i know.
they're at my parents.
is that what you thought?
excuse us for a moment okay?
what is your problem?
what?
quit your bitching.
i can't believe you're a waitress.
i thought you liked my kids.
i deserved that.
this isn't about the kids.
it's about me, the selfish prick.
hear me out, okay?
okay, okay.
melanie, there is a grace about you that reminds me how clumsy i am. there is an honesty about you that reminds me how deceitful i can be. there is a beauty in your eyes that reminds me how ugly i've become. there is a kindness in your voice that contradicts my coarseness. there is a glow around you that illuminates my dullness. there is spirit in you that challenges my laziness, but most of all, there is a woman in you, that sparks my desire, a desire to be graceful and honest and beautiful and kind. a desire to be better than i am or ever thought i could be.
i think my ten seconds are up.
i love you.
if i give you my heart will you promise to treat it softly? kiss it when it hurts? put it in a box and know that it belongs to you?
i said i love you.
i love you. i love you, i love you, i love you.
been waiting long?
i had to find me first. i hope you plan on walking, cause i'm not sure i can carry you.
one step at a time?
maybe you could carry me?
it's time to move on.
not even.
it's funny, the tricks the mind can play on you.  but the judge, he sat right over there.  and the jury sat right there.  and the audience was filled with all these people who didn't really give a shit about me.
and they all sat passing judgement on me, not knowing the situation, just staring over their schoolmarm spectacles and pointing their crooked fingers.
always casting dispersions.
hear what?
duck!