the principal did'nothing. like schoolyard terrorism is no worse than being tardy. what's the matter with education? back when, you could go to school and learn about betsy ross and.  mollusks and.  not get stabbed on the way home.
not listening .lalalala.
will you slow down.
i think i'm.  slow down.  i'm gaining weight. honey, take a look at my waist.
is my dress too tight?
really, my waist isn't too big?
all right, already. two-thirty. you do n't leave the building till then. i'll be there.
give me a kiss, you snot.
two-thirty.
you want anything from the store? he's gone.
you're sweet, nick. he cracks a wet smile. mary, aware, unhands the artichoke. moves on.
i'm here to withdraw money. this stumps the brainless beast. and over by the teller, while he's stuffing her bag.
tell me.  what happened?
i was held up.
at the bank. honey, were they the same ones? don't cry.
he's looking for answers. he's upset.
he did. he turned the other cheek and they punched it.
you're late. i'll try again later. horus finds his hat on the table. his eyes fall on mary, her back to him. she's glued to the set.
yes.
what could you do? horns - hat in hand, goes to the door. he wants to stay.
coffee's by the.  door.
there's something about him.  i don't know. a female reporter concludes the footage.
just a quick one.
i want to.
"once there was a way, to get back homeward. once there was a way, to get back home."
shut up.
"sleep pretty darling, do not cry. and i will sing a lullaby"
"golden slumber fills your eyes. smiles awake you when you rise." hancock wavers on consciousness - quite unlike him.
no.  no.  no!
glasses.
you know hancock?
which piece would you like?
horus is in the securities business.
it's a large department store, over a couple million in merchandise.  stereos, jewelry. on three floors.
horus, what do i do?
what do i do with him.  when you're gone? i have to entertain this super.  she doesn't finish her.  a noise interrupts her - seizes the participants.
aaron.
he comes home crying.
oh, i forgot to make coffee. she rushes into the kitchen. horus stops her.
no, i'll make it right now.
what're you doing? she's taken by this scene.
about him?
no. they're lying through their collective teeth.
go to sleep. you know what dad says. tomorrow always feels better.
have a good one.
what were you doing in the street? you ripped it pretty good.
it'll be all right.
it's just the seams. i can sew it back.
this. it's just the seams.'i'll take good care of it.
yes. me. i can. and i'll re-button it for you, all right? hancock acknowledges with a smile - a slight one.
(continuing} are you okay? no reply. he stares at her - simply.
let's see.
come on, i want to see.
i saw it, right? a little cloud. she peers into his hands - where only a pool of wetness remains. and with her fingers, mary reaches inside to feel the rain. hancock watches this - the innocence in her face, as her hand touches his. he stares down at her hand.  at the wedding ring. mary-pulls her hand away.
the water is dirty.
it's not your fault.
you should slow down. rest.
it must be hard.
to always do right.  do good when all you want to do is rest.
where.  who are you?
you probably get a lot of practice explaining yourself, on account of who you are and what you do.
it's like, everything you say sounds.  so perfect. like you rehearse them so they'll be that way. i mean, not to say that it's insincere.
so, you never answered. back there.  what were you doing in the middle of the street?
you're still up? she moves behind the bathroom door. self-conscious.
nick's market. are you sick?
you want some milk? i'll heat it up for you, how about that?
yes, he is. he sits there in bed, struggling with the words. mary continues dressing - oblivious.
yes.
what facts? he's not a hero.
aaron likes him.
no. i have to start on dinner. so how about that glass of milk? horus - shakes his head, annoyed.
all right. try to get some sleep. with that, she's out the door. horns alone in bed, staring into the vanity mirror at his wretched face. he spots a brown paper bag on the chair. goes to inspect. inside - hancock's tattered trenchcoat. oy, what does it mean? horus returns to bed, distraught. he buries himself under the cover.
all right, already. how's your mouth?
hold still.
shut up.
horus?
horus? she brushes hair off her apron. moves into the living room, the bedroom - no husband. she goes to the front door. opens it into the stairway outside. there on the stairs and down below, hancock stands - on his way up. mary sees him.  and they look at each other.
aaron, hold it. hancock shoves his fist up close, almost between the boy's eyes. so there it is, the fist - this petrified mass of knuckles and bones. it snarls at aaron. hancock holds it there, fingers locked together - like he can't let go of them. aaron swallows - in awe. mary watches her guest, the change in him.
hancock? the sound of her voice takes him. he snaps out of it.
your hair. come on, have a seat.
shut up, kid. hit the showers. and the n homework.
there.  my hero. he inspects himself via a hand mirror. smiles. politely.
i started out just trimming for horus. here and there. he had to look just right for the academy, says his father, a police captain there.  in philly. when we moved here, i pretty much took over as the resident barber. you know, to save some money.
his father's idea. not his. he went through it anyway, like he had something to prove.  the validation of his manhood.
want?
the hair.  i need to.
yes?
why.  what for? they're eye to eye. close.
yes. inside aaron's head: my mother + hancock? nah!
all right. go to your room. i'll get the ice pack. aaron exits. mary exits. hancock - alone and on his knees. he finally rises. heads for the front door. mary returns with the ice pack. catches him.
you're leaving?
i'm sorry.
really? on the boardwalk?
i'm sorry. she goes to him, without words to say. in this silence, he stares at her his eyes, glazed with thought.
good night.
what? aaron inspects his superman lunchbox.
eat.  and we'll go. where's your father? she grabs a comb and proceeds to part aaron's hair.
i'm'sorry, honey. i was hoping daddy'll be home before we leave. i'm sorry.
what?
is everything all right?
tell me what's wrong. he points to the distant ocean - where the horizon curves into darkness.
please, hancock. what are you talking about? what's out there?
hancock.  what.
me? what can i do? what do you want me to do?
how? hancock leans forward. towards mary. and kisses her. their lips lock, twisted and entwined.  until mary, composing her senses, pulls away.
don ' t.
i can't.
i love him. the death blow.
i love him. i'm sorry. one can almost hear life's precious air seeping out of this superman - he'd slump over if not for the muscles of steel. mary wants to console.  but what can she do?
i'm sorry.
horus.
what happened toyou?
where.  aaron, he's not wasted. go to your room.
what do you think you're doing, horus longfellow? horus gauges her.
horus, what're you talking about? who did this to your face? horus rises from his seat with mustered strength.
why do you say that?
l are. did you're a fool, that's what you you think i was completely blind when i married you? something cuts at your masculine ego and it's the pressure.  the standard's unreasonable. the woman, she wants me to part oceans. that's the kind of bull shit's made of. i went w through it,i was there when the hurt came, when the academy said no. i there. and when you felt like hiding.  from me and your ownforward. taking rent job, i stepped it was you, horus longfellow. otile. i didn't take the love away. here. the closet, horus stands there - tears, almost. he takes to his security retrieving his u-rent security jacket. he grabs hat. straightens his hair. puts it on.
horns, what are you doing? inserts the flashlight into his holster.
horus!
"once there was a way, to get back homeward"
once there was a way, to get back home" her voice grips him. torments him.
"sleep pretty darling, do no t cry. and i will sing a lullaby"
sleep tight. she leaves. aaron stops her by the door.
what're you doing? hancock closes in. corners her.
hancock, please. he reaches down and untangles mary from her son - she concedes out of fear for aaron.
stay back, aaron! hancock takes her away - like booty. aaron dangles from his cape, trying to save his mother.  in vain. the superhero springs into the night - with his woman.
what're you doing?
please. but there's no denying this superman - he grabs her, running his hand down her back and between her buttocks.
no.
no! he tears himself away. disgusted. tortured.
i'm cold.  hancock does not respond.
what have you dome?
horus!
please, hancock. don't hurt him. it'll never go away. hancock responds to "it."