A Family Man Page #6

I know you work hard for us.

And you're probably right, Dane;

the job that I could find

is not what you or Ed

would consider worthwhile.

My skills are not

what anyone

would consider "marketable."

But I know how to prioritize.

You okay over there?

No.

Holy crap.

Words right outta my mouth.

- What do we know?

- The designer is Frank Gehry.

The guy also did

a museum in Spain,

and he probably did

some other stuff too...

But I do remember

a quote of his.

"When everybody else

is ready for the ending,

I'm just ready to begin."

I like Frank.

Me too, buddy.

Hey, Dad?

Yeah?

Do you believe in God?

Depends on the month

I'm having.

Me too.

Did you have a girlfriend

when you were as old as me?

Why do you ask?

Cause there's this girl

in my class. Her name

is Shawna.

I think she likes me.

Shawna, huh?

Sounds exotic.

He'll get worse

before he gets better...

Worse?! How can he...

Ryan's cancer is

unusually aggressive.

- Virus!

- HIV.

He's telling us our boy's

going to die.

Don't you get it? Jesus, Dane,

what are we going to do?

Cancer is not a negotiation,

Mr. Jensen.

Just you, it's a termination.

I told you that before

the interview.

How do you not pass a drug test?

When I started recruiting

on this, you told me

[there were five must-haves

for this job.

Would you ask Lou

to call me when he's...

Uh, what kind of meeting is it?

He got a call from another

head... from another recruiter.

Bernadine?

Hello?

Dane.

- Bernadine? Hello?

- Sumner tells me

Lou has an interview?

That's wonderful!

You're not upset?

[Upset? I'll be the first one

to congratulate him,

You're joking, right?

Listen up, monkeys,

I need fresh meat to peddle,

stat! Process Engineer.

Oh, he is very excited, Dane.

It's an Engineering

Manager spot.

That's fantastic! Scratch

that! Engineering Manager!

The drive's a little long,

but doable.

Gimme a drive-in,

423 area code!

But Dane, it means

we wouldn't have to sell.

I mean, we're just...

we're just hoping.

So am I. You're both

in my family's prayers.

Bernadine...

What company is he

interviewing with?

[Now, I'm not a pushy man

by nature, Paul,

[about a candidate. But when

I told my guy...

Pardon my vulgarity... ape sh*t.

Degreed engineer, really

mature for such a young man...

No wife, no kids, easy relo.

But the best thing is,

he knows exactly

what you guys are trying to do

over there...

and he wants

to be a part of it.

I think we might have found

the seasoning...

we've been looking for.

But some clichs are clichs for

a reason. Particularly the one

Eight AM sharp, Mr. Cobra.

Dr. Singh?

- How are you, my friend?

- Tired.

The T cells we treated

are fighting the cancer in you.

Dr. Singh? Your hat...

Why do you wear it?

I am a Sikh.

My turban represents my constant

devotion to my religion.

What do Sikhs believe?

It's my experience

that all religions are

some version of your, uh,

'what goes around comes around.'

We believe in the dignity

of everyone regardless

of race, age, man, woman.

A devout Sikh would protect

with his own life

the poor and the weak.

Ryan...

if I could take your sickness

on myself and away from you,

I would.

Hey, buddy.

Hey, Dad.

Are you missing your party?

Hey, honey, how you feeling?

I'd like to go somewhere.

There you go, Rhino,

the Wrigley Building.

Man, that's a lotta Juicy Fruit.

What do we know, Dad?

Let's see what we got.

It was modeled after

the Seville Cathedral's...

Giralda Tower in Spain.

Built in 1921.

It has 250,000

terracotta tiles on it...

That's why it's so white.

That and the 116,000-watt

bulbs pointing at it.

That clock? The hour hand

is just over six feet long,

the minute hand nine feet.

How do you know all that?

There's a bank

on the fourth floor.

I was a teller there

for a little over a year...

when I was seventeen.

- You worked in there?

- Mm-hmm.

Awesome.

Did I know that?

It was like going

to work in a castle.

Only seventeen.

And in such a hurry to be older.

Get on with my life.

I'm glad we came.

Last call at the bar, ladies

and gentlemen. Last call.

- You clean up good.

- It's the dress.

- Oh yeah, I see it now.

- A**hole.

How's Ryan?

- How long did Ed last?

- About an hour.

Stretched it out, did he?

You did an amazing job.

Situation reversed,

sick child, I don't know...

Doing an amazing job.

Doing.

You're solid, Wilson.

You don't cut corners,

you do it the right way.

Wow...

You know, for all your macho BS,

you're the first person there

every morning...

and the last one to go home.

You're on the phone

from the minute you get in...

to the minute you leave.

You're the biggest producer

at the company...

because

you're the hardest worker,

not 'cause any of that

Dixie Mafia nonsense.

We're not that

different, you and I.

- You're so full of sh*t.

- We're very different.

- We're totally different.

- Yeah.

Anyway,

the month's not over.

I may have a few tricks left.

No. You don't.

You're down $20,000 with ten

live interviews on the board.

Five are wet because your people

are scared of you.

They're phantoms. I checked.

That leaves five remaining

shots. Of those, one pays a fee

that would blow me out of the

water but it's a first interview

for a VP level position,

which means it's rolling

into next year. Four shots left.

Of those, three are interviewing

for the same job.

Triple coverage, place one,

that's 15,000.

Which leaves you

with one live interview,

which, by the way, looks great.

But the offer is contingent

upon a drug test.

A drug test he can't pass.

How do I know?

I heard him tell your guy

about his coke habit...

when I tapped into the call.

You did what?

You thought I was going

to rely on the honor system

with a man who named himself

after a venomous snake

and keeps a drawer

full of burner phones?

Merry Christmas, Wilson.

Go f*** yourself.

Oh, Ryan, Daddy's here.

Hey, Rhino.

Hey,

you're gonna be all right.

I promise you.

You hear me?

I... I got the Frank Lloyd

Wright books.

And we're gonna go and see

the Thomas Gale House,

you and me.

Hi.

Ryan Jensen's

room number, please.

Are you family, sir?

Absolutely.

The ventilator will breathe

for Ryan until such time...

as you decide to stop it.

Or until he breathes

for himself, right?

Until such time as

he breathes for himself?

We need to discuss your wishes

when Ryan codes again.

- When his heart stops.

- Correct.

What's to discuss?

It stops, you start it.

Ryan is in a coma. He's tired.

Okay, we got it, thanks.

Mr. and Mrs. Jensen.

Few things

are as comforting

for a child as the sound

of a mother and father's voice.

Perhaps...

Perhaps you can give Ryan

the chance to heal,

let the treatment

fight the leukemia...

Please.

Are you kidding me?

"Sound of a voice"?

- Stop it.

- Surrounded by millions

of dollars' worth

of technology and he says

"sound of a voice"!

I said, stop it!

He's right.

Kids need their parents, Dane.

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