A Walk in My Shoes Page #3

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- Justin?

Did you hear me, Mom?

She whacked her head today.

- What's this?

- Some kind of food.

Hi.

- Did you hear me?

- Yeah. What...

- What happened?

- Old Lady Fahey flunked me.

- Old lady?

- Yeah, that English teacher I told you about.

You know, the one with, like,

zero sense of humor.

I didn't flunk you.

I mean, she didn't flunk you,

she probably just gave you an incomplete.

Same thing. I'm off the team.

Well, turn your paper in

and you'll be back on the team.

Why are you on the teacher's side?

- You used to be fair.

- Yeah, Mom, what's wrong with you?

- Well, maybe you shouldn't sleep in class.

- I'm tired.

So spend less time on the computer

and try going to bed earlier.

In case you forgot, I just got off work,

which I do five nights a week

to help pay the bills around here.

- Justin...

- I'm out of here.

This is really good.

Hi.

It's not smart to sneak up on a vet,

you know.

- I mean...

- Sorry.

- You're a little odd, aren't you?

- Is that a compliment?

- I don't even know your name.

- Molly.

Molly...

- Molly.

- It's great. It's nice. It's short and sweet.

I checked your references, Jake.

B&B Construction? Lowa City?

Yeah, what about it?

Well, you quit without notice.

And the manager said

that you were trouble.

And then you worked as a security guard

in a mall outside Chicago

and you quit there early, too.

Are you running from something?

I'm dealing with things,

trying to find my way.

Is that okay with you?

All right. Here's my plan.

I set up an open account.

Plus an advance.

I want you, in the next half hour,

to put a backboard and basketball hoop

over the garage door.

Because it creates curb appeal.

And families love that sort of thing.

Are you serious? Now?

- Square root of seven is?

- Four?

No. No, no, think, think, think. Think.

- Mom? Phone.

- What?

- Your phone.

- Hello?

Uh, no, no. Yeah.

Yes, this is Cindy Kremer.

Mmm-hmm.

Final notice?

No, I've never missed

a mortgage payment in my life. It's...

What do you mean, I'm renting?

I'm gonna have to call you back.

- We're going to be kicked out of our house.

- No, no, of course not.

We are, aren't we?

We're gonna be homeless.

Trish. Hi.

Stop fighting this.

Be the mother.

Help them. Help yourself.

Be the mother.

Mikey? Mikey, look at me. Look at me.

We are not going to be homeless, okay?

I don't want you to worry.

You need to trust me.

Where's Justin?

- Skate park.

- All right. Well, it's late.

You wanna call him or text him

or whatever you do?

I can't. He never answers his phone

when he's there.

That's why Dad wanted

to get him into sports.

All right. You know what,

you've got 15 minutes and then

I want you to get ready for bed.

And just sit tight, I'll be right back.

- Justin. What's up?

- Hey!

Hi. Hey! Hi, I'm looking for my son.

Have you seen Justin Kremer?

- Come on, lady, you're killing the vibe.

- I'm trying to find Justin.

I don't know. Him and his buddies

already left, like, 20 minutes ago.

Hey!

- Hello?

Hey, I'm almost home.

- Oh, thank goodness.

- Look, I'm sorry.

- Okay. Okay, great.

- I'm sorry I blew out of the house like that.

Ow!

Hey.

You moving in here?

For a bit, yeah.

I live right next door. I'm Justin.

Oh, hey. Justin.

You and your buddies

nearly ran me over this morning.

Sorry about that, man.

You're good. Dangerous, but good.

Hey. Let's see what you got.

Do it again.

Not bad, kid.

- You a Marine?

- I was. Five years.

I thought it was,

"Once a Marine, always a Marine. "

- SemperFi and all that.

- Yeah. Yeah. Always faithful.

My dad used to say that to me all the time.

- Drove me crazy.

- Your dad's a Marine?

He was killed in Fallujah.

- March 21, 2007.

- Fallujah.

See you around.

Justin, your dad,

do you think he'd approve

of you hanging out this late at night?

- Probably not.

- Then why do you do it?

- I like it, so I do it.

- It's a good reason, right?

Your dad a good marine?

The best.

Then honor his memory.

Consider the consequences of your actions.

Justin?

- Yeah.

- You awake?

- Yeah.

Hi. You all right?

Sure, yeah, I'm fine.

You want to tell me?

I did a stupid thing.

Well, we all do stupid things. It's...

No, not like this.

I hurt Dad, let him down.

Well, I think the way your father loved you,

you could never really let him down.

You should get some sleep.

- Good night.

- Good night.

Jake?

Why am I not surprised?

You want to talk about it?

The kid next door,

he told me his father died in Iraq.

You put me there in that house

next to a family with a son

whose father died in Iraq.

He died in Fallujah!

You can't change the past,

but you can overcome it.

It's up to you, Jake.

It's always been up to you.

Mikey, put that away.

Come on, we got to go.

Aren't you going to work?

Uh...

- Yeah, of course I'm going to work.

- Why aren't you wearing your blouse?

You know, the pink one

with your name on it.

Oh, Justin, do you want me to make you

some breakfast or something?

Yeah, right, Mom.

Um...

Okay.

I'm gonna change and then we are gonna...

We're gonna go where we're going.

Okay? All right, one minute.

- Hi.

- Hi.

I just replaced a bad plug, I think

that should help it run a bit smoother.

That's really kind. Thank you.

Thank you.

- What's your name again?

- Jake.

- Jake. Oh, sorry. Hi.

- That's okay.

All right, get your head out of there.

It's coming down.

- Ready?

- Let's go.

I spoke with Justin last night

and he told me...

Well, I might have crossed a line,

but he told me about his dad. I'm sorry.

Yeah. Me, too.

Anyway, he's a great kid.

He's a heck of a shooter.

Is he on the team?

Not at the moment.

- He has a paper due.

- What's it about?

- "An event that changed your life. "

- What's his?

I don't know.

Maybe it's his dad.

Maybe.

- From the end of the world, it's...

- Goal!

Please?

Oh, sorry.

So, I was thinking

either, like, a midnight blue or a periwinkle.

- What?

- The exterior color.

Oh.

Well, good. I guess I better get started.

I can't wait to see this.

I don't believe it.

That's the luckiest shot I've ever seen.

Hey.

Do you like it? I mean, if you don't,

- I can wear something else.

- No.

No, it's great. It's really great.

It's kind of dressy, though, don't you think?

Justin, the theme is ballroom dancing.

We don't have to dress up, no big deal.

No. No, you have to dress up.

The world needs to see you

in that dress, seriously.

Okay.

I'll find something to wear

to try and keep up,

but I probably won't be able to.

I think you probably can.

Remind me again.

Phoebe is the other waitress.

Your friend, by the way. You like her.

Harry's your boss. He can't cook,

but you can't tell him that.

Okay, Phoebe, Harry, got it.

Stack of Vermont, Gorgeous One!

Don't worry, honey. I got it. I got it.

I got it. I got it. I got it.

Make sure I get the appointment

at Social Services.

Well, don't worry about it.

I mean, there's nothing we can do about it.

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