Being Charlie Page #3

It was stuck in the mesh.

I smoked it.

Well, look...

Here you go.

Full one for the road.

You sure?

It's your last one.

Yeah, I've got another pack.

Thanks.

I get anxious here, too.

Sterile white walls.

Yeah.

There's nothing there.

Nothing but you.

All right, everybody, let's go.

Two vans. Two, please.

Whoa. What are you two

doing out here?

Just having a smoke

before the meeting.

Let's go.

I'll go back.

Charlie, you coming?

Yeah.

I'm Daniel,

and I'm an alcoholic.

- Hi, Daniel.

- Hi, Daniel.

Now, I'm going to be running

tonight's meeting.

But before we hear

from our speaker,

I'd like to hand out

some, uh, chips

for various lengths of sobriety.

Now, all of us have had

one day at some point.

And maybe some of us still do.

So are there any newcomers

who'd like to be recognized?

- - Yeah.

Chase, alcoholic.

- Hi, chase.

- Hi, chase.

I have 37 days, so technically

I'm not a newcomer,

but since we battle

this wiley demon

one day at a time,

I can't help but feel

like a newcomer every day,

so I want to share my

experience, strength, and hope.

Anybody with 30 days

of sobriety?

I know some of you see me

as a washed-up swashbuckler

who got bored

marauding the high seas,

but I've lived all

of my adult life in California.

- That's right.

- And as I stand here

at the start of my campaign,

I want to let my opponent know

that yo, ho, ho,

and the battle's begun!

60 days?

Anyone have 60 days?

God Grant me the Serenity

to accept the things

i cannot change,

the courage to change

the things I can,

and the wisdom

to know the difference.

Hey. Here you go.

You gonna give Harper hell,

Mr. mills?

You bet.

- Oh, man, I love your work.

- Thanks.

Hey, can I get

a selfie with you?

Yeah, sure.

Oh, this is great.

Oh, that's great. Thank you.

You're welcome.

When can we get out of here?

I feel like we're

all gonna be kidnapped

and forced to squeal like pigs.

Hey, how are you?

You have one more speech

in Eureka.

Then it's San Jose,

San Luis obispo, and Fresno.

Wait. I thought

we were going back to L.A.

Before picking back up. Hi.

From here till the election,

it's pretty much wall to wall.

- Hi.

- Thank you so much.

Yes, but Charlie is

getting out of inpatient.

You knew

about these dates, honey.

Yes, I know.

Thank you. Thank you.

I appreciate it.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

But i... you know,

there's a family group

at the new sober living house,

and I thought we should

be there for him. Hi.

- Don't do this to me. Hi.

- Do what?

If you want, I can arrange

for you to fly back.

Uh...

There you go, sir.

You want a burger?

- Yes.

- There you go.

- - Yes?

Hey, Drake.

I'm all packed,

so anything I need to sign,

or what?

Just a minute.

Hey, I wanted

to congratulate you

on moving forward

to the next phase

of your changes ahead

treatment program.

Thank you.

Now where are

those dotted lines, huh?

Hold on. Hold on, all right?

We gotta debrief.

It's part of our

discharge procedure.

Great. Debrief the sh*t

out of me.

Okay.

Do you have someone responsible

- to transport you to our sober living facility?

- Absolutely.

He's very responsible.

Fine.

If you'll just sign here,

and you're all set.

Okey-dokey.

Well, it's been real, Drake.

You have fun

holding down the fort, okay?

Oh, I will, Charlie, and

unless you're a speed reader,

I'm sure you missed the part

about fraternizing

with people from this facility

and how it applies

to when you leave here as well.

Yeah, shouldn't be a problem.

Good. Good, but just in case,

I went ahead

and let your sober living house

know about your...

Friendship with Eva.

I let her house know as well.

No, friendship during sobriety,

not a problem.

Romance, however...

tends to get in the way.

But, like you said, that...

Shouldn't be a problem,

should it?

Yeah, right.

Good luck.

So you're finally free.

How do you feel?

Actually, not that shitty.

Can't you just say good

like a normal person?

Normal people

don't move into halfway houses.

Let's get the f*** out of here!

An all-girls halfway house.

I think you might

be on to something.

- You're an idiot.

- What?

P*ssy island.

Dude, this is not

some slutty sorority, okay?

You don't just

fall asleep with a boner

and wake up with a girl

on top of it.

She knows you're coming?

- Yeah.

- You texted her?

Yeah, I told her I'd

come by right after I got out.

You told her you were

making a beeline here?

Ah, dude, so desperate.

- Stop.

- It's too eager.

Stop. Can you just wait

in the car, please?

Fine.

Remember, less is more.

- Hi.

- Can I help you?

Yeah, I'm just...

I'm looking for somebody.

- You Charlie?

- Yeah.

Eva will see you at a meeting.

- No, I just wanted to say hi.

- Have a great day.

Fat f***ing whale!

Hey!

You know, you shouldn't

talk about whales like that.

They're an endangered species.

Go around, and...

and wait for me, okay?

Yeah?

- Hey.

- Hey.

Who's that?

Oh, that is

my piece-of-sh*t best friend.

Well, I thought

i was your best friend.

You're such the comedian.

Just f***ing with you.

So are you going

to break me out of here?

Well, I thought,

you know, that we're both

out of inpatient,

and... and we got

some free time,

and, you know,

i was just thinking

that maybe we could...

i could...

can I have your number?

God, our first time

on free soil,

and you're asking for my number?

Yeah. Why, what's the matter?

You don't want to give it to me?

Not now.

You have a pen?

Tapping that

must have been a nice perk.

- I haven't.

- What?!

- Yeah.

- What are you talking about?

You're just not

making the moves?

No. No, no, no, no. It's a rehab

thing, like we'd get tossed.

- Oh. Well, that's bullshit.

- Yeah, tell me about it.

Men f*** each other in prison all the time.

What's the harm?

- Right?

- Yeah.

"It gets in the way

of your recovery."

Maybe they're trying

to motivate you, you know?

I mean, f***.

I'd go all 12 steps

in, like, a week

to hit skins

with a girl like that.

You're an a**hole.

Why am I an a**hole?

Oh, 'cause I want to f***

your new girlfriend?

Yeah, yeah.

It might be that.

Wake up at 6:
30,

then morning chores,

breakfast, then inspection.

You miss anything,

you get a mark.

Being at outpatient

comes with more freedom,

but more responsibility.

You can come and go,

as long as you sign in and out.

So I can just leave?

To the gas station

or the market,

but there's a 10:00 curfew.

And you'll be given

random urine tests,

and if you fail, then...

you'll keep it between us,

right? Yeah?

If you work hard

and follow the rules,

in about a month, you'll be

eligible for an overnight pass.

Okay.

Um...

There's still group,

though, right?

Every day at outpatient.

And who attends these groups?

What do you mean?

Everybody.

Everybody?

Yeah, Eva's included

in everybody.

- I didn't mean that.

- Yeah, right.

It's just good to get

different opinions.

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