House of Sand and Fog Page #2

ls there any way we can just

let it slide until then?

The only affordable way

to put a terrace up there

is to put the stairs

on the outside.

lt will have to block

that kitchen window.

l could do that for about a grand.

lf we have to go through the roof,

you're talking four to seven.

-But this window must be obstructed?

-l don't see any other way.

That is acceptable.

Can you start today?

What are you doing?

-Excuse me?

-What the f*** are you doing?

This is my house!

-Who are you?

-Who said you could do this?

Are you Mrs. Behrani?

No.

Mr. Behrani hired us.

You'll have to talk to him.

F***!

Sh*t!

Damn!

Stay right there!

Don't move!

Oh, man!

Careful.

Can we use your bathroom?

She stepped on a nail.

Sorry, ma'am.

Could we use your washroom

to clean her foot?

lt is okay.

For one moment, please.

-Here you go.

-Thanks.

Have you had

a tetanus shot lately?

l'm going to be sick.

ls she bleeding?

Excuse me.

l don't want to ruin

your towel.

Here. l use this

for skateboarding.

Don't worry.

l washed it.

Okay.

This is, of course,

our family pictures.

Thank you.

l think l should go.

What happened?

l'll tell you what happened.

My yard is a construction site.

-You were there?

-Yeah.

l was there.

l was at my house.

l stepped on some nails.

l was bleeding on my own doorstep,

waiting for a stranger to let me in.

You can't just go over there.

Let us handle this.

l want them out of my house.

They're already more at home there

than l ever was.

Did you get their name?

Bahroony?

Behmini, something like that. l

don't know. They're Middle Eastern.

-Gary.

-Yes. Connie?

Type a letter to the courier service

and get it to a Mr. Behrmini.

lt's damn hard

to sell a house nowadays.

This is what you call

a real buyer's market.

Sorry, but she comes in at

$174,000.

-You're late, Behrani.

-l'm not late.

l have come to tell you that l am

no longer to return to this job.

You tell the office, Colonel?

No.

So why tell me?

ls this you?

''...inform you

that under these circumstances...

we request that you vacate

the property immediately.''

Mother whores!

goddamn it!

Mr. Barmeeny is here.

Mr. Barmeeny...

My name is Behrani.

Colonel Massoud

Amir Behrani.

l wish to speak with Mr. Walsh,

please.

l'm Connie Walsh.

This is my office, Colonel.

Please come in.

l'm sure our letter

came as a shock to you.

The situation is this:

Pacific County has made

a number of mistakes.

First, they levied a tax on my

client, which she did not owe.

Second, they evicted her

for nonpayment.

Third, they auctioned

the property.

-And this is where you come in.

-But l now own the house.

l paid for it in cash.

l have a bill of sale.

Here, please.

Would you be willing to sell

the county back the house?

l can assure you they would make it

a comfortable transaction.

Please listen to me very carefully,

Miss Walsh.

The only comfortable

transaction possible

is if the county tax office

paid to me $174,000.

Mr. Behrani, you only paid

a quarter of that amount.

The market can already

pay me this.

good morning, Miss Walsh.

Wait, please.

From a legal standpoint,

you are in the right.

But the true owner of this house

is living in a motel.

Her belongings are locked in

storage. Why should she wait

to get back into her home that

was wrongfully taken from her?

Just because you want

to turn a profit?

Things are not as they appear.

lt is a matter of necessity

for me and my family.

l'm sorry.

l do not have a choice

in this matter.

Hi.

This is a surprise.

Good one or bad one?

lt's good. lt's good.

What happened to your foot?

l stopped by my house, and they were

doing some construction on the roof.

-l stepped on some nails.

-Thanks for letting me ride along

today, Mr. Burdon.

-So, how's the El Rancho?

-l'm not there anymore.

l'm staying at

the Bonneville now.

l don't know it.

You're looking at it.

l haven't had a drink

in three years, Lester.

l'm sorry. l should have asked.

l didn't know.

lt's okay.

The fog is coming in.

l'd like to ask you

a personal question if l could.

Okay.

Just get it over with.

Why is your husband

no longer with you?

l wanted kids.

He didn't want kids.

But l guess if he really wanted me,

he would have wanted them, too.

l think he's a fool.

Maybe we should find you

a place to stay.

Do you remember the beauty

of the Caspian Sea, Esmail?

The water like glass,

the beach sand like gold.

lt is beautiful here.

Massoud, when must we

move again?

Not too soon.

Perhaps once we get a buyer, we will

tell them to wait until autumn.

Would you prefer that?

l will do as you wish.

There was this

little runt of a guy.

Kept beating up his wife. Except she

wouldn't press charges. We'd show up

and they'd be at the door,

like Romeo and Juliet. Arm in arm.

She had welts and bruises

all over her.

So, one night, we get

called out there again.

And l slip down their hallway, and

stuff two eight-balls in his closet.

Turns out he was on parole.

He goes back to jail.

She's safe.

And l slept like a baby.

Did l just lose you?

No.

l'm sorry.

To tell you the truth, l think

the wine is distracting me.

-l'll send it back.

-No, it's fine.

-You sure?

-Yeah.

See, when l think of my sobriety,

l don't think about wine.

Alcohol was never a problem.

You're a grown woman.

Cheers.

-What are your kids' names?

-Nate and Betheny.

Nate is four.

Bethany is nine.

-Where is your house?

-Millbrae.

ln a housing development

called Palomino Meadows.

-lt's on the way to the mall.

-Yeah, l know where that is.

God, l've probably driven by it

a dozen times.

l've probably seen your wife.

Carol.

Yeah, Carol.

What's your situation, Les?

l married my best friend.

And for seven

of the last nine years

l haven't wanted to give her more

than a hug or a peck on the cheek.

-That's my situation.

-What about her?

lt's not the same for her.

Do you want to come inside?

Massoud.

We are blessed.

What time is it?

lt's ten.

Oh, God.

l should have been home

hours ago.

l'm sure Carol called

the department.

And l'm sure they asked her

if l was feeling any better.

Things are finally in motion.

l'm finally going

to get it over with.

lt?

Telling her the truth

about how l feel.

How do you feel?

l feel found.

Well, Kathy. Bad news.

The county's done their part, but

the new owner won't accept the deal.

He's asking for four times

what he bought it for.

We can sue the county,

but that'll take months.

Do you mean that

l can't legally

get my house back?

lt would have been a lot easier

if you'd just opened your mail.

You can't expect the law

to work miracles.

l don't expect miracles.

l expect you to do your f***ing

job.

l don't know what l'm doing

sitting here talking to you.

And as you can see,

very excellent rooms.

lt is cool inside,

even during the day.

And from the widow's walk,

sunsets are quite beautiful.

There is very little fog

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