Little Accidents Page #5

Yeah.

Mmm.

Hey, Amos!

Sh*t.

Why can't you lift your arm up?

See how the table's turned?

Just a couple months ago,

I was doing this for you.

Yeah. Ain't we the pair.

You need you some medicine now.

That cough ain't gonna

go away on its own.

You want that oxygen?

I'll get it later. Don't worry about it.

You want me to turn that light off?

Yeah. Turn it off for me.

Make it a double, Patty.

Here you go, and this

one's on Bill Doyle.

On Bill Doyle, huh?

- Yup. On Bill.

What's up, Amos?

- Hey, boys.

How's it going, buddy?

What's going on, Amos?

Let's buy you a drink.

Hey, Patty, get a round for the bar.

Yeah, get us a round.

Give Amos a double here.

Yeah. Get him drunk.

We're waiting to hear

what you're gonna say.

You ain't gonna put us

out of work, are you?

You know we're a dying breed.

Yeah. We're a dying breed, is right.

I might as well be in the

dirt with the rest of them.

You wanna... You wanna take care of us?

Yeah. I'll take care of you, Jerry.

Are you sure you're

not gonna f*** us over?

Yeah. If they find something wrong,

they're gonna shut us down completely.

You like getting food on

the table, don't you, Jerry?

Yes, sir.

- We need to work.

- We gotta work.

Have one with all of us.

Come on, cheers! Cheers.

- To Bonford Coal, man.

- To Bonford Coal.

You enjoying your freshman year?

Yeah, sort of.

It's been a weird year.

I'm sure.

Make any good friends?

Yeah, I guess.

I'm not very popular, but

I have a few good friends.

Well, that's really all you need.

I think people that

have a lot of friends

are usually not that interesting.

Were you popular? You

seem like you were.

I do?

so that always brought me a

certain amount of attention.

What was he like that Friday?

Who?

JT.

I know you were in the woods

with him. With all them boys.

He was joking around.

He was having a good

time with those fireworks.

He was having fun?

Yeah.

You guys were all laughing,

having a good time?

Yeah.

Was he happy? Do you remember?

Yeah.

That's good.

Oh, I'm sorry, Owen...

I shouldn't have asked you about that.

That's... It's not fair,

it's just upsetting.

You wanna use the restroom?

You're testifying again?

Yeah.

Last time, I hope. I hate it.

When is that gonna be?

I don't know.

In two weeks.

What are you gonna say?

Well, my dad don't want

me to say nothing...

Nothing that would

incriminate the company.

What do you want to do?

What do you mean?

I mean, you always just

do whatever he says?

No.

If you know what happened in that

mine, you should say something, Amos.

I don't wanna mess up

your life more than it's

already been messed up,

to tell you the truth.

You should worry about yourself.

I mean, ain't your life messed up?

They made you a goddamn cripple.

I ain't no goddamn cripple.

You're keeping quiet, and

you're working there now?

What do you care if I work there or not?

What's it to you? -You

shouldn't do it for me.

Why can't I be nice to you? -No...

You're hung up on this

whole goddamn thing.

Way too hung up.

I mean, what am I supposed

to be to you? Your girlfriend?

No, you ain't my girlfriend.

That would be beneath you.

I have a family. -I ain't

good enough for you, am I?

Do you?

Oh, Diana. I'm...

- That is cruel.

Diana, come on.

This place is like a dungeon!

These curtains are disgusting.

You want me to fry a bit of ham for you?

Cook it up with that string bean?

I said, "Do you want

me to fry up that ham?"

What's the matter?

I know you didn't say anything.

You've been good.

Uh, yes.

Can I talks to Joel Kitts?

Mmm-hmm. Yes, it's Amos Jenkins.

Don't I get a hello?

Hi.

Are you hungry?

- No, I got cereal.

You're good at cleaning other

people's houses, but not your own?

I saw your employer at the hair salon.

I gotta say my heart

goes out to that woman.

Not knowing is gotta be awful.

You think Bill Doyle's

gonna get in trouble?

Don't he deserve trouble?

Not if lightning struck the mine.

They're not as bad as everybody says.

Who? The Doyles?

- Yeah.

Why? 'Cause they gave you a bike?

What about all the things I've

given you? Your father gave you?

What's up your ass? Excuse me?

Don't you talk to me like that.

Where's your f***ing head at?

Even when you're here, you're not here.

I can't do everything on my own.

This is stupid!

Where are you going?

Well, look who it is.

What do you say, you

want you a milkshake?

Yeah.

Get him... What do you want?

I want chocolate.

Sure thing, sweetie.

You're awful quiet.

Hey, are you okay?

Hey, Owen.

I didn't know you were coming today.

Was the coal dust

level something that was

a concern before the accident?

Yes, sir.

Who voiced this concern?

Well, we all did.

But it was Junior who

made a fuss mostly.

He came to me a few

days before the accident.

he was gonna request a

transfer to another mine.

He felt like something

bad was gonna happen.

did Junior ever confront Bill

Doyle about these safety concerns?

Yes, sir.

Junior said Bill told him

that he better keep his mouth shut

if he knew what was good for him.

What do you think Bill meant by that?

I reckon he meant, "Don't start

talking about it being dangerous. "

Like, "Don't say nothing to the

other workers to get them upset. "

Would you say, in general, that there was

a tradition of silence in the workplace?

Well, with Junior we

could usually find a way

to get things fixed without

hurting production too much.

But if, or when, you

complained to higher management,

would you be afraid of

any sort of retaliation?

Yes, sir.

I'd say that's just about the way it is.

Do you remember being rescued, Amos?

No. Not really.

I was too far gone, I guess.

You don't remember the men

finally reaching you underground?

I just remember...

I remember being carried.

Carried up, and seeing that light again.

Like the air came back into me, like...

...Breathe easy again.

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