Smitty Page #4

you treated him,

you think

you deserve that?

No.

He would have

stayed here forever,

even if

I never came back for him.

Yep.

And he could have died.

Yep.

Well,

aren't you

going to say it?

I'm really,

really sorry, Dog.

I'm so, so sorry.

(Sobbing)

All right, Ben, that's fine,

that's enough.

Not okay.

I'm sorry, Dog.

All right, Ben.

That's enough.

No, it's not.

Dog, I'm so sorry.

I didn't mean it, I swear.

(Barking)

Everybody makes mistakes.

It's how you make up for them

that counts.

Oh, yeah, right.

Like you've ever

done anything this bad.

No. I, uh, I did something

much worse.

And I've been paying for it

for 13 years.

And your mom finished

her first year in college

at the top of her class.

Then she, um, she met him.

Lightning Lihtz, a musician,

like her old man.

And she threw it all away.

She ran off with him,

the same week that

your grandmother passed on.

And I couldn't find her,

for weeks.

She got pregnant.

And when it came time

for her boyfriend

to choose between

family and himself,

he chose himself.

But that was her mistake.

Yeah.

My mistake was

when she tried

to come back,

I took all the pain

of losing my wife,

and my daughter

running away,

and I told her

that she had

ruined everything.

I told her I didn't want

to see her again.

I turned my back

on my own daughter.

You did that?

Yeah.

Dude, I'm only 13,

and I've done really bad things,

but that's like the worst thing

I've ever heard.

Really bad.

No, no, no, no.

That's really, really bad.

I know.

I've never even done anything

half that bad.

I know.

You know,

I feel better now,

because compared to you,

I'm not so bad.

So thanks for telling me,

Grandpa.

You're welcome.

All right,

get to bed.

And take your milk.

(Ringing)

(Recording):

Hey, you've reached Amanda.

Please leave me a message.

(Beeping)

Ben.

Yeah?

Get your jacket,

we need a milkshake.

Hi.

Hi.

I am so sorry.

When did you get here?

Uh, at 7:
00,

like you said.

You've been waiting for me

for three hours?

You didn't get my text?

I left my phone

at the office.

Oh, God!

Wow, that is so sweet,

or desperate.

Yeah, I guess probably

a little of both.

Wait, you brought me

ice cream?

Well, it was ice cream.

Now it's a little more like

a lab experiment.

Gee, I'm totally messing this

up, aren't I, already?

It's been a long time

since I've been on a date.

I bet it's been longer

for me.

No way.

How long has it been?

No.

It's too embarrassing.

Okay, we'll say it

at the same time. Ready?

One, two, three.

Eight months.

Thirteen years.

That is just not true.

It is.

You?

Thirteen years?

No way.

Is that a compliment?

Well, yes,

it's a compliment.

I figured guys would be

hitting on you all the time.

I don't know.

I guess I push them away.

So!

What do you do, Russell?

(Phone ringing)

Well, actually, I--

Sorry.

Hang on a second here.

Is everything okay?

I missed a call.

(Ringing)

Everything all right?

(Ringing)

My dad called.

Oh, that's nice.

No. He only

would've called

if there were something wrong

with my son, Ben.

I'm sorry.

I'm gonna have to go.

I'll drive you.

No, it's an all-night drive.

Well, I can't let you

do that by yourself.

You can't let me?

I didn't

mean it that way.

I'm saying it's already late,

and it's a long drive.

We'll get coffee.

Get to know each other

a little better.

You owe me three hours.

I guess you're right.

All right.

All right.

Come on.

I've got my driver's license

and everything.

Grandpa

and the Rambling Hearts?

(Rock music playing)

He could've been a star.

(Record scratching)

(Music playing loudly

over speakers)

Ben?

Is that you?

What do you think?

(Whining)

Everybody's a critic.

(Barking)

What are you doing here?

What's wrong?

What? Nothing.

You called me.

Yeah.

So, what's wrong?

I, um,

I just wanted to talk.

Where's Ben?

In the kitchen.

Awkward.

Ben!

Mom?

What are you doing here?

Are you all right?

Yeah.

I'm fine. Why?

Who's he?

Hi, I'm Russell.

Who's he?

Oh, that's my dog.

Dog.

(Barking)

That's a really cool name.

No, really.

I've heard much worse.

Anyways, are you guys

hungry?

Because I made

plenty of food.

Sure, it's been

a long drive.

Sure, honey.

This looks delicious,

honey.

Thanks.

You did

all this yourself?

Yeah.

Dig in.

Come on, Dog.

Hey, Ben.

Hold on.

I was going

to do this tomorrow,

but because

your mother is here,

we're going

to do it today.

We're going to

take a day off.

Seriously?

Yes.

We're gonna have some fun.

I know

how to have fun.

Russell?

Yeah.

Can you hang with Ben and Dog

for a little while?

I need

to talk with my father.

Sure, absolutely.

I can definitely do that.

Absolutely.

Okay, thanks.

And, um, relax.

You're doing great.

Okay. Got it.

Okay.

How many tickets

do you want?

A hundred and fifty.

A hundred and fifty?

Yeah.

We ride everything around here

25 times if you do that.

Exactly.

You know, this used to be

my favorite thing

that we would ever do

when I was a kid.

You used to take me here

one day a year for the fair.

Watch me ride all the rides

and buy me cotton candy,

and hold my hand all day.

I remember.

I do.

I want

to ask you a question.

Am I a jerk?

(Laughing)

Maybe.

A little.

You hurt me.

You really hurt me.

You see, I had this dream

about what you'd be.

My little girl left me.

And when she came back,

I was just

so angry and sad

that I couldn't

look her in the face.

Dad, do you have any idea

how hard it was for me

for those 13 years?

I had to do everything alone

without having you.

I know I made

a really big mistake.

I know that.

But Ben is no mistake.

He's the best thing

that ever happened to me.

I love him with all my heart

and all my soul.

And Dad,

I love you

for helping him.

All right, then.

Okay, um...

That was a good talk.

Good.

And, uh,

are we through here?

Yes, Daddy.

Boy, I sure would like

some of that cotton candy.

I think I could

wrangle some of that up.

BEN:

Good night, Mom! Glad

you're feeling better, Russell!

Good work.

He puked twice.

Go team!

I told Ben that roller coasters

were not my thing.

So why did you go on

so many of them?

A shameless blackmail.

But mostly because

he wanted to.

Thank you.

No problem.

He really likes you.

I can tell.

And I do too.

I'm suddenly feeling

a lot better.

A whole lot better.

Thank you for the tea.

You're welcome.

(Laughing)

(Engine puttering)

(Engine stalling)

(Puttering)

So, Rusty.

Actually, it's Russell, sir.

Oh.

Russell.

What exactly do you do

for a living?

Uh, actually, I--

Russell, should we hit the road?

Sure.

You take care of my girl.

I sure will.

I sure will.

Ben, it was great to meet you.

Even though you got me sick.

Nice to meet you too.

I'll, uh, have the shirt

sent to you.

Thanks so much.

Bye, sir.

Hey, Dad.

You were wrong.

About what?

Everything's changed.

I love you, Ben.

See you in a couple weeks.

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