Straight Time Page #2

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-Is that your boy?

-Yeah.

The last time you wrote,

he was learning how to walk.

Well, where the hell are you?

I got no wheels yet.

You wanna come get me?

Yes! Tell me where you are.

Well, why don't I meet you

on 7th and AIvarado?

-If I'm not there, wait for me, all right?

-Okay.

-You coming now?

-I'm coming now.

-Okay. I'll see you.

-Okay. Yeah.

-How you doing?

-Good. Get in the back, Bart. In the back!

-How you doing? Good to see you.

-It's going well.

Good. Rock 'n' roll!

-How you doing?

-Doing good.

-You working?

-I'm riveting.

Kitchens and bathrooms

in portable homes.

How'd you get the job?

Well, when I came out,

the parole officer got it for me...

...and when I got off parole, Selma said,

''It's good enough. Why don't you keep it?''

You'll be a riveter

the rest of your life, man.

Sh*t, no, man.

I'm working on my time.

I'm getting my drums together.

I'm gonna play.

Holy Jesus!

-Are you the one I talked to on the phone?

-Shake hands with Max Dembo.

-This is my son, Henry.

-How you doing?

Tell him a knock-knock joke.

He's got tons.

-Knock-knock.

-Who's there?

-You.

-You who?

Gotcha. I know that one.

Hey, look what I found downtown, Mama.

Henry.

-Come on, Bart!

-Get inside there.

-Hello, Max.

-Hi, Selma.

-You didn't bring any beer, did you?

-Was I supposed to?

-I got it.

-Good.

How about some spaghetti?

-Get inside. Get in, come on.

-Oh, God. Jesus, come on inside.

-Come on, come on. Get in.

-God dog, that smells good.

Show Max your muscle.

Make it. Make it big.

Pretty hard. Let me see the other one.

Make two of them.

Two of them at once, here.

You work out?

Does he work out? Come here.

-Show Max what we do on Saturdays.

-You teaching him to defend himself?

You bet your ass. On our days off.

-How could you teach him?

-Got one in.

Got one in there. Come on.

-Okay, okay.

-He's gonna whip your ass.

Where's them cigars?

Hey. I told....

So he's....

Don't be hitting me

when I'm not looking at you.

Oh, he's just playing.

You defend yourself pretty good there.

-You been in many fights?

-Yeah, 1 0.

-Ten? Not bad. How many have you won?

-Eighteen.

Really? That's not a bad record.

Eighteen out of 1 0.

Hey, how you feel?

You wanna go out and hit the tubs?

-Yeah.

-Let's go.

I think he'd better go in

and clean up his room now.

Selma, let me have about 1 0 minutes

with him, because I wanna make it--

-I didn't mean to get mad.

-I know.

-He's gotta get to bed early, okay?

-Just let-- We--

Let him go in

and clean up his room, okay?

He's gotta get up early

tomorrow morning.

-Okay?

-Okay.

Come here. I get a kiss.

-I get one too. Good night.

-Give Max a kiss. That's it.

Everybody gets a kiss.

-Hey, I'm sorry.

-Okay.

I didn't mean to get mad.

Okay?

Didn't mean to get mad at you.

See you later. Excuse me.

I'll be getting that board together.

You got any more coffee?

That Henry is a nice boy.

Yes, he is.

Come here, man. Get up here.

Come on. Get up here.

Come on. Get up here.

Sit up here. Smart dog.

Come here.

Want something to eat?

Okay if I give him some ice cream?

Sure. He'll eat anything,

Next time I'm down here,

I'm gonna bring him a steak bone.

In fact, as soon as Willy turns his back,

I'm gonna steal this dog.

You know, Max,

I don't wanna hurt your feelings...

...but your being around here

is kind of bad timing for us.

Why is that?

Well, Willy's been doing real good,

you know.

He's been doing real fine.

He's been working hard lately.

And I know you're good friends

and he really loves you...

...but I just don't think it's good

that he see you right now.

You know what I mean?

You trying to tell me

you don't want me to come here no more?

I don't mean to be unkind...

...but I just think it's better that he doesn't

get around other influences and stuff.

You're on parole now, Max.

Well, you really shouldn't even

be seen with Willy, right?

I think I get the message.

You make me feel bad.

Why? You're just doing

what you have to do, Selma.

It's no problem.

It's cool.

This is it.

-Here. Let me get it.

-I'll get the front.

-You sure?

-Yeah.

-All right. It's three flights up.

-I gotta piss, so you'd better run.

All right.

Remember that place called The Hague?

Right across from the Cocoanut Grove.

-Where do you want it?

-Put it underneath the bed there.

Every time I was there, Hampton Hawes

and Chet Baker were playing there.

-Is it still open?

-I don't know.

-Three flights of stairs killed me.

-Go back in the joint, you'll get in shape.

-Hold it up.

-I got it.

-You sure it don't have termites?

-It's okay.

How does it feel?

That's the main thing.

It's good, isn't it?

I know where we could go.

-The Autoway Club.

-The what?

The Autoway Club. Remember that?

We used to go there?

-We could go.

-Do a little f***ing around, maybe.

Yeah. Maybe we could

go to Hermosa Beach too.

Oh, yeah.

-Howard Rumsey...

-Yeah.

...and his Lighthouse All-Stars.

All right, let's go there. Maybe there'll be

some nice little girls there I can....

You can get me three years for that.

Sorry.

I got excited, that's all.

Does Selma know you're using?

Well, she's always suspicious.

The machine broke down,

so I gotta stay.

What do you want me to tell you?

I'll probably be about two or three hours.

Well, I'm glad.

All right. Bye.

-Hello. Jenny Mercer speaking.

-Hi. How you doing? This is Max Dembo.

Thank you for making me

a bona fide member of society.

Oh, you got the job? That's great.

-Why don't you have dinner with me?

-When?

I could be there in an hour and a half.

I wanna go home and shower and change.

Actually, I was planning on

staying home tonight.

It's just that it's the first chance I have

to celebrate something.

You know? I want to--

You know, I wanna have a steak.

I thought you could keep me company.

-I don't even know what to order.

-Okay.

-Is that okay?

-Yeah.

All right, can I be at your office,

let's say about 5:30?

-See you then.

-All right.

-Bye.

-Bye-bye.

All I'm saying is, out here, the rules

aren't defined. On the inside, they are.

If you don't pay back your debts, if you

owe a couple packs of cigarettes...

...if you take somebody's glove or

if you lie to someone, then you get killed.

You know that's the rules,

so you live by them.

You can get killed with a sharp edge...

...the end of this spoon.

That's a lethal weapon.

Even the end of a toothbrush.

You can get hit in the yard

or you can get it in the shower.

If you're in your cell sleeping, someone

can go by with a can of gas and throw it in.

Somebody else throws in a match

and you're torched.

You know that's the reality

and you're living with it 24 hours a day.

That's frightening.

A lot of guys think this is more frightening,

being on the outside.

Why? I don't understand.

Because out here, it's what you

got in your pocket that matters...

...and on the inside,

it's only what you are.

You're glad to be out, aren't you?

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