The Binding Page #3

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he wanders into the

kitchen and gets a knife

and finishes the

business out for himself.

I don't think that that's

the way that it works.

If God wanted Skya dead, Bram,

she would be dead.

He would have caved

the roof in on her

or blown out my tires

with her in the car

or set off a gas leak

one of the ten times a day

that she's in the kitchen,

but she's still here,

healthy as can be.

Sarah, I'm sorry,

but I don't think that

that's the way that it works.

I think His children

need to act on their own.

Great, so our

alternative is what?

You just keep

having these visions

night after night

for the rest of your life

for the next 50 years?

God will not suffer you

to be tempted above

that ye are able.

But will with that temptation

make away to escape

that ye shall be

able to bear it.

I will bear what I must.

It was what?

Three weeks.

Three weeks until you

stopped acknowledging

our child all together.

How many more nights

until you stop sleeping,

avoiding what's

happening completely?

And how long after that

until you turn back to alcohol?

How long after that

until you break entirely?

I will bare what I must.

What are you suggesting then?

We asked the minister for

help and that didn't work.

Oh that didn't

work spectacularly.

We looked for physical evidence.

Nothing there.

So if not this next step,

if not cold, clinical,

psychiatric diagnosis,

then what?

I don't know.

I don't know.

But, I think if we're willing to

surrender our faith so easily

then what was the

point of any of it?

I am not surrendering a thing.

I am making sure that the

death of our infant daughter

isn't the result of

a chemical imbalance

in her father's brain.

I'll sleep on the couch.

I'm well, Mom, thanks.

How are you?

She's good.

Hey, I know this is

kind of last minute

and you're always saying that...

Would you mind coming over

and spending some time with her?

Oh, hi.

Hello.

I um, I brought you this.

You and your Joseph.

Was that his name?

It is a thank you.

You know, for the other day.

Oh, thank you.

That's not at all necessary,

but we appreciate it.

Yeah.

- Listen, you want-

- Are you-

- We have to stop doing that.

- Right.

Ladies first.

I um...

I think I'm...

I might have made some

unfair judgments before,

and that's not the

person I strive to be,

so it was unfair of me

and I apologize.

So, what was that party

you had at your place

a couple weeks back?

You know, had to do

with little uh...

- Oh, Skya.

- Skya.

Oh my God, how cute is that?

What was it, her

birthday or something?

- No, it was her Christening.

- Oh.

Now, explain something to me,

'cause I guess I've

never really known.

What is a Christening?

I mean, it's kind of like

a baptism, right?

There's a ceremony

and the rest of it,

but, you know, what's it mean?

It's a sacrament.

It means a divine grace.

It cleanses original sin.

Oh.

Okay, so you like

really believe all that?

And your answer is yes, Gabe,

that is exactly what I believe.

Just like the majority

of the country.

Oh my God, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

That was really offensive.

- No.

- No no, look.

Like you said,

it's nobody's place to judge.

If you're happy

and living a life,

more power to ya.

I am.

You know, you really

don't have to help

with any of this.

No, please, it's only polite.

Son of a biscuit.

What?

Well, this has been

happening once a week

for what, like, months now.

What's been happening?

Well, I only

drink beer and wine.

I get crazy otherwise.

And Joseph is a

vodka and soda man,

always and forever.

So...

Well, some local

hobo is using our trash

as his drop spot.

I have no idea why...

Hi.

- Did you see the doctor?

- Yes.

Did you or are you lying to me?

Please don't speak

to me like that.

Yes, I saw him.

We talked for a long time.

My session with him

went 40 minutes over,

but he said not

to worry about it,

because I took precedence.

He's a man of faith, Sarah.

Unconventional, there's

no doubt about that,

but very much a believer.

- Is Skya already asleep?

- My mother was here.

I asked her to take

her home with her.

Had we discussed

that for tonight?

What sort of ideas

did this man have?

He gave me a prescription.

He told me to try

it for a few weeks,

and if nothing changes

then he had thoughts.

Thoughts you'd like to share?

There's no use in

getting ahead of ourselves.

Until we know more.

He says I'm repressing

in several senses of the word.

King Saul lost three children,

and rather than live with

everything that happened,

everything that was

going to happen...

He fell on his sword.

I want you to

think very carefully

before you say anything else.

I want you to

please explain this.

- Where did that come from?

- Is it yours?

What do you mean is it mine?

I think I was pretty

f***ing clear, Bram.

- Watch your language.

- Answer the question.

I never bring up the

cigarettes you hide everywhere.

That you think are so secret.

Not once.

'Cause I respect your privacy.

You found that in a trash can?

Somewhere nearby.

And yes.

It is mine.

So what?

What, all of the visions...

- It's not what you think. -They're

all just part of some big-

Listen to me!

It's mine, but I

didn't drink any of it.

I never have.

Not once in all of the

months that I've been doing it.

All of the months that

you've been doing what?

This is gonna

sound like a story.

That's why I avoided telling

you in the first place.

I knew it would be difficult

for someone else to understand.

But I have been sober for

more than three months.

That's the God's honest truth.

I chose you and Skya

over the bottle, right?

But I don't work

late on Thursdays.

I never have.

Every Thursday night,

since the first

week of my sobriety,

I...

I have a ritual.

A way to prove it to myself.

Prove what?

I go to Mark's Liquor on ninth.

I buy a 37 ounce

bottle of Nu-ball,

and I go to our spot.

On Magetto Fire Road,

and I look out at the city.

The lights.

I think of all the

people unburdened

by my problems,

and I think about all the people

burdened by problems

much worse than mine.

And then I pour out every drop,

and come home.

To prove it to yourself?

To prove that alcohol and I

can exist in the same world.

So why risk it?

Why risk bringing the

bottles back here,

why not just leave them there?

I don't know.

Maybe I didn't wanna litter.

- Is all of this true?

- Every word.

What happens now, Bram?

I take the medication.

- See if anything changes.

- And if nothing does?

Right, it's now or never.

Skya's asleep, she's usually

out for a while in the day.

She'll want a bottle

when she wakes up.

Yeah, I know.

I'm smart like that.

I guess I'm in denial.

I'll be back as

soon as I can be.

Be careful.

Daniel thought he saw the

car again this morning.

Bram's?

Yeah, he thought so.

- Sarah.

- Hi Sam.

- You look so different.

- So do you.

Oh, what do you mean?

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