The Driftless Area Page #4

of any Pierres in your fire area?

- No. Go ahead, please.

- And how much more is the CTS?

Twenty-nine dollars and change.

- Good, good.

- I'll tell you what I'll do.

What will you do, Mr. Bromley?

And that is how that's done.

With that guy's insecurity,

you can see why there's no security.

Which reminds me, I'll be needing a car.

Take the Malibu.

I heard...

Carrie came by the other day.

She seems very sweet.

I guess...

there was a guy here?

Tim Geer?

Yeah.

I told you,

he brings me groceries and things.

Hey.

There something you wanna tell me?

Carrie's right.

I've been thinking about me...

and I haven't been thinking about you.

You don't have to think about me.

Pierre, listen to me.

Did you ever wanna call something off...

but you didn't know how?

I don't want you to leave me.

I want you to always be right here.

I know it's not real...

but that's what I want.

Okay?

All right, you skinny f***er. Let's go.

Remember me?

- I... No.

- Pierre?

Don. Don Thomas.

What are you doing?

You're telling me your name is Thomas?

Yes, sir. Donald R. Thomas.

Why does your license plate say "Hunter"?

Yeah. I hunt pheasants. I like to...

To hunt them.

My girlfriend got me that from the DMV.

- Where's Pierre?

- |... I don't know any Pierre, sir.

My...

My grandmother's...

birthday party is in Eau Claire. I'm...

I'm just passing through.

Goddamn it.

Excuse me.

I thought you were someone else.

I feel sorry for that person.

No.

I'm getting out of the car now.

I'm fully armed, Don.

If you so much as turn

your head in my direction...

that will be the last thing you do

with your head.

I can't see anything anyway.

Well, nonetheless.

What a night.

And it's not over.

- What are you doing?

- Undressing you.

Hold this.

I need this shirt.

- You need to open up.

- So I hear.

I could cut you open.

Then you'd be alone.

Shane.

Shane.

When you ski, you'll fall.

Everyone does it. There's no shame in it.

The main thing is don't fight it.

Just accept that you're falling.

Hello?

What in the name of God do you want?

I want Ned.

Son of a b*tch

has no consideration whatsoever.

Yeah?

Whoa, whoa, here, now.

Calm down, calm down.

- It's just a kid.

- A nightmare...

Shane, the woman is dead.

You're letting your emotions run wild.

Tell me you'll help. Please, Ned.

F***.

All right. This is ridiculous.

Where are you?

What day's today?

- Tuesday?

- Wednesday.

Oh, yeah. Wednesday now.

I'll be there Friday night.

- Why the f*** Friday?

- Because I have a business to think of.

- I don't give a f***...

- Also...

I want half.

Yeah. Well, what's fair?

- A third. It's 30,000 and you get 10.

- No.

- Ten. I'll give you 10, that's all. Ten.

- No.

Yeah. All right.

Our friend Shane's

losing his f***ing marbles.

Your friend Shane.

I know where we are.

I used to come up here as a kid.

There's an orchard up here.

Yeah.

That's right.

I'd bring books up there to read.

I can picture that.

Watch out. There's...

some busted cattle thing right up here.

A what?

A cattle guard.

Kept the cows from coming through.

Come here.

- Watch your head.

- Thanks.

You know...

I used to keep the books...

right here.

What books?

Wind in the Willows...

Phantom Tollbooth.

Pierre...

I'm gonna tell you something now.

Okay.

And it's going to seem strange.

It's going to seem real strange.

Okay.

I died in a fire in St. Ivo.

Okay.

You can look it up.

It was arson.

Now, do you believe all that?

No.

I think everyone goes from life to life...

but they forget.

They dream things and let them go.

Maybe I'll dream this.

I got out of college...

and I taught skiing.

That's all true.

I had a client...

who was going on a cruise to Alaska...

and she needed someone to watch her house.

I loved it at first.

I went around,

looking at all the things, thinking:

"What if it was mine?"

The night it happened,

I had supper and a bottle of wine.

Not all of it.

More than I should have.

The fire wept with the open window.

It was like something alive...

that couldn't breathe.

Tim Geer helped me.

He knows about these things.

I keep hearing that name.

I haven't even seen the guy.

We needed someone to find the arsonist.

Shane.

Tim knew you would do it.

How did he know that?

He just does.

He's very strange.

Okay. So...

I find him...

Did find him.

What's it all for?

It will make things right.

It will make things right with me.

Jesus.

This is the thing I'm supposed to do.

Nothing says that you have to.

Pierre, go away for a while.

A week. It'll be over.

I don't wanna go away.

I live here.

You said, "Get ready." I did.

I am.

You aren't.

And I don't think

you are ever going to be.

And I don't want anything

to happen to you.

I think it's already happening.

Wondered where you went.

I wanted a drink.

How's that going?

Superb.

Now, Keith....

What?

Do you ever think that the future...

is, like, someplace you never been?

No. Not really.

Like Sydney, Australia.

You been around.

Have you ever been to Sydney, Australia?

I never have.

Okay, good.

Me neither.

But we wouldn't say that it hasn't...

happened yet...

just because we haven't been there,

now, would we?

Of course not.

We would say...

that it exists.

- Agreed.

- Well, maybe the future is like that.

It's there.

We're on our way.

It exists, man.

Yep.

Okay. No offense...

- but I'm cutting you off.

- Oh, that's okay.

I understand.

My God, I, of all people.

So, Pierre, I meant to tell you,

guy called the station.

Looks like you're getting

your harmonica back.

What harmonica?

Who is it?

It's me. Let me in.

- Hey.

- Hey.

Where you been, man?

Nowhere.

You wanna go to the play?

The plays crummy.

That's what I like about it.

Come on. We always go to the play.

I think I'm gonna skip it this time.

All right.

Well, I guess I'll go

to the crummy play...

all by myself.

Oh, Jesus Christ.

- If you're gonna be that way, f*** it.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- I'll go to the play with you.

- Thanks, Pierre.

- You're welcome.

Hey, maybe this time it'll be good, huh?

Over here.

I don't know why I got this.

It's so sticky.

Just keep it away from me.

Hey, Pierre.

Okay. Do you see that guy

with the white hair?

Look.

That's Tim Geer.

This is what people talk about

when they refer to having a good time.

Are you?

Am I what?

Having a good time.

Yeah.

I'm on cloud nine.

I just...

thought that life was gonna be fun.

That was really my impression.

It is fun.

I mean, it's not like Adventureland.

You get to write your poems.

The leaves move.

You get laid sometimes.

That's fun, isn't it?

The leaves move?

You know what I mean.

Oh, joy. The leaves are moving.

I really believe that.

I know you do.

That's the latest model.

I have one at this price.

I'm not seeing a difference.

No table service tonight, gents...

- but you can order at the bar if you like.

- Good. Good.

- Is Pierre around?

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