The Lucky Ones by Analog Lions Page #3

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- Yeah.

- Yeah? Yeah, what you got? Whoo-hoo.

[BEN LAUGHS THEN WHOOPS]

BEN:

Mom ran track. She was super-fast.

BETH:

Cross-country, I wasn't that good.

Is that why you got a scholarship

to Tulane?

Because you weren't any good?

Okay. Once upon a time

I was pretty good.

Are you happy?

LOGAN:

You went to Tulane?

No, State to be close to home.

Had some personal stuff come up.

She got pregnant. With me.

BETH:

Well, thank you, Benjamin.

Isn't it your night for the dishes?

Thank you.

LOGAN:

Do you still run competitively?

Oh, no, no, no. Now I just do it to clear my

head. It's a lot cheaper than therapy, so...

So is walking.

- Who plays chess?

- Me.

Me too.

Bet I can beat you.

- What's the bet?

- Dishes tonight.

Dishes tonight,

against the pauper scooper tomorrow.

Gotta warn you, I'm not bad.

Check.

[IMITATES ENGINE REWING]

Let's do a ip.

Oh, that was cool.

Wheelie.

Somersault.

Checkmate.

Detergent is under the sink.

LOGAN:

What? Did I just get hustled?

Have to admit,

I played better the second time.

BEN:

Sure. Until your second move.

You have any other secret talents

I should know about?

You're the one with the secret.

I saw him playing the piano.

Really?

Yeah.

I saw it when I put the keys back.

He's really good.

Hey, you're not too bad yourself.

- Why don't you play something for us?

- How about a magic trick instead?

Yeah, okay.

He hates playing for people.

He doesn't think that he's good enough.

Hmm.

Ordinary deck.

Wow, okay, cool.

- Oh. It's all right.

- Ha-ha.

Show me again.

- Tell me when to stop.

- Stop.

Memorize the card,

and I am not looking.

Okay, I got it.

Let me give it a little magic.

LOGAN:

Wow.

- I didn't know you were a magician too.

- Wait till you see this one.

Ben, sweetie, ifs past your bedtime.

- Wait, this is the best one.

- Show me tomorrow.

Ben, say good night to Logan, now.

- Come on.

- No. I just wanted to show him a trick.

I'm sorry. He's not usually--

It's fine. It's fine.

My brother taught him a few tricks.

Magic was kind of their thing.

We lost him last year.

He was a Marine too.

It's been hard on Ben.

It's been hard on all of us.

[DOGS BARKING]

[GROUP SINGING IN DISTANCE]

ELLIE:

Thank you.

GROUP & ELLIE [SINGING]:

We share

[SINGING INDISTINCTLY]

Well, I'm glad you came.

ELLIE:

Uh!

- Ho-ho. Whoo! Ha-ha.

BETH:
Oh.,..

Aren't you helpful, dear, and chivalrous?

You are so--?

Isn't he chivalrous?

Have you been drinking?

I had a little something

called a Moscow Mule.

It sounds terrible, but it was so good.

- I'll make you a cup of tea.

- Oh, good.

Okay.

Look, there's something that

I've been meaning to tell you.

I never fully explained how--

And I'm sorry,

I can't find the right words.

It's all right.

Another time, maybe.

After all, I'm not going anywhere.

Okay.

Good night, Logan.

[DOOR CLOSES]

[GRUNTS]

[GASPING]

[BETH GRUNTS]

[DOGS BARKING]

No. No!

Jesus!

No!

[SOBS]

LOGAN:

Beth! Beth!

No! Stop it!

[SOBBING]

No.

LOGAN:

It's okay.

It's okay.

BETH:

At first they wouldn't tell us anything.

Just that friendly fire was a possibility.

So it's a year ago today...

...and the official investigation

into the death of Sergeant...

...Drake...

...Green...

...is still ongoing.

That's the worst part. Not knowing.

I would give anything...

I would give anything to know

that he didn't die for nothing.

We were inseparable as kids, you know?

We did everything together.

We even built that wall together.

Well, Drake built the wall...

...and I supervised...

...which consisted mostly of drinking

iced teas and reading the Bronts.

[LAUGHS]

Oh. This one day...

...I couldn't find my book anywhere.

So I asked him about it.

And he just pointed.

Look. Look.

God, I was so mad.

I was so mad at him.

And he just laughed.

[LAUGHING]

It was--

[SOBS]

BETH:

I'm sorry.

LOGAN:

It's okay.

You got a great laugh, you know that?

I wish I could hear it more.

Why don't you try telling me a joke?

Because you're gonna have to get a few

beers in me before I start telling you jokes.

Okay.

-Okay.

-Okay.

"--Except for Ron and Hermione's slow,

deep breathing.

Harry glanced over at the dark shapes

they made on the oor beside him.

Ron had had a fit of..."

Mom.

- Mom,

- Yes. "On the sofa. Hermione's..."

"--So that her silotee..."

Silhouette.

Come on, Brutus. Hi, buddy.

[BRUTUS WHIMPERING]

All right. Come on.

Come on, come on, come on.

Ha-ha. Oh, come on. 'What-?

[LAUGHS]

Shake.

[GRUNTING]

Wa-yaah!

What's the black dog tag for?

This one's mine, and the black one is

in memory of my best buddy, Victor.

So they're like friendship bracelets.

Yeah. Yeah, you could say that.

No-- Oh, man, he's toast.

- Your turn.

- Don't. No.

LOGAN:

Where you going?

Hey. You can run, man,

I'm gonna make a Marine out of you.

[BOTH LAUGHING]

[DOGS BARKING]

[LAUGHS]

[INDISTINCT DIALOGUE]

[HORN HONKING]

LOGAN:

Get over. Go through.

Up!

See.

I've been working on my pop-ups

all week,

KEITH:
All right. That's my boy.

BETH:
There you go. Get in the car.

LOGAN:

See.

- How's old Thigh-Bolt working out for you?

- Do me a favor, okay'?

Try and remember

this is a charity game.

What the hell's that supposed to mean?

Don't push him too hard, okay?

Hey, you know what?

When Benny's on your time,

you guys do what you want.

You can plant your owers, you can do

your crochet, play the fiddle, whatever.

When he's with me we do it my way.

- Have fun, sweetie. Seat belt.

- Bye, Mom.

- Need to give the kid some room to breathe.

[WHISPERS] I'm okay.

[DOGS BARKING]

No.

Cooper.

Cooper, stop.

[BAND PLAYING "DANCE EVERYDAY"]

That's $9. Thank you.

BETH:

I'm gonna get going.

I'll be back later to help you pack up.

[DOGS BARKING]

Hey. What's up?

KEITH:
Unh, There you go.

BETH:
Oh.

- What happened?

BEN:
We won!

Oh, he took his eye off a ground ball.

It's not as bad as it looks.

He just got a little nosebleed.

I still stopped it. Got my glove down,

kept my body in front. Only one run scored.

Ha, ha. It was the play of the game.

Tell you what,

might make a man out of him yet.

Why don't you go on inside?

Take a shower. I'll be right there.

- See you later, buddy.

BEN:
Bye, Dad.

What? It was an accident.

You really don't see it.

See what?

That boy would run through

a brick wall for you,

What does that gotta do with him

not being able to field a ground ball?

- Huh?

- Okay.

Don'! worry about it.

Please go home, Keith.

Hey, wait a second. Hey.

Who do you think

you're talking to, huh?

Keith, calm down.

You calm down.

Let me tell you something.

That's my son in there too, and I can

take that boy anytime I want. You got that?

Let go of my arm. Let go of my arm.

- What's the matter?

LOGAN:
You should do as she says.

Let go of her arm.

BETH:

God!

[DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES]

[DOGS BARKING]

Gosh, I hope that this heals up

before your birthday.

Your friends' parents are going

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