The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) Page #10

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But I don't think

I'll catch you that way

I thought I'd go to the Whitney and...

Ask to see his sculpture,

if it's not lost.

Won't you look at the old fool

Wild horses

- [Tony] I want to say bye now.

- We just got on the phone.

- I'm gonna press the button.

- Hi, Tony, remember me?

- We've never actually met.

- This is Eliza, your cousin.

- I'm pressing the button.

- Wait.

Oh, sh*t!

I'm oddly growing fond of this cafeteria,

like I'd almost come here

just anyway to eat. How's your boy?

She f***ing gets in his head.

He's always hanging up on me now.

- Call him back.

- I don't want to. It makes me feel bad.

He's five years old, they hate phones.

Eliza, when you were that age,

you'd never talk on the phone.

She makes it too difficult.

I don't know, sometimes I think

maybe I sit this kid out,

start another family,

and then he finds me at 21.

Let him come to me.

He's not a girl you're trying to trick

into dating you.

Dad, your limp is worse.

It's always stiff after I've been sitting.

- I was looking online, could be your hip.

- Could be.

- It's my back.

- We should get you checked out.

- Yeah, dad.

- I don't have time to see a doctor now.

- Where'd you get manicotti?

- We're already at a doctor.

You really should, Dan.

- I know what it is, okay?

- What is it?

It's... I mean, I basically know.

- Dad, you gotta deal with it.

- I know. I've been telling him that.

- Yeah, look at dad.

- Right?

- He ignored his thing.

- Just let me eat my f***ing banana. Okay?

You should call your son.

- Hi, Matt!

- Hi, Maureen.

[Car thuds, beeps]

Maureen!

[Maureen] it's a shame the dad

is gonna miss the opening tomorrow.

- He was really looking forward to it.

- Dad asked me to say something.

I was gonna ask Danny and Jean, too.

He would never have expected you

to have shown up.

We were trying to figure it out. Have you

ever even been to this house before?

No.

The dad always hoped for a visit,

but I guess you always had a lot to do

in the city when you came to town,

and us, not being

the a-list parents and all.

Danny and Jean, of course,

are here all the time,

but that's less exciting for the dad.

I reached out to some of his old friends,

who are going to come visit.

Well, I hope they understand

they'll be looking at a sleeping man.

Hello, Andy warhol.

I explained that in so many words.

I spoke to Dr. diebert, the neurologist,

who seems very knowledgeable

but has no upper lip to speak of,

and if Harold survives the infection,

they have no idea what person

will be in there when he wakes up.

Maybe he'll be Brad Pitt...

Or neruda

or Joe the plumber, I...

I just want him to be Harold.

Have you looked over

the documents I sent you?

Yes.

And... given where we are with the dad,

and the Manhattan house

is more than we need right now,

I've taken your counsel, and I think

selling the house and the art

to James and Brian

is the right thing to do.

So, I signed the places

that you marked for me.

[Matthew] great, then it's done.

[Maureen] some pieces are quite large.

How will they be displayed?

James' family owns a series of retirement

communities around the country,

and they're going to donate the art

to these facilities as a write-off.

[Maureen] oh.

Okay.

I can't believe Danny is happy about that.

And Jean...

Who knows what Jean feels

about anything.

Well, with dad's illness,

I thought I'd wait till after the show

to tell them anything, just...

I don't know,

there's just been so much going on.

Really, they have no power anyway.

I don't know what happened to them

as children.

Harold says he tried his best,

but they're really such disappointments.

Nobody took care of them.

I say that as a disappointment, myself.

I was neglected too during my childhood.

It's funny,

I was never interested in having kids.

Maybe once...

No, not even once.

Eliza texted she came early

to be with dad.

She texted you?

The curator is meeting us at bard at 1,

so let's get Eliza, say our goodbyes

to dad, and get on the road.

Oh, good, Paul came.

Paul Epstein.

I always liked Paul.

Man, he's gotten... older.

I'm glad dad still has friends.

I'm gonna go say hi.

Jean, remember Paul and Laurie?

Jean?

I don't think I've ever seen Jean run.

Yeah, that's how she runs.

You remember that summer I visited dad

on Martha's vineyard?

Dad never invited me or Danny

to the summer places.

- Never.

- But that summer I was a camp counselor

- at French woods in Vermont.

- [Danny] The one with alisa lirtzman?

No, that was Thoreau.

I was only at this one for one summer.

And I had two days off and I called him,

and he couldn't say no.

He must have gotten permission

from your mother.

It wasn't as convenient as I had thought.

I had to take two buses and a ferry.

When I arrived, nobody met me.

I hitchhiked to the other side

of the island.

When I got to the house,

it was already night.

The adults were all going out for dinner:

Dad and your mom, and l.J. And Maya,

and Paul and Laurie.

Julia said something about me

having my bags in the way.

They were happy to have a babysitter,

so they left me with the kids.

You were there, Matthew, and Loretta

and some other kids I didn't know.

We watched three's company on TV.

The next day, dad played tennis

and worked in his studio.

I went down to the beach with the kids.

I got to swim in the ocean,

which was really special for me.

I loved that.

Later, I showered in the outdoor shower

with my suit on,

and I realized someone was watching me.

It was Paul.

He smiled at me, almost politely,

and then he lowered

his tight bathing suit,

took out his penis,

and started stroking it.

- Paul did?!

- Oh, god.

I watched him until he finished,

and then he walked away.

Did you tell anyone?

I told dad that night.

He asked if Paul had touched me,

and I said no.

He thought we should probably

just leave it then.

They were going back to the city

soon anyway,

but that if Paul did it again,

he'd punch him in the nose.

The next day when I was leaving,

I looked around for dad to say goodbye,

but he was playing tennis.

I thought about telling your mom, Matthew,

but I was afraid she'd get angry at me.

I remember crying on my way to the ferry.

Jean, can I ask you a question?

Why do you always show up for dad?

Why are you always here?

Because I'm a decent person.

Even though he never took care of us,

it's what you do.

Besides, I like hanging out with you guys.

Come here.

I'm going for a smoke.

- Do we kick the sh*t out of him?

- He's 80, we'd kill him.

That's true, or hurt him very badly.

- And neither of us could take that nurse.

- That's for sure.

I'm gonna... spit on him.

No, I know what to do.

Ow!

But good, too. You got to try this.

Sh*t, this is Maureen's

dead ex-husband's cane.

Ah!

[Grunts]

I've never done anything like this.

Ha ha!

Me neither.

- Yeah, man!

- I'm with you!

- F***ing yeah, right?

- I'm telling you.

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