The Soloist Page #7

- Twirling round. Angels.

- All right,

- graceful as little ballerinas.

- I love them flying around

like I love Mr. Steve Lopez flying around.

I love God. I love you!

I love you.

I don't want him to love me.

Well, it looks like

you might have to get over that.

It's a bad idea.

"I love you, Steve,"

turns into, "You failed me, Steve,"

turns into very bad things.

That's my limited experience.

I don't want to be on the other side

of that with him. Would you?

He doesn't know if I'm a ballerina,

if I'm God, if I'm an airplane pilot.

He has no idea what he's saying.

Is there something you want

from me, Lopez?

Or did you just come to show me

your prom dress? You look nice.

I want you to help him

because he's sick

and he needs medication

and you have a team of doctors here.

Tell them to sit down with him.

Isn't that what you're supposed to do?

Nathaniel's made it quite clear

he's not ready to speak to a psychiatrist.

Force him.

- Force him?

- Tell him to do it.

Tell him he can't play his instruments

until he sits down with a shrink.

- That's not what we do here.

- What you do here is f***ed.

It is.

Look, even if I did wanna

cohorse Nathaniel into psychiatry...

- Coerce.

...which... Whatever.

- Coerce.

- If I wanted to do that, which I don't,

I couldn't force him to take medication.

The law is the law.

Unless he's an imminent danger

to himself or someone else...

Are you gonna answer that, or what?

I'm in the car. What if he was

a danger to someone else?

- But he's not.

- Mary, I'm on the way. Relax.

What if someone said he was?

What if someone dialed 911

and said Nathaniel had attacked him?

They'd put him in psychiatric hospital.

I know you're not thinking

of lying on him, Lopez.

And then he would be

in a 14-day psychiatric hold,

they'd put him on meds straight away.

What if that's all it took

for him to be well?

What if two weeks of meds,

a two-week window

into what his life could be,

changed his life? Saved his life?

Why wouldn't you want to be

part of that?

Steve, Nathaniel has one thing going

for him right now. A friend.

If you betray that friendship, you destroy

the only thing he has in this world.

I don't want to be his only thing.

Didn't you just tell somebody

you was in your car?

Mary, relax. What table are we at?

This is Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr.,

Mr. Lopez. I was calling...

- Nathaniel.

...because you promised me

a hard case for my cello

and I haven't received it yet.

- Yeah?

- And also I need sheet music

for Beethoven's Second Sonata.

And also Opus 131 and Septet for

strings and woodwinds, and Opus 20...

Can you just... One sec.

... and also my A string is missing...

- So, we're talking about...

I need my A string replaced.

Nathaniel, you know, this is not...

... his series in the Times

on the struggles and the triumphs

of Nathaniel Anthony Ayers

has brought crucial attention to one

of the most pressing issues in our city.

... promises you should make good

on those promises...

Get off the phone.

... to address this problem

with compassion and commitment.

And in honor of this,

it is my pleasure to present this year's

Media Award to Steve Lopez.

Thank you.

... you know that I can't leave

my cart anywhere.

It houses my violin, my cello,

and my weapons of mass destruction.

A child needs protection. You don't want

to put a baby in the trunk of a car

and have it get bashed up

against the wall.

Bashed up against the wall.

Bashed up against the wall.

I got a phone call from Mark Rosenthal

today, remember him?

Book editor?

Bob Geldof with a crew cut.

He's been reading your Nathaniel stuff,

thinks it's genius, whatever.

- Whatever.

- Anyway. He said it's a book.

What did he say exactly?

"It's personal, it's political, it's timely.

I can sell the sh*t out of it."

- Oh, boy.

- His words, excuse me, not mine.

Well, it's complicated.

Nathaniel's complicated.

Well, yeah, he's mentally ill, I mean.

Right. But beyond that, it's endless.

I just...

I don't want to take full responsibility.

By all means, avoid full responsibility.

Just, you know, keep going

with the partial responsibility

and exploiting him

like you are now.

You should stop.

'Cause that's a slippery slope

right there,

Lopez.

- Stop. Stop.

- One day, you're getting a book...

- Please stop.

... from the guy. And the next,

he's expecting, I don't know,

some sort of...

Mary, stop.

...consistency in the relationship.

Screw that, man.

Who needs that sh*t, right? My words.

- You driving?

- No, I have a car.

And a driver?

- Oh, my God!

- Oh, sh*t.

It's Nathaniel for you.

... as a youngster labeled mentally ill

because of the underlying

cigarette habit,

constant disturbance,

constant disturbance.

You know, bigots have children, too.

Pens from Steve Lopez. Many thanks.

Constant disturbance,

constant disturbance.

Bigots have children.

Bigots have children, too.

Pens... Paper...

Pens from Steve Lopez. Many thanks.

And a cello from Steve Lopez.

Steve Lopez... Many thanks to that.

Without Steve Lopez,

I wouldn't have any of that...

Constant disturbance.

Constant disturbance.

Constant disturbances.

I've had what I think is a beautiful idea.

I think Nathaniel should give a recital.

I don't know if I can make that call.

He hasn't been very lucid lately.

- Right. When is he clearest?

- I don't...

When is he most able

to focus his thoughts?

- When he's playing.

- Right.

This could increase his confidence

a thousand fold.

It could be transformative.

How can we not give him that, Steve?

God bless you, Steve.

Sure he does.

My first concert, I was so nervous,

I vomited all down my tuxedo.

It was so embarrassing.

Want to know how I got over

those jitters, Nathaniel?

I prayed.

Shall we pray together, you and I?

Heavenly Father,

shine your light on brother Nathaniel,

that he may speak

with your voice tonight.

Nathaniel, you never have been here,

Nathaniel. I'm here, Nathaniel.

- You're not there.

- Nathaniel.

You never have been here.

You never will be here.

My voice is all there is.

Everything's fine.

- Follow my voice, Nathaniel.

- Tune up and play.

Run away from these people, Nathaniel.

They'll laugh at you.

- You're nothing.

- Nathaniel Ayers.

Nathaniel?

I got some soup here for you.

Nathaniel?

You think I'm stupid.

Is that what you think?

You want to kill them, Nathaniel.

They'll kill you first, Nathaniel.

No.

They'll string you up, Nathaniel.

No. You think I can't see everything.

I see everything.

I know who you are.

I know what you're doing.

- Dogs, biting at your feet.

- Nathaniel.

- I thought you might be hungry.

- Nathaniel, over there.

- The dusty open manual.

- Nathaniel, come here.

The manual.

That's hydrochloric acid. If I eat that, it'll

burn me up inside and kill me like a dog.

- Oh, no.

- Nathaniel.

- Nathaniel, I wouldn't do that.

- Nathaniel.

Nathaniel.

Nathaniel.

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