Three Days in August Page #3

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she's been here before, so,

yeah.

- It's gorgeous.

It's perfect and rustic and

great for a family gathering.

And I love it.

- I'll drink to that.

- He'll drink to anything.

- Cheers.

- Oh, did we wake you up?

- I'll get it.

- Nuh-nuh-no.

I got it.

- Everybody good on drinks?

- Yeah.

- Hey.

It's good to see you.

Come on in.

Um, Maggie, Aiden, you

remember my parents,

and here are Francis, Liam, and

Sam.

- John, Maureen.

- - Sam.

- Hi.

- - Hi.

- Hey, Liam baby, take a

picture of Nana for me.

- Whose is that?

- Yo.

Yeah, just a sec.

- Liam, where are you going?

- Sorry, Nana, I gotta

take this.

- I hate cellphones.

- I am so sorry.

- Hey, what's up?

Yeah, we're at that house

in the middle of nowhere.

My mom's painting a portrait.

- Hey, Liam.

- Baby, it's fine.

- I guess so, sort of.

Yeah, the whole family.

She even brought her

real mom and stepfather.

Can you believe that?

I told you she was adopted.

Huh, I guess you can call them

my grandparents, technically.

Hadn't thought of it.

Yeah, grandma and grandpa are

here.

Yeah yeah, and Franny.

Oh no kidding, it was so ugly.

They came in last night.

- Smoke bothering you?

- It's important to her.

- Liam!

Hang up the phone and get over

here.

- Sam.

- It's rude.

- Listen, I gotta go.

We're still on for tomorrow

night.

Yep, yep, a'ight, later.

- Honey, can we take a break for

a minute?

- You know what, that is a great

idea.

Everybody, let's take a break.

- I gotta hit the head.

- Sam, will you help

daddy set up the grill?

- Yeah, sure.

- Thank you.

- So are you grillin'

today or...?

- All right, what's next?

- I've got coleslaw in the

fridge

and a bowl in that drawer.

- All right.

- Maggie, you need anything?

- No.

- Hm.

- Hm?

- No, I was just, I just said,

"hm."

It was interesting what kind

of potato salad you're making.

- What's that mean?

- Doesn't mean anything,

it just means it's interesting,

all right?

What are you puttin' in it?

- It's an all-mustard potato

salad.

- Mustard?

- That's right.

- No, no mayonnaise?

- That's right.

No mayonnaise.

- Why?

- 'Cause I don't like

mayonnaise.

- Well, but you always make

potato salad with mayonnaise.

- Well, not this one.

- All right.

And why is that?

Is that because of health or

something?

Because I read somewhere that

mayonnaise is just as healthy

as an avocado.

- I don't know about that, mom.

- I just never liked the stuff.

- That's good to know, yeah?

- Yeah.

Oh.

Oh, that's just great.

So we're gonna have

potato salad with mustard.

That's dandy.

- I guess you just

prefer the devil's sperm.

- What?

What did you just say?

- The devil's sperm.

- Oh my god.

- You prefer the devil's sperm?

- You're disgusting.

Jesus.

My god.

Why do you ever let her

talk to me like that?

- Maggie.

- Oh, you devil you.

- John?

- I'll be right there.

- Looks like someone salted her

pie.

- Everything okay?

- It could be anything.

Hey, Aiden.

Are you still out in Coryell

county?

- That's right, still there.

I do most of my work out

of Jonesboro these days.

- Well, what are you doin' to

keep busy?

- Same thing that's kept me

busy for the last 40 years,

electrical work mostly.

A little carpentry, odd

jobs here and there.

- Oh, here we go.

- We could certainly use a good

handyman

up in the big d.

The only thing I can manage

to change are my diapers.

- And we pray that he remembers

to change 'em every day.

- There we go, I knew it.

- John, you still practice law?

- He knows the license

plate of every ambulance

in Tarrant county.

- Yeah, I'm still a partner.

They haven't caught me yet.

- What do you know about life

insurance?

- I know if Maureen knew

how much money we had,

she would have run me over years

ago.

Why, what's up?

What do ya need?

- I, ah, I'm thinking of changing

our policy, age and all,

but these regulations of

preexisting conditions and stuff.

I was just wondering if you knew

someone

- I could talk to.

- - Mom.

Will you help me?

- Ah, well I could email

you a couple of names.

You just send me all of your

information

and I'll do it when I get back.

- If you don't mind,

yeah, that'd be great.

- No, I'd like to do it.

- Thank you, thank you.

- Sure.

Yeah, excuse me, guys, for a

minute.

What's the problem, Maureen?

- You won't believe what she

said to me.

- Momma, please.

- Can't we just...

- mom!

Please.

- Fine.

- Look, look, look, look,

over there on that branch.

- What is that, a bird?

- That's a brown-headed cowbird.

- Oh god, not this again.

- What's a cowbird?

- Well, a cowbird is a member

of the blackbird family

and they've evolved to follow

around

the herds of cows and sheep and

buffalos

and it picks the ticks off of

their backs.

- Wow, this is just like animal

planet.

- There it is.

- Keep goin', daddy.

- She's a brood parasite.

- What's a brood parasite?

- Ah ha, see, the curiosity of

youth.

A brood parasite, see that's

when the female cowbird

lays her eggs in the nest

of other birds, right.

- So they make the

other birds raise their babies?

- Exactly.

- Hey!

What're you sayin'?

- Maggie, he didn't mean

anything.

- God, that's, I'm sorry,

I didn't mean anything really by

it.

- I know.

She'll be all right, just let

her go.

Probably best to just

leave her alone for a bit.

- Sorry.

- Aren't you proud of yourself?

- Hey.

- Hey.

- Come back down and join us.

- Nnh.

I lost my appetite.

- Daddy didn't mean anything.

He has really been into birds.

We got him this book last

Christmas.

I wasn't hungry anyway.

- How are you?

- Fine.

- The hospital?

- Took in a couple of extra

shifts.

I'm workin' six days a week.

- Busy's good.

- Yeah, I guess.

- I'm busy too.

I had a few gallery showings

and a couple new commissions.

- That's nice, real nice.

- A lot of hard work but...

- But what?

- Why'd you stop painting?

- Oh.

Well, I never had the time

or the means to do anything with

it.

I was so busy at the hospital.

I just had a whole lotta things

goin' on.

- I'm sorry.

- For what?

- Well, didn't you love it?

- Hrmph, love has nothing

to do with it, Shannon.

I do what I do to survive.

- I didn't mean...

- What?

What are you talkin' about?

- I just was, was just trying to

talk.

- Talk about what?

- I was just tryin' to,

I really don't know you

or anything about your life, my

father...

- Shannon?

I don't want to talk about it.

Besides it's really none of your

business.

- What do you mean?

- Ahh, well, I see where

this is goin', mm-hmm.

Next thing you're gonna tell me

I'm the one that ruined your

life.

Hm?

- You don't get it, do you?

I was nine years old when

I had my first sleepover,

and it was great, until

it was time to go to bed.

I was just lying there,

thinkin', worrying,

that no one was going to come

back

and pick me up in the morning.

My friend's mother found me

in the middle of the night,

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