1
Hey! Darce.
Look, you shouldn't be
out here either.
Too many people come out
at the same time,
she's gonna bust us.
- And then what?
- Mmm?
No more gardening at night.
Hey, you know how that
cramps your style.
Well, I got these roses
on sale at Walmart today.
I get 'em in the ground
while the soil's cooled off,
else they're gonna wither.
Serves you right if they wither,
shopping at Walmart.
You want me to make coffee in
the morning or you gonna do it?
Me. I'll see you at 7:00.
Get some sleep.
It's too hot.
Agh, it already feels like
I switched the blow dryer
on "high" and held it up
to my face for half an hour.
It doesn't help that
you're driving around
in a mini sweat lodge.
Hello, folks.
Today we're heading into
our 88th consecutive day
of no rain here
in north Georgia in this,
the hottest September on record.
And there's no rain in sight.
Oh, shit, space cowboy.
Don't look, don't look,
don't look, don't look.
What?
He knows your truck.
Don't make eye contact.
Christ.
He's never awake this time of...
Hey, Clay, how you doing?
Do you have a second, Darcy?
I don't want to alarm you,
because there is nothing
to worry about yet,
but the Dean's been discussing
budget cuts and layoffs again,
and we may have to pare down
on administrative assistants.
Uh-huh.
I know you were interested
in a tuition option
- after two years of service.
- Right.
Did you get your application in?
Good, ma in American lit.
Ba. Ba.
I never got my degree.
Well, good for you
for finishing it now.
Oh, also, you may have to pay
in more to the health plan.
You don't have
any dependents, correct?
No.
So they need you
to get out there
and find the money
and be all charming,
so you're totally safe,
and geri,
you know everything there is
to know about computers.
Plus not to be blunt,
but you got race and gender
on your side.
- Funny how things work out sometimes.
- Shut up.
I think it'll be fine, darce.
Don't stress.
You could always ask Clayton
for your old job back.
No. No, no, no.
No, she was the world's
worst waitress.
- No.
- Oh.
I'll see you after work,
sweetheart.
Love you.
- Oh, pardon me.
- Sorry.
Oh. Oh.
Are you...
s that Kevin?
Kevin Jenkins?
Miss baylor,
how you been keeping?
Fine.
I'm sorry, Kevin.
I... I almost didn't
recognize you.
You just...
Look so different.
This here is my wife, Beth.
Oh, excuse me.
I'm Darcy, Darcy baylor.
Kevin was friends
with my son Walker.
They had some run together,
those two.
Yep.
From kindergarten all the way
through to grad school.
They were thick as thieves.
Kevin told me all about it.
Such a loss.
I can't imagine how painful...
This your first?
We've got three boys already.
This is a boy, too.
Aren't you a little young
to have that many kids, Kevin?
I'm almost 32, Ms. baylor.
We're up from Birmingham
visiting mama.
I run an accounting firm
down there now, so.
Well, you remember me to her.
Yes, ma'am, of course.
Here you go, zipper.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Want to come over?
I'm fixing a salad.
I can't, working late.
Dean says the funding letter's
gotta go out,
and I'm up to my eyeballs
trying to track down
any alum that's got money.
Mm, donations
are in short supply, huh?
Mostly, but I just found
one prospect who's loaded,
apparently.
Wasn't Walker friends
with some guy named mark Wright?
Mark Wright.
Oh, he's from
New Orleans originally?
The very one.
Yeah.
He and Walker were in
business school together.
I never liked that kid.
He had weird-ass energy.
Huh, so, what can you tell me
about mark Wright?
I don't know.
Walker kind of idolized him.
I could never figure out why.
He was from some rich family.
Yeah.
He was dealing coke all over.
Not like he had to.
But nobody ever bothered him
about it
'cause he was a legacy.
Did you see that?
Heat lightning.
It's a big fat tease.
Not like we're getting any
actual precipitation out of it.
Anyway, mark was always
hiring Walker
to do shit jobs like pick up
his dry cleaning
because he knew
he was hard up for cash.
Well, you know what they say.
Money begets money.
Mark Wright's worth something
like 5 million bucks now.
- What?
- Made it all in this chain
of restaurants down
in Louisiana.
- You shaving your legs or something?
- No.
- What kind of restaurant?
- Oh, it's ridiculous.
It's like make
your own hot dogs,
dogs the way you want them,
something like that.
Hot dogs.
Yeah.
Like ones made
with all-natural ingredients,
and some of them are vegetarian?
- Uh-huh.
- Like tofu?
- Uh-huh.
- Is it called the dawg house?
Like d-a-w-g?
Yeah, d-a-w-g.
How'd you know that?
Darce?
Are you still there?
I gotta go.
Hey.
Last time I saw that look
on your face,
it was the night that you broke
that menu board
over some guy's head
when he grabbed your ass
when you set down his meatloaf.
I was in the stock room
minding my own business,
and I heard "cr-ack."
Cleaved it clean in two.
Darcy?
If you didn't want to see me,
what you come in here for?
It's good to get out
of the house sometimes.
Byrd told me you're worried
about your job.
Town crier.
Are you going to quit
being cryptic or what?
Remember when you, me,
and Walker dug this bed?
I do.
He's been coming up
all day today.
Some days, you know,
he just sort of surfaces.
Some days not at all.
When he was real little
and I barely had
two pennies to rub together,
there was one thing
we would always do on Saturdays,
and that was walk up to Louie's
and get hot dogs.
I'd get two everythings.
He'd get a chili dog.
We'd both get lemonades,
and then we'd walk home.
It didn't matter what it was
like out weather-wise.
Eating our hot dogs, you know,
talking about this and that.
Even in the rain.
We considered it good luck
to eat a hot dog in the rain.
Once Walker got done
with his lemonade,
he'd hold my hand
up till he was around 10 or so,
and then he quit.
Well, the time's gonna come
when a boy eventually lets go
of his mama's hand.
When he was getting
his business plan together
for grad school,
he wanted to start a chain
of family restaurants
where you can make
your own hot dog,
and I thought to myself,
I took this child to museums
and read him good books
and paid for cello lessons,
and all he's hanging onto
is the hot dogs.
Well, he had his own ideas
about what he wanted to do.
He worked the whole thing out,
real detailed.
I know, 'cause
I typed it up for him.
And then his professor
handed it back
and told him that business plan
was never gonna fly.
Was that the professor
you stared at real hard
when he parked his Honda
by the light downtown and then,
poof, his engine died?
Yeah.
He was only 24.
If I could've gotten him
over that hump.
If... if I could've
just helped him...
Get a little further.
If he even made it to 30,
he would've been okay.
I know.
I know you believe that.
But you just gotta quit blaming
yourself eventually, baby.
Mm.
Here.
Oh, that asshole.
Oh, yeah, that guy.
You know, he used to come
into the bar
and try and order expensive
bottles of champagne
he knew damn well
we didn't carry.
He drove by in his Audi
blasting rap music
and hollering at Walker
when he was cutting your grass.
I forgot all about that.
Watch those crumbs, Clay.
Honey, I mean,
even if he stole Walker's idea,
you can't prove it.
If I can find a copy of Walker's
old business plan, I can.
What are you gonna do?
You gonna sue him?
You want his money?
That's not what I want.
Why not?
You could use it.
Maybe.
That's not what I'm after.
When byrd called me,
it was like something...
I don't know, I don't know
how to describe it.
It was like something
filled up this room.
It was pushing at the walls,
like they were vibrating
or something.
I felt Walker's presence
in here so strong.
I hadn't felt that way
since the night he died.
Every molecule of me
was alive to him.
He was calling to me.
What else can I do
except try to answer?
Darcy baylor.
My, what a surprise.
Hey, sue Anne, your yard's
sure looking gorgeous.
Aren't you worried about getting
ticketed for the sprinklers?
Oh, we aren't
on water restrictions
here in the heights.
What can I help you with, Darcy?
Well, actually,
I'm looking for Kevin.
Well, he and Beth and the boys
headed back to Alabama
around dawn.
I need to speak with him
about something.
Maybe you could just give me
his number then.
Um, try "zipper."
That's not it either.
What about "interpol"?
Some kind of joke?
It's the name
of his favorite band.
Mm-mm.
"Asimov."
- What? What?
- "Asimov."
Uh-uh.
There's got to be some kind
of code you can crack.
It's encrypted,
I mean, you gotta figure out
the password he
would've used, Darcy.
- Otherwise nothing I can do.
- "Periwinkle."
"Periwinkle"?
You sure you don't
have a single hard copy
of that thing anywhere?
Those aren't the kinds
of things I held onto.
- Cinnamon roll.
- Yeah.
- Look, I'll cut to the chase, Clay.
- Okay.
I need that thing you been
holding for me.
I'm sorry, what thing?
That bag.
From the police.
Why do you need that right now?
I just feel like
maybe it's time.
Time to use what's in the bag?
It's just I'm ready
to take it back now.
Yeah?
I don't think so.
You do know that it's my job
to protect you from you.
In fact, I could make it
my full-time vocation.
Please.
Just give it to me.
Stop!
You stop right there!
I'm calling the cops!
You're trespassing!
Sorry, I-i-i...
Who are you?!
What're you doing here?!
My name's Darcy baylor.
I just... I knew somebody
who used to live in this house.
Whoa.
Walker's mom?
So when mark moved out,
his dad let me stay on.
Figure they got so much money,
forgot they even owned
the place, you know?
Some accountant pays
the taxes once a year.
It's all good.
You got some needle and thread,
I could mend that for you.
You still talk to mark?
No, nope, we're not in touch.
Dennis?
I need you to think back
to around the time that...
That Walker died.
About how he was acting,
how mark was acting,
what might've been going on
between those two.
Dennis.
I don't know.
There weren't any bad vibes
or anything.
Uh-huh.
I'd have picked up on it
if there was.
- Yeah, of course.
- You know?
I mean, Walker was kind of
a mess that day, but...
Wait, what day?
Well...
You know, the day he, uh...
Walker came out here
the day he died?
Yeah.
Well, how come none of you boys
ever told me that?
You never asked.
Why are you asking now?
It's been, what,
six years or something?
Seven.
Just tell me.
Okay.
Well...
I remember it was hot,
hot and dry
like it's been lately.
Walker dragged his ass
all the way in from town.
Tried to hitch, but
nobody'd pick him up.
That's why he had the blisters.
And when Walker got here,
he and mark went back
into mark's room.
They were doing lines.
I guess.
Come on, Dennis.
Mark, he always had it,
you know?
But the weird thing was,
when Walker came out
of mark's room, he had...
What?
He had... he had a box
of bullets in his hand.
You know, back when I was
in business school,
my professor told me
my plan wasn't going to cut it.
A restaurant
that's all about hot dogs?
Who would go eat there?
But when I was a boy,
my mama and me would get
a hot dog at the corner store
every Saturday
just like clockwork,
even if it was raining.
We considered that good luck,
eating a hot dog in the rain,
and I knew if I just honored
that memory,
well, sir, everything was gonna
be just fine.
Did you ever go all the way
through that site to where
mark Wright's talking about
how he started that business?
Mm-mm.
He took every little bit
of Walker, every last bit,
and he is on that thing
bragging about it,
celebrating it.
That's why I'm headed
to New Orleans in the morning.
- What? No, you're not.
- Oh, yes, I am.
Well, then I'm coming with you.
Byrd.
I want you to come.
Geri and I bought tickets for
that concert in Atlanta tomorrow.
And you got that
big project due for Colin.
Well, I'll stay up tonight
and finish it.
Come here.
I mean,
what are you gonna do, baby?
You gonna wave that gun
in his face
and tell him to apologize?
Come on.
That's just pure foolishness.
That's the last thing
you need to be doing.
You don't know what
I need to be doing.
Stop bossing me around.
Jesus Christ.
That's why I broke up with you
in the first place.
No. No, it's not.
No, it's not.
No, it's not why you broke up
with me, and you know it.
You couldn't commit to a man
who loves you.
You... you couldn't commit
to a man who loves you
and who asked you to marry him.
And you been avoiding me
as of late.
And why is that, Darcy?
You know why?
Because, because you're stuck.
You're stuck,
and you're so goddamn stubborn,
you can't even see it.
Look, I get why you're so upset,
and why you think you gotta go
settle this thing
right this second,
but think it through.
Ask for the days off.
Don't just take them.
Don't risk your job.
That's what pays the bills,
right?
That's what's gonna get you
your degree.
I didn't put in my application.
What?
It was due last week.
I know that.
I know.
But I didn't put it in.
Okay?
And I'm not gonna wait, byrd.
I can't.
Oh, darce.
Temperatures
are gonna hit 98 by midday,
but with that nasty old
heat index,
it's gonna feel more like 105.
Jesus Christ, we're not
crossing the Atlantic.
I like to have options.
Let her bring whatever
she damn well feels like.
We're going to be talking
to local farmer Roy johnston.
Roy spent $82,000
so far this year...
Oh, my goodness, stop.
Bye.
I'm gonna miss you.
Now that it's getting
on harvest time.
No matter how much water
they're throwing at the problem,
farmers everywhere
are seeing their crops
just rot and wither on the vine.
I want you to see if what I
figured out makes sense to you.
We can just use Google maps on
my phone, Darcy.
You don't need some method of
navigation from the mesozoic era.
I like to see the roads
laid out in front of me
on one piece of paper.
Why are we going so far
west of the Mississippi?
Look, it'd be faster if we
just stayed on the interstate
all the way down through Alabama
into Mississippi and Louisiana.
I hate those goddamn trucks.
You know?
I want to do back roads.
And I got a friend
who lives in meridian.
We can spend the night
with her and save on a motel.
Who do you know in meridian?
Mary Lou Healy,
married name Mary Lou Powell.
Got divorced,
took back her Healy.
I grew up in meridian.
I didn't know about meridian.
You know what wordsmith's
word of the day is?
Delphian, kinda rhymes
with meridian, right?
It's doesn't kinda rhyme.
Rhymes.
Kind of.
There's a syllabic problem.
Uh-huh.
It means ambiguous,
cryptic, incomprehensible,
indecipherable, inexplicable.
It always also means
goddamn annoying.
Look, if we're gonna be stuck in
this truck for a couple of days
staring at a piece of paper
and lacking any kind
of proper cooling system,
we're gonna have to talk,
and I don't just mean
about our jobs
or whether you should
or should not get a new car,
which in fact you should,
or whether I'm an actual lesbian
or just a dabbler.
- Dabbler.
- What the hell?
I'm teasing, but you know,
you slept with men.
Yes, at one time.
I could care less
who you do it with, byrd.
It's not about who I do it with.
Don't make light of what I have with
geri, 'cause I sure as hell don't.
- Is that how you think about Clayton?
- Oh.
My point is
y'all lived together once.
I thought you liked
having him in your house.
No, no, I did not.
It... it made me crazy.
He never put anything
back in the right place.
But you liked
waking up with him.
Hmm.
I'm not catching your drift.
Hey, you got
any extra sunglasses?
Oh, look in my bag.
Put that back.
Tell me this is what
Clayton keeps behind the bar.
It is not.
Tell me that this
isn't the same gun.
It is.
Now you listen to me,
Darcy baylor.
I'm the only one who got behind
this crazy journey of yours
because I do understand
why you gotta see it through.
If somebody's wronged you
or somebody you love,
you're gonna get up in that
person's face till they yield
to your indomitable will.
That's not the way I tend to do
things or even the way I'd want
to do things if I could,
but I do respect you for it.
All right,
so I'm here for moral support.
I haven't any idea what's
gonna lie at the end of this,
but I'm not accompanying you
on some mission of violence.
Who said anything
about a mission of violence?
Jesus Christ, byrd, you're
so melodramatic sometimes.
Why do you need to bring a gun
if you don't plan on using it?
I didn't say I don't plan
on using it.
I'm asking you
about your intentions.
My intention is to make
Birmingham by lunchtime.
I'm sorry, Ms. baylor,
I did fully intend
to get back to you.
There was no need
for you to come
all the way down here
to my place of business.
Just wanted to talk
face to face, that's all, Kevin.
I don't know why you've went
and drug Ms. ritt
along with you.
Right.
So, uh...
Can you tell me what is it
you think I can help you with
regarding Walker?
So this was taken just a little
bit before Walker died, right?
I think so, yeah.
Okay, so obviously,
you and Walker, mark Wright,
Dennis, and...
And who's that?
Ah, that's buford.
Buford lapierre.
Who?
He got a full ride
to the act school
on account of being a cajun.
He was renting out
the back room.
We didn't know him so well.
See, Dennis told me that Walker
came out there the day he died.
Were you around, too?
Yes, ma'am, I was.
And Dennis told me that Walker
left that house
with a box of bullets.
- Remember that?
- No.
Dennis says mark
gave them to him.
Now why in the world
would mark do that?
So he could take
Walker's business plan
- and run away with it maybe?
- Far as I know,
mark's made his money
fair and square.
I mean, look, even if Walker
came up with an idea,
doesn't mean he could've
implemented it, right?
It's not like he copyrighted it.
- Are you even serious?
- All I'm saying is it takes
a certain drive,
a certain vision to take an idea
and make it succeed,
and while mark...
Oh, I'd stop right there
if I were you.
Kevin Jenkins, I can't believe
you came to my house
for sleepovers
more times than I can count
all through high school,
and me cooking
pancake breakfasts.
You could play guitars
real loud.
After you let Walker
quit violin.
It was cello.
Point is, it was more of
a free atmosphere for you boys.
You could have a little fun,
unlike at your mama's house
up in the heights.
At least my mama
wasn't having parties
and dancing around in the garden
and refusing to put in a shower.
Walker had to take a bath
in a damn tub all the time.
Clawfoot.
Stall showers are ugly.
He wanted things to be normal.
- Normal's overrated.
- He wanted a normal mom.
We're not here to talk about
your idea of normal, Kevin.
Imagine if this happened
to one of your boys.
My boys are being raised
in a stable,
loving, two-parent home.
Yeah, that always
works out great.
Try to imagine
if something did happen.
Look...
Buford lapierre was in the room
with Walker and mark.
As far as I know, he moved
back home after graduation.
Maybe you could find him.
Not beaufort like the city.
Buford, b-u-f-o-r-d.
Yeah, lapierre's the last name,
spelled like it sounds.
It should be in the alumni
records for that year.
Thanks, baby.
She's looking it up.
Yep.
Nope.
Uh, near Simone city
on the atchafalaya river.
Simone city.
Uh-huh, geri says she got
a present for you, darce.
Aw, is it Clayton's balls
on a platter?
Quit ragging on him.
You'll be lucky
if he ever speaks to you again.
She just needs a snail mail
address so she can overnight it.
Last time I was
in meridian was...
When my parents died.
Walker was six.
They died a month apart,
two funerals, boom boom.
Sold the house and contents,
kept the kitchen table.
That was that.
So it was like one
of those stories
where a married couple
loves each other so much,
they couldn't bear
to be separated in death?
Nope.
Stop it. Stop it.
Oh, my lord.
Don't go there.
Don't even go there.
Oh.
You want another glass of wine?
No, I'm all right.
Oh, byrd's a beer drinker.
Well, I haven't had beer
in my fridge
since I got ray freaking Powell
out of my life.
Mr. social tourette's.
He could not keep
from saying inappropriate things
at group gatherings
in this really loud voice,
like he had no idea people were
standing inches away from him.
"Hey, so what's
the story with Chuck?
Is he really checking
into rehab?"
And so on and so forth, oh, my.
What an asshole.
I hate that smell
on my furniture.
Only out on the balcony,
and if you do go out,
close the slider.
I like my condo
as cold as a popsicle.
It hurts me that you smoke,
honey.
It hurts me not to smoke.
Hey, Wes is back in town,
you know.
No, I did not know.
Well, I thought Tommy
would've told you.
I don't speak to Tommy.
Well, I thought you and Tommy
would've patched things up
by now.
I don't speak to a single person
from that family.
Not one of those sanfords
came to Walker's service.
Well, maybe they were looking
to gather in a cemetery
with a headstone.
Maybe they didn't want
to hear you reading
some complicated poem
out loud at a memorial.
It was keats.
Well, whatever, it was poetry.
Where's Wes at? Jesus.
I don't want to run into him.
- I might have to kill him.
- She's got a gun in her truck.
- It's a figure a speech.
- Oh, Darcy, really?
Look... Macy brought Wes
back to meridian
a couple months ago,
and he's not doing so hot.
He's over at the oak hill home.
What?!
That's for old people.
Well, he's 14 years older
than you, right?
- Do the math.
- Math's not her strong suit.
Oh, I know that, sugar.
We went to elementary school
together.
Wes is pushing 70.
- Goddamn it.
- I thought you should know.
I mean,
maybe you wish he was dead,
but you still share a history.
So, you girls are heading on
to New Orleans tomorrow?
After breakfast, yeah.
Mm.
And then what, Darcy?
You're just going to walk
into this guy's office
and tell him that you know
he took Walker's concept?
And what do you suppose
he's going to say to that?
I just need to be in
the same room with him,
look him in the eye,
then I'll figure it out.
I've never been much
of a planner.
I understand you want
to make things right
for Walker, for Walker's sake.
You don't think my blood boils
every time I think
of someone causing
that precious child any pain?
Remember when he was two and
we took him to see the ducks?
Quack, quack.
Quack, quack.
Wes was a nasty drunk.
He was beating on her
all the time.
Half the time, she walked around
looking like a goddamn raccoon.
So one night,
Darcy just picked up Walker
and some clothes and took off.
Never looked back.
Changed her name back to baylor,
got Walker's name
changed to baylor,
and then just cut the sanford
right out her life.
It's not like
I had a choice.
Mama and daddy told me
point blank
I couldn't come home,
that I had a husband
and that was that.
Well, they took up for Wes,
it's true.
They just didn't know
any better.
Really?
Didn't know better
than to refuse
to give their daughter
and grandbaby a damn penny?
You know Wes never paid
any child support.
Only time he'd call
was when he was all lit up,
crying about missing his boy
and then crying
'cause that boy was dead.
- Well, he felt bad about it.
- Says you.
No, Wes is not always a monster.
- Is.
- So Wes is always a monster, your parents were monsters.
Everybody who ever did you
any wrong is a monster.
- That's right.
- Oh, poor, poor pitiful Darcy.
Shut up, ml.
Hey.
You okay?
Yeah.
Darcy?
Darce?
Oh, my god.
Wes.
Wes.
It's me, Darcy.
Okay with you if I sit down?
Wes.
I don't know if you can
understand
a word I'm about to say,
but I came here
to talk to you about our boy.
You recognize this?
You said it was part
of his legacy.
It's part of his legacy,
all right.
Remember?
You gave it to him
on the day he was born.
That was your...
Idea of a...
Baby present, I guess.
I was thinking about it.
Standing out
on Mary Lou's balcony
last night.
I can't even explain to you
what it was like
watching that baby shoot
right out from between my legs
when he'd been inside me
for so long.
And then he was there.
And when they put him in
my arms wrapped up so tight,
and...
And I thought, oh...
Look at you.
You're a dreamer.
You're my baby boy.
I hope the world doesn't knock
that sweetness out of you.
When I walked into
the house that night
and saw his sneakers
sitting by the back door,
I called out his name.
I figured...
It was too hot
in that apartment of his,
and he'd come home to cool off.
He'd been so anxious.
So goddamn anxious all the time.
I walked back to check on him
and walked into his room.
Oh, oh, oh...
You hear those birds?
Do you?
Do you?
Do you?
Do you hear them?
Good-bye, Wes.
- Hey.
- Hey, you're back.
I just, uh, stepped out
for a little cup of coffee.
This came for you.
It's from geri.
But... so Mr. Wright's
not available
until tomorrow morning.
You're sure there's nothing
later today?
Darce, I gotta get back.
I can't stay away that long.
Shh, shh!
Uh-huh, yeah, of course.
He's only got
one spot free tomorrow.
I can't do that.
Mm-hmm,
yeah, well, I'm in meridian,
but I have contacts
in Jackson and hattiesburg,
and we would just love to get
a Mississippi franchise going.
Great. 11:30?
Yes, my name is Addie bundren.
Yes, I will see you then.
Where in the hell did you get
that crazy name from?
- Faulkner.
- Relax that smart thing, baby.
Why are you always asking me
to be specific?
You know
that's not how I operate.
Oh, I think you're
very specific, Darcy.
You just don't like
to admit that you are.
It goes against the image
you like to promote.
And what's that?
Free spirit.
I do consider myself
something of a free spirit.
Nothing about
your spirit is free.
- You just have to trust me
that it was pressing.
You know I'm not the type...
Please insert 25 cents
for another three minutes.
You know I'm not the type
of person to just...
No, of course I understand.
Well, I'll think real hard
about what you said.
All right.
See you back in the office.
- Want me to wrap that up?
- Oh, yeah.
I'd like to finish my food
if you don't mind.
That he was going to have
to bring in another assistant
to fix it,
and that I know full well
what the situation is
and do I want to hang onto
my job or not?
- Well, do you?
- Of course I do.
- What about your application?
- What about it?
I talked to geri.
She says if you finish it up
by Friday, she can sneak it in.
You just gotta finish it.
I thought you wanted to make
something more of yourself.
That's what
you've been saying to me
for god knows
how many years now.
So don't you sit there
and just throw up your hands
and let this opportunity
pass you by.
You can still fix it.
Just turn around.
And not go find buford lapierre?
We're only about 25 miles away.
Are you suggesting I skip
going to New Orleans altogether?
What the hell did we come
all this way for then?
A couple days ago,
the army corps of engineers
opened up the spillway
to take some of the pressure
off the Mississippi.
They divert the excess water
right into
the atchafalaya river.
Yeah, and that means
that the low-lying towns,
they just flood out.
Well, our neighbors
in the north, Mississippi,
Georgia, Alabama,
and the carolinas and beyond
aren't getting a drop of rain,
but down here in Louisiana,
the low-lying parishes
the water's rising real fast,
folks.
So I need ask you,
what would you take from home
if somebody gave you
just 30 minutes to evacuate?
Hey!
How do I go about
getting on that road?
- Where are y'all headed?
- Simone city.
No, you can't
go down there, ma'am.
The whole damn parish
is flooded out.
But I got somebody I gotta meet.
Well, you got to turn around
and go back the way you come.
Take a left down
at the end of this road.
Uh-huh.
Then follow it all
the way down till it ends again.
Then ask somebody where
the Saint Luke church is.
- All right.
- All right then, yeah?
- Thanks a lot.
- Y'all be careful.
Buford lapierre?
Any of y'all know
a buford lapierre?
Do y'all know when you
can get some shelter?
Church is full up.
They said they're gonna
bus us somewhere.
- Buford lapierre!
- Who wants him?
They told me my grandpere
was coming on the next bus.
But we ain't seen him.
My baby's hungry.
My wife's trying to get
her asthma meds.
What I'm trying to say
is that right now,
I can't be bothering about
something out of the past.
Ain't no concern of mine.
I-I know, it's just...
I drove all this way
to speak with you.
So I'm just...
I'm asking you kindly
if you'll recollect
- anything about my boy...
- I recollect what matters to me.
No! Please wait.
Try to remember how he happened
to walk out of that room with
a box of bullets in his hand.
We were partying that night.
What can I say about that?
I'm straight edge now, though.
I got nothing to do
with that stuff.
I don't even like
to think about it.
I will say I never liked
that guy mark.
Real superior.
I didn't like it that his daddy
bought him that house
and I had to pay rent on it
neither.
It was like that guy mark
saw the weakness in your boy,
saw he was hurting
in some sense.
He had so much money,
never could figure out
why he wouldn't
just lend him some.
Wait, Walker was trying
to borrow money?
Yeah, so he could graduate.
He didn't think
he was gonna make it.
He was like a cat
playing with a mouse,
poking at the bleeding spots,
saying stuff like,
"seems like you in a lot
of pain, you in pain,"
and, "sometimes a tunnel
is just a tunnel,"
that kind of shit.
I thought it was just
the drugs talking,
but later I figured
that that guy saw
some kind of door opening up,
just got Walker out of the way,
he could step right through it.
So when he drove Walker back
to town later that night...
Wait.
Mark Wright drove Walker
to my house?
None of the rest of us had cars.
Look, I don't like to say it,
but why'd anybody do that
to his own mama
in her house and all?
Hey!
Drought conditions
continue all over the south and southwest.
Cleanup is well underway
in Saint John the baptist
and Jefferson parishes
this evening
as localized flood waters
continue to recede...
Hey, hey, baby.
Crank that ac up higher,
would you, byrd?
Hang on a sec.
Ohh...
Okay.
Getting crazier by the minute.
What else is new?
No, worse.
I can't.
It's one more day...
- I can hear you, goddamn it!
- Hang on.
Why would you elect
to sit out here
instead of staying inside
where it's cool?
Wanted to give you some privacy.
- How's geri?
- Ticked off at you.
I'll take you both out
to the chatterbox for dinner
when we get back, my treat.
You know, today when I was
talking to buford,
I was trying to get him to
remember something about Walker,
and it put me back
into that room that night.
I started...
Remembering his toes.
They were all curled up,
and I was standing
at the foot of his bed
trying to straighten them out,
and they...
They would not straighten.
I guess I stood there
for a long time, but...
Maybe it was only
a couple of minutes,
the way he was laying there
and all the blood, and...
And me looking for a note,
and there wasn't a note.
And...
One side of his briefs
were kind of pulled down,
and I could see...
His birthmark,
that weird brown mark.
- That was shaped like a smile.
- Huh?
- Nothing.
- No.
You said his birthmark
was shaped like a smile.
That was...
...in a real private area
of his body.
How would you know that?
Well, I saw him changing when
we went swimming at the shore.
Uh-huh.
And that's it?
What else could it be?
Well, I don't know, birdie byrd.
You tell me.
Nothing to tell.
Okay, okay, okay.
There was this period of time...
Oh, my god.
Oh, my god.
It wasn't like he was a kid.
He was 23.
So that made you what, how old?
I don't know, 32, I guess.
Look, I didn't know how to talk
to you about it when it happened,
and then Walker passed,
and now...
I never wanted to tell you.
I knew you'd blow your stack.
So this is about how I'd react?
Jesus Christ, byrd!
You've been in that truck with
me for how many hours,
and didn't think to...
Oh, now I get it.
Now I get it.
You were just coming along
for the ride
because you were atoning.
No, no, what the hell would
I need to atone for, Darcy?
- Isn't it obvious?
- No, no, it is not.
Here's some news for you...
Other people cared
about Walker, too,
and they had their own reasons.
- Not everything has to do with you.
- Excuse me?
You don't think I had to ask
myself some questions
when Walker died?
I didn't even realize
how much he was keeping from me.
He talked to me about
the stars and the moon
and theories of the universe.
For god's sake, do you know
how many times I had to
ask myself why he didn't come
over and see me that night?
- I was right across the street.
- No, you were not.
When I called you,
you were at your sister's.
That was a whole day later.
So how did it...
How'd it get started?
I don't want to get into that.
I'm sorry.
I gotta know.
Well, not that I think you have
any right to this information,
but look, I was lonely.
Walker was lonely, too.
He was starting to get
those mood swings,
and I think maybe at first,
he just needed the company.
And you were all caught up
with Clay, in case you forgot,
and you didn't really
want Walker around too much,
- also in case you forgot.
- So I wasn't supposed to have a boyfriend?
And Walker wasn't
supposed to have
his own life, his own feelings?
He wasn't carved out of stone
in your mirror image, you know.
We were like two peas in a pod.
That's exactly
what I'm talking about, Darcy!
It's like the way you see the
world's the only way to see it.
It's like some cardinal truth.
But that's just the story
you've been telling yourself.
That doesn't mean that's
how it actually was.
I was there.
Sometimes Walker hated your guts
just like any kid does.
Sometimes he tried
to make himself
as different from you
as he could.
Is it any surprise his apartment
only had brand-new stuff in it,
nothing old or remotely antique?
Is it any surprise
he voted republican twice?
So what you're telling me
is I was a shitty mother.
- No.
- Just say it then.
Say I was shitty and selfish
and I let my son
slip through my fingers
and that I didn't see
a goddamn thing
that was going on with him
when he was staring me
in the face.
- Darcy, he was depressed.
- I know that.
I know.
What kind of mother
doesn't grasp that
and doesn't try to fix it?
You tried.
You couldn't fix it.
But what you're telling me
is that I didn't see Walker
as he was.
- So what was I seeing then?
- You saw the parts of him
you wanted to see,
just like we all do.
You saw the parts of him
that reflected
the right way on you.
I'm just trying to figure out
some things
about my boy and how he died.
Enough time passes,
and nobody's even gonna
remember Walker anymore.
- That's not true.
- Well, it sure feels that way.
And I'm sorry if I...
f I'm not evolving
the way you think I should be
or Clay thinks I should be
or geri thinks I should...
Does she know about this?
Great.
Just great.
And she still doesn't think
you're a dabbler?
She loves me as I am.
Do you know why I came
on this trip with you, Darcy?
It's not because
I think you need
some showdown with mark Wright.
No, I came with you
because I want to see you
find a way to come back
and live in this world again
before you let this kill you.
You're one of the most amazing
people I know.
You're so tough and so funny
and so damn smart.
You show me lots of ways
to think about
how to be a woman in this world,
and most of the time,
there's nobody
I'd rather talk to,
and that's including geri,
but you can't ask everybody
to keep standing by and watch
you put yourself through this.
Everybody who loves you
deserves better.
I know I do.
I had a really good time
with Walker.
I cared for him a whole lot.
He was special.
He was fragile.
He was here,
and then he was gone.
All I can say is that
the small piece of life
that was about him and me
really got lived.
And that's a lot.
Sometimes that's all we got.
Good luck, darce.
How could it have
gone out already?
It was only a couple
of hours ago!
It was right under my pillow!
Those papers!
I need those papers!
Now what, Darcy?
What now?!
I'm going to mark's office.
Excuse me, ma'am,
may I help you?
I'm here to see mark Wright.
Addie bundren?
Um, what is this here
at the bottom?
Oh, that's just a standard
clause acknowledging
that the dawg house
and its franchises
are the exclusive property
of Mr. Wright.
Oh, okay.
Here we go.
Exactly, look,
you gotta hold on right there.
Let them know you mean business.
Uh-huh.
Yeah, you got it.
I gotta fly.
I'll catch you
on the flipside, buddy.
I'm so sorry, Ms. bundren.
Come on, please take a seat.
It's been a busy day
for us here,
but I did want to make time
to see you.
I've had my eye on Mississippi
for a while now.
So, uh, you already running
restaurants down there, or?
I'm sorry, you want to...
You want to sit down?
All right,
so why do you want to put
Mississippi in the dawg house?
Well...
It seems like, um,
everybody likes
a family restaurant, right?
It's a business
you can't go wrong with.
I mean, no matter what
the economy is like,
parents always want to take
their kids out to eat.
That's the truth.
That's the truth.
You could ask my wife
all about that.
She says a wife just needs
to take a break every so often
from putting dinner
on the table.
- Yeah.
- All right, so tell me,
what are you picturing,
Ms. bundren?
You wanna start out with the one
dawg house and build them up?
Well, that's the way
to a grow business, right?
I heard you got your start by
selling t-shirts at rock shows.
Yeah, somebody's
been doing their homework.
Well, you know,
it's all there on the website.
I'm just curious,
where'd you get that idea from?
Uh...
Just seemed like a natural way
to generate some capital,
get things moving.
What band did you
make shirts for?
Who... who's
interviewing who here, huh?
Oh, sorry.
Um...
So in terms of setting up
a franchise,
would you say that parents
are looking for a place
that's bright and clean
for the kids,
a place where their needs
are taken into account?
And then you need
to make sure the chain
gives back into the community
to build a brand.
I guess you can find out
just about anything
on the Internet these days.
That sounds a lot
like my business plan.
Except it's not
your business plan.
Pardon me?
It's from a business plan,
all right.
But it's not yours.
So I'm not sure what
you're getting at, Ms...
Baylor, actually.
Darcy baylor.
I guess I wasn't important
enough for you to remember,
but you met me a bunch of times
back when you and Walker
were friends.
I'm sorry, I did know
a Walker baylor
back in school but...
Looks like you're still
doing coke.
A whole lot of coke.
Am I right?
I'm calling the cops.
You really want
to mix them up in this?
I'm sorry, ma'am,
not to be rude,
but take a look at yourself,
and take a look at me.
Who do you think they're
gonna believe?
What the hell?
I am Darcy baylor,
and I am Walker baylor's mother,
and you are not to diminish
or belittle us,
do you understand me?
How much do you want?
Come again?
How much money do you want?
You think I'm here
for your money?
Don't insult me.
I want you to tell me
what happened
the day Walker died.
What the hell happened?
Every damn detail.
I need you to tell me why.
Why what?
Why he killed himself.
Why he...
I don't know why.
But you know what his last hours
on this planet were like,
and that's what you need
to tell me about right now.
I mean it. Now.
This is crazy.
This is crazy.
I guess.
Okay.
Walker was...
He was so goddamn bummed out.
What was he bummed out about?
Stuff, just...
I had a daddy with means.
I couldn't possibly know
what he was talking about.
I was probably
gonna graduate on time.
He probably wasn't
gonna make it.
And then, what kind of job
was he gonna be able to get?
Could he ever get married,
have a family of his own?
Stuff like that.
I was like, "little man,
if life is that tough",
do us all a favor,
all right, and put yourself
"out of your misery because
you're bringing us down."
Stuff like that.
I was just messing with him.
Shit!
And then, uh...
And then we all went upstairs,
and I guess I fell asleep,
because when I woke up,
it was real late.
It was just me and Walker
in the room at that point.
And he was sitting over by
the window in a rocking chair.
Real quiet
just rocking back and forth,
looking out the window.
And he asked me if I'd give
him a ride back into town.
I was still pretty messed up
by then.
But I said all right.
So I did.
I'm curious.
Since you were the last one
to see him alive,
what did he say to you
when you...
When you dropped him off
at my doorstep?
It was a long time ago.
Honestly, I don't recall.
It was just a night
like any other night for me.
Did you ask him...
What was on his mind?
Because I'm guessing it was
pretty obvious he was upset.
It was obvious
he needed somebody to talk to.
I was at work that night.
I didn't get home
till it was nearly dawn.
So did he say anything
about me by any chance?
I don't think so.
I mean, come on, guys that age,
we don't talk about our moms,
you know what I mean?
Why'd you give him the bullets?
- What?
- The bullets.
All these years, I've been
trying to figure it out,
and there was that
one missing piece,
but now it all makes sense.
Walker says he's given up
on his dreams,
y'all get all lit up,
you go in your room,
you give him the bullets.
No, oh, no, no, ma'am.
Then you drove Walker
back to my house,
let him go in, shoot himself.
And you got to take away
his business plan.
- Perfect, right?
- No, ma'am.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
slow it down now.
You stole everything
from my child.
I swear, ma'am, I swear,
I n... no, don't shoot me!
I swear on my daughter
Bella's life,
I never gave Walker any bullets!
Dennis.
Remember Dennis?
Oh, my god,
please don't shoot me!
He told me he saw
a box of bullets
in Walker's hand when
he came out of your room.
I had guns and ammo
lying all over the place!
I didn't... I didn't even keep
my bullets in a box!
What about buford? Buford
said you saw a door open up,
and you walked right through it.
You took Walker's plan...
My daddy told me
I had to come out of school
with something to show for it!
After Walker passed, I guess
I figured I'd get something.
I knew daddy could get behind
a restaurant chain.
I could make it fly, so...
So...
You took Walker's plan...
To stay out of trouble
with your daddy.
Then why'd you go and try
and turn yourself into Walker?
Getting a dog like his,
taking his memories,
stealing his ideas, why?
Didn't you have any memories
of your own?!
I didn't have any stories
that good.
I didn't have what he had
back at that time.
I didn't have anything
that seemed like it would work.
I remember thinking
I wish my mom and me
could be like you two were.
It's funny 'cause
he thought I had everything.
At the end of the day...
No, no, wait!
Please, please, please.
What did it feel like for him...
In that moment?
- Stop!
- Cold.
Scary.
And then...
...Black.
No.
You know, it's funny,
sometimes I'll be going
down the sidewalk,
not thinking about
anything in particular, and...
I'll feel your hand
sliding into mine.
Even though
I know it's not there.
Even though I know
it's never going to be there.
I can't tell you
what I would give...
To hold your hand again.
My baby boy.
Glad to see
you made it home okay.
Judging from your shirt,
looks like you still got a job.
I do, and you can tell geri
she can start working her magic.
You got it in?
Tell her yourself.
She'll be out here in a sec.
Well, you must be sick
of driving.
You could still shock
the known world and be practical
and change your application to
pre-law or something like that.
No, I started out
studying literature,
and even if I never do
a damn thing with it,
I know it's gonna improve me,
just the way I see things
and think about things,
and spend some time with
some really good sentences.
It's... well,
I think it's expansive.
Why the hell
has he changed his patterns?
Whole world turned upside down
when Clayton Watson
keeps stepping out on
the main street before noon.
- Jesus Christ, stop the car.
- You don't wanna be late.
Take that.
Won't take long.