Charlie Harper (2025) Movie Script
1
-Are you a nostalgic person?
-Um, yeah.
Yeah, I think so.
Are you?
-Yeah.
I just wonder
what purpose it serves.
-Hi.
I'm Charlie.
-I know.
-You...?
-We went to high school
together.
Conroy. Fifth period English.
You were the teacher's aide.
-Yeah. Uh, yeah.
I mean, I remember the class.
I just...
-Um...
I made fun of your
Kenny Rogers obsession.
-Oh, my God.
We burned CDs for each other.
-Yeah.
-Oh, my God,
I totally remember you.
I came over here
and I was, like, all...
Hannah, right?
-Harper.
-Harper!
Yes. Harper Owens.
Yeah. Okay. Wow, I...
You know, I still listen
to some of those songs.
-Well, you -- you gave me one.
A CD with -- with just one
song on it.
-I did?
-Mm-hmm.
And you said I should
only listen to it once,
so I wouldn't lose the thing
that made it special.
-Huh.
Do you remember
what song it was?
- Yeah. I do.
- I knew that's why
you were talking to the DJ.
-I was trying to be cool.
I didn't want it to be
too obvious.
-So, what do you think?
-Did you listen to it
too much, Harper?
-Yeah.
-You still love it, though?
-Hey.
-Hey.
-You know,
I've got a shoe box like this.
-I always feel
like I should throw mine away.
-Really?
Why?
-So, what's the whole story?
How did you and Harper meet?
-We met a couple times,
actually.
-A million dollars.
-You hear this?
-Bro, a million dollars,
you can't land this.
I bet you a million dollars
you can't land this shit.
I bet you a million dollars.
-Alright, alright.
Set this up. Watch this.
-A million dollars.
-Kick-flip for a milli.
-How do you turn this on?
-Ohh!
-...in the depths of winter
cannot end
on this autumn night.
This victory alone
is not the change we seek.
It is only the chance
for us to make that change.
-Nah, I just need
a cool wife, dude.
-Mnh-mnh, bro.
I'm never getting married.
-What are you talking about?
Never?
-I'm too untethered, bro.
-What? You're too untethered?
-I'm peak me.
I'm peak me untethered
right now.
-Okay,
so what are you gonna do?
-I'mma walk the earth.
Like Khan.
- What?
No!
-Like Khan.
-No, it's Caine. It's Caine.
-It's Khan.
-Khan is "Star Trek."
-Caine is "Pulp Fiction."
-It's Khan!
-It's Caine!
-Charlie.
-Caine's from "Kung Fu."
You both are idiots.
-Ohh!
-That's not even
what he was say--
That's not what you were talk--
You gotta be
the dumbest fucking person
I ever met in my whole life.
Wait, so what are we doing?
-Uh, Stefanie and those girls
are having some people over.
-Who's Stefanie?
-Powers.
Tanya's little sister.
Um, she's, uh, friends with
Courtney Gardner
and that chick Harper...
-Harper Owens?
-Yeah. You know her?
-Kinda.
-I don't know.
I don't want to go to
some high school party.
-Whoa! They graduated.
They graduated.
-Yeah, but we used to rip on
dudes who did that all the time,
and you're always coming up
with these
elaborate plans to get laid.
-What elab--
-We always end up right back
at your house...
-I'm talking about a party.
I'm just talking about a party.
-Okay, well,
what do you think?
-I'm down.
-Hell yeah, he's down!
Look around, bro.
The whole fucking world
is horny tonight.
Barack Obama is president.
That means anything is possible.
Yewwww!
-Think I have an ugly smile?
No, seriously.
'Cause I feel like...
Listen, my mom says I smile
with no teeth.
She thinks it's weird,
but I think it's creepy
to smile with teeth
because I have
really weird teeth.
-No, honestly,
honestly, I like your smile.
-What?
-I think you look...
-Hi.
-Hey.
You want to play something?
-No, uh...
I-I'm Charlie.
I-I was a teacher's aide
for Conroy your junior year.
-The English teacher?
-Yeah.
Uh...
-You don't remember me?
-No. Sorry.
Oh, you seem sad.
Did you have
a little crush on me?
-No. No.
Well, uh, yeah.
I mean, I thought I...
-You did?
-I-I just -- I thought
that you would remember me.
-What?
-I thought
that you would remember me.
Um, it's all good.
No worries. It's...
Sorry.
-Have you been listening to it?
-I'm not going to college.
-Why not?
-School always made me
feel dumb.
-What do you want to do?
-I want to cook.
-Cook?
-Yeah, I want to be a chef.
I love, like, food as art.
Food as expression.
I love thinking about the way
a dish is gonna make
someone feel.
You know, like, the way
ingredients work together.
-That's cool.
What kind of restaurant
do you want to open?
-A great one.
Like, the best.
-Will you cook something
for me sometime?
-Fuck.
-What?
-Uh...
I forgot my keys.
-Seriously?
-Yeah, but, um...
I'm gonna boost you up, okay?
Alright. I need to, like...
-Help me!
-...fully grab your ass
to make this work.
-Okay.
This was your plan all along.
- Busted.
How'd you do that?
So, what about you?
Why didn't you go to college?
-I don't know.
Just didn't really feel like me,
I guess.
-What do you want to do?
You know, I asked people
about you.
In high school.
What'd you find out?
-Well, everyone said you were
shy, which I obviously knew.
And they said
you lived with your dad.
-Yeah.
I mean, my parents split up,
and then just ended up
with my dad.
-What's he like?
-He's cool.
You know, just, like,
lets me do what I want.
He's like more of a roommate
than a dad at this point.
-That's cool.
What about your mom?
-She, uh...
She lives in Portland, and...
she's a psychic.
-Really?
-I mean, no, but that's
what she does for money.
What else did you learn?
-That you read.
That you read like
three books a week.
Is that true?
-No.
They're, like,
dime-store novels.
It's escapist.
I don't know, like, Chaucer
or whatever.
-Poems?
-Those can be escapist, too.
-"Having a Coke with You."
Will you read it?
-No.
Come on.
-No.
-Come on.
-No!
-You can't -- You can't be like,
"Oh, I read poetry"
and then, like,
not walk the walk.
-Oh, my God. No.
No, no, no, I'm not reading it.
-Okay.
I'll walk out of here right now.
Can I use the door?
Or are you gonna throw me
out the window?
- Okay.
Alright, alright, alright.
Gimme that.
"Having a Coke with You,"
by Frank O'Hara.
-Read by Charlie.
-Yeah, well, not well.
"Having a Coke with you
is even more fun
than going to San Sebastian,
Irn, Hendaye,
Biarritz, Bayonne,
or being sick to my stomach
on the Traverse de Gracia
in Barcelona."
It sounds a lot better
in my head
when I imagine myself
pronouncing all the words right.
-It's okay.
-"Partly because
in your orange shirt
you look like a better,
happier St. Sebastian.
Partly because of my love
for you.
Partly because of your love
for yoghurt.
Partly because of
the fluorescent orange tulips
around the birches.
Partly because of the secrecy
our smiles take on
before people and statuary.
As solemn, as unpleasantly
definitive as statuary
when right in front of it,
in the warm New York
four o'clock light,
we are drifting back and forth
between each other
like a tree breathing
through its spectacles."
-So, what was it like?
-The what? The...?
Yeah.
Um...
Yeah, it was...
I mean, it was really good.
It felt like
we'd always been in love.
-I just didn't know
what love would turn into
five years later.
-...if you're watching how your
planned attack is going
and you haven't even
gotten your sledgehammer head
through Belgium yet,
so you're still a ways away
from your attack
doing anything,
but you've got things starting
to collapse around you...
-Oh, my God. C-Can we listen
to something else?
-You don't want to learn
about World War I?
No. I don't.
Okay. But...
Okay, we're learning about
a battle
with more fatalities
in a single week...
-I don't care.
-...than all of the Americans
who died during the Vietnam War.
-I don't care about those men.
I don't care about Vietnam
either.
I don't know these people.
-Okay, imagine starting a war
with 19th-century
military tactics
and then confronting,
for the first time,
20th-century weapons.
-Yeah, I know.
I just listened to
the same thing as you.
-Watch how every flip
of the coin so far...
Alright. Fine.
-Thank you.
- Are you serious?
-Sorry.
-No, no,
I just listened to four hours
of Hardcore History for Bros
and you can't give me
four bars of a song?
-I'm sorry. Fuck.
Just put your
wispy ghost lady back on.
-Hi. Can we do 30 on four?
-Sure. Anything else?
-Um, and these...
And, um...
Yeah. That's it.
Hey, will you do me
a favor this weekend?
-What?
-Will you take it easy
on the drinking?
-Right. Um...
I don't know
what that means, but...
-I'm not saying don't drink.
I'm just saying, like...
-What bothers you
about my drinking?
-It's...
It's just not fun.
Like, even for you,
it's not fun.
-Well, it's not fun
when I'm with you,
because you're mad
about the drinking.
It's fun when I'm
with other people.
-Listen,
you don't want to fight,
then this is something
you can do.
We never used to talk
to each other like that.
It's like we were happier when
we had nothing but each other.
-Oh, my God, Charlie,
can you not?
-I got it. No, no, no, no.
I just, I want to document.
What are we...
Where are we right now?
-We're in NOLA.
-We're in NOLA.
We're in NOLA, baby.
-We're starting our new life.
-Okay, well...
-I'm gonna zoom.
-No photos.
-No, stop! Don't be shy.
When we moved to New Orleans,
I had this idea in my head
of what everything
would be like.
- I'm trying, okay?
Okay. One, two, three.
This is not gonna go in
at this angle.
-No, it is. Wedge.
-No, it's not.
-It is!
We'd live at the top
of an old building on Frenchmen
with these, like, tall windows
and an ornate balcony.
Charlie made us pull over
so we could get these
for his bookshelf.
-Yeah, well, now we don't
have to buy a shelf, so...
-We will totally be
buying a shelf.
I'd be head chef at
the hottest pop-up in the city,
the star up-and-comer.
Okay, so who wants to start
with the Blazin' Cajun
Creole Meal?
With Charlie,
you got the sense
that he could do anything.
He was so smart.
-I feel like
you're cutting a lot.
You're making me nervous.
-Just carry on reading.
I'm enjoying it.
-...where all the work
gets done.
It's the industrial side.
-I imagined him starting
this magazine or quarterly
that everyone would read,
and then everyone would see
what I saw...
This sensitive, thoughtful man.
-Just a touch.
That's perfect.
- Is that alright?
-He's the type of person
who could listen to people
talk about things
he knew everything about,
and he wouldn't say a word,
like he was embarrassed by
how much he knew.
-...which makes you
an actual war criminal.
-It's war we're talking about.
-Oh, my God.
You're a war criminal.
-What are you supposed to do?
-Just like Bush.
I pictured us as these, like,
young, modern cosmopolitans,
you know?
Not quite how
it turned out, huh?
-No.
Somehow, it was even better.
Ow!
Fuck!
-Oh, fuck.
Oh, my God.
-Shit!
-Oh, my God.
-Can you help me?
-What do I do?
-Can you help me?
-Fuck. Um...
-Charlie!
-Aah!
-Hey, would you still love me
if I had no legs?
-I barely love you now.
-Yeah, but, like, if I could
do, like, cool tricks and shit.
You know, like this.
Whoa!
-Charlie!
-Now, you might be emotional
for a couple of days.
You have a concussion.
-Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I think I can feel that.
Harper. No. Stop.
-Aww, baby.
It's like everything was
worse than I had pictured...
but better than I could
have possibly imagined.
-What happened?
-Do you actually
believe in this?
-Do you?
The Tower.
-Whoa.
Yeah, that's actually, like,
kind of spot on.
It's like...
the future.
Like, fear of the future.
-Really? I feel like
that should be yours.
- No. No, no, no.
- What do you mean,
"No, no, no"?
-I'm The Moon.
-What's The Moon?
-Fear of the past.
So...
is there something
in your future
that you're worried about?
-I guess in the future,
anything's possible.
But I don't want anything
to be possible.
I just want one thing
to be possible.
-Makes sense.
You like control.
-No, I don't.
-I'm not controlling.
-Well...
-Oh, my God. Take it back.
-Uh, no.
-Take it...
Say it! Take it back!
-No!
-Say it. I'm not controlling.
-Say it.
-Okay, okay, okay.
Alright, alright.
You're not controlling.
-Mm-hmm.
-You're not controlling.
-Thank you.
-But...
...you do like control.
It's not a bad thing.
It's, like, just part
of who you are.
It's what makes you a good chef.
-Yeah, but I'm not a chef.
That's what I'm saying.
-Yeah, but you will be.
That's what I'm saying.
-You, like...
You see what you want
so clearly.
You, like...
You manifest it.
-Yeah,
but everybody does that.
-I don't think that's true.
I think people like you
think it's true
because you do it so easily.
But I think it's actually
kind of rare.
-That's you?
-Mm-hmm.
-What about your future?
What does the future look like
when you're a moon?
-Mm. I don't know.
Um...
I think there's a part of me
that, like, looks at you,
and I want that, too --
like, to pursue my interests
and go to school.
But...
-But...?
-But I don't know.
It's like...
I feel like people
who pursue more
tend to pursue more forever,
and it just feels kind of...
...hedonistic.
-Hedonistic?
-Yeah.
-Do you think I'm hedonistic?
- Kinda, yeah.
No, but I like it on you.
I just...
I don't know.
I wonder if, for me,
it's just better to, like...
...be content.
-Mm.
Well, I don't understand that.
I think you can be content
and pursue your interests.
I guess I'm a "hedon"
or whatever.
-You Harper?
You staged at Harbor 21?
-For six weeks.
And another month
at Bourbon & Rye.
-This is my wife, Claire.
She's my partner,
and she runs the floor.
-Hi. Nice to meet you.
-Have you ever actually
worked in a kitchen,
or do you just stage like this
as a hobby?
-Yeah, no, I've worked
in a kitchen before.
-Where?
-It wasn't in New Orleans.
I'm from Florida.
-That's fine. Where?
-Oceanside?
-No, not...
What restaurant did you work in?
-...Ch-Chili's?
-Okay.
Okay.
Come in tomorrow at 2:00.
I say two --
I mean 1:30, to get changed,
have a smoke, whatever.
In here at 2:00, prepping.
-Th-Thank you!
-And we're probably gonna
call you Chili's for a while.
-Yeah, that -- that's fine.
That's fine.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
-Tomorrow at 2:00.
-Yeah, 1:30. 1:30. Okay!
Oh! Oh, my God!
- For you.
For you, for you, for you.
-Oh, thank you.
-For you.
-Oh, what?
-For you.
-Why?
-Harper makes $30,000 a year.
This means nothing to me.
-Charlie!
Charlie, this is Jade,
the bartender from Harvard.
-Oh, shit. Jade! What's up?
Yo, I've heard so much
about you.
-No, no, no, I've heard
so much about you.
-Yeah, uh...
Oh. This is for you.
What are you drinking?
-Everything.
- Yeah! Whoo!
-Okay. Shots of everything!
To my fucking girlfriend,
who's gonna be a genius chef.
-Yeah!
-Whoo!
-Oh, my God.
-Another round!
-Oh, God, I shouldn't.
-Yeah!
-Yeah!
-Whoo!
-Oh, my God.
-I feel like history
doesn't even happen anymore.
-Yes. Yes. 100%.
-Wait, wait.
Let's pause for a second.
Let's figure out what the fuck
you guys are talking about.
'Cause I'm confused.
-That's so big.
-Because I am...
-What are you talking about?
-Oh, shit.
-Oh, look at this fucking guy.
Are you good?
-Oh, yeah.
-Okay, let me go. Let me go.
-No, we...
-Heyyy!
-Okay, okay.
Where are we going?
Where are we going?
-Um, tacos!
-No. We have to go home.
-No! Tacos!
-You said tacos.
-Carnitas!
-Yes!
-Carnitas!
-Yes!
-Queso!
-Yes! Queso!
-Yeah.
Shit!
-Mmph. What's going on?
-Oh, shit.
-Harper?
Harp?
-Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!
-Okay.
-Thank you.
-I'm sorry I'm late, Chef.
I got stuck in --
-I don't care. You're fired.
Hey. I'm serious. Go home!
-No, no.
Grab a broom, start sweeping
the prep stations.
-But he just fired me.
-Just put this on
and don't look at him.
-Hands!
Fire two duck, two salmon.
-Two salmon, two duck.
Yes, Chef.
-Now we have five VIP on 2122.
-Hey.
Where are your bell peppers?
-I'm all out, Chef.
-We're in the middle
of service.
What do you mean
you're out of bell peppers?
-I'm sorry, Chef.
-Hey, you! Chili's!
I need a pint of bell pepper
brunoise -- now!
-Need those bell peppers!
-Coming up!
-You're falling behind, Harper.
-Sorry, Chef.
-No, no. Like this.
Grip here. One motion.
Why are you in my kitchen if you
don't know how to use a knife?
-Sorry, Chef.
-Faster.
Nope. There's a seed.
Go again.
-Waiting on
those bell peppers!
Let's go!
-Faster, Harper. Faster!
-Yes, Chef.
-It's okay, it's okay.
-Ugh!
I'm such a fucking failure.
-No.
No, you're not.
-Yeah, I am.
I thought I was fired.
Can't believe
I showed up late like that.
What the fuck was I thinking?
-It's okay.
Harper.
-No, it's not.
-I promise it's gonna be fine.
-It's not fine.
I can't blow this.
I need to get serious.
We should get serious.
Would you do that?
-Yeah.
Yeah, if that's what you want.
Yeah.
-Like, go out less,
cut back on drinking?
I'm serious.
-Me, too.
-Yeah?
-Yes.
-You'll do that with me?
- Harper, yes.
I'd do anything for you.
-Sometimes I wonder if
everything I remember is wrong.
If everything was different.
I would do anything for you.
Mwah, mwah!
-Oh, Charlie! Charlie!
-And the truth is
somewhere between
the things that happened
and the memories I have.
Or the memories I have
and the order
that they occurred.
Harper showed me
this thing once.
She had a hard time reading
when she was young,
until an English teacher
figured out
that she was dyslexic.
-Read this.
-Just -- just read it?
-Mm-hmm. Out loud.
-Okay. Okay.
"As long as a word..."
She showed me that
as long as the word includes
the right first and last
letters,
you can pretty much scramble
every letter in between
and still understand
the meaning.
I think about that a lot,
looking back
at the relationship.
I know how it started.
I know how it ends.
But when I think about
the middle...
everything is scrambled.
I don't think your dad likes me.
-Why?
-I don't know.
I think that...
he thinks that I'm the reason
you're not going to school.
-I decided that
before we got together.
-I know, but...
I don't know, I just...
...feel like I embody
all the reasons
that you're not going.
To him, like...
...I'm all the mistakes
you've ever made.
Ow!
-You're not a mistake.
-I want to tell him,
"Don't worry.
She'll be back.
She's just on vacation."
-What does that mean?
-What?
-I'm on vacation?
-Just when you move
to New Orleans.
He won't have to see me again
after that.
-You could come with me.
-Hi!
-Thanks for having us.
-Charlie!
-What acid did you use in this?
-Yuzu with aji chili.
-Mm, don't believe everything
she's told you.
I promise I'm not that bad.
-Oh!
-No, no.
No, no.
She loves you guys.
-Charlie,
are these all your books?
I can't get over your bookshelf.
-Oh, yeah.
-Chef and Claire
went to Princeton.
Claire majored in English.
-Comparative literature,
but, um...
It's super close. Same thing.
-Literature. Yeah.
-Okay.
Yeah, I-I noticed your tattoo.
Is that a madeleine and teacup?
-Yeah.
-From "Swann's Way"?
-Yeah, exactly. Wow.
-Yeah, she's been --
no kidding --
waiting 20 years for
someone to get that reference.
What do you do, Charlie?
-Um, I work at a print shop.
-Mm. Like, um...
Like books?
Like publishing?
-Oh, uh, no.
Like, um, T-shirts.
-Oh. Very cool.
-Yeah, but that-- that's
obviously not the forever job.
Charlie is seriously the
smartest person on the planet.
He's been thinking about
going back to school recently.
-Well, what are you thinking
about studying?
-Um, yeah, I-I don't know.
I -- I'm still kind of... still
figuring all that out, but...
-Hey, in the meantime,
at least you've got someone
you can talk "Prowst" with,
you know?
-It's "Proust."
-Are we sure?
-I think so. I think so.
-Hey, Charlie!
Come on, have a seat for me.
-What's up, Randy?
-I wanted to let you know
that I'm giving
the manager's job to Eric.
I know he hasn't been here
as long, and he's a bit younger.
-You don't have to...
I get it.
-You know why, right?
Charlie...
I've been sober for 20 years.
So, if you ever just want
to talk, or...
-You don't have to...
It's just at close,
you know,
some guys have some beers...
-I know. I know.
Sometimes it's before close,
too, though, right?
I really like you, Charlie.
I mean,
you're a really great kid.
-Just not a very good man,
though, right?
-Not yet.
-This is kind of a cool one.
Grant writing.
-Yeah.
-Says you need an understanding
of systems
and a strong command
of language.
Feels like you.
-Yeah.
-What do you think?
-Um...
Grant writing doesn't sound
that interesting to me, but...
-No, I just mean, in general,
like, taking classes
you are interested in.
-Yeah. Yeah.
-Okay, well,
the deadline's Friday.
You need to renew your license
so you can prove residency.
-Yeah, I'm gonna do that.
-Hi. How are we?
- Good. Um...
-Ready to order?
-Yeah. We're gonna do
two miso soups.
The Kinoki Itame.
The Torotaku roll.
Hamachi. Albacore.
Tai Yuzu...
Yeah. That's it.
-She knows how to order.
-Yeah.
-And to drink?
-Just water for me.
-Um, Sapporo.
The big one.
-Big Sapporo. Got it.
I'll be right back.
-Thank you.
-Thanks.
-So, you'll do that?
-Mm?
-Renew your license.
-Yeah.
-I can go to the DMV with you.
-No, I got it.
-Okay.
It's just, you got to go
in the next couple of days or --
-Harper, I just said I'd go.
Like...
-Sorry.
-Why are you...?
Y-You know?
-Yeah.
-Here we are. Big Sapporo.
-Why community college?
Didn't you get like
a perfect score on your SATs?
Why not like a real college?
-I didn't get a perfect score.
-Well you did better than David,
and he went to Tulane.
-Right, well, okay, I think
it's cool you're doing this.
-I don't know if I am.
Like, this is kind of
Harper's thing.
-Why isn't Harper's thing
for you to go to a real college?
-Dude. You went to
a community college.
-That's what I'm saying.
They let anybody
in community college.
-Why can't you just be
supportive?
-I'm saying he's...
I'm being supportive.
I'm just saying that he's smart.
-Be supportive,
less of a dick.
-Look, it doesn't matter.
Like, I don't think
I'm gonna go.
-Why?
-Because I...
I always said I wasn't gonna go.
I don't know why Harper
suddenly, like...
Look, I always said
I wasn't gonna go.
So...
-Then why'd you take
the SATs, bro?
-To show he's smarter than you.
-Shut the fuck up.
-Hey.
-Hey.
-How was your day?
-It was good.
-What's this?
-Scotch.
Brian got it for us.
Apparently, it's a nice bottle.
-How does Brian afford
these weird hobbies?
-I don't know.
His dad has money.
-Well, must be nice.
-Your dad has money.
-Yeah, but not like "buy
a $200 bottle of scotch" money.
-He said he'd give you
a down payment for a house.
-That's different.
-Yeah.
It is.
-Work was fine, by the way.
- How was work?
I meant it's different
because it's an investment.
-Yeah. I know what you meant.
-Did you go to the DMV today?
- Why'd you
say that the other night?
About the print shop
not being my forever job,
how I'm thinking about
going back to school.
-Because you are thinking
about going back to school.
What do you mean?
-It's just the way
that you said it.
You really don't know
what I'm talking about?
-No.
-It was embarrassing.
-Okay, well,
I'm sorry I embarrassed you.
-No, it was embarrassing
for you.
It was transparent, just
how important it is to you
that I be seen a certain way.
-Yeah, I don't want
you to go to school
because it's important to me.
I want you to go to school
because I think
you're unhappy right now.
Do you know what
tautology means?
-No.
The answer is no.
I didn't go to the DMV.
-When did this become
a chore for you?
-I don't know, Harper.
-You said you wanted
to get a degree.
-Not really.
You asked me once in this kind
of abstract, theoretical way
if I wanted to get a degree,
and then you just dove
into the internet
and started sending me
emails
and course schedules...
-Hold on.
Wait a minute.
-...and fucking to-do lists.
-That's not how this started.
You talked about
wanting to do stuff,
like your -- like your magazine,
your quarterly.
-That was your idea.
-Or like that coding camp thing.
-That was David's idea.
I didn't say anything about it.
-Yeah, but he talked about it
for you, though.
You seemed interested.
-Harper, what do I know
about coding?
-Well, nothing yet.
But you're smart.
You know stuff. You can learn.
You know what fucking sine
and cosine means.
-Okay, and what does that
have to do with anything?
What are you talking about?
-I'm just saying.
You know stuff.
You're smart.
-Okay, and what?
Like, why can't I just be smart?
Like, why can't I just be
a smart person
with the job that I have
and the life that I live?
Like, what is this need
for more?
-It's not a need for more.
-Do you think
me having some kind of
desk job will make you happy?
-It's not a need for more.
It's about having some ambition.
-Ambition for what, Harper?
-I don't know.
Not ambition, then.
You're uninspired.
You're -- You're sad.
-I'm not...
Look, I can't, okay?
I-I can't do this one again.
Okay? Please.
- Fine.
Actually, you know what?
It's not fine, because
you did want to make a change.
After my first night at Mise,
you said you did.
-I do. I just want it to be
on my terms.
-But you don't do anything,
though!
Like, what is wrong with me
trying to help you get unstuck?
-Because it's about you!
-What?
-It's not about me.
It's about you turning me
into the person
that you want me to be.
-No, no.
You having an ID isn't about
me turning you into anyone.
You need an ID, Charlie.
You need to be a person.
A person who can board
a fucking airplane!
-I'm not gonna sit here
and listen to you
tick off all the reasons
that you hate me.
-You know what, you need to fix
your phone when it breaks,
and not use mine to call Brian
or get directions
to your fucking coke dealer.
-Oh, my God.
Like you don't blow a bag
with half the kitchen at Mise.
-It's different.
-How?
How is doing drugs
different than doing drugs?
Because I don't have
a fucking coke dealer!
That's the difference!
-Oh, my God.
You know I love your dad,
and I know your mom has
a good heart.
-What the fuck are they doing
in this conversation?
-But you can't tell me,
looking at them,
that you're not aware
of some predisposition
to alcohol and depression.
-That's right.
That's the shit, Harper.
That's right.
I'm a piece of shit.
I'm always gonna be
a piece of shit.
-No, that's not what I'm saying.
-That's who I've always been.
You know I predicted this,
right?
-What?
-That last night
before we moved,
you parked your U-Haul
in front of my house,
and you asked me
why I wasn't coming with you,
and this was my answer.
I told you this would happen.
And I said it nicely then,
but it's actually
really fucking ugly.
You fell in love with me because
I lived in a trailer park while
you were going through your
"fuck you, Mom and Dad" phase.
-You got this whole thing in
your head to hide yourself
from how fucking miserable
you are!
-But you're always gonna want
their approval.
You are always gonna try
and turn me into someone
that they'd accept.
You want me to change
because you want me to change.
That's what tautology means,
by the way.
So don't give me your fucking
bullshit about me being sad.
-But you are sad, though!
-I'm sad because
my girlfriend doesn't love me.
This is who I am.
Either remember it
or fucking leave me.
-Yeah, I should
fucking leave you.
-I am done with
this conversation.
-You mope around all day
with zero purpose.
-I'm done, Harper!
-You drink all night.
And you can't fuck me unless
you've had at least four beers,
but not more than seven...
-Shut the fuck up!
...'cause then you can't
get hard! You're pathetic!
-It's like he can't see
how stuck he is.
-Have you guys talked
about taking a break?
No. God.
If I even brought that up...
I don't know what to do.
-What?
-I just don't know what to do.
-Sorry. It's so loud in here.
-I said I don't know
what to do.
-Oh.
-Oh. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Now I'm that girl.
-No, Harper. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
It's just have fun and dance
tonight,
and then we can figure out
Charlie next year.
-Yeah?
-Yes.
-Yes. That's my girl.
Ugh!
These are all matches?
Is this how you met
the firefighter?
He wasn't a firefighter.
He just wore that hat
in the picture.
-What's this called again?
-Tinder.
-It's about that time, y'all!
-...eight, seven...
-...three, two, one!
- Happy New Year!
-I remember my first night
with Charlie.
-Okay, I have to, like,
fully grab your ass
to make this work.
-Okay.
This was your plan all along.
-No!
"Having a Coke with You,"
by Frank O'Hara.
"Even more fun than going to San
Sebastian, Irn..."
Sorry, it sounds better in my
head when I imagine myself
pronouncing
all these words right.
-He was so nervous.
It was kind of messy.
- Oh, sorry.
- It's okay.
-Sorry.
-It's okay.
But I don't know...
It was nice somehow.
I remember he had
all these books in his room.
And they were all so worn
and scribbled in.
Like, he didn't just
have them --
He loved them.
He devoured them.
I wanted so bad to be his,
the way those books were his.
But now I wonder
if that was possible.
If those books were like that
because he loved them...
...or if they were ripped
and worn and stained
because that's who he is
and who he wants to be.
-So, this is it, huh?
-This is it.
-When do you have to leave by?
-Look, I'm not gonna
ask you to do
what you've already told me
so many times you won't,
but...
...can you at least tell me why?
Why won't you come with me?
Like, yeah,
David's already there.
-I know, I know.
-And Brian.
It's not like
it'd just be for me.
-It's not that.
It's, um...
It's like...
You're going to this place
and you're gonna do
all these incredible things
because you're so talented
and ambitious.
But I'm gonna be staying
right here.
There'll just be this distance
between us.
-Not if you come.
-No.
Yes. Even if I come.
Even if I'm right next to you.
The...
This distance
will still be there.
-You don't have to
be finished, Charlie.
- Harper!
Harper!
Harper!
Okay.
Okay.
-Okay? Yeah?
-Okay. I'll come with you.
-Charlie?
-Charlie?
Charlie?
- I slipped.
-It's okay. It's okay.
I'm gonna...
I'm gonna get a mop.
Okay?
-No.
Harper. Harper.
-I want to be what you see.
But it's...
It's tomorrow, you know?
-Tomorrow?
-No, it's...
It's tomorrow and tomorrow...
I'm... I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
-Fire one confit!
Fire one major!
-One confit, one major!
Yes, chef!
Saute, how long to the window?
-Two minutes.
-I need it now. Keep pushing.
Push, push, push!
-Amy?
- Hi.
-Uh, it's nice to meet you.
-Yeah. Nice to meet you.
How are you?
-I'm good. I'm good.
This place is, uh...
It's cool.
-Yeah, yeah. Really cool.
Do you like cocktails?
-Uh, yes, I do, I do.
Um, I've got to admit, though,
I'm a little lightweight.
Uh, intimidated by you, though,
'cause I saw that you're
a chef on your profile.
- Oh.
- Yeah, if you start, like,
getting into
the properties of mixology,
I might evaporate on you.
-There's no wrong way
to enjoy taste.
-Alright. That's, uh...
That's good to hear,
'cause I'm typically
a Jack and Coke type of guy.
-Okay. Yeah, well...
Yeah, I got nothing.
That's bad.
You -- You shouldn't drink that.
-Alright, I'll remember that.
-Oh, um, hey...
-I'm sorry, I just, um...
Oh, God. I haven't been out
like this a lot yet.
I think I'm just nervous
or something.
-Okay. Yeah. That's...
-Sorry.
-No, that's -- that's totally,
totally fine.
-Ah, it's so embarrassing.
-It's not. No. Hey.
It's, um...totally normal.
- This is normal?
- Well...
I guess it's kind of
my worst nightmare, but, uh...
-Oh, I'm sorry.
-I'm just kidding.
It's like, how do you get
back into small talk after that?
-Oh, that's...
Geez, that's the easiest thing
in the world,
'cause I've got thousands
of icebreakers.
-Yeah? Like what?
-Um...
What do you think it's like
being married to Ira Glass?
-I don't know who that is.
-Moving right on. Um...
Which, uh, which Beatle do
you think describes your soul
the best?
-Ira Glass is the radio guy,
right?
-Yeah.
-That's funny.
George.
-What?
-The Beatle.
-Oh, yeah.
Yeah, well, that makes sense.
You're a George person.
George people are always cool.
So, I'm a Paul guy.
Paul people are boring.
-Paul people are happy.
-Yeah. That's true.
Happy, yeah.
I'm not a chef.
I'm a cook, but I'm not a chef.
And my name is not Amy,
and, um...
-And I'm guessing you
just got out of a relationship?
-No, I'm actually still in one.
I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have come.
I'm sorry.
-Really, uh...
-I'm sorry.
-Hey, uh, not Amy.
Um, I just...
I got out of a relationship
a few years ago,
and, um,
everyone I knew
knew my ex, so...
they were just telling me
what to do
or kind of telling me
what I wanted to hear.
And really, all I wanted
was just someone to listen.
And so, if you want,
I can be that for you.
We can end this date, and you
don't have to tell me your name.
You can just talk,
and I'll listen.
-Yeah.
-Yeah?
Lead the way.
-Okay.
I heard someone once define
the word relationship
as the space between
two people.
-Mm. I like that.
-Me too.
Sometimes it's like I'm sitting
next to the girl I used to be,
and she's so mad at me
because she loves Charlie.
And she thinks
I've lost everything
that made us special.
-And what about the you
you're going to be?
What would she say?
-That I already know
what I'm gonna do.
-The fancy Jack and Coke.
So, you broke up
with someone recently?
-Yeah.
Well, a few years ago.
-But it feels recent?
-Sometimes.
-Do you ever talk to her?
-No.
-God, it's like they die.
-Well, I don't think of it
quite like that.
I...
It's like you're watching
time play backwards,
and the person
that you were closest with
slowly becomes a stranger again.
-Are you a nostalgic person?
-Um, yeah.
Yeah, I think so.
-Are you?
-Yeah.
I just wonder
what purpose it serves.
-So, when did you and Charlie
meet?
-Fuck.
Oh, come on.
-You didn't really think
this one through, did you?
-Uh...
No, I guess not.
-Congratulations.
-Yeah. Thanks.
-So, are you gonna give it
to me, or...?
-Oh. Yeah.
It's only one song.
-Wow. Bold.
-Yeah.
it's a really good one, though.
Just, um...
...don't listen to it too much.
I mean, if you like it.
You know, don't want it
to lose, like, that thing.
-Okay.
-I'll see ya.
-Harp?
What is it? Are you...?
What's going on?
-I think I'm just emotional.
Can you hold me?
-Yeah.
- Charlie...
I think I'm unhappy.
And I think that...
...maybe we shouldn't
be together.
I just...
I just think
something's not right.
And I don't know
that we can fix it.
-Right.
Um...
So, what are you saying, then?
Like we should break up?
-I think so.
-Uh...
-How long have you...?
It's like...
Have you been thinking
about this for a long time,
or are you just
thinking it now?
-I've been thinking it
for a while.
On New Year's Eve...
...I danced with someone,
and at midnight, I...
And I went on a date.
-I met someone online,
and I went...
I went to meet him tonight.
-Oh.
-I'm sorry.
-As soon as I got there,
I called --
I called it off.
I just love you so much.
You're my best friend.
But I just...
I don't think we can
get happy again.
-Something about
her being an alcoholic
and her being a good mother --
they felt, like,
mutually exclusive.
And, um, I think as I got older,
I came to realize that...
you can be an alcoholic
and a good person.
- Keep coming back.
It works if you work it.
So work it. You're worth it.
-You only have two weeks
before midterm papers are due.
-Sorry.
-So if anyone's still struggling
to come up with a subject
to write about,
I would recommend
finding time this week.
Office hours will be posted.
I think I'll be here Wednesday
and Thursday as well.
-You know, I realized we have
a mutual friend on Facebook.
-Oh, yeah?
-Yeah. Harper Owens?
I was a hostess
at this restaurant she works at.
Mise?
I actually introduced her
in a roundabout way
to this guy
she dated for a while.
How do you know her?
-I, uh...
I am also a guy
that she dated for a while.
-Shut up. Really?
That's fuckin' crazy.
She's a genius, you know?
Everyone said
she's as good as Chef.
How long did you guys date for?
-Um...
Five years?
-Oh, shit.
-Yeah.
It was a while ago, though.
Do you smoke in here?
-Sure. Yeah.
By the window.
Why'd y'all break up?
-It's kind of a long story.
-Tell me anyway.
So...what was it?
Why did you and Harper break up?
-We weren't happy.
I think we grew up
at a different pace.
-It's a little place.
Ten tables. Great location.
It's a three-month lease
with an option to renew.
So we can run it as long
as we want to.
-Yeah.
-It'll be yours, Harper.
Your menu, your staff,
your restaurant.
-Aw! She's so cute.
She looks like your sister.
-I know. It's crazy.
-Are you the kind of aunt
that gets custody
if your sister dies?
-That's so dumb.
-So dark.
-What? I always wondered that.
-I literally never
wondered that.
Though now that you...
-Harp!
-Hm?
-We're gonna get drinks.
-I'm okay. I'll stay.
-Cool.
-Hi.
-I'm Charlie.
-I know.
-Hey.
-Hey.
-You know,
I've got a shoe box like this.
-I always feel
like I should throw mine away.
-Really?
Why?
-You started dating
that guy.
-What guy?
-Mr. Finance Man,
with the puffy vest.
-Who, Tom?
-Yeah, I don't know.
I deleted the app
when he showed up.
-Funny one to be jealous of.
Bet you thought about Tom
more than I did.
-I thought about Tom...a lot.
-What about you?
Anything serious?
-No. Not really.
Actually, um, you might...
Do you remember Jessica Wright?
She was a...
-Jessica...?
-...a hostess at Mise.
-Yeah. Jess.
Wait. Back up.
You have a thing with Jess?
-No, not -- not really. Just...
-She's kind of young, no?
-I mean, not --
not, like, criminally.
-She was like, what, 19
when she worked at Mise?
-No, she was like...
That was...
Okay, what just happened?
- Sorry.
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
-It was all fun and games
when we were talking about,
like, Mr. Puffy Vest.
-I know, I'm sorry.
It's just like, everyone
I've dated has been,
like, obviously wrong for me.
Jess is kind of perfect.
She's younger than me,
which is upsetting.
-No, I...
Well, she's not perfect
for me, so...
-Why?
-Well, her youth is
just so glowing.
It's, like distracting.
- Oh, fuck you.
-She told me
you're sous chef now.
-I am, yeah. For now.
-For now?
-Well, Claire's talking about
helping me open a pop-up.
-What? Wait.
That's amazing.
Are you serious?
-Yeah.
-Harper, that...
That's incredible.
When do you open?
-I-I said -- I said
I'd think about it.
-Really?
-I know.
-I don't...
This is like the dream.
I don't get it.
-Yeah, I just...
I don't know.
I really don't.
Sometimes I think about
what you said,
about how people who want more
tend to want more forever.
-Oh, Harper, I didn't...
I didn't know what
I was talking about.
I was just trying
to rationalize my own...
whatever.
-Maybe.
Doesn't mean it wasn't true,
though.
Hey, I'll probably do it.
I-I'm sure I will.
Just...
Doesn't feel the way
I thought it would.
Wow. And this is what,
like two years?
-It's my one year.
I get my two year in October.
-That's great, Charlie.
I'm so proud of you.
David told me
you're finishing school?
-Well, uh, you know...
-Or you're about to?
-Yeah, I finished my prereqs,
so I start at Tulane
in the fall.
-What are you gonna study?
-Education.
I want to be a high school
guidance counselor.
-Guidance counselor?
God, that's perfect, Charlie.
-I didn't even know
you were in school.
-Yeah, well,
I mean, it was after, um...
It was after you and I...
I went through that bad spell,
you know, and...
after Randy, um...
well, he fired me...
uh, he helped me get into
the program
and, uh, lent me some money
to pay for classes.
-Ah, Randy.
-I know.
He saved my life.
Him and you.
Which way are you?
-I'm -- I'm back this way.
-I parked back at the...
-Okay.
Um, so I-I guess I'll see you.
Yeah?
-Yeah.
Okay, well, um...
Bye, Harp.
-Bye.
Actually, Charlie?
Um...
You know
the last time we talked,
when you called me while you
were going through the 12 steps
and were, um...
-Making amends?
-Making amends, yeah.
It just...
It occurred to me
that I never did that for you.
-Oh...
-Made amends.
-No.
-For -- For how I was
in the end.
-No.
-For what I did.
-No, Harper. No.
- I'm really sorry.
-I'm -- I'm grateful to you,
Harper.
-I needed to go through that.
-Do you ever miss it, Charlie?
Not like you want it back.
That's...
That's not what I'm saying.
Just...
Do you ever miss that time?
-Yeah.
Yeah. Of course.
-How is it possible
to miss this thing
that hurt so much?
-No...
-Like, why can't I just forget?
-Because we're
not supposed to.
We loved each other, Harper.
We loved each other so, so much.
We're not supposed to forget.
That's how we carry
each other with us.
Don't throw your shoe box away,
okay?
-Are you a nostalgic person?
-Um, yeah.
Yeah, I think so.
Are you?
-Yeah.
I just wonder
what purpose it serves.
-Hi.
I'm Charlie.
-I know.
-You...?
-We went to high school
together.
Conroy. Fifth period English.
You were the teacher's aide.
-Yeah. Uh, yeah.
I mean, I remember the class.
I just...
-Um...
I made fun of your
Kenny Rogers obsession.
-Oh, my God.
We burned CDs for each other.
-Yeah.
-Oh, my God,
I totally remember you.
I came over here
and I was, like, all...
Hannah, right?
-Harper.
-Harper!
Yes. Harper Owens.
Yeah. Okay. Wow, I...
You know, I still listen
to some of those songs.
-Well, you -- you gave me one.
A CD with -- with just one
song on it.
-I did?
-Mm-hmm.
And you said I should
only listen to it once,
so I wouldn't lose the thing
that made it special.
-Huh.
Do you remember
what song it was?
- Yeah. I do.
- I knew that's why
you were talking to the DJ.
-I was trying to be cool.
I didn't want it to be
too obvious.
-So, what do you think?
-Did you listen to it
too much, Harper?
-Yeah.
-You still love it, though?
-Hey.
-Hey.
-You know,
I've got a shoe box like this.
-I always feel
like I should throw mine away.
-Really?
Why?
-So, what's the whole story?
How did you and Harper meet?
-We met a couple times,
actually.
-A million dollars.
-You hear this?
-Bro, a million dollars,
you can't land this.
I bet you a million dollars
you can't land this shit.
I bet you a million dollars.
-Alright, alright.
Set this up. Watch this.
-A million dollars.
-Kick-flip for a milli.
-How do you turn this on?
-Ohh!
-...in the depths of winter
cannot end
on this autumn night.
This victory alone
is not the change we seek.
It is only the chance
for us to make that change.
-Nah, I just need
a cool wife, dude.
-Mnh-mnh, bro.
I'm never getting married.
-What are you talking about?
Never?
-I'm too untethered, bro.
-What? You're too untethered?
-I'm peak me.
I'm peak me untethered
right now.
-Okay,
so what are you gonna do?
-I'mma walk the earth.
Like Khan.
- What?
No!
-Like Khan.
-No, it's Caine. It's Caine.
-It's Khan.
-Khan is "Star Trek."
-Caine is "Pulp Fiction."
-It's Khan!
-It's Caine!
-Charlie.
-Caine's from "Kung Fu."
You both are idiots.
-Ohh!
-That's not even
what he was say--
That's not what you were talk--
You gotta be
the dumbest fucking person
I ever met in my whole life.
Wait, so what are we doing?
-Uh, Stefanie and those girls
are having some people over.
-Who's Stefanie?
-Powers.
Tanya's little sister.
Um, she's, uh, friends with
Courtney Gardner
and that chick Harper...
-Harper Owens?
-Yeah. You know her?
-Kinda.
-I don't know.
I don't want to go to
some high school party.
-Whoa! They graduated.
They graduated.
-Yeah, but we used to rip on
dudes who did that all the time,
and you're always coming up
with these
elaborate plans to get laid.
-What elab--
-We always end up right back
at your house...
-I'm talking about a party.
I'm just talking about a party.
-Okay, well,
what do you think?
-I'm down.
-Hell yeah, he's down!
Look around, bro.
The whole fucking world
is horny tonight.
Barack Obama is president.
That means anything is possible.
Yewwww!
-Think I have an ugly smile?
No, seriously.
'Cause I feel like...
Listen, my mom says I smile
with no teeth.
She thinks it's weird,
but I think it's creepy
to smile with teeth
because I have
really weird teeth.
-No, honestly,
honestly, I like your smile.
-What?
-I think you look...
-Hi.
-Hey.
You want to play something?
-No, uh...
I-I'm Charlie.
I-I was a teacher's aide
for Conroy your junior year.
-The English teacher?
-Yeah.
Uh...
-You don't remember me?
-No. Sorry.
Oh, you seem sad.
Did you have
a little crush on me?
-No. No.
Well, uh, yeah.
I mean, I thought I...
-You did?
-I-I just -- I thought
that you would remember me.
-What?
-I thought
that you would remember me.
Um, it's all good.
No worries. It's...
Sorry.
-Have you been listening to it?
-I'm not going to college.
-Why not?
-School always made me
feel dumb.
-What do you want to do?
-I want to cook.
-Cook?
-Yeah, I want to be a chef.
I love, like, food as art.
Food as expression.
I love thinking about the way
a dish is gonna make
someone feel.
You know, like, the way
ingredients work together.
-That's cool.
What kind of restaurant
do you want to open?
-A great one.
Like, the best.
-Will you cook something
for me sometime?
-Fuck.
-What?
-Uh...
I forgot my keys.
-Seriously?
-Yeah, but, um...
I'm gonna boost you up, okay?
Alright. I need to, like...
-Help me!
-...fully grab your ass
to make this work.
-Okay.
This was your plan all along.
- Busted.
How'd you do that?
So, what about you?
Why didn't you go to college?
-I don't know.
Just didn't really feel like me,
I guess.
-What do you want to do?
You know, I asked people
about you.
In high school.
What'd you find out?
-Well, everyone said you were
shy, which I obviously knew.
And they said
you lived with your dad.
-Yeah.
I mean, my parents split up,
and then just ended up
with my dad.
-What's he like?
-He's cool.
You know, just, like,
lets me do what I want.
He's like more of a roommate
than a dad at this point.
-That's cool.
What about your mom?
-She, uh...
She lives in Portland, and...
she's a psychic.
-Really?
-I mean, no, but that's
what she does for money.
What else did you learn?
-That you read.
That you read like
three books a week.
Is that true?
-No.
They're, like,
dime-store novels.
It's escapist.
I don't know, like, Chaucer
or whatever.
-Poems?
-Those can be escapist, too.
-"Having a Coke with You."
Will you read it?
-No.
Come on.
-No.
-Come on.
-No!
-You can't -- You can't be like,
"Oh, I read poetry"
and then, like,
not walk the walk.
-Oh, my God. No.
No, no, no, I'm not reading it.
-Okay.
I'll walk out of here right now.
Can I use the door?
Or are you gonna throw me
out the window?
- Okay.
Alright, alright, alright.
Gimme that.
"Having a Coke with You,"
by Frank O'Hara.
-Read by Charlie.
-Yeah, well, not well.
"Having a Coke with you
is even more fun
than going to San Sebastian,
Irn, Hendaye,
Biarritz, Bayonne,
or being sick to my stomach
on the Traverse de Gracia
in Barcelona."
It sounds a lot better
in my head
when I imagine myself
pronouncing all the words right.
-It's okay.
-"Partly because
in your orange shirt
you look like a better,
happier St. Sebastian.
Partly because of my love
for you.
Partly because of your love
for yoghurt.
Partly because of
the fluorescent orange tulips
around the birches.
Partly because of the secrecy
our smiles take on
before people and statuary.
As solemn, as unpleasantly
definitive as statuary
when right in front of it,
in the warm New York
four o'clock light,
we are drifting back and forth
between each other
like a tree breathing
through its spectacles."
-So, what was it like?
-The what? The...?
Yeah.
Um...
Yeah, it was...
I mean, it was really good.
It felt like
we'd always been in love.
-I just didn't know
what love would turn into
five years later.
-...if you're watching how your
planned attack is going
and you haven't even
gotten your sledgehammer head
through Belgium yet,
so you're still a ways away
from your attack
doing anything,
but you've got things starting
to collapse around you...
-Oh, my God. C-Can we listen
to something else?
-You don't want to learn
about World War I?
No. I don't.
Okay. But...
Okay, we're learning about
a battle
with more fatalities
in a single week...
-I don't care.
-...than all of the Americans
who died during the Vietnam War.
-I don't care about those men.
I don't care about Vietnam
either.
I don't know these people.
-Okay, imagine starting a war
with 19th-century
military tactics
and then confronting,
for the first time,
20th-century weapons.
-Yeah, I know.
I just listened to
the same thing as you.
-Watch how every flip
of the coin so far...
Alright. Fine.
-Thank you.
- Are you serious?
-Sorry.
-No, no,
I just listened to four hours
of Hardcore History for Bros
and you can't give me
four bars of a song?
-I'm sorry. Fuck.
Just put your
wispy ghost lady back on.
-Hi. Can we do 30 on four?
-Sure. Anything else?
-Um, and these...
And, um...
Yeah. That's it.
Hey, will you do me
a favor this weekend?
-What?
-Will you take it easy
on the drinking?
-Right. Um...
I don't know
what that means, but...
-I'm not saying don't drink.
I'm just saying, like...
-What bothers you
about my drinking?
-It's...
It's just not fun.
Like, even for you,
it's not fun.
-Well, it's not fun
when I'm with you,
because you're mad
about the drinking.
It's fun when I'm
with other people.
-Listen,
you don't want to fight,
then this is something
you can do.
We never used to talk
to each other like that.
It's like we were happier when
we had nothing but each other.
-Oh, my God, Charlie,
can you not?
-I got it. No, no, no, no.
I just, I want to document.
What are we...
Where are we right now?
-We're in NOLA.
-We're in NOLA.
We're in NOLA, baby.
-We're starting our new life.
-Okay, well...
-I'm gonna zoom.
-No photos.
-No, stop! Don't be shy.
When we moved to New Orleans,
I had this idea in my head
of what everything
would be like.
- I'm trying, okay?
Okay. One, two, three.
This is not gonna go in
at this angle.
-No, it is. Wedge.
-No, it's not.
-It is!
We'd live at the top
of an old building on Frenchmen
with these, like, tall windows
and an ornate balcony.
Charlie made us pull over
so we could get these
for his bookshelf.
-Yeah, well, now we don't
have to buy a shelf, so...
-We will totally be
buying a shelf.
I'd be head chef at
the hottest pop-up in the city,
the star up-and-comer.
Okay, so who wants to start
with the Blazin' Cajun
Creole Meal?
With Charlie,
you got the sense
that he could do anything.
He was so smart.
-I feel like
you're cutting a lot.
You're making me nervous.
-Just carry on reading.
I'm enjoying it.
-...where all the work
gets done.
It's the industrial side.
-I imagined him starting
this magazine or quarterly
that everyone would read,
and then everyone would see
what I saw...
This sensitive, thoughtful man.
-Just a touch.
That's perfect.
- Is that alright?
-He's the type of person
who could listen to people
talk about things
he knew everything about,
and he wouldn't say a word,
like he was embarrassed by
how much he knew.
-...which makes you
an actual war criminal.
-It's war we're talking about.
-Oh, my God.
You're a war criminal.
-What are you supposed to do?
-Just like Bush.
I pictured us as these, like,
young, modern cosmopolitans,
you know?
Not quite how
it turned out, huh?
-No.
Somehow, it was even better.
Ow!
Fuck!
-Oh, fuck.
Oh, my God.
-Shit!
-Oh, my God.
-Can you help me?
-What do I do?
-Can you help me?
-Fuck. Um...
-Charlie!
-Aah!
-Hey, would you still love me
if I had no legs?
-I barely love you now.
-Yeah, but, like, if I could
do, like, cool tricks and shit.
You know, like this.
Whoa!
-Charlie!
-Now, you might be emotional
for a couple of days.
You have a concussion.
-Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I think I can feel that.
Harper. No. Stop.
-Aww, baby.
It's like everything was
worse than I had pictured...
but better than I could
have possibly imagined.
-What happened?
-Do you actually
believe in this?
-Do you?
The Tower.
-Whoa.
Yeah, that's actually, like,
kind of spot on.
It's like...
the future.
Like, fear of the future.
-Really? I feel like
that should be yours.
- No. No, no, no.
- What do you mean,
"No, no, no"?
-I'm The Moon.
-What's The Moon?
-Fear of the past.
So...
is there something
in your future
that you're worried about?
-I guess in the future,
anything's possible.
But I don't want anything
to be possible.
I just want one thing
to be possible.
-Makes sense.
You like control.
-No, I don't.
-I'm not controlling.
-Well...
-Oh, my God. Take it back.
-Uh, no.
-Take it...
Say it! Take it back!
-No!
-Say it. I'm not controlling.
-Say it.
-Okay, okay, okay.
Alright, alright.
You're not controlling.
-Mm-hmm.
-You're not controlling.
-Thank you.
-But...
...you do like control.
It's not a bad thing.
It's, like, just part
of who you are.
It's what makes you a good chef.
-Yeah, but I'm not a chef.
That's what I'm saying.
-Yeah, but you will be.
That's what I'm saying.
-You, like...
You see what you want
so clearly.
You, like...
You manifest it.
-Yeah,
but everybody does that.
-I don't think that's true.
I think people like you
think it's true
because you do it so easily.
But I think it's actually
kind of rare.
-That's you?
-Mm-hmm.
-What about your future?
What does the future look like
when you're a moon?
-Mm. I don't know.
Um...
I think there's a part of me
that, like, looks at you,
and I want that, too --
like, to pursue my interests
and go to school.
But...
-But...?
-But I don't know.
It's like...
I feel like people
who pursue more
tend to pursue more forever,
and it just feels kind of...
...hedonistic.
-Hedonistic?
-Yeah.
-Do you think I'm hedonistic?
- Kinda, yeah.
No, but I like it on you.
I just...
I don't know.
I wonder if, for me,
it's just better to, like...
...be content.
-Mm.
Well, I don't understand that.
I think you can be content
and pursue your interests.
I guess I'm a "hedon"
or whatever.
-You Harper?
You staged at Harbor 21?
-For six weeks.
And another month
at Bourbon & Rye.
-This is my wife, Claire.
She's my partner,
and she runs the floor.
-Hi. Nice to meet you.
-Have you ever actually
worked in a kitchen,
or do you just stage like this
as a hobby?
-Yeah, no, I've worked
in a kitchen before.
-Where?
-It wasn't in New Orleans.
I'm from Florida.
-That's fine. Where?
-Oceanside?
-No, not...
What restaurant did you work in?
-...Ch-Chili's?
-Okay.
Okay.
Come in tomorrow at 2:00.
I say two --
I mean 1:30, to get changed,
have a smoke, whatever.
In here at 2:00, prepping.
-Th-Thank you!
-And we're probably gonna
call you Chili's for a while.
-Yeah, that -- that's fine.
That's fine.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
-Tomorrow at 2:00.
-Yeah, 1:30. 1:30. Okay!
Oh! Oh, my God!
- For you.
For you, for you, for you.
-Oh, thank you.
-For you.
-Oh, what?
-For you.
-Why?
-Harper makes $30,000 a year.
This means nothing to me.
-Charlie!
Charlie, this is Jade,
the bartender from Harvard.
-Oh, shit. Jade! What's up?
Yo, I've heard so much
about you.
-No, no, no, I've heard
so much about you.
-Yeah, uh...
Oh. This is for you.
What are you drinking?
-Everything.
- Yeah! Whoo!
-Okay. Shots of everything!
To my fucking girlfriend,
who's gonna be a genius chef.
-Yeah!
-Whoo!
-Oh, my God.
-Another round!
-Oh, God, I shouldn't.
-Yeah!
-Yeah!
-Whoo!
-Oh, my God.
-I feel like history
doesn't even happen anymore.
-Yes. Yes. 100%.
-Wait, wait.
Let's pause for a second.
Let's figure out what the fuck
you guys are talking about.
'Cause I'm confused.
-That's so big.
-Because I am...
-What are you talking about?
-Oh, shit.
-Oh, look at this fucking guy.
Are you good?
-Oh, yeah.
-Okay, let me go. Let me go.
-No, we...
-Heyyy!
-Okay, okay.
Where are we going?
Where are we going?
-Um, tacos!
-No. We have to go home.
-No! Tacos!
-You said tacos.
-Carnitas!
-Yes!
-Carnitas!
-Yes!
-Queso!
-Yes! Queso!
-Yeah.
Shit!
-Mmph. What's going on?
-Oh, shit.
-Harper?
Harp?
-Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!
-Okay.
-Thank you.
-I'm sorry I'm late, Chef.
I got stuck in --
-I don't care. You're fired.
Hey. I'm serious. Go home!
-No, no.
Grab a broom, start sweeping
the prep stations.
-But he just fired me.
-Just put this on
and don't look at him.
-Hands!
Fire two duck, two salmon.
-Two salmon, two duck.
Yes, Chef.
-Now we have five VIP on 2122.
-Hey.
Where are your bell peppers?
-I'm all out, Chef.
-We're in the middle
of service.
What do you mean
you're out of bell peppers?
-I'm sorry, Chef.
-Hey, you! Chili's!
I need a pint of bell pepper
brunoise -- now!
-Need those bell peppers!
-Coming up!
-You're falling behind, Harper.
-Sorry, Chef.
-No, no. Like this.
Grip here. One motion.
Why are you in my kitchen if you
don't know how to use a knife?
-Sorry, Chef.
-Faster.
Nope. There's a seed.
Go again.
-Waiting on
those bell peppers!
Let's go!
-Faster, Harper. Faster!
-Yes, Chef.
-It's okay, it's okay.
-Ugh!
I'm such a fucking failure.
-No.
No, you're not.
-Yeah, I am.
I thought I was fired.
Can't believe
I showed up late like that.
What the fuck was I thinking?
-It's okay.
Harper.
-No, it's not.
-I promise it's gonna be fine.
-It's not fine.
I can't blow this.
I need to get serious.
We should get serious.
Would you do that?
-Yeah.
Yeah, if that's what you want.
Yeah.
-Like, go out less,
cut back on drinking?
I'm serious.
-Me, too.
-Yeah?
-Yes.
-You'll do that with me?
- Harper, yes.
I'd do anything for you.
-Sometimes I wonder if
everything I remember is wrong.
If everything was different.
I would do anything for you.
Mwah, mwah!
-Oh, Charlie! Charlie!
-And the truth is
somewhere between
the things that happened
and the memories I have.
Or the memories I have
and the order
that they occurred.
Harper showed me
this thing once.
She had a hard time reading
when she was young,
until an English teacher
figured out
that she was dyslexic.
-Read this.
-Just -- just read it?
-Mm-hmm. Out loud.
-Okay. Okay.
"As long as a word..."
She showed me that
as long as the word includes
the right first and last
letters,
you can pretty much scramble
every letter in between
and still understand
the meaning.
I think about that a lot,
looking back
at the relationship.
I know how it started.
I know how it ends.
But when I think about
the middle...
everything is scrambled.
I don't think your dad likes me.
-Why?
-I don't know.
I think that...
he thinks that I'm the reason
you're not going to school.
-I decided that
before we got together.
-I know, but...
I don't know, I just...
...feel like I embody
all the reasons
that you're not going.
To him, like...
...I'm all the mistakes
you've ever made.
Ow!
-You're not a mistake.
-I want to tell him,
"Don't worry.
She'll be back.
She's just on vacation."
-What does that mean?
-What?
-I'm on vacation?
-Just when you move
to New Orleans.
He won't have to see me again
after that.
-You could come with me.
-Hi!
-Thanks for having us.
-Charlie!
-What acid did you use in this?
-Yuzu with aji chili.
-Mm, don't believe everything
she's told you.
I promise I'm not that bad.
-Oh!
-No, no.
No, no.
She loves you guys.
-Charlie,
are these all your books?
I can't get over your bookshelf.
-Oh, yeah.
-Chef and Claire
went to Princeton.
Claire majored in English.
-Comparative literature,
but, um...
It's super close. Same thing.
-Literature. Yeah.
-Okay.
Yeah, I-I noticed your tattoo.
Is that a madeleine and teacup?
-Yeah.
-From "Swann's Way"?
-Yeah, exactly. Wow.
-Yeah, she's been --
no kidding --
waiting 20 years for
someone to get that reference.
What do you do, Charlie?
-Um, I work at a print shop.
-Mm. Like, um...
Like books?
Like publishing?
-Oh, uh, no.
Like, um, T-shirts.
-Oh. Very cool.
-Yeah, but that-- that's
obviously not the forever job.
Charlie is seriously the
smartest person on the planet.
He's been thinking about
going back to school recently.
-Well, what are you thinking
about studying?
-Um, yeah, I-I don't know.
I -- I'm still kind of... still
figuring all that out, but...
-Hey, in the meantime,
at least you've got someone
you can talk "Prowst" with,
you know?
-It's "Proust."
-Are we sure?
-I think so. I think so.
-Hey, Charlie!
Come on, have a seat for me.
-What's up, Randy?
-I wanted to let you know
that I'm giving
the manager's job to Eric.
I know he hasn't been here
as long, and he's a bit younger.
-You don't have to...
I get it.
-You know why, right?
Charlie...
I've been sober for 20 years.
So, if you ever just want
to talk, or...
-You don't have to...
It's just at close,
you know,
some guys have some beers...
-I know. I know.
Sometimes it's before close,
too, though, right?
I really like you, Charlie.
I mean,
you're a really great kid.
-Just not a very good man,
though, right?
-Not yet.
-This is kind of a cool one.
Grant writing.
-Yeah.
-Says you need an understanding
of systems
and a strong command
of language.
Feels like you.
-Yeah.
-What do you think?
-Um...
Grant writing doesn't sound
that interesting to me, but...
-No, I just mean, in general,
like, taking classes
you are interested in.
-Yeah. Yeah.
-Okay, well,
the deadline's Friday.
You need to renew your license
so you can prove residency.
-Yeah, I'm gonna do that.
-Hi. How are we?
- Good. Um...
-Ready to order?
-Yeah. We're gonna do
two miso soups.
The Kinoki Itame.
The Torotaku roll.
Hamachi. Albacore.
Tai Yuzu...
Yeah. That's it.
-She knows how to order.
-Yeah.
-And to drink?
-Just water for me.
-Um, Sapporo.
The big one.
-Big Sapporo. Got it.
I'll be right back.
-Thank you.
-Thanks.
-So, you'll do that?
-Mm?
-Renew your license.
-Yeah.
-I can go to the DMV with you.
-No, I got it.
-Okay.
It's just, you got to go
in the next couple of days or --
-Harper, I just said I'd go.
Like...
-Sorry.
-Why are you...?
Y-You know?
-Yeah.
-Here we are. Big Sapporo.
-Why community college?
Didn't you get like
a perfect score on your SATs?
Why not like a real college?
-I didn't get a perfect score.
-Well you did better than David,
and he went to Tulane.
-Right, well, okay, I think
it's cool you're doing this.
-I don't know if I am.
Like, this is kind of
Harper's thing.
-Why isn't Harper's thing
for you to go to a real college?
-Dude. You went to
a community college.
-That's what I'm saying.
They let anybody
in community college.
-Why can't you just be
supportive?
-I'm saying he's...
I'm being supportive.
I'm just saying that he's smart.
-Be supportive,
less of a dick.
-Look, it doesn't matter.
Like, I don't think
I'm gonna go.
-Why?
-Because I...
I always said I wasn't gonna go.
I don't know why Harper
suddenly, like...
Look, I always said
I wasn't gonna go.
So...
-Then why'd you take
the SATs, bro?
-To show he's smarter than you.
-Shut the fuck up.
-Hey.
-Hey.
-How was your day?
-It was good.
-What's this?
-Scotch.
Brian got it for us.
Apparently, it's a nice bottle.
-How does Brian afford
these weird hobbies?
-I don't know.
His dad has money.
-Well, must be nice.
-Your dad has money.
-Yeah, but not like "buy
a $200 bottle of scotch" money.
-He said he'd give you
a down payment for a house.
-That's different.
-Yeah.
It is.
-Work was fine, by the way.
- How was work?
I meant it's different
because it's an investment.
-Yeah. I know what you meant.
-Did you go to the DMV today?
- Why'd you
say that the other night?
About the print shop
not being my forever job,
how I'm thinking about
going back to school.
-Because you are thinking
about going back to school.
What do you mean?
-It's just the way
that you said it.
You really don't know
what I'm talking about?
-No.
-It was embarrassing.
-Okay, well,
I'm sorry I embarrassed you.
-No, it was embarrassing
for you.
It was transparent, just
how important it is to you
that I be seen a certain way.
-Yeah, I don't want
you to go to school
because it's important to me.
I want you to go to school
because I think
you're unhappy right now.
Do you know what
tautology means?
-No.
The answer is no.
I didn't go to the DMV.
-When did this become
a chore for you?
-I don't know, Harper.
-You said you wanted
to get a degree.
-Not really.
You asked me once in this kind
of abstract, theoretical way
if I wanted to get a degree,
and then you just dove
into the internet
and started sending me
emails
and course schedules...
-Hold on.
Wait a minute.
-...and fucking to-do lists.
-That's not how this started.
You talked about
wanting to do stuff,
like your -- like your magazine,
your quarterly.
-That was your idea.
-Or like that coding camp thing.
-That was David's idea.
I didn't say anything about it.
-Yeah, but he talked about it
for you, though.
You seemed interested.
-Harper, what do I know
about coding?
-Well, nothing yet.
But you're smart.
You know stuff. You can learn.
You know what fucking sine
and cosine means.
-Okay, and what does that
have to do with anything?
What are you talking about?
-I'm just saying.
You know stuff.
You're smart.
-Okay, and what?
Like, why can't I just be smart?
Like, why can't I just be
a smart person
with the job that I have
and the life that I live?
Like, what is this need
for more?
-It's not a need for more.
-Do you think
me having some kind of
desk job will make you happy?
-It's not a need for more.
It's about having some ambition.
-Ambition for what, Harper?
-I don't know.
Not ambition, then.
You're uninspired.
You're -- You're sad.
-I'm not...
Look, I can't, okay?
I-I can't do this one again.
Okay? Please.
- Fine.
Actually, you know what?
It's not fine, because
you did want to make a change.
After my first night at Mise,
you said you did.
-I do. I just want it to be
on my terms.
-But you don't do anything,
though!
Like, what is wrong with me
trying to help you get unstuck?
-Because it's about you!
-What?
-It's not about me.
It's about you turning me
into the person
that you want me to be.
-No, no.
You having an ID isn't about
me turning you into anyone.
You need an ID, Charlie.
You need to be a person.
A person who can board
a fucking airplane!
-I'm not gonna sit here
and listen to you
tick off all the reasons
that you hate me.
-You know what, you need to fix
your phone when it breaks,
and not use mine to call Brian
or get directions
to your fucking coke dealer.
-Oh, my God.
Like you don't blow a bag
with half the kitchen at Mise.
-It's different.
-How?
How is doing drugs
different than doing drugs?
Because I don't have
a fucking coke dealer!
That's the difference!
-Oh, my God.
You know I love your dad,
and I know your mom has
a good heart.
-What the fuck are they doing
in this conversation?
-But you can't tell me,
looking at them,
that you're not aware
of some predisposition
to alcohol and depression.
-That's right.
That's the shit, Harper.
That's right.
I'm a piece of shit.
I'm always gonna be
a piece of shit.
-No, that's not what I'm saying.
-That's who I've always been.
You know I predicted this,
right?
-What?
-That last night
before we moved,
you parked your U-Haul
in front of my house,
and you asked me
why I wasn't coming with you,
and this was my answer.
I told you this would happen.
And I said it nicely then,
but it's actually
really fucking ugly.
You fell in love with me because
I lived in a trailer park while
you were going through your
"fuck you, Mom and Dad" phase.
-You got this whole thing in
your head to hide yourself
from how fucking miserable
you are!
-But you're always gonna want
their approval.
You are always gonna try
and turn me into someone
that they'd accept.
You want me to change
because you want me to change.
That's what tautology means,
by the way.
So don't give me your fucking
bullshit about me being sad.
-But you are sad, though!
-I'm sad because
my girlfriend doesn't love me.
This is who I am.
Either remember it
or fucking leave me.
-Yeah, I should
fucking leave you.
-I am done with
this conversation.
-You mope around all day
with zero purpose.
-I'm done, Harper!
-You drink all night.
And you can't fuck me unless
you've had at least four beers,
but not more than seven...
-Shut the fuck up!
...'cause then you can't
get hard! You're pathetic!
-It's like he can't see
how stuck he is.
-Have you guys talked
about taking a break?
No. God.
If I even brought that up...
I don't know what to do.
-What?
-I just don't know what to do.
-Sorry. It's so loud in here.
-I said I don't know
what to do.
-Oh.
-Oh. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Now I'm that girl.
-No, Harper. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
It's just have fun and dance
tonight,
and then we can figure out
Charlie next year.
-Yeah?
-Yes.
-Yes. That's my girl.
Ugh!
These are all matches?
Is this how you met
the firefighter?
He wasn't a firefighter.
He just wore that hat
in the picture.
-What's this called again?
-Tinder.
-It's about that time, y'all!
-...eight, seven...
-...three, two, one!
- Happy New Year!
-I remember my first night
with Charlie.
-Okay, I have to, like,
fully grab your ass
to make this work.
-Okay.
This was your plan all along.
-No!
"Having a Coke with You,"
by Frank O'Hara.
"Even more fun than going to San
Sebastian, Irn..."
Sorry, it sounds better in my
head when I imagine myself
pronouncing
all these words right.
-He was so nervous.
It was kind of messy.
- Oh, sorry.
- It's okay.
-Sorry.
-It's okay.
But I don't know...
It was nice somehow.
I remember he had
all these books in his room.
And they were all so worn
and scribbled in.
Like, he didn't just
have them --
He loved them.
He devoured them.
I wanted so bad to be his,
the way those books were his.
But now I wonder
if that was possible.
If those books were like that
because he loved them...
...or if they were ripped
and worn and stained
because that's who he is
and who he wants to be.
-So, this is it, huh?
-This is it.
-When do you have to leave by?
-Look, I'm not gonna
ask you to do
what you've already told me
so many times you won't,
but...
...can you at least tell me why?
Why won't you come with me?
Like, yeah,
David's already there.
-I know, I know.
-And Brian.
It's not like
it'd just be for me.
-It's not that.
It's, um...
It's like...
You're going to this place
and you're gonna do
all these incredible things
because you're so talented
and ambitious.
But I'm gonna be staying
right here.
There'll just be this distance
between us.
-Not if you come.
-No.
Yes. Even if I come.
Even if I'm right next to you.
The...
This distance
will still be there.
-You don't have to
be finished, Charlie.
- Harper!
Harper!
Harper!
Okay.
Okay.
-Okay? Yeah?
-Okay. I'll come with you.
-Charlie?
-Charlie?
Charlie?
- I slipped.
-It's okay. It's okay.
I'm gonna...
I'm gonna get a mop.
Okay?
-No.
Harper. Harper.
-I want to be what you see.
But it's...
It's tomorrow, you know?
-Tomorrow?
-No, it's...
It's tomorrow and tomorrow...
I'm... I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
-Fire one confit!
Fire one major!
-One confit, one major!
Yes, chef!
Saute, how long to the window?
-Two minutes.
-I need it now. Keep pushing.
Push, push, push!
-Amy?
- Hi.
-Uh, it's nice to meet you.
-Yeah. Nice to meet you.
How are you?
-I'm good. I'm good.
This place is, uh...
It's cool.
-Yeah, yeah. Really cool.
Do you like cocktails?
-Uh, yes, I do, I do.
Um, I've got to admit, though,
I'm a little lightweight.
Uh, intimidated by you, though,
'cause I saw that you're
a chef on your profile.
- Oh.
- Yeah, if you start, like,
getting into
the properties of mixology,
I might evaporate on you.
-There's no wrong way
to enjoy taste.
-Alright. That's, uh...
That's good to hear,
'cause I'm typically
a Jack and Coke type of guy.
-Okay. Yeah, well...
Yeah, I got nothing.
That's bad.
You -- You shouldn't drink that.
-Alright, I'll remember that.
-Oh, um, hey...
-I'm sorry, I just, um...
Oh, God. I haven't been out
like this a lot yet.
I think I'm just nervous
or something.
-Okay. Yeah. That's...
-Sorry.
-No, that's -- that's totally,
totally fine.
-Ah, it's so embarrassing.
-It's not. No. Hey.
It's, um...totally normal.
- This is normal?
- Well...
I guess it's kind of
my worst nightmare, but, uh...
-Oh, I'm sorry.
-I'm just kidding.
It's like, how do you get
back into small talk after that?
-Oh, that's...
Geez, that's the easiest thing
in the world,
'cause I've got thousands
of icebreakers.
-Yeah? Like what?
-Um...
What do you think it's like
being married to Ira Glass?
-I don't know who that is.
-Moving right on. Um...
Which, uh, which Beatle do
you think describes your soul
the best?
-Ira Glass is the radio guy,
right?
-Yeah.
-That's funny.
George.
-What?
-The Beatle.
-Oh, yeah.
Yeah, well, that makes sense.
You're a George person.
George people are always cool.
So, I'm a Paul guy.
Paul people are boring.
-Paul people are happy.
-Yeah. That's true.
Happy, yeah.
I'm not a chef.
I'm a cook, but I'm not a chef.
And my name is not Amy,
and, um...
-And I'm guessing you
just got out of a relationship?
-No, I'm actually still in one.
I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have come.
I'm sorry.
-Really, uh...
-I'm sorry.
-Hey, uh, not Amy.
Um, I just...
I got out of a relationship
a few years ago,
and, um,
everyone I knew
knew my ex, so...
they were just telling me
what to do
or kind of telling me
what I wanted to hear.
And really, all I wanted
was just someone to listen.
And so, if you want,
I can be that for you.
We can end this date, and you
don't have to tell me your name.
You can just talk,
and I'll listen.
-Yeah.
-Yeah?
Lead the way.
-Okay.
I heard someone once define
the word relationship
as the space between
two people.
-Mm. I like that.
-Me too.
Sometimes it's like I'm sitting
next to the girl I used to be,
and she's so mad at me
because she loves Charlie.
And she thinks
I've lost everything
that made us special.
-And what about the you
you're going to be?
What would she say?
-That I already know
what I'm gonna do.
-The fancy Jack and Coke.
So, you broke up
with someone recently?
-Yeah.
Well, a few years ago.
-But it feels recent?
-Sometimes.
-Do you ever talk to her?
-No.
-God, it's like they die.
-Well, I don't think of it
quite like that.
I...
It's like you're watching
time play backwards,
and the person
that you were closest with
slowly becomes a stranger again.
-Are you a nostalgic person?
-Um, yeah.
Yeah, I think so.
-Are you?
-Yeah.
I just wonder
what purpose it serves.
-So, when did you and Charlie
meet?
-Fuck.
Oh, come on.
-You didn't really think
this one through, did you?
-Uh...
No, I guess not.
-Congratulations.
-Yeah. Thanks.
-So, are you gonna give it
to me, or...?
-Oh. Yeah.
It's only one song.
-Wow. Bold.
-Yeah.
it's a really good one, though.
Just, um...
...don't listen to it too much.
I mean, if you like it.
You know, don't want it
to lose, like, that thing.
-Okay.
-I'll see ya.
-Harp?
What is it? Are you...?
What's going on?
-I think I'm just emotional.
Can you hold me?
-Yeah.
- Charlie...
I think I'm unhappy.
And I think that...
...maybe we shouldn't
be together.
I just...
I just think
something's not right.
And I don't know
that we can fix it.
-Right.
Um...
So, what are you saying, then?
Like we should break up?
-I think so.
-Uh...
-How long have you...?
It's like...
Have you been thinking
about this for a long time,
or are you just
thinking it now?
-I've been thinking it
for a while.
On New Year's Eve...
...I danced with someone,
and at midnight, I...
And I went on a date.
-I met someone online,
and I went...
I went to meet him tonight.
-Oh.
-I'm sorry.
-As soon as I got there,
I called --
I called it off.
I just love you so much.
You're my best friend.
But I just...
I don't think we can
get happy again.
-Something about
her being an alcoholic
and her being a good mother --
they felt, like,
mutually exclusive.
And, um, I think as I got older,
I came to realize that...
you can be an alcoholic
and a good person.
- Keep coming back.
It works if you work it.
So work it. You're worth it.
-You only have two weeks
before midterm papers are due.
-Sorry.
-So if anyone's still struggling
to come up with a subject
to write about,
I would recommend
finding time this week.
Office hours will be posted.
I think I'll be here Wednesday
and Thursday as well.
-You know, I realized we have
a mutual friend on Facebook.
-Oh, yeah?
-Yeah. Harper Owens?
I was a hostess
at this restaurant she works at.
Mise?
I actually introduced her
in a roundabout way
to this guy
she dated for a while.
How do you know her?
-I, uh...
I am also a guy
that she dated for a while.
-Shut up. Really?
That's fuckin' crazy.
She's a genius, you know?
Everyone said
she's as good as Chef.
How long did you guys date for?
-Um...
Five years?
-Oh, shit.
-Yeah.
It was a while ago, though.
Do you smoke in here?
-Sure. Yeah.
By the window.
Why'd y'all break up?
-It's kind of a long story.
-Tell me anyway.
So...what was it?
Why did you and Harper break up?
-We weren't happy.
I think we grew up
at a different pace.
-It's a little place.
Ten tables. Great location.
It's a three-month lease
with an option to renew.
So we can run it as long
as we want to.
-Yeah.
-It'll be yours, Harper.
Your menu, your staff,
your restaurant.
-Aw! She's so cute.
She looks like your sister.
-I know. It's crazy.
-Are you the kind of aunt
that gets custody
if your sister dies?
-That's so dumb.
-So dark.
-What? I always wondered that.
-I literally never
wondered that.
Though now that you...
-Harp!
-Hm?
-We're gonna get drinks.
-I'm okay. I'll stay.
-Cool.
-Hi.
-I'm Charlie.
-I know.
-Hey.
-Hey.
-You know,
I've got a shoe box like this.
-I always feel
like I should throw mine away.
-Really?
Why?
-You started dating
that guy.
-What guy?
-Mr. Finance Man,
with the puffy vest.
-Who, Tom?
-Yeah, I don't know.
I deleted the app
when he showed up.
-Funny one to be jealous of.
Bet you thought about Tom
more than I did.
-I thought about Tom...a lot.
-What about you?
Anything serious?
-No. Not really.
Actually, um, you might...
Do you remember Jessica Wright?
She was a...
-Jessica...?
-...a hostess at Mise.
-Yeah. Jess.
Wait. Back up.
You have a thing with Jess?
-No, not -- not really. Just...
-She's kind of young, no?
-I mean, not --
not, like, criminally.
-She was like, what, 19
when she worked at Mise?
-No, she was like...
That was...
Okay, what just happened?
- Sorry.
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
-It was all fun and games
when we were talking about,
like, Mr. Puffy Vest.
-I know, I'm sorry.
It's just like, everyone
I've dated has been,
like, obviously wrong for me.
Jess is kind of perfect.
She's younger than me,
which is upsetting.
-No, I...
Well, she's not perfect
for me, so...
-Why?
-Well, her youth is
just so glowing.
It's, like distracting.
- Oh, fuck you.
-She told me
you're sous chef now.
-I am, yeah. For now.
-For now?
-Well, Claire's talking about
helping me open a pop-up.
-What? Wait.
That's amazing.
Are you serious?
-Yeah.
-Harper, that...
That's incredible.
When do you open?
-I-I said -- I said
I'd think about it.
-Really?
-I know.
-I don't...
This is like the dream.
I don't get it.
-Yeah, I just...
I don't know.
I really don't.
Sometimes I think about
what you said,
about how people who want more
tend to want more forever.
-Oh, Harper, I didn't...
I didn't know what
I was talking about.
I was just trying
to rationalize my own...
whatever.
-Maybe.
Doesn't mean it wasn't true,
though.
Hey, I'll probably do it.
I-I'm sure I will.
Just...
Doesn't feel the way
I thought it would.
Wow. And this is what,
like two years?
-It's my one year.
I get my two year in October.
-That's great, Charlie.
I'm so proud of you.
David told me
you're finishing school?
-Well, uh, you know...
-Or you're about to?
-Yeah, I finished my prereqs,
so I start at Tulane
in the fall.
-What are you gonna study?
-Education.
I want to be a high school
guidance counselor.
-Guidance counselor?
God, that's perfect, Charlie.
-I didn't even know
you were in school.
-Yeah, well,
I mean, it was after, um...
It was after you and I...
I went through that bad spell,
you know, and...
after Randy, um...
well, he fired me...
uh, he helped me get into
the program
and, uh, lent me some money
to pay for classes.
-Ah, Randy.
-I know.
He saved my life.
Him and you.
Which way are you?
-I'm -- I'm back this way.
-I parked back at the...
-Okay.
Um, so I-I guess I'll see you.
Yeah?
-Yeah.
Okay, well, um...
Bye, Harp.
-Bye.
Actually, Charlie?
Um...
You know
the last time we talked,
when you called me while you
were going through the 12 steps
and were, um...
-Making amends?
-Making amends, yeah.
It just...
It occurred to me
that I never did that for you.
-Oh...
-Made amends.
-No.
-For -- For how I was
in the end.
-No.
-For what I did.
-No, Harper. No.
- I'm really sorry.
-I'm -- I'm grateful to you,
Harper.
-I needed to go through that.
-Do you ever miss it, Charlie?
Not like you want it back.
That's...
That's not what I'm saying.
Just...
Do you ever miss that time?
-Yeah.
Yeah. Of course.
-How is it possible
to miss this thing
that hurt so much?
-No...
-Like, why can't I just forget?
-Because we're
not supposed to.
We loved each other, Harper.
We loved each other so, so much.
We're not supposed to forget.
That's how we carry
each other with us.
Don't throw your shoe box away,
okay?