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turning to page one
MASON
So, this is like Annie's car and...
and you drive the GTO? I guess you
can't really put a baby seat in that
thing.
DAD
Yeah, no... But I had to sell that
anyway.
MASON
You what?
DAD
Yeah, I had to sell that.
MASON
So... so it's gone?
DAD
Yeah, some sucker collector from
California paid twenty-two grand for
it, which is great 'cause I basically
got to pay for this in cash. I only
paid eighty-five hundred for that
thing way back when. I mean, you
know, cars are generally a terrible
investment. You know? Soon as you
drive them off the lot you got a used
car on your hands, and the value's
only dropping from there.
But... if you take care of it, you
know, and you get lucky and it's a
classic, you know, the value starts
going up again. I mean shit, you got
guys paying hundreds of thousands of
dollars for some Shelby Cobra.
After a long silence, Dad notices Mason is unusually quiet.
DAD (CONT'D)
What?
MASON
You don't remember?
DAD
Remember what?
MASON
Really? You said that was going to
be my car when I turned sixteen.
DAD
(laughs)
What? No, I didn't. I never said
that.
MASON
I remember. I was in third grade
and you were taking me over to Anthony
Nagar's house for his birthday...
and we were there early, so we gave
him a ride around the block. And he
was talking about how much he loved
your car and so you were all like
"Oh. This is going to be Mason's
when he turns 16."
DAD
What are you..? Alright, first off,
I have no memory of that, alright?
Second of all, I would never say
that. Never.
MASON
Yeah. You did though.
DAD
What? Mason. Come on, what about
your sister? I'm just gonna forget
about her? Come on, how's that fair?
Huh? Anthony Nagar, what the?
(laughs)
Are you...? Oh, come on! I mean,
you're not... Ughh.
Look, you can sit there like there's
a death in the family, alright, but
bottom line is that was my car.
Alright? I paid for it, I took care
of it, and I can do whatever I want
with it. Alright? I'm sorry if you
had other ideas about it but when
you get older you can save up and
buy a car of your own. And be cool
like I used to be. Or... you can
get a mini-van.
Annie and Samantha watch a Lady Gaga music video on Samantha's cell phone in the back seat.
ANNIE
Does your mom actually let you watch
this?
SAMANTHA
Yeah. She likes it too.
ANNIE
(laughing)
Oh, my god... Okay, well.
SAMANTHA
Yeah.
ANNIE
Have you ever seen her in concert?
SAMANTHA
No. But she's coming to Houston in
April.
ANNIE
She's coming to Houston?
SAMANTHA
Mm-hmm.
ANNIE
Oh you know, your dad and I could
get you tickets, and you could stay
with us.
SAMANTHA
That'd be great.
ANNIE
Yeah.
DAD
Hey, hey, Annie? Will you get me
the, the little birthday present for
Mason?
ANNIE
Yeah, babe.
Annie hands a small wrapped present to Dad. Mason unwraps the gift to reveal a CD set.
DAD
Alright. This one, this one needs a
little explanation, okay? Open it
up. I call that "The Beatles' Black
Album". Alright, what it is, is the
best of John, Paul, George, and Ringo
solo, post-break up.
MASON
Thanks.
DAD
Yeah, basically, I put the band back
together for you.
Annie Laughs.
DAD (CONT'D)
You know, whenever you listen to too
much of the solo stuff, it kind of
becomes a drag, you know? But you
put 'em next to each other, alright,
and they start to elevate each
other... and then you can hear it.
Huh! It's The Beatles. You know?
MASON
I don't know. I think I always just
liked Paul the best.
DAD
It doesn't matter, you know, you're
missing the point. There is no
favorite Beatle! That's what I'm
saying. It's in the balance. That's
what made them the greatest fucking
rock band in the world. Okay? You
know, and there's this decade of
music out there that's been scattered.
Alright?
And now it has been carefully found,
arranged, and ordered for you, by
your loving father.
ANNIE
Very arranged and very organized,
over and over again by your loving
father.
DAD
Yes, yes, yes. So, I mean, look at
that-- look at that, uh, top of Volume
II, first four tracks... You've got
"Band on the Run" into "My Sweet
Lord", into "Jealous Guy", into
"Photograph". I mean, come on.
It's like the perfect segue. You
got Paul, who takes you to the party,
George who talks to you about God,
John who says no, it's about love
and pain, and then Ringo who just
says hey, can't we enjoy what we
have while we have it? It's a good
record. I shit you not.
MASON
Cool.