The Boy

A lot of the better bowlers really have...

Got another one, Dad.

Leave it outside.

Can I get paid?

You know where the register is.

Mountain Vista Motel. Why are you calling?

One room will cost you 22 dollars.

Yes, that does include towels.

And, um, yeah. Towels and free heat.

Mr. Parker, we had a lean couple of months.

Well, summer's here. High season.

Urn, you know, a few good months and, urn,

and we'll be back an our feet by September, I promise.

And I'll have a payment to you by October at the very latest.

Mr. Parker, please. If you could ju...

Nice of you to call.

Thank you for your understanding.

Mm? Yeah. Good boy.

I got another one!

You... You're gonna have to take an IOU, Ted.

You're the only one makin' any money here.

Why don't you, um...

Why don't you clean up Rooms 1 through 5 today?

There's nobody in there!

Don't forget to feed the chickens.

And don't leave the feed hag out this time.

Deer keep getting in.

This is our honeymoon suite.

Perfect for a lovely couple like yourselves.

This is our honeymoon suite.

Perfect for a lovely couple like yourselves.

Hey, Ted! Dinner!

Hey, Ted?

Oh, there you are. Grab a seat.

Noodles and hot dogs. Your favorite.

You know what today is?

- My birthday. - Yeah, and...

You know how old you are?

I'm nine.

Yeah. Hard to believe, isn't it?

Okay. Hold on. Just stay right there.

I was hopin' to surprise you.

Just a sec.

Here we go.

- Here you go. - Turn it off!

Oh, you loved this song.

We used to sing it to you every night before you...

Ted... Oh, come on.

Ted.

Tet!-

Shut up!

Come on. Come on.

Ted! Ted!

Get those lights.

All right. Okay. Here you go.

This is our honey-room suite.

Listen, we got a...

We got a hospital just 20 minutes from here.

- I think it'd be wise if I tried to... - No. No, I'm okay.

I just... I need to lie down.

Well, look, um...

Uh... I'll get you some more towels.

You're gonna need those. Come on, Ted. Now.

Checkout's at 11:00 tomorrow.

Did you see what happened?

- No. - All right.

Oh, that poor thing.

Why don't you stand back?

You see what I'm about to do?

Do you understand why?

All right.

Um...

Kind of a shame to waste all this meat.

What do you think?

I'm a little rusty at this.

Ted, why don't you drag that over here?

Okay. Why don't you just put it right under here?

Would you hold your light up?

Okay. Now, look.

Here's what you do. You just...

Just... slide it in.

And then you cut down. You don't want to...

rupture the stomach.

And then I gotta take all the organs out.

Get into that stomach.

Oh, you see that?

You gotta get all of that out.

Will you hand me that saw?

Here. A souvenir.

Leave the man alone, Ted!

I see you.

Haven't seen him this morning. He should still be in here.

- Should still? - Yeah, we'll see.

Mr. Colby.

Mr. Colby, this is, uh...

- This is Deacon Whit. - Oh, sorry to bother you. But, uh...

I'd like to ask you a few questions, if I may.

A little out of it.

I can understand that.

Um, so what brings you to town?

Just passing through.

- You traveling alone? - Mm, yeah.

I'm gonna need to see your license and registration, if you don't mind.

It's in the car, wherever you guys towed it.

Mind if I have a look in the r?

- I prefer you didn't. - Hmm.

Anything else?

Well, it looks like you got banged up pretty bad.

You might want to have someone take a look at it.

- It's been nice chatting with you. - Yup.

- Thank you for comin' by. - You got it.

Room service!

Close the door.

Need any fresh towels?

No, thanks.

Want those clothes cleaned?

I can try and get the stains out.

You want it, kid?

You want it?

Here.

How did you do that?

That's a secret, little man.

Do you have any secrets?

Maybe. Probably not.

You wouldn't happen to know where they towed my car, would you?

There's a junkyard down the road.

What ya doing, Whit?

Oh, just poking around.

Looking for anything in particular?

I don't know, really.

I could look the other way, if it'd make you feel better.

No. Don't bother.

Perfect.

- We've been driving forever. - All right.

I could use somethin' to eat myself.

Okay. Why don't you guys hang here, and I'll go check us in?

Okay, honey.

We got you, uh... We got you in Roam 5.

Right down here.

And we'll have a fresh pot of coffee brewing for you in the lobby...

- first thing in the morning. - Okay.

So if you need anything else, you just don't hesitate to call on us.

All right. Uh, a place to eat?

Do you know if there's anywhere nearby?

It's a bit of a drive to the closest diner.

I'll tell you what,

my son and I were just about to have ourselves some dinner.

- Why don't you join us? - I don't know.

And tomorrow morning, you're not gonna believe this view.

Right over there, we've got ourselves a pool.

Your son's gonna love that.

How y'all like it cooked?

Oh, medium would be great. Thank you.

How long you guys owned this place?

Well, Ted's granddad, he built this with his own hands.

Back when this was a destination spot.

People used to drive here from all over, just to...

Just to see the view.

This... This is all gonna be Ted's one of these days.

Isn't that right, son?

Mornin'.

Honey, not too close to the highway!

Honey!

Uh!

Oh, Jesus.

Hey, you comin' in or what?

- I don't have a bathing suit. - Go in in your shorts.

Okay.

I'm ready...

And away we go.

Fuck.

Come on.

I'll be right back.

Well, the best that I can do is call a mechanic.

How long you think that'll take?

Mmm. Long as it takes, I guess.

- Yeah. - Are you kidding me?

- Appreciate it. - Yep.

Okay, you can come out now.

Shit. Get in.

Okay.

Got it.

You want it?

Guests always leave their junk behind.

Yeah, like what?

Old magazines and things.

Weird adult stuff.

Occupational hazard, I suppose.

Where do you live?

Nowhere now.

I guess you're staying with us for a while.

If I didn't know better, I'd say you stranded me here on purpose.

What's in the box?

Well, when people die, they either bury 'em in the ground...

or they're burned down into a box like this.

There's a person in there?

How do they do it? In an oven?

Yeah.

Do you watch them?

Can I see?