Mean Gene

Scene 16

(bus station ticket window, day)

 

GENE

Yeah.  I need two tickets to Michigan.  No, not Detroit.  Closer than that. It’s one of those medium cities, in the middle.  No.  Shit.  It’s near a lake.  Round Lake?  What’s the closest city to Round Lake?

 

Well look on your map.  You don’t have a map?  I thought so.  Well I’m real sorry to make you do your job lady.  Just look up fucking Round Lake on the fucking map.

 

It’s near Ann Arbor.  I think.  Around that area.  Well it may not be the biggest fucking lake in the state lady.  Round Lake.  Round.  Maybe it’s Roundhouse or something.  Fine.  Fucking fine.  Just give me two tickets to Ann Arbor and I’ll fucking find it when I get up there myself.

 

Christ.  Thank you.  Thank you very much.

 

(lights dim)

It’s Been the Ruin . . .

Mean Gene

Scene 15

(confessional)

 

GENE

I haven’t done this in a while.  I bet you figured that.  Well.  I been bad enough.  I sold dope to kids and had relations with lots of women, girls really.  That was long ago.

 

I’m trying to sort it out.  I want to do right.  I never hurt nobody on purpose.  I just wanted to have some good times.  Why not, right?  But now.  How the hell?  I never asked for any of this.

 

Is this how it works?  Talk about what a big fuck-up I am and you just sit there in the dark and listen?  Lemme tell you father, nobody really thinks they do anything wrong.  Even when they’re saying it, they’re not really thinking it.  Way back in that high corner of your brain, that’s where the voice is.  The one that says you’re right and everyone else is fucked up.

I got that voice.  It’s big and been calling the shots for me for a long time.  How are you supposed to ignore that voice?  How are you supposed to pretend?  The last time I did this, what was I, twelve?  I made some shit up even then.  I said I wanted my dad to be happy.  To come home happy.

 

You told me to tell you.  That’s what you said.  You said it would make things better.  That I’d feel better.  So I told you and I felt worse.  You said I’d feel better but I felt worse.  How many Hail fucking Mary’s is that good for?

 

(lights dim)

I Will Bring You Diamonds Bright

Mean Gene

Scene 14

(Pequod’s, day)

 

GENE

(on phone)

Davey.  Hey.  It’s dad.  I didn’t think you’d pick up.  Because I thought they didn’t allow you to have your cell in school is why.  What do you mean?  What the hell are you doing there?  Because it’s eleven fucking thirty and you should be at school.

 

Are you fucking stoned?  Don’t bullshit me Davey.  Because I’ll call the goddamn school and tell them where you and all your little scumbag pals are hanging out.  What?  You little punk.  You don’t even dream of talking about that.  You fucking—

 

Okay.  Okay.  Calm down.  I’m sorry.  I’m sorry I barked at you.  One thing quick.  You’re cooling things off, right?  Like I told you?  Goddamn it.  I thought I told you—

 

How much?  Holy shit Davey.  Holy shit.  That is sweet.  Hey.  Let’s not.  Not on this phone.  Tell me about it when you get home tonight.  Okay but listen.  That’s the last one for a while.  You handle that and then we’re gonna cut things dry for awhile.  I mean it.  Okay.  Okay.  Wow.

Mean Gene

Scene 13

(Gene’s apartment, late night)

 

GENE

(watching television)

 

Right.  Gorgeous women waiting to talk to me.  Boy yeah.  I could use some of that.  I could use a big juicy dose.  That’s the look right there.  The eyes.  The wriggling around.  Hoo yeah honey.

 

Billed discretely to your phone bill.  Show me where your tits turn to iron spikes and your cunt becomes a steel trap.  That’s the picture I’d like to see.  Great ass.  That is one great ass.

 

(reaches for phone, dials)

 

Yeah, I want to talk to a dream girl.  Is that you?  A shirt and pants.  But that’s.  Listen, I’m not.  I don’t want to jag off or anything.  Not so fucking fast.  Let’s just talk me and you.

 

You sound pretty.  It’s just me.  Just me talking.  So this is what you do?  Hey.  I’m paying for the fucking call. It’s being billed discretely to my phone bill.  So I can ask you whatever the fuck I want, right?  So I’m asking, is this what you do? 

 

At the riverboats?  That must be decent money.  So this helps a little extra.  No, I’m not a creep.  I’m just talking.  So what’s your name?  No, your real name.  Come on.  Come on.

 

Okay Cashmere.  No, it’s real pretty.  You pick it out yourself?  You know what cashmere is, don’t you?  Yeah, real soft and pretty fabric.  You know where it comes from?  It’s fucking goat hair.  It’s from goats.

 

Because I fucking know.  You named yourself after fucking goat hair.  How sexy is that?  So what’s you’re real goddamn name?  Marta.  Marta.  That’s pretty.  No, it is.  That’s pretty Marta.  Now we’re getting somewhere.  Hang.  Hang on one second Marta, I got another fucking call.

 

Yeah?  Augie you miserable cocksucker.  What the fuck is going on?  What?  Why’d he come and talk to you?  Did you explain?  You said you were gonna explain.  Jesus fuck Augie.

 

He said what?  Listen to me you fat fucking bean eater, you tell him.  You let him know.  This is bullshit Augie.  This is all on you.  You understand me?  You set this up.  My boy is doing good for both of us and it’s on you to straighten this fucker out.

 

So you fucking lie you stupid shit.  You tell him we’re not making so much.  I already told the kid to back off.  Of course he is.  I told him to cool off he’s gonna cool off.  We’re moving even less of what little we were.  What the fuck is that supposed to mean?  Listen, I tell my kid what to do he does it.

 

Fuck you Augie.  So fucking what.  I always been his father.  He knows that.  He understands.  You fix it fat-ass.  You fix it like yesterday I swear to fucking Christ.

 

Yeah, so Cashmere.  So open your fucking mouth.

Everybody Know the Hound

Mean Gene

Scene 12

(Gene’s apartment)

 

GENE

I need you to do me a favor kid.  I know business has been real good, and you been playing it just like a pro.  We just need to settle things down a little.  There’s a little friction.

 

Nothing you did, kid.  Not at all.  It’s old wounds I’m talking about.  Old wounds.  Just some grudges got kicked up.  Some people I used to work with, they moved on to new things and didn’t appreciate me trying to orchestrate this little comeback.

 

I know I told you it was safe.  I had assurances. There’s nothing to worry about.  But I need to talk to you.  I need to know where your head is at.  You got me?  You’re a bigshot now, right?  It’s nice being a bigshot.  I know.  But you gotta understand Davey, you have to know when to keep your head down. That’s part of the game. 

 

You know, and this is what gets me, is that it’s really such a small piece of the pie.  Your thing and mine.  It’s such a small piece.  I mean, some of these other guys, they really don’t know what’s going on, they only know what they hear in terms of rumor and speculation.  So some word gets on the wind that Mean Gene is back in business, of course they’re gonna think I’m thinking big.  Right?  Makes sense.  I understand where they’re coming from, I do.

 

But, here’s the laugh Davey kid, here’s the laugh.  They don’t know that I’m basically just a citizen now, right?  They think, Gene’s back and so he wants to reclaim all that old Division Street glory, right?

 

I can’t blame them. I really can’t.  What they don’t realize is that it’s really just me and you and Augie, moving really such a small amount.  Just enough to give us some breathing room.  And ain’t things been nice for awhile now?  I mean, the video games and the Honda.  You got lots a girlfriends. It’s nice.

 

So I wanted to talk to you kid.  I wanted to let you know that I’m gonna sort all of this out.  Our little operation, our little enterprise, we don’t need to worry.  Once they understand how penny ante it really is, they’ll leave us alone.

 

I earned a lot of respect back in my day Davey.  I made lots and lots of people fucking rich.  They’ll remember that.  People don’t fucking forget when you take care of them.  Years can go by.  You take care of people and they don’t forget.

 

Just do me this favor.  Tone it down for now.  You know?  Keep it to your regular regulars.  Just a few.  You tell everyone else that things are lean and you’ll get back to them.  I’ll have Augie back down a bit.  We’ll just move enough to stay comfy, me and you. For a few months until this bullshit fades.

 

Remember when we started this caper?  I told you, I said, be smart, use you’re head.  The same goes here kid.  You just need to be smart.  Don’t worry.  Just, right now, I need you to keep being smart and cool.  I know you can do that.  I ain’t worried.

 

Listen.  We’ll get away, me and you.  In a couple weeks.  Catch up on that father-son stuff.  Go fishing.

 

(lights dim)

Long Ago – Not Long Ago

Listen to the Mockingbird