Lost Lake (6 page)

VERONICA
:
Hogan?

HOGAN
:
(
Off
.) Yep.

VERONICA
:
Turn those lights off.

HOGAN
:
Oh.

(
The lights go off
.
HOGAN
enters
.
A bottle of Old Grand-Dad
.
He looks a little unsteady
.)

Told you I'd stay away.

VERONICA
:
Uh-huh.

(
Beat
.)

HOGAN
:
Getting ready to go?

VERONICA
:
Yes.

HOGAN
:
Tomorrow morning.

VERONICA
:
Yep.

HOGAN
:
How were your last days? Was I right about the weather or what?

VERONICA
:
They were real nice.

(
Beat
.)

HOGAN
:
Just thought I'd check to see if you needed anything else before you go.

VERONICA
:
No, I think we're okay, thanks.
     Oh. One of my kids broke a cereal bowl. You tell me how much it costs and I'll pay for it.

HOGAN
:
That's all right.

VERONICA
:
No, take it out of the damage deposit. I don't want to—

HOGAN
:
It's just a bowl. Forget it.

(
Beat
.)

Did we end up doing the damage deposit?

VERONICA
:
Yeah, in the first two payments, remember?

HOGAN
:
Right, yes.
     Oh—but the third payment never—

VERONICA
:
We said we'd forget about all that.

HOGAN
:
Right, right, right right right.

VERONICA
:
Let's not go through this again, please. I've had a real nice couple days—

HOGAN
:
Of course. No.

(
Beat
.)

VERONICA
:
So you still have to return my damage deposit.

HOGAN
:
Yes. Absolutely. I'll do a quick walk-through tomorrow, then send it off first thing.

(
Beat
.)

VERONICA
:
Oh, I dropped a coffee mug, too. I tried to glue it but it wouldn't glue so I threw it out.

HOGAN
:
Don't worry about it.
     Unless it was my 1980 Lake Placid Miracle on Ice mug.

VERONICA
:
I think it was, yeah.

HOGAN
:
Shit.

VERONICA
:
I'll pay for it.

HOGAN
:
That was a collector's item. There's no way you can afford to replace it. If you could even find a replacement.

VERONICA
:
Well, you shouldn't have left it here if it was so valuable.

HOGAN
:
I didn't think you'd
use
it.

VERONICA
:
Why wouldn't I use it? It's a coffee mug.

HOGAN
:
It's clearly a collector's item.

VERONICA
:
Then you shouldn't have left it on the shelf with the other cups.
     If it's so important to you—

HOGAN
:
Never mind, just forget it.

VERONICA
:
I'll pay for it.

HOGAN
:
Forget it, I said.

VERONICA
:
I'm sorry.

(
Beat
.)

HOGAN
:
So I brought you something. Little farewell gift.

(
He gives her a wrapped present
.)

Just to sort of say no hard feelings kind of thing.

VERONICA
:
Oh. Well, thank you.

HOGAN
:
Open it.

(
She does
.
It's a book
.)

VERONICA
:
A Child's First Book of Birds.

HOGAN
:
See, I saw this and I thought
this
would be the one for a seven-year-old. See, it's got pop-up pages? And you can pull that flap and make the wings beat, there's a bunch of stuff like that, and check this out:

(
He presses a button and the book emits a birdcall
.)

For each one you can hear the actual call. That's pretty incredible, huh? Tiny little speaker in there somehow. So your boy can really learn them now.

VERONICA
:
That's—thank you very much. That's very …

HOGAN
:
Of course you're leaving. But there's birds in the city, too, right?

VERONICA
:
Yeah.

HOGAN
:
There's an inscription.

(
She flips to it, reads
.)

VERONICA
:
“To Veronica, with affection and respect, Terry Hogan.”

HOGAN
:
Of course, it's really for your son, but I didn't know his name.

VERONICA
:
I'm really … thank you, Hogan. I don't know what to say.

HOGAN
:
Okay then.

(
He starts to go
.
Stops
.)
     Oh. Uh. Earlier today …

VERONICA
:
Yeah?

HOGAN
:
I guess around dinnertime I saw—I saw a car pull in here. I wasn't watching the place or anything. I was just parked in the woods off the road in and I happened to notice—

VERONICA
:
It was your brother.

HOGAN
:
Shit. I thought so. Did he give you a hard time?

VERONICA
:
No. He was perfectly nice. Apologized for everything. I said there was nothing to apologize for.

HOGAN
:
Oh, well, that's good.

VERONICA
:
He was looking for you.
     Maybe you oughta talk to him.

HOGAN
:
Where'd you say I'd gone?

VERONICA
:
Nowhere. I didn't know where you went to. I was just glad I had one day here with everything working for once.

(
Beat
.)

He knows you're hiding from him.

HOGAN
:
I wasn't hiding from him.

VERONICA
:
Whatever, avoiding him.

HOGAN
:
I just went to get something to drink.

VERONICA
:
Well, it looks like you succeeded.
     Now, maybe you should go now, finish your drink in your truck.

HOGAN
:
You really don't think much of me, do you?
     I'm not gonna sit and just guzzle this down alone in the woods in my truck. I use a glass.

VERONICA
:
Okay.

HOGAN
:
Can I borrow a glass?

VERONICA
:
It's your cabin.

(
He goes, gets a glass, returns
.)

HOGAN
:
You want some?

VERONICA
:
No.

(
Beat
.)

HOGAN
:
Okay then. I guess that's it. I won't be around here in the morning, so good luck and take care and all that.

(
He starts to go
.)

VERONICA
:
Hogan.
     You should give that money back.

HOGAN
:
What money?

VERONICA
:
The money your brother said you took from them.

HOGAN
:
What?

VERONICA
:
You heard me.

HOGAN
:
It's bullshit.

VERONICA
:
Uh-huh.

HOGAN
:
It's Debbie. She makes up these accusations. She hates me. You know, you've talked to her.

VERONICA
:
He said it was a lot. Like five thousand dollars?

HOGAN
:
(
Dismissive sound
.)

VERONICA
:
That sounds serious to me.

HOGAN
:
It isn't true!

VERONICA
:
It's not my problem either way. But it sounds like something you better work out.

HOGAN
:
I will.

VERONICA
:
Okay.

(
Beat
.)

HOGAN
:
It's not true, though. My brother, he's basically a good kid. We used to be close before he got married. It's her. She poisons him. It's sad is what it is.

VERONICA
:
You got a record already. Don't be stupid.

HOGAN
:
I don't have a record. Is that what he told you?

(
She looks at him
.)

It wasn't anything
bad
. Jeez. Don't look at me like that.

VERONICA
:
What was it?

(
Beat
.)

HOGAN
:
Check-kiting.

VERONICA
:
What's that?

HOGAN
:
Writing bad checks, basically.

VERONICA
:
You do it?

HOGAN
:
I guess I did. I mean, they proved it in court. It wasn't exactly intentional. I'm not some criminal mastermind. I have trouble keeping track of my net worth sometimes. It was more sloppiness than anything else.

VERONICA
:
How long were you …

HOGAN
:
Fourteen months. You know,
that's
probably the thing with my brother. He's like me: bad at keeping track of stuff, a little disorganized, never balances his checkbook … Debbie probably noticed some kind of problem with their checking account or something, some little discrepancy, and in her mind, Oh, we're a little short this month, plus convicted check-kiting brother-in-law I've never liked,
therefore inevitably equals
 … she jumps to the obvious, or should I say most convenient, conclusion. I bet you anything that's what's going on here. Yeah?

VERONICA
:
Sure, maybe.

HOGAN
:
Maybe?
     I would never. Not from my own
family
.

VERONICA
:
Okay.

HOGAN
:
You don't believe me.

(
Beat
.
She looks away
.)

Fine
. Don't believe me, then. I don't give a shit …

(
He grabs his glass and starts to go
.
The glass slips out of his hand and breaks
.)

Goddamn it.

VERONICA
:
It's all right, I got it.

(
He tries to clean it up
.)

HOGAN
:
Ow. Shit.

VERONICA
:
What happened? You cut your hand?

HOGAN
:
It's fine.

VERONICA
:
Stop. You're bleeding.

HOGAN
:
I'm okay. Never mind.

VERONICA
:
You got a big piece of glass sticking out of your hand. Let me look at that.

HOGAN
:
Leave me alone. Don't worry about it.

VERONICA
:
Let me do this. Hold still, you idiot.

(
She removes the glass
.)

HOGAN
:
Ow!

VERONICA
:
Hush. Just stay there.

(
She exits
.
He holds his T-shirt against his bloody hand
.
She returns with her bag
.)

Come here. Sit down. Sit
down
, I said.

(
He sits
.
She starts to treat and bandage his hand
.)

Your hands ain't too clean.

You
ain't too clean. When's the last time you did your laundry?

HOGAN
:
Maybe I should just go outside, jump in the water.

VERONICA
:
Nah, you don't want to do that. It's getting chilly.
     Just maybe get yourself a shower and change your clothes, you been sleeping in that truck too much. That truck doesn't look too clean either. I'll let you take a shower here if you need to.

(
Beat
.)

HOGAN
:
You must really think I'm a piece of shit, huh?