6

Righting the Wrongs

Summary for Monday, May 8: Doug’s got one foot in the past and the other is wearing Julie’s shoe, Abe goes for applesauce and lets Bronski slip away, Caruso makes a big sale and in the process introduces a new artist to a big audience, and the Receptionist can’t not look and so goes looking.

Marlena walks across Berkeley Plaza and finds Doug sitting on a bench alone, staring out into space. She playfully walks up and waves her hand in front of his face. “Earth to Doug,” she says. “This is Marlena speaking, your neighborhood psychiatrist, here to talk anytime...” Doug manages a smile and says hello. Marlena sits down and says, “OK. Where were you just now?” Doug says it’s just Julie stuff. Nothing new. Marlena nods. “I’m sorry to hear about Addie. I didn’t know.” Doug drifts off. He flashes back to the night he and Julie broke up. He’s alone at the bar, still wearing the Hawaiian shirt. He downs his beer, then walks behind the bar and pours himself another. A knock at the door. Doug thinks it could be Julie and rushes to open it. It’s Addie. “You don’t look happy to see me,” she says. Doug says sorry, he’s just a little flustered. Addie rolls her eyes. “Where’s my daughter, where’s Julie? I need to see her.” Doug chokes back a tear and says that Julie’s gone. Addie takes a step back, not expecting this. She immediately regains her composure and straightens up. “Well,” she says. “We have a bachelor in our midst. Marry me?” Doug says she’s crazy. He starts listing all the reasons why that can’t happen, but Addie cuts him off. “Look, let’s not play this game. My offer is on the table, but it’s fading fast. We have a strong hand, Doug. Wake up.” Doug whispers, “It’s not right.” Addie answers, “It never will be.” Doug moves aside as Addie walks into the bar. Marlena gives a loud snap in front of present-day-Doug’s face. Doug says sorry. He didn’t mean to ignore her. He’ll make an appointment soon. Marlena smiles. “By the way...” She pauses until Doug finally looks up and makes eye contact. “Have you seen Doris lately? She was supposed to come by and look at my office.” Doug says he hasn’t, but Doris does this kind of thing a lot. Marlena shouldn’t worry about it. Marlena says the only thing she’s really worried about is her wallpaper.

At GCC, Stormy’s in the back office eating pizza and watching Days. No one’s buying Dario’s “just friends” thing - no one except Abigail. Stormy shakes his head. Xander calls Brady a pile of wet ramen, and then refers to him as Mr. Fritatta.

Abe enters the interrogation room with applesauce cups. He hands one to Bronski and says they've got a case against him whether he confesses or not. You can't beat DNA evidence. Abe asks if Bronski is ready to talk. Bronski eats his applesauce and ignores Abe. Abe leaves the room. A few moments later Samuel enters. He tells Bronski the money arrived in his account an hour ago. He uncuffs Bronski, walks over to the door, opens it a crack and peeks out.

The Receptionist cautiously eats a breakfast burrito in Minos Park. Roman walks up and sits down next to them. Roman sips a coffee from Doug’s Place. They both sit in silence for a moment until the Receptionist asks where Abe is. Roman says Abe is busy and tells the Receptionist to get to the point. Why did they need to meet? The Receptionist wants to know where they are with the case. Roman lets out a sarcastic chortle. “I don’t know what you’re smoking, but you’re not police.” Bronsky’s in handcuffs. It’s over. The Receptionist says there’s a lot of unanswered questions. Haze is still on the streets, after all. The Receptionist flashes back to Stormy’s vision board. What was he up to? Roman shakes his head. “Abe should have kept a tighter lid on this. He’s been getting sloppy.” Roman thanks the Receptionist for their help but says they need to stay out of the way. Roman throws his cup on the ground and walks off. The Receptionist decides that they’ll have to go at it alone. It’s the only way.

The Italian art dealer walks into the offices of Sterling Interior Design. He tells the receptionist his name is Caruso, and that he has a delivery for Mrs. Sterling. Mrs. Sterling emerges from her office. “Paolo, right on time.”

Bronski and Samuel creep through the station hiding behind cubicle walls and plants. They exit via a side door and emerge in a parking lot. Back in the interrogation room, Abe enters eating applesauce from a small cup. The room is empty. His applesauce falls to the floor and he runs out shouting that Bronski escaped. In the parking lot, Bronski and Samuel flee on foot. Around the corner they hop into Samuel's car and are off.

At the loading dock, Mrs. Sterling and Caruso watch men unloading crates from a large truck. Caruso says he had to expand his operation to secure this many pieces. Mrs. Sterling hopes that with such an increase there is not a decrease - in quality. She informs Caruso that she’s entering the hotel market and could have a lot more orders if the work is up to snuff so to speak. Caruso assures her the quality is top notch. Without the exorbitant prices of course. He says it’s a matter of finding talent where others fail to look. Mrs. Sterling asks the men to open one of the crates. The men pry off the top. Caruso motions for them to remove a piece. They pull back the wrapping to reveal a landscape painting in oil. Mrs. Sterling leans in to see the signature. She comments that he must be a newer artist. Caruso is confused. Mrs. Sterling says, “Sales.” Caruso says, “Not he. She!” Mrs. Sterling’s eyes widen and she smiles with pleasure.

Later at Doug’s Place, Stormy sits at the bar and asks Doug for a beer. Doug says they’re all out. Trouble with their distributor. Doris thinks he should start making his own. Stormy says he’ll take whatever’s available. Doug makes a cocktail and says he can't believe Stormy is leaving. He's glad Stormy stuck around for a few days for proper goodbyes. Stormy tells Doug it’s not a big deal. He’s only going to be out of town for a brief time. And certainly not giving up the company. Doug asks where he’s going. Stormy says he doesn’t quite know yet. Stormy says he’s sorry about how things have been with Julie, and just after Addie’s death no less. Doug says he appreciates Julie’s help in caring for Hope, but that it’s all the more painful with her around. Stormy says he should stop by tomorrow to see Hope. Some time passes. Minutes? Hours? Stormy looks around for a clock. He asks what time it is. Doug tries to lighten the mood. He mentions that when he was a dealer at a casino he wasn't allowed to have a watch and there weren't clocks around. He thought a lot about how architecture controlled time. Stormy mentions that they also don’t have windows. Doug says that's part of it too, but it's bigger. Casinos are wholistically designed to change the body’s perception of time. Stormy is intrigued. Doug says, “You know what, believe it or not one of the hardest parts of it for me was that I had to have my pockets sewn shut." Stormy doesn't follow. "Well, my favorite way to pass the time is with my hands in my pockets. I've done so as long as I can remember. But when you can't pose in your usual way for the passing of time how does time pass? It's a strange feeling to have no pockets.” Stormy guesses so. Doug says, “You also think about your hands. What do you do with your hands when you’re not using them. It must be how clocks feel when the batteries die.” Stormy is lost in thought then looks with sympathy at his wrist where his watch would be. Where did he leave his watch? Doug flashes back to the time he got himself tangled up in thread trying to sew his pockets shut. It was Julie who came to the rescue, not only untangling him but finishing the job. Doug returns to Doug’s Place to see Stormy walk through the front door. On stage, Arlene is being introduced.

The Receptionist slowly makes his way through GCC in the dark. In the back office he ejects the Day 6 tape from the recorder. He one-by-one collects the remaining tapes for Days 1 through 12 and puts them neatly in a bag. He looks wistfully around the office. He leaves his keys on the desk.