I turn around and ask Laura to please speak up because I can't hear very well. She asks me why, and I tell her it's because of all those years I spent going almost every night to discos listening to loud music. She looks at me and somehow I get the feeling she doesn't understand or she doesn't give a damn, probably both. She points to the radio and tells me something. I ask her to please speak up. She yells that I should turn off the radio because it’s too loud. I look at the radio and turn the volume down. I look back at Laura. She rolls her eyes, opens the folder by her side, and reads the name Anthony Horatio Marshall. I confirm if it is Anthony Horatio Marshall, because I can't hear very well - all those nights clubbing - and she repeats, she yells at me that yes, the name is Anthony Horatio Marshall. I repeat the name Anthony Horatio Marshall to myself. I turn back and gaze at the road. I turn to my left and see Max. He's driving carefully, not fast, not slowly, and he's acting like he's not paying any attention to us, although I do realize that he has turned off the radio. I tell him I’m sorry I turned down the volume, I can’t hear very well. He ignores me completely.
I wait a few seconds and then I tell him the name is Anthony Horatio Marshall, and without turning his head, without getting his eyes off the road, he tells me that he knows, he heard us. Laura looks at me and starts laughing. She then tells Max to lighten up, to relax. Max looks at her through the rearview mirror and looks back at the road. I keep talking to Laura since she's the only one actually talking in the car, besides me, of course. I turn around and tell her the names Margaret Josephine Miller and Anthony Horatio Marshall. She nods. She tells me that those are some names. She looks for approval. I nod. I keep talking, trying to keep the conversation alive. I ask her what it is like to be a genetic engineer. She tells me she has no idea, that although she studied that, she works as a saleswoman. I pretend I understand by saying the word Oh. Then I laugh and I tell her that I would have thought someone mad enough to have studied genetic engineering would have to be mad enough not to make a career out of it. She looks at me like she doesn't t understand me. I leave it like that.
About a minute of silence fills the air and then I ask her how many children she has. Before she answers I confirm if she has two. She corrects me by saying she has three. I let her know I heard her by saying the word OK. She asks me how many kids I have. I tell her I don't have any kids. She says the word Oh. She then confirms if I'm married. I let her know that yes, I am married, but no children. She says the word Oh again. I ask her if she's married. She says that no, she isn't, not anymore. Then she lets out the word Fucker into the air, not directed at me, obviously, and her eyes roll again. An awkward silence fills the car. Then out of respect, I guess, she asks me what it is that I do. I say that I am a lawyer. She asks me if I like being a lawyer. I say that I guess I do. I tell her both of my parents are lawyers. She gives me a funny look, and says the phrase Your Parents, emphasizing on the word Parents. I tell her that she knows what I mean. She says that yes, she knows. A sad look appears on her face.
I wait about half a minute and though I know Max is probably not going to answer, I proceed to talk to him anyway. I ask him if he's married, if he has any kids. He doesn't say a word. Not even shakes or nods his head. A few silent seconds invade us. I am grateful to Laura for breaking the silence by asking me if I want to see some pictures of her kids. I smile and tell her that that would be nice. I look at the pictures and they are beautiful kids. Healthy looking kids. I let her know this, and she smiles. I look at one of the kids and look at Max. I look at Max and then at one of the kids. I repeat this several times. I think she notices what I'm doing, and she says the word Yes three times and then informs me that she knows. She then proceeds to put the pictures back in her purse, and her smile disappears.
Max turns the radio back on, and the volume is way up. I look at Laura, Laura looks at me, and she climbs into the front of the car and turns off the radio. Suddenly she asks Max, in a loud voice, if he's going to talk to us because he's being really rude and that's not nice. She says that this is not easy for any of us, that this is very hard and that it would be nice if we got to know each other a little bit before we got there. She asks him if he thinks it’s easy for her to have found out two days ago that we existed, that all this life she thought she had has been one big illusion. She tells him that she’s scared shitless and that she has no idea what’s going to happen. She then proceeds to let him know that he should stop acting like a jerk and share a little with us. She says that the three of us were completely strangers on Thursday, but now our eyes, our noses, our whole faces bind us more than anything. She asks him if he thinks it’s easy for her to find out that her younger kid looks a hell of a lot like him. She looks at me and says that her kid even looks a little like me. She says that that freaks her out, so he better be nice. She then looks back at me at me and tells him that a few minutes ago I said my parents were lawyers. She emphasizes the words His Parents. She laughs. She asks him if he knows what she means. She informs us that her parents are dead. She then repeats the words My Parents, and rolls her eyes. She tells us she loved them very much, but somehow that doesn’t do it for her. Not now. She grabs the folder and starts slapping it on the seat. She says that these names, the names in the folder, changed everything for her, and she’s certain it changed everything for us too. She then leans back, breathes in, calms down and shakes her head. I stare at her.
I stare at her, then at him, then at her again, and I don't say a single word. She says the word So, and then proceeds to ask Max, in a calmed and quiet voice, if he's married, if he's got any kids. He looks through the rearview mirror and says that he's divorced. She asks him about kids. He says that no. Then he says that yes. Laura’s voice gets loud again and she tells him to make up his mind. She gets angry, but in a sad way. Or maybe she gets sad in an angry way, I'm not sure, and then he says that yes, he has one kid, but that he never sees him. Laura asks him what he means he never sees him. He repeats that he never sees him. She asks him if his wife, ex-wife, doesn’t let him see him. He says that no. Then he says that he doesn’t know. Laura loses it and yells at him to make up his mind, for God’s sake. Laura then looks at me and tells me that she doesn’t understand this guy, that he says yes and no and I don’t know, and then her eyes focus on Max again and she asks him if he has some kind of problem with simple yes and no question, but she can’t really finish saying this, because she gets interrupted by Max. He yells at her that yes, he has a kid, and that no, he never sees him, because he left his family a long time ago. He tells us that he’s ashamed, that he feels horrible for doing what he did, that every day he thinks about his son, that he wishes he could see him again, but that he can’t, he just can’t. Then his voice rises up a little bit and he says the word So, followed by a request to Laura not to tell him that this is not easy. He screams that he knows it’s not easy, emphasizing on the word Know. That he more than anybody knows it’s not easy. He finally tells her to back off. His eyes are all watery. Laura looks at me. I look at her. Then she tells him that she's sorry, and her voice is quiet and low again.
Silence fills the car for the rest of the trip.
Suddenly the car comes to a stop, and Max says that we have arrived. We stay in the car for a minute and then we get out. We stand in front of the house and Laura asks why we are here, what we are going to do, what we are going to say. I tell her I have no idea. Then Max says he will ask them why they did it, and then he'll forgive them.
