|
Richard : And
how Dwayne's utilizing seven of them in his personal
quest to self-fulfillment.
Sheryl : Richard, please.
Richard : Well, I'm just saying I've
come around. I
think he could use our support.
Olive : How did it happen?
Frank : How did what happen?
Olive : Your accident.
Sheryl : Honey, here.
Frank : Oh, no, it's okay. Unless you object.
Sheryl : No, I'm, I'm pro-honesty here. I just think,
you know, it's up to you.
Frank : Be my guest.
Sheryl : Olive, um, Uncle Frank didn't really have an
accident. What happened was he...tried to kill himself.
Olive : You did? Why?
Richard : I'm sorry. I don't think this is an
appropriate conversation. Honey, let's let Uncle Frank
finish his dinner, okay? Shh.
Olive : Why did you want to kill yourself?
Richard : No, don't answer the question, Frank.
Sheryl : Richard! Richard!
Richard : He's not gonna answer the question. Frank.
Frank : I wanted to kill myself-
Richard : Don't listen to him.
Frank : I was very unhappy.
Richard : He's sick in his head.
Sheryl : Richard!
Richard : I'm sorry! I don't think it's an appropriate
conversation for a seven-year-old.
Sheryl : She's gonna find out anyway.
Richard : Okay.
Sheryl : Go on, Frank.
Olive : Why were you unhappy?
Frank : Um, well, there are a lot of reasons. Mainly,
though, I fell in love with someone who didn't love me
back.
Olive : Who?
Frank : One of my grad students. I was very much in
love with him.
Olive : Him? It was a boy? You fell in love with a
boy?
Frank : Yes, I did. Very
much so.
Olive : That's silly.
Frank : You're right. It was silly. It was very, very
silly.
Grandpa : There's another word for it.
Richard : Dad.
Olive : So, that's when you tried to kill yourself?
Frank : Well, no. The boy that I was in love with fell
in love with another man- Larry Sugarman.
Sheryl : Who's Larry Sugarman?
Frank : Larry Sugarman is perhaps the second most
highly regarded Proust scholar in the U.S.
Richard : Who's number one?
Frank : That would be me, Rich.
Richard : Really?
Frank : Mm-hmm.
Olive : So that's when.
Frank : No. What happened was I was a bit upset so I
said some things that I shouldn't have said and I did
some things that I shouldn't have done and subsequently
I was fired from my job and forced to move out of my
apartment and move into a motel.
Olive : And that's when you tried to-
Frank : Well, no. Actually, all of that was okay. What
happened was two days ago the MacArthur Foundation, in
its infinite wisdom awarded a genius grant to Larry
Sugarman. And that's when I-
Grandpa : Decided to
check out early.
Frank : Yes. Yes. And I failed at that as well.
|