CECILIA: He might come back.

CARTER: He’s not coming back!

CECILIA: He skipped town?

CARTER: Yes! That’s exactly what he did. He skipped town.

CECILIA: Something to do with these photographs?

CARTER: None of this is any of your business! The only reason you’re here is because I thought you could bring Vinnie out of this slump he was in.

CECILIA: But now he’s run off.

CARTER: That’s right.

CECILIA: With all your dirty pictures.

CARTER: They’re not my dirty pictures!

CECILIA: But you want them. You want them very badly.

CARTER: Will you please leave! Will you go now? Get lost! Vamoose.

CECILIA: You were so eager to get me here. Now you want me gone. It’s very confusing.

CARTER moves back to briefcase, takes phone out and dials.

CARTER (as he deals with phone): I’ve got things to arrange here. I’ve already missed my plane. I’m supposed to be back with my family, getting the kids ready for school. Buying notebooks and lunchpails. Halloween’s coming up. Little League. There’s—

CARTER listens on phone. As it begins to ring in SIMMS’ office, lights come up softly on SIMMS again, seated at his desk, hovering over his work. SIMMS looks at the phone ringing on his desk but doesn’t answer. He goes back to his work and lets it ring.

CECILIA: Little League?

CECILIA finishes dishes, then moves to VINNIE’s dirty laundry and starts gathering it up.

CECILIA: I thought it was football.

CARTER (still waiting on phone): Answer the phone, you slimy shithead! ANSWER THE GODDAMN PHONE!!

CARTER slams the phone back into the briefcase.

CECILIA (gathering laundry): Nobody home?

Pause. CARTER watches her.

CARTER: What’re you doing?

CECILIA: Laundry.

CARTER: Leave it? He doesn’t deserve clean laundry. You’re not his maid. Just leave it and get out of here.

CECILIA: Little League?

CARTER: What?

CECILIA: Little League in the Fall?

CARTER: I was thinking about the future!

CECILIA: I thought it was football in the Fall.

CARTER: I am not in the mood for domestic chit-chat about sports right now! Thank you very much. I’m in the midst of a crisis, in case you didn’t notice. Suddenly I’m in the midst of a crisis!

CECILIA: That’s the thing about crisis.

CARTER: What?

CECILIA: It happens suddenly.

CARTER: Will you please get the hell out of here!

CECILIA (continuing to gather laundry): I’m waiting for Vinnie.

CARTER: Vinnie is gone! Understand? He’s double-crossed me. Sold me out! Down the river!

CECILIA: That’s no way to talk about your best and oldest friend.

CARTER: Vinnie is a weasel! He’s a low-down, treacherous, diabolical little man. The scum of the earth. He’s systematically trying to crucify me!

CECILIA: For what?

CARTER: Exactly! For what? For something deeply buried in his sick imagination. That’s “for what”.

CECILIA: What could that be?

CARTER: Excuse me?