TOMMY LE HOMME — Tommy doesn’t notice you approaching at first. He’s humming a tune to himself, his eyes on the stars.
TOMMY LE HOMME — “Carnations into the vase… Unfold your clothes out of the case…”
“Hey, Tommy!”
Applaud him.
Say nothing, just listen.
TOMMY LE HOMME — “I just want a place with you, I just want a place…” He smiles suddenly when he catches sight of you. “Hey, man. What are you doing out so late?”
YOU — “Couldn’t sleep.”
TOMMY LE HOMME — He nods. “Seems like it’s just that kind of night.”
CONCEPTUALIZATION — A rare clear night, bathing Martinaise in pale moonlight. The stars above, the glittering sea below… Yeah. It’s *that* kind of night. The kind that puts people in a reflective kind of mood.
EMPATHY — Tommy has a lot to reflect on, but nobody to share his thoughts with. He looks genuinely glad for your company.
“What’s on your mind, Tommy?”
“What were you singing just now?”
TOMMY LE HOMME — “Oh, same old, same old. Wondering how much longer the jam is gonna go on, wishing I was back home…”
DRAMA — There’s something else on his mind, too, but he’s reluctant to share it.
EMPATHY — He’s worried about his friend, the lady driver. Wondering if she’s still searching for a way out. Hoping she hasn’t found it. It would break his heart.
INLAND EMPIRE — Is there any heart left that would break for you?
VOLITION — Your own heart will never mend unless you give it time. So give it time, Harry.
“What’s on your mind, Tommy?”
“What were you singing just now?”
TOMMY LE HOMME — “Oh, you heard that…” He looks a little sheepish. “Just a little verse I thought of, years and years ago. I never did write it into a whole song… I guess it’s more like a mantra. I was thinking of my wife when it popped into my head, and now sometimes I…” He scratches his moustache, cheeks reddening just slightly. “Well, when I miss her and the kids, I sing it to myself. It makes me feel better. Cheesy, huh?”
“Super cheesy. You probably miss her more than she misses you.”
“Nah, it’s sweet. I bet she’d love to hear it.”
TOMMY LE HOMME — He just smiles awkwardly.
EMPATHY — He doesn’t know what to say, but he’s genuinely happy that you think so.
TOMMY LE HOMME — “How about you, man?” He leans back against the lorry. “You look a little down. What’s on your mind?”
“I’m worried about the case. I don’t know if I’ll solve it.”
“I’m scared to find out more about myself. I don’t like what I’ve learned so far.”
“I’m feeling lonely, too.”
TOMMY LE HOMME — He looks at you with sudden interest. “Yeah? Does that mean you remembered who you’re missing?”
“I don’t miss her. Who said I miss her? I didn’t say that. I don’t miss her at all. Nope.”
“I can’t miss her. Her shadow follows me everywhere, smelling of apricots.”
“I can’t remember yet, but I get the feeling I’m the one who pushed her away.”
“I miss the person I was before I became whatever I am now.”
“I miss Kim.”
TOMMY LE HOMME — He blinks. “Kim? You mean… your partner? Did he leave town again, or something? I didn’t hear his Kineema.”
YOU — “No, he just went to sleep a while ago. It’s lonely without him.”
TOMMY LE HOMME — He smiles. “You guys seem pretty close. You must have been partners for a long time.”
YOU — “No, we only met three days ago.”
TOMMY LE HOMME — He tilts his head at you, looking mildly amused.
EMPATHY — But his eyes are softening just a little. He genuinely feels for you.
TOMMY LE HOMME — “Ha… well, that makes sense, too.” He nods slowly to himself, and his smile turns sympathetic. “You’re all alone in a strange place. Makes every little thing feel… bigger.”
INLAND EMPIRE — You are alone, drifting in a vast and turbulent sea. You cling to everything and everyone that drifts near you, terrified of being pulled under. The lieutenant is just the latest thing that floated your way. You’ll lose him the moment you relax your grip.
VOLITION — No man is an island. You don’t need to be ashamed of reaching out to others for help.
EMPATHY — Tommy is the same. Alone in a strange place, longing to go back home. With every passing day, it gets harder to keep his head above water.
“Everything feels *too* big. Like it’s going to crush me.”
“Nothing feels big enough. It’s like there’s a bottomless hole inside me.”
“The whole world feels like a strange place. I don’t have a home to go back to like you do.”
“Is that how you feel about the lady driver? Someone made big by your loneliness?”
TOMMY LE HOMME — He looks almost startled by the question. Perhaps even suspicious.
AUTHORITY — He still won’t give her up without a fight.
COMPOSURE — But he can’t deny the truth to your words.
TOMMY LE HOMME — “…Yeah,” he says softly. “That’s just how it is with this job, I guess. Us drivers are all pretty lonely, so we make fast friends. And then…”
He pulls a cigarette from his pocket and lights it. In the brief flash of his lighter, he looks tired. “We part ways.”
EMPATHY — He’s sad. He knows, somehow, that he’ll never see his friend again. One way or another, she’s going to leave Martinaise and never come back. And so will he. And all the love he bore them both will amount to nothing but a weight he’ll carry in his chest. It will get lighter every day until he finally forgets.
INLAND EMPIRE — The same will happen to you. You will forget and be forgotten.
No. I don’t want to forget Kim.
No. I don’t want to forget Cuno.
No. I don’t want to forget Tommy.
No. I don’t want to forget Martinaise.
No. I don’t want to be forgotten.
I wish that were true. Even when I *try* to forget, this is where it gets me.
Forgetting doesn’t mean it didn’t matter.
YOU — “Well, at least you gave her a reason not to look for a way out for a little while.”
TOMMY LE HOMME — His cigarette dangles from his lips as they part in surprise.
EMPATHY — Something in his eyes shifts. It’s as if something finally clicked into place.
COMPOSURE — You aren’t sure in the dark, but you think his eyes might look a little misty.
TOMMY LE HOMME — “…I hope so.” His voice is quiet, but deeply affected.
CONCEPTUALIZATION — He just wants a place for her. He just wants a place…
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