Don't Come Back from the Moon

When I was 16, I had lice in my hair.

My mom shaved it all off.

I looked like a peanut. I hated it.

That wasn't the worst thing that happened that summer.

When I was 16, my father went to the moon.

People used to vacation here.

They used to come here for the lake.

That's where the hotel used to be,

and there's the boathouse.

My dad said when he was little, he'd go fishing in the lake,

that you could water-ski in it too.

Now we just have dust storms.

- Johnny! Johnny! Johnny! - Get off of him, man.

- You fucked up, boy. - Get out of here, Johnny.

Dad!

Jesus Christ, Mickey.

If he wants to be alone, he can be alone.

So goddamn melodramatic.

Speculation was that Uncle John went off to hide somewhere,

maybe Mexico, because he thought he was in trouble about the fight.

But he wasn't.

We just never saw him again.

Thank you for this food

and that we can all be together.

- Amen. - Amen.

Quit it.

Hey, stop fucking around and eat.

I suppose it doesn't matter now why Uncle John left.

All that matters, I guess, is that he did leave.

The next day, we heard the factory would shut down for good.

My father said that we could start over,

and we believed him.

But my mother?

She's been my father's girl since she was 15.

I don't want to drag you out there.

I have to see how it is! Does that not make sense?

- You're just gonna leave like everyone else? -I'm not everyone else.

She started over with him one too many times to believe such a thing was possible.

What aboutthem? Why do you think I'm doing this?

What am I supposed to do? Just sit here and rot?

- What do you want me to do? - I want you to think about us!

There is nothing here!

It's okay. I'll stay, okay?

Yeah!

It's still got a lot of power, okay?

- Do not gas it. - Okay.

You got to start off slow. Right? You tell him.

- Don't go fast. - Start off slow.

- You don't have to go fast the first time. -Okay.

- Start it. Tell him to start it. - Start it, start it.

Just don't crash.

There we go.

How's he doing?

I'm going for the ribs. Are you ready?

I'm just gonna use the bathroom, okay?

I'll be right back.

Are we home yet?

No, not yet.

Want some cookies?

Where's Dad?

He'll be back soon.

I'm this one.

No!

No, no.

- Yes! I win! - Such a cheater.

- How am I cheating? - You just knocked me off.

That's the whole point of the game.

What's taking him so long?

Hey, Dad?

Dad!

Hey.

You can't park here. Let's go.

Sonya Stecko said her dad wrote her

a rambling 16-page letter.

He said he loved her, and offered her advice

about marriage, money, and other subjects.

It was as if he'd planned to miss the next 30 years of her life.

My neighbor Summer's dad left in the middle of the night.

She found her dad's car in a ditch.

There was no blood in the car.

It was as if he vaporized out of the driver's seat

and just floated away.

Val's father owned the bar on Avenue A.

One day he left the store unattended.

He'd taken all the cash and left a note.

After that, when a dad left,

we'd just say, "He went to the moon."

"We're going to the moon," we imagined them saying.

"I'm going to the moon."

Here you go, Kolya.

Hey, Mom.

- Cheese sandwich. - Just put it there.

Hey! Where the fuck are you going?

You going like the rest of them?

Are you going to the moon?

No. Actually, I was just gonna hitchhike.

- Hitchhike? - That's fucking dumb.

Hey, we're going to the beach. You want to come?

Um, I'm trying to find my dad.

Come on. It'll be fun!

The moon can wait.

- Yo. - Yo, Val.

Fuck. Shit.

- Come on, come on. - No shit.

What?

Come on.

Let's go.

You got it.

- All right. Ready? - Okay. Okay.

- Wait. Cheers. We got to "cheers" it. - Can I just go?

Ready? Okay.

- All right, let's do another. - I'm still going.

My God, you are such a lightweight.

You got to drink this one whole. Like, you can't just sip it.

- I can't do it. -It's not a shot if you're just sipping it.

- It's not gonna go down... - Just go. Ready?

One, two, three.

I did it! I did it!

- Okay. - Okay.

Just say it, all right?

- Say it. - Asshole.

- Say it louder. - He's an asshole!

- You're better without him. - I'm better without him.

You hate him.

Well, I don't really hate him.

You hate him.

Okay, fine. I hate him a little bit.

I knew it. Me too.

Do you hate him?

Yeah. Yeah, I hate him.

Shit!

Summer! Summer! Summer! Summer!

- Aw, shit! - Hey!

- Want to come with us? - I'm going home.

Home? What are you going home for?

You know there's no one at home, right?

You can just come with us. It's no problem.

Mickey...

you don't know shit.

I don't know shit?

Youdon't know shit. My dad left too, remember?

But at least you have someone waiting at home for you.

I have nobody. I have a fucking cat, Mickey.

You don't know shit.

Mr. Pickles! Is that you?

My God, Mr. Pickles, hi!

Hi, Mr. Pickles.

Mr. Pickles, come back.

You just got here. Why are you so mad?

Thank you.

Of course.

Whoa, eggs!

Looks good.

Kolya asked me what life on the moon was like.

We told them they fish for supper there.

They wear deer skins and make fires for heat.

At sunset they sing all the old songs.

The ones grandpa used to sing us.

Kolya laughed so hard, he nearly wet himself.

He wanted life here to be as good as the moon.

So, what do you want?

Just a little off the sides.

I have a job interview tomorrow.

You're definitely the longest hair I've had

on a boy today.

I don't really like getting my hair cut.

I get it, I get it. We'll make it as painless as possible.

Yo, guys.

You know I once saw a flying "saucerus"?

I was up in Joshua Tree camping with my dad.

We couldn't find our car,

so we tried to find our way by the stars.

Then suddenly there was this noise

and colored lights.

I've never seen anything like it.

I'm serious. No lie.

Do you guys solemnly swear that we will not go to the moon?

- Dude. - Fuck, yeah, I'm in.

We're both in.

Hey, Mickey.

Do you swear that you won't go to the moon?

Fuck, yeah. That's right.

No moon.

Cookie!

- Cookie! - Cookie!

- Cookie! - Cookie!