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Two brothers meet in a bank to go through the contents of their deceased parents’ safe deposit box. Each item removed spurs a memory as we see the creation and dissolution of a mid-century American family.
TIMOTHY: Do you see what I’m saying? They wasted all their caring on you. You! Who didn’t deserve it. You just happened to come first. It was all a fucking accident. When I showed up, they expected nothing but the worst from me. They just put me in the spare room to diddle with myself until the age of consent. They were too tired to pay attention. You wasted them.
JOSEPH: I sailed uncharted waters for you! And I had no choice in the matter. You talk about accidents. You are the beneficiary of all my bad experience. They tried out all their screwy ideas on child rearing on me and then you come along and sail through while I’m a basket case. Be fucking grateful! Be grateful they left you alone. I hope I’m not interrupting your valuable train of thought here, you little shit. When I came along, they were both turning twenty-three. Younger than you, even. They didn’t know what the hell they were doing. Would you know what to do with a baby if I dropped on in your lap right now? So they experimented. Trial and error. What happens when we pinch it? What happens when we lock it in the bedroom overnight? Let’s try feeding it nothing but bologna sandwiches for a week. What happens when it falls down the stairs? How hard can we hit it before it shows a bruise? By the time you put in your appearance, they had all the answers. You didn’t have to go through the acid test. So, now the results of their testing are starting to come in and they’re not even here to witness it! But I have to live with them. I can never forget what happened in the summer of ’53, the winter of ’55, years you only know as meaningless numbers, something B.T. – Before TIMOTHY. But I know. They show on my skin. And I want – I deserve – reparation for all that. An apology. And now, money is as good an apology as I can think of.
GENRE: Drama
RUN TIME: Full-length, three acts, 2 1/2 hours
CAST: 9m/3f
SET: Multiple locations