for a while longer, they order tacos and watch a late night game, and valentin realizes he doesn't know his schedule for tomorrow, he assumes he's working, and he asks imhotep who shrugs and he says the schedule is at the office you'll have to find out, so they do something like a high 5 and keep drinking, and keep finding basketball games to watch—valentin goes out for a beer run at midnight after protesting several times about their increasingly late night, but his resistance broke down and on the way to the grocery store police pull him over, he stumbles, and he's babbling to the officer about who he is and where he is, telling his story yet again, and as they listen they take him to the police station and book him and lock him in jail, where he falls asleep, another chance to wake to his old life, escaping his new mess—while sleeping he feels a finger's tap on his cheek, he opens his eyes and sees rene, smiling and frowning at the same time, she calls him a son of a bitch, asks what's wrong with him, the cop stands in the back near the door of the jail leaning on it, valentin thinks she's laughing—rene picks him up by the neck he thinks, or maybe the shoulder, maybe the officer is helping her, what does he weigh now he doesn't know, if he's an alternative weight or the same weight, everything is an alternative now—rene's grip unforgives, they walk, she pushes him into her car back brown and leather seats, he smells rosy perfume, leather and an evergreen-tree air freshener probably hanging from the mirror—valentin says sorry, sorry, how did you find me?—rene says, yes you should be sorry—but otherwise she doesn't answer the question and says little more, she pulls into her driveway and she gets out of her car, slams the door, and opens the back door to pull him out—still even in his condition he's looking for the willow tree, anna and frank's house, as if trying to place rene into his old life—she's gripping his hand and yanking at him, he sees the door of her car still open and he says something, but she doesn't hear or care—she takes him into her house, he doesn't know what time it is, where imhotep is, how rene found him—they're in a living room, with a short rectangular fireplace, a long blue sofa across from the fireplace, a coffee table, and a chandelier hanging from a high white ceiling—valentin says something about sebastian but again she doesn't answer, instead she continues to pull him, drag him, toward the big blue couch—there's a tv over the fireplace, never really liked the idea of that, either you focus on the fireplace or the tv—rene finally lets go some and leads him more gently toward the couch—valentin thinks if he just explains enough maybe they all become more understanding, they see him, through him, they'll know they are all actors participating in this cute play—where's sebastian? playing golf? working? off with a new girlfriend?—he sinks into the couch, rene stuffs a pillow under his head, smells like tobacco, oh my god does rene smoke?—no maybe sebastian, rene turns on the tv, sounds like a movie, there might be kissing, valentin is laying down on this large pillow under his head facing the couch so he can't see the tv, why does she turn on the tv when she knows he's been drinking for hours?—he can't figure out the drinks he had, maybe just coronas all night but no he's tasting still in his mouth and on his breath vodka too—he thinks rene is sitting at his feet, she's covered him with a blanket, he's waiting for her to say something, why didn't she drop him off at his house?—but she has nothing to say, she rubs his feet every once in a while, the kissing in the movie stops, he's waiting for her to light a cigarette but she doesn't, she doesn't even get up from the blue couch, she finishes one movie and then goes off to the next—valentin tells her he thinks he might need to go to work, he doesn't remember the schedule, or he didn't check it, maybe she could call the office to find out?—rene answers that that should be the least of his worries right now, with all the trouble he's causing—and then she says, i think i know something about this situation you're in—he knows that should be of interest and he should sit up and listen to rene, but with this alcohol flowing through him he can hardly hear her, he's in no condition to listen to her, and he falls asleep while she explains everything—he thinks he'll dream of back home, maybe the things that rene is trying to explain to him, but more he's dreaming of swinging on a large swing attached to a high ceiling, as in at a circus, the crowd invisible but hearable they're urging him to jump, presumably onto another swing, or on a tight rope, but they're saying the words jump, jump, jump, and he does and then the dream goes black—he wakes up and he sees the face of his father, looking over him, but there's a bug crawling over his nose, over his eyes, and he doesn't move, the hard wrinkles on his face stand still, as if he's turned into a rock—he thinks if that is back home then that's nothing that he needs to see now, so he shuts him out, as much as he wants to catch the attention of his dad he doesn't want the attention of that face, because that's not his dad—once again he opens his eyes and he sees tina turner, no, no he's not back in his room—his new life has taken on a reality to where he knows he's opening his eyes to what isn't real, he can't lose whatever sense of place remains with him, his father isn't an unmoving face with bugs crawling over his eyes, he's not in his bedroom, he's with the love of his life now, rene—and then once again he wakes up to see her face, and he knows she's for real, and she says that they need to talk—