- Will Girardi: [making dinner] Now, you can't let the cream boil. It if gets too hot, the egg yolks will curdle. I like a little pepperoncini...
- [seeing Joan and Luke aren't really paying attention]
- Will Girardi: Am I talking to myself?
- Joan Girardi: Yep.
- Will Girardi: I'm imparting valuable skills here.
- Joan Girardi: Yeah, you don't need to know how the magician does the trick to enjoy the show.
- Will Girardi: Are you still up for talking to those kids on Sunday?
- Kevin Girardi: Sure.
- Will Girardi: Class starts at 4:00 at the courthouse.
- Joan Girardi: Dad, don't you think that one teacher in the family is embarrassing enough?
- Will Girardi: It's a driver's ed class, sponsored by the court. Teenagers with DUI convictions.
- Kevin Girardi: Who better than me to scare the crap out of them?
- Helen Girardi: You're too young to go off on your own.
- Joan Girardi: Mom, I'm seventeen years old.
- Helen Girardi: Exactly.
- Joan Girardi: I'm old enough to make my own decisions.
- Helen Girardi: Not this one.
- Joan Girardi: So you don't trust me, that's what you're saying.
- Helen Girardi: No, it's not an issue of trust.
- Joan Girardi: Mom, I'm driving to a concert, going to sleep, and then driving home. What is the big deal?
- Helen Girardi: Well, we'll discuss it when you calm down.
- Joan Girardi: I am calm!
- Luke Girardi: [quietly to Kevin] Are they gonna break plates?
- Kevin Girardi: It's a chick fight, dude. Just back away.
- Helen Girardi: [simultaneously with Joan] Quiet.
- Joan Girardi: Shut up!
- Three Card Monte Guy God: You wanna play?
- Joan Girardi: It's a trick.
- Three Card Monte Guy God: You think I'd deceieve you, Joan? Well, what kind of God would I be if I played tricks on my people?
- Joan Girardi: You said I could make my own decisions.
- Three Card Monte Guy God: You can. Free will. Standard equipment.
- Joan Girardi: Not according to my mother.
- Three Card Monte Guy God: Well, your mom has been in the game a lot longer than you. She knows how difficult it is to play.
- Joan Girardi: But it's my hand, right? I mean, I have to play it myself.
- Three Card Monte Guy God: Yeah. There's no other way. But you gotta keep your eyes open, so you can see all the moves.
- Joan Girardi: I can handle it.
- [he shuffles the cards; picking one, she sighs upon seeing it's the wrong one]
- Three Card Monte Guy God: [showing her the Queen] Also keep your eye on what's important.
- Joan Girardi: How much for one of these?
- T-shirt Vendor God: Thirty bucks.
- Joan Girardi: Thirty bucks? You guys are thieves.
- T-shirt Vendor God: You want something to remember the night, don't you, Joan?
- Joan Girardi: [realizing who it is] Yeah, I do. Shouldn't God give me, like, a disciple's discount or something?
- T-shirt Vendor God: Um... I can throw in a sticker.
- Joan Girardi: Deal.
- Joan Girardi: If this is about me lying to my mom, I'm sorry. Really. But... if I'm making my own decisions, I had to do it.
- T-shirt Vendor God: You gotta do what you gotta do.
- Joan Girardi: Totally. I mean, I'm sorry if I upset her, but... I'm seventeen years old. You know, that's half of a... really old person.
- T-shirt Vendor God: Separating is never easy.
- Joan Girardi: I know. Which is why she has to accept the fact that I'm independent. That's how you made us, right?
- T-shirt Vendor God: Definitely. Just remember, being independent doesn't mean being alone.
- Joan Girardi: God feeds pigeons? Aren't there enough actual old people to do that?
- Old Lady God: You'd think, wouldn't you?
- Joan Girardi: You said independence doesn't mean being alone. I can't talk to my mom. I can't talk to Adam. So now I have nobody. I should just get one of those depressing motel rooms and learn how to smoke.
- Old Lady God: You're only as isolated as you think you are. Not being able to reach out to others, it's just another decision you're making.
- Joan Girardi: I made a mess of everything. There's nothing I could say to make things right.
- Old Lady God: Falling into silence just makes it impossible to survive. Your existence depends on the relationship you have with other people, Joan. Just as matter can't exist in the absence of energy. See, it's... it's how I made the world.
- Joan Girardi: You saw me and my mom. It's like we're... we're living in two different worlds.
- Old Lady God: Yeah. It's like the myth of Demeter and Persephone.
- [seeing Joan's confusion]
- Old Lady God: One spring, Demeter's daughter, Persephone, was taken down to the underworld and lost to her forever. Demeter was so sad, she turned the world into endless winter.
- Joan Girardi: Bummer.
- Old Lady God: Yeah, that's what the gods thought. Well, the gods took pity on her and they allowed Persephone to return to her mother once a year.
- Joan Girardi: And?
- Old Lady God: And winter ended and spring began. The distance you feel, that cold isolation, you don't have to live there forever.
- Joan Girardi: So you're gonna take pity on me too and make things right?
- Old Lady God: It's a myth, Joan.
- Joan Girardi: What should I do?
- Old Lady God: That's your decision.