In bumper to bumper traffic, a yellow car is taking advantage of the wider merging lane and passing cars before merging. An arrow points to the yellow car: “Merges after passing 8 more cars.”
A few cars behind, another car merges onto the highway, when a red car centers itself in the lane to block it from passing several cars before merging. An arrow points to the red car: “Me blocking mergers from cheatin’.”
Shouty is swabbing his cheek with a genetic testing kit.
Leonard: “You know the company will own your DNA in perpetuity, right?”
Shouty: “Yeah, so. What’s the worse that could happen?”
Leonard looks solemn.
Shouty thinks of the following scenarios:
“Your DNA was found at the crime scene”
“Your dad isn’t your dad”
“You got 7 siblings now”
“…and then he was cloned”
“You ARE the father!”
Shouty: “I’m not watching TV for the month of November – it’s #NoTVember.
Leonard: “Watching on laptop still counts.”
Shouty, with thumbs up: “Baby steps.”
Leonard laughs.
2019 | Shouty: “Crazy that our grandparents’ generation saw ads where doctors endorsed smoking tobacco as healthy.”
2089 | Shouty’s future relatives: “Crazy that our grandparents’ generation saw ads that touted cow’s milk as healthy for the human body.”
Leonard: “What was that guy’s name again?”
Shouty, closing his eyes and holding his fist to his head: “Don’t say nuthin’, I almost have it.”
Leonard: “Was it Tom?”
Shouty, putting his index finger up to his mouth: “Shhh.”
An undefined duration of time has passed and Leonard is now a skeleton, while Shouty is still straining to remember with his eyes closed and fist to his head.
Shouty, worried: “Sorry I’m walking slowly…my glutes are sore.”
Leonard: “You been weightlifting?”
Shouty, grinning: “Binge watching.”
Shouty, thinking to himself and blushing: “I can’t believe we’re about to kiss. I’ve wanted this for so long!! Dreams really can come true.”
Shouty and his beloved move close to each other. He is overwhelmed with the moment. They are smiling.
Both of them close their eyes and move in to kiss, their puckered lips a mere inch away from the other’s.
The alarm goes off at 7:00 AM and Shouty lays awake in bed.
New washing machine with police badge to old dryer: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Where are the missing socks?”