p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor and Hank enter the familiar scene. Patrol cars out of sight. An unusually busy Wednesday for Jimmy's Bar. Androids aren't exactly allowed here, which is why Hank frequents this place often. Less crowded. But the owner knows him, The whole town knows him. So Connor sits next to him hassle-free./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Against the furthest wall is a spotlight. A small mic stand. An acoustic guitar plugged into a small amplifier found at a used store no doubt. Open mics never happen here so Hank leans forward to Gus and asks, "What's the deal with that?" But before he can get a reply a woman appears from the corridor. She isn't nervous at all. Her hair is cut short. Her clothes are simple. She steps onto the stage easily but she doesn't look any in the eyes./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""She seems so calm for being so nervous," Hank admires as he sips his drink./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor leans forward. Watching her movements, "Why would she be nervous?"/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank looks over with a smile, "You see, Connor, most humans get a thing called stage-fright. I'm gonna take it this girl here is new to performing live."/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Stage-fright? We aren't—"/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Say, Gus, what's with the open mic? Never mentioned setting one up before."/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Gus leans over the counter catching both Hank and Connor's attention. He smiles and winks at the woman still setting up, "She's new in town. Don't want to divulge much about her but she's got a kid and in need of serious cash."/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""So you're starting up an open mic?"/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Didn't mean to. She'd been begging to help around if she could. So I offered her a few shifts a week but she desperately needs more. I asked what else she could do and she said she could sing. I laughed. Sing? This is a bar. She offered to perform whatever songs anyone would like to hear and she'd get them prepared for the next week. Then I said, 'hey, wait, do you even got a voice to go with it?' And she sang this song I'd never heard of. By Pizzicato Five? Don't know but her voice was pure bliss. Said, let me arrange a list of songs and if you do well with the crowd, I'll start asking for requests. Couldn't offer her more than my tips for that night but she was willing to take the gig. So now every Wednesday she'll perform for a couple of hours."/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor looks at him a bit skeptically but decides against saying anything. Gus catches his stare, "Not thirsty, I take it?"/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor laughs, "You know me."/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Gus turns their attention back to the woman in the light, "Her name's Carrie. Got the voice of an angel. Her little girl's something, too."/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""What do you have her singing, tonight?" Hank asks, swiveling in his seat until he's fully in her direction./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Gus walks away from them wiping a glass, "I told her I'd offer her a little more if she came up with an original piece. Figured, she's got the chops, can play, she's gotta know how to write something, too?"/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emTinashe's "Remember When" filters into the room…/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Carrie strums the first few chords of her song before she opens her mouth. All eyes are on her. Connor leans forward as Hank sits up to listen, glass in hand./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"em"Who am to fall in love again/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emFallin' so easy/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emWhy am I so reckless with my heart?/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emWhy oh no, ooh/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emBut I just wanna love you, I just wanna love you/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI just wanna love you/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emLove you in spite of it, everything"/em/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank looks back at Connor who is fully invested in the scene in front of him./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"em"I just wanna kiss you, I just wanna hold you/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI just wanna touch you/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emNeed you inside of me/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emDo you remember when/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emWe went to the park at night/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emAnd told you how I felt? I'll never forget/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI hope you know I meant/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI hope you know I meant/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emEvery word I said/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emEvery word I said to you, babe/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI was made for it/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emOoh/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emPickin' up the pieces of a mind/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emBut I feel like myself again, ooh, oh"/em/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank sips his drink slowly until it's empty./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"em"I think I saw forever in your eyes, eyes"/em/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor turns back and leans his arms onto the counter./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"em"Know the situation's pretty complicated/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI just wanna go back, if we could foster it, no/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emHopin' you're not just playin' with my emotions/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emOr maybe I'm just stupid/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emTo still believe in it?/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emDo you remember when/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emMade you those promises?/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI'll never forget, I never forget/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI hope you know I meant/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI hope you know I meant/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emEvery word I said/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emEvery word I said to you, babe/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emOoh, oh, ooh, oh yeah"/em/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Another glass, bartender," Hank yells over the sound./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"em"Ooh, oh, ooh, oh, ooh/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emAnd I hope you know I meant it, hey/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI know, I know/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI, I/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emKnow, know, know, know"/em/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"The whole room applauds softly. Carrie smiles, eyes a bit empty, ashamed, but accepts the congratulations. No one notices except Connor./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank sets his glass down to stand up and applaud loudly. Carrie's taken back a bit and falls in her chair. She smiles wider than she ever has and stares at the floor to center herself. Connor places a soft touch on Hank's shoulder to settle him down, "She's got an impeccable voice doesn't she?"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Voice?" Hank turns in excitement, "Her words alone carried it through. Her voice is the cherry on the cake. And what a cherry it is." He faces her again, glass in hand, face blank waiting for her next song./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"The drive home is quiet. It isn't raining but the windows are moist from the chill air. Hank breaks the silence, not quite tearing Connor away from the window, "So, I'm assuming you're staying with me tonight?"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor nods, "If that is okay with you, Lieutenant. I usually just shut off for the night at the department."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""No skin off my bones," Hank reassures him, "Sumo loves you. Hope you don't mind sleeping with the big dogs tonight." He laughs at his own joke. Connor looks in his direction with an absent smile./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor turns the dial on Hank's radio, "I'm surprised you don't have a more updated vehicle. Upgraded cars are more affordable nowadays than before. And with your salary, it's the wisest choice for someone of your rank." He twists it until it's at a jazz station./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank looks at the screen but doesn't smile, "A car is a car. As long as it runs, don't care what added features can be done to it."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Is that why you've been chosen to trial-run the android detective line?"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Guess as much. No offense, Connor, you're a nice guy and it's not that I'm against your kind integrating in our line of duty but I'd prefer to work on my own if it isn't necessary."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Noted. Well, I hope the rest of our tenure bodes well for me."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank stares at the road before replying, "You'll be fine. It's me that should be worried."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""You're irreplaceable, Hank. Me? We androids are far too many from what humans have to say."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"The rest of the ride is in silence, other than the smooth jazz caressing their ears as the windshield wipers dance left to right./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"The car pulls up with a soft squeal against the pavement. The air was still thick from the cold. The two step out together. Doors slam. Keys jangle and before they know it, they're both tucked in the security of Hank's home, Sumo on his hind legs against Connor's. Hank drops his keys onto the kitchen table and grabs a beer from the refrigerator. With a slam of the door, Hank pops the bottle open with the opener attached to its door./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Make yourself at home."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor leans back up from petting Sumo. He saunters over to the kitchen area and takes a seat across from Hank. Inspecting the table, Connor notices the missing picture frame. He refrains from saying anything and leans forward to steal the beer away from Hank's unsuspecting hand./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Whoa, hey, who gave you the right—"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Just seeing your typical preference for beer." Connor takes a whiff and a small sip./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Don't drink too much. Wouldn't want your first time getting drunk with me."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""You think that because I was created merely a few weeks ago that I have an intolerance to alcohol. But we androids only act drunk if it's in line with your preferences."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""I see."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""You're a 'one and done for the night' kind of guy?" Connor smiles and hands back the beer./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank laughs, "Funny."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank finishes off his beer. Connor stands and begins cleaning up the mess from the table to Hank's class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"On the other side of town, the rain pours harder. Tires screech. There aren't many but various cars zoom by./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Carrie, Kara's stage-name, opens the door to the motel. Alice runs forward and hugs her around the legs, "You're back!"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""I'm back," Kara replies. She bends down to hug Alice before moving to drop off a plastic bag on the drawers. A can of soup rolls out but Alice catches it before it hits the ground, "Nice catch." Alice puts it back. Kara sifts through the contents and pulls out various food items. Lastly, she pulls out a stuffed toy that almost resembles a bear, "I'm not sure what it is but it looks like something you once had." She hands it to Alice who hugs it gratefully before running onto the bed./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Why don't bars allow children?"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Kara smiles and sits on the end of the bed away from Alice who hugs her knees to her chest, "Because. It's smelly, smoky, and full of liquor."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Alice laughs, "Doesn't sound bad at all."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""It's not. But bars are for adults. Who knows, if this singing thing proves to be something, maybe I can perform at places you can attend?"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""I'd love that," Alice replies, "what's for dinner?"/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Against the furthest wall is a spotlight. A small mic stand. An acoustic guitar plugged into a small amplifier found at a used store no doubt. Open mics never happen here so Hank leans forward to Gus and asks, "What's the deal with that?" But before he can get a reply a woman appears from the corridor. She isn't nervous at all. Her hair is cut short. Her clothes are simple. She steps onto the stage easily but she doesn't look any in the eyes./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""She seems so calm for being so nervous," Hank admires as he sips his drink./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor leans forward. Watching her movements, "Why would she be nervous?"/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank looks over with a smile, "You see, Connor, most humans get a thing called stage-fright. I'm gonna take it this girl here is new to performing live."/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Stage-fright? We aren't—"/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Say, Gus, what's with the open mic? Never mentioned setting one up before."/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Gus leans over the counter catching both Hank and Connor's attention. He smiles and winks at the woman still setting up, "She's new in town. Don't want to divulge much about her but she's got a kid and in need of serious cash."/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""So you're starting up an open mic?"/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Didn't mean to. She'd been begging to help around if she could. So I offered her a few shifts a week but she desperately needs more. I asked what else she could do and she said she could sing. I laughed. Sing? This is a bar. She offered to perform whatever songs anyone would like to hear and she'd get them prepared for the next week. Then I said, 'hey, wait, do you even got a voice to go with it?' And she sang this song I'd never heard of. By Pizzicato Five? Don't know but her voice was pure bliss. Said, let me arrange a list of songs and if you do well with the crowd, I'll start asking for requests. Couldn't offer her more than my tips for that night but she was willing to take the gig. So now every Wednesday she'll perform for a couple of hours."/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor looks at him a bit skeptically but decides against saying anything. Gus catches his stare, "Not thirsty, I take it?"/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor laughs, "You know me."/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Gus turns their attention back to the woman in the light, "Her name's Carrie. Got the voice of an angel. Her little girl's something, too."/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""What do you have her singing, tonight?" Hank asks, swiveling in his seat until he's fully in her direction./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Gus walks away from them wiping a glass, "I told her I'd offer her a little more if she came up with an original piece. Figured, she's got the chops, can play, she's gotta know how to write something, too?"/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emTinashe's "Remember When" filters into the room…/em/span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Carrie strums the first few chords of her song before she opens her mouth. All eyes are on her. Connor leans forward as Hank sits up to listen, glass in hand./span/p
p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"em"Who am to fall in love again/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emFallin' so easy/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emWhy am I so reckless with my heart?/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emWhy oh no, ooh/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emBut I just wanna love you, I just wanna love you/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI just wanna love you/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emLove you in spite of it, everything"/em/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank looks back at Connor who is fully invested in the scene in front of him./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"em"I just wanna kiss you, I just wanna hold you/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI just wanna touch you/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emNeed you inside of me/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emDo you remember when/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emWe went to the park at night/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emAnd told you how I felt? I'll never forget/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI hope you know I meant/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI hope you know I meant/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emEvery word I said/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emEvery word I said to you, babe/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI was made for it/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emOoh/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emPickin' up the pieces of a mind/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emBut I feel like myself again, ooh, oh"/em/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank sips his drink slowly until it's empty./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"em"I think I saw forever in your eyes, eyes"/em/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor turns back and leans his arms onto the counter./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"em"Know the situation's pretty complicated/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI just wanna go back, if we could foster it, no/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emHopin' you're not just playin' with my emotions/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emOr maybe I'm just stupid/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emTo still believe in it?/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emDo you remember when/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emMade you those promises?/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI'll never forget, I never forget/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI hope you know I meant/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI hope you know I meant/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emEvery word I said/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emEvery word I said to you, babe/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emOoh, oh, ooh, oh yeah"/em/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Another glass, bartender," Hank yells over the sound./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"em"Ooh, oh, ooh, oh, ooh/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emAnd I hope you know I meant it, hey/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI know, I know/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emI, I/em/span/p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"emKnow, know, know, know"/em/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"The whole room applauds softly. Carrie smiles, eyes a bit empty, ashamed, but accepts the congratulations. No one notices except Connor./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank sets his glass down to stand up and applaud loudly. Carrie's taken back a bit and falls in her chair. She smiles wider than she ever has and stares at the floor to center herself. Connor places a soft touch on Hank's shoulder to settle him down, "She's got an impeccable voice doesn't she?"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Voice?" Hank turns in excitement, "Her words alone carried it through. Her voice is the cherry on the cake. And what a cherry it is." He faces her again, glass in hand, face blank waiting for her next song./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"The drive home is quiet. It isn't raining but the windows are moist from the chill air. Hank breaks the silence, not quite tearing Connor away from the window, "So, I'm assuming you're staying with me tonight?"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor nods, "If that is okay with you, Lieutenant. I usually just shut off for the night at the department."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""No skin off my bones," Hank reassures him, "Sumo loves you. Hope you don't mind sleeping with the big dogs tonight." He laughs at his own joke. Connor looks in his direction with an absent smile./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor turns the dial on Hank's radio, "I'm surprised you don't have a more updated vehicle. Upgraded cars are more affordable nowadays than before. And with your salary, it's the wisest choice for someone of your rank." He twists it until it's at a jazz station./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank looks at the screen but doesn't smile, "A car is a car. As long as it runs, don't care what added features can be done to it."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Is that why you've been chosen to trial-run the android detective line?"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Guess as much. No offense, Connor, you're a nice guy and it's not that I'm against your kind integrating in our line of duty but I'd prefer to work on my own if it isn't necessary."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Noted. Well, I hope the rest of our tenure bodes well for me."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank stares at the road before replying, "You'll be fine. It's me that should be worried."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""You're irreplaceable, Hank. Me? We androids are far too many from what humans have to say."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"The rest of the ride is in silence, other than the smooth jazz caressing their ears as the windshield wipers dance left to right./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"The car pulls up with a soft squeal against the pavement. The air was still thick from the cold. The two step out together. Doors slam. Keys jangle and before they know it, they're both tucked in the security of Hank's home, Sumo on his hind legs against Connor's. Hank drops his keys onto the kitchen table and grabs a beer from the refrigerator. With a slam of the door, Hank pops the bottle open with the opener attached to its door./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Make yourself at home."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Connor leans back up from petting Sumo. He saunters over to the kitchen area and takes a seat across from Hank. Inspecting the table, Connor notices the missing picture frame. He refrains from saying anything and leans forward to steal the beer away from Hank's unsuspecting hand./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Whoa, hey, who gave you the right—"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Just seeing your typical preference for beer." Connor takes a whiff and a small sip./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Don't drink too much. Wouldn't want your first time getting drunk with me."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""You think that because I was created merely a few weeks ago that I have an intolerance to alcohol. But we androids only act drunk if it's in line with your preferences."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""I see."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""You're a 'one and done for the night' kind of guy?" Connor smiles and hands back the beer./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank laughs, "Funny."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Hank finishes off his beer. Connor stands and begins cleaning up the mess from the table to Hank's class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"On the other side of town, the rain pours harder. Tires screech. There aren't many but various cars zoom by./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Carrie, Kara's stage-name, opens the door to the motel. Alice runs forward and hugs her around the legs, "You're back!"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""I'm back," Kara replies. She bends down to hug Alice before moving to drop off a plastic bag on the drawers. A can of soup rolls out but Alice catches it before it hits the ground, "Nice catch." Alice puts it back. Kara sifts through the contents and pulls out various food items. Lastly, she pulls out a stuffed toy that almost resembles a bear, "I'm not sure what it is but it looks like something you once had." She hands it to Alice who hugs it gratefully before running onto the bed./span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""Why don't bars allow children?"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Kara smiles and sits on the end of the bed away from Alice who hugs her knees to her chest, "Because. It's smelly, smoky, and full of liquor."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"Alice laughs, "Doesn't sound bad at all."/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""It's not. But bars are for adults. Who knows, if this singing thing proves to be something, maybe I can perform at places you can attend?"/span/p
p class="p4" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times; min-height: 14px;" /p
p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Times;"span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;""I'd love that," Alice replies, "what's for dinner?"/span/p