Episode 3: Dead Man, Live Bet
A winner is cashing out his chips at the casino, much to Tommy and Vic's chagrin. They try to persuade him to stay and play more, but
he insists on going home to his wife in Dubuque. "As the dealer says" he points out "part of winning is knowing when to walk away." Tommy goes to
fire Veronica for giving customers such lousy advice.
At Veronica's table, a man is coughing and wheezing, and almost passes out. Billy wants him to come up to his office for a check-up, but the man, whose
name is Charlie, resists. "Nobody wants to be sick on vacation, but. . ." "I'm not sick" Charlie insists. "I'm dying." Tommy breezes in
and fires Veronica, but demands that she finish her shift first. "It could be worse" Charlie says consolingly. "You could have terminal
cancer." "OK, you win" says Billy.
The next day, Charlie is in Billy's office, hitting on Alice. When Billy calls him on it, Charlie says that he's made a list of all the things
he's wanted to do in his life. "Is hitting on my nurse at the top of the list?" "Hitting on a redhead." "So the nurse thing is just a bonus?" Charlie
coughs. Billy says he probably has a pulmonary embolism, which is a complication of pancreatic cancer, and wants to send him to the hospital. Charlie
resists. He's spent the past year doing what the doctors said to do; chemo, radiation, the whole bit - and now he's dying.
Tommy bursts into the office, claiming to have glass in his eye. "Last week it was Lyme disease" says Billy, rolling his eyes. "Hey, it's going
around!" "IN CONNECTICUT!!" Alice goes to deal with Tommy. "Or stick his head in a bucket of water. Whatever works" says Billy.
It turns out that Charlie has less than two weeks to live, but he only wants painkillers. He's come to live and die in America's playground. Billy
listens, obviously with great compassion. Tommy continues to whine in the other examination room. "One word!" yells Billy. "Colonoscopy!" Billy agrees
to let Charlie die in his own way; he'll manage the pain, but he wants to make sure that Charlie knows what to expect. Charlie is very grateful and says
that Billy is the first doctor who has really understood.
The receptionist hands Billy a note. Clearly livid, he marches into his office and picks up the phone. Jordan won't be coming to visit him after all. She's
going to Surf Camp in Hawaii instead. Billy is furious, and demands to know whether the idea was Jordan's or her mother's. He can't believe that a
five-year-old would suddenly decide to go to Surf Camp without some adult prompting. Mom cuts him off. He stomps back out of the office, telling Alice
to get Charlie some Vicoden and a few other items. She points out that Charlie is going to die, and that it's Billy's job as a doctor to talk patients
into doing what they don't want to do. Billy says this time he happens to agree with the patient. Knowing she's beaten, Alice changes the subject and
says that Tommy is in an examination room "throwing PACs." "You put him on a monitor?" Billy asks incredulously. "It's like giving a pipe to a crack
whore. A bum comes in with chest pains, you don't take off his shoes. You don't want to know what's in those shoes." "Well, this bum has PACs in his shoes."
Tommy is lying on a gurney in his underwear, socks - and garters. He's dying, of course. He has something wrong with his heart. "You have premature atrial
contractions." "Anything premature is bad" Tommy points out. Billy says that Tommy needs to reduce his stress and Alice jumps in with the usual litany - eat
right, exercise, get enough rest, lose weight, cut out booze and caffeine. . . "Join the Boy Scouts." Tommy starts ranting and the monitor starts beeping. Billy
says it's his stress talking and he doesn't have glass in his eye. "That's what they said to Sammy Davis" Tommy mutters darkly. "But don't worry - all irregular
heartbeats eventually stop."
Downstairs, Vic finds Veronica packing her belongings and in a panic because she's lost a philosophy paper that she was hoping to type up over lunch. Vic
insists that she's needed back on the floor. She says she's been fired but he says that he gets fired twice a month; she should stand up to Tommy and give
as good as she gets. He talks her into going back to work and promises to find her paper. She describes it - yellow legal pad, coffee stains, existential
gibberish. "Anything that expands your understanding of the central questions of man can't be gibberish" he insists, somewhat surprisingly.
Billy, who is wearing a dazzling white shirt, is talking to an administrative assistant. She is going to call and verify that there is indeed a 5-and-under
surf class at this Hawaiian resort and report back. He wanders into the casino.
Charlie is watching a craps game, looking forlorn. Billy asks why he isn't playing. It turns out that Charlie has had the same job for fifteen years, hasn't
been married, and doesn't know how to shoot craps. Billy offers to give him the short course. "On craps or marriage?" "Better stick to craps." "You work out
that problem?" Charlie asks. He's talking about Jordan, having pumped the receptionist for details. "Don't you have enough to worry about?" Billy asks, and launches
into an explanation of craps. "OK" Charlie says. "You teach me craps, I'm going to teach you something."
Tommy notices Veronica dealing at a poolside table and Vic says he rehired her; Tommy didn't mean it when he fired her. Tommy claims to have "premature heart
aggravation" because his employees don't do what he tells them to.
Tommy sits down with Billy, who is brazenly enjoying a plate of nachos poolside after having advised Tommy to take up sprouts. "Cheese is a protein" Billy
states. "I think jalapenos are a vegetable." Tommy wishes a proctological exam on Billy and starts to rant about how stress is just part of life. While he's
talking, Billy's watching a cute little girl who is playing with a beach ball by the pool.
Over at the table, Veronica punches a client who has been manhandling her. Vic picks the man up off the ground and tries to smooth things over. Tommy joins
him and they hastily promise him the best of everything the casino has to offer - on the house, of course.
Billy has been calmly eating nachos and watching this little drama but now he notices that the toddler is no longer playing by the pool. He gets up and walks
over to the water, notices her beach ball floating and sees a dark shape under the surface. He dives in.
Billy, dripping wet in his white shirt, is trying to revive the little girl with mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions. There's no pulse. Alice rushes up
with their equipment, pushing aside the crowd that has gathered. Vic goes in search of the parents. Mother rushes up and gets in the way by panicking. They
finally manage to intubate the girl (no thanks to mother), Billy starts an IV, and finally the girl's heart starts beating again. The paramedics come
to take her away and the mother demands to know whether her child will die. "Too early to tell" Billy says. "You have to tell me!" "The truth is" Billy says
sadly "I don't know." The paramedics drive the girl and her mother away and Alice congratulates Billy on a "great save" but he just walks away, looking distressed.
Tommy is shouting at Veronica for punching the guest. Vic comes up to say that he's in the bar, and convinces Tommy to come and help avoid a lawsuit. Vic gives
Veronica her paper which he claims someone found in a restroom, and follows Tommy into the bar. The guest, who is clearly not injured at all, demands a
chiropractor, a deep-tissue massage and a box of Cuban cigars delivered to his room. Tommy agrees to everything.
Veronica runs Vic down, saying that her paper is covered with notes. Vic suggests that they might have been added by "a stealth professor loose in the
casino." "They don't even make sense" she says. "Estrogen symbolizes the human condition?" "Estragon!" says Vic, and chides her for taking existentialism
without ever having read Waiting for Godot. Veronica tumbles to the fact that Vic wrote the notes. "Existentialism isn't that complicated" he
says. "Man alleviates the pain of existence through habit." She still doesn't get it until he draws the analogy with the blackjack players who just
keep showing up without ever winning much or seeming to get any pleasure out of it.
Later that night, Alice finds Billy up in his office, packing away a box wrapped up with a pink ribbon which is clearly meant for Jordan. (He's wearing
a dry navy t-shirt now). Alice is dressed up because she's been out to dinner with Charlie as part of his to-do list fulfillment project. It turns out
that Billy has agreed to drive him out onto the desert at dawn the next morning. In the meantime, he has followed up on the little girl, who is still
on a ventilator. "She's lucky you were there" Alice says. "We'll see" says Billy. "You were great out there." "It's easy to dance with a good partner" Alice
replies. "I hope I didn't drip on you." Alice asks what Billy will be doing with Charlie, but he doesn't know. "He's got a long wish list" she says. "How far
down it did he get tonight?" he asks playfully. She just smiles.
The next morning, as they're driving into the desert, Charlie informs Billy that Alice has a crush on him, and chides him for not having noticed. Billy pumps
him for details. "She says you're complicated." "Interesting complicated or frustrating complicated?" "She's frustrated you haven't made a move."
Sitting on the back of his truck on a deserted airfield in the middle of the desert, Billy asks "This is on your to-do list? Bad coffee in the middle of
nowhere?" Charlie says it's the perfect place to face his fears. The only thing that keeps people from living the life they dream of is fear, and Charlie
has no more time for fear. He asks what Billy is afraid of. "Clowns, stone-washed jeans and a female mustache" says Billy, trying to make light of the
question. Charlie isn't impressed and walks off. "I don't have time for fools" he says. "Jump school starts in 20 minutes." Behind his shades, Billy looks alarmed.
In the plane, Charlie says that he's had nightmares about falling for fifteen years, but has never done anything about them, until now. "Need" Billy says, finally
answering Charlie's question honestly. He launches into a genuine confessional to this dying guy in a plane over the middle of Nevada. "I'm afraid of people
needing me. I came to a casino to avoid seeing any more drowned toddlers, or having to tell parents that their child's life was over. It pulled off pieces of
my soul, and I started hating them. I built a wall and it works. Nobody can get in. My girlfriend would rather escape to Hawaii than raise a child with
me." "You can always start over" Charlie says gently. Billy smiles ruefully. "Then someone might need me again."
It's time to jump. Billy tries to get out of it, but Charlie insists that if he doesn't do it, he'll just have to come back later to overcome the shame. "No" says
Billy ruefully "I'm pretty good with shame."
In the end, Charlie has to give Billy a shove, but yells "No! Wait!" at the last second, as though there was something wrong with Billy's gear. But it's too
late. Billy's out of the plane.
On the ground, Billy walks up to where Charlie has landed. There was nothing wrong with his equipment and Charlie is laughing at him. "It was my gift to you" he
insists. "There's nothing like thirty seconds of terror to wake you up to life." Charlie starts coughing and he's bringing up blood.
Back in the office, Billy tells Charlie flat out that failure to go to a hospital will result in sudden death, but Charlie wants to get back to his list. Charlie
asks whether Billy's whole life flashed before his eyes in those thirty seconds, and whether he saw the tunnel of white light. Billy doesn't answer, but looks
as though he did.
Alice says that the hospital is on the line, and Billy picks up the phone. "There's someone who wants to talk to you" says a very happy mother, handing the phone
to an adorable little girl.
In the casino, Tommy is running through the list of the "injured" guest's expenses so far, and blaming Vic. There's expensive wine, bottle after bottle
of Dom Perignon, exfoliation, hours of long distance to Tokyo, and a ceremonial spear, but he isn't gambling!
Vic is next seen with Veronica who is thrilled with the B+ that she got on her paper, but Vic is annoyed that it wasn't an A. Veronica takes over her table. A
young man and a jaded woman are playing with Charlie. Alice is there, because Charlie is on oxygen and she's monitoring him. He's still hitting on her. And he's
winning.
Alice looks up and sees Billy in the doorway. He's kneeling on the floor and giving the little girl a big hug. He watches her leave with her mother.
The guest is finally checking out. By now, his tab includes a couple of hookers (he made them take turns pretending to be Veronica) and a limo to the airport. He
says maybe he'll play next time, and leaves with a smirk on his face. Tommy blames Vic for bringing him into the casino, and the two have an argument. Tommy
ends up by saying he's got eight guys who could do Vic's job with half the attitude. "In your little Jersey mind!" says Vic. "I quit!"
At the table, Charlie wins again. He has a coughing fit, and suddenly turns serious, asking whether he can bet all his winnings on the next hand. He pushes
all of his chips, about $5,000 worth, onto the table and puts his head down.
Upstairs, Alice has cancelled Billy's appointments. She says he can get a connecting flight in LA to Honolulu, or a nonstop flight first thing the next
morning. "What, and pull her out of Surf Camp like a deranged psycho-father?" Billy asks. "I never said anything about pulling her out. But the deranged
psycho still applies. Just watch her surf."
In the casino, Charlie isn't moving. Alice and Billy arrive, and Alice starts trying to revive him. Billy says that he's dead, but Alice insists that
he may not be. Billy tells her "If you revive him, he'll die tomorrow in the hospital. He did it his way. He even managed to leave a live bet on the table."
Later, when the body is being removed, Tommy is upset that Billy couldn't prevent Charlie from dying. "If I had power over death, you think I'd be working
here?" Billy asks. "Here or the Vatican" Tommy says "but the party's better here." The others at the blackjack table are stuck. Charlie placed his bet but
didn't live to play his hand. No-one knows what he would have done. They don't care that Charlie's dead, but grumble about not being able to continue the
game. Apparently the game has to be frozen and the funds put in escrow until the Gaming Commission appoints a surrogate to play out Charlie's hand.
In the office, Billy watches Alice fondly as she struggles with heaps of insurance forms. They speculate about Charlie; his life, his family, and what happened
to make him want to die alone in Vegas. Billy takes the forms and walks Alice to her car.
She asks about Billy's date in the desert. "I hope yours wasn't as physical as mine" he replies. She says they spent most of the time talking about
him. "Did he give you the solution? How to fix me?" "The man wasn't Yoda." "WE spent most of the time talking about YOU" Billy says. "And did he give you
the solution? How to get me?" "Yoda died before I got it out of him." "You'll have to figure it out yourself." "I think I have a handle on it" says
Billy. "But could you handle it right?" "You don't think I'd handle it right?" he asks, a bit hurt. "Not for more than a week." "Care to place a wager?" he
asks, getting a little cocky again. She sighs. "I've learned that in this town you can gamble on anything, but I won't take that bet. The stakes are
too high." "Slow-play your hand; reduce your risk" the gambler advises. "I can't" she replies. "I want the whole thing. I want the jackpot." They kiss.
They're still really going at it when they get to Billy's apartment. He pulls her blouse off and Alice gets to pull his t-shirt off in one long, smooth tug. They
collapse on the sofa. The fireplace magically lights. Apparently Alice has landed on the remote. They resume activities.
Vic, in a robe and slippers, is watering his garden when Tommy drives up to his house. Apparently his wife has told Tommy where to find him. Tommy tells Vic
that the casino had a huge take the previous night. He had had to rope off the table pending the Gaming Commission's decision. When the general public heard about
Charlie's death they descended on the place en masse, dropping a fortune in the process. Tommy gives Vic a basket of muffins as a peace offering, the effect
of which is only slightly marred by the fact that Vic recognizes the standard apology muffin basket that he routinely orders from the baker on Tommy's behalf.
Billy is lying awake in bed next to Alice, who is still asleep. He gets up very quietly, packs, and leaves, leaving her a note. She wakes up when the door
closes, sees the note, reads it, and smiles.
Vic has talked to Veronica's professor and talked him into raising her grade to an A-. "Just an A-. If you want an A, you have to work for it." She goes
to her table, which is surrounded by onlookers. The woman and the young man are there, and so is Alice, who is the surrogate appointed to take Charlie's place
since Billy is away. Charlie's cards total 18, and Alice asks Veronica what to do. Charlie was fearless" Veronica says. "Hit me" says Alice.
In Hawaii, a welcome hostess drops a purple lei around Billy's neck. The color suits him.
~ Roxane
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