Episode 2
By now we have now learned that the man is known to his buddies and Jolene only as “DP”. At this point we do not know what that means although there are hints that are not yet clear to us.
DP and Jolene are struggling with the recent cutoff of their electricity for non-payment. It is clear that Jolene’s two jobs are not quite enough to support DP in the style to which he would like to become accustomed. While her Speedi-Mart check is their mainstay, spraying the county school buses for vermin at night does not seem to pay very well.
the schoolbus fumigation yard
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Shvoo, a neighbor who stays in the doublewide over by the highway and writes the “Dream Weaver” column for Trading Times, is aware of their financial plight and has suggested that the pile of aluminum cans under the trailer where the dogs live might be an answer.
Shvoo's doublewide
click to enlarge
DP likes the idea but points out that his bad back won’t allow him to crawl under to dig them out. Anyway, they are temporarily out of trash bags and since that means he would have to wait for Jolene to return after work with the ’88 International pickup, she may as well collect the cans.
DP's can collection
click to enlarge
DP likes the crossword puzzle in Trading Times and by midweek when he’s really stuck has mused about visiting Shvoo for “advice”. So far, this has not happened. He is also a little gun-shy about meeting new people face-to-face since his unfortunate encounter with an on-line sting. He still swears “she looked at least sixteen” in the naughty email photos.
Because of the electricity shutoff the trailer is operating on a pair of aged 12-volt DieHards that depend on jumper cables from the International for replenishment each night - if Jolene isn’t too tired when she returns home.
As we enter the trailer a little past midnight she has just arrived and DP is feigning sleep to hide the fact that he has spent many hours posting nonsense on the Sopranos TV show internet boards. Jolene discovers that the laptop has so drained the DieHards that there is not enough left for her to recharge “Jumbo” and she is ticked off. She awakens DP for a confrontation.
FADE IN
