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[0:00] Richard Kline: Hello, I'm Richard Kline.

[0:02] Caroline Aaron: I'm Caroline Aaron. And you're listening to Around the Sun, an episodic audio drama created by Brad Forenza. This is season two, episode eight, After the Apocalypse. See you there.

[0:17] Richard Kline: Nina and Dan stand face to face in the doorframe of what used to be their home. Nina on the inside and Dan on the outside. He struggles to hold up his pants.

[0:28] Caroline Aaron: Why are you here, Daniel?

[0:30] Richard Kline: I want to see my family.

[0:32] Caroline Aaron: Of course you do. Who else would think to check in on their family after the apocalypse? Not before, not during, but after. Only a delusional person would do that.

[0:45] Richard Kline: I told you to call if you need anything.

[0:48] Caroline Aaron: Oh, you're right. You left a note. Call if you need anything. How valiant. How chivalrous. What was I supposed to think? Were you gone for the day? Were you gone forever? Or are you vying for public office again? Call if you need anything. Give me a break.

[1:05] Richard Kline: I didn't mean to hurt you.

[1:07] Caroline Aaron: Who was she?

[1:09] Richard Kline: It wasn't that.

[1:10] Caroline Aaron: You're lying. It never was. You owe me an explanation.

[1:14] Richard Kline: I was lost.

[1:16] Caroline Aaron: So why are you here?

[1:17] Richard Kline: I told you. You never called, so clearly you didn't need anything. Your needs were met.

[1:23] Caroline Aaron: I needed you. What happened out there, Daniel? Who met your needs?

[1:28] Richard Kline: I love you.

[1:30] Caroline Aaron: I could have died.

[1:32] Richard Kline: But you didn't.

[1:34] Caroline Aaron: I could have. Maybe I'm already dead or buried alive, too hardened to burn or something in between or everything. I'm dead inside, Daniel. There are parts of me that will never regrow.

[1:49] Richard Kline: You're not dead.

[1:51] Caroline Aaron: I know dead. Great. Super. If you know so much, then I want answers. Where did you go and why are you here? And don't you have a belt? Your pants are falling down. You look like a fool.

[2:06] Richard Kline: It was time to come home.

[2:09] Caroline Aaron: Excuse me?

[2:10] Richard Kline: I said it was time to come home.

[2:13] Caroline Aaron: Oh, I heard what you said. I'm just not sure how to respond, especially since you never told me you were leaving. Your note might just as well have said gone fishing.

[2:22] Richard Kline: There are no fish in the desert.

[2:24] Caroline Aaron: Well, if your intention was not to cause pain, not to kill me in your own quiet way, then you can understand how your actions sent a mixed message.

[2:37] Richard Kline: It's not what you think.

[2:39] Caroline Aaron: Okay, so regale me. The truth this time, if you're capable of it.

[2:43] Richard Kline: I was lost. I said the truth. I'm telling you the truth, Nina. I was lost in the desert.

[2:54] Richard Kline: At first it was darkness, solitude, walking amidst the billowing smoke and the falling asteroids. But I didn't fear them, Nina. I didn't care. When my body couldn't walk anymore, I took refuge at the red rock at the end of the earth. I'd lost myself in a thousand endless nights. I cried watching the brilliance of competing supernovae. I wailed, bearing witness to the death of those luminous stars. I purged who I was at the end of the earth, and I left it all behind. I was exposed, and now I've come home.

[3:33] Caroline Aaron: Well, fully for you. I died out there, Nina. Not you. And now I'm reborn.

[3:42] Caroline Aaron: And what makes you think I want you back in my house? The house you left years ago, without so much as an explanation?

[3:48] Richard Kline: Now you have one.

[3:50] Caroline Aaron: I wouldn't call that an explanation, Daniel. Just another delusion, just some fantastical bullshit.

[3:58] Richard Kline: It's my house, too.

[4:01] Caroline Aaron: No, Daniel. You haven't lived here in a long time. Your kids wouldn't even recognize you. I barely recognize you.

[4:08] Richard Kline: I've changed.

[4:09] Caroline Aaron: Whose clothes are you even wearing?

[4:12] Richard Kline: We built this house together.

[4:14] Caroline Aaron: And?

[4:15] Richard Kline: It's my house, too, Nina.

[4:17] Caroline Aaron: Nice try.

[4:18] Richard Kline: It's my house, too.

[4:20] Caroline Aaron: I have kept this house safe. This house weathered the storm. It weathered the apocalypse. I made sure of it. This is not your house anymore. This is not your home.

[4:31] Richard Kline: But I have nowhere to go.

[4:34] Caroline Aaron: Your mail stopped coming a long time ago, Daniel.

[4:37] Richard Kline: I've been in the desert. I need my clothes.

[4:41] Caroline Aaron: She wouldn't even get you a new suit.

[4:43] Richard Kline: The only affair I had out there was with the moon.

[4:47] Caroline Aaron: Then sleep under her. What's one more night?

[4:50] Richard Kline: I can't anymore. I'm lost again.

[4:53] Caroline Aaron: What happened this time? Did she figure you out? Did she catch you with someone else? Or did she just realize that you're too dense and full of yourself to care about anyone else?

[5:03] Richard Kline: Please, Nina.

[5:04] Caroline Aaron: How long have you been sleeping in the desert?

[5:06] Richard Kline: I'm too old to keep going on like this.

[5:09] Caroline Aaron: I already lived through this. You can fess up.

[5:12] Richard Kline: My body is giving out.

[5:14] Caroline Aaron: Craziest thing? The absolute craziest thing is that I would still be with you if you hadn't left.

[5:23] Richard Kline: And what would that say about me?

[5:26] Caroline Aaron: Nothing is finalized yet.

[5:28] Richard Kline: But baby, you helped me grow up. So for that, Daniel, I thank you.

[5:32] Caroline Aaron: I still love you.

[5:34] Richard Kline: I've moved on, Daniel. I thought you had too, but maybe you're sicker than I thought.

[5:39] Richard Kline: Just one night, please. That's all I need. I'll sleep on the couch, I promise.

[5:45] Caroline Aaron: I can't do that to the kids.

[5:46] Richard Kline: Fine. The garage. I'll sleep in the car.

[5:50] Caroline Aaron: I can't do it to myself, Daniel.

[5:53] Richard Kline: I bought that car, remember?

[5:55] Caroline Aaron: No, this is goodbye, Daniel.

[5:57] Richard Kline: It's not running away. It's not leaving a note. It's not open-ended, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. This is goodbye.

[6:06] Caroline Aaron: Forever finished. Done.

[6:09] Richard Kline: But I love you.

[6:11] Caroline Aaron: I never said I didn't love you, Daniel. I just said it's done.

[6:19] Richard Kline: Nina, wait.

[6:20] Caroline Aaron: What?

[6:21] Richard Kline: I need a suit.

[6:23] Caroline Aaron: What?

[6:24] Richard Kline: A suit. I need a suit.

[6:26] Richard Kline: How can I be a man if I don't have a suit?

[6:30] Caroline Aaron: Nina reaches into her purse.

[6:32] Caroline Aaron: She hands Dan a wad of cash, then turns back into her house and closes the door.

[6:41] Richard Kline: There's still a wolf in sheep's clothing to me.

[6:47] Richard Kline: Around the Sun is written and directed by Brad Forenza.

[6:50] Richard Kline: For full credits and more content, please visit AroundTheSunPodcast.com.

[6:54] Richard Kline: If you enjoyed this episode, remember to like, share, and subscribe.

[6:58] Richard Kline: Come on, give us a little sugar.

[7:00] Richard Kline: You can find us on social media and continue the conversation by using the hashtag AroundTheSunPodcast.