Essex County (2023) s01e01 Episode Script

1
Lester?
What are you doing out there?
Nothing.
Did you feed the chickens?
Not yet.
Who are you, anyway?
What do you mean?
The costume. Who are you supposed to be?
Oh. I-I don't know.
It just my own
Okay.
Now finish your chores.
Lester! Lester!
Hey, Lester!
What's up, pig boy?
He's always drawing in
that stupid notebook
Your drawing sucks!
Your drawings look better than you do!
Why does he always draw?
Ahh.
Nah.
Oh
Mmm.
I can't feel my fingers.
Shut up.
Besides, all you gotta do
is knock his glasses off.
He can't see shit, anyways.
Don't know, but don't
tell Dad, okay, Lou?
- Huh?
- There.
- How do those feel? Too tight?
- No.
Everything okay, Mr. Lebeuf?
Oh, Christ. It's you!
It's Tuesday, remember? Check-up day.
I'm fine.
There, check-up done.
Fill out your forms and leave me alone.
Nice try.
So, uh, what were you
doing out here, Lou?
What?
I said what are you doing?
What?
What are you doing?
Nothing.
Don't track in the mud.
The last lady we had here
she knew how to mind her own business.
Better looking, too.
How'd I get stuck with you?
She quit.
Yeah? How come?
Probably because you keep
saying stuff like that.
Oh.
I see.
I hope you're hungry.
I am.
Don't rush.
Okay.
What are you doing?
What does it look like?
I'm getting ready for the big day.
You excited?
I guess.
Are you kidding me? It's so exciting.
I don't know. I'm a little bit nervous.
You'll be fine, Mags.
Are you gonna be okay?
Of course.
I mean, my baby's leaving for college.
I have feelings.
Today's about you.
It's all yours.
I love you so much.
- I'm so proud of you.
- I love you, too, Mom.
And, you know, I'm gonna
be back for Thanksgiving.
- Yep.
- You know, it's so soon.
Yeah. It's only four hours away.
- Bye.
- Oh, I'm so proud of you.
Thanks, Dad.
Yeah, of course. Yeah.
Bye. You should get
there before rush hour.
Okay. Bye.
I should go.
What did you say to her?
You whispered something in her ear.
Just
I told her to call you every week.
You didn't need to do that.
It's condescending.
Sure. Whatever, Anne.
I was just, you know
I'll see you later.
Uh-huh.
- Hey!
- Hey.
Where you headed?
Just work. Same old.
Haven't seen you in a while.
Yeah, sorry.
I've just been busy in
the fields, you know.
Lester's back at school, so
How's he doing?
I don't know.
Yeah. Poor kid.
How you doing?
Fine.
Yeah? You don't
What?
I can tell when you're fine
and when you're not, Kenny.
You never could mind your business.
You look like a string bean.
I'm gonna bring you some food
this week, some real food.
You don't have to do
that. Really, we're fine.
Yeah, hotdogs and Kraft Dinner I bet.
Okay. You'll be seeing me.
Give him a hug from his Aunty Anne.
Hey, Kenny. How you doing?
Pretty good. Uh Is the grate stuck?
Guess so.
So, is Butch in today?
Oh, no. He's at a funeral.
They got some new guy in there.
So, Ken, I been meaning to stop by.
I got the permits
for the shared fence line replacement.
Fence line replacement?
What are you talking about?
Yeah, it needs it.
I sent the papers to your dad.
My Dad doesn't have
a clue about the farm.
Why didn't you talk to me?
Doesn't he have to
sign off on everything?
I'll take care of it.
Everything goes through me, okay?
Okay. Well, he sent it back,
so, you know, we're good to go.
The grate crank's jammed.
I mean, I tried it a few times.
It wouldn't budge.
This thing hasn't been
oiled this century.
Nice. Thanks.
If we're laying out
the elements of
biodiversity in our locality,
and in the province as a whole,
where might be a good place to start?
At the top of the food chain,
with the apex predators?
Or at the bottom,
with the tiniest
micro-organisms in the soil?
Whichever we choose,
our task then, is to trace
the complex web of relationships
across the ecosystem.
Hey!
What do you want, Mo-Lester?
Give it back!
- Give me back my notebook.
- Fuck you.
Your drawings suck, anyway.
Oh my God, stop it!
Jesus, you really do smell like shit.
Leave him alone!
- Get off me!
- Jamie, stop it!
Get off! Get off me!
- Get off!
- Jamie, you have to stop.
Get off!
Leave me alone, please!
Stop! Jamie, I'm serious!
- You give up? Huh?
- You're hurting him!
It does seem that Lester started it.
Well, he's he's
been having a hard time.
Of course. And we're
trying to be patient,
given everything he's gone through.
I'm sure this is a hard
time for both of you..
He just lost his mom.
What do you expect?
Kids can be mean,
but he's not doing himself
any favours with the others.
He's withdrawn
and he spends all his time
drawing in his notebooks.
This seems to have
something to do with
well, I'm not sure exactly
what it was all about.
I think he's being
teased about the smell.
What are you talking about?
Well, not all the
time, just some days
Look, it was always a struggle
to get my youngest to bathe,
trust me I understand.
You think he doesn't bathe?
It's nothing to be embarrassed about.
I know you're not used
to taking care of a kid.
- It's a lot of work.
- All right.
That's enough of that.
I just want what's best for Lester.
I can take care of my nephew.
Sorry.
- You all good?
- Thanks, hon.
I have paperwork and
Uh-huh
Morning. Just sit anywhere you like.
Okay.
Yeah. No. I know. Okay. Okay?
Yeah, just let me know
when you're feeling better.
Sorry. I'm drowning
in staff shortages and snowflakes.
You ever miss work for allergies?
Uh no. I don't think so.
Sorry, did you want breakfast?
No. Just coffee.
Doctor?
Hmm?
Your
Oh. No. No.
I'm a I'm an on-call Nurse.
Joy.
That's a nice name. I'm Anne.
Excuse me, ma'am?
Sorry, excuse me.
Can I get you anything else?
No. I'm I'm good.
See if they can score on a breakaway
for CJ Clark, to
double the Lions' lead.
Huh?
Good morning.
You cut your hair by yourself.
You know, I was
I was worried you were gonna say that.
But I didn't.
You know, you
You must have cut off what? A foot?
Thereabouts.
Well, when I decide to do something,
I do it.
Yeah, you sure do.
Lou?
What?
What are you doing in here?
Where's Vince?
Come on.
Come on, I made you soup.
Get your hands off of me!
All right. Okay.
I don't need your goddamn help!
Did you decide on
It's my daughter.
She's just on her way to college.
Nice.
Do you want a refill?
Oh. No. If I have any
more, I'm liable to spiral.
Oh, sorry.
Hi, Peter. What's up?
Hey, Anne. No emergency,
but I'm just out at your Uncle Lou's.
I don't think he's okay.
He's drinking again, for one thing.
Where does he get it?
I mean, didn't you take his keys away?
I did.
But when's the last time you saw him?
We've never been really close.
He seems to like to keep it that way.
He isn't taking his meds.
Cognitively, he's in and out.
I wonder if he should be alone, Anne.
I got to put this in my notes, but
Don't do that. I'll go by and see him.
Anne
No. Just just let me handle it, okay?
He should really be in a home, Anne.
If anything happens,
I'll be held accountable.
Okay. I-I will take
him on as my patient.
Are you sure?
Aren't you already slammed?
Yeah, it's all right. I, um
I'll file the paperwork ASAP.
I can't get there today, but I'll
I'll go by first thing in the morning.
- You got it.
- Okay. Thanks, Peter.
- Where you going?
- To my room.
Not yet you're not.
What did he do?
The other kid?
Nothing.
What? So you just
attacked him for no reason?
- No.
- Okay, then, what did he do?
Listen, Lester
I didn't have a good
time in school either.
I know what it can be like.
Great. Can I go to my room?
No. No, no, no, no, no. No.
We need to talk about this.
Why?
You can't just go
fighting kids like that,
no matter what they say or do.
So, I should just take it?
Everyone out there is watching
us, judging us; they're wait
You just got to stay out of trouble.
Great. Can I go to my room ?
Yeah. Yeah, fine. Would
Would you have a shower?
What?
Have a shower, please.
I'll call you when dinner's ready, okay?
Annie, come on in.
I hope I'm not interrupting.
No, no, no. Come on. Come on.
I don't need to stay.
I was just wanted to
drop off this lasagne.
No, no, no. It's okay.
Yeah. It's Got, uh
dinner on, already put it on.
How 'bout I put this in the oven?
- You don't have to do that.
- It's okay.
I'll just warm it up for you guys.
It'll take 20 minutes.
You do that, you're staying.
- You don't mind?
- No.
I'll put another place up for you.
Lester's hiding out in his room.
He'll be happy to see you.
Just in time for third period,
if you're just joining us
here. It's been a great game.
- You okay?
- Of course.
Why?
You're quiet.
No, just
Anyway, this is ready.
All right. I'll go get Lester.
Oh, let me get him.
I haven't had a chance
to talk to him in a while.
I think I should do it.
He got into a fight at school
and some other shit.
What
what do I know about an eleven-year-old?
I don't know what to
say to him half the time.
Just be yourself, Kenny.
Well, I'm not like you or Claire.
You know, I never had
kids. I never wanted them.
- I didn't ask
- Ken.
Hey, Lester. I
uh
Lester, come back!
Shit.
I didn't mean that.
I can't do this.
Yes, you can.
You have to.
I'll go talk to him.
Just hold on. Just take a breath.
Do you ever take a break?
Why don't you go out?
Go for a walk, go grab a beer.
It'd be good for you. It'd do you good.
I-I don't know.
Look, I'll hold the fort.
Go on.
Go.
Okay.
Thank you.
So, a missed opportunity there.
takes a hit
Hey, Vince.
Vince
Lester?
Can I come in?
Yeah.
Hey.
Hey.
Your Uncle Ken, something came up
so he had to run out, but I'm
going to stay till he gets back.
Okay.
Dinner's ready. Why don't you come eat?
I'm not hungry.
Okay. Well, I'll just be
downstairs if you need anything
or if you change your mind.
Aunty Anne?
Yeah?
Can I ask you something?
Of course you can.
Do you still talk to him?
My Dad. I-I know that
when you used to help out my mom,
I heard you talking about him.
You haven't talked to
your Uncle Ken about this?
No.
But I know that he's your brother, so
I thought that maybe,
you know, you would know.
Does he still play hockey?
No.
Not for a while.
Um He's a mechanic now.
- A mechanic?
- Mm-hmm.
So, I guess I'll never
get to meet him, huh?
I don't know about that.
It's not like Belle River's
on the other side of the world.
But I thought he lived really far away?
Oh. Yeah, well Look, I think
you should talk to your
Uncle Ken about this, okay?
But if he's just the
other town over, then
Jimmy, your dad, he has problems.
And
some things
Maybe some things are
just better left alone.
'Kay.
I know it's hard, Lester.
I lost my mom when I wasn't
much older than you are now.
It gets easier.
Does it?
No. Not really. It gets it gets
You just get more used to it, I guess.
You get better at living with it.
I was hoping you'd challenge me.
Huh?
Thought you might have
a little hustle in you.
Oh, no. Uh none at all, actually.
That's what they all say. Mind if I sit?
Sure.
Ken, right?
- Uh Luke?
- Mm-hmm.
Luke Luke
Thanks for your help
earlier today.
Hey, that's why they
pay me the big bucks.
So, are you new at the Co-op?
Yeah, just part-time. It's flexible.
I'm going back to school.
Oh, yeah? What what for?
Social work.
Oh. Oh, so
so, you're an actual good person?
Good with people, at least.
Had to be. Nine kids in my family.
Holy shit.
Sorry. I get a bit
chatty when I'm nervous.
This is you nervous?
Uh-huh.
Hey, you wanna get out of here?
Come on, come on, let's let's go.
We're too old to be
messing around in cars.
You definitely are.
My place is a mess. How
'bout we go to yours?
Uh
I just don't think
that's a very good idea.
What?
You aren't some cliché small
town closet case are you?
Are you married?
I'm sure I'm all sorts
of small town cliché,
but I'm not married, no.
Okay.
I, uh
I have my nephew.
Oh.
Like babysitting?
No. No. He, uh
He lives with me.
Um it's my sister's.
She died.
I'm sorry.
I'm sure this wasn't the
fun time you had in mind.
Um when did she ?
It was three months ago.
It was cancer.
Dad's not in the picture, so
Yeah. She had the wrong idea about me.
I don't know what I'm doing.
That kid hates me.
I'm sorry. Sorry. Oh, God.
I can see you've got
a lot going on, so
we can keep this real simple
and just see how that goes.
Hey, buddy.
Hi.
Uh, did you make out okay
with your Aunt Anne last night?
Yeah.
I-I was I was out later
than I thought I'd be last night
and you were asleep when I got back.
Hey, uh
W-when we got into it yesterday,
I didn't mean, you know
I'm not gonna fight anymore.
No, no, no, no. I meant
I meant when, uh
when Anne and I were
Just forget about it.
I'm
I'm gonna go down to
the creek before school.
I'll I'll get the
bus at the crossroads.
- Well, you sure?
- Yep.
All right, see you later, then.
Hello?
Hey, Anne. Sorry I didn't make it home.
Did you get my message?
It was a quick run up to St. Catharines,
time-and-a-half, and I couldn't say no.
Annie? You still there?
Yeah.
It's fine.
I was at Ken and Lester's late anyway.
Okay.
I got offered a run up to Thunder Bay
and I'm already half way, so
You're pretty busy, so I thought
Sure, fine.
You're not mad, are you?
Anne?
Sorry. You're breaking up.
Yeah, okay.
Bye. Love you.
Doug, I gotta go!
Please stay a little longer!
Hey, Kenny. I brought you some lunch.
Gotta get back to work.
So serious all the time.
We used to have a lot
more fun, remember?
Barely.
Besides, one of them's for
me, so don't get too excited.
All right, what's up?
I came to invite you to my
birthday party on Saturday.
Lester and I decided to throw a big one.
I also came to ask you something else.
I mean, anything. You know that.
It has to be you.
Lester.
You need to take care
of Lester when I'm gone.
It has to be you.
Claire, just stop talking like that.
I'm serious.
So am I.
Jimmy's not reliable or safe.
He's not even here.
Lester needs someone. He needs you.
Hey, kid.
Hey.