tully (2018) sentence starters.
Wanna count with me?
Just being your own best friend?
He doesn’t hate you.
You happy now?
He’s an out-of-the-box kid. He’s quirky.
No, don’t be. He’s a dick.
Before it’s as cold and black as my womb.
You should call me sometime.
No, mommy’s joking, honey. Like a clown.
God, really? ‘Cause I feel like an abandoned trash barge.
In the eighties there was this giant boat full of garbage that just drifted up and down the East Coast for weeks. They couldn’t figure out where to dump it. Eventually, they docked the boat in Brooklyn and burned all the trash.
My boss once bought me a cup of soup. I paid him back.
Lucky little bastards.
Ooh, is it money?
How does that work? Does this lady breast-feed? Jesus, there’s nothing you people won’t outsource.
That’s because she was only here at night! They come in and out like a ninja.
You didn’t hire one of those people for me, did you?
I love you, I don’t ever want to see you that way again.
I know you think this is some bougie thing that rich assholes do. And maybe it is. But remember, I wasn’t always a rich asshole.
I feel like these last couple of years… Someone just snuffed out a match.
You need to rest, mommy.
I get it. They’re big donors, they called in a favour.
Do I have a kid or a fucking ukulele?
Don’t fucking touch me, [name].
Oh, I leave like this every day; you just don’t know it. This is the real me, when I’m not licking your asshole. Surprise!
I’m here to take care of you.
Oh, I’m sorry. I wouldn’t want you to sustain a bruise to your ego. That’s cool. I’ll just cancel. I’ll just cancel and make another pot of coffee. We’re good.
I feel like I don’t know her at all yet.
And so to bed.
Maybe she’s nocturnal. Like an owl.
I want to make it abundantly clear that you can’t be self-conscious around me. This won’t work if you are.
I’m just not used to people doing things for me, that’s all.
Well, boats get hurt by barnacles. But whales don’t. When a barnacle latches onto a whale, it’s harmless. It’s just a little obligate parasite doing its thing.
That makes me nervous, because it doesn’t get better for girls, you know?
Right? It sounds like a Tom Cruise movie, except shitty and kind of sad.
You’re laying bedrock; they’re planting flowers.
Every morning I open my closet and think “Didn’t I just do this?” And that continues for the rest of the day. “Didn’t I just do this?” My life is like stuck on repeat mode.
That’s the downside of living on a planet with a short solar day. Although Jupiter’s even shorter.
You’re like a book of fun facts for unpopular fourth graders.
I can’t fix the parts without treating the whole.
It’s just the gaping hole where the chicken’s organs used to be.
You know they make sangria in prison toilets, right?
I know, they call it ‘pruno’.
Does [name] ever ask about me?
Oh, well why don’t you guys just talk about it?
But you love him.
I know I picked the right person.
So why don’t you guys have sex?
I don’t want my kids to grow up like I did.
What kind of… stuff is he into?
I checked his browser history once, it was pretty basic stuff.
It’s so normal, I thought it would be something really fucking sinister.
You have had zero kids.
Wait, is this a fifties diner? I wanna be period accurate.
I had a dream about a camel.
Um, she still has a father, doesn’t she?
Why are you so nice to me?
You trusted me with [name]’s life. That’s real, that means something.
I could murder you. Admit it, you’ve thought about it.
That is a fucked up thing to joke about!
Whoa, your molecules are everywhere.
No, I’m thirsty, not dirty.
Nobody wants to fuck mommy, okay?
Let’s say you were to take a wooden ship and replace one plank every year. Eventually, the ship would be made up of entirely new planks and there would be nothing left of the original ship. So is it still the same ship? Or a new ship?
Nothing is the same. It’s a new ship, baby. Nouveau bateau.
Then what about people? When you look at your baby pictures, clearly you’re unrecognizable compared to now. But it’s you.
If every part of me has regenerated then I guess I’m not me anymore.
God, I loved her. I was really in love with her.
I just need you to stay a little bit longer, you know? I need your help. Please.
I was just here to bridge a gap. It’s time for me to move on.
So what do you have lined up? I bet you have big plans. Your twenties are great. But then your thirties come around the corner like a garbage truck at 5 a.m. Yeah. You gotta think long-term. What are you going to do when that cute little ass drops and your feet grow half a size with each pregnancy, and the whole “free spirit” thing stops being charming and starts looking ugly?
I’m not afraid of the future.
You know what your problem is? You’re convinced you’re a failure, but you actually made your biggest dream come true.
I know how bad your childhood was. So now you’re giving your kids what you never had.
Yes, you are boring. Your marriage is boring, your house is boring, and that’s incredible. That’s the big dream you had when you were young. To grow up and be dull and constant and raise your kids in that circle of safety. You made it happen. You are a steady and elegant mother. Day after day. Night after night.
I’m not safe, I’m scared!
She won’t be the same tomorrow.
One second, we’re performing a miracle!
All we do is converse. We’re like the people in a Spanish textbook. Mario and Julio, they never shut up.
Look. You’re going to be in a soft bed in your little house before you know it. Under the same roof with your three babies, cozy and crowded. That old carpeting in your bedroom. World’s weakest shower. Home.
Obviously we can’t keep seeing each other.
If I’m older, why are you so much wiser?
I started learning Italian, do I forget that?
Thank you for keeping me alive.
You didn’t do anything.
I just want you to be okay.
I love us.
