Courage to live

On the following morning, Frank invited a professional tailor to custom-make a suit for himself. It was evident that he was in high spirits. However, Charlie's mood was quite the opposite. When he called George, he discovered that George was enjoying life and hadn't even thought about finding a solution. George only requested Charlie to honor their agreement.

Frank astutely speculated that George Willis Sr., George's father, must have the same name. He believed that George would definitely tell his father about their situation.

Charlie, on the other hand, argued that they had agreed not to tell their parents. Faced with Charlie's naivety, Frank mocked him, saying, "Charlie, if you don't sing now, you're gonna end up, not only shelving biscuits in some convenience store in the Oregon burbs, probably the last word you'll ever hear yourself say just before you croak gonna be, "Have a nice day

and come back soon"." However, Charlie didn't believe it at all. "About your little problem, there are two kinds of people in this world: those who stand up and face the music, and those who run for cover. Cover's better."

Using the excuse of Thanksgiving dinner, Frank convinced Charlie to stay a little longer. They then went to visit Frank's older brother. Frank hadn't informed his brother, Willie, about the visit, which startled Willie and his family. It was evident that this uninvited guest was unwelcome.

As expected, during the meal, Frank incessantly talked about his adventures while the others remained silent, creating an awkward atmosphere that Charlie could barely bear. Willie's son, Randy, eventually erupted, disrespecting Frank and exposing everyone's vulnerabilities, completely ruining the Thanksgiving dinner. Charlie tried to stop Randy but ended up getting involved. Randy revealed Frank's past experiences.

Frank had been on the verge of being promoted to the position of general multiple times, but each time his blunt mouth ruined the opportunity. In the end, Frank's eyesight was lost due to an incident where he, intoxicated, mistakenly pulled the pin of a grenade during a training exercise.

Seeing Frank feeling lost and lonely, Charlie understood that Frank was seeking the warmth of family, but unfortunately, he had failed. There was no one in that family who welcomed him, not his brother Willie, nor his nephews, including the Rossi family who had taken him in. After creating chaos, Frank took Charlie back to the hotel.

After a peaceful night, Charlie woke up the next day to find Frank assembling his gun, realizing that Frank's mention of suicide might be genuine. Charlie took out the phone number Mrs. Rossi had left him, intending to inform her, but Frank snatched the paper from Charlie's hand and swallowed it directly.

This angered Charlie, and he wanted to abandon everything and go home immediately. However, Frank softened, saying, "All I want from you is another day. I can get around a city like New York but sometimes need a point in the right direction. What do you say, Charlie? What's one day between friends?"

Charlie also softened, and he requested that Frank at least hand over the gun. However, Frank refused stubbornly, and Charlie had to settle for taking away Frank's bullets. Dismissing Charlie's persistence, Frank scornfully said, "You have a conscience. I forgot, the Charlie Conscience! Do we tell? Do we not tell? Do we follow the rich boy's code or not? Do we let this blind asshole or not? Yeah. Conscience? Charlie, when were you born, son? Around the time of the Round Table? Hah. Haven't you heard? Conscience is dead! Grow up!"

Faced with Frank's outburst, Charlie was speechless.

Frank took Charlie to a hotel where they enjoyed afternoon tea. There, they encountered a young girl named Donna. Frank took the initiative to approach her with Charlie and invited her to dance a tango. Donna nodded in agreement. Despite Frank's blindness, he gracefully danced with Donna on the dance floor, as if there were no obstacles, moving lightly, filled with passion and extraordinary beauty, flowing effortlessly and indescribably wonderful. The enjoyment, restraint, tenderness, and happiness on Frank's face overflowed in every move he made, and Donna radiated the most beautiful smile.

Witnessing this scene, Charlie's eyes welled up with a thin layer of mist, and he burst into a radiant smile. Many spectators were astounded, as this short tango was destined to become a classic, leaving an indelible mark in their minds with its breathtaking and exquisite steps.

After the dance ended, Donna was quickly taken away by the man she had been waiting for, and the radiance on Frank's face dimmed instantly.

That night, Frank eagerly booked an upscale prostitute and headed towards the realm of tenderness. Meanwhile, Charlie, sitting in the car waiting, made another call to George. He discovered that Frank's words had come true: George had indeed informed his father, and now he was planning to return home and discuss a solution with him. This greatly disappointed Charlie.

However, when Frank returned from the realm of tenderness, he seemed equally disappointed. The next morning, instead of waking up early as he had been full of life before, Frank languished in bed until the afternoon, deeply worrying Charlie. Even after Charlie told Frank about George's actions, Frank couldn't muster the energy. Frank even suggested that Charlie leave and offered to cover the cost of his plane ticket. Frank knew that eventually, he would be alone, with no one to stay by his side.

Charlie realized that Frank's will was crumbling, and he could potentially end his own life at any moment. So, using his wit, Charlie requested to take Frank out for a drive, which finally lifted Frank's spirits.

Inside the car dealership, Frank managed to convince the salesmen to let them take a red Ferrari for a spin. Without a driver's license, Charlie cautiously drove the Ferrari out of the dealership. However, Charlie's careful driving style couldn't satisfy Frank's adrenaline needs. In desperation, Charlie drove the car near the Brooklyn Bridge, an isolated area with few vehicles and pedestrians. Then, Frank took the driver's seat.

Once in the driver's seat, Frank regained his spirit. He started accelerating, continuously increasing the speed of the Ferrari to its limit. He didn't settle for driving in a straight line; he even attempted drifting around corners. Although Charlie was terrified, the thrilling adventure finally brought a smile back to Frank's face.

Witnessing this scene, the audience in the movie theater was almost scared to death. One can imagine Charlie's racing heartbeat sitting in the passenger seat. However, their high-speed driving attracted the attention of a police car, and Frank was pulled over. But the situation was precarious because Charlie, who was sitting in the passenger seat, had no driver's license, and Frank, who was in the driver's seat, was not only without a license but also blind. It was a nerve-wracking moment. However, Frank remained calm and managed to deceive the police officer. Not only did he hide his blindness, but he also successfully convinced the officer to leave. This display of skill was truly admirable.

But once they left the driver's seat, Frank completely broke down. He crossed the road, knocked over trash cans, and even contemplated urinating on the side of the road. Finally, he stumbled and fell into the greenery. After returning to the hotel, Frank dismissed Charlie and changed into his military uniform, preparing to swallow his gun and commit suicide.

However, when Charlie arrived in the hotel lobby, he sensed the Colonel's intention. He hesitated, turned back, and tried to persuade the Colonel to hand over the gun to him. But the stubborn Colonel refused and even threatened to kill Charlie and then himself. Helpless, Charlie took a risk and attempted to forcefully take the Colonel's gun, resulting in a physical confrontation between the two.

At that moment, all emotions erupted.

Frank angrily shouted at Charlie, but this time Charlie didn't back down. He continued to confront him, saying, "You f*cked up, all right? So what? So everybody does it. Get on with your life, would ya?"

"What life?" the Lt. Colonel's hoarse and fierce voice interrupted Charlie's words. He yelled furiously, "I got no life! I'm in the dark here! You understand?" The Lt. Colonel's furious roar was like that of a wounded beast. "I'm in the dark!"

Charlie's eyes welled up with a thin layer of mist, but he refused to give up. "So give up. You want to give up, give up 'cause I'm givin' up too." Charlie's young face was filled with unwavering determination, and his eyes were resolute like never before. "You said I'm through. You're right. We're both through. It's all over. So let's get on with it. Let's f*ckin' do it. Let's f*ckin' pull the trigger, you miserable blind motherfucker."

Charlie's words gradually drained the color from the Lt. Colonel's face. He couldn't say anything in response. Charlie delivered the final blow, saying, "Pull the trigger!"

"Here we go, Charlie." the Lt. Colonel raised his right hand with the gun.

Charlie took quick breaths, but his words, contradicting his expression, were layered with unwavering determination. "I'm ready!" However, the fear of death caused a thin layer of mist to form in his eyes.

The Lt. Colonel sensed Charlie's hesitation. "You don't want to die."

"And neither do you," Charlie saw through the Lt. Colonel's inner turmoil. This was the first time in their interaction that Charlie truly stood on equal ground with the Lt. Colonel.

"Give me a reason not to," the Lt. Colonel still hesitated to let go.

"I'll give you two," Charlie pondered for a moment, moistening his dry lips. "You can dance the tango, and you drive a Ferrari better than anyone I've ever seen."

Surprisingly, these words relieved the Lt. Colonel, but he still questioned, "You never seen anyone do either."

"Give me the gun, Colonel" Charlie persisted, refusing to back down.

Charlie's determination finally shook the Colonel. He hesitated, raising the gun unsteadily, and whispered, "Oh, where do I go from here, Charlie?"

"If you're tangled up, just tango on." tears began to well up in Charlie's misty eyes, swirling in his eye sockets as they turned red.

"You askin' me to dance, Charlie?" the Lt. Colonel softly asked and then began to hum softly, [

Did you ever have the feelin' that you wanted to go

And still had the feelin' that you wanted to stay

]

His left hand gradually loosened its grip on Charlie's collar.

Freed from the Colonel's hold, Charlie's tears could no longer bear the weight and cascaded down. They were tears of relief for having survived the ordeal, but also because the Colonel had finally regained his sanity and truly abandoned the thought of suicide. Charlie didn't want to cry, but the tears continued to flow, making his eyes clearer than ever before.

Frank was convinced by Charlie, temporarily abandoning the idea of suicide. Although it might be temporary, it was still progress. Looking at Frank, his face filled with exhaustion, his meticulously styled hair losing its shape, this Lt. Colonel was no longer strong or domineering. He was just a lonely, lonely old man longing for companionship.