The Rites of Passages

ROBERT. What are you doing here, Dobbs?
HAL. My timing sucks. I am really sorry.
ROBERT. Don't be silly.
HAL. I'll come to your office.
ROBERT. Stop. Sit down. Glad you're here. Don't let the dinner thing throw you, you'll bounce back. (To Catherine) This should be easier. Let's back off the problem, let it breathe, come at it again when it's not looking.
CATHERINE. Fine. (Exiting.) Excuse me.
ROBERT. Sorry, I'm rude. Hal, this is my daughter Catherine. (To Catherine) Don't go, have a drink with us. Catherine, Harold Dobbs.
CATHERINE. Hi.
HAL. Hi.
ROBERT. Hal is a grad student. He's doing his Ph.D, promising stuff. Unfortunately for him his work coincided with my return to the department and he got stuck with me.
HAL. No, no, it's been--I've been very lucky.
CATHERINE. How long have you been at U. of C.?
HAL. Well I've been working on my thesis for --
ROBERT. Hal's in our "Infinite" program. As he approaches completion of his dissertation, time approaches infinity. Would you like a drink, Hal?
HAL. Yes, I would. And, uh, with all due respect... (He hands Robert the envelope.)
ROBERT. Really? (He opens it and looks inside.) You must have had an interesting few months.
HAL. (Cheerfully.) Worst summer of my life.
ROBERT. Congratulations.
HAL. It's just a draft. Based on everything we talked about last spring. (Robert pours a drink. Hal babbles.) [...]
ROBERT. Drink this.
HAL. Thanks. (He drinks.) I decided, I don't know, if it feels done, maybe it is.
ROBERT. Wrong. If it feels done there are major errors.
HAL. Uh, I--
ROBERT. That's ok, that's good, we'll find them and fix them. Don't worry. You're on your way to a solid career, you'll be teaching younger, more irritating versions of yourself in no time.
HAL. Thank you.

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