Anxious People

Estelle approaches Roger, the robber, and Ro in the hallway and asks if she can make them something to eat—people usually keep food in the freezer. The robber says they don’t want to be any trouble, and Ro suggests they order pizza. Sadly, the robber says they don’t have enough money to order pizza. For the first time, Roger looks curiously at the robber and asks what their plan was.

The robber says they don’t have a plan. They just need rent money, since they’re getting divorced and a lawyer said they’d take the robber’s daughters away. It’s probably best if they give themselves up. Ro suggests the police would shoot the robber, and Roger agrees. Suddenly determined, the robber says they’re a “failure and an idiot” and walks toward the door. They can’t do anything right, so the police might as well shoot them. Ro gets in the robber’s way; she knows how it feels to always get things wrong. Ro tells the robber they can’t give up, and she points out that in films, the police always order pizza for hostages. Roger is disbelieving, and his eye is twitching. He stares at the closet door as though trying to sense Anna-Lena’s presence, and then he says he’ll organize the pizza order.