A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

TEASER

EXT. A NICE QUIET STREET - WINDSOR TERRACE, BROOKLYN - DAY

Staring up toward the morning sun, a majestic 100 year old MAPLE TREE gently sways with the breeze. Almost three stories tall, the tree has lost some luster, but is still full of life.

Beneath the tree are two picturesque row houses. Our luscious tree sits in the backyard of one older house overlooking the other, currently in renovation.

Like watching a living portrait, ALAN and ELAINE, a kindly middle-aged couple from the older home, wave to their new millennial neighbors, HALEY and WYATT.

Alan reads a crime thriller novel from his porch bench.

Elaine waters the flowers in her garden.

Haley cradles and coos at her newborn BABY GIRL.

Wyatt directs a group of MOVERS carefully lifting a tasteful mid-century modern sideboard up their front steps.

INT. KITCHEN - HALEY & WYATT’S HOUSE - LATER THAT AFTERNOON

The baby sleeps soundly in her chic bassinet as Haley gathers ingredients for a very complex GREEN JUICE. Haley, 33, confident and comfortable in her stylish, billowing clothes, is one ring-light away from becoming an Instagram #momfluencer.

Although the kitchen is complete, the rest of the house is a working construction zone with MOVERS, CARPENTERS and ELECTRICIANS dodging each other in the background.

As she prepares her juice, Haley turns DIRECTLY TO CAMERA and begins to speak to us. (NOTE: We are an OMNISCIENT AUDIENCE. We are not another person in the room. Haley, like the other characters in our story, will always speak directly to camera unless otherwise noted. They will always tell us the truth, or at least their version of the truth.)

HALEY
They’re literally so cute, I want to vomit. Alan and Elaine, our neighbors. He’s got his little shorts on while she putters around the garden. “You have to promise,” I tell Wyatt, “You have to swear that we’ll be exactly like them when we’re old. I want the bob haircut and the rusting junk on the front porch. Every bit of it. I can’t stand it, they’re perfect.” All Wyatt says is: “Let’s focus on choosing paint for the den first.” Always the Taurus. Elaine’s house is a burst of color. This morning, while daddy was in “Fountainhead” architect mode, I let Charlotte crawl around in the backyard and she went straight for the dug out sludge near Elaine’s beautiful maple tree, where the fire pit’s going in. I couldn’t help but shriek when I got a look at her as a Tough Mudder, all but ruining this adorable little dress I found online that was like the baby version of a Gucci dress Meghan Markle wore for British Vogue. But then, like magic, Elaine popped her bob up over the fence and saved the day. 

Haley begins to stuff her ingredients into a large JUICER.

HALEY (CONT’D)
Our bathroom is currently a concrete war zone and I’m still waiting on my washing machine to ship, so she took us in to use hers. I was mortified, tracking gunk everywhere, but Elaine just laughed it off. She says, “Living with Alan, is like living with a slobbering Saint Bernard. This house hasn’t been clean since 1994.” She wasn’t kidding. There was cat hair everywhere, but I never saw a cat. The kitchen was painted this like insanely bright Target red. The bathroom was covered in depression era drooping floral wallpaper. The living room was a kind of mossy swamp green, not unlike this juice.

Haley turns on the juicer, which immediately wakes the now crying baby.

HALEY (CONT’D)
Shit.

INT. STUDY - HALEY & WYATT’S HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER

Haley, now in fashionable workout clothes, stuffs the baby into some kind of bouncing contraption. She takes a swig of her green juice and turns to us as she prepares to ride her PELOTON BIKE. 

HALEY
I love being a real neighbor. Twelve years, we lived in Greenpoint and I don’t think I ever said more than a ‘howdy’ to a soul on our floor. Granted, our building was mostly Russian and Chinese gajillionaires parking cash, so there wasn’t anybody there to talk to anyhow.

An ELECTRICIAN walks past the room and stops to ogle at Haley as she rides. 

HALEY (CONT’D)
But now we have a true home, at least we will when Wyatt’s done tearing it apart. And I’m in love with the neighborhood. It’s really discovering its potential. I counted three Shiba Inu on this block already and I think the old, gross laundromat around the corner is going to become a wine store. I was so nervous when we bought this house because we’re basically the first people to move here. But Elaine is like O.G. and she says this house needed us. I wanted to cry. I begged them to come over for dinner tonight. I’m making my own kale gnocchi. 
(pause)
I think that guy’s staring at my --

INT. BASEMENT - ALAN & ELAINE’S HOUSE - MEANWHILE

Alan, 60, a slightly gruff man of creature comforts, wearing old gym shorts and a USPS T-shirt, fiddles with a BREAKER BOX. Alan turns to us.

ALAN
I told Wyatt straight off, “These houses are absolute garbage. They’re not so slowly sinking into the ground, the taxes are ridiculous and it may look quaint and cozy, but my Subaru’s been broken into at least a half-dozen times. Jerk-offs even snatched all my best Marvin Gaye CDs.” “Who’s Marvin Gaye again,” he asked. Uh-oh.

Alan flips a switch on the breaker and all the lights go out.

ELAINE (O.C.)
THAT’S NOT IT!

Alan flips another switch and the lights come back on.

ALAN
It’s all my fault really. We were all set to move to sleepy Long Island when we got married. There was an opening in sorting at the Hauppauge branch that my buddy Ron was holding for me. It wasn’t front counter, but it was better than working the truck. But then my spinster aunt Kelli died and left me her flipping house. And of course Elaine falls in love with it. So then I’m forced to live in Brooklyn. And this is Brooklyn in the late 80s. This is killing grounds Brooklyn. Now I’m this close to cashing in my pension and sailing a sloop down to Boca, with or without Elaine.

Alan gives up on the breaker and goes to play laptop solitaire on the couch.

ALAN (CONT’D)
“How much did you drop on the house,” I ask. “We settled on a good price,” he says. “Plus I’m an architect at Hansen-Paulaner,” like that means diddly to me, “and this house is going to be my calling card.” “If you paid over one and a half then you were had,” I tell him. I think I hurt the kid’s feelings.

ELAINE (O.C.)
DID YOU FIX IT?!

ALAN
(calling up to Elaine)
Almost got it!

INT. DEN - HALEY & WYATT’S HOUSE - MEANWHILE

Wyatt, 35, accommodating but intensely driven, wearing the slacker-prep clothes Haley bought for him, bounces between his BLUEPRINTS and measuring various walls. Wyatt turns to us.

WYATT
It’s always about light. And air. But truly it’s more about light. Mr. Mueller is always yelling, “Let there be light!” Talk about a boss with a god complex, but he’s not wrong. “I just want open concept,” Haley says. Like she actually knows what that means. I get that mom wants to cook Sunday dinner while making sure baby doesn’t poke her eye out in the living room. But honestly, you may as well live in an airplane hangar if that’s all you care about. Of course, this wall will have to go. Steel beam across the top. Stairs open out over here. Blow out the back wall, make it all a single pane of glass. When Mueller sees this place...This is my ticket out of corporate retail hell. Design one Aldo to look halfway decent and suddenly I’m the Philip Johnson of mid-priced apparel. People are such sheep. “This is why you never give the client exactly what they want,” Mueller says, “You tell them how it must be.” He’s basically a nazi. This place is a steal, I don’t care what the crotchety mailman next door thinks. Plus the schools are good and all that jazz. 

Wyatt takes a nearby SLEDGEHAMMER and makes a big hole in one wall. He puts his hand up in front of the hole to judge the light.

WYATT (CONT’D)
Why is it still so dark in here?

EXT. BACKYARD GARDEN - ALAN & ELAINE’S HOUSE - MEANWHILE

ELAINE, 60, a bit of a busybody who could desperately use some excitement, sports tattered overalls as she uses large SHEARS to prune some hedges under the maple tree.

ELAINE
“That house needs love,” I told her, “That’s what makes it your home.” Janice, the woman that owned the house before would just camp out on the front porch all day smoking her pipe. It was actually fairly menacing, the more I consider it. I wonder if Elaine and Wyatt know she died in there. In the tub is what I heard. With the pipe. “Were we ever that young,” I asked Alan. “Were we ever that in love?” “They’re just loopy from the asbestos they’re dragging out of that place,” he says. Then the fridge went out again and he skulked down to the basement to futz with the wiring because God forbid we hire a professional. I was that young once. I wasn’t that thin, but I was that young. This maple was almost half the size it is now. 

Elaine stares up at the tree, really considering it.

ELAINE (CONT’D)
I love this tree. I asked Alan when we first moved in, “Just answer this, do they have trees like this maple in Long Island?” “Not like this one,” he said, to his credit. Now he says it may start cracking our patio. Lost a little color too. I don’t know where my handsome young husband went, but he left a cranky troll in the basement. I can see straight into their house from here. It’s like a giant terrarium. Like a TV show. They knocked out all the brick and installed giant panes of glass down the whole side. They’re so full of life, so free. No shades anywhere. I can see him running around with his protractor. I can see her playing dress up with that precious little baby. I watched them in there last night fucking like acrobats.

With a big SNIP of the shears, Elaine peers over the fence.

ELAINE (CONT’D)
I cannot wait to check out that kitchen.

EXT. BACKYARD PATIO - HALEY & WYATT’S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Elaine watches as Haley, glowing from her workout, joins Wyatt on the patio and the couple share a passionate kiss.

Beside the picture perfect couple, their baby plays in the grass. She begins to crawl right to us. 

As if from the perspective of the baby, we crawl through the grass and look up at the magnificent maple tree, glistening in the light. 

A distant CRACK is heard from the tree top. A piece of BRANCH from the tree canopy above shoots down straight toward the baby and us.

ACT ONE

SHOT: THE MAPLE TREE LOSING ANOTHER LEAF.

SHOT: A MANGLED TREE BRANCH IN THE GRASS.

SHOT: DROPS OF BLOOD ON KITCHEN TILE.

SHOT: A SPILLED GREEN JUICE DRIPPING OFF A TABLE.

EXT. ALAN & ELAINE’S HOUSE - LATER THAT DAY

Alan, visibly annoyed and covered in sweat, bags up TREE CLIPPINGS.

ALAN
They’re all screaming bloody murder, all but the baby, who couldn’t care less. My cousin cut a piece of my ear off when I was a little kid, playing barbershop. Ran bleeding through the kitchen. My aunt just laughed and poured a jug of Iodine on it. After a day or two I totally forgot about the whole thing. Cousin and I were too busy shooting each other with BB guns. You just grow out of it, is all. Elaine, Wyatt Earp, the wife, all of them competing to have a brain aneurysm. It’s a tree, not a rabid dog. It can’t attack you. Barely a twig. Fell a good three feet away. 

Alan breaks a larger branch in half with his bare foot.

ALAN (CONT’D)
I was planning to trim it down anyway.

INT. WAITING ROOM - DOCTOR’S OFFICE - TRIBECA - MEANWHILE

Wyatt nervously sits between an AU PAIR with an obnoxious middle school CHILD and a color-coordinated gay male COUPLE with their young DAUGHTER. Wyatt struggles to fill out some FORMS with dry PEN. He gets a text and checks his PHONE.

WYATT
What does he know? My brother. He does divorces and child custody, useless asking him. It doesn’t matter whether Charlotte’s technically injured or not if you scar her for life. The trauma and all that. That’s got to be a lawsuit. Emotional distress. Adult bedwetting and dyslexia, who knows what we’re in for? Hell, if not for Charlotte then for Haley & me. Alan acts the fool, but he knows exactly what he’s doing. Deny, deny, deny. Just a scratch? She almost lost an eye!

Wyatt BANGS his fist on a nearby coffee table and startles the room. 

WYATT (CONT’D)
(to the room)
Sorry, pen wasn’t working.

INT. EXAMINATION ROOM - DOCTOR’S OFFICE - TRIBECA - MEANWHILE

Haley stands by the DOCTOR as she inspects the laughing baby.

HALEY
Poor Elaine. Wyatt’s yelling at the Uber to hurry up like a flood’s a comin’. Refuses to take the Bolt because apparently it’s in some perfect parking spot right in front of the house. Why we even have the damn car...Then Alan saunters in, totally oblivious, shouting something crazy at Elaine like, “I can’t find my shoes, did you throw them away again?” Told her we’d reschedule dinner. It’s nobody’s fault. They didn’t know the tree was sick or dead or whatever.

INT. BEDROOM - ALAN & ELAINE’S HOUSE - LATER THAT NIGHT

Elaine sits up in bed nursing a COCKTAIL while Alan snores next to her.

ELAINE
Maybe it did affect him a bit, getting his ear snipped. He told me again the whole sordid story with his deadbeat cousin. Ugh, Keith. Now that’s a Thanksgiving I’d like to forget. I said, “I’ve heard this ten times already. Must be a reason you keep telling it over and over again.” He said, “A little late to get the party started.” I said, “Well, it’s been a stressful day, now hasn’t it?” “What’s yesterday’s excuse then?” Then he flopped over like Shamu. Poor Haley. Her husband runs a bit manic. I said let’s try for lunch tomorrow instead.

Elaine gets out of bed, slips on some SLIPPERS and begins to leave as we follow. 

INT. STAIRS - ALAN & ELAINE’S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Elaine heads down the stairs.

ELAINE
I don’t sleep well, never have and now with the screens at work all day, they say that makes it worse. The Night Watchman, he’d call me.

INT. LIVING ROOM - ALAN & ELAINE’S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Elaine grabs a BOTTLE OF VODKA from a minibar on the bookshelf and pours herself a refill. 

ELAINE
Earlier tonight, I caught him eying tomorrow’s apple pie like a fat, old Tom Sawyer.

Elaine goes to sit on the couch. TWO CATS approach her from different areas of the house and sit on her lap.

ELAINE (CONT’D)
I said, “Tomorrow we follow the protocol. We come right out with it. Sit the elephant down and say we see you, we hear you.” He says, “What elephant?” He’s not really listening. “The elephant in the room,” I say. He says, “You’re the expert?” 

Elaine empties the rest of the bottle into her glass and gets up to go outside.

EXT. BACKYARD GARDEN - ALAN & ELAINE'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Elaine stuffs the empty vodka bottle deep into a TRASH BIN then walks through her garden toward the maple tree.

ELAINE
I tell him, “Conflict resolution is an aspect of my career. Human Resources is more than just explaining Blue Cross/Blue Shield.” Just last week there were two tellers going at it. Chomping at the bit. Nipped that in the bud right then and there. 

Elaine spies through an UPSTAIRS WINDOW next door on Wyatt and Haley getting intimate.

ELAINE (CONT’D)
(re: Wyatt and Haley)
Always right after Colbert.
(back to the story)
I said, “Paul, we’ve got enough pens to take us to the moon and back. You can’t cry every time one takes a walk.” He felt pretty foolish, but I told him, “We all have our one thing. That thing that really flips our top. The trick is how we handle ourselves and stay civilized.” 

Elaine takes out her PHONE and takes a picture of Wyatt and Haley. She zooms in to have a closer look. 

ELAINE (CONT’D)
They’re a nice couple.

EXT. BACKYARD PATIO - HALEY & WYATT'S HOUSE - THE NEXT DAY

Our two couples sit together in front of an impressive VEGAN BARBECUE SPREAD, complete with a TABLESCAPE. Elaine’s pie is awkwardly placed to the side. They all appear to be enjoying MARGARITAS and in the middle of pleasant conversation. We focus in on Wyatt.

WYATT
(to Alan and Elaine)
It’s really no trouble at all.
(turning to camera)
I told him I’d pay for the whole excavation, or maybe we’d split it. We’d figure it out. Honestly, it’s a win-win for us both. He’s got the liability to consider, not to mention the thing sheds like a python. The bark snaps right off. It’s all over our yards. Also, it doesn’t really fit the design scheme of the neighborhood, but that would go right over his head.

We spin around to Alan for his say.

ALAN
The kid’s out of his fucking mind. Do me a favor? A total shakedown. The thing’s just molting, it’s totally normal. And what nut-job invites someone over for a barbecue and refuses to cook any meat? I feel like a rabbit sitting here. Sitting hare.

Alan chuckles to himself as we spin around to Elaine for her turn.

ELAINE
I’m just a bit confused. Maybe it’s the margaritas, but I think they want to chop down our maple tree. That can’t be right.

Haley gets up to clear the table and we follow her as she makes her way.

INT. KITCHEN - HALEY & WYATT'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Haley refills the MARGARITA PITCHER to half-full and tops the rest with TAP WATER. She makes a PEANUT BUTTER and JELLY SANDWICH.

HALEY
She’s a bit of a lush, didn’t see that coming. And he’s a real snore. I think they understand though. Besides the safety factor, and that it’s just a little sad to look at, Wyatt says the tree blocks our solar panels, which I could care less, but I admit it’d be nice to get more light in the bedroom.

Haley takes the sandwich, cuts it in half and carries it as we follow.

INT. BABY’S ROOM - HALEY & WYATT’S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Haley enters to find a NANNY playing with the baby. Haley hands half the sandwich to the baby and another half to the nanny.

The nanny tries to hand Haley the baby, but Haley declines and shuts the door.

EXT. BACKYARD PATIO - HALEY & WYATT'S HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER

Haley returns with fresh DESSERT PLATES to see Alan and Wyatt mid-argument. Alan tosses his NAPKIN down in disgust and gets up to leave. Elaine finishes her drink and follows him as they pass by Haley. 

ELAINE
(to Haley)
Sorry dear, Alan’s not feeling well. Thank you so much. We had a lovely time.
(turning to camera)
This bitch wants to kill my tree!

Haley approaches Wyatt, who speaks to us as he walks past her into the house. 

WYATT
It’s an eyesore, and it’s dead, and it’s coming down. And who the hell calls anyone a buffoon, anymore?!

INT. DEN - HALEY & WYATT'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Wyatt retrieves a LADDER and a HANDSAW next to a half-painted wall.

WYATT
Mr. Mueller says, “You tell them how it must be.”

EXT. BACKYARD PATIO - HALEY & WYATT'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Wyatt sets up the ladder under the maple tree. Carrying the handsaw, he climbs the ladder. 

WYATT
I spent twenty thousand dollars installing those solar panels. Happy to do it. Save the planet. It’s not hard to be a good person. To be a reasonable person. To be a good neighbor. But ask me to put my family at risk? Is that neighborly?

Wyatt starts SAWING off a piece of the tree.

WYATT (CONT’D)
And it blocks all the light!

Across from him we see the nanny and baby watching through the upstairs window. Below them Haley watches in horror.

Next door, Alan and Elaine race outside.

Elaine SCREAMS in fear as a SHADOW is cast over the scene.

ACT TWO

SHOT: A SHARP SURGICAL KNIFE CUTTING INTO BARK.

SHOT: A CELL PHONE CAMERA RECORDING SOMEONE AT NIGHT.

SHOT: WYATT’S CHEVY BOLT TAKING UP TWO PARKING SPACES.

SHOT: A SCOOP SHOVELING CAT LITTER.

INT. POST OFFICE - BROOKLYN - A FEW DAYS LATER

Alan works the front window at a busy, underfunded post office. He takes CUSTOMERS, weighing and stamping PACKAGES, as he talks.

ALAN
There are fourteen Arborists in the city of New York and all of them are shysters. It’s a ridiculous scam. They’re all in on it together, like a little green thumb mafia. If it were up to me...But Elaine loves that stupid tree. She grew up in the woods upstate. She’s always been a little hippie weirdo. Our first date, she took me camping. Lived in the city my whole life, thought I was sure to get eaten by a bear. But when you’re young, dumb and horny? College girl invites you to sleep with her in a tent? What are you going to do? Bear food, I guess. 

Alan thinks about a fond memory for a moment.

ALAN (CONT’D)
She’s always been adventurous, love that about her. I paid for us to swim with dolphins on a cruise once, so I have my wild moments. Our tree doctor Kenny says Wyatt sent the tree branch, the branch he illegally removed from my property, to some competing tree guy named Larry. Now Wyatt’s saying that Larry says that our tree is dead and has been for almost a year. Doesn’t matter that the thing has leaves on it, it’s a zombie tree says this Larry per the jackass next door. But our guy Kenny, Kenny says the tree is healthy. 

Alan pulls out and checks some of his HAND-WRITTEN NOTES.

ALAN (CONT’D)
Says that the canopy perimeter shape and the trunk flare show that the tree is good as gold. Larry doesn’t have these numbers, so he wouldn’t know. Like if you cut off your ear and hand it to a doctor, the guy can’t figure out if you’ve got cancer. 

A CLERK comes by to hand Alan a pile of MAIL. Alan gives the clerk a firm handshake.

ALAN (CONT’D)
Looks like there’s a little issue with Wyatt’s mail.

Alan looks through Wyatt and Haley’s mail and tosses it in the GARBAGE CAN.

ALAN (CONT’D)
We should really fund our post offices properly. 

INT. UPSCALE DESIGN STORE - MEANWHILE

Haley and her baby test out different PLUSH COUCHES. Haley gets a call on her PHONE, but silences it.

HALEY
Just text me, mother! I can’t talk to her anymore today. It’s not my fault her card for Charlotte got lost in the mail. She’ll just have to cancel the check and Venmo me like a person. I said, “The only mail I’ve received is a cease and desist letter from our horrible neighbors.” She said, “You sound stressed. It’s not good for your skin.” I said, “Yes, mom, I am stressed. The house is a mess, a tree almost fell on my daughter’s face and Wyatt’s about to murder the postman.” It’s really not an attractive look on Wyatt. “Have you bought tickets for Thanksgiving yet?” “I will, mother. It’s six months away.” “Is Wyatt going to eat anything?” “He’s a vegan, mom, he’ll eat the sides.” Then the long pause. “Okay,” she says. “Okay!”

Haley finds an extra comfortable couch. She sinks into it and waves to a SALES CLERK.

HALEY (CONT’D)
I miss hamburgers.
(to sales clerk)
I like this one.

INT. RETAIL CONSTRUCTION SITE - MEANWHILE

Wyatt and his CLIENTS take a tour of the site. The clients test out where they’d like to display SHOES.

WYATT
It’s a simple dream, the whole concept. Openness. Clean lines. Family. Home. Frank Lloyd Wright said, ‘Space is the breath of art.’ I’m suffocating in that house, not that Haley cares. Daddy can’t get stressed out. Only mommies are allowed to get stressed out. Well Daddy can get stressed out, too. He’s not the chill, cool guy all the time. Mr. Mueller can see it. This morning he walks into my office eating this big cantaloupe and sprawls out on my couch, which is just what he does. He says, “There’s a shadow hanging over you.” I said, “I know.” He said, “Well, what are you going to do about it?” 

Wyatt spots a HAND-CRANK DRILL nearby. He picks it up and studies it. 

EXT. NOW A NOT SO NICE QUIET STREET - WINDSOR TERRACE - BROOKLYN - LATER THAT DAY

Outside ANOTHER NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE, Elaine holds a FLYER and waves goodbye to her ELDERLY NEIGHBOR and walks back home.

ELAINE
Caught him stuffing these under the door of every house for two blocks in either direction. Mrs. Zaringhalam tipped me off to it. Such a sweet woman, both daughters are doctors. “Good fences, make good neighbors,” she said. I said “You don’t mean ‘build the wall’ and all that garbage?” She took a spit on the ground. “Vive La Revolution,” she smirked. Love her. Those kids don’t understand what a neighborhood really is.

Elaine waves to another NEIGHBOR sweeping their porch. She inspects the flyer.

ELAINE (CONT’D)
A petition? I mean is he serious? Calls Alan a menace, he’ll love that. Alan’s such a pudgy old fighter. This Hatfields and McCoys routine get’s him out of the basement, so that’s been pleasant. They mostly just give each other the evil eye. The other day, Alan says “He’s gone too far.” “What now?,” I say, “Is he back at it with the Facebook page?” “Worse. Unforgivable. He’s asking for it.” “Asking for what?” “He’s parking in my spot,” he says. “Your spot?” I’ve never understood the ritual of it all, parking in Brooklyn. I thought Alan was cuckoo, but they’re all like that. You can watch on Tuesdays and Fridays as the automotive undead line up their cars in the street. Waiting in solitary confinement until 8:30, when they can return from whence they came. All very sacred. “He’s a monster,” I said. I haven’t seen him worked up like that in ages. It’s a little sexy. He said, “I’ve got his number.” I said, “Just mind the baby.” 

Elaine passes Hailey and the baby as Hailey directs the MOVES on how to fit the large couch from earlier through the doorway. They give each other a polite wave.

ELAINE (CONT’D)
Nice of her to get the couch. She had the poor guy sleeping on an air mattress in that window on the top right. 

Elaine waves to Wyatt in a WINDOW on the SECOND FLOOR. Wyatt fluffs a PILLOW and pretends not to notice.

ELAINE (CONT’D)
He keeps the lights on all night. Don’t think he sleeps much either. 

INT. HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE - THAT EVENING

Wyatt calmly traverses the aisles with a SHOPPING CART.

WYATT
We had to draw up a Will when Charlotte was born. Just in case. Make sure my brother was set as guardian so she wouldn’t end up with Haley’s vicious mother. 

He picks up a small HATCHET and adds it to the cart.

WYATT (CONT’D)
Haley doesn’t feel comfortable talking about death. She’s very much a life person. We’re very different in that way. In many ways, but in that way for sure. Death is very natural in architecture. Of the seven wonders, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse of Alexandra, only the Great Pyramid survived. I’ve been up the last few nights watching ‘Planet Earth’. Having a little trouble sleeping and things with Haley have been a little...

He picks up a sharp DRILL BIT and adds it to the cart.

WYATT (CONT’D)
Everything’s dying all the time. All around us. When an elephant dies, the pack will hold a funeral. They’ll cover the body with dirt and leaves. Then they’ll move on because that’s what you do. And what happens is, the dead elephant decays and feeds the soil and new plants grow, and other animals eat the dead elephant and their families grow. Things have to die for new, better things to grow. This morning I found a pile of cat shit on the hood of my car.

He picks up a bundle of RUBBER HOSE and adds it to the cart.

WYATT (CONT’D)
Forgot to tell Haley that Mr. Mueller was coming for dinner tonight. She’s obsessed with hosting, so I didn’t think it would be a big deal, but...After dinner, Mueller took a slow walk around the house, inspecting. The industrial fretwork, the pivot doors accenting the through-view, the emphasis on indoor/outdoor symmetry.

He picks up a tub of HERBICIDE and adds it to the cart. 

WYATT (CONT’D)
“It’s a little dark,” he said.

Make that two tubs.

EXT. BACKYARD GARDEN - ALAN & ELAINE'S HOUSE - LATER THAT NIGHT

The maple tree shakes in the moonlight. Down by the trunk, Wyatt uses his hatchet to cut away the BARK from the tree.

ELAINE (O.C.)
I can see how they pull off all those crazy positions. Wyatt is incredibly limber. He vaulted over the fence very smoothly, with all the tools and everything.

Wyatt uses a manual HAND DRILL to bore into the tree.

ELAINE (O.C.) (CONT’D)
He’s just so driven. It took Alan nearly three months to replace the hot water heater. These kids today, they just get things done. Gives me hope for the future of this country.

Wyatt sticks the small rubber hose into the tree and starts pouring in the herbicide.

ELAINE (O.C.) (CONT’D)
And don’t get me started on their house. Absolutely gorgeous! Wyatt is really something.

Turning around, we see that Elaine is RECORDING Wyatt on her phone. 

ELAINE (CONT’D)
The police should be here any minute now.

As the SOUND OF DISTANT SIRENS FADE IN.

ACT THREE

SHOT: THE RED AND BLUE LIGHTS OF A COP CAR.

SHOT: A TUB OF HERBICIDE SPILLING INTO THE GRASS.

SHOT: MANY SLEDGEHAMMER HOLES IN FRESH DRYWALL.

SHOT: A ‘FOR SALE’ SIGN HAMMERED INTO THE GROUND.

EXT. BACKYARD GARDEN - ALAN & ELAINE'S HOUSE - SOME MORNINGS LATER

What’s left of the maple tree sways in the breeze. The tree is in bad shape. It’s lost most of it leaves and slouches against the sky. 

Beneath the tree, Alan spruces up the garden. 

ALAN
Kenny the arborists says the old girl’s got about a fifty-fifty shot of surviving. Larry, the other arborist, is a bit more optimistic. Lazy millennial, didn’t drill deep enough for the poison to fully seep in. We’re out here now most days raking leaves. It’s good exercise. Elaine read that coffee grounds in the soil help, so we’re both jacked up on caffeine, drinking six cups a day. 

Elaine brings out a CUP OF COFFEE for Alan. Elaine pours a little BAILEYS IRISH CREAM into both of their cups.

ALAN (CONT’D)
And we’re screwing like rabbits. Wild stuff. I don’t know where she gets it from, but I’m not complaining. 

Alan and Elaine share a passionate kiss then both turn to us.

ALAN (CONT’D)
We’re thinking about remodeling the house.

ELAINE
They did such a nice job next door.

Alan picks up some GARDENING DEBRIS and smiles to Elaine as he chucks it over the fence. 

EXT. BACKYARD PATIO - HALEY & WYATT'S HOUSE - MEANWHILE

Haley looks up at the struggling maple tree. She takes a deep breath then turns to head back inside.

INT. DEN - HALEY & WYATT'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Haley maneuvers past a cadre of MOVERS taking BOXES and FURNITURE out of the house. 

HALEY
I told her, “You look happier today than you did on my wedding day, mother.” She said, “How is Wyatt?” And I said, “Well, he’s lucky he isn’t a felon.” To which she replied, “How much did you get for the house?” We did well enough considering the market. It seems nobody wants to pay top dollar for a Moroccan inspired walk-in shower. They all want finished basements. I can’t wait to get out of here. This neighborhood is so dead. 

EXT. A NICE QUIET STREET - WINDSOR TERRACE, BROOKLYN - CONTINUOUS

Haley escapes outside where she spots Wyatt holding Charlotte near the MOVING TRUCK. Wyatt wears a blinking ANKLE MONITOR. Haley approaches Wyatt and coldly takes Charlotte away from him.

WYATT
My brother keeps ragging on me that he’ll rep Haley if we get divorced, but I think she’s warming up to me. Just a little mad that we had to sell the couch. It just won’t fit at her mother’s place and we can’t afford to rent right now with the loss we took on the house, the lawyer fees and the settlement. I mean I was always planning to sell the house. The restraining order just sped up the timeline a little. I don’t think the neighborhood’s so sad to see us go either. 

Alan and Elaine step out onto their porch. Alan takes a seat on the front bench and Elaine waters the plants. 

WYATT (CONT’D)
Legally, I’m not allowed to speak to them, but Larry the arborist told Haley that the maple tree may live. 

Alan and Elaine give a friendly wave to Wyatt and Haley in a distorted mirror image of our beginning.

WYATT (CONT’D)
I hope they know, I think that’s just great. It really is a beautiful tree.

FADE TO BLACK.

Helping

FADE IN:

INT. HALLWAY - MANHATTAN APARTMENT BUILDING - MORNING

JACK and JILL wait in front of an apartment door. They are a couple. They both wear formal evening clothes - Jill in a floor length dress and Jack in a tuxedo.

The sound of faint CRYING can be heard behind the door.

Jill BANGS on the door. She turns to Jack, very serious.

JILL
Do not say a word. Pretend like you’re not even here. Just keep your mouth shut.

JACK
Okay. Can I use the bathroom?

JILL
What is wrong with you?

JACK
I’m not going to say anything.

JILL
You cannot help. You will not be helpful. You understand?

JACK
I — yes.

JILL
What?

JACK
I just think —

JILL
Shut up. Don’t do that. Listen to me. Are you listening to me?

JACK
I’m looking right at you.

JILL
Are. You. Listening. To. Me.

JACK
Yes.
(beat)
You look very pretty today.

JILL
I’m sweaty and pale. I should’ve booked that spray tan.

JACK
I thought you were allergic to those chemicals?

JILL
Who really knows…

JACK
(checking watch)
We have to be there by noon.

JILL
This isn’t about you.

JACK
I know that. I’m just stating — It just all starts at noon.

JILL
And?

JACK
And that’s it. That’s all.

JILL
This is one of my best friends, like top fifteen, and she’s in pain. Do you hear her in there?

The sound of SMASHING GLASS can be heard behind the door and another WAIL.

VOICE BEHIND DOOR
Noooooo!

JACK
She sounds really upset.

JILL
What is wrong with you?

The door flies open. Jill’s best friend EVE stands in the doorway. She’s extremely upset and hungover.

JILL (CONT’D)
(to Eve, sympathetic)
I know. I know.

EVE
I broke a glass. I dropped it.

JILL
I know.

Jill leads Eve to the sofa, leaving Jack standing in the doorway. He’s not sure what to do.

INT. LIVING ROOM - APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

Jack meanders into the middle of the living room, trying to stay out of the fray.

EVE
I thought I really liked this guy, but he’s just another massive garbage person. He doesn’t respect me and he just casually lies, like a psycho. I won’t let him gaslight me anymore. Also, he never showers and it’s disgusting. I’m disgusting.

JILL
No! You’re stunningly beautiful and infinitely complex.

EVE
Do I smell bad? You can tell me. Tell me I stink. I’m going to the dermatologist on Wednesday. I think I only sweat on one side of my body.

Jill takes a whiff.

JILL
You smell. You do. A little. But I still love you.

EVE
I had to run last night! Sprint! To catch the G train. Why is it so short? It’s not enough train.

JILL
I know. It’s not fair.

EVE
I’m thirsty. I dropped a glass.

JILL
(to Jack)
Get her some water.

JACK
Water.

Jack heads to the kitchen, but it’s covered in BROKEN GLASS.

JACK (CONT’D)
Watch out. There’s broken glass everywhere in here.

EVE
(wailing)
I DROPPED A GLASS!

JILL
SHE DROPPED A GLASS!

JACK
I’ll just clean this up. Do you have like a little broom and dustpan or…

Jack tries to improvise with some magazines on the counter. He’s not very adept at cleaning.

EVE
(to Jill)
Who is that? In the suit?

JACK
(how does she not recognize me?)
It’s Jack.

JILL
You know Jack.

EVE
Jack?

JILL
Yes. Jack. My partner.

JACK
The boyfriend.

EVE
Keith?

JILL
No, that was —

JACK
We’re friends, Jill. We all went to Block Island together. Last summer, remember?

EVE
I remember Keith.
(to Jill)
You look incredible. Look at your boobs. What shapewear do you use?

JILL
Thanks. We have this stupid thing tonight.

JACK
I’m in a wedding. Eve, you know me. We know each other.

Jack goes to pick up a piece of glass and CUTS himself. He grabs his finger to suck the wound.

JACK (CONT’D)
Ouch! Damn it.

JILL
Do not yell at her! She’s upset.

JACK
No — I wasn’t — I cut myself.

Jack goes over to the women, holding up his BLOODY FINGER.

JACK (CONT’D)
Do you have a Band-Aid? Maybe some peroxide?

JILL
Where’s her water?

JACK
I’m bleeding.

With a disappointed sigh, Jill gets up to grab some water. Eve pulls Jack aside —

EVE
Let’s say you and I have sex…

JACK
(confused)
What?

EVE
And I let you finish inside me since we’ve been semi-monogamous for three months and I have an IUD.

Jack looks over to Jill. Jill’s busy washing a mug to fill.

JACK
(uncomfortable)
Okay…

EVE
And I say what I’m thinking out loud: What if I got pregnant and I needed to get an abortion? But it’s illegal because a bunch of old flaccid men and Amy Coney Island said so.

JACK
(getting worse)
Okay…

EVE
What would you say?

JACK
Oh, uh…Well, I would support you, definitely. Your body, your choice. And also, abortion will probably always be legal in New York, so you’ll be okay. No problem.

Eve just stares at Jack silently for a moment.

JACK (CONT’D)
Can I use your bathroom?

Jill returns with the water. Eve is fuming.

JILL
(to Eve)
What’s wrong?
(to Jack)
What did you do?

EVE
(to Jack)
Have you ever contemplated abortion for even a moment? A micro-second? Do you understand the ignorant words coming out of your own ridiculous mouth? Do you have the capacity to comprehend any part of what you just said?

JILL
(to Jack)
What did you say to her?

JACK
(confused, attacked)
Nothing. I just said if I got her pregnant that I would support her getting an abortion.
(beat)
Her body, her choice.
(beat)
I’m starting to bleed a lot.

EVE
And how does that feel?

Jack looks at his finger and subsequently checks his watch.

JACK
(to JILL)
It’s 11:45.

JILL
I’m not going anywhere with you.

JACK
She asked me. Hypothetically. She asked me and I said I would support her. We really need to leave. I’m sorry, Eve, if I upset you.

JILL
You’re disgusting.

EVE
(to Jack)
Let’s say that after we have sex, and I give you consent to finish, and I’m wearing the IUD, and we talk about my abortion, and you say some horrible, stupid shit, and then, you just make up some ludicrous excuse to leave, like your mother is calling --

Just then, Jack’s phone begins to RING. He takes out his phone.

JACK
(surprised, unsure)
Freaky, uh, sorry, this is my mom calling. Like for real. I just have to —

JILL
Do not answer that phone.

JACK
I have to. And we really should go.

EVE
(incredulous)
Answer the phone! You have to answer it. Mommy is calling. See, this is what always happens. So it is written, so it shall be. Answer the phone, Keith.

JACK
My name is Jack. You know me.
(answering phone)
Hi mom, can I call you —
(to Jill)
Sorry.

Jack bolts out of there.

INT. HALLWAY/STAIRWAY - APARTMENT BUILDING - CONTINUOUS

Jack makes sure to leave the apartment door ajar. He holds the phone in one hand and holds his other bleeding hand up above his head. He makes his way down stairs as he talks.

JACK
(into phone)
We’re on our way mom. No, I know this is important. It’s not even noon yet, so — I’m sorry. What? I can’t hear you. I don’t — I don’t have service in here. No, I’m almost there. No, I’m not in the Midtown Tunnel. I know there’s service in the tunnel. I’m not in the Midtown Tunnel. I’m not lying to you. You’re cutting in and out. No, I’m not trying to ruin anything. I just thought — Jill’s friend is very upset and she needed to — Jill is coming, yes. No, the blue dress. I don’t know about a green dress, maybe she didn’t like it. Maybe it didn’t fit. I don’t know. The blue dress looks nice. I never saw the green dress, so I wouldn’t be able to compare.

Jack reaches the bottom, a little dizzy, he wobbles a bit.

JACK (CONT’D)
Whoa.
(recovering, into phone)
Nothing, I’m just a little lightheaded.

EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - CONTINUOUS

Jack exits the building, being careful to leave the door ajar. He stands by a man, ADAM, smoking a vape pen in flip flop sandals.

JACK
(into phone)
Yes, mom that must be it. I must be high. I’m high and late to my sister’s wedding because I’m a bad son, a bad brother, a bad boyfriend, and a bad man. What? No, I’m not going to repeat that. I have full bars, it must be you. You’re going through the Midtown Tunnel? So you’re not even there yet? Hello? I lost you.

Jack hangs up the phone. He takes a deep breath...of smoke from Adam’s vape pen. He coughs.

ADAM
My bad, man.
(eyeing Jack)
Late night? Me too, bro.

JACK
Do you happen to have a Band-Aid?

ADAM
Nada. Maybe try the bodega?

Jack spots the bodega next store. He starts off, but before he can go —

ADAM (CONT’D)
Hold up. Can I ask you a question?

JACK
I’m running a bit late —

ADAM
If you got a two-AM text from a girl you’ve been hooking up with for a minute, asking you to come over, and you lived in Bed-Stuy, but you got your ass on the train and went over there, and after you finished doing the deed, she asked what you would do if she had to get an abortion, and she was like ‘say something’. What would you say?

JACK
I really need to get a Band-Aid.

ADAM
You would bounce right?! Life’s too short. Thank you, dude!

Jack enters the bodega next door. Adam takes one more big puff on his vape pen before entering the apartment building through the slightly open door, closing it shut behind him.

Jack returns with a box of children’s branded Band-Aids, which he struggles to open. He goes to the door, which is locked.

Jack pushes the intercom button. No answer. He pushes a few more times.

JACK
(into intercom)
Hey, I got locked out. Can you buzz me up?

JILL’S VOICE
(through intercom)
Did you tell your mother that I couldn’t fit into the green dress?

JACK
(into intercom, unsure)
What? No. I didn’t say that.

EVE’S VOICE
(through intercom)
You need to leave. I don’t want to talk to you.

JACK
(into intercom)
I’m sorry! Whatever I said, I was wrong.

EVE’S VOICE
(through intercom)
Get out!

JACK
(into intercom)
It was a hypothetical!

All quiet, then — BUZZ. The door opens. Jack goes in.

INT. HALLWAY/STAIRWAY - APARTMENT BUILDING - CONTINUOUS

Jack lumbers up the stairs. Jill yells at him from the top of the stairs, but we can’t see her yet.

JILL’S VOICE
Your mother called me!

JACK
I’m sorry! I told her we were on our way. She’s just nervous!

JILL’S VOICE
You told her I was upset?! Why would you do that? It’s your sister’s wedding day!

JACK
I told her your friend was upset. She doesn’t listen to me.

JILL’S VOICE
And yet, you tell her every little insignificant thing. You tell her what you have for breakfast every morning because you’re her precious, tiny, little baby.

JACK
What did my mother say this time?

Jack can see Jill staring down at him from the railing now.

JILL
She’s upset.

JACK
Wait, I thought she said you were upset?

JILL
She’s upset that she thinks I’m upset, because I think I’m fat. And she thinks I’m fat, but she’ll just let your father tell me that in one of his creepy little ‘jokes’.

JACK
Did she actually say any of this?

JILL
She said she’s stuck in the Midtown Tunnel and that you need to meet the florist in the ballroom with the key to the loading gate.

JACK
Okay, but I don’t have the key to the loading gate.

JILL
And I don’t give a shit about any of this.

JACK
Okay, then we really need to get going.

Jack makes it to the top of the stairs.

EVE’S VOICE
(from inside apartment)
Adam, I said leave!

JACK
JACK!

JILL
What are you doing?

JACK
She doesn’t know my name and it’s driving me insane.

JILL
No, she was just screwing with you before. That guy she’s been seeing is here. Adam.

JACK
What?

JILL
Yeah, he snuck in.
(then)
You’re bleeding on your shirt.

JACK
(noticing)
Shit.

Jack goes into the apartment to wash his shirt and hand.

INT. LIVING ROOM/KITCHEN - APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

Just as Jack makes his way to the sink, a SANDAL come flying past his head. Jack spins to see Adam, from downstairs, and Eve in the middle of an argument. Adam is now barefoot and Eve has his other sandal.

EVE
(to Adam)
I feel really attacked right now and I need space!

ADAM
(to Eve)
Come on! We’re just talking.
(to Jack)
Sorry bro.
(bad Mike Myers impression)
”Who throws a shoe? Honestly!” Austin Powers.
(to Eve)
Hey, this is the guy! He agrees, what you were saying was a trap and I’m not about that shit.

EVE
(to Jack)
Keith, what is your deal, man? I thought we were friends.

As Eve and Adam approach, Jill appears in the doorway.

JILL
Jack, your mother is calling me again. We really need to leave.

Jack focuses all his energy on washing the blood off of his shirt.

ADAM
(to Eve, compassionate)
Babe, just listen. I’ll never truly know or understand what struggles you as a woman have to endure. The daily indignities and constant assaults on your autonomy. A patriarchal culture that refuses to see you as more than the Madonna or the whore. All I can do, as an ally, is just try to lift up -- OWWW! FUCK ME!

And with that, Adam has stepped onto the broken glass on the floor with his bare feet.

ADAM (CONT’D)
There’s broken glass here!

EVE
Oh my God! Babe!

JILL
(to Adam)
Are you okay? Get to the sink and wash it out.

ADAM
This really stings!

EVE
I have Neosporin in the bathroom. Hold on. I’m so sorry, babe!

ADAM
No, I’m sorry, babe!

JILL
Jack, move!

Jill helps Adam to the kitchen sink. Adam sticks his bloody foot in Jack’s face. Jack narrowly scoots around them.

Jack stands in the doorway as Jill and Eve tend to Adam. He musters his courage to say —

JACK
If we were all in a semi-monogamous relationship for around three
months, and I took the train from deep Brooklyn into the Upper West Side at two-AM to have unprotected sex with you all, because you were on effective birth control, and after we finished, you ask me what I would say if you were to get pregnant and wanted to get an abortion, but in this instance abortion is illegal due to our broken political system and it’s insistence on policing women’s bodies, I would say — I would say —

JILL
Jack, what are you doing?

JACK
I’m trying to say the right thing.

JILL
Don’t try to be helpful right now. You’re not being helpful. Get us a cab and I’ll meet you downstairs. We have to go.

JACK
(simply)
I love you. I want you to know that. I do really love you.

JILL
Okay, I love you too. Just go get the car.

JACK
Okay. I’ll get a car.
(realizing, pulling out Band-Aids)
Oh, I have Band-Aids if that helps? Can I use the bathroom really fast?

CUT TO BLACK.
THE END.

Why It Often Rains

“It’s true that the way we look doesn’t always reveal our feelings. Which is a problem for the movies.”

Why It Often Rains in the Movies by Lawrence Raab

FADE IN:

EXT. SKY - DAY

Clouds gather.

TITLE CARD: Why It Often Rains

CONTEMPLATIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC begins and will continue throughout each scene. The voice of our humble omniscient NARRATOR begins. The voice has the comforting and learned tone of Kevin Kline.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Today is April 16th, 2024.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. TERRACE - BROWNSTONE - DAY

From across a communal courtyard, we begin to ZOOM IN on ANGELA, 80s, meticulously watering her plants of all shapes and sizes. Different mismatched pots and planters surround her.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
The time is just before 3:30pm as Angela Costello waters her boxwoods. She has only just returned from Dr. Siddiqui’s office, driven there and back by her downstairs neighbor Toby. He’s a nice boy in small doses. A bit chatty. Angela considers whether her peonies should be brought inside. Another strong rain could drown them. Angela has always kept a garden, but the hobby took on a new dimension after the death of her husband Martin. Part obsession, part distraction, part memorial. Martin would lounge on the terrace for hours, splayed out shirtless in a folding chair, soaking up the sun while listening to baseball on the radio. Five years ago, close to Christmas, he contracted pneumonia and was dead before the New Year. Angela was by Martin’s side for his last breath.

Angela takes a break and stares up into the sky.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Angela wonders what it will feel like when she draws her last breath. She won’t need to wonder long. “Voracious” was the word Dr. Siddiqui used to describe the tumors. Angela knows Toby will continue to water her plants when all is said and done. She will leave a note requesting he plant the peonies in direct sun.

Angela feels a sharp pain in her stomach. She picks up a pot of peonies.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Angela will soon wash up, take in the laundry, and call her daughters.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT./EXT. DINER - DAY

From the sidewalk outside, we begin to ZOOM IN as RICHARD, 40s, enters and grabs a counter seat. He sits alone with an open seat next to him and picks up the menu. A WAITRESS pours him a glass of water. We can’t hear him speak, but Richard orders a coffee with cream and sugar.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Richard Kibbert normally enjoys moments like this one. Sitting quietly with a fresh cup of hot coffee. Just another man in a diner.

Richard checks his watch and looks outside.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
When Jackson rushes in, late as usual, and their eyes meet, Richard will imagine they are meeting for the first time. The beautiful boy with the hazy blue eyes.

He appears lost in thought until the waitress brings over the coffee, mug, sugar and cream. The waitress pours a cup and Richard thoughtfully adds cream and sugar.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Richard and Jackson have been married for ten years. Three months ago, in preparation for one of their famous dinner parties, Richard used Jackson’s computer to locate a recipe for Chicken Marbella. On the computer, Richard discovered an email exchange between Jackson and another man named Oren. Richard did not know Oren, but came to learn that Oren and Jackson met in line at Trader Joe’s. They began a casual affair shortly after that took place predominately on afternoons when Jackson could claim he was attending a spin class. Upon confrontation, Jackson suggested they consider an open relationship. Richard considered throwing a dinner plate against the wall, but sat quietly instead. Jackson is currently living with his sister. He has asked Richard to meet him this afternoon for coffee. After ten years, Richard suspects Jackson will ask for a divorce.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. PARKING GARAGE - DAY

From the top of the ramp, we begin to ZOOM IN on KEISHA, 30s, wandering in search of her car.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Keisha Alexander cannot remember exactly where she has parked her car. In four minutes, the cost of parking in the hospital lot will double. It has been a stressful day for Keisha, but she is not a complainer. Since she was eight years old, Keisha has kept a handwritten daily to-do list. Today’s list is nearly finished. Change the oil on the Subaru, purchase extra balloons for her niece Natalie’s birthday party, pick up her fiancé Brian’s shirts from the dry cleaner. Keisha has two brothers along with six nieces and nephews between them. Four flower girls and two ring bearers.

Keisha pulls out her key fob and listens for the distant BEEP. She hears a sound coming from the top of the ramp and ventures toward it.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
The visit with the endocrinologist took twenty minutes longer than Keisha had budgeted. Doctor Gottlieb took her time explaining everything. All of the options, the studies, the data, the possibilities, the next steps. What would constitute as an empathetic and thoughtful gesture to most was instead a vague annoyance to Keisha. How long need it take to inform her that she may never be able to conceive a child? Keisha will wait three days before waking Brian in the middle of the night to tell him. Brian will hold her close and whisper that they will be alright. Keisha will believe him.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. HOLE #12 - GOLF COURSE - DAY

From the flag and cup, we begin to ZOOM IN on PAUL, 60s, as he jots in his score sheet from the driver’s seat of a golf cart. He looks up to watch his friend SAM, 60s, prepare to swing his club.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Paul Melamed is currently two over par. As Sam Crane takes his approach shot, Paul considers their long, rewarding friendship. They met in a racquetball league at the West Bloomfield JCC in Detroit, 1986. At the time, Paul was a medical sales rep and Sam worked with his cousins in the printing business. They bonded mostly over sports and the market. Both men were married with young children. Paul will soon retire as Executive Vice President of Marketing for a prominent pharmaceutical company. His wife Yelena is a sought after interior decorator for the country club set. His daughter Evie is on the partner track at her firm. Sam will soon file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Two years ago, Sam bought out his cousin’s share of the printing business, shortly before defaulting on a series of loans after he was forced to replace a two-hundred thousand dollar large format offset printer. His marriage to Beverly dissolved soon after as Sam began spending most evenings drinking alone in their garage. His son Robert will not allow him to visit his grandchildren.

Sam swings and they both watch the ball fly toward us.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
After bogeying this hole, Sam will confide in Paul that he strongly considered suicide last night. He will then ask if Paul would loan him fifty thousand dollars.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. LIBRARY - DAY

From the stacks, we begin to ZOOM IN on CAROLINE, 12, as a LIBRARIAN leads her to a desk where WENDY, 12, reads from a book.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Caroline Tsu attends PS 293. Wendy Nixon attends Parker Prep. Their families live three blocks apart, but the girls are meeting now for the first time. There is one book available in this library that contains information on the Axolotl salamander, also known as the Mexican Walking Fish.

Caroline takes a seat next to Wendy and they tentatively say ‘hi’, although we can’t hear them. Caroline and Wendy begin to read the book together. Caroline points to a page and they both chuckle. The librarian gives them both a ‘shush’.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Both girls independently chose the Axolotl for their respective sixth grade natural science assignments. Caroline is inquisitive, creative and temperamental. Wendy is playful, considerate and resourceful.

Turning the page, Caroline and Wendy can’t help but whisper.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
They do not yet fully realize it, but Caroline and Wendy will soon become the best of friends. A bond that will last the rest of their lives.

A sudden clap of THUNDER scares the girls. The MUSIC stops. We hear both girls give a SHRIEK then start LAUGHING. We PAN and TILT toward the window as it begins to sprinkle drops of rain outside.

CUT TO:

EXT. TERRACE - BROWNSTONE - DAY

We hear the overwhelming SOUND OF THUNDER. Starting close and slowly ZOOMING OUT, Angela rushes onto the terrace as the sky darkens. She struggles to grab three small potted flowers to bring back inside. Once inside, Angela picks up her cordless home phone and relays the thrilling event to her daughter on the other end.

CUT TO:

INT./EXT. DINER - DAY

The SOUND OF STEADY RAIN begins. Starting close and slowly ZOOMING OUT, the waitress approaches Richard and pours him a refill of coffee. Richard’s husband JACKSON, 40s, soaked with no umbrella, races in and takes a seat next to Richard. The sight of a waterlogged JACKSON makes Richard smile. They sit together and share a coffee.

CUT TO:

INT. PARKING GARAGE - DAY

The SOUND OF RAIN ECHOES in the garage. Starting close and slowly ZOOMING OUT, Keisha sits in her car. Colorful balloons crowd the backseat.

She rolls down her window and listens calmly to the sound the rain makes from inside the garage as the rain pours.

CUT TO:

EXT. GOLF COURSE - DAY

Starting close and slowly ZOOMING OUT, Paul and Sam sit in the golf cart, swapping swigs from Sam’s flask. They hear THUNDER and LIGHTNING in the distance and begin to pack up.

CUT TO:

EXT. THE CITY - DAY

The SOUND OF RAIN FALLING HARDER.

Starting close and slowly ZOOMING OUT, shoes stomp through puddles.

Busy COMMUTERS hurry to their destinations under the cover of umbrellas, scaffolding and newspapers.

We try to focus in on some of them, but they elude us. So many people leading so many different lives.

CUT TO:

EXT. LIBRARY - DAY

The MUSIC fades back in to mix with the SOUND OF HEAVY RAIN.

Starting close and slowly ZOOMING OUT, the librarian shoos Caroline and Wendy outside under an overhang.

Wendy pulls out an umbrella and both girls huddle together as they walk down the rainy street. They share a laugh.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
The time is now 3:30pm.

FADE TO BLACK.

Joanne

CLOSE ON JOANNE’S TERRIFIED EYES AS THE CAMERA STRUGGLES TO KEEP THEM CENTERED IN ALL THE TURBULENCE.

We hear the SOUNDS of an airplane in distress: PASSENGERS GASPING, WIND POUNDING AGAINST THE WINGS, A BABY CRYING.

We hear the DING of an airline pilot’s intercom.

PILOT (V.O.)
(through intercom, a bit shaken himself)
Okay folks. Sorry everybody. That was a rough one back there, but we’re on the ground now. Slight issue with the nav system, but uhhh -- welcome to New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport.

CUT TO:

EXT. UBER PICK-UP - ARRIVALS TERMINAL - NEWARK, NJ - NIGHT

JOANNE, (50s, funny, thoughtful, Southern and a little pushy), stands with her rollaboard suitcase next to her visibly unnerved co-worker ENRIQUE, 30s, as he takes a strong puff from his vape pen. Both are flight attendants and dressed accordingly.

ENRIQUE
That was fucking crazy. That was not normal turbulence. I truly thought we were gonna die. You okay Joanne? Has something like that ever happened to you before?

Enrique offers Joanne his vape pen, but she declines. We study Joanne, taking everything in. How is she handling this moment? Her previously terrified eyes now appear exhausted and resolute. Joanne takes out her phone types into it.

JOANNE
(calmly)
Nope.

An UBER pulls up for Joanne.

ENRIQUE
Wait, you’re not bunking at the roach motel?

JOANNE
Sadly, I don’t think I am, Enrique. Think I’ll check in on my daughter in the city tonight.

ENRIQUE
(a bit surprised)
In New York City? But you hate the city. You’re afraid of the city.

The DRIVER helps Joanne put her bag in the trunk.

JOANNE
Can you cover pre-flight inspection tomorrow? I may run a bit late.

ENRIQUE
Joanne, are you okay?

Joanne grabs the vape pen from Enrique and inspects it.

JOANNE
What do I do, push this button?

Joanne takes a puff of the vape pen and immediately begins to cough.

ENRIQUE
Who are you right now?

Joanne shuts the car door.

CUT TO:

TITLES OVER BLACK: JOANNE

ENRIQUE (V.O.)
Joanne?

We hear a phone RING.

JOANNE (V.O.)
(through phone)
Hi sweetheart. Sorry, did I wake you?

AVERY (V.O.)
(annoyed)
Mom. What?

INT. AVERY’S BEDROOM - BROOKLYN - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

AVERY, (23, confident and self-conscious in equal measure), sits up in bed and turns on a nearby lamp on the floor. She pushes aside her sleeping MALE HOOK-UP. Avery’s room is full of found objects, half-finished projects and a floor she uses as her closet. Avery is an artist without a medium.

AVERY
(into phone, nervous)
Is it grandma? Is she gone?

JOANNE (V.O.)
(through phone, confused)
What? No. Grandma’s fine. Why would you say that? Did she call you?

AVERY
(into phone)
No. It’s just three in the morning and grandma is old. What do you want, mom?

JOANNE (V.O.)
(through phone)
I’m downstairs and my phone’s about to die. Can you let me in?

Avery slips on some shorts and goes to her window.

EXT. AVERY’S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

From the window, we ZOOM IN on Joanne as she and her Uber driver MUNEER pull her luggage out of the car’s trunk. It appears that he and Joanne have become close friends during the drive over.

JOANNE
(heard through phone)
Muneer, show me how to give you five stars. Do you have a card? And tell your wife about the fish oils. That’ll clear everything up.

Joanne spots Avery in the window and gives a big wave.

CUT TO:

INT. AVERY’S LIVING ROOM - BROOKLYN - MOMENTS LATER

Standing near the doorway, Joanne takes in the state of her daughter’s apartment.

Dishes are piled in the sink. Mismatched and half-broken furniture. A painting studio where a dining room table should be. Avery’s three artist roommates, JOAQUIN, MADDIX, and EVELYN sit on the floor. The roommates cut pictures out of old magazines while sharing a bottle of tequila.

Avery joins her mother in the doorway with her luggage.

JOANNE
(to Avery, trying to be pleasant)
Did you get new curtains?

AVERY
(to roommates)
Guys, this is my mom, Joanne.
(to Joanne)
Mom, these are my roommates: Joaquin, Maddix and Evelyn. We’re all in “Applied Art Through Multimedia Performance Studies” together.

JOANNE
Oh, how nice.
(then)
How do you all fit in here?
(to Avery)
I thought you said this was a two bedroom?

AVERY
(to Joanne, embarrassed)
Mom. Stop it. They’re together.

JOANNE
Who is? Which ones?

AVERY
(re: all three roommates)
They are.

Avery’s male hook-up enters carrying his bicycle from Avery’s bedroom and makes his way past Avery and Joanne.

MALE HOOK-UP
(to Avery)
See ya around?

AVERY
Sure. Maybe.

MALE HOOK-UP
(to Joanne)
Bye mom.

CUT TO:

INT. AVERY'S BEDROOM - BROOKLYN - MOMENTS LATER

Avery pushes the old clothes and garbage off her bed as Joanne takes off her shoes. Both get ready to share the bed.

AVERY
You can’t just show up like this.

JOANNE
I texted you Avery. I’m sorry.

AVERY
I was busy.

JOANNE
(with a laugh)
Obviously. Is that your boyfriend? He seems fun.

AVERY
Oh no. We’re not doing this now.

JOANNE
(stern, exhausted)
Avery, honey, I’ve been flying since five AM yesterday and my feet are about to fall off. There’s some tornado or freakin’ dust bowl over Kansas, so the airline parked us at Newark for the turnaround. They can work me double shifts into the ground, but their precious baby pilots need a nap. It was either here or some hooker truck stop in Jersey, and I haven’t set eyes on you since Thanksgiving, so I thought I’d spend a little quality time with my only daughter. Is that okay with you?

AVERY
(contrite)
Sorry. I’m just tired.

Joanne collapses into the bed and takes a deep breath.

JOANNE
We had horrible turbulence on the way over and there was a moment when the pilots, who never stop jabbering, just went dead quiet and I thought--

AVERY
(not listening)
How are the dentists?

JOANNE
Your father and brother are fine. We should send them a selfie. Proof of life.

Joanne digs through her purse for her phone. She pulls Avery in close to take a photo.

AVERY
When do you leave?

JOANNE
Redeye tomorrow. You’re so pleasant.

Both Joanne and Avery make a funny face as the flash goes off.

FADE TO:

INT. AVERY'S BEDROOM - BROOKLYN - MORNING

Avery wakes to the sound of her mother’s SCREAM from another room. Avery turns to see her mother is missing from the bed.

INT. AVERY'S LIVING ROOM - BROOKLYN - MOMENTS LATER

Avery hurriedly opens her bedroom door to discover her mother wasn’t exactly screaming, she was LAUGHING. Joanne, still in uniform, finishes cooking breakfast for Maddix and Evelyn with Joaquin’s help on the skillet.

JOANNE
(to Evelyn)
Uncle Sam can barely mail a letter these days, you expect big government to run healthcare!
(taking over for Joaquin)
And let the record show, I never promised I could flip an omelette!

Joanne gives the skillet a flip, perfect omelette. Everyone cheers, except for Avery, who’s a bit embarrassed. Joanne notices Avery and waves her over.

EVELYN
Joanne, I’m sending you a link to this incredible podcast right now and you have to listen to it. It’s about this case study in Sweden...

Joanne hands her daughter a full plate and gives her a kiss on the forehead.

JOANNE
Good morning dear.

AVERY
Mom, did you sleep at all?

JOANNE
You know I don’t sleep and your father Face-timed me that he found some weird bump on his ass he thought might be cancer. Had to talk him through that one. Then your brother called. He was up all night with the baby and needed company. His wife, sweet thing, is just useless. You should really visit them. Babies tend to grow up fast, you know. One minute they’re drooling in your arms, the next they’re fancy artists in the big city. You still drool, though.

AVERY
What’s going on mom? You seem a little manic.

JOANNE
(dismissive)
I’m just excited to see you is all. We never get to hang out, just us. I’m always dragging your father around. And with our kitchen renovation at home, he’s driving me to murder.

Joanne pulls out her phone to show Avery some pictures.

JOANNE (CONT’D)
That reminds me. Backsplashes. This one? This one? Or this one?

AVERY
(taking this seriously)
That one, definitely.

JOANNE
I knew you were my daughter.
(on to business)
So, I was thinking we’d start with a boozy brunch, then you could show me your neighborhood.

AVERY
That sounds nice, but I have plans today. I can’t just drop everything to be your tour guide.

JOANNE
(a bit hurt)
That’s fine. I can do my own thing.

AVERY
I’m sorry, mom. I just have studio space booked at school today that’s impossible to get and there’s a show tonight my professor curated that I’m sort of...in.

JOANNE
(getting excited)
Like as an actor? Like when you played Sandy the dog in that horrible production of Annie you did at that ridiculous summer camp we paid for?

AVERY
(not enjoying this)
No.

Avery and Joanne sit in awkward silence a moment.

AVERY (CONT’D)
Do you want to come to the show?

JOANNE
I’m invited?

Avery grabs a postcard from her nearby backpack and hands it to Joanne. Joanne inspects the postcard.

AVERY
(annoyed)
Yes mom. I’m inviting you. I mean you won’t like it, but...

On the postcard: A picture of a big red balloon and the words “PLACENTA/POLENTA”. There’s an address and time on the back.

AVERY (CONT’D)
...There’ll be an open bar.

JOANNE
I’ll be there.

The roommates start to head out. Avery grabs her backpack and starts to pack up. She hands her mom a key.

JOAQUIN/MADDIX/EVELYN
Bye!/Thanks for breakfast!/Stop watching Fox News!

AVERY
Here’s a key to the apartment. There’s no key to the building, just a code on the door. It’s 5279. Do you need me to write that down?

JOANNE
(typing in her iPhone)
I’ve got it, honey. I’ve got my whole life packed into this stupid thing.
(re: the postcard)
I can’t believe they let you get a degree in this stuff.

Avery starts to head out the door.

AVERY
It’s not a degree actually. It’s a certificate.

Avery leaves and now Joanne is all alone.

JOANNE
(yelling after her)
Well, it sure doesn’t cost like a certificate.

Joanne takes a look around the apartment and sighs.

JOANNE (CONT’D)
(to herself)
So this is Brooklyn?

CUT TO:

INT. AVERY'S APARTMENT - BROOKLYN - DAY
A montage of Joanne alone in the apartment:
- Joanne plays on her phone.
- Joanne sweeps the floors and talks on the phone.

JOANNE
(into phone)
Well, what color is his poop? I’m not there honey, so you’ll just have to check. Put your wife on please.

- Joanne takes a nap.
- Joanne opens a stinky old take-out container.
- Joanne cleans out the fridge and talks on the phone.

JOANNE (CONT’D)
(into phone)
No ma’am, the passengers looked a little green, but all in one piece. What? Completely flamed out? I had no idea. No, no, I’m okay.

- Joanne pokes around Avery’s bedroom.
- Joanne catches her reflection in the mirror.
- Joanne searches through Avery’s closet.
- Joanne tries on some of Avery’s clothes and talks on the phone.

JOANNE (CONT’D)
(into phone)
You’re the rep, so if you say I should sign...No, I’ll be on the turnaround tonight...Well, should I be scared?

- Joanne finds an outfit that looks good and leaves the room.

CUT TO:

EXT. STREET - BROOKLYN - DAY

Joanne walks down the street juggling a bagel, coffee and her iPhone with the podcast application running.

Joanne admires the scenery - the trees, buildings, people. An OLDER WOMAN pushes a cart full of groceries down the street. A MAN has a casual conversation with ANOTHER MAN leaning out of his second floor window. A group of TEENS make a strange TikTok dance video.

EDUCATED PODCAST VOICE
(through headphones)
And when we checked back in with Sven, Hilda and their seven children after six months, we were amazed to find...

An ANXIOUS WOMAN approaches Joanne.

ANXIOUS WOMAN
Excuse me, would you happen to know where I can find the subway from here?

JOANNE
(unsure, but trying to help)
Oh, well, I’m not really sure. Let me just check...

Joanne pulls up the maps application on her phone. The anxious woman and Joanne spin around as they decipher which direction they are facing.

ANXIOUS WOMAN
There it is. Thank you.
(then)
I’m sorry, I thought…You just look like you live around here.

JOANNE
I do?

The anxious woman rushes off as Joanne catches her reflection in a window. She does look a bit like a New Yorker. Across the street she notices a sign for an apartment OPEN HOUSE.

CUT TO:

INT. VACANT APARTMENT - BROOKLYN - DAY

Joanne takes a tour of the one bedroom apartment with a pompous REALTOR and another naive YOUNG COUPLE.

REALTOR
There’s a washer/dryer in the basement and we can throw in the A/C units that are currently installed.

YOUNG COUPLE
Do you take guarantors? / Any way to wave the broker fee?

Joanne finishes her coffee and hides the cup in the fridge.

REALTOR
I’m sorry, we can’t waive the fee. But I can show you a studio if...

The disappointed young couple quickly leave.

Joanne stands in the middle of the bedroom, taking in the light and fresh air.

REALTOR (O.S.) (CONT’D)
You only live once.

Joanne, caught off guard, spins around to face the realtor.

REALTOR (CONT’D)
Might as well enjoy it. Spacious, right? It’s pre-war. When are you planning to move?

JOANNE
I’m just sort of looking.

REALTOR
I see. Looking for a pied-à-terre or looking to leave your husband?

Joanne is flustered for a moment, but then decides to play along.

JOANNE
The old man up and died. Thinking of starting fresh.

REALTOR
Well I’ll be straight with you. The owner would prefer a mature tenant, someone responsible. You’d have a leg up on all the kids. It’ll be nine thousand up front. First, security and eighteen percent broker fee if you’d like to—

Hearing the number, Joanne dies of laughter.

CUT TO:

EXT. AVERY'S APARTMENT - BROOKLYN - LATE AFTERNOON

Joanne, with a slice of pizza, arrives back at Avery’s apartment building. She notices the keypad on the door.

Joanne takes out her iPhone, but the battery has died.

JOANNE
Ah, crap.

Joanne looks through her purse and finds a wall plug, but no cable. She pulls out the postcard for the art show. Joanne looks at the address.

Joanne flags down a nearby DOG WALKER.

CUT TO:

INT. WAREHOUSE GALLERY - EVENING

Joanne makes her way through the raw space looking for Avery in the crowd of ART AFICIONADOS.

The lights go low as the show begins. ELECTRONIC MUSIC begins as Avery appears center stage in a white full length body- suit.

Avery begins methodically popping a series of balloons full of red liquid and polenta with her belly.

Some of the red liquid splashes onto the audience as Joanne, stifling a laugh/shriek, retreats to the bar.

INT. BAR - WAREHOUSE GALLERY - MOMENTS LATER

Joanne leans onto the makeshift bar and tries to get the attention of the HIP BARTENDER.

The bartender catches her eye then turns away and struggles to make another intricate drink with his muddler.

TALIA, 40s, tough and cool, pulls up next to Joanne at the bar.

TALIA
He’s a little out of his depth.

JOANNE
I’m about to jump behind the bar and fix myself a drink.

TALIA
Now that’s an idea.

Joanne snatches a few bottles from the bar when the bartender’s back is turned.

TALIA (CONT’D)
What do we got?

Joanne inspects the bottles.

JOANNE
Simple syrup, some kind of pomegranate juice, and gin.

TALIA
Take the gin and follow me.

Joanne grabs the bottle and follows Talia.

CUT TO:

EXT. ALLEY - WAREHOUSE GALLERY - EVENING

Talia smokes a hand-rolled cigarette as Joanne takes a big swig of the gin bottle. Joanne hands the bottle back to Talia as they laugh off a joke.

TALIA
I don’t take you for a big art lover, Joanne.

JOANNE
Was that art?

TALIA
Did it make you feel something?

Talia offers Joanne the cigarette. After considering, Joanne accepts.

JOANNE
Nervous, I guess. My daughter wants to be an artist. Can you make any money popping balloons?

TALIA
I do. I devised that piece. I’m taking it to the Venice Biennial next year.

JOANNE
(embarrassed)
Excuse me, while I take my foot out of my mouth.
(considering)
Venice sounds exciting.

TALIA
Have you ever visited?

JOANNE
Nope. I’ve barely gone anywhere is the funny thing. I’ve been a flight attendant for over thirty years, but only ever served regional. I’ve flown to Philadelphia a couple thousand times, but never Venice.

TALIA
Terrible cheese steak in Venice. You aren’t missing anything.

Talia leans in and kisses Joanne lightly on the mouth. Joanne is taken off-guard and nervously takes a drag on the cigarette. She starts coughing.

TALIA (CONT’D)
I’m sorry, I’ve had a bit to drink.

JOANNE
(flattered, but unsure)
That’s okay. I’m married. Also I really don’t smoke.
(then, earnestly)
There was a moment yesterday when I was almost certain I was going to die and I was just so...disappointed. This was exciting though. Thank you.

Talia chuckles.

TALIA
You’re welcome.

CUT TO:

INT. BAR - WAREHOUSE GALLERY - LATER

Joanne and Talia deliver the gin bottle back to the bar as Joanne spots her daughter Avery, covered in polenta and paint, waiting for a drink.

JOANNE
Avery! Honey, over here!

AVERY
(confused)
Mom? Hey. You came?

Avery comes over to Joanne and Talia.

JOANNE
(introducing Talia)
Baby, I want you to meet the artist. This is, wait, actually I never got your name.

AVERY
This is Talia, mom. My professor.
(to Talia)
I just hope I was able to do the piece justice. I really tried to lead with my ovaries like we discussed.

Talia and Joanne share a quick look.

TALIA
You were wonderful, Avery. Your mom and I were actually discussing the idea of you joining the piece at the Biennial.

AVERY
(beyond excited)
What? Really?

JOANNE
This calls for a drink!

Joanne spots the overwhelmed bartender and decides to go around behind the bar.

BARTENDER
(to Joanne)
Excuse me ma’am, you can’t be back here.

JOANNE
(cocky)
Excuse me sir, I’ve been fixing drinks longer than you’ve been alive and at thirty thousand feet.
(to the bar patrons)
What do you want?

The patrons quickly shout their orders as Joanne gets to work: vodka soda, whisky ginger, whisky Coke. Joanne could make Tom Cruise blush, she’s so quick at mixing. Joanne turns to Avery.

JOANNE (CONT’D)
What’ll ya have?

AVERY
A paper plane.

JOANNE
(incredulous)
Cute.

Joanne preps the drink and picks up the bourbon bottle as Avery’s roommates Joaquin, Evelyn and Maddix come forward.

MADDIX
Flip it, Joanne!

The patrons cheer as Joanne flips the bottle, but she doesn’t catch it and the bottle CRASHES to the floor.

FADE TO:

INT. AVERY'S BEDROOM - BROOKLYN - NIGHT

Avery, a bit drunk, bursts into the bedroom. Joanne, a bit worn out, follows behind with a glass of water.

Avery collapses onto the bed. Joanne removes Avery’s shoes and gets her into bed.

AVERY
Is that my shirt?

JOANNE
(covering)
You’re drunk, sweetheart. Have some water and go to sleep.

Joanne hands Avery a cup of water.

AVERY
(yawning)
Thanks mom.

Joanne sits on the bed to take off her shoes and rub her feet as Avery puts her head in her lap.

JOANNE
I’ve got to get out of your hair, dear, back to the airport.

Avery hugs her mom tightly.

AVERY
(sleepy)
No! Don’t go.

Joanne takes the moment in. She gives Avery a small squeeze. She pets her daughter’s hair as she stares ahead.

JOANNE
You have quite the life here, Avery. When I was your age, I was married with your brother on the way. We lived around the corner from your dad’s mother.
(pause)
You know, we’re spending all this money re-doing the house and honestly, I’m not sure I even want to live in it. I’m basically a glorified babysitter these days. For your father, for your brother, for that baby, whom I love. He’s very fat and squishy. But I raised my kids. I did that. Now I want to do...something else.
(pause)
I wasn’t always just a mother.

Joanne waits for a response. Silence.

Joanne looks down at Avery, who’s fast asleep.

Joanne sets Avery into bed and pulls the covers over her.

Joanne, back in her airline uniform, grabs her suitcase and heads out the door past a sleeping Avery. She pulls out her phone.

JOANNE (O.C.) (CONT’D)
(talking into phone)
Muneer, it’s Joanne. Wanna make sixty bucks?

CUT TO BLACK.

One True Singular Undying Astounding Love

THE FRONT YARD OF A LARGE SUBURBAN HOME. 5 AM. DARK.

Lights up on ETHAN, 18, throwing a handful of pebbles at the upstairs window of the house. He can’t seem to hit the right one. An iHome alarm clock sits at his feet next to an old overturned green bicycle.

ETHAN: Stella! Stella!

He throws another rock. It sails over the house.

ETHAN: Damn it.

He picks up another handful and tries to make a pitcher’s stance.

ETHAN: Renee, babe, you’re the only one for me! I’m sorry!

He winds up to pitch.

ETHAN: We said we’d be together forever, Renee! I’d go to war and you would wait for me and keep my beautiful, inspiring letters.

The pitch sends pebbles flying everywhere except the window. Ethan falls to the ground and crawls to his bike. He begins beating on the bicycle.

ETHAN: Elaine! Elaine!

A light comes on in the house. MRS. MOFFIT, 49, appears at the front door, wearing an oversized Disney World t-shirt and cradling a mug of hot coffee. She stands watching Ethan for a moment.

MRS. MOFFIT: Could you get off the grass? I just had the gardener come yesterday.

Ethan is caught off-guard and stands up defensively. Mrs. Moffit searches near the front door.

MRS. MOFFIT: Are you okay? Did you take a spill, dear?

ETHAN: I’m not leaving!

MRS. MOFFIT: Don’t go yet.

ETHAN: Why not?

MRS. MOFFIT: Where did you throw it?

ETHAN: What?

MRS. MOFFIT: I’m useless this early in the morning. I don’t see where you threw the paper. If you tossed it into my azaleas then you’ll need to grab it—

ETHAN: I’m not the paperboy.

MRS. MOFFIT: You aren’t?

ETHAN: I’m eighteen years old.

MRS. MOFFIT: What’s that suppose to mean?

ETHAN: It means I’m too old to be your paperboy. Paperboys are always little kids raising enough money to buy baseball cards or something.

MRS. MOFFIT: For the Sunday issue, two guys usually drive around tossing them out of a pick-up truck.

ETHAN: Well, that’s because everything sucks now!

MRS. MOFFIT: It does? I had no idea.

ETHAN: Nobody cares about anything anymore. They sucked all the excitement and adventure out of everything.

Mrs. Moffit notices a crack in the window by the door.

MRS. MOFFIT: When did this happen?

ETHAN: Years ago when the fat cats pumped Wall Street so high that it spilled over into everyday life and Bob Dylan stopped playing the guitar.

MRS. MOFFIT: I meant the window.

ETHAN: Oh. Sorry. I missed.

MRS. MOFFIT: You missed?

ETHAN: I was trying to hit the window.

MRS. MOFFIT: Well, you hit it.

ETHAN: No—I was trying to hit Renee’s window.

MRS. MOFFIT: You’re not the paperboy.

ETHAN: I have to speak with her, Mrs. Moffit.

MRS. MOFFIT: You can’t.

ETHAN: But I have to. We’re the love of each other’s lives

MRS. MOFFIT: Who are you? I mean besides the love of my daughter’s life.

ETHAN: She hasn’t said anything about me?

MRS. MOFFIT: No…

ETHAN: Ethan.

MRS. MOFFIT: No, Ethan, she hasn’t. Now please leave. I have to get ready for work.

ETHAN: But it’s only five in the morning.

MRS. MOFFIT: Oh, I know that.

ETHAN: It’s not even light out yet and you have to go to work?

MRS. MOFFIT: No, but it’s pretty difficult to sleep through your house being bombarded with —where did you get all of these pebbles? If you took them from the walkway next door, that loony man’ll send his Pomeranian after you.

ETHAN: They’re from the park down the street.

MRS. MOFFIT: Good. Now bring them back to the park down the street.

Mrs. Moffit exits into the house. Ethan stands, confused, for a moment, then runs over to the iHome stereo and tries to turn it on. He holds it up over his head. No sound comes out. He shakes it over his head. He stumbles back to the front door and knocks. No answer. He goes to ring the doorbell, but Mrs. Moffit swings open the door and grabs his arm.

MRS. MOFFIT: Don’t do that. You’ll wake Terry.

ETHAN: I have to speak with your daughter, Mrs. Moffit.

MRS. MOFFIT: I told you, already. You can’t.

ETHAN: But—

MRS. MOFFIT: She’s not here. She’s staying the night with a friend.

ETHAN: Oh.

Ethan slumps down and sits on the front step.

MRS. MOFFIT: She should be home in a couple of hours. Why don’t you come back in a little while?

ETHAN: Because I was supposed to win her back as the sun came up.

MRS. MOFFIT: I see. Well, I’ll give her that message.

ETHAN: Why didn’t Renee say anything about me?

MRS. MOFFIT: Renee doesn’t tell me anything, Ethan.

ETHAN: I told her I wasn’t afraid of our love.

MRS. MOFFIT: How long have you two been seeing each other?

ETHAN: It’ll be a month on Thursday.

MRS. MOFFIT: Wow.

ETHAN: You don’t get it. We’re in love. It’s been a very thrilling month.

MRS. MOFFIT: What is that suppose to mean?

ETHAN: I—It means—

MRS. MOFFIT: You’re eighteen!

ETHAN: I’m sorry.

MRS. MOFFIT: She’s sixteen!

ETHAN: Age doesn’t matter when it comes to love. I read that we’ve felt every emotion by the time we turn three years old.

MRS. MOFFIT: Terry! Terry!

Ethan runs to his bike. Mrs. Moffit begins to laugh.

MRS. MOFFIT: Ethan wait.

Ethan continues to try balancing the stereo on his handlebars and ride off. Mrs. Moffit walks over and blocks his path.

MRS. MOFFIT: You don’t have to fly off. I was only kidding. Renee’s old enough now to make these decisions for herself. I was the same way when I was her age.

ETHAN: I don’t want to have to fight your husband Mrs. Moffit…

MRS. MOFFIT: Penelope.

ETHAN: What?

Mrs. Moffit retreats back towards the house.

MRS. MOFFIT: Nothing. I have to get back inside. I would absolutely die if anyone saw me looking like this, even at the crack of dawn.

ETHAN: I like Disney World. It’s the happiest place on Earth.

MRS. MOFFIT: Good night…or good morning…or goodbye Ethan.

ETHAN: Have you ever been on Space Mountain?

Mrs. Moffit stops at the front door.

MRS. MOFFIT: I love Space Mountain.

ETHAN: I went there with my cousins last summer and they stopped running it in the dark.

MRS. MOFFIT: No!

ETHAN: I know!

MRS. MOFFIT: How dare they!

ETHAN: And I didn’t even Fast Pass it!

Ethan gets off his bike and goes back over to Mrs. Moffit.

MRS. MOFFIT: Well, Ethan, things have really changed. You’re right.

ETHAN: Things suck.

MRS. MOFFIT: Yes, they do suck.

ETHAN: Is that all you’re wearing? Just the shirt? I shouldn’t ask that. I’m sorry.

MRS. MOFFIT: Did you graduate already or are you a senior?

ETHAN: I just graduated.

MRS. MOFFIT: That’s too bad.

ETHAN: Really? Mrs. Moffit, I don’t think…I like your daughter.

MRS. MOFFIT: It would have been nice for Renee to go to the prom.

ETHAN: Oh, that. The prom isn’t that great anyways.

MRS. MOFFIT: Did you go?

ETHAN: No.

MRS. MOFFIT: I went.

ETHAN: To my prom?

MRS. MOFFIT: No. I went to my prom.

ETHAN: With Terry? I mean, Mr. Moffit?

MRS. MOFFIT: No, no, no. I went with…I went with a boy, who’s name I can’t even remember, honestly.

ETHAN: Really?

MRS. MOFFIT: Well, Ethan, I didn’t exactly stay with him the entire night.

ETHAN: Oh, man! You’re a player, Mrs. Moffit?

MRS. MOFFIT: I wore a god awful purple dress and dropped my corsage in the punch bowl. But I was a player, Ethan. Yes.

ETHAN: How was it? The prom?

MRS. MOFFIT: Fantastic. Incredible. My date, the one I don’t remember that well, he looked a lot like you.

ETHAN: Oh, great. I’m the one you leave behind for some other man.

MRS. MOFFIT: I’m sorry. I’m sorry I left you behind.

ETHAN: That’s alright. I’ll recover. Burned by the daughter and the mother.

MRS. MOFFIT: What do you see in my daughter, Ethan?

ETHAN: Everything. The future. I see those stars and hearts and birds, like when cartoons get zonked on the head.

MRS. MOFFIT: You see that with Renee?

ETHAN: I think so. I want to, so badly.

MRS. MOFFIT: What is it about Renee that gets you so hot and bothered?

ETHAN: It’s not Renee—I mean it is, but—it’s really just the idea that we’re in love, you know?

MRS. MOFFIT: No, I don’t.

ETHAN: I like the idea of this—of coming to my one, true, singular, astounding love’s house and winning her back, just when we all thought it was too late. But I get there right in the nick of time and say something perfect.

MRS. MOFFIT: What were you going to say?

ETHAN: I was gonna make it up. Let the moment take me.

MRS. MOFFIT: I guess this isn’t the moment you were expecting.

ETHAN: Not exactly. But, this is nice. It is.

MRS. MOFFIT: Good bye, Ethan.

Ethan leans in and kisses Mrs. Moffit as passionately as he possibly can. Mrs. Moffit stand still. Ethan breaks away into a romantic stance.

MRS. MOFFIT: Good bye, Ethan.

Mrs. Moffit exits into the house. Ethan disappointedly grabs his stereo and wheels his bike away. Mrs. Moffit opens the door and walks back out onto the lawn. She watches Ethan wheel his bike down the street, then, she returns inside with a twirl. Black out.

Plato, TX

Part 1: Everybody lost their jobs today.

It was a dry, quiet day. Nothing particularly interesting was on TV, and the kids didn’t play outside anymore. Too many video games, text messages, and predators to play outside. Everybody went about their daily routine with little vigor. The blown-out speakers of a fifteen-year-old Dodge Ram, hauling a broken mower in the truck bed, bathed the town in an old Willie track while Rich and Angela Simmons gardened their dying lawn the best they could.

There had been a drought going on for a while. Not good for a semi-rural town where beef processing meant lots of cows that needed lots of feed, which needed quite a bit of water.

No water.

No cows.
No cows.

No jobs.

That’s what the Daily Ranger should have printed on the front page. Instead, Angela Simmons shouted out to her husband from behind the screen door: PLANT TO CLOSE AS MEEKER CONSIDERS DROUGHT. Rich cursed, not because of the headline, but because he cut himself on his pruning shears. Rich rarely cursed, but with the world going down the tubes, he didn’t see the point in holding back. Rich didn’t need another ulcer. He already had a son-in-law.

Rich’s forsaken son-in-law Jamie worked at the Meeker plant. By work, Rich meant Jamie showed up most days, on time sometimes, and tried to get to five o’clock without getting fired. Jamie was surely fired and surely pissed drunk by now. Angela shuffled back into the living room and took up the cordless. She would not see her beautiful daughter starve. Jamie answered the phone. Willie played in the distance, asking forgiveness for doin’ her wrong.

“How you holding up, Jamie?” she asked with a heaping helping of sympathy.
“I got a headache,” he coughed back, “and I got to get to work.”
“Didn’t you hear, honey? The meat plant closed down because of the drought.”
“That’s bullshit, Angie,” Jamie replied, knowing she probably knew something he didn’t, as was usually the case.
“It’s the front page of the paper, Jamie. Where’s Tammy at?” Angela asked, losing her patience as always.
“I’m here, Mom, looking at the paper now. I heard you.”
“Tammy, why are you always listening in on my phone calls all the damn time,” Jamie yelled from the other room, dropping the phone. Tammy didn’t trust Jamie much, and for good reason. Jamie was a sap, a sucker, a drunk, a philanderer, a chain smoker, a good ol’ boy, and a bad dancer.
“I don’t know what we’re supposed to do now, Mom.” Tammy was close to tears. “I just got off with Carmella and everybody’s losing their jobs.”
“I know, baby.”
“Can I come over, Mommy?”
“You do just that, right now.”

Part 2: I ain’t moving to Oklahoma for all the gold in China.

Carmella grasped tightly onto the metal fence outside the Meeker packaging plant, tears erupting from her dull brown eyes. Randall Meeker spotted her from the window of his corner office, where he was currently hiding. She wasn’t a beautiful girl—a bit too much woman for him, to be honest—but there was something incredible about the way she cried. She sure could hate. Randall was pretty positive she was crying right at him, and it made him want to take her away and show her something pretty. He wanted to show her something pretty and say, “Look, Carmella, I know what beauty looks like. I’m no monster man.”

Randall sat back down under his desk, where he’d been all evening, going over figures with one hand while pulling at his mustache with the other. Randall needed Carmella to cry a few hundred gallons more, or it needed to just go ahead and rain already. Randall loved Plato and didn’t want to be the asshole who dug its early grave. But he wasn’t about to give all his money away either. There was still the plant in Oklahoma, and the people would go there. They’d pick up their children and move to the work. The people would follow the cows, and everyone would eat. Randall was hungry now.

Francisco found his sister at the fence, like he suspected he would, yelling holy hell like a sun-stained coyote with heavy eye shadow. Francisco wasn’t one for theatrics. He’d lost his job trucking Meeker meat that morning, and by noon he was on to better things. Francisco had taken a long walk, and while walking, he took a good hard look at the town. He walked down to the Costco and back up toward the Taco Bell in the mean heat. It was in the Taco Bell parking lot that Francisco thought of what he’d say to his sister to coax her off the fence. He’d tell her he walked the whole town, and he’d seen it before. He’d seen it driving through Pensacola, and up in Roanoke, and once, he stopped to use a restroom in Cedar Rapids and could have sworn he was in the Shoney’s around the corner from their home. Every place was the same, and this was every place, so wherever they’d end up would be home. A thought that comforted Francisco, but just pushed Carmella to the edge.

She spat into the dust and sat in it, sending up a cloud of dirt. It looked like she’d just popped out of a magic lamp, and boy, was she pissed that you’d woken her up. Carmella liked her Taco Bell. She knew the slow boy who ran the register from high school, and he always gave her the large soda for the medium price. She liked sitting in the Costco parking lot in Plato because the Plato Costco parking lot looked green at night. She’d go out and smoke in the parking lot and pretend she was from the future. Francisco took a squat a safe enough distance away from Carmella, found her glance, and told her plainly. They were moving to Oklahoma and would work for Meeker over there. Francisco stood back up with the help of the fence and brushed dirt off his jeans. Carmella watched him wander off in no particular direction, right past Randall Meeker, sneaking into a company car.

Part 3: A good long sit sounds about right.

Douglas wondered just how Mr. Meeker planned to eat all of those burritos. He could see his own reflection in the tinted windows of the swanky car and liked what he saw. He saw a high school graduate, which sure showed his grandfather, and a working man with a good haircut. Douglas got his mother to buzz his hair regularly, or else he’d spend the whole day picking at it. Douglas was a bit slow, but a good listener. He liked to work the night shift because customers liked to talk at night. They’d talk, and Douglas would listen. Last night, he listened to a guy with the greasiest hair he’d ever seen say there were going to be riots in the street after everyone lost their jobs in the morning. Douglas was a bit disappointed by the lack of rioting. The air conditioning in the Taco Bell was broken again, and an excuse to go outside would have been nice. Douglas took some more ice from the soda machine and stuffed it down his pants. Mr. Meeker laughed, and Douglas laughed too. Douglas was lucky, Mr. Meeker said, because he was the only young man in town who still had a job. Douglas laughed, but Mr. Meeker didn’t. He didn’t think it was funny. Douglas apologized and stuffed an extra kid’s meal toy in Mr. Meeker’s bag. Crying kids always got an extra toy from Douglas.

“Gimme a large Coke and leave room for ice,” Jamie commanded from the front counter. Mr. Meeker stuffed a hundred-dollar bill into Douglas’s shirt pocket and sped off. A bottle of Jim Beam appeared as if from nowhere, Jamie’s favorite magic trick, and Jamie poured a fourth of it into the Coke. “Bathroom key, monsieur?” Jamie smirked with a slight head tilt. Douglas handed him the wire hanger with the key attached, and off Jamie went, like a man on a mission. A man looking for a sit down. “Hold my calls,” announced the bathroom door. Douglas and Jamie were good friends in high school. They cheated off each other constantly and both failed. But it felt nice to be cheated off of for both of them. To be worthy of having your paper copied, even if you were mostly wrong, most of the time. Sure, Jamie would egg Douglas’s house with the rest of the basketball team, but Douglas knew how hard it was to be popular. A good deal of pressure. Douglas was lucky. He wasn’t popular, and he had a job.

Part 4: But they can’t cancel the parade. It’s a parade.

Tammy and Angela shared a cigarette in the computer room.
“What are we supposed to do now, Mommy?”
“You’re an adult now, baby. You need to make your own way.”
“Mommy!”
“Let’s go to the parade. It’ll make you feel better.”
“They canceled it.”
“No! No. They. Did. Not. They wouldn’t cancel that parade after those boys played their butts off to win that basketball trophy and earn that parade. They just wouldn’t do that.”
“How are they going to have a parade when everyone’s out of a job and leaving town? A line of cars leaving town—that’s your parade.”
“So you didn’t read it anywhere? Or hear it on the radio or something?”
“No, I just figured—”
“—Oh, it’s still happening then. You don’t know anything.”
“Well, I don’t want to go.”
“Well, too bad because we’re going, and it’ll make you feel better. Isn’t Jamie sitting on the float with all the other drunk hall of famers?”
“I don’t care.”
“Yes, you do. You’ll kill yourself if you don’t get a picture.”
“I hate him, Mommy.”
“I know, baby, but what are you going to do about it?”
“Leave him.”
“If you were going to do that, then you would have done it already. You’re stuck, sucker.”
“I have nothing to wear to the stupid parade.”
“What is wrong with what you’re wearing now? You look nice.”
“I look like a powdered doughnut.”
“You’re crazy.”
“I’m going to leave him.”
“You do that, baby, but you can’t stay here.”
“I’ll stay with Carmella.”
“She’s moving to Oklahoma. Francisco came by today to return your father’s weed whacker and told us. She’s got a job as a secretary up there.”
“Carmella would never leave me here alone!”
“You’ll have to talk to her about that. They’ll be at the parade.”
“Is Daddy coming?”
“He’s in the car. Let’s go.”

Part 5: The face of destruction could use a shave. 

The parade was a grim affair indeed. It wasn’t canceled, but it wasn’t exactly a parade either. High school band members hauled their instruments down the street. A line of cars, stuffed to the brim with lives lived and mattresses balanced on the roofs, piled behind the meandering students. It was the biggest parade the town had ever witnessed. Randall Meeker prayed to Lord Buddha that no one would recognize his town car stuck smack dab in the middle of the funeral march. Angela snapped pictures and waved at a Bunko partner across the road. Tammy grimaced as Douglas tried to hoist Jamie onto the float. Jamie finally made it up and felt content to lie sedately on his belly as the rumble of the old car engine lulled him back to sleep. Rich waited in the car, blasting the A/C. Francisco pulled up the rear in his old hatchback, keeping a watchful eye for Carmella. She surely wouldn’t let him leave without her. Oklahoma wasn’t that awful.

It was beginning to get dusty. The men pulled their shirts up over their noses and mouths, while the ladies ran for cover. The pudgy boy who played the trombone began to wheeze as he blew bursts of dust from his horn. He was asthmatic and honestly should have taken up a string instrument because this happened a lot. The other kids rolled their eyes and looked for the boy’s mother with his inhaler. With the band stalled, the rest of the parade stalled out as well, including the old engine in the hall of famers float, causing Jamie to wake with a start. Jamie rolled off the side of the float and took a look at the engine. It was shot. This parade should be shot. Honking began to flow in like a tidal wave and soon the whole town was yelling at each other.
“Move that piece of shit!”
“We have to get to Wichita by sundown!”
“Is that Meeker’s car back there?”
“What’s that son of a bitch doing in the parade?”
“You killed this town, Randall, and I’m going to kill you dead!”

Randall Meeker shifted back into gear and sprayed out onto the sidewalk. He wasn’t going to sit front row at his own execution. He barreled down the sidewalk at a slow enough pace for people to get out of his way, but fast enough to mean business. He saw the familiar faces of the town he’d destroyed along the way. It wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t in charge of the rain! Randall Meeker was just trying to run a business. Randall Meeker crashed into the post office when Jamie threw a large Coke at his windshield.

Part 6: Everybody showed up for the angry mob.

Douglas pulled Randall from the car and began to perform CPR. Randall assured him he was alright. Hitting anything at twelve miles an hour was rarely deadly, although more so when you’re surrounded by an angry mob. It was starting to get dark, and Randall found it fitting. The sun sets on another tycoon. The mob swelled around Randall, and he couldn’t help but think this was how Jesus must have felt on the cross. Dying for the sins of mankind. Randall felt the first hand grasp him tight. It was only a matter of time.

“Nobody do anything stupid!” bellowed Carmella as she pulled Randall in close to her. He felt her hot breath on his neck and her prickly legs against his. This crazy bitch may just save his life. Randall turned toward his savior. Carmella spat in his face.

Carmella hated this man more than the rest of them, but she wasn’t about to see him torn apart. He’d have to fix his mess first and reopen the factory. Put everyone back to work. Then they could string him up by his ankles. It fell pretty quiet with the whole town gathered in one spot. Just the sound of the pudgy boy’s mother calmly rubbing his back, “Breathe in and out. In and out.”

Part 7: I should have watched it on TV because I couldn’t see a thing from where I was standing.

Rich slept calmly in the car while the rest of the town stared into what used to be a post office and was now a hostage crisis. Francisco, at the very end of the car line, was none the wiser and almost out of gas. Angela snapped pictures of the mob. Tammy sat and fanned Jamie beside the broken-down float. Carmella kept watch, with her hand grasping an unknown gun-like object in her purse. Douglas took Randall Meeker behind the counter toward the letter-sorting area. Douglas noticed how much the back of the post office reminded him of his Taco Bell. The packages and letters could be tacos and burritos. The stamps could be salsa packets. It wasn’t really all that similar, but Douglas thought he could work at the post office just the same.
“What’s the plan now, Bonnie?” Randall asked with a hopeless, toothy grin.
“The plan is for you to shut up.”
“Good plan.”
Carmella’s plan was simple. Keep everyone there until it rained and the cows came back. She was willing to wait as long as it took. The crowd was not.

Everyone was getting bored, including the constable.
“What do you think you’re doing, Carmella?” asked the officer, with his hand near his pistol.
“I don’t really know, Ken,” replied Carmella.
“Well, I went ahead and guessed that. Why don’t you take your hand out of your purse and just go home.”
Ken was a nice guy. He and Carmella went out on a date one time two or three years ago and saw a good movie, but Ken had three kids from a previous marriage and gave all his love to them. Carmella began to cry. She took her hand out of her purse, dropped her compact, and sat on the ground.

Part 8: And Lyle Lovett was there too! And he played a song!

Ken led Carmella, Douglas, and Randall Meeker out of the post office and into the street. Carmella bawled like a baby, and no one really felt like being an angry mob anymore. It was dark now, and the night cooled things down. Jamie slept on Tammy’s shoulder. Rich stepped out into the street and made his way to Francisco’s smoking car down the block. Together, they took a look under the hood.

“I can give you a lift over to the Citgo if you want,” offered Rich, but another man had already agreed to take him. Rich looked over and saw Lyle Lovett, the singer and former Mr. Julia Roberts, beckoning them both over to his car.
“Aren’t you Lyle Lovett?” asked Rich.
“I am,” replied Lovett with a kind smile.
“What are you doing in our town? Just passing through?”
“I was just stopping by the Costco to get some gas and a hotdog, yeah.”
“Can I introduce you to my wife? She’ll kill me if I tell her I met you and didn’t say anything.”
“Sure, let’s do it.”
“Are you famous?” asked Francisco.
“I don’t know,” replied Lovett.
Lyle Lovett made his way through the crowd and shook hands with Angela. Angela asked him to play a song, and Lyle said he didn’t have a guitar. Ken grabbed his guitar from the trunk of his squad car, and Lyle asked the marching band if they knew any songs he could play with. None of the kids could think of anything, so Lyle played “Cowboy Man.”

Part 9: Then it started to rain and everybody went home.

Then it started to rain, and everybody went home. The kids went outside to play.

Part 10: We could all use a vacation.

MEEKER PLANT TO REOPEN WITHIN WEEKS - Angela read aloud from behind the screen door as Rich planted more tomatoes for her vegetable garden. It rained for a solid week, and the cows came back. Everyone got ready to get back to work. Carmella and Francisco bought a new used car and started making payments. Douglas got promoted to night manager at Taco Bell. Randall Meeker paid for the high school football field to be reseeded. Jamie kept drinking, and Tammy kept complaining and would soon get pregnant with twins. Ken let his oldest daughter have a sleepover for her tenth birthday, and everything went really well.

Lyle Lovett never returned to Plato, TX.