He plays his song to the scenery. Towards the end, a woman
enters. He doesn’t see her. She smiles. He finishes playing. He clutches his
guitars, bends down, picks up a half pint of whiskey, takes a slug. As he does,
the woman claps. He’s startled, coughs, and nearly drops the bottle.
Woman: Very nice.
Man: I didn’t expect anyone…
Woman: I didn’t expect to hear music today. Did you write it?
Man: I did.
Woman: It’s a beautiful.
I’ve always been amazed by people who write or play music. I once tried
playing the violin, but that ended in disaster. I can only imagine what would
happen if I tried to write a song. What
inspired you to write that one? ( He
pulls out the copy of the obid from his pocket)
Man: She did… (He hands her the copy. She reads)
Woman: So sorry… You were very close?
Man: I knew her when I was young, but I’d lost touch with
her. For some peculiar reason, I just happened to be searching the internet a
couple of weeks ago, and I found that. It got me thinking….
Woman: Wow. Of all things…
Man: I take it, you live close by?
Woman: I live there.
Man: In that house?
Woman: Yes.
Man: That’s where her mother and she lived.
Woman: Really? (She looks at the article again) Christian
and Mary... Well, I bought the house from a couple with kids, and, I think,
before them was another family. I can’t
say I remember those names.
Man: That was a long time ago. They had horses – two as I
remember. The right side of the yard was fenced off…
Woman: I heard about the horses, but they were gone years before
I bought the place.
Man: It looks pretty much the same.
Woman: Not much changes around here. It has a slower pace of
life. That’s what drew me. What do you do?
Man: The best I can. (He smiles. She nods). You mean, what
do I do to pay the bills? In two weeks, I start a new job – software developer.
I’ve been out of work for two years, so
I suppose it’s time to get back to it.
Woman: You don’t seem so thrilled.
Man: I’m not, but se la vie. What do you do?
Woman: Photographer – portraits a specialty. That pays my
bills.
Man: Are you thrilled?
Woman: Like you said, se la vie.
Man: I think we could both use a drink… (Offers her the
bottle)…
Woman: What the heck. (She takes the bottle). To
dreams… May they never die… (She takes a
slug, hands the bottle back to him. He takes a slug. Screws the top on, puts
the bottle on the ground)
Man: That building
over there. That’s where I went to school.
Woman: Really? It’s a resort-spa now.
Man: It was a pre-seminary. I went for a semester. That’s
how I came to know this place.
Woman: You wanted to be a priest?
Man: I thought so. Most of the boys went there to take
advantage of a cheap, private education. By the time I got there, no one was going into
the priesthood. The semester after I left, they closed it down.
Woman: So you never become a priest…
Man: No. Days after I got there, I realized I’d made a big
mistake. I don’t know what I was thinking. As I remember, I had this crazy idea
about being a missionary; going to exotic places to help or save the people
from God knows what. What I came to know
is that religious life is all about discipline and falling in line – there’s
very little idealism. I was too much of a rebel for that. Besides, what I
really wanted was a girlfriend.
Woman: So you saw her from the distance, waved to her, she
waved to you, and the rest was history…
Man: Not exactly… I didn’t meet her until after I left the
school. I’d made friends in town, and came to visit during the summer. It was then
that I met her. She was a friend of one of my friend’s sisters. I was staying
at their house, and as I was sitting at the table having breakfast, I heard someone
entering the house. It was a bright voice, sunny, but a little raspy, edgy. I
sat up in my seat. The next thing I knew, she was standing in the doorway
looking straight at me. Our eyes met, and we had one of those instant
attractions. Just amazing…
Woman: Then what?
Man: We spent the rest of the day together. It was all so
innocent. I don’t even remember if I kissed her. We walked, talked, joked - I
don’t even remember what we talked about. And the light – I can still see it,
like a golden halo all about us. It was a pure summer light, but not hot and
oppressive. In my mind’s eye, that day never ended – it disappeared into
another realm…
Woman: Obviously, you’re not together, so then what?
Man: I went home. Over the next few weeks, we exchanged a
couple of letters. Then there was a phone call from her. I was so excited I almost
couldn’t talk. Again, I don’t remember what I said, but I do remember that, somehow,
I had the need to make her jealous, so I mentioned another girl. It didn’t seem
like much at the time, but after that, the letters and the phone calls stopped,
and I knew something was off. Being the crazy kid I was, I got on a bus the
next day, and went up to see her. I tried with everything in my power to
convince that I was the guy for her, but it was no use. The last image I have of
her is right here – walking away from me and disappearing into a cloud of dust
and sunlight.
Woman: So apropos. The girl of your dreams disappearing into
a dream – no beginning, no end. It just was… (He picks up the bottle of whiskey,
takes a slug. He offers it to her. She takes it, takes a slug, then hands it
back)
Man: Anything like that ever happen to you?
Woman: My parents were very weird. They didn’t come out and
say it, but they weren’t comfortable with me fraternizing with the other side. There
was no, Darling, you’re forbidden to date, but there was an undercurrent … An
unspoken rule of sorts… (She picks up the bottle. Takes a slug) But that didn’t
mean, I didn’t stretch it a bit….
Man: Weren’t we all like that? You’d tell your parents, you
were headed to Tommy’s house, but really, you were headed to the city. I did it
all the time, and my parents usually bought it.
Woman: As far as my parents knew, I was that nice girl who
took home A’s and B’s, and would someday go to college. As long as I didn’t get into trouble and I
did everything that was expected, they didn’t bother me. It was a very strange
existence. Sometimes I felt more like a pet, than a child.
Man: So what sort of things would you do? Skip school, smoke
pot, get drunk?
Woman: None of the above…
Man: Drop Acid, Snort Coke, shoot heroin?
Woman: Oh, no. I wasn’t into drugs.
Man: No?
Woman: No. They didn’t agree with me.
Man: So what were you into?
Woman (after a pause): Learning to be someone I wasn’t.
(Takes a slug, Hands it to him, He takes a slug)
Man: To revelation. (He lifts up the bottle. Takes a slug)
It takes a lot of guts to come to terms with what ails us.
Woman: That girl you came up here to win over... Don’t you
think, in a way, you wasted your time? When she stopped calling you, didn’t it
seem obvious that she wanted no part of you?
Man: I didn’t care. I was young and dumb.
Woman: I’m sure there was some girl in your neighborhood
who‘d let you get into her pants. It seems like a long way to go for nothing.
Man: It wasn’t about getting into her pants.
Woman: Isn’t it always, when you break it down?
Man: Is it? Look, maybe I should go.
Woman: Stay. I’d like to talk more. I haven’t had this much to drink in a long
time. I didn’t know what I was saying.
Man: Well, it is strong stuff.
Woman: And it went right to my head. Here, take it (hands
him the whiskey bottle). Truly, I’m sorry. Who am I to rain on your parade?
Man: I was a stupid kid. I knew perfectly well that she
wanted nothing to do with me, but I still made the trip. I would never do
anything like that now.
Woman: Some people have no capacity for rejection. Maybe she
did love you, but she was incapable of expressing it...
Man: Or, maybe, I was deluded, and she was wise beyond her
years…
Woman: Or, maybe, she was just a foolish kid who was too
stupid to appreciate who you were…
Man: Who was I?
Woman: A true romantic from the sounds of it…
Man: I was told that a lot. One of my friends used to say
that I could bring the spirits up or down depending on my mood. You know, this really
isn’t about her. It’s about experiencing a sensation I don’t often feel anymore.
It’s kind of like what you’d feel like when you first drank alcohol or started
going to bars – like you’d discovered a
new world. But that feeling only lasts for a couple of years. Then you spend
the rest of your days trying to recapture it. But you can’t. You never can.
What if we took off for a few days – you and I?
Woman: And go where?
Man: Any place you like. Okay – anyplace within a 60 mile
radius of here. You pick it.
Woman: But I have things to do – I have a shoot tomorrow.
Man: Cancel it.
Woman: What about you – don’t you have things to do?
Man: Not for another two weeks.
Woman: But we don’t know one another.
Man: we’ll get to know one another.
Woman: And then what?
Man: We’ll figure it out…
Woman: No.
Man: You said that you learned to be someone you weren’t.
What did you mean by that?
Woman: I played different roles until I figured out who I
was.
Man: And have you?
Woman: Yes, of course.
Man: Are you sure?
Woman: Why do I need to justify myself to you?
Man: You don’t. I
just want to get to know you.
Woman: Why?
Man: I don’t know – I just do.
Woman: The question is… Do I want to get to know you?
Man: Do you?
Woman: I’m on the fence. Play me another song, and then I’ll
decide.
Man: Okay (Plays her a song)… So?
Woman: So why don’t you make music for a living?
Man: There’s no money in it.
Woman: You have talent.
Man: Lots of people have talent. Did I pass the audition?
Woman: Yes, you passed.
Man: So where are we going?
Woman: You made it to the next level, but the game’s not
over.
Man: So what do I have to do now – set myself on fire and
sing the Star Spangled Banner?
Woman: Was there a time you dreamed of being a professional
musician?
Man: Of course, but as a song writer. There are two types of
people in music – musicians and song writers. I’ve always considered myself
more of a song writer.
Woman: Did you write that song for her?
Man: I did, and it was one of the purest things I ever
wrote. It might be the purest, and I had no idea what I was doing. It just
came. I was all of sixteen. Maybe that’s what kept me writing – I kept hoping
something like that would come again.
Woman: Did it?
Man: Technically, I wrote better ones, but never with the
same ease and under the same circumstances. I captured lightning in a bottle,
and I doubt if it’ll happen again.
Woman: You didn’t find love again?
Man: I thought I did, but was it – is it ever, really?
Woman: Were you married?
Man: Once…
Woman: Did you love her?
Man: I thought I did, but I can’t quite remember.
Woman: You got married, and don’t remember if you loved her
or not?
Man: And you - were you ever married?
Woman: No.
Man: Then how would you know what it’s like?
Woman: I just assumed…
Man: Omnia vincit amor…
Woman: Carpe
Diem, Tempus fugit… I know it’s Latin…
Man: Love conquers all. That’s what I thought, but
it doesn’t. At least for me, it didn’t. The bottom line is I never should have
been married…
Woman: Should I ask, why?
Man: Because it never fills the void.
Woman: And what void would that be?
Man: Substituting love for a broken dream.
Woman: So when music didn’t work out, you decided
to ease your pain by marrying her…
Man: In a nut shell.
Woman: No offense, but it sounds a bit lame.
Man: I cared a lot about her. We were great
friends. I thought things would take care of themselves.
Woman: You, the Romantic, who threw all caution to
the wind to win the girl of your dreams, settled for a passion-less marriage -
what’s wrong with that picture?
Man: She offered me hope, and I took it.
Woman: Couldn’t you have said, let’s remain
friends?
Man: It wasn’t that easy. She had regrets, too.
Woman: So the both of you thought, we’re miserable,
why not be miserable together?
Man: Why didn’t you marry?
Woman: Because I chose not to.
Man: Because no one was ever good enough?
Woman: Meaning?
Man: The deck was stacked so high against them from
the beginning that they stood no chance.
Woman: In other words, I’m a bitch.
Man: I didn’t say that.
Woman: But you meant it… Well, I am a bitch. If
being a bitch taking control of one’s life, and not settling for some second
rate relationship because I can’t hack life, then a bitch, I am…
Man: I see… (He starts putting his guitar away…)
Woman: Where are you going?
Man: Game over. You win.
Woman: There are no winners or losers... Hey, I
didn’t mean for this to happen like this… (He picks up his guitar, begins to
walk away)… Let’s fuck! (He stops in his tracks) Right here. Right now! (He
slowly turns, looks at her. She smiles) Winner, winner, chicken dinner... (She
begins to unbutton her blouse. After a pause… He puts down his guitar case… He
walks up to her, puts his hands on her upper arms… Light go to black)
