"YOU CAN COUNT ON ME" Screenplay by Kenneth Lonergan SHOOTING DRAFT 2000 FADE IN: INT./EXT. A CAR (MOVING). NIGHT The shifting lights from the odd passing car play over the faces of MR. and MRS. PRESCOTT, a pleasant-looking couple in their late thirties, dressed up for a night out. Mr. Prescott drives them along a dark hilly two-lane highway. MRS. PRESCOTT Why do they always put braces on teenage girls at the exact moment when they're the most self-conscious about their appearance? Pause. MR. PRESCOTT I don't know. UP AHEAD, near the top of the oncoming hill, a RED PICKUP TRUCK is poking its nose out of the short exit lane. MRS. PRESCOTT Tom -- MR. PRESCOTT I see him... The PICKUP LURCHES into the road, with not nearly enough time to spare. MRS. PRESCOTT Tom! MR. PRESCOTT Jesus! Mr. Prescott swerves OVER the DOUBLE SOLID WHITE LINE and clears the truck as -- Another pair of HEADLIGHTS from an oncoming truck RISES UP over the HILL directly in FRONT of them -- MRS. PRESCOTT (Screams) Tom! Mr. Prescott's FOOT STOMPS on the BRAKE. We BLACK OUT and there is the SOUND of a terrible CRASH. CUT TO: EXT. THE PRESCOTTS' FRONT DOOR. NIGHT The SHADOW of a big man looms up onto the front door. A big finger RINGS the BELL. A moment. AMY, a thirteen-year-old baby-sitter with braces, opens the door and looks up. In the b.g. we see TWO CHILDREN, SAMMY (Samantha) and TERRY PRESCOTT, in their pajamas, lying on their stomachs in the living room, watching television. Sammy is eleven. Terry is eight. REVERSE: DARRYL, the SHERIFF, a portly fellow with glasses and a mustache, looks down at AMY. SHERIFF Hello, Amy. AMY (Puzzled) Hi, Darryl. SHERIFF (Thinking) Amy, would you please tell the kids you'll be right back, and then shut the door and come outside to talk to us for a minute? AMY OK. (To kids) Be right back, you guys! SAMMY You're not supposed to go out, Amy. TERRY She's going to smoke a cigarette. AMY closes the door and looks expectantly up at Darryl. Darryl doesn't know how to start. EXT. CHURCH. DAY CREDITS BEGIN OVER a blustery April day. The steeple of the little white church stands out against the sharp blue sky. INT. TOWN CHURCH. DAY It's a small church and a small congregation, but it's full. There's a CHOIR of mostly SENIOR CITIZENS arrayed in the back. TWO CLOSED CASKETS are laid out in front of the MINISTER, a fiftyish woman with thick glasses and salt-and- pepper hair, who is giving a eulogy MOS. Among the mourners in the second row sit Terry and Sammy, both redeyed, and uncomfortable in their dress-up clothes. Their Aunt Ruth, a pinch-faced woman in her forties, sits next to them. Sammy and Terry are holding hands tightly. Terry wipes his eyes with his free hand. The Minister addresses her remarks to the children. Sammy is hanging on the Minister's every word; Terry is shifting his eyes and his seat as if it will kill him to sit still another minute. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. SCOTTSVILLE CEMETERY. SIXTEEN YEARS LATER. DAY On the beautiful hill overlooking the beautiful windy green country, SAMMY, twenty-seven years old now, puts flowers on her parents' graves with quick, practiced movements. She is a nice-looking young woman of a neat appearance, saved from primness by an elusive, pleasantly flustered quality. An unsuccessfully neat person. She is dressed in office clothes -- white blouse, dark skirt, high heels, light raincoat over everything. She picks out a couple of weeds and then bows her head and closes her eyes. CREDITS END. EXT. SCOTTSVILLE -- MAIN STREET. DAY Scottsville is a small town. Main Street. Run-down old stores next to a new bank, a couple of chain stores, a few restaurants of varying ambitions. Civil War statue. World War I statue. World War II statue. Residential streets wandering away from Main Street up and down hills. You know there's a minimall somewhere nearby. A fair amount of activity during the daytime. SAMMY'S CAR pulls up across the street from where an eight- year-old BOY in a secondhand baseball jacket and a school knapsack is waiting at the curb. This is her son, RUDY. SAMMY calls out the car window. SAMMY Rudy, come on! I'm really late! Rudy hurries across the street and gets in the car, slinging his knapsack into the backseat. INT. THE CAR (MOVING). DAY SAMMY How was school? RUDY Stupid. SAMMY Why do you say that? RUDY We're supposed to write a story for English homework, but they didn't tell us what it's supposed to be about. SAMMY What do you mean? RUDY I mean they didn't tell us what it's supposed to be about. They said do whatever you want. SAMMY So what's wrong with that? RUDY Nothing. I just think it's unstructured. SAMMY (Smiles) Well, I'm sure you'll be able to think of something. If you can't, I'll help you. INT./EXT. CAR/CAROL'S HOUSE. DAY Sammy stops the car outside a heavily THICKETED DRIVEWAY (CAROL'S HOUSE), and RUDY gets out. SAMMY Don't forget your backpack. Rudy returns to take his knapsack out of the back. RUDY It's not a backpack, it's a knapsack. SAMMY Don't forget your knapsack. Rudy hoists his knapsack out of the back. SAMMY Give me a kiss. Rudy gives her a kiss and puts his arms around her and squeezes her neck. He withdraws, slams the door. As Sammy DRIVES AWAY, he slogs up the long twisting driveway. EXT. MERCHANTS NATIONAL TRUST -- PARKING LOT. DAY Sammy gets out of her car, which is parked in one of the half dozen spaces in the little parking lot allocated for bank employees. She hurries toward the employees' entrance, fixing her skirt as she goes. INT. MERCHANTS NATIONAL TRUST. DAY Sammy hurries down the clean hallway in the back past MABEL, a pleasant-faced fellow employee. MABEL Guess who's been asking for you? SAMMY Oh no, really? Mabel nods and passes by. SAMMY KNOCKS on a big door that says "Manager" and has half the letters of the previous branch manager's name taken off it. BRIAN (Inside) Yeah, come in! Sammy swings open the door. BRIAN EVERETT, the new branch manager, is unpacking a box. Sammy is surprised to see he is in his early thirties and very good-looking in a boyish sort of way; he wears shirt-sleeves and tie, and a wedding ring. SAMMY Mr. Everett? BRIAN Yeah: Brian. SAMMY Brian. Hi. I'm Samantha Prescott -- I'm the lending officer? BRIAN Yeah, hi, how are you? Come on in. Sit down. Sammy comes into the office and sits. SAMMY I am so sorry I was late... BRIAN Yeah, we missed you before... SAMMY I got held up. Believe me, it is not something I make a habit of... BRIAN I'm sure it's not. Actually -- could you just, could you close that door for me? Thanks. Sammy gets up and closes the door. INT. BRIAN'S OFFICE. LATER Sammy sits in front of Brian's desk. Brian is behind the desk listening. SAMMY -- so I always just run out at 3:15 to pick him up and then run him real quick over to the sitter's house. Anyway, Larry never minded about it and I was just hoping it would be OK with you too... BRIAN Well -- Samantha -- I realize that Scottsville is not exactly a major banking center... SAMMY No it's not... BRIAN No -- I know it's not... But it's kind of a personal challenge to me to see what we can do to bring local service up to the same kinds of standards we'd be trying to meet if we were the biggest branch in the state. And that means I don't want anybody running out at 3:15 or 3:30, or whenever the bus happens to come in that day. Now is there anybody else who can pick your son up after school? Does your husband work in the area? Do you -- SAMMY Oh -- No -- Rudy Sr. isn't "on the scene." So to speak. BRIAN Well, I can give you a couple of days to make some other arrangement, but... SAMMY Well -- Brian? I understand what you're saying, and I think it's great. I do. Because there's a lot of things around here that could use some attention. Believe me. But I've honestly been meeting that bus every day for four years now and it really does take just fifteen minutes, and if I take the time out of my lunch hour... BRIAN I'd really prefer it if you would make some other arrangement. OK? SAMMY (Brightly) I'll do my best...! Brian kicks back in his chair and puts his hands behind his head. BRIAN How old's your son? SAMMY He's eight. BRIAN That's a terrific age. INT. SAMMY'S CAR (MOVING). DUSK Sammy and Rudy drive home in silence. The orange sunlight flickers through the trees and onto their faces as they drive along. EXT. PRESCOTT (SAMMY'S) HOUSE. DUSK The same house that Sammy grew up in, with sixteen years' more wear on it. Sammy's car swings expertly by the mailbox, and Rudy reaches half his body out of the passenger window and gets the mail. INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. DUSK Sammy comes into the house carrying two bags of groceries. Rudy follows, looking through the mail. Sammy passes through the house and goes into the kitchen. RUDY You got a letter from Uncle Terry. SAMMY What?! Her whole face lights up and she grabs the letter. She tears it open and reads it with growing excitement. INT. SAMMY'S BEDROOM. LATER Sammy opens her FILE DRAWER. Inside are tax files, household files, miscellaneous files. She puts Terry's letter away in a very full file marked "Terry -- Correspondence." The folder is stuffed with other letters, on all different kinds of stationery from all over the country, all from Terry. INT. DINING ROOM. NIGHT Sammy and Rudy are eating dinner. It's a biggish house for just two people. RUDY Whose room is he gonna stay in? SAMMY He can stay in the little room. (Pause) But you know what? He's not going to live here. He's only gonna stay for a little while... And it's OK if you don't remember him, because you were only six the last time he was here... But it'll be nice if you got a chance to get to know each other a little bit. Don't you think? Rudy looks worried and doesn't answer. INT. LIVING ROOM. LATER Rudy is on the floor, writing in his school composition notebook. Sammy comes downstairs. SAMMY Rudy? Would it distract you if I put on some music? RUDY No. She puts on a CD, sits down and picks up a book. She looks at Rudy, who is writing away. SAMMY Did you think of a story? RUDY Uh huh. SAMMY What's it about? RUDY My father. Pause. SAMMY What about your father? RUDY It's just a made-up story about him. SAMMY Can I read it when you're done? RUDY It's not very good. SAMMY Don't say that. Rudy keeps writing. INT. LIVING ROOM. LATER Sammy is smoking a cigarette and drinking a glass of wine and reading Rudy's story. It upsets her. INT. SAMMY'S BEDROOM. LATER Sammy sits on the edge of her bed, not dialing the phone. She catches a glimpse of herself in her parents' floor-length mirror with the worn, heavy wooden frame. Against her better judgment she picks up the phone and dials. INT. DAWSON'S GRILL. NIGHT Sammy and BOB STEEGERSON are eating dinner at Dawson's, the only fancy restaurant in town. Bob is in his mid-thirties, a Realtor, a decent, ordinary guy. SAMMY Anyway, Bob, it's sort of this adventure story, and Rudy's father is this secret agent or something, working for the government... And it just made me feel weird. You know? Because I never really say much to him about Rudy Sr., because I don't know what to say. And I don't know whether I should just let him imagine whatever he wants to imagine, or whether I should sit him down sometime and tell him, you know, that his father is not such a nice person. You know? BOB Well... I don't know, Sammy. What have you told him already? SAMMY Not much. He knows I don't have the highest opinion of him. And he knows I don't want to see him or know anything about him, ever. But I tried to keep it kind of neutral. Anyway... I could go into a lot more detail, believe me. BOB Well... It's an interesting problem. But I don't really know what to tell you... It's a little outside my personal field of expertise... SAMMY All right. BOB I'd be glad to give it some thought... SAMMY OK. He is smiling at her. SAMMY What? BOB Nothing... I'm just glad to see you... I'm glad you called me. SAMMY I bet you were surprised...! BOB Um -- a little. Bob drains his wineglass. Sammy cuts at her steak. INT. BOB'S BEDROOM. NIGHT Sammy and Bob lie in Bob's bed, a few minutes after having made love. They are very far away from each other, but trying with difficulty not to let on. SAMMY I should get going... BOB Really? SAMMY Yeah... I've got the baby-sitter... But... Thanks for a lovely evening. BOB Oh. Thank you. She kisses him. She tries to make it sexy, but he's not into it anymore and he politely restricts the kissing. INT. SAMMY'S BATHROOM. NIGHT Sammy stands in her slip brushing her teeth in front of the mirror. She brushes vigorously, looking at herself while she brushes. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. STREET CORNER -- WORCESTER, MASS. DAWN The corner window of a grim little apartment building on a very grim street in a grim little city. INT. TERRY'S APARTMENT -- WORCESTER, MASS. NIGHT A tiny apartment with a bed, chair, table, fridge, and not much else. One window has a broken pane and an old sheet neatly thumbtacked over it to keep the wind out. TERRY PRESCOTT comes in. He is twenty-five years old: a real mess with a certain natural appeal. He wears old jeans, very old hiking boots, and a lumberjack-style coat. He takes a wool hat off his head. His hair is longish and dirty. SHEILA SADLER is sitting at the table by the fridge. She is barely eighteen, frail and damaged. SHEILA Hey, Terry. TERRY Hey. Terry looks at her and smiles encouragingly. She smiles back. SHEILA Where'd you get the hat? TERRY Oh, I got it on the street for a dollar. SHEILA It's nice. TERRY Well, you know, it's pretty much your standard woolen hat. SHEILA Yeah, I had a very similar reaction to it. Sheila looks away. Silence. TERRY Can I get that money from you? SHEILA Yeah. Sorry. As she opens her purse, Terry takes a few vague steps toward her. She takes out a tiny hippie-ish woven wallet and gives Terry all the money in it: a twenty and two ones. TERRY Is that all you have? SHEILA Yeah. TERRY Can you borrow some cash from your brother? SHEILA Um, yeah, but that would involve speaking to him. TERRY Well, I'm definitely gonna be gone for a couple of days at least, Sheila. SHEILA Why do you have to stay so long? TERRY Because my sister is not a bank, you know? I can't just show up and ask her for -- SHEILA You seem to think my brother's a bank! TERRY Oh Sheila can we just cut out the puerile crap?! I'll be back just as soon as I can. OK? I am not the kind of man that everyone says I am. SHEILA I know you're not. TERRY I'll call you tonight. Pause. SHEILA Don't you wanna tell me you love me? TERRY I love you. SHEILA That was really convincing. TERRY Well... I think after this is over you should seriously consider moving back home. SHEILA (Short laugh) Oh, yeah. TERRY (Gives up) All right... SHEILA You gonna call tonight? TERRY Definitely. She puts her arms around him and holds on. EXT. NEW YORK STATE -- MOUNTAINS -- HIGHWAY. DAY Wide open shot of hilly country and a big sky overhead. A GREYHOUND BUS drives into the shot along the curve of the highway. INT. BUS (MOVING) -- BATHROOM. DAY Terry is seated on the toilet seat in the cramped bathroom smoking a joint. He takes a huge hit and holds it in for as long as humanly possible. He blows out what's left, takes another equally huge hit and holds it in. EXT. LOCAL HIGHWAY. DAY The BUS WHOOSHES along a smaller, heavily wooded roller- coaster road. INT. BUS (MOVING). DAY Terry looks out the window at the passing scenery. The sunlight flickers on his face. POV TERRY: The bus rolls past the hilltop cemetery. Terry shifts uncomfortably in his seat. POV TERRY: THE "WELCOME TO SCOTTSVILLE" SIGN whizzes by. Houses start dotting the side of the road. Terry starts getting very agitated. EXT. MAIN STREET. DAY Terry stands at one end of Main Street, backpack over his shoulder, as the BUS DRIVES OFF. He looks around at the town going about its Saturday afternoon business. INT. KITCHEN. SIMULTANEOUS Loud country-western music is blaring as Sammy, wearing an apron, sets a big vase of flowers on the kitchen table and hurries to the oven. There are also cookies, a pie, evidence of massive fancy cooking. She puts on her oven mitts and takes a lasagna out of the oven, as the phone rings. She picks up. SAMMY (Into phone) Hello?... TERRY!... EXT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. DAY Sammy practically bursts out the front door. She has changed into nice clothes. EXT. ALLEY. DAY Terry secrets himself in a small dark alley. He takes out his carefully wrapped half joint and lights it. SMOKING, he looks at the sunlit slant of street beyond the alley. EXT. MAIN STREET. A FEW MOMENTS LATER Terry, fairly well stoned, walks along Main Street. A skinny man emerges from his hardware store to greet Terry and shake hands. Terry says "Hi," but keeps on walking. He passes some other people. He almost runs right into SHERIFF DARRYL, sixteen years fatter and grayer. SHERIFF Whoa there! TERRY Sorry. The Sheriff recognizes Terry and breaks into a big smile. SHERIFF God damn! Terry Prescott! How you doin'? Gimme a cuddle! The Sheriff gives Terry a big bear hug. Terry is wasted and selfconscious but smiling. He pats the Sheriff's back. TERRY How you doin', Darryl? SHERIFF Which way you headed? TERRY I'm just goin' to see Sammy at Dawson's... SHERIFF Can I walk with you a little? TERRY Sure, yeah -- SHERIFF So Sammy says you been out in Alaska...? TERRY Yeah, I was workin' out there for a little while... EXT. MAIN STREET. A FEW MOMENTS LATER The Sheriff walks along with Terry. Terry, very self-conscious about smelling like pot, fumbles to light a cigarette. The Sheriff does not seem to notice. SHERIFF -- Sammy says she's gettin' postcards from all across the country. TERRY Yeah, I've been all over the place... They stop outside Dawson's. SHERIFF Well, it's good to have you back here, I'll tell you that. TERRY Thanks, Darryl. Keep enforcing the peace. SHERIFF Well, that'll be a little harder now that you're home, but I'll do what I can. TERRY No, man, I'm reformed. SHERIFF Oh, yeah. Good to see you, kid. TERRY Thanks, Darryl. Darryl walks away. Terry stands outside the restaurant looking for Sammy. Behind him in the restaurant Sammy is sitting at a table, talking to the waitress. She sees Terry and gets up immediately, smiling like crazy as she threads her way through the tables toward the door. Terry turns and sees her. He breaks into a big smile, tosses his cigarette and goes into the restaurant. Through the window we see them make their way toward each other. Sammy throws her arms around him. He hugs her back with a big involuntary smile as the GLASS DOOR slowly CLOSES. INT. DAWSON'S -- AT THEIR TABLE. A FEW MOMENTS LATER Terry is studying the menu, over-intently. Sammy is beaming at him. TERRY Sorry about yesterday -- SAMMY I don't care -- TERRY I was studying the bus description... and I just... I got on the wrong bus -- I mean I missed my stop -- SAMMY I don't care, Terry. I'm just so glad to see you...! TERRY I'm glad to see you too, Sammy. Um... are you coming from work? SAMMY Um, no, it's Saturday... TERRY Yeah, no, it's just... you're dressed so formally... SAMMY Oh. No. You know, I just thought I'd -- You know I thought it was a special occasion... which it is... TERRY No, it's good. I thought I'd dress up too. He gestures to his shitty clothes. SAMMY That's OK. You look fine. TERRY (A strange, unsuccessful joke) Yeah, this is the haute cuisine of garments. SAMMY What? TERRY Nothing, nothing... Um... So how are you? SAMMY I'm fine. TERRY How's Rudy? SAMMY We're fine, Terry. How are you? (Pause) I mean -- TERRY Yeah... SAMMY -- Where have you been lately, Terry? TERRY -- I know, I haven't been -- SAMMY I got a postcard from you from Alaska...? TERRY Yeah, I was up there for a while... SAMMY But that was in the Fall, Terry... TERRY Yeah, I know I've been out of touch... SAMMY I was a little worried. (Pause) I mean -- TERRY Oh, I been a lotta different places... Um... I went down to Florida for a while... I was doing some work in Orlando... I've been all over the place. SAMMY Well... I just wish you would have let me know you were OK... TERRY Yeah. I didn't realize it'd been so long... He looks around the restaurant. SAMMY (Beaming again) Are you gonna stay in town for a while? TERRY Well, I don't know... I got all these things I gotta do back in Worcester... SAMMY Oh... TERRY ...Yeah, so I'm probably not gonna be able to stay more than a day or so... SAMMY Oh... Well... That's all right...! TERRY ...I'm kind of trying to keep to a schedule of sorts. It's a long and worthy story but I won't trouble you with it right now. He twists around and looks all over the restaurant. She watches him. SAMMY Are you expecting someone? TERRY Who would I be expecting here? SAMMY You just keep looking around, that's all. TERRY No, I was just wondering if we could get some more refreshments, actually. He laughs. Looks down. Silence. He looks up at her. TERRY I've actually got to confess to you, Sammy... that the reason you may not have heard from me for a little while is that I've been kind of unable to write... on account of the fact that I was in jail for a little while. SAMMY You were what? A couple of people in the restaurant look at them. Terry notices but Sammy does not. TERRY Well, I did a little time, I guess, in Florida. For, uh, just for bullshit... SAMMY What?! TERRY It was just bullshit... SAMMY What did you do? TERRY I didn't do anything. Does it occur to you that maybe I was wronged? SAMMY No! TERRY Well, could I please -- SAMMY Oh my God! -- TERRY Would you please let me -- SAMMY -- What happened?! TERRY I got into a fight in a bar down in Florida. Which I was not the one who instigated it, at all. But they worked up all this bullshit against me and they threw me in the pen for three months. I didn't write you because I didn't want you to get all upset about it. I just figured you'd figure I was on the road for a little while. I know it was stupid and I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to make you worry. But you know what? I can't run around all the time doin' stuff or not doin' stuff because it's gonna make you worry! Because then I come back here, and I tell you about my fuckin'... traumas, and I get this wounded little "I've Let You Down" bullshit, over and over again, and it really just -- cramps me! Like I just want to get out from under it!... And here I am back in this fuckin' hole explaining myself to you again! SAMMY OK -- Can you please stop cursing at me? TERRY I mean, I realize I'm in no position to, uh, basically say anything, ever -- But it's not like I'm down there in some redneck bar in Florida having an argument with some stripper's boyfriend and I suddenly think, "Hey! Maybe this'd be a good time to really stick it to Sammy and get myself locked up for a few months." SAMMY I'm sorry. TERRY Me too, man. I mean "welcome home." SAMMY Hey -- You don't write me for six months, I have no idea where you are -- TERRY I'm sorry -- SAMMY -- I don't know if you're alive or dead -- TERRY I'm sorry -- SAMMY -- and then you show up out of nowhere and tell me you were in jail? TERRY I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Sammy, I'm really sorry...! The patrons are all either looking at them or trying not to look. Silence. TERRY Sammy... SAMMY What? TERRY Um... I'm in the midst of a slight predicament... SAMMY What do you need? Money? TERRY Um... Yeah... I'm broke. I gotta get back to Worcester tomorrow. I got this girl there, and she's kind of in a bad situation...? I just need to borrow some money. Whatever you can spare. (Pause) I'll pay you back... I'll pay you back, man. SAMMY I really wish Mom was here. TERRY So do I, man. SAMMY Nobody knows what to do with you. TERRY I know how they feel, man. Silence, except for the sounds of the restaurant. SAMMY Terry? Can I ask you something? TERRY Sure. SAMMY (With some difficulty) Well -- I mean, do you ever go to church anymore? TERRY Come on, Sammy, can we not talk about that shit? SAMMY Do you? TERRY Um -- No, Sammy. I don't. SAMMY Can you tell me why not? TERRY Um, yeah. Because I think it's ridiculous. SAMMY Well -- can you tell me without like, denigrating what I believe in? TERRY Because I think it's primitive, OK? I think it's a fairy tale. SAMMY Well -- I mean, have you ever considered that maybe that's part of what's making things so difficult for you? TERRY No. SAMMY -- That you've lost hold of -- well, not just your religious feeling, but lost hold of any kind of anchor, any kind of trust in anything... I mean no wonder you drift around so much. What could ever stop you? How would you ever know if you had found the right thing? TERRY Well, uh, I'm not really looking for anything, man. I'm just, like, trying to get on with it. The WAITRESS approaches with their salads. WAITRESS Here we go... She sets them down on the table. SAMMY and TERRY Thank you. The WAITRESS leaves. Silence. Terry picks at his salad. Sammy doesn't touch hers. She watches him miserably. EXT. BANK -- ATM. DAY Terry watches while Sammy inserts her card in the ATM and punches in her code. Terry waits. She punches in $300. The machine grinds out her cash. She gives him the money. TERRY Thank you, Sammy... I'm really gonna pay this back. She takes her card back and puts it back in her wallet. INT. SAMMY'S CAR. DAY Sammy and Terry get in the car. Sammy isn't saying anything. TERRY Where we going? SAMMY To pick up Rudy. She puts on her glasses and her seat belt. She won't look at him. TERRY Well... do you not even want me to visit now? 'Cause I can catch the bus at five o'clock if that's what you want. SAMMY Well, of course I want you to visit, you idiot! I've been looking forward to seeing you more than anything! I've been telling everyone I know that you were coming home! I cleaned the whole fucking house so it would look nice for you! I thought you were gonna stay for at least a few days! It didn't occur to me that you were just broke again. I wish you would have just sent me an invoice! She stops. Terry is now totally contrite. INT. BATHROOM. NIGHT Terry sits in the tub. Water drips from the faucet. He is staring blankly up at the pristine blue-and-white tiled wall and the neatly folded matching towels. INT. LIVING ROOM. LATER Sammy and Rudy are in the living room. Rudy is playing with a Game Boy type game. In the b.g., TERRY is dialing the PHONE. He looks clean and shaved, his hair is neatly combed. TERRY (Into phone) Hi, is that Malcolm?... Hi, this is Terry Prescott?... I been trying to get ahold of Sheila and there's no answer, and I was just wondering if she -- She what?... He sits down. TERRY (Into phone) When?... Well -- Is she all right?... Well, could I talk to her?... Well, could you give her a message that I -- CLICK. He is hung up on. He slowly HANGS UP. Sammy notices that something's wrong. He looks at her from across the room. TERRY That girl I'm with tried to kill herself. SAMMY What? TERRY She tried to kill herself. INT. TERRY'S ROOM. NIGHT Terry is sitting on the bed, addressing an envelope to SHEILA. He puts the $300 in the ENVELOPE and seals it. He sees Sammy standing in the doorway. He starts to unlace his boots. SAMMY Do you have everything you need? TERRY I think so. Sammy comes into the room and sits next to him. He is very busy with his laces. SAMMY What are you going to do? TERRY I don't know. Send the money I guess. SAMMY Maybe you should stay home for a little while, Terry. TERRY Yeah, maybe that'd be a good idea. He starts crying. Sammy pats him. EXT. SCOTTSVILLE CHURCH. DAY A bright, clear, blue-skied Sunday morning in Scottsville. Inside the little white church they're singing. EXT. CHURCH. DAY People are filing out of the church. We also see a couple of the bank employees, including BRIAN and his very pretty six months' PREGNANT wife, NANCY. We find SAMMY and RUDY. Sammy is chatting to some neighbors. Rudy is bored out of his mind, waiting for her. INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE -- LIVING ROOM. DAY Terry is lying on the sofa, smoking, with his feet up and boots on, watching Sunday morning TV. On the coffee table are his dirty ashtray, dirty bowl and spoon, Rice Krispies box and a milk carton. EXT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. NIGHT Crickets buzz loudly outside the house. INT. STAIRS. NIGHT Sammy, in her bathrobe, comes down the stairs into the living room. Terry is on the sofa playing with Rudy's Game Boy. He barely looks up when she speaks to him. SAMMY I'm going to bed. Do you have everything you need? TERRY Yeah. Thanks. SAMMY Good night. TERRY Good night. Pause. SAMMY Terry, I'm really glad you're home. Terry tries to smile at her. TERRY Yeah, me too, Sammy. He goes back to his game. She hesitates, then heads back up the stairs. INT. SAMMY'S KITCHEN. DAY Sammy, Terry and Rudy sit at the kitchen table. Sammy is dressed for work. Rudy is dressed for school. Terry is also fully dressed, drinking the last dregs of a mug of coffee. He is tired, but listening to Sammy very carefully, as if receiving difficult and critical instructions. SAMMY OK. So we'll drop Rudy off at the bus, then all you have to do is drop me off at the bank, and just pick Rudy up at 3:30 in front of town hall, and drive him over to Carol's house. And that's it. She's on Harvey Lane, right past where the Dewitts used to live. TERRY OK. SAMMY Rudy knows where she lives. Terry glances at Rudy, then back at Sammy. TERRY OK. INT. BANK -- MABEL'S DESK. DAY Sammy walks past MABEL'S DESK, carrying a big stack of files. She drops three of them on the desk. MABEL is typing away at her PC. The colors are a garish PURPLE background with GREEN letters. SAMMY God, Mabel, don't those colors hurt your eyes? MABEL Oh no, they keep me fresh. Sammy proceeds down the hall and into -- INT. BRIAN'S OFFICE. DAY Brian is at his desk, busy working between stacks of papers. She knocks on the open door. BRIAN Yeah! (Looks up) Hi, Sammy. What can I do for you? SAMMY Um, Brian? Did you want us to turn this time sheet in at the end of the day, or do you want it at the end of the week...? BRIAN Oh, yeah, end of the day'll be fine. SAMMY Seems like an awful lot of extra paperwork... Brian hesitates, shrugs and smiles. BRIAN I like paperwork. Sammy looks at him with a blank smile. INT. BANK -- SAMMY'S DESK. A MOMENT LATER Sammy sits down at her desk and notices the time: 3:30. She reaches for the phone, then decides not to call. EXT. SCOTTSVILLE -- MAIN STREET. DAY The CLOCK on the front of the TOWN HALL reads 3:31. The SCHOOL BUS pulls up across from the town hall and disgorges a handful of kids. Rudy comes out with his knapsack, looking around... POV RUDY: Terry, across the street, sits on the hood of Sammy's car, smoking. Rudy walks over to him. RUDY You showed up. TERRY Looks that way. INT. SAMMY'S CAR (MOVING). DAY Terry and Rudy drive in silence. Terry glances at Rudy. TERRY Put on your seat belt. RUDY It pushes on my neck. TERRY What? RUDY It pushes on my neck. It's uncomfortable. TERRY Well, when somebody slams into us and you go sailin' through the windshield, that's liable to be uncomfortable too. So put on your seat belt. Rudy puts on his seat belt. RUDY Mom's parents died in a car accident. TERRY I know. They're my parents too. RUDY They are? TERRY Well, yeah. Your mom is my sister. RUDY Yeah, I know. TERRY So that means we have the same parents. RUDY Oh yeah. They drive in silence for a moment. Terry glances down at Rudy. INT. BANK -- SAMMY'S DESK. DAY Sammy, laden with files, plops down at her desk as Mabel is passing by. Mabel puts a phone message down in front of her. MABEL Um -- Carol just called. She said Terry and Rudy never showed up at her house? SAMMY You've got to be kidding me. A MOMENT LATER: Brian, talking to an employee, sees Sammy, across the bank, hurrying out the employees' exit. BRIAN Hey, Sammy? Sammy doesn't hear and exits. EXT. ORRIN'S BACKYARD. DAY Terry and Rudy are banging nails with RAY, a young guy Terry's age. Terry, hammering with swift, accurate blows, glances up and watches Rudy for a second. Rudy is hammering away with no great skill. TERRY Hey. Look. He moves Rudy's hand down toward the end of the handle. TERRY You hold it further down, you're gonna get a lot more power. You should be able to put that nail down with two or three hits. Look: With two swift strokes he drives the nail flush into the wood. TERRY Try it. RUDY That's not the way I hold it. TERRY Well, the way you hold it is wrong. RUDY Why can't I just do it my own way? Terry looks at him unsympathetically for a moment. TERRY (Shrugs) You can. He goes back to work. Rudy resumes hammering. After a moment he switches his grip and starts hammering Terry's way. Terry looks up and watches him. EXT. IN FRONT OF ORRIN'S HOUSE. A MOMENT LATER Sammy pulls up, fast, and gets out of the car. Hearing the hammering from the backyard, she walks quickly around the side of the house and stops short when she sees Rudy hammering happily away with Terry and Ray. She watches them working, unobserved, with mixed annoyance and relief, and finally with quiet pleasure, because it's a very cheerful sight. INT. BANK. DAY Half the staff has gone home. Sammy, in her coat, picks a NOTE up off her CHAIR. It reads: "SAMMY, PLEASE SEE ME A.S.A.P!!! -- BRIAN" INT. BRIAN'S OFFICE. A MOMENT LATER Sammy stands in front of Brian's desk. SAMMY Brian? Did you want to see me? BRIAN Yeah. I was kind of wondering what happened to you today. SAMMY Oh -- Didn't Mabel -- I had a false alarm about my son... BRIAN Yeah, I kind of thought you were gonna work that out. SAMMY Well, I did work it out -- more or less -- BRIAN Then why're you running outta here in the middle of the day without a word of explanation to me, Sammy? SAMMY Brian, don't yell at me. BRIAN I'm -- I'm not yelling. I'm just gettin' a little frustrated here. SAMMY Well Brian: BRIAN Sorry, could you close the door please? Sammy closes the door. INT. DINING ROOM. NIGHT Sammy, Terry and Rudy sit at dinner. The atmosphere is lively and cheerful. SAMMY ...And Eddy Dwyer lives in Buffalo, with his wife and two sons, if you can believe it. TERRY That is depressing. SAMMY Why? TERRY He just never struck me as the marrying type, that's all. RUDY Who are you talking about? TERRY Wild kids we used to know. RUDY Were you a wild kid? TERRY Not compared to your Mom. RUDY Yeah, right. TERRY You don't believe me? RUDY No. TERRY Ask her. RUDY Mom, were you? SAMMY No comment. Rudy is amazed. Terry looks at him like, "Told you so." INT. SAMMY'S BEDROOM. NIGHT Sammy is asleep in bed. INT. RUDY'S BEDROOM. NIGHT Rudy is asleep in bed. INT. BAR. NIGHT Terry sits at the bar, drinking beer. There are a few locals in the place, but it's pretty dead. He looks around; his energy is too restless for the near-empty bar. INT. RUDY'S BEDROOM. NIGHT The DOOR OPENS, and TERRY COMES IN, smoking a cigarette. He's plastered. He looks around the room. Looks at Rudy's toys. Picks up some superhero comics and sits on Rudy's bed. Then he spies Rudy's COMPOSITION BOOK, picks it up and starts reading it. RUDY (O.C.) What are you doing? Terry looks up. Rudy is half-sitting up in bed. TERRY Oh -- Just readin' some of your compositions. RUDY Why are you smoking? TERRY Um... Because it's bad. Don't ever do it. RUDY I won't. TERRY You know this used to be my room? RUDY Yeah... (Pause) Do you want it back? TERRY No. Rudy is very relieved. Terry keeps reading. Rudy watches him. RUDY Did you fight in Vietnam? TERRY No. I wasn't even born yet. RUDY Were you ever in the army? TERRY No. RUDY My father was in the army. TERRY I know. Unfortunately he didn't fight in Vietnam either. RUDY Were you friends with him? TERRY Not really. We had some friends in common, I guess... I didn't like him very much. RUDY Why not? TERRY Well, he wasn't very likable. RUDY Why do you say that? TERRY I don't know. He was always -- He always had to be better than you at everything. You know. Like if you were all playing basketball or something, everybody's havin' like a friendly game and he's like ready to kill somebody if his team didn't win. Or like if you told like a joke or a story, he always had to tell a better one? Kinda gets annoying after a while. Plus it was pretty scummy how he split on your mom and you... He was a prick. Probably still a prick. Fortunately for you though, your mom is like, the greatest. So you had some bad luck and you had some good luck. (Pause) You mind if I ask you a personal question? RUDY I don't know. TERRY Do you like it here? I mean, in Scottsville? RUDY Yeah...? TERRY Why? RUDY I don't know. My friends are here... I like the scenery... I don't know. TERRY I know, I know, but it's so... There's nothing to do here. RUDY Yes there is. TERRY No there isn't, man! It's narrow. It's dull. It's a dull, narrow town full of dull, narrow people who don't know anything except... what things are like right around here. They have no perspective whatsoever. No scope. They might as well be living in the nineteenth century because they have no idea what's going on, and if you try to tell 'em that, they wanna fuckin' kill you. RUDY What are you talking about? TERRY I don't know... Terry lies on his back and smokes. TERRY You're a good kid. INT. BANK -- SAMMY'S DESK. MORNING There's a NOTE on Sammy's chair. "SAMMY, PLEASE SEE ME -- BRIAN" Sammy, just arrived at work and still in her coat, looks down at the note. INT. BANK -- BRIAN'S OFFICE. DAY Sammy listens to Brian. BRIAN Yeah. This doesn't apply to you directly, Sammy, but I've noticed that some of the employees have their PC monitors set with all kinds of crazy colors... Purple and polka dots or what have you. And it's not a big deal, but really, this is a bank. You know? It's not really appropriate. So I'm just asking that people stick to a more quote unquote normal range of colors in future... Sammy looks at him blankly. BRIAN Like I say, it doesn't really apply to you. SAMMY No, my computer palette's pretty conservative. INT. BANK -- MABEL'S DESK. DAY Mabel is typing angrily at a GRAY SCREEN with BLACK LETTERS. Sammy walks by. Mabel is so mad she doesn't even look up. INT. BANK -- SAMMY'S DESK. DAY Sammy sits agitated for a moment. She makes a decision, picks up the phone and dials. INT. BOB'S OFFICE. SIMULTANEOUS Bob is in his little realty office with two CLIENTS, a husband and wife. He picks up his RINGING PHONE. BOB (Into phone) Bob Steegerson. SAMMY (On phone) What are you wearing? BOB (Into phone) Mom? Sammy LAUGHS. INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE -- DOWNSTAIRS HALL. NIGHT Terry is holding a broom looking up at the ceiling. Sammy passes by and stops. SAMMY What's up? Terry taps the broom handle against the ceiling. TERRY Do you know you have an enormous leak from the upstairs hall? He pokes again. A portion of the ceiling collapses on his head in wet chunks of plaster and muck. SAMMY Um, yeah, thanks, I did. INT. SAMMY'S ROOM. NIGHT Sammy, in front of the mirror, finishes dolling herself up for her date. O.C. we hear loud banging. Sammy puts on her earrings and goes into -- INT. HALL. CONTINUOUS SAMMY Are you guys sure you're gonna be OK? TERRY Yes. Yes. Sammy approaches RUDY and TERRY. They are bent over a big nasty trench in the floorboard. There are wood shavings and greasy pipe segments all over, and black smeary smudges on the walls nearby. SAMMY What is happening here? TERRY It's just -- The problem is that the pipe is corroded all the way along the length of the hall. So every time I put in a new piece it starts leaking further down. SAMMY Why don't I just call the plumber? TERRY Why? He's not gonna do anything different than what I'm doing. RUDY (Happily) Yeah. We're making it worse! TERRY No we're not. Shut up. Terry yanks the wrench and a SPRAY of FILTHY WATER comes out of the pipe and splatters the wallpaper and pictures and Sammy with gritty gray water. She looks at them. SAMMY Thank you. Thank you both. INT. HALLWAY. NIGHT Bob and Sammy -- cleaned up and wearing a different outfit -- are bustling out the front door. Terry stands by. SAMMY Now, call if there's any problem, and if I'm not there, I'm either on my way or on my way back home. TERRY OK. Sammy gets into her coat. Bob opens the front door. SAMMY (To TERRY) So lights out at ten... and don't spend the whole night watching TV. TERRY Nice to meet you, Bob. BOB You too. TERRY (To SAMMY) What's your idea of the whole night? SAMMY Two hours tops. Bob holds the door for Sammy and smiles at her. There is some confusion about who should go out first. Finally she goes and Bob follows. The atmosphere between them is fairly awkward. INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. NIGHT Terry and Rudy are watching TV from the sofa. TERRY What's your feeling about Bob? RUDY I don't really know him that well. Terry looks at his watch. TERRY I have bad news for you. He picks up the remote... RUDY No...! ...and turns off the TV. They sit there in the sudden silence. RUDY Great. What are we supposed to do now? TERRY Do you know how to play pool? RUDY I've played it. EXT. THE WILD MOOSE. NIGHT The Wild Moose is a noisy roadside bar sitting under the stars. Terry and Rudy get out of the car. Rudy looks apprehensive. RUDY I don't think they let kids in there. TERRY Well, we're not allowed to watch any more TV, so it's this or nothing... But if we run into any trouble, let me do the talking. RUDY OK. Terry swings the door open. INT. THE WILD MOOSE. NIGHT POV RUDY: A lot of men and women at the bar or in booths, eating and drinking. Smoky, crowded and very loud. As he follows Terry through the crowd various patrons notice him -- some of the looks are friendly, some blank, some cold, i.e., what's a kid doing in here? AT THE POOL TABLE: Terry and Rudy stand side by side facing the players and waiting players gathered around the table. Terry waves a few bills. TERRY I got a hundred bucks here says me and my nephew can beat anybody in here. Only we gotta get the next game 'cause he's gotta be in bed by ten o'clock. A MOMENT LATER: RUDY, very nervous, and the 1st Pool Player are side by side shooting for break. Terry is behind Rudy coaching him. TERRY Just hit it nice and soft... Nice and soft. They hit the balls. Rudy just clips his ball and it doesn't go anywhere. 1st Pool Player's ball hits the opposite bank and comes almost all the way back. RUDY (To TERRY) Sorry. TERRY God damn, Rudy. I thought you said you could play. Rudy doesn't answer. Terry winks at him. A MOMENT LATER: 1ST POOL PLAYER BREAKS -- WHACK! -- The balls scatter. Nothing drops. TERRY steps up to the table, chalking up his cue. TERRY Boys, it's all over but the cryin'. QUICK CUTS: Of Terry running the table and everyone watching. Three-ball in the side. One-ball in the corner. Nine-ball off three cushions and into the corner, and the eleven-ball into the side. Rudy watches him. INT. BOB'S APARTMENT. NIGHT Bob and Sammy sit at Bob's dining room table. The little bachelor apartment looks pretty good. Tablecloth, candles, wine, everything. Bob has just dropped a huge bombshell. SAMMY Bob... Are you serious? BOB Yeah. SAMMY I... I don't know what to say. I -- BOB I mean, I know I haven't exactly been the most... decisive... guy. In the past... I don't know: I'm tired of foolin' around. And I love you. SAMMY I... I'm totally... I don't know what to say. BOB Well, you could always say "Yes." (Pause) Or you could think about it first. SAMMY That's it: I want to think about it. BOB OK... Fair enough. INT. WILD MOOSE. NIGHT Terry has sunk everything but the eight ball. He leans over to sink it. It's a fairly easy shot. He lines it up carefully, and deliberately shoots it so it stops two inches from the corner pocket. TERRY Ohhhh! A FEW MOMENTS LATER: Terry and Rudy sit side by side watching as the 2nd Pool Player passes back and forth between them and the camera, running the table. "Oohs" and "All rights" emit from the spectators. Sudden silence. Then the clack of the balls connecting. A great common GROAN goes up. RUDY looks up at Terry. TERRY It's all yours, baby. Rudy looks at the TABLE: The eight-ball is two inches off the corner. The cue ball is a few inches away from it. A piece of cake, for an adult. Rudy looks deeply unconfident. He gets up and tries to line up the eight-ball. Terry is right next to him. TERRY Just make sure to hit it really gentle. But firm. And hit it a little low so you get some backspin. Don't even hit it. Just kiss it. A long moment. RUDY What do you mean, kiss it? TERRY I mean tap it. Firm but very, very softly. And don't shoot until you know it's going in. OK? RUDY OK. Everyone is relatively quiet. Rudy takes a few practice strokes and then hits the cue ball, straight, but too softly. It crawls toward the eight and taps it toward the corner, slower and slower, hangs there, and DROPS. A GENERAL "HEYYY!" GOES UP and everyone claps and cheers. Terry grabs Rudy. Rudy smiles, ecstatic. TERRY That was great! AT THE BAR: Darryl the SHERIFF, in his civvies, drinking a pint of beer, notices Rudy and Terry. AT THE POOL TABLE: Terry picks Rudy up and turns him upside down. Rudy laughs. EXT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. NIGHT The house is dark. Terry and Rudy are walking from the car to the house. RUDY We creamed those guys! We creamed them! TERRY (Stopping suddenly) Ssh...! Don't move. They listen. A CAR is COMING. TERRY It's them! They break for the door, Terry fumbling for his key. He gets the door open. TERRY Go! Go! Go! He and Rudy run inside the house. The lights go on. BOB'S CAR pulls into the DRIVEWAY. INT. THE HOUSE -- FRONT DOOR. SIMULTANEOUS Rudy runs up the stairs. TERRY Wait a minute, gimme your jacket! Rudy tries to take his jacket off fast but gets his arm caught in the sleeve. He tries to shake it off. TERRY What are you doing? RUDY I can't get my sleeve out...! They HEAR Bob's CAR DOORS SLAM. Terry makes a comic panicked face and leaps up the stairs two at a time. OUTSIDE THE HOUSE: Sammy waves to Bob. Bob waves back as he drives off. Sammy goes to the front door, opens it: Terry and Rudy are in a giggly tangled panicked heap at the top of the stairs, shaking Rudy's arm and sleeve, frantically trying to get the jacket off. Sammy comes in. They freeze. SAMMY What is going on in here? TERRY Um -- We were just out doing some star-gazing, and, uh, Rudy lost track of the time. Which I totally warned him about. (To Rudy) You are a bad kid. INT. BATHROOM. LATER Rudy is brushing his teeth. Terry pokes his head in. TERRY (In a low voice) Hey: I think it's OK. Just don't tell her where we went, 'cause she'll be really mad at me. OK? RUDY I won't. TERRY (Suddenly dark) Hey -- I'm not kidding, Rudy. RUDY I won't! Terry gives him a "You better not" look, then leaves. Rudy continues brushing his teeth. INT. RUDY'S ROOM. NIGHT Sammy is tucking Rudy in, stroking his hair. SAMMY Did you know my Mommy used to take me and Uncle Terry out at night to look at the constellations? RUDY Yeah. SAMMY Did you see that one, what's the one -- It looks like a big "W"? Cassiopeia? RUDY Yeah. INT. HALL. NIGHT Sammy comes out of Rudy's room, smiling. It's dark. She sees a LIGHT on under TERRY'S DOOR. She walks toward it and steps into the TRENCH, falling down violently. SAMMY Ow! Shit! INT. BATHROOM. NIGHT Terry is putting a butterfly Band-Aid on Sammy's wound. It's a nasty, bloody gash, just shy of needing stitches. SAMMY I've got a great idea. Why don't you let me call the plumber? TERRY Do whatever you want. SAMMY Oh, does that make you mad? TERRY No... INT. SAMMY'S ROOM. NIGHT RAIN patters on the ROOF as Sammy LIMPS back and forth across the room changing into her nightgown. EXT. TERRY'S WINDOW. NIGHT Terry is smoking pot with his head and shoulders stuck outside the window. RAIN FALLS on his HEAD. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. BANK. MORNING Early morning. The RAIN is still falling. Only a few cars are in the employee parking lot yet. INT. BANK -- BRIAN'S OFFICE. DAY The RAIN runs down Brian's office window. BRIAN, in a wet raincoat, turns on his light. A MOMENT LATER: Brian turns on his PC. The SCREEN lights up. The COLORS are a garish GREEN and ORANGE. CUT TO: LATER: SAMMY and BRIAN are both on their feet. The door is closed. SAMMY Brian, get off my ass! BRIAN Excuse me? SAMMY I didn't change the colors on your stupid computer screen. BRIAN Well, that's all you gotta say! SAMMY (On "that's") There is nothing wrong with the work I do here. I have been doing just fine, the whole time before you came here -- And if you think that riding people in this petty, ridiculous way is the way to improve service in this bank or anywhere else I think you're out of your mind! Pause. BRIAN I didn't say there was. Could I please -- Could I please -- May I respond? SAMMY No, that's really all I have to -- BRIAN May I respond? (Beat) First of all, I don't appreciate being spoken to with that kind of language. That's not the way I talk to you, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't talk that way to me -- SAMMY Well -- BRIAN Second of all, if you say you didn't change the colors on my computer screen, then of course I accept your answer. But you and I are gonna have to find a way to work together -- SAMMY Brian -- BRIAN But that's not gonna happen with the attitude, it's not gonna happen with the lateness, it's not gonna happen by fighting me every step of the way -- OK, well not you, you're not late, but too much of that stuff goes on around here -- SAMMY I am not late and I do not have an attitude -- Well then don't tell me I'm late if I'm not late! BRIAN I'd really like to finish! OUTSIDE BRIAN'S OFFICE: The whole staff is listening to the muffled raised VOICES from inside the office. MABEL especially is listening guiltily. EXT. MAIN STREET. DAY The rain falls on Main Street. EXT. ORRIN'S BACKYARD. DAY The rain comes down hard on Orrin's construction project. Tarps cover everything. No work today. EXT. MAIN STREET -- LUNCH PLACE. DAY The rain comes down on the SHERIFF, looking through the restaurant WINDOW at SAMMY, eating lunch alone at the counter. He goes inside, shakes the rain off himself and goes over to her. They start talking. We HEAR: SAMMY They were where? INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE -- LIVING ROOM. DAY The RAIN on the roof makes a sleepy, pleasant country sound. TERRY is lying on the sofa, smoking a joint, watching TV, in a funk. O.C. we LOUD BANGING ON THE PIPES. LATER: A YOUNG PLUMBER, about Terry's age, comes thumping down the stairs and goes into the living room, carrying his toolbox. Terry looks up at him. PLUMBER OK, you're all set. Terry glares at him. The plumber turns and goes out. EXT. BUS STOP. DAY RUDY is WAITING in a doorway for Terry. He is wet and cold. The RAIN pours down. INT. BANK. DAY Brian is showing his wife, NANCY, the bank. He is very solicitous of her, nervously introducing her to the employees, who are not responding very warmly. Nancy is not in a warm mood either; she's very testy with Brian. BRIAN This is Chuck. Chuck, this is my wife, Nancy. CHUCK Hello. NANCY Nice to meet you. BRIAN This is Mabel... MABEL Hi. NANCY Nice to meet you. SAMMY, at her desk, watches Brian and Nancy make their progress through the bank. Nobody is being very friendly, and Brian suddenly seems awkward and vulnerable. Brian and Nancy reach Sammy's desk. BRIAN This is Sammy, our lending officer. Sammy, this is my wife, Nancy. SAMMY (Friendly) Hi. It's nice to meet you. NANCY Brian -- I gotta sit down. BRIAN Sure -- Let's go in my office. He glances nervously at Sammy as he leads Nancy away from her desk and toward his office. He murmurs something to Nancy, who responds in a low but very testy voice: NANCY I'm fine...! She roughly pulls her arm away from his. Sammy watches them go into his office. EXT. MAIN STREET. DAY Rudy trudges resolutely through the pouring rain toward the center of town. He is completely drenched. INT. BRIAN'S OFFICE. DAY Sammy knocks on Brian's open door. SAMMY Brian...? BRIAN Yeah. RUDY (O.C.) Mom! Sammy sees to her left, down the hallway -- SAMMY Rudy! Rudy is at the end of the hall, drenched and shivering, but cheerful. EXT. EMPLOYEE PARKING LOT. DAY Rudy is in the car, somewhat dried off, waiting. Sammy and Terry stand in the employee entrance doorway. SAMMY Look, I'm glad you guys are getting along so well -- like, you have no idea -- but if I can't rely on you to remember to get him once a day... TERRY You can! SAMMY -- And what are you doing taking him to play pool in the middle of the night, and then telling him to lie to me about it? Pause. TERRY I don't know. INT./EXT. SAMMY'S CAR/CAROL'S DRIVEWAY. DAY Terry and Rudy pull up in front of the driveway. Terry is in a silent rage. The rain has let up. TERRY Get out of the car. RUDY What are we doing? TERRY You're going to Carol's house and I'm going home. RUDY Why can't I come with you? TERRY Because if you're such a baby you gotta tell your Mommy about us playin' pool when I totally asked you not to, and I gotta listen to her shit all day, then you're goin' to the baby-sitter's so you can stay at the baby house. RUDY But I didn't tell her! TERRY You know what? Don't even fuckin' talk to me. RUDY I didn't! TERRY Just get out of the car. He leans over Rudy roughly and pushes open the door. Rudy gets out of the car and marches down the long driveway. He bursts into tears. Terry watches him go, then drives off. INT. BANK -- HALL. A FEW MOMENTS LATER Sammy walks through the empty bank hall and into Brian's office. Brian is at his desk. BRIAN You're working late. SAMMY How did your wife like the bank? BRIAN Oh, fine. She wasn't feeling so great. SAMMY That's too bad. BRIAN No -- I don't mean -- She's not ill. She's just... I don't know... SAMMY Pregnant? BRIAN That's it. She's pregnant. SAMMY It can make you kind of cranky. BRIAN Yeah... Pause. BRIAN Listen, I'm sorry we've been stepping on each other's toes -- I -- I'm not actually that bad a guy -- SAMMY Yeah, I am too... I know you're not, Brian, but you're driving everybody crazy. BRIAN Well, I -- I'm just trying to do my best here -- And I'm gettin' it from all sides. SAMMY I know you are... BRIAN Anyway... We'll work it out... SAMMY Well... I could use a beer. BRIAN I could use a tranquilizer. INT. PUB. NIGHT Brian and Sammy sit at a table in the corner of the dimly lit pub. It's a medium noisy place with various locals drinking beers and eating hamburgers and chicken dinners. SAMMY Last I heard, Rudy's Dad was living over in Auburn. But that was last year. BRIAN Must be so tough raising a kid on your own... Although I'm beginning to get the idea my wife wouldn't mind a crack at it. SAMMY Oh... It's just the hormones. BRIAN Well, no, it isn't. But never mind. The waitress brings them two boilermakers. SAMMY and BRIAN Thanks. She leaves. Sammy and Brian pick up their shots. BRIAN Well, here's to improved employee- management relations. SAMMY Amen. They click shot glasses and drink. SAMMY You can't judge all of Scottsville by the people in that bank, believe me. BRIAN Well -- Let's -- Let's not talk about the bank. SAMMY OK. BRIAN Let's just forget about the bank for tonight. SAMMY Good idea. They sip their drinks, smiling. Sammy looks at him appraisingly. INT./EXT. BRIAN'S CAR/WOODED ROAD. NIGHT Sammy and Brian are making out in the front seat of his car. This goes on for a while, getting heavier and heavier. BRIAN Sammy? SAMMY Yeah? BRIAN I want you to tell me who changed the colors on my computer screen. SAMMY I'll never tell. They start kissing again in the cramped space. Brian bangs his head. They laugh. EXT. OUTSIDE THE CAR. CONTINUOUS We pull back and away from the car. The sodden trees spout faucets of water down on the car. INT. KITCHEN. NIGHT The kitchen is dark. Sammy comes in, her hair a little wet, and turns on the light. She goes to the telephone. There's a NOTE in Terry's handwriting: "BOB CALLED." TERRY (O.C.) Where were you? Sammy jumps, startled. Terry is in the kitchen doorway. SAMMY Nowhere. I had dinner with my boss. TERRY Kind of a late dinner, ain't it? SAMMY Yeah. How was Rudy? TERRY Fine. SAMMY Did the plumber come? TERRY Yes, the fucking plumber came. SAMMY Terry -- Give me a break!!! Pause. TERRY What's the matter with you? SAMMY Nothing. I'm just tired. TERRY You want to smoke some pot? SAMMY No I don't. Why, you got some? EXT. PORCH. NIGHT Sammy and Terry stand side by side on the porch, passing a joint back and forth. It has stopped raining but the trees and roof are still dripping. The crickets are chirping loudly. SAMMY So... Bob asked me to marry him. TERRY Wow. (Pause) Are you going to? SAMMY I don't know. If he'd've asked me this time last year I would have probably said yes. But the minute he said it, I don't know, I felt like somebody was trying to strangle me. TERRY Well... bad sign. SAMMY I know. (Pause) Plus, Terry... (Whispers) I fucked my boss...! TERRY What? SAMMY I know! And his wife is six months pregnant. TERRY Jesus Christ, Sammy...! SAMMY I know, I know. He passes her the joint. She declines. He puffs away. The water drips off the porch and the crickets chirp. She puts her head on his shoulder. He puts one arm around her and puffs away with the joint in his free hand. SAMMY Terry, I'm sorry I got so mad before. I just don't want him, you know -- terrified of "telling," if there's -- TERRY Uh, well, that's not really his problem, Sammy. Sammy straightens up. SAMMY Oh really? What's his problem? TERRY His problem is that he's like totally sheltered because you treat him like he's three, instead of eight, so that's how he behaves. SAMMY Oh yeah? And how do you think he should behave? TERRY I think he shouldn't have to run and tell his Mommy every time he does something she might not like, for one thing. SAMMY Uh huh. And what do you -- TERRY (On "and") I mean I took him to play pool! It was a little clandestine thing we did for fun! It wasn't like a big secret, I mean who cares? I was actually trying to be nice to him. But he's so freaked out that he disobeyed your orders that he has to fuckin' squeal on me and I have to listen to your fuckin' shit all day when I didn't even fuckin' do anything! SAMMY First of all, he didn't tell me anything: Darryl did. OK? Second of all, I don't really give a shit if you took him to play pool: I was mad at you because you left him standing at the bus stop in the rain. But no, I don't want you telling him not to squeal, because I don't want him put in that position! TERRY (Losing ground) Well... that... is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. SAMMY You are in idiot. They stand apart now. Silence. TERRY Darryl told you? SAMMY Yes! They stand there. The rain gutters drip. INT. BANK. MORNING Sammy, coat on, arrives at her desk and puts her purse down. There's a NOTE on her CHAIR. "SAMMY -- PLEASE SEE ME." INT. BANK -- HALLWAY. A MOMENT LATER TRACKING SAMMY, coat off, carrying a stack of folders, as she walks from her desk, around the corner, down the hall, past a couple of employees and to BRIAN'S OPEN DOOR. She taps on it. Brian is at his desk. SAMMY Morning. BRIAN Yeah, good morning. Could you get the door? OUTSIDE THE OFFICE: Sammy shuts the door. MABEL and DORIS, standing near the door, look at each other: i.e., Sammy's in trouble again. INSIDE THE OFFICE: Sammy stands by the closed door. Brian comes out around his desk. SAMMY Listen -- I just -- Brian kisses her. She drops her folders and they make out against the door. OUTSIDE THE OFFICE: The employees click away at their PCs. Mabel exchanges a quiet word with Chuck. INSIDE THE OFFICE: Brian has Sammy pressed against the wall with her skirt hiked up and is trying to get both of their underwear out of the way. It's not so easy in their office clothes. Sammy tears away. SAMMY Brian, that's enough. BRIAN falls back, breathless. BRIAN OK. Sorry. He lunges at her again. They kiss some more. OUTSIDE THE OFFICE. A MOMENT LATER: Sammy comes out of the office, more or less composed, carrying her folders. She heads down the hall past the other employees, including Mabel, and surreptitiously readjusts her scrunched-up underwear. INT. DAWSON'S. DAY Sammy and Bob sit at lunch. Sammy is picking at her food. BOB You're awfully quiet. SAMMY I'm sorry. BOB Um... Have you thought at all about what I said? SAMMY Of course I've been thinking about it. BOB So... Any decisions? Or -- do you still want to think about it some more...? SAMMY Well -- I mean -- I don't know, Bob. I mean, we haven't exactly been going steady the last few months, if you know what I mean -- BOB Yeah, no, I know -- SAMMY -- and then we see each other twice and you suddenly say you want to get married? I mean... BOB No, you're right, you're right -- SAMMY What are you talking about? Pause. BOB I don't know... I... Maybe this is... Last year I sort of thought you were possibly interested in that... idea... but I was the one who, you know, wasn't "ready" at that point -- So that's why I thought things kind of slowed down with us... SAMMY Don't make me feel bad for you. BOB (Bristling) I don't want you to feel bad for me. INT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT Sammy, Terry and Rudy are all watching TV. Sammy and Rudy are in pajamas. Nobody's happy and nobody's talking. The PHONE RINGS. Sammy goes to it and picks up, surprised because of the hour. SAMMY (Into phone) Hello? BRIAN (On phone) It's Brian. Sammy turns away and lowers her voice so Terry and Rudy won't overhear her. SAMMY Brian. Where are you? EXT. GAS STATION. SIMULTANEOUS Brian is on the pay phone outside a gas station. BRIAN I'm buying milk. I just thought I'd say hello. WE CUT BETWEEN THEM. Sammy doesn't say anything. BRIAN Look, I know it's probably too late, but is there any way you can come out for a little while? SAMMY Brian, I think you're going crazy. BRIAN I know I am. Can you meet me? SAMMY Um, OK. INT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT SAMMY comes down the stairs, fully dressed, into the living room, where Terry and Rudy are still watching TV. SAMMY Um -- I have to go out for a minute. Do you want anything? TERRY Like what? SAMMY I don't know. RUDY Where are you going? TERRY Yeah, where are you going? SAMMY I just have to go out for a little while. RUDY Where? TERRY Yeah, where? SAMMY I just have to go to Mabel's house. RUDY Why? SAMMY You know what, Rudy? It's personal. This is a personal matter that has to do with Mabel. I just have to go see her for a little while. Terry gives Sammy a look like, "You've got to be kidding." Sammy tries to shush him with a conspiratorial look back. She goes out. LATER. Terry and Rudy sit in front of the TV, alone. TERRY Listen. Listen. I'm sorry I said you squealed on me. I was totally out of line, and I really owe you an apology. (Pause) Did you hear what I said? RUDY (Staring at the TV) I don't care. INT. SAMMY'S CAR (MOVING). NIGHT Sammy drives, listening to music. She shakes her head at herself. EXT. MOTEL. NIGHT Sammy's car and Brian's car are parked side by side outside a roadside motel. INT. MOTEL ROOM. NIGHT In the motel room, Sammy and Brian, half-clothed, make love rather hurriedly on top of the unmade creaky bed. EXT. MOTEL. NIGHT Outside the motel, Sammy and Brian get into their respective cars and start their motors. INT. SAMMY'S CAR (MOVING). NIGHT Sammy drives in the other direction. She breaks into a smile, and then she laughs. Then she stops. INT. SAMMY'S BEDROOM. NIGHT Sammy lies awake plagued by guilty feelings. EXT. CHURCH -- RECTORY. DAY Sammy heads toward the little white church building. INT. CHURCH -- RECTORY -- OFFICE. DAY RON the MINISTER and Sammy drink coffee in silence. RON (Gently) What's on your mind, Sammy? SAMMY Well, a lot. But principally... I was just wondering if you had an opinion. If you know someone, in your family, or just someone you really care about, and they just can't seem to get ahold of themselves... EXT. MAIN STREET. DAY The SUN SHINES on Main Street. INT. SPORTING GOODS STORE. DAY Rudy watches wide-eyed as Terry places on the sales counter two rods and reels, a bunch of lures, two fishing hats, a box of swivels, a knife and a fish scaler. TERRY You know who this is for? RUDY Me! TERRY That's right, my little friend. (To the saleslady) Hello. We're going fishing. INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE -- KITCHEN. DAY Sammy, Terry and Rudy are all putting away the groceries. Everybody seems to be getting along. RUDY I got a new rod and reel, five lures, I got a hat, I got a knife and I got a fish scaler. SAMMY That's great, honey. O.C., the DOORBELL RINGS. Sammy starts to move toward the door, but Terry is closer. TERRY I'll get it. Sammy watches him go. INT./EXT. FRONT DOOR. DAY Terry opens the door. It's Ron, the minister, in his civvies. EXT. FRONT YARD. DAY Rudy is playing basketball by himself. INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE -- LIVING ROOM. DAY Terry, Sammy and RON sit in the living room. Sammy and Ron are drinking coffee. Through the window we see occasional glimpses of Rudy playing basketball in the backyard. There is a heavy silence in the room. TERRY Well... I'm not really sure why you're here, Ron. I mean, I realize I haven't exactly been a model citizen since I got here, but compared to how things have been goin' for me lately, I thought I was doing pretty well. He turns to Sammy. TERRY And I also find it kind of discouraging that you seem to think I need some kind of spiritual counseling or what have you, so much so that you're willing to disregard the fact that I don't believe in any of this stuff at all -- SAMMY Well... I didn't mean to discourage you -- TERRY I mean it's really kind of insulting. RON Can I say something here? (Pause) Sammy asked me to come and talk to you, because it's her opinion that you're not gonna find what you're looking for the way you're looking for it -- TERRY How would she know? RON But I'm really not here to try to get you to do anything, or to believe anything. And I'll tell you the same thing I told her, which is that as far as I'm concerned the only way she can help you is by her example -- by trying to be a model for you, by the way she lives her life... Terry smiles. RON And that doesn't mean she's supposed to be a saint, either, if that's what you're smiling about. TERRY I didn't realize I was smiling. A moment. RON You know, Terry, a lot of people come to see me with all kinds of problems. Drugs, alcohol, marital problems, sexual problems, health problems -- TERRY Great job you got. RON Well... I like it. Because even in this little town, I feel like what I do is very connected with the real center of people's lives. I'm not saying I'm always Mr. Effective, but I don't feel like my life is off to the side of what's important. You know? I don't feel my happiness and comfort are based on closing my eyes to trouble within myself or trouble in other people. I don't feel like a negligible little scrap, floating around in some kind of empty void, with no sense of connectedness to anything around me except by virtue of whatever little philosophies I can scrape together on my own... TERRY Well -- RON Can I ask you, Terry: Do you think your life is