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INT. MARY'S APARTMENT - MOMENTS LATER
Josh knocks and enters the apartment, still carrying the
flowers. There are empty beer bottles, shot glasses. A CD is
skipping. The TV is on.
JOSH
Hello? Mary?
Josh makes his way through the apartment, looking for Mary,
taking in the disarray. No one is there. Josh turns off the
CD player and TV.
He sits to wait, flowers in his lap.
A beat.
Josh gets up, puts the flowers in water. He begins to clean
up the apartment.
He throws the bottles away, makes the bed.
He goes to the bedroom, where he finds an ashtray, half-full
of cigarette butts, with two used condoms in it.
Josh takes it in.
INT. MARY'S APARTMENT - LATER
Josh is sitting in Mary's comfortable chair, reading one of
her self help books.
Headlights shine through the window.
Josh gets up to look out the window, where Mary is getting
out of Julian's car.
Mary enters.
MARY
Jesus Christ! You scared me.
Mary looks around her apartment.
MARY (CONT'D)
Did you clean?
JOSH
Yes, I cleaned your house.
MARY
Well, thanks. You didn't have to do that.
What are you doing here?
JOSH
I'm here for you. What are you doing
here?
MARY
Jesus Christ, I live here, Josh. What do
you mean?
JOSH
I mean... What are you doing? What did
you do?
MARY
What are you talking about?! You are
being so weird!
JOSH
I'm being weird? You crashed your car!
You were drunk, and you crashed your car!
In front of children, Mary! You crashed
into your work, drunk, in front of
children! You left your TV on, and whose
condoms are in the ashtray?! What are you
doing?
MARY
Jesus... I can't do this right now. I
don't want this right now.
JOSH
You don't want this? I don't want this!
Who are you? What are you doing? Tell me
what you're doing!
MARY
Stop fucking saying that! I don't know
what you want me to say! What?!
JOSH
I just want... All I want is for you...
You're being so mean, and that's just
now, without all these questions. You're
yelling at me, and I didn't do anything
wrong.
MARY
No, you didn't do anything wrong. I can't
believe you cleaned. You shouldn't have
cleaned. Why are you even here?
JOSH
I brought you flowers. I was bringing you
flowers.
MARY
Jesus Christ. I don't know what to say.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm this way. You
knew what I was --
JOSH
What you were? What were you? What did I
know? You said you wanted to be with me!
I thought you wanted to be with me, and
you ruined that.
Mary's lights a cigarette.
MARY
Yes. I ruined that. I'm a horrible
person. I ruin everything. That's what I
do. That's me.
JOSH
So that's it? You're horrible, sorry?
That's it? You're not horrible, and you
don't want this. Do you want this? Do you
want to be with me? You told me that. You
said you wanted to be with me!
MARY
I know, I know. But some people are just
there to show people what not to be, or
what to run from. I want to be good, but--
Josh gets up and goes to Mary, gets in her face.
JOSH
But what? What? Why aren't you trying to
fix it? Try to fix it! I'm going to
leave! And you should stop me!
MARY
I can't fix it. It's fucked. You should
just go. I'm not stopping you.
JOSH
Stop me! I don't want to go, I want you
to try. Try and tell me something. Tell
me things, and try to make it better. You
made a mistake, but you're sorry. You're
not going to let this happen again. You
want me to know how sorry you are, and
you want me to hold you! Something!
MARY
No, I can't. This is what it is.
JOSH
What does that mean? I don't know what
that means. It is what it is? No! You
need to tell me --
MARY
Jesus Christ! Open your eyes! I'm a
whore! I'm a fucking slut! I hurt you,
have some respect for yourself! Yes,
you're everything I want for myself, but
that's not the truth. I'm not supposed to
be good! I fucked Julian last night, over
and over. I loved it! He bit me, and I
loved it twice as much! I fucked him the
first night he was in town! I kissed you
good night, and then I went to his hotel
room! You need to get up and run from me.
Look at you! I just walked all over you!
Jesus Christ, I am so sorry, Josh, but
don't sit here and try to make it right.
It's all wrong! I don't know why
everything is wrong. Just stop talking! I
gamble, and I rob, and just walk away
from me. You should not need me to tell
you that, Jesus Christ!
Mary goes into her bedroom and slams the door.
Josh sits for a minute, gets up, puts the book he was reading
back on the shelf and leaves.
INT. JOSH'S HOUSE - LATER
Josh comes in, tosses his keys into a christmas bowl by the
door. He goes to the living room and removes a ring from the
christmas chain.
He goes to the bathroom, turns on the shower.
INT. MARY'S BATHROOM - LATER
Mary is brushing her teeth, applying some skin cream to her
face. She stops to look at herself. She turns the light out.
INT. TANNING SALON BACK OFFICE - DAY
Mary is interviewing for a job at a tanning salon. This is
the back office. No windows, just a mess of tanning posters
and a few calendars on the wall. Her interviewer is KEVIN,
mid-thirties, way too tan for his own good.
KEVIN
...and that's the number one hurdle, if
you will, that we have to get over here.
I mean, the sunblock industry alone last
year accounted for something like four
billion dollars in revenues. And that's
not taking into account dermatologists,
plastic surgeons, I mean the list goes
on! And here we are, a family business,
in a small industry, having to educate
people on the truth about their skin, you
see?
MARY
Yeah... Wow.
KEVIN
We have to get the truth under their
skin! We have to get under their skin
with the truth!
MARY
Right. That's funny. So... I mean, I
said, on the application that I have a
car, but I actually just had to put it in
the, um, to the mechanic. But I have a
ride, and it'll be done soon, so it's not
even, it shouldn't...
Kevin considers Mary's figure and predicament.
KEVIN
But you can get a ride?
MARY
Oh! Absolutely. My boyfriend --
INT. TANNING SALON - CONTINUOUS
This is the front desk of the tanning salon. There are a few
Christmas decorations hung around. Julian, Mary's ride, is
flirting with the ATTENDANT, late teens and way too tan. They
are watching a promotional video for "Spray of Sunlight", a
spray-on tanning process.
JULIAN
Doesn't it get in your eyes?
ATTENDANT
Well, you have to wear eyewear, which we
sell. Or you can buy Blinkies for fifty
cents.
JULIAN
Blinkies?
ATTENDANT
Uh Huh, they're right here. They're
stickers, and you just put them like
this:
The attendant demonstrates by peeling off an oval shaped foil
sticker and folding it into a cone, which she applies to her
eye and smiles.
INT. TANNING SALON - CONTINUOUS
Back to Mary and Kevin.
MARY
Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem.
KEVIN
OK.
MARY
OK.
They both smile.
INT. LOADING DOCK - LATER
Mary and Julian are having drinks.
JULIAN
What? What is it?
MARY
Nothing.
JULIAN
OK.
Julian leans back and looks around the bar, finished with
trying to cheer up Mary. He's just kidding, and leans back
in.
JULIAN (CONT'D)
What?
MARY
Nothing, I just... You know, I wrecked my
car, and I lost my job, and it just...
JULIAN
You got a new job.
MARY
At a tanning salon.
JULIAN
What's wrong with that? I love tan
people.
MARY
Whatever, nevermind.
JULIAN
What? Are you too good to work at a
tanning salon? Maybe your job isn't your
problem. Maybe you need to get
comfortable with who you are, stop trying
to be something else.
MARY
Such as?
JULIAN
Well, like your old job. If you had kids,
would you want them hanging out with
someone like you all day? Seriously.
MARY
What?
JULIAN
I mean, look at you, look at your life.
How happy has all your trying to be
"pure" and "good" really made you? I know
you, I've known you for... and you like
to smoke, you like to drink, you like to
be tied up, you like to be bitten.
And what is so wrong with that? Why do
you want to be something else, when you
are what you are? You know?
Mary stares at Julian.
MARY
He's a good person, he didn't deserve
this.
JULIAN
I know... exactly.
The bar gradually begins to move faster and faster, Julian
gets up and plays on stage, people come and go. Mary stays in
regular time, smoking, drinking, looking around at the
people.
INT. VIDEO STORE - NIGHT
This is a Hollywood Video. It's decorated for Christmas. On
an overhead bank of televisions, the credits to whatever
movie was playing are rolling. Josh enters and heads directly
for the holiday movie section. On his way he is greeted by
VIDEO STORE EMPLOYEE, female, early twenties, dark brown
shoulder length hair. Reserved but capable.
VIDEO STORE EMPLOYEE
Hello.
Josh doesn't even look up, just keeps walking.
JOSH
Hey.
Josh arrives at the holiday movie section. There is some
garland stapled to the rack, and one ornament. He picks up a
few boxes, nothing looks good.
Above, the credits are done rolling on the television bank,
and the televisions go to LOUD SNOW. Josh looks up at the
bank, then over to the front desk, where VIDEO STORE EMPLOYEE
is looking at Josh. She ducks below the counter to stop the
VCR under the counter.
Josh slowly looks around the isles, realizing that there is a
whole store full of other movies.
INT. JOSH'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Josh is sitting on the couch, watching a movie. The phone
rings. Josh looks at the phone. It rings again. Josh picks up
the phone.
JOSH
Hello?.. Hello...Hello...
There is silence on the other end. After a long pause, we
hear a click, then a TELEPHONE OPERATORS VOICE.
TELEPHONE OPERATOR
If you would like to make a call, please
hang up and dial again.
Josh hangs up.
INT/EXT. PARKING STRUCTURE - DAY
This is a six-story covered concrete parking garage. Mary
pulls her damaged but running car up to the parking ticket
machine to get her parking ticket.
She is too far from the machine, which is BUZZING LOUDLY at
her.
She shifts the car into park.
She undoes her seat belt.
She opens the door and leans out to grab the ticket.
We ride with her through the structure, around and around up
through all six levels. Almost every spot is taken. There are
two cars ahead of her which take the only two spots open.
Mary reaches the top level (open air) of the structure. She
pulls her car into an empty spot.
She shifts the car into park
She turns off the ignition.
Mary begins to sob.
EXT. JOSHUA'S TREES CHRISTMAS TREE FARM - DAY
Josh is walking back from the tree field to the pole barn,
where Julian is waiting, leaning against his car. Josh works
while Julian talks.
JULIAN
Afternoon... How you doing, man? So,
you're not talking, is that... That's
cool, I mean, I probably wouldn't...
But, I wanted to come talk to you, you
know, 'cause I think, you know, this
whole thing is... I feel bad about how
you found out, that was bad... I don't
know man, I mean, I'm sorry... I hope you
know that like, it didn't have anything
to do with you. I mean Mary and I... sort
of have always had a... well anyway, I
think you're a good guy. I really do. You
should almost be... because the way Mary
is, this probably would have happened
sooner or later. You know? And she feels
so bad, man, she feels like she should
have never even been with you, not
because she didn't want to, but, I mean,
some people are just made a certain way,
and as much as they can sort of pretend,
or fake, or be another way, sooner or
later, they're just going to end up where
they were headed in the first place, you
know? People don't change. I don't know,
I just... I wanted to say that to you, or
something like this. So, I'm sorry. I'm
sorry... OK, so I'm gonna go... OK.
Sorry. Whatever.
Julian lights a cigarette, offers the pack to Josh. Josh
takes one. Julian lights his lighter, holds it out to Josh.
Josh pulls his own lighter from his pocket, lights his
cigarette, stares blankly at Julian.
JULIAN (CONT'D)
OK.
Julian gets in his car and leaves.
INT. POLE BARN - CONTINUOUS
Josh goes about decorating a tree.
He trims the root ball, puts rocks and soil in a pot, pots
the tree.
He takes a length of garland from a huge roll on the wall,
takes out a box of ornaments from a bigger box of boxes.
He hangs the garland, starts hanging the ornaments on the
tree.
He drops an ornament on the floor, it shatters. He stares at
the pieces for a beat.
He goes to the door, turns out the lights in the barn, closes
the bay door and leaves.
INT. LIQUOR STORE - LATER
Josh is buying lots of liquor. He has a basket. He is reading
labels, trying to make informed decisions.
He puts tequila, rum, whiskey, gold-flake cinnamon schnapps,
and peppermint schnapps in the basket.
He brings the basket of bottles to the counter to pay.
LIQUOR STORE GUY
That it then?
JOSH
Uh, no. Can I get a pack of, um, reds?
The Liquor Store Guy quickly grabs a pack of cigarettes and
puts them in a bag with the bottles.
EXT. FAST FOOD DRIVE THROUGH - LATER
Josh is pulling ahead to pay for his food.
FAST FOOD CASHIER
Four-sixty-three.
Josh pays with a five-dollar bill.
FAST FOOD CASHIER (CONT'D)
Out of five... and thirty-seven makes
five. Ketchup or salt?
JOSH
No.
Fast Food Cashier hands Josh his drink and bag of food.
FAST FOOD CASHIER
Have a nice day.
Fast Food Cashier slides the window shut. Josh rolls his
window up.
INT. MARY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Mary is sitting on her couch, watching TV. She looks down to
the seat on the couch next to her.
INT. JOSH'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
Josh is sitting on the couch, the TV is on. He looks down to
the seat on the couch next to him.
His phone rings. He keeps staring at the spot on the couch.
The phone rings again. Josh looks up, towards the phone, then
back to the spot on the couch. The phone rings again. Josh
gets up and grabs the phone on the end table next to the
couch.
INT. JOSH'S HOUSE/MARY'S APARTMENT - INTERCUT
MARY
Hi.
JOSH
Hello.
MARY
It's Mary.
JOSH
I know. Hi Mary.
MARY
Are you mad?
JOSH
Am I --
MARY
I mean, I, (exhales through her nose)
What are you doing?
JOSH
What am I, I'm just at my house. I'm just
sitting at my house.
MARY
Well... I'm sorry. I'm really really
sorry.
JOSH
Yeah, you know, I don't want to...
please.
MARY
No, no, no. I know, but what if, what if
you came over to my house right now?
JOSH
What? No. Why... No.
MARY
No, no, no, yes. Just please say yes and
come to my house right now... Please?
Hello?
JOSH
No. There's... no. I'm not coming to your
house.
Mary exhales through her nose.
EXT. MARY'S APARTMENT - MOMENTS LATER
Josh pulls up outside, sits in his running truck for a long
time, staring at Mary's apartment.
Josh finally turns off the truck and gets out, goes to the
door. He knocks. Mary answers the door after 20 seconds,
wearing a T-shirt and soccer shorts. She uses the door for
balance.
MARY
Hi.
JOSH
Hi.
INT. MARY'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS
Josh enters and makes his way to the middle of the room. He
shrugs his shoulders.
Mary sways for a beat, then throws her arms around Josh.
MARY
Hi.
Josh is holding his breath. After a long pause, Mary lets go,
steps back and looks at Josh.
JOSH
So...?
MARY
Wait here. Hold on.
Mary locks and chains the front door. Mary walks out of the
living room, towards the bedroom and bathroom.
Josh waits, standing in the middle of the living room. He
watches the doorway for Mary to return. Thirty seconds pass.
Off Screen, we hear a bath running.
MARY (CONT'D)
(from the bathroom)
OK, come on!
Josh looks towards the locked front door.
He opens his mouth to say something to the doorway, shuts his
mouth and eyes.
He opens his eyes and follows Mary's voice.
INT. MARY'S BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS
Josh enters Mary's bathroom to find her in a running bath.
Her T-shirt and soccer shorts are on the counter.
JOSH
Mary, I'm not, I...
MARY
I know, I know, I know, I only just need
you to just help me wash my hair. That's
all that I need, and that's it.
JOSH
This is...
INT. MARY'S BATHROOM - MOMENTS LATER
BATHTUB SEQUENCE:
There is no sound. Josh is in the bath with Mary. They are
washing her hair.
They are sitting still.
They are getting out, Mary is having trouble standing up.
Mary pushes Josh out of the way to get to the toilet, throws
the lid up and throws up into the toilet.
Josh is holding her hair while she throws up.
Josh is putting toothpaste on a toothbrush and handing it to
Mary.
INT. MARY'S BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Still no sound. Josh grabs a nightgown from a dresser drawer
and hands it to Mary, who puts it on slowly.
Josh pulls back the covers of Mary's bed, helps her into it.
He puts the covers over Mary, and stands over her, watching
her fall asleep. When she looks asleep, he leans down and
kisses her forehead. This wakes her, she grabs his neck, hugs
him tightly.
MARY
I'm better. Thank you... come on.
Mary pulls Josh onto the bed, over the covers, and motions
for him to sit next to her.
Josh sits down on the bed next to Mary. Mary holds onto his
arm and goes to sleep.
Josh sits on the bed, watching Mary.
FADE OUT.
INT. MARY'S BEDROOM - LATER
We hear distant knocking. Josh is asleep. After a beat, the
knocking wakes him up. He sits up slowly. He looks around,
down at Mary, sleeping. Josh gets up and goes to:
INT. MARY'S LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Josh unlocks the door, opens it as much as the chain will let
him. Julian is outside.
JULIAN
What the fuck?
JOSH
Um, she's fine. She's asleep. She was, I
don't know --
JULIAN
Open the door.
JOSH
No, I don't think -- She's OK. I should
go. She's OK. Just come back tomorrow...
for her.
JULIAN
Josh, open the fucking door.
JOSH
No... no. OK.
Josh closes the door. Walks back to:
INT. MARY'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS
Josh stands at the foot of the bed, watching Mary. He's not
quite awake.
From the living room, we hear a crash. Josh turns towards the
living room.
Julian comes storming into the bedroom, comes straight up to
Josh, grabs him by the neck. Josh tries to get Julian's hand
off of his neck, but realizes that Julian wants it there.
JULIAN
What the fuck are you doing?! HEY! What
the fuck are you doing?
Josh makes a choking sound, Julian slaps Josh twice in the
ear.
JULIAN (CONT'D)
Jesus fucking Christ, I thought I fucking
talked to you. Didn't I fucking explain
it to you? What the fuck are you doing
here?
JOSH
I... I'm gonna... dude.
JULIAN
Shut the fuck up, man!
JOSH
Don't... I --
Julian slaps Josh in the ear again.
JULIAN
What the fuck are you doing, man? Huh?!
Fuckin' bitch!
Another slap. Josh can't move. Josh sees himself in a mirror
across the room.
JOSH
Please, don't. I'm not --
Mary, still asleep by all accounts, stirs.
MARY
Julian don't. Just --
JULIAN
(to Mary)
Shut the fuck up, Mary.
Mary grunts into her pillow.
JULIAN (CONT'D)
(to Josh)
Hey!
Julian pushes Josh into a nightstand. Josh falls slowly, gets
up quickly.
JULIAN (CONT'D)
Oh, what? You didn't think this through,
did you man? I mean, I fucking came to
you, I said things to you, I tried to
tell I was sorry, you fuckin... And you
come here? You fucking end up here, in
this bed?! I mean how much of what I told
you did you miss, dude? What the FUCK --
Another slap.
JULIAN (CONT'D)
-- did you think would happen?! Just...
fuckin' leave man. Just go away.
Josh leaves immediately. Julian watches him go, turns to
watch Mary sleeping.
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