LOVE (ABRIDGED EDITION) by Charles Deemer Story by Mariana Arevalo G. FADE IN: EXT. PARK - DAY MOIRA, 20s, sits on a bench in the park. There's an empty bench next to hers. She's reading the personals in a newspaper. We HEAR what she's reading. MOIRA (V.O.) "Successful professional SWM: tall, fit, handsome, intelligent, secure, confident, honest, positive. Has good communication skills, sense of humor and balance." Moira shakes her head in disbelief and moves on. MOIRA (V.O.) "Rare, slender, nicely integrated whole person, spiritual warrior to take play to a new level with a spiritually mature, energetically open friend of the heart for whom even lustiness is holy. You and I would risk it all for the truth. We enjoy intensity and adore deep peace." She looks thoughtful, pausing over this one. Finally she goes on. MOIRA (V.O.) "Look, I'm lonely and you're lonely. Sometimes screwing your brains out helps to cut through the crap, know what I mean?" She hears something and looks up. CALE, 20s, has ridden up on his bicycle and is parking at the adjacent bench. For a moment, their eyes meet. Cale smiles, and Moira quickly looks away. Is she blushing? Cale takes a bottle of juice and a book out of his back pack. He sits down at the far end of the bench. Moira is suddenly self-conscious about the personals and quickly turns to another section of the newspaper. She sneaks a glance at Cale and imagines a conversation. 2. MOIRA (V.O.) What are you reading? CALE (V.O.) "War and Peace." But the book he's reading is a thin paperback. MOIRA (V.O.) I thought it was much longer. CALE (V.O.) The abridged edition. Moira quickly looks away. MOIRA (V.O.) It always turns out that way with men. You think they're the whole deal, and they end up being the abridged edition. She looks back at him. Cale notices this and smiles. MOIRA (V.O.) You have a lovely smile. CALE (V.O.) Thank you. What's your name? MOIRA (V.O.) Moira. CALE (V.O.) Very pretty. Irish. Moira quickly looks away. Across the lawn, A YOUNG COUPLE is embracing, playful flirtation. They kiss. MOIRA (V.O.) What has the greatest odds, winning the lottery? Or finding the right guy? CALE (V.O.) How do you know I'm not the right guy? Moira is startled by this. MOIRA (V.O.) What? 3. CALE (V.O.) You never know unless you get to know me, right? Cale turns a page. He senses something and looks up. Moira is standing in front of him. CALE Can I help you? MOIRA I notice you're reading "The Bridges Of Madison County." CALE Promise not to tell anyone. MOIRA I loved it actually. CALE The critics hated it. MOIRA Who cares what they think? Did you see the movie? CALE I like the book better. Great sound track, though. MOIRA I like the book better, too. I think what saves it from being sentimental is the way it's set up. CALE Right, exactly. The stuff about her kids finding the diary, all that didn't work as well in the movie. MOIRA Not that sentimentality is necessarily bad. CALE I know what you mean. I'm Cale, by the way. 4. MOIRA Nice to meet you. Well, I'd better let you get back to your book. She turns to go back to her bench. CALE Moira? MOIRA Yes? CALE Look. He points to a Hanson Cab approaching. It's empty. CALE Have you had lunch yet? MOIRA Actually ... She's thinking about it. In her head, she hears: CALE (V.O.) "SWM, 20s, wants to meet a girl who's not afraid to take a chance." She manages to smile. MOIRA Let's do it. Cale waves down the cab. EXT. PARK/VARIOUS STREETS - DAY Moira and Cale ride in the Hanson Cab. They obviously are enjoying themselves. MOIRA (V.O.) God, he's good looking. But he doesn't flaunt it, he doesn't come off as God's Gift to Women. I read that Ted Bundy was like that. Charmed those women to death, literally. The Hanson Cab Serial Killer. Well, what can happen in the middle of the day? 5. EXT. SIDEWALK CAFE - DAY The Hanson Cab pulls up in front of a sidewalk cafe, and they get out. EXT. SIDEWALK CAFE - DAY They find an empty table and sit down. CALE I hope you're hungry. MOIRA (V.O.) Don't tell him you're on a diet. MOIRA Famished. She manages to smile. Cale looks around for a waiter. EXT. SIDEWALK CAFE - DAY - LATER The table is strewn with empty plates after their lunch. A WAITER brings them each a slice of cake. MOIRA We didn't order dessert. WAITER On the house. One of our staff has a birthday. EXT. STREET - DAY Moira and Cale walk along the street. Each has a slice of cake on a paper plate, taken "to go" from the sidewalk cafe. Cale is eating, Moira just holds her plate. MOIRA (V.O.) How can he eat so much and still be so thin? If I ate this much every day, I'd be a hippo. CALE Aren't you having your cake? MOIRA Did you want it? 6. CALE God, no. Do you mind if we walk off lunch for a while? A SERIES OF SHOTS - DAY of Moira and Cale continuing their date. 1. They ride on a carousel. 2. They throw pennies into a pond. 3. They walk through a garden or other scenic spot. 4. They watch a STREET PERFORMER. Cale tips him a dollar. During the above, we hear: MOIRA (V.O.) It was amazing. No candlelight. No violins. No flowers or boxes of candy or sweet words on a card. Broad daylight in the middle of the day, and it was turning into one of the most romantic times I'd ever had. We were just hanging out. We were just being spontaneous. INT. ANOTHER STREET - DAY They walk along another street. Cale suddenly stops and looks at his watch. He looks like he has something important to say. CALE There's something I have to do. MOIRA (V.O.) This is where he dumps me. CALE Do you mind coming along? MOIRA (V.O.) He forgot he had a lunch date with his wife. You think you meet a whole guy, and he ends up being abridged. CALE It won't take long. 7. INT. DELI - DAY Cale orders a sack lunch as Moira looks on. She looks like she's in shock. MOIRA (V.O.) He can't possibly still be hungry. Has there ever been a serial killer who attacked his victims with calories? Cale catches her eye and smiles. Moira forces a smile in return. EXT. PARK - DAY Cale carries the package of take-out. They enter the same park where they met. MOIRA You have a thing for this park? Cale stops. He sets down the package. MOIRA What are you doing? CALE Of course I have a thing for this park. It's where I met you. He slowly moves forward and kisses her. Moira lets herself be kissed. Then she kisses back. MOIRA (V.O.) Wow. They finally break the kiss. MOIRA We're not really going to eat again, are we? CALE You thought this was for us? EXT. PARK - BENCH - DAY Cale delivers the take-out to MRS. LEBONSKI. She sits alone at a bench. (She can be any age, 40s up.) 8. CALE Here's your lunch, Mrs. Lebonski. MRS. LEBONSKI I thought you'd forgotten me. (to Moira) He brings me lunch every Wednesday. He's such a sweet boy. Are you his girlfriend? CALE (quickly, to rescue Moira) Of course, she's my friend, Mrs. Lebonski. Her name is Moira. MRS. LEBONSKI Such a pretty name. EXT. PARK - ANOTHER BENCH - DAY They sit on the bench where they met. CALE The doctor gave her three months. And that was over a year ago. MOIRA You've been bringing her lunch for that long? CALE Every Wednesday. If the weather's bad, I take it to her apartment. Moira smiles with sincere admiration. MOIRA (V.O.) A hunk with a heart. Suddenly Moira's CELL PHONE RINGS. She looks startled. It RINGS again. CALE Want me to throw it in the bushes for you? And it RINGS again. EXT. PARK - BENCH - DAY Moira on the bench as before, her cell phone RINGING. She answers it. Too late. 9. She looks at the adjacent bench. The bench is empty. MOIRA (V.O.) SWF, 20s, frustrated, maybe unbalanced, certainly confused, spends a lot of time in the park reading the personals and hallucinating about romantic encounters with a stranger named Cale. She starts to pack up to go. She stands up. Approaching is Cale on his bike. He has TWO cups of coffee in an egg carton. He stops. CALE Would you like a cup of coffee? FADE OUT