LOVE (ABRIDGED EDITION)
by Charles Deemer
Story by Mariana Arevalo G.
FADE IN:
EXT. NY - STREET - DAY
Moira walks along a street. She buys a
newspaper.
EXT. CENTRAL PARK - DAY
She enters Central Park.
EXT. CENTRAL PARK - BENCH - 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 walked up to the adjacent bench.
MOIRA (V.O.)
He's really cute. I should
talk to him. "How you doing?
I'm Moira." No, that sounds so
dumb. I have to look cool.
For a moment, their eyes meet. Cale smiles,
and Moira quickly looks away. Is she
blushing?
Cale takes 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.
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.)
God, they look so happy. 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?
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.
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. CENTRAL 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?
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.
CALE
We'll take it to-go.
WAITER
Very good.
The waiter leaves.
CALE
I have a special treat for
dessert.
EXT. 55TH 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.
They pass a HOMELESS PERSON on the street.
Cale offers his cake.
CALE
Would you like this?
The homeless person accepts the cake.
HOMELESS PERSON
(automatically) God bless you.
Cale turns to Moira, who steps forward and
offers her cake as well. The homeless
person takes it.
HOMELESS PERSON
(with irony) It must be my lucky day.
Moira and Cale continue on.
HOMELESS PERSON
(after them) "Let them eat cake!"
They ignore this and walk on.
CALE
First we walk off lunch, then
you see my surprise.
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. 5TH AVENUE - DAY
They walk along another street. Cale
suddenly stops and looks at his watch. He
looks like he has something important to
say.
CALE
You ready for the piece de
resistance?
MOIRA (V.O.)
Please don't have it be
something that ruins the day.
CALE
I hope you're not on a diet.
MOIRA (V.O.)
Oh, God.
INT. PASTISSERIE - DAY
Cale orders at the counter as Moira
watches. The WOMAN BEHIND THE COUNTER hands
Cale a box to go. We don't know what's in
it yet.
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. PASTISSERIE - DAY
They come outside. Cale carries the box of
take-out.
EXT. CENTRAL PARK - DAY
They enter the same park where they met.
MOIRA
You have a thing for this
park?
Cale stops. He sets down the box.
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
What's in the box?
CALE
You find out in a minute.
EXT. CENTRAL PARK - BENCH - DAY
They sit down on the bench where they met.
Cale opens the box.
CALE
Ta-da!
It's two slices of German chocolate cake.
CALE
You will not find better
German chocolate cake in the
western world. Tell me I'm
wrong.
He cuts a piece with a plastic fork and
holds it up for Moira.
MOIRA (V.O.)
Ummm, it does look good.
Tomorrow, I fast.
She starts to take a bite.
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. CENTRAL PARK - BENCH - DAY (REAL TIME)
Moira on the bench as before, her cell
phone RINGING.
She answers it. Too late.
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 evenings with a
guy she meets on the next
bench.
She starts to pack up to go. She stands up.
Approaching is Cal. He has TWO cups of
coffee in an egg carton. He stops.
CALE
Would you like a cup of
coffee?
FADE OUT