１、２、３、４、５、６、７、８、９
MANDY
The one you better get the fuck
off your third finger left hand.
Ah. That ring.
JULIANNE
Well. See. That was a...
reflex to see if it would...
MANDY
(helpful)
... look good on Kimberly.
JULIANNE
Right. And then it didn't want
to come off. Exactly.
SAMMY
Maybe it's happy there.
MANDY
Oh the way out of the crab house?
We asked Michael if we could see
the ring?
SAMMY
He said you told him. It'd be
safer with you.
MANDY
An so it is.
Julianne for once is speechless. To our amazement, the girls wear
identical smiles of kindness and support.
MANDY
Shut up, sugar, he's on his way.
Let's get to work.
INT. HOTEL KITCHEN - NIGHT
Huge gleaming chaotic kitchen. Cooks, waiters, working at top
speed. The three women RACE in, look around frantically, half the
guys stop to ogle the twins. CUT TO...
ANGLES... and industrial-sized jar of peanut butter. Julianne's hand
PLUNGES in, halfway to the rolled-up sleeve at her elbow. SMOOCHES
it around, real good. PULL BACK to reveal...
... she is surrounded by the twins and six guys, all SHOUTING
conflicting instructions. Julianne FLINGS off the excess SLOP.
Tugs for all she's worth...
EIGHT PEOPLE
TWIST IT! TWIST IT!
Nada. It won't budge. A sous chef WIPES her hand with a towel, a
janitor CRASHES a tool kit onto the counter. THROWS it open, pulls
out...
... a spray can of WD-40. Instantly, her hand is BLACK. The guy TUGS.
No movement. He can't believe it.
JANITOR
It's mental, lady, you ain't
trying!
Sammy is rummaging through her handbag, pulling out...
SAMMY
There is nothing so tight, this
can't help it...
... a tube of jelly. The letter K-Y. Julianne just gives her a look.
Mandy pushes through with a butcher's CLEAVER...
MANDY
I saw this on Hard Copy. People
cut off body parts and the
hospital sew 'em back o...
The look has turned toward her.
JULIANNE
(cold)
I saw the show.
MANDY
... well, maybe it works on
fingers, too.
FLOWER GIRL (O.S.)
Aunt Mandy...?
Everybody turns. The little girl in the doorway. Southern accent...
FLOWER GIRL
Mr. Michael's here.
Everything gets real quiet. Mandy takes charge. She rolls down
Julianne's left sleeve, RIPS the hem out of the cuff, so that it
flaps down over her hand, covering the ring. Sammy wipes the black
stuff from Julianne's fingers.
MANDY
Don't worry, baby. You could
pick your nose with that finger
and Michael would never notice.
He's a man.
The twins lead her off. We're on their backs for...
MANDY (O.S.)
Personally, I think Mr. Michael's
marrying the wrong girl.
SAMMY (O.S.)
You're much more his type.
EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET - NIGHT
VIEW through a heavy glass door of the empty, dimly-lit lobby.
PULL BACK to see Julianne, just as she...
... KICKS the shit out of the glass! Almost breaks her foot.
JULIANNE
I can't believe this!
PULL BACK farther to see Michael still trying keys from a large key
ring in the heavy lock. Sign over the door says WALLACE ENTERPRISES.
Traffic hustles by, oblivious to her suffering.
MICHAEL
It's no big deal, she just gave
you the wrong keys that's s...
JULIANNE
ISN'T THERE A GUARD? A JANITOR?
A FUCKING CLEANING WOMAN? I'LL
TAKE A BURGLAR! SOMEBODY'S
GOTTA BE IN TH...
And she SLAMS her whole BODY against the glass, making it rattle ominously.
JULIANNE
WHERE'S A BRICK? FIND ME A
GODDAMN BRICK!!
She looks around wildly, hysterical.
MICHAEL
What is the big deal about
getting this file tonight?
A good question. She needs a good answer.
JULIANNE
I promised Digger I'd E-mail him
those figures.
From his face, that wasn't it.
JULIANNE
They are very important figures.
Apparently. He's just staring at her.
JULIANNE
I'm up against a deadline.
MICHAEL
Me, too. I'm getting married
tomorrow.
JULIANNE
That's my point!!
Now. He really doesn't get it.
JULIANNE
I mean, tomorrow... we'll all be
busy with more important things.
So...
So?
JULIANNE
... tonight's my last chance.
He sighs.
MICHAEL
I forgot how cute you look. When
you get impossible.
JULIANNE
It's just... up there... right in
front of Walter's... y'know, computer.
If memory serves.
Helpless.
JULIANNE
We could use... his computer, to...
just E-mail those suckers right ou...
MICHAEL
Tomorrow is Sunday. Nobody's doing
business. Crack of dawn, Monday,
Walter'll take you up there...
Her eyes fill with tears. He is mystified. Smiles tenderly.
MICHAEL
(softly)
Give it up, kid.
Touches her hair.
MICHAEL
You can't win 'em all.
And slowly, he takes her hand. Leads her way. She takes one
backward glance at the locked door. Her last dream dies.
INT. LOBBY, RITZ CARLTON - NIGHT
Michael and a disconsolate Julianne board the elevator. He presses
15, she pushes 11. Michael carries a handful of messages slips and
an envelope. As the car starts up, she folds her arms across her
chest, at the edge of tears. He doesn't know what to do.
MICHAEL
(gently)
Listen up, huh? Even if you blow
this deal, how big could it be?
JULIANNE
(voice nearly cracking)
You're right. Easy come, easy go.
He's really concerned, can't bear to see her so upset.
MICHAEL
(softly)
Jules?
She won't look at him. She wants to die. The bell RINGS, the doors
open to her floor. She just walks out.
And he follows. They stand now, she with her arms crossed, lip
trembling. She can't believe how close she is to losing it.
MICHAEL
This thing means that much to
y...
JULIANNE
It means a lot.
He nods. Okay.
MICHAEL
I'll call the house, Walter's
probably not even asleep...
Her mouth drops. She can't believe this.
MICHAEL
I'll drive you out there, we'll
get the key, we'll go back to
the office...
She THROWS her arms around his, HUGGING him so hard, so close. He
laughs, she is so weird. She pulls back, beaming, glowing.
MICHAEL
Come on, we'll call from your
room.
She claps his hand. As they head down the hall...
MICHAEL
If I fall asleep on the altar
tomorrow...
He's trying to flip through the message slips in his free hand...
MICHAEL
... you better be there to...
funny, these are all from Ben.
She's at her door, turning the key. He looks at the envelope.
MICHAEL
The fax is from Ben, too. Man,
it's my wedding, and my boss can't
leave me alone...
JULIANNE
(entering her room)
... maybe it's congratulations.
He follows her in, opening the envelope. Stops. Reads. And his face
suddenly... freezes. To stone.
JULIANNE
(turning to him)
Michael? What ha...
MICHAEL
(reading)
Mike. I can't believe I'm doing
this to you on the night before
your wedding. But I think you
need and deserve to know...
And he looks up to her.
MICHAEL
... what you're marrying into.
He hands it toward her. She takes it, hesitantly, and he walks past.
Toward the phone.
JULIANNE
(reading)
I received the following E-mail
this afternoon... "Ben, I need a
favor. My daughter's every
happiness... "
Her eyes BUG OUT of her head. Holy shit! We can hear him DIALING the
phone. She keeps reading, it's all there. How did this happen?
MICHAEL (O.S.)
Isabelle? I need to talk to
Kim...
JULIANNE
(reading)
"Mike, the funny thing is, he's
offering you a gig you'd be
stupid to turn down..."
MICHAEL (O.S.)
I'm just tired. Please put her
on? Thanks.
JULIANNE
(reading)
"Maybe you should take the job.
And dump the girl."
And when she turns...
MICHAEL
Jules. Could you give me a
minute?
He looks more sick than angry. As if the heart has just been cut
out of him. She doesn't know what to say or do, so she just stands,
staring dumbly.
MICHAEL
Please?
She nods, stumbles out of her room, closing the door behind her.
Now she's in the empty corridor, clutching her big jumbled bag,
sinking down to sit on the carpet, her back against the door.
She doesn't look elated. She seems frightened, distraught, and
most of all, confused. Because she can't understand why. She digs
absently through her bag. Cigarettes. Box of matches.
She lights up. Draws deeply. Somehow, she seems near tears, and
laughs bitterly at that. Shakes her head at how fucked-up she finds
herself. Squeaking wheels approach, but she is too lost to hear them.
BELLMAN
Miss, are you locked out,
or something?
She looks up. A small, wiry man of nearly 60, in a slightly faded
but neatly-kept uniform. On his cart, a ton of bags.
JULIANNE
No, I just stepped out, because...
it's a non-smoking room.
And inhales deeply. Leans back against the door, to look up at him
more comfortably.
BELLMAN
(politely)
Well, it's non-smoking floor,
too. Maybe you could go to the...
JULIANNE
(seriously)
Why don't you have me arrested?
That wasn't sarcastic. He doesn't know what to say.
JULIANNE
I mean that. Arrested, convicted,
put in solitary.
Another puff.
JULIANNE
See, I'm a dangerous, criminal
person. I do bad things to
honest people. This, see, this
smoking? Tip of the iceberg.
Waves her hand.
JULIANNE
Make a citizen's arrest, I won't
struggle. It'll be like getting
Al Capone on tax evasion.
Now she seems angry. But not at him. Her eyes fill with tears.
BELLMAN
Can I... Can I help you, miss?
She squints at his nameplate.
JULIANNE
Do you smoke, Richard?
BELLMAN
Yes, ma'am, I do, but it's...
JULIANNE
... a non-smoking floor, yeah.
Well, you know what?
And she takes the cigarette from her lips. Turns it around, holds
it out to him. Go ahead. He doesn't move. Please! And so...
... he reaches down, takes the cigarette from her hand. Staring in
her eyes, he takes a deep drag. Savors an expert nostril-inhale of
his exhaled smoke. Hands the cigarette back to her...
BELLMAN
My grandmother always said,
"This, too, shall pass."
She swallows. Wipes at her eyes. Finds a smile.
JULIANNE
Thanks, Richard. If you weren't
on duty, I'd buy you a drink.
He just nods. She waves. He waves back, pushes his cart down the
hall. As she watches him go, the door behind her suddenly OPENS,
and she...
... FALLS through it, flat on her back at Michael's feet. Staring up
at him, seeing that he looks as bad as she feels, she takes raw, deep
drag.
JULIANNE
What happened?
MICHAEL
(softly)
It's over.
And crouches down. Close beside her. The cigarette drops from her
hand, unnoticed on the carpet. So he lifts it, crushes it on the
heel of his shoe.
MICHAEL
I want you to quit this shit,
it'll kill you.
She just nods, obediently. Okay, I will.
MICHAEL
She denied it. Said I was crazy
and paranoid.
JULIANNE
A bad combination.
He tries to smile. It's really hard.
MICHAEL
There's this big brunch tomorrow
morning? At her place.
He lets the air out. Slow. So he won't cry.
MICHAEL
She said "How can I call everything
off, what do I tell everybody?"
Shakes his head. Can you imagine that?
JULIANNE
Michael...
MICHAEL
No, it's for the best, it really
is. We were so wrong for each
other.
JULIANNE
Maybe tomorrow, you'll feel dif...
MICHAEL
The job thing would have broken
us up, eventually, anyway. She
couldn't have lived with it. I
know that now.
Julianne nods. Maybe that part is right. Maybe it would have
ended anyway. Maybe she can pretend she's not a monster.
MICHAEL
And she's right, I'm crazy to
fall for someone. I hardly
knew.
Looks deep in her eyes. He's so glad she's there.
MICHAEL
Hey. You still got that ring?
She holds up her left hand, the flapping sleeve falls away. The
ring is on a finger that is swollen and raw.
JULIANNE
I tried it on. But it won't
come off.
He smiles at that. A sad smile of friendship. Then takes her
finger gently...
... into his mouth. It is something like a kiss. And when he
removes her moistened finger...
... he pulls the ring OFF. Nothing to it. She blinks.
JULIANNE
It's mental, you know.
He doesn't understand that.
JULIANNE
Should we take a walk? Or
maybe some food sent up, or
something...
MICHAEL
I just want to be alone. Is
that okay?
She nods, sure. He kisses her cheek. Stands up.
MICHAEL
Maybe I'll go back to New York.
Hang with you for awhile, huh?
Ben'll understand.
She nods again. Whatever you say. He steps into the open doorway...
MICHAEL
Or we'll go somewhere. If you
have the time.
JULIANNE
If San Antonio sweeps
Sacramento...
They smiles at each other. For real.
JULIANNE
I've never been to Texas.
Imagine that. The look holds. Just above a whisper...
MICHAEL
Thanks for coming to my wedding.
And then he's gone.
IN.JULIANNE'S BATHROOM - LATE NIGHT
Julianne brushing out her hair in the bathroom mirror, eyeing her
image with evident dissatisfaction, as she listens to the receiver
RINGING.
DIGGER (V.O. MACHINE)
Digger and George are with
family in the Hamptons until
Monday morning. Brevity is even
more in order than usual.
BEEP.
JULIANNE
Hey, handsome. Brevity this...
Her eyes find the pack of cigarettes. Next to her toiletries kit.
JULIANNE
(softly)
I won.
Her fingers touch the pack. As if an object of significance. Takes
it up.
JULIANNE
Amazing, huh? I didn't do things
quite your way. But... I got it
down.
Cradling the phone against her shoulder, she carefully tears the top
of the pack completely open.
JULIANNE
And forty years and nine grand-
children later, when I sit with
Michael on some rustic porch,
slogging through our sweet swamp
of nostalgic memories...
Reaches the pack toward the toilet.
JULIANNE
No one is going to sweet the
details...
Turns it upside down, emptying a dozen cigarettes into the john.
JULIANNE
Of one weekend in Chicago.
Drops the lid with a CLATTER. Hits the FLUSH.
JULIANNE
Talk about celebration...
She lifts a tube from her toiletries kit. Stares at it, real
close.
JULIANNE
I'm gonna brush my teeth with
actual toothpaste.
Turns it over, reads all the writing. Yep.
JULIANNE
I guess I'm too exhausted to
feel the elation I so richly undeserve...
Squeezes some paste onto her brush. Carefully.
JULIANNE
So I'm gonna hold calls at the
desk... while I get my...
Start brushing.
JULIANNE
(around, her mouthful)
God, it is toothpaste, they
should sell this stuff
commercially! Anyway, a girl
does need her...
Squints at her image. Laughs, spewing a little foam.
JULIANNE
... well, we're a bit past
worrying about beauty sleep.
Let's just settle for not
frightening small animals.
She SPITS. Tells Digger's machine...
JULIANNE
Anyway, I couldn't have done
it without you. Even though I
did, if you follow that.
Wipes her mouth. Stares off. The eyes a little dreamy.
JULIANNE
Three words: Happily. Ever.
Well, you know.
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. BEDROOM - MORNING
Julianne sprawled all over the bed, mouth open like a carp,
sleeping mask against the daylight. A sudden RAPPING at the
door, and she...
... sits BOLT UPRIGHT. Utterly disoriented, until she pulls off
the mask. Stumbles out of bed, walking toward the firm KNOCKING,
when...
... it stops. A message slip SLIDES beneath her door. She lifts
it, barely conscious. This wakes her up. In one.
１、２、３、４、５、６、７、８、９
