123 INT. JOHNNO'S ROOM. MORNING
BEA and JOHNNO, early in the
morning, lying naked in each other’s arms in JOHNNO's bed. BEA's happiness is tinged with apprehension
as to how JOHNNO will react to what she has to say.
BEA Johnno...ever wanted to be a father?
JOHNNO Not yours.
BEA Have your own
child?
JOHNNO Maybe...one
day.
BEA leans on one elbow,
looking at JOHNNO.
BEA How about 200
days?
JOHNNO Full of
surprises aren’t you?
BEA What do you
think?
JOHNNO Change your
life.
BEA We could go
to Western Australia. The three of us.
On your motorbike. Start a tribe in the desert. Go Aboriginal.
JOHNNO (smiling) You're
dreamer Bright Eyes.
BEA holds her hand up,
indicating an inch with her spread fingers.
BEA It’s that big
already.
JOHNNO You really
want a child?
BEA touches her stomach.
BEA Yes.
JOHNNO puts his hand on BEA's
stomach, looks at her and smiles.
JOHNNO Mummy.
124 INT. ANGLICAN CHURCH. AFTERNOON
BEA, in a white dress and
carrying a bunch of colorful spring flowers, walks into a large Anglican
church. 'Jerusalem' can be heard playing on the organ. Shafts of late afternoon
sun shine through stained glass windows. FOGARTY, hidden from view at first,
plays the organ in the otherwise deserted church. BEA moves slowly down the
aisle - her face peaceful; calm. When he sees BEA, FOGARTY stops playing the
organ and looks at her. BEA smiles serenely.
BEA It’s
beautiful here.
FOGARTY Yes.
FOGARTY is moved by this
vision of BEA. He continues to play the organ.
BEA stands alone in the vast church; ecstatically happy.
125 INT. POLICE CELL. DAY. 1963
The loud clanking of the cell
door opening snaps OLD BEA out of her reverie.
POLICEMAN Time, Bea!
As she gets up from her bunk,
a sudden stab of arthritic pain causes BEA to grimace.
126 INT. COURTROOM. DAY. 1963
BEA is lounging on the bench
in front of the court reserved for Legal Counsel. She has stopped midway through a game of
Patience she is playing with cards on the table, to listen to the results of
the Psychiatric Report.
DR. FRITH ...Her
vocabulary and range of information and comprehension are at a superior level
and there is no apparent impairment in her powers of abstraction...
The MAGISTRATE, who has been
flipping through the 2 inch thick BEATRICE MILE file in front of him,
interrupts DR FRITH.
MAGISTRATE Yes, yes,
thank you Doctor. It’s probably a foolish question, Bea, but why...?
BEA points at FRANK, the
taxi-driver.
BEA His behaviour
was quite ungentlemanly. That’s no way to treat a lady. And what’s more...
MAGISTRATE (sighs) Miss Miles,
I am afraid I must bring to your attention that this is the 200th occasion...
There is loud applause,
laughter and cheering in court.
MAGISTRATE (loud) Order!
The Prosecuting Counsel, MR
CRICK, is new on the job.
MR CRICK Your Honor?
MAGISTRATE Yes Mr.
Crick.
MR CRICK The defendant
in her deposition describes herself, your Honor, as a student...
MAGISTRATE She is a
student of life, Mr. Crick.
MR CRICK Oh! (PAUSE))
Your Honor, the defendant is also charged with resisting arrest and calling the
arresting officer an ugly mug copper...
BEA It’s an
accurate description.
MAGISTRATE Accuracy is
no defense, Miss Miles, in the State of New South Wales.
BEA Then I’ll
appeal to the high Court …
MAGISTRATE Miss Miles, I
must remind you...
BEA (interrupting)
I’d appreciate it Wally, if you’d dispense with the advice and get on
with it. I’ve got an appointment.
MAGISTRATE An
appointment!
BEA Yes, and I’m
running late. What’s the verdict?
MAGISTRATE Er...guilty.
Five pounds for assault and fifteen pounds damages to taxi door. 28 days to
pay. In default 36 days hard labor.
BEA I’ll take the
36 days...I’m not going to give him a farthing.
BEA points at FRANK.
BEA And what’s
more, Wally, the state of justice in New South Wales...
MAGISTRATE (sighs) Your
appointment, Bea!
BEA Righto! I’m
going.
BEA turns and walks, with
great dignity, from the courtroom.
127 EXT. TAXI RANK. INNER CITY. DAY
BEA, on the road, talks with
SYLVIE as she moves her cab forward from fifth to fourth in the Taxi Rank. A
BESPECTACLED MAN with both arms full of parcels, looks in through the window.
SYLVIE (incredulous)
Western Australia!? Today!?
The BESPECTACLED MAN, unable
to catch SYLVIE's attention, opens the back door and proceeds to put his
parcels on the back seat.
BEA Tomorrow’d be
O.K....
SYLVIE That’s a 6000
mile round trip!
BEA I’ve got to
go, Sylvie. I was always going there and I’ve never been. It’s the one corner
of Australia I’ve never seen.
SYLVIE I can’t Bea.
I’ve got a family...and anyway, you couldn’t afford it.
The BESPECTACLED MAN gets
into the back seat, alongside his parcels.
BEA Don’t worry
about the money, Sylvie. I’ve got a plan.
SYLVIE I’d like to
Bea, but...Ted would shit himself... I’m sure you could find someone else.
BEA I want to go
with a mate.
SYLVIE Where will
you be tomorrow?
BEA (excited) Thanks
Sylvie...
SYLVIE I’m not
promising. I’ll talk to Ted but I know he’ll shit himself.
BEA Fogarty’s...St
David’s.
SYLVIE I’ll try. No
promises.
BEA crosses her fingers on
both hands, holds them up and smiles.
SYLVIE shakes her head and turns to the passenger.
SYLVIE Where to?
128 INT. FOGARTY'S CHURCH. DUSK
BEA makes her way down the
aisle to where FOGARTY, almost totally bald now and quite large, is making
preparations for some major festive event - judging by the flowers that have
been attached to the end of each pew.
BEA Fogarty.
FOGARTY (warm) Hello
Bea.
BEA What’s going
on?
FOGARTY Big wedding
tomorrow...
BEA Ah...Fogarty?
FOGARTY Mmmm...
BEA Can you lend
me some money?
FOGARTY Tram or taxi?
BEA Neither.
FOGARTY How much?
BEA Hundred and
fifty quid.
FOGARTY Hundred and
fifty quid!!!
BEA Well, you see
it’s been raining in the Gibson Desert in Western Australia and the
wildflowers...
129 INT. VESTRY. DUSK
FOGARTY lifts Bea’s swag down
from the top of a cupboard in the vestry, in which also rests BEA's billy cans
and other camping utensils.
FOGARTY Be cheaper by
train wouldn’t it?
BEA
No, it has to be a taxi.
FOGARTY Why?
BEA points to the altar wine.
BEA Pour us both
a drink and I’ll tell you.
FOGARTY But you don’t
drink!
BEA Tonight’s an
exception. I’m retiring, Fogarty.
FOGARTY (surprised) Beatrice!
BEA To The Little
Sisters of the Poor.
FOGARTY Oh my god,
Beatrice! A Catholic old people’s home!
FOGARTY pours them both a
glass of wine.
BEA I tried to
find and atheist home but there aren’t any.
FOGARTY Well, an
Anglican home is near enough.
BEA They didn’t
want me.
FOGARTY Oh!...They’re
not the most exciting places, Beatrice.
BEA I plan to
read. I calculate if I live to be ninety
and I can get through four books a week...that’s six thousand books. Don
Quixote. The Vedic Hymn Cycle. Dickens
again. Darwin’s letters to Huxley...
FOGARTY (raising his
glass of wine) Well, fresh fields to
conquer.
LATER IN THE NIGHT
BEA sits on her swag on the
floor, leaning up against the wall; a near empty glass of wine in her
hand. FOGARTY sits back to front on a
chair nearby, swirling the dregs of his wine around in the glass. They sit, for a long moment, in companionable
silence.
BEA Ever think
you’d get to be this old, Jacko? And this fast?
Makes you think, doesn’t it?
FOGARTY (slightly tipsy)
What happens to atheists when they die?
BEA They become
compost. (FOGARTY SMILES) Why aren’t you after my soul, Fogarty?
FOGARTY Some souls I
can take or leave. Some souls are...complete enough.
BEA You’re a good
man, Fogarty.
FOGARTY Well, it’s my
job.
BEA smiles at him and then
yawns.
FOGARTY You should get
some sleep, old girl.
BEA Will you tuck
me in?
FOGARTY Of course.
BEA Fogarty?
FOGARTY Yes Bea.
BEA Why did you
never marry?
FOGARTY You would
never have accepted.
BEA Give me a
kiss, Jacko.
FOGARTY moves over to BEA,
sits on the edge of her swag and kisses her softly.
FOGARTY Goodnight old
girl.
BEA Goodnight old
boy.
LATER
It is dark now. BEA lies in
her swag - alone in the church but unable to sleep. In her memory she hears
'Jerusalem' being played on the organ. Overwhelmed by the memories this
remembered music evoke in her, BEA struggles out of her swag and walks to the
door. Her arthritis is giving her a lot of trouble tonight.
130 INT. CHURCH. NIGHT/DAY
BEA hobbles into the dimly
illuminated deserted church. Fogarty's organ recital of 'Jerusalem' continues,
though there is obviously no one playing the organ.
As the music builds and
swells BEA watches as the church fills with light; shafts of late afternoon sun
through stained glass windows illuminating BEA as a young woman - in a white
dress and clutching a bunch of colourful spring flowers; a beatific smile on
her face.
Close on BEA's old face as
she remembers.
131 INT. JOHNNO'S ROOM. NIGHT
YOUNG BEA, in her white dress
and clutching her flowers, stands with her head pressed hard against a wall in
JOHNNO's room staring desperately into space. She turns to look at JOHNNO. He
looks away.
JOHNNO There’s a
doctor in Bayswater Road...
BEA looks directly at him,
trying to read his face but not responding to what he has said. JOHNNO turns
and faces her. The directness of BEA's gaze intimidates him.
JOHNNO I’m sorry
Bea...I wasn’t thinking properly...
JOHNNO looks back at BEA to
find her looking directly at him still.
JOHNNO It's just...I’m not ready to settle down
yet...Are you? Are you really ready for that?
JOHNNO, sensing a weakening
of BEA's resolve, walks up to her and strokes her cheek with the back of his
hand.
JOHNNO And what are
you going to do with a baby? Gad about the countryside with it tied to your
back in a papoose? Jump rattlers and hitchhike to Western Australia to pick
wildflowers with baby Bea in tow? Lose the thing you hold dearest in your life
- your freedom?
132 INT. FOGARTY'S CHURCH. DAWN
BEA, in her white dress,
opens the front door of Fogarty’s church and walks in - her face pale and
drawn; a mad look in her eyes.
BEA (loudly) Fogarty.
Her voice echoes back to her.
She realizes he is not there. When she calls his name again, it is a howl of
rage.
BEA (screaming) FOGARTY!
FADE TO BLACK as BEA's scream
echoes back at her.
133 INT. BACK-ROOM ABORTION CLINIC. DAY
FADE UP FROM BLACK. BEA's
echoing scream fades away. The ABORTIONIST leans over BEA, speaking
matter-of-factly.
ABORTIONIST It’s
finished. Wait outside and when you feel the contractions, go to the toilet.
BEA looks at her naked knees.
She is lying in a make-shift clinic - emotionally drained; beyond tears.
134 EXT. PUBLIC TELEPHONE. NIGHT
BEA stands in a public
telephone in Kings Cross. She is very pale.
OPERATOR'S VOICE Number please.
BEA 3024
BEA grimaces and doubles
over; hit by a sudden spasm of pain.
MR MILES’ VOICE (sleepy) Hello.
BEA (desperate) Dad...
MR MILES’ VOICE Beatrice! What an earth...!
BEA Dad...
MR MILES’ VOICE (annoyed) Do
you realize what time it is!?
BEA opens her mouth but no
sound emerges.
MR MILES Beatrice...
BEA replaces the receiver and
is again hit by a spasm of pain.
135 EXT. BEACH. NIGHT
BEA, in her white dress
still, sits in the dark, close to the water’s edge, staring at the sea holding
her stomach.
LATER
It is dawn now. BEA is curled
up on the sand. A FISHERMAN walks up, staring at what appears to be a dead
body. He looks at BEA and then shakes her to see if she's alive.
FISHERMAN Miss...
There is no response.
136 INT. HOSPITAL. DAY
BEA wakes up in a hospital
room; confused and disoriented. FOGARTY is seated on a chair close to the bed.
When he sees BEA's eyes open he comes and sits on the side of the bed, taking
her hand.
FOGARTY Hello Bea.
It takes BEA a moment to work
out where she is and how she could possibly have got there. She attempts to sit
up but as she does so she becomes aware of the excruciating pain in her
stomach. She lies back down, places her hand on her stomach and looks
questioningly at FOGARTY, who becomes visibly upset.
FOGARTY You’ve had an
operation.
BEA What kind of
operation?
FOGARTY does not find it easy
to answer this question.
FOGARTY Hysterectomy.
BEA's lower jaw begins to
tremble and her eyes fill with tears.
She holds FOGARTY's hand tightly.
Tears well in his eyes also.
SLOW FADE TO BLACK; ORGAN
MUSIC BEGINS.
137 INT. FOGARTY'S CHURCH. DAY. 1944
FOGARTY, twenty years older
and considerably plumper, makes his way to the lectern as organ music fills the
congregation-filled church. Solemn and dignified, he looks out at his
congregation as the organist begins to play the final passage. Another noise
begins to intrude - that of a motorbike. It becomes louder. FOGARTY ignores it,
opening his Bible. The sound of the motorbike becomes too loud to ignore.
FOGARTY looks to the back of the church and catches a glimpse, through the
doors, of BEA pulling up on her motorbike.
138 EXT. FOGARTY'S
CHURCH. DAY. 1944
BEA, in her 40's now, her
figure having filled out considerably and wearing a tattered men’s overcoat,
eye-shade and round goggles, parks her dirty, dusty old motor-bike on the front
porch of the church. On the back of the motorbike is tied her swag and, hanging
from the sides, various camping tools and utensils. The organ music inside can
be heard coming to an end. BEA removes her goggles, which have kept two neat
circles on her face clean while the rest is dirty with dust. As the organ music
ends, BEA takes an already-rolled cigarette from a pouch in the dilly bag
around her neck.
139 INT. FOGARTY'S
CHURCH. DAY. 1944
As she makes her way into the
church, BEA lights up her cigarette. FOGARTY, at the lectern, commences his
sermon.
FOGARTY "...And
then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and seeth
the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about his head..."
FOGARTY sees BEA walking down
the aisle smiling at him, puffing on her cigarette. He tries to ignore her but
she doesn't make it easy.
FOGARTY "...not
lying with the linen clothes but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then
went in the other disciple..."
BEA's arrival causes a mild
sensation amongst the congregation. She
sits in the front pew, looks up at FOGARTY; puffing on her cigarette.
FOGARTY "...which
first came to the sepulcher and he saw and he believed. For as yet they knew
not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead..."
BEA (loudly) Fogarty,
you’re talking nonsense.
FOGARTY Er...
FOGARTY is lost for words.
....to be continued...
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