Monday, June 15, 2015

# 4 SHIPS IN THE NIGHT


…following on from # 3 SHIPS IN THE NIGHT…

44 INT/EXT. CAB. FAST FOOD OUTLET. NIGHT

MATT pulls up outside the fast food outlet, BLUE in the passenger seat. TRACY, waiting for him, walks up to the driver's window.

MATT
Hello Britney.

TRACY glares at MATT.

BLUE
Britney!

TRACY signals 'no' to MATT with her eyes.

MATT (to Blue)
A joke between me and Tracy.

BLUE
Poor Britney, ay! Now there's a girl with a fucked up dad!

TRACY glares at BLUE. 

BLUE 
Okay, I'm fucking off.

BLUE gets out, meets TRACY in the front of the cab as she walks around to get into the passenger seat. MATT watches:

TRACY and BLUE stop close to each other for a moment. BLUE grins at TRACY. She turns her head away haughtily. BLUE leans forward to kiss her on the cheek. TRACY accepts the kiss, glancing at MATT with an expression that says: “Look what I have to put up with!” TRACY gets into the passenger seat. BLUE stops by MATT'S window.

BLUE 
Thanks, Matt, for…listening…

BLUE grins, winks at MATT.

TRACY
Listening!? (A BEAT) What's that supposed to mean? I listen! When you’ve got something worth saying but...

MATT
Get in, Tracy.

TRACY, hands on hips, glares at BLUE as he walks towards the fast food outlet entrance. He looks back at MATT and TRACY, smiles warmly. TRACY tries to act aloof but doesn't quite pull it off. She turns to MATT:

TRACY
So, I’ve been talking to Juliet…

MATT
Get in, Tracy. Now.

TRACY does as she is told.

TRACY
I have to tell you about Juliet…

MATT
No, you have to pay me?

TRACY
But, I don't have any money.

MATT
Yes, you do. You lied about being a pathological liar, didn't you?

TRACY stares at MATT, not sure how to respond.

MATT 
I know. For a fact. Cough up.

MATT holds out his hand. TRACY opens her purse, extracts 4 $20 bills, hands them to him.

TRACY
How did you know?

MATT 
I didn't. I lied. Now, my phone.

TRACY hands MATT his phone. He hands TRACY her mobile.

MATT 
Now don't go anywhere.

MATT moves to get out of the cab.

TRACY
But…

MATT
Sit.

TRACY (grins)
Woof!

MATT smiles, get out of the cab.

45 EXT. FAST FOOD OUTLET. NIGHT

MATT stands by his cab, taps a 'J' and then a 'U' onto the keypad. Juliet shows up onscreen. The phone rings. Tracy has left it in 'speaker' mode. Juliet answers. In the background TRACY can be seen lifting her mobile to her ear. 

MATT
You still awake?

JULIET'S VOICE
No, dad, I'm sound asleep. Having this weird nightmare…

46 INT. CAB. FAST FOOD OUTLET. NIGHT

MATT gets back into the cab. TRACY finishes her conversation.

TRACY
OK, see you soon.

TRACY hangs up as MATT settles into his seat.

TRACY 
Matt, I have to tell you what Juliet…

MATT holds up his hand.

MATT
No, listen to me.

TRACY
But…

MATT
No buts. I want you tell me about your dad.

TRACY
Why?

MATT
If I told you now, you'd laugh.

TRACY
Why?

MATT
I'll tell you later. Promise.

TRACY
What did Blue tell you? About my dad?

MATT
That you'd never met him.

TRACY
That's not true.

MATT (smiles)
So Blue's a liar!?

TRACY
No, he told the truth and…weird, ay, how something can be true and a lie at the same time, ay! Promise you won't tell anyone…especially my mum. 

MATT
Since I'm never going to meet her…

TRACY 
Mmmm (A BEAT) I've never talked to anyone before about my dad…not properly.

MATT
Not even…The Shrink? Or The Rapist?

TRACY shakes her head.

TRACY
Don't trust them.

MATT nods. TRACY bites her lip, starts tentatively.

TRACY 
Well, mum said that my dad…my biological dad…lived on the other side of the world…that he deserted us before I was even born. She'd never tell me his name and…anyhow, I believed her, up till a few days ago when…I just wanted to know his name and…I asked her and she said 'Tony' but I could tell by the way she hesitated…you know the way people do when they are about to tell a lie…that she was lying. So I did a bit of…investigating…(SMILES) Private Investigator Tracy Dodgson!

MATT (smiles)
Britney Dodgson.

TRACY
Tracy Small…I hate Britney…Mum's always kept a diary, see, but she's always kept them hidden. And even though I'm a nosy little bitch I never looked for them…until a couple of days ago.

MATT
Why?

TRACY
Because she lied to me about my dad's name and I wanted to find out why.

MATT
So you read her diaries?

TRACY
It's not that simple.

MATT
Complex and convoluted, ay! (TRACY LAUGHS) She'd hidden them really well?

TRACY
No, she hadn't gone to that much trouble at all. They were in a shoe box in the back of a cupboard.

MATT
So why wasn't it simple?

TRACY
Because I keep a diary too, see, and mum promised she'd never ever read it. And I know she hasn't because if she had she'd have bitten my fucking head off.

MATT
Lying to taxi drivers about lost wallets and being a nymphomaniac and that sort of thing?

TRACY (laughs)
So how could I look at her diary…!?

MATT
But she'd lied to you about your dad!

TRACY
Yes, but I lie to mum all the time. That doesn't make it OK for her to look at my diary! Does it?

MATT
No, I guess not. But you did look at her diary, right?

TRACY
Yes, but just to be fair I left my diary open on the kitchen table when I went to school. 'Accidentally'. There's no way mum could not have seen it.

MATT
Did she read it?

TRACY
Obviously not, because…

MATT
…she didn't bite your head off?

TRACY
Right, anyhow I looked at her diary anyway…one she kept a year before I was born and…well, I found out she'd fucked an old boyfriend one night almost exactly nine months before I was born. 'Made beautiful love' she wrote. 'Beautiful love'! Squeeze me!

MATT
Tony?

TRACY
No, she just called him X - which was a dead giveaway because it was the only time she ever kept a name secret. Everyone in her diary has a name except for Mr X. She wrote, “…who I still love but who, fuck it, is going to be otherwise engaged till death us do part.”

MATT
He was getting married?

TRACY
Yes, and I figured the…'making beautiful love' was like a farewell present to him. For old time's sake, know what I mean? A farewell fuck!

MATT laughs, shakes his head.

TRACY 
So, mum and Mr X didn't just 'make beautiful love', they made me…

MATT
And a very good job they made of it!

TRACY (laughs)
… and after nine months cooking in mum's tum I popped into the world and when I realize that I haven't got a dad like my friends…I was about three…I ask mum why and she lies to me - my whole fucking life! Lies, lies, lies! And then when I found out who Mr X was - Jesus fucking Christ!

MATT
Who was he?

TRACY
Who is he, you mean! Two days after fucking Mr X mum went to a wedding…

MATT
Whose wedding?

TRACY is just about to blurt it out but thinks twice:

TRACY
My whole family would fucking freak if the truth came out…but…fuck… the truth's supposed to set you free, isn't it?

TRACY looks at MATT with a pained expression that suggests she really wants him to give her an answer. MATT shakes his head, smiles. He hasn't got an answer.

TRACY 
Her sister's.

MATT doesn't join the dots immediately.

TRACY 
My uncle David is my dad. Dear old Uncle Dave!

MATT
Fuck! Does he know? I mean, do you look anything like him?

TRACY
No, I look more like my aunt - which makes sense since she's my mum's sister. But if we did a DNA test…

MATT
Does your aunt know?

TRACY
She's never let on…to me…but…here's the funny thing. Uncle Dave was like a dad to me…don't laugh…until I started to sprout tits…when I was 10. We were real close. He would give me lots of hugs and I'd sit on his knee and, you know…dad and daughter stuff. That was when my aunt had a kind of nervous breakdown. That’s the truth. “The Sad but True Story of Tracy’s Mysterious Dad.”

MATT shakes his head, laughs.

MATT
What about the knife?

TRACY
What knife?

MATT
The one in your bag?

He glances at the bag in her lap.

MATT
The true story.

TRACY
Oh, that knife!

TRACY reaches into her bag, pulls out the short bladed kitchen knife, brandishes it in a playfully threatening manner as she lets out a cry:

TRACY
Eeee-yah!

MATT
That’s not a knife, Tracy.

TRACY laughs, mimics Paul Hogan from Crocodile Dundee.

TRACY
This is a knife!

MATT
That’s not going to protect you from some big fucker who wants to…

TRACY
Cause me grievous bodily harm? (SHE LAUGHS, SHAKES HER HEAD) This is not actually my knife. You wanna hear how it came to be in my bag?

MATT
A true story?

TRACY
You be the judge.

MATT smiles, nods.

TRACY
Well, you see, a few weeks this guy came after me with this (THE KNIFE)…he was stoned off his face on ice…and, well I’ve got an orange belt in karate, see…

MATT
An orange belt?

TRACY
An orange belt…so…getting the knife off him was easy and…well, I keep meaning to take it out but…

TRACY tilts her head to one side.

TRACY
Well.

MATT
It’s a great story.

TRACY
True or false?

MATT
No comment.

TRACY laughs, leans forward, kisses MATT on the cheek, sees something that causes her to jump back in shock.

TRACY
Shit! Mum!

A WOMAN, late 30s, is walking straight towards the cab. 

TRACY 
She's come to get me. I forgot…

MATT registers MERILY only a few seconds before she arrives at the passenger window of his cab. 

TRACY 
Don't tell her anything…Nothing. Promise? MATT nods. MERILY, made up and dressed as twentysomething, greets TRACY cheerfully through the passenger window.

MERILY
Sweetheart.

TRACY nods, looks nervously at MATT.

MERILY 
And you'd be Matt…?

MERILY'S smile bears the vestiges of her youthful coquetry.

MERILY 
The famous Matt Patterson. Thanks heaps for taking care of Britney for me…(A BEAT) Cool.

TRACY rolls her eyes. MATT'S mobile rings: Serena. MATT answers it. Serena's voice comes through loud and clear:

SERENA'S VOICE
So, you've got your phone back!? You 'gunna' be here soon or should I put some new batteries in my vibrator?

MATT
We've got an audience…

SERENA'S VOICE
So who's listening?

MATT
Tracy and her mum.

SERENA'S VOICE
Hi Tracy's mum.

MERILY
Hi…

SERENA'S VOICE
Serena. You finished with Matt yet, Tracy?

MATT
It's all over…be there soon.

SERENA'S VOICE
Soon? Like…before Christmas?

MATT
I love you.

There is a long silence.

SERENA'S VOICE
Have we got a bad connection or did you just say…?

MATT
I love you. You heard right.

There is a long pause.

SERENA'S VOICE
I love you too. (A BEAT) You're not on drugs are you?

MATT (laughs)
Be there soon.

SERENA'S VOICE
K.

MATT hangs up.

MERILY
What happened to your hand?

MATT
Windscreen was pissing me off and…

MATT makes a faux boxing gesture. TRACY smiles.

MATT 
Got something you want to tell your mum, Tracy…Britney?

TRACY looks at MATT - terrified. She shakes her head. 

MATT 
You got anything you want to tell your daughter?

MERILY
Tracy…where did Tracy come from?

MERILY 
I hate Britney!

MERILY 
Yes, but…you know, when you were born…there weren't any Britney's?

MATT
Was it you or her biological dad decided on Britney?

MERILY tries hard to hide her shock.

MERILY
Oh, um...! Me…

TRACY tries to catch MATT'S eye to warn him off.

MATT
Do you mind if I ask you a personal question, Merily?

MERILY
Not about vibrators, I hope!

MATT
Have you ever sent Tracy…Britney…to see a therapist…a psychiatrist.

MERILY
No. (A BEAT) Do you think I should? (A BEAT) She's got a vivid imagination, of course....very vivid... but that's not a problem is it? Making up stories? I mean, that Bryce Courtney made a living making up stories. A good living. Did it a bit myself when I was young …invisible magic friends…handsome princes…you know…fairy tale stuff…then of course I grew up and…

MATT nods, looks at TRACY. She is not happy at the direction the conversation is taking. To MERILY:

MATT
I hear some amazing stories driving a cab.

MERILY
I can imagine.

MATT
A few nights ago I had a girl around Tracy's age…Tiffany…who really wanted to talk. Regular little motor-mouth…

MERILY
Reminds me of someone I know.

MERILY looks at TRACY, smiles. TRACY is trying to make eye-contact with MATT but he avoids her stare.

MATT
Tiffany's mum had told her her dad'd died when Tiffany was young. And Tiffany spent most of her life wondering who her dad was. She wanted to know what he looked like, whether she was like him at all…that sort of thing…She'd lie in bed at night thinking about him, crying herself to sleep…longing for the father she never knew…

MERILY'S frozen smile suggests that this is not a story she wants to hear. TRACY is trying hard not to freak out.

MATT 
Then Tiffany suddenly finds out who her dad is; that he's not dead. He's alive and well. And not only that. She knows him. She's met him…

MATT stops, looks at MERILY - having difficulty keeping the frozen 'interested' smile on her face. 

MERILY
Sounds…(A BEAT) interesting…

MATT
And with a happy ending.

MERILY
Oh…! That's nice…

MATT
Tiffany decided that she'd never tell her mum that she knew her dad was alive and that she knew who he was.

MERILY
I like happy endings.

MATT
That's not the end.

MERILY
It's not!?

MATT
No, the story ended when Tiffany's mum, who had no idea that her daughter knew the truth, decided she wanted to tell Tiffany the truth about her dad.

MERILY
Yes, well that's probably the best thing, ay? What's that thing they say about the truth?

TRACY
“The truth will set you free.”

Out of a long silence, MERILY reaches out, brushes aside a strand of TRACY'S hair that has fallen out of place.

MERILY
Well, I don't know about you…Tracy, but I would die for a hamburger with the works.

TRACY 
Me too.

MERILY
Is that Blue?

MERILY has spotted BLUE walking out of the doorway to the fast food outlet with his arms full of fast food and drinks. At the same moment, Juliet's friend Harmony's red sedan pulls into a parking space - JULIET waving to MATT from the window.

TRACY
Juliet?

MATT nods. TRACY'S face lights up in a happy smile. JULIET gets out of the car and, when she sees TRACY and realizes who she is, her face lights up also.

JULIET starts to walk towards Matt's cab.

TRACY takes her mother's hand, holds it affectionately. MERILY squeezes TRACY'S hand tight.

BLUE, beaming a stupid smile, starts to make his way towards Matt's cab also - just as the purple sedan pulls up closeby. GBH gets out, moves fast towards BLUE.

MATT
Fuck.

47 EXT. FAST FOOD OUTLET. NIGHT

MATT runs full tilt towards the entrance as BLUE drops his food and drinks and tries to make a run for it.

GBH grabs him and is just about to flatten BLUE with a backhander when MATT arrives behind him, grabs his arm, spins him around, holds him firmly - speaking calmly but authoritatively:

MATT
No!

GBH is disoriented for a second, unused as he is to meeting opposition of any kind. He recovers quickly, however.

GBH
You!

GBH extricates himself from MATT'S grip. MATT doesn't put up any resistance but stands his ground, looking directly into GBH'S eyes. BLUE moves to run. Without taking his eyes off MATT, GBH grabs BLUE by the scruff of his shirt.

MATT
Let him go.

GBG smiles maliciously.

GBH
Go fuck yaself cunt. Mind ya own fucking business.

MATT
Let him go ya big fucking useless tub of lard.

GBH lets BLUE go, grabs MATT by the scruff of his shirt, snarls menacingly, his face close to MATT'S.

GBH
What the fuck you just say?

MATT
Said you're a big useless tub of lard. A useless waste of fucking space. A…

GBH throws a fast right hook that connects with MATT'S face and sends him sprawling. As MATT lies stunned on the ground, JULIET runs to help him as TRACY races up to GBH, leaps onto him and starts bashing him with her fists, pulling his hair.

TRACY
Fuckin' arsehole!

GBH is in such a rage that he barely notices TRACY hanging off him, beating him. He has his fists ready for the next round as MATT struggles to his feet.

JULIET
Dad, don't…

GBH flicks TRACY off. MATT, on his feet now, ignores JULIET - his nose bloodied, his lip bleeding. He walks back up to GBH - whose fists are at the ready, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as if he was in a boxing ring. MATT stops a few feet from him, watches GBH for a moment, shakes his head, smiles. GBH slaps him across the face with a backhander.

GBH
You fucking want me to beat the shit out of you?

MATT
Nah, not particularly, GBH, but nor do you…

GBH looks to his mates - who are clearly eager for him to beat the shit out of MATT. GBH snarls, slaps MATT again.

MATT 
If your mates weren't here, there'd be no-one to impress, ay?

GBH is completely thrown by this. This is a script that he is completely unfamiliar with.

GBH
But…but…

He points to BLUE.

GBH 
But…this little cunt owes me money!

MATT
How much?

GBH
Eight hundred bucks.

MATT
Eight hundred bucks? So, if he gives you eight hundred bucks you wont need to beat the little cunt up?

GBH
I guess…

MATT
Wait right here, GBH.

GBH nods, avoids the dirty disapproving look from SPIDER. MATT turns, starts to walk back to his cab.

SPIDER
You’re a fucking wimp, GBH.

SPIDER strides forward, fists at the ready.

SPIDER
This little cunt needs to learn a lesson.

MATT  is almost at his cab now. TRACY stands between SPIDER and BLUE, holds up a shaking hand: ‘stop’.

TRACY
I wouldn’t lay a finger on the little cunt, if I were you, spider!

MATT spins around, sees:

SPIDER, laughing, moving towards BLUE, ready to push TRACY out of the way.

CLOSE ON: TRACY as she lets out a cry:

TRACY
Eeee-yah!”

…as she delivers a perfectly executed karate kick to SPIDER’S groin. He collapses to the ground in extreme pain.

MATT, GBH and all other observers react with degrees of shock appropriate to their characters.

GBH goes to SPIDER’S aid.

GBH
You OK, bro?

SPIDER, angry and humiliated, pushes him away.

SPIDER
Fuck off!

MATT makes brief eye contact with TRACY – shaking his head and smiling – before dropping into the driver's seat.

48 INT. CAB. FAST FOOD OUTLET. NIGHT

MATT takes out his night's earnings, counts his money.

MATT
Shit.

He takes out his wallet, extracts a couple of fifty dollar notes but still hasn't got enough.

MATT 
Fuck!

MATT'S attention is caught by a cracking sound. He looks at the window - the cracks growing a few more inches as he watches. He shakes his head, smiles, looks down at the seat beside him, makes a decision, opens the cab door.

49 EXT. FAST FOOD OUTLET. NIGHT

MATT hands cash to GBH. SPIDER can be seen in the background hobbling back to the pimped out car.  

MATT
$650 and...

MATT holds out the small parcel, wrapped with a ribbon.

MATT 
...something worth $150.

GBH takes the parcel, holds it as if it really was a present for him. The beginnings of a smile appear on his face.

SPIDER, leaning up against the car, shakes his head in disgust. 

GBH
Can I open it? Now?

MATT
Sure.

GBH starts to undo the ribbon carefully. MATT sees the greeting card, slips it out of the envelope. As he unwraps the parcel GBH is careful not to tear the paper. He is now just a kid opening a present. Inside he finds a Kindle.

MATT 
Should be able to get $150 for it…

GBH
This is one of those things ya can read books and stuff on, right?

MATT nods.

GBH 
I never been a big one for reading.

BLUE
You should read 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', GB. Fucking awesome!
GBH nods, trying hard to hide his excitement from SPIDER and his OTHER MATE.

A LITTLE LATER

MATT and JULIET stand a little distance from where BLUE is giving GBH a quick lesson in how to use the Kindle. 

JULIET
It doesn’t matter, dad.

MATT
It does matter. I promised I’d move to Melbourne to be close to you and...I didn’t...because...this is not an excuse...just... an explanation. It broke my heart so much every time I had to say goodbye to you and...(A BEAT)...you remember what I was like…

JULIET nods.

MATT 
And your mother said to me if I was going to cry like that every time I saw you she…she'd rather I didn't come…which is why I stopped coming to the house…

CLOSEBY

As BLUE gives him a quick Kindle lesson, GBH is aware of the disapproving looks on the faces of SPIDER and his OTHER MATE - standing beside the purple sedan.

BLUE
And this controls the size of the font…the letters…

CLOSEBY

MATT
…and remember, we'd meet in the park or at the pier or somewhere 'safe' where your mum wouldn't have to see me?

JULIET nods.

MATT 
And then when you stopped wanting to...to...hug me, and...

JULIET
Oh, dad! (SHE TOUCHES HIS ARM)It wasn't because I didn’t want to but because mum said…and not just mum, but school…everyone…that now I was a young woman…

CLOSEBY

BLUE'S Kindle lesson has finished. GBH nods, tries unsuccessfully to slip back into his tough persona; turns and walks awkwardly to the purple sedan. He moves to get into the front passenger seat but one of his OTHER MATE is sitting there. GBH climbs sheepishly into the back seat.

CLOSEBY

JULIET 
And then you stopped coming to Melbourne. I mean, every second weekend…

MATT
Because I didn't think you wanted me to…like you were pushing me away.

JULIET
I was, because it hurt so much that you weren't there and I thought it might hurt less if I didn't see you than if I saw you just sometimes... but then I was angry that you didn't come more often and…

MATT shakes his head.

MATT
Faaark!

JULIET smiles, nods.

MATT 
Why didn't you tell me any of this…?

JULIET
You know why, ay?

MATT nods.

JULIET 
I didn't come to Sydney for Harmony's birthday.

MATT
I know.

JULIET
Why didn't you tell me? (A BEAT) Faark! (THEY BOTH SMILE) I came to see you. I had all these things I wanted to say but was scared to say, in case…

MATT
Me too. Why is that?

JULIET shakes her head.

JULIET
I don't know. You're the adult here. Aren't you supposed to know things like that?  

MATT
I guess. A slow learner. Your mother's right about that, at least.

JULIET laughs. MATT takes her in his arms, holds her tight. JULIET reciprocates, tears in her eyes. She smiles.

50 INT. FAST FOOD OUTLET. NIGHT

TRACY, BLUE and JULIET sit in a cubicle eating fast food. JULIET stares at TRACY in shock:

JULIET (incredulous)
A virgin! No way!

TRACY nods. JULIET looks at BLUE for confirmation.

BLUE (nods)
True! Sad but true!

BLUE grins, looks at TRACY. She smiles, takes his hand, entwines their fingers, rests her head on BLUE'S shoulder.

TRACY
But ya know what, I been thinking…!?

BLUE’S face breaks into a huge happy smile. TRACY remembers something, reaches for her mobile phone.

TRACY 
Shit!

51 INT. CAB. NIGHT

MATT drives, a contented smile on his face. Music plays on the radio. The sound of rooster crowing. MATT lifts his mobile to his ear.

TRACY'S VOICE
Hey, ya never did tell me why ya wanted me to tell you about my dad!?

MATT (SMILES)
Know I told you I never had a girlfriend called Merily?

TRACY'S VOICE
Yeah.

MATT
I lied. (A BEAT) Different Merily, but I wanted to be sure...

TRACY’S loud laughter is heard.

MATT (laughs) 
Ever lose your wallet again…

TRACY 
K.

A LITTLE LATER       

MATT drives, turns the music on the radio up, bops along to it, looks at the knuckles - the blood dried now. The end credits begin to roll over MATT driving.

Up ahead, seen through the cracked windscreen, a figure stands at the side of the road, arm outstretched, trying to flag MATT down. As he drives past the figure, his face lost in shadow, MATT gestures 'Sorry'. The figure waves back: OK.

Only when MATT glances in the rear-vision mirror does he realize that the figure is GBH - a forlorn hangdog expression on his face, his body slumped in defeat - clutching his new Kindle; its screen blue.

MATT keeps driving, his mind is racing. He slams on the brakes, skids to a standstill, looks at the rear-vision mirror - in which GBG can be seen loping towards the cab.

52 EXT. CAB CITY STREET.NIGHT

A wide shot. MATT'S cab is parked at the side of the road. GBH runs the final 10 or so meters to the cab, stands by the driver's door talking to MATT.

The credits continue to roll as MATT and GBH talk. Their conversation, unheard, goes on and on. From the way he holds it up the Kindle it looks as though GBH may be asking MATT about how to use it.

The end credits continue as MATT and GBH talk. GBH laughs happily.

MATT drives off.

GBH raises his hand to wave goodbye.

Fade to black

THE END

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