Birthday Girl Page #20

EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

John and Nadia sit by the fire. She sits wrapped up to her

neck in a blanket.

NADIA:

You know, in Russia, there's no work

for women. It's a different world.

JOHN:

(interrupting on

"different")

You don't have to say anything

NADIA:

(overlapping on "say")

What? I... I wasn't saying...

JOHN:

(overlapping on

"saying")

Please, there's no... Oh.

NADIA:

I wasn't saying anything.

JOHN:

Then okay.

(pause)

So how old were you when you met

him?

Pause.

NADIA:

Fifteen. You don't know him. He was

very kind and strong.

JOHN:

Yeah. He's a smashing bloke.

NADIA:

The rest of the world, John, it's

not all like St. Albans.

JOHN:

Thank Christ for that.

NADIA:

You are pretty naive if you think it

is.

JOHN:

I'm pretty naive? Look at you. You

have to do all this, and what have

you got to show for it? Nothing.

NADIA:

I don't have nothing.

JOHN:

Well what have you got?

Pause.

NADIA:

I have my baby.

They sit there in the lapping firelight.

JOHN:

Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?

NADIA:

No.

JOHN:

Have you had any before?

NADIA:

No.

JOHN:

Are you scared?

NADIA:

Not really. Maybe a little.

A fox cries out in the night.

NADIA:

Listen. I think it's a fox.

She listens. It cries out again. She gets out her binoculars.

NADIA:

It sounds close.

She looks through them and searches the brush. John watches

Nadia with her binoculars. He looks suddenly very sad.

NADIA:

I can't see anything. It's too dark.

She puts them back in her bag. John watches her. He sees her

wrist again. She lights a cigarette, and blows the smoke

into the air.

NADIA:

What happened between you and the

blonde?

JOHN:

What?

NADIA:

The thin... the girl with small eyes.

The one in your cupboard.

JOHN:

It's none of your business. She didn't

have small eyes.

NADIA:

Did she leave you? Come on. It's

nothing to be ashamed of. Who did

she leave you for? Your best friend?

Her boss? A woman? Did she leave you

for a woman, John?

JOHN:

She's dead.

Pause.

NADIA:

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt

you. I'm sorry. That's awful. Forgive

me.

Pause.

NADIA:

I'm sorry.

JOHN:

I don't know why I said that. She's

not dead at all.

Nadia looks at John.

NADIA:

What?

JOHN:

I don't know why I said it. I'm sorry.

NADIA:

She's alive?

Nadia starts to laugh. Long and loud. We have never seen her

laugh before.

NADIA:

She's alive!! She is not dead?

JOHN:

Laugh it up.

She starts to cough. She gets on her hands and knees and

coughs like fury.

JOHN:

You should stop smoking. You're

pregnant. You smoke like a f***ing

lab dog.

NADIA:

I'm trying to quit.

JOHN:

I've got news for you. It's not

working.

NADIA:

I smoke more these days. I smoke

more when I'm unhappy.

JOHN:

Nobody's that unhappy.

NADIA:

Maybe I want to die. Don't you want

me to die?

JOHN:

I don't want anyone to die.

NADIA:

Except for Small Eyes.

JOHN:

Except for Small Eyes.

She laughs again.

NADIA:

So why did it end?

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