Birthday Girl Page #9

Yuri mimes giving a blow-job.

YURI:

I mean he smokes me. Do you say

"smoke" in U.K.?

He mimes the blowj*b again.

JOHN:

No.

YURI:

Right. So I can say he smokes me.

So.

Pause.

JOHN:

So?

YURI:

So I come to England with other actors

to make shows, I meet this freak

from Novgorod I tell him of you and

Chicken and the birthday here we

are.

Yuri speaks to Nadia in Russian, she replies looking at John.

JOHN:

What was that?

YURI:

I asked her if you were happy to see

us. I find it hard to tell with you.

JOHN:

Yes it's okay. Thank you for the

food.

Nadia lights a cigarette. John notices that on both wrists

she has bold red marks from the ties. He freezes.

YURI:

She says you are a little shy. I

think I know this.

John is thrown, panicking that one of them will notice the

marks.

JOHN:

So how long will you be in England?

YURI:

Plans are for the architects,

politicians and so forth.

JOHN:

You must have a visa or something...

YURI:

You're asking for my documents?

JOHN:

No, no...

Yuri laughs, translates for Alexei and they both get a big

laugh out of this. Yuri gets his passport out and makes a

big show of presenting it to John. But John keeps glancing

at the marks on Nadia's wrists. We see a close up of her

neck. There is the tiniest blood mark. John sees it and starts

to sweat.

YURI:

We are all Europeans here. Europe,

Tony Blair and Maggie Thatcher!

Yuri raises his glass and they all drink to Tony Blair and

Margaret Thatcher. John drinks his vodka in two hot gulps.

YURI:

So. You have nothing to say to your

Fiancee? Maybe to wife of forty years

it's understandable. Come on. You

speak and I will translate.

John looks glazed. The room falls silent.

JOHN:

Hello.

Yuri translates -- She replies.

YURI:

She says 'Hello' to you. Go for it

John!

JOHN:

Uh. Do you like England?

YURI:

Classic!

(he translates)

Thank God. She says 'Yes!'

John nods. He watches Nadia tap ash. The wrist again.

JOHN:

Uh...

They all wait. Yuri nods encouragingly.

JOHN:

I can't think of anything. Hang on.

Nadia speaks in Russian to Yuri.

YURI:

She says she has a secret to tell.

JOHN:

What?

Nadia speaks. John waits uncomfortably. Silence.

YURI:

She says she watched you at the

airport.

John stops.

JOHN:

When?

YURI:

(translating)

"I saw you waiting there, by the

gate."

JOHN:

I...

YURI:

"I have these uh..." She explains to

you... "When I was a little girl my

father had these beautiful old

glasses." Like... I don't know the

word. Like for watching uh... for

watching the birds.

We see John's face.

JOHN:

Binoculars.

YURI:

Binoculars. He had these Binoculars

he has kept from the war.

CUT TO:

Scene 1 reprise.

EXT. SUMMER MEADOW - DAY

A young girl runs through a summer meadow with a pair of

Russian Army field binoculars, around her neck.

YURI (V.O.)

I would run around with them taking

pictures of things I liked with my

mind. If I saw something beautiful I

would take a picture.

With the binoculars pressed to her face, she spies

butterflies, birds, a rabbit. She stops running and aims the

binoculars up, up, into the sun

INT. JOHN'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Yuri translates.

YURI:

The day before I left Russia my father

gave me the old binoculars. He said

that when I saw you I was to stand

far away and look at you with these,

and to examine your face closely.

And if you were a bad person I could

run away.

Nadia looks at the table.

YURI:

She says she took a picture.

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