Cast Away Page #22

STAN:

Really.

And he and Chuck make eye contact and we see a glimpse of

their shared unspoken irony.

STAN:

Uh, there's somebody out here who wants

to see you.

Chuck stares sharply at him. Kelly? Stan nods, but there's

something he wants to say.

STAN:

She thought you were dead. We all did.

That's not all Stan wants to say. But Chuck is limping out

the door.

INT. DENTIST - WAITING ROOM

Typical dentist waiting room. Chairs, tropical fish tanks,

magazines, a few waiting patients...and Kelly, looking

nervous.

Slowly and painfully Chuck enters. He's quite a sight. She

stands up. There's a long moment where they look at each

other.

Then she comes into his arms. Holds him tight. She's part

laughing, part crying.

KELLY:

I'm sorry... I'm sorry...

CHUCK:

Hey...hey...it's okay!

Chuck is happy, he's still riding the high.

KELLY:

You're so thin. Am I hurting you?

Well, maybe a little, but who cares? He hasn't been hugged

or barely touched in so long.

CHUCK:

No...no...feels good...

She disengages, looks at him with that old smile.

KELLY:

Right back, you said you'd be right back.

CHUCK:

A few things came up. Or went down.

He meets her gaze, looks her over with a smile.

CHUCK:

You look...wonderful. I like your hair.

He notices the ring on her hand.

KELLY:

I got married.

CHUCK:

I thought you might have.

KELLY:

I would never --

CHUCK:

I know.

KELLY:

If I'd known you were alive --

CHUCK:

I would have done the same thing.

His responses come so quick. Chuck seems blissfully sure of

himself.

KELLY:

I didn't want to. It just happened. One

day Gary was there. He took care of

everything. He took care of me. I was a

mess.

CHUCK:

You have any children?

Kelly nods.

CHUCK:

Got a picture?

Kelly fishes for a photo, shows it to Chuck. It's a little

girl with a dog.

KELLY:

Her name's Hannah.

CHUCK:

Is that Jango?

KELLY:

No, this is Jack. Jango was hit by a UPS

truck. Can you believe it?

Chuck laughs. It is funny, sort of.

CHUCK:

Life's just one big joke after another.

Stan appears, takes in the scene. The few patients waiting

are edged into the corners, trying to look occupied with

something else.

STAN:

How about we go somewhere else?

CHUCK:

Want to see my raft?

EXT. HAWAII - DAY

Chuck's raft sits up on a dock. Kelly stands staring at it.

How small and fragile it looks.

STAN:

This stinks really bad.

CHUCK:

You should have smelled me.

Stan examines the ropes around the logs.

STAN:

Cool ropes.

CHUCK:

I braided them.

STAN:

Must have taken a hell of a long time.

CHUCK:

Time I had lots of.

Kelly points at something on the raft.

KELLY:

What's that?

CHUCK:

That's my sea anchor. My second one.

Made it out of part of the sail. It

keeps you from capsizing in a storm. In

theory.

(picks up his still)

And this, this I used to collect water.

About half a cup a day.

He's not feeling sorry for himself. It's just a fact.

STAN:

You were how long on this?

CHUCK:

Forty-three days.

They look at the tiny raft. It speaks for itself.

KELLY:

All that time I waited to go on a cruise,

and you went without me.

CHUCK:

Yeah, well...couldn't be helped.

Kelly notices the sail, sees the writing on it.

KELLY:

What's that, written on the sail?

CHUCK:

My epitaph.

Kelly reads it to herself. Her eyes are moist.

CHUCK:

Bad body chemistry. Made me a little

morbid. But I'm all over that now.

And he seems really to believe it.

STAN:

I'll be at the car.

(to Kelly)

Take you to the airport.

And he leaves.

KELLY:

I buried you, Chuck. They had to pry my

fingers off your coffin.

This interests Chuck to no end.

CHUCK:

There was a coffin?

KELLY:

Yeah, coffin, headstone, the whole thing.

CHUCK:

What was inside?

KELLY:

Your calendar, your cell phone, your whoo

pig sooey hat, some pictures of that

ketch you wanted.

CHUCK:

That about sums it up.

KELLY:

Maybe now's when you tell me about it.

CHUCK:

The plane went down. My friends died. I

washed up on an island. Then I found

these barrels, built the raft, and here I

am.

KELLY:

Yeah?

CHUCK:

The tide came in, the tide went out. I

survived. That's the headline. I

survived.

KELLY:

Don't overwhelm me with the details.

(she smiles remembering)

You know how I hate that.

He tries to put it into words, isn't quite sure how.

KELLY:

(gently)

Come on. Try.

CHUCK:

Cliches, mainly. Don't take anyone for

granted. Don't sweat the small stuff.

Live each day like it's your last.

KELLY:

So simple to say, so hard to do.

CHUCK:

Not when you have no choice.

Kelly looks down at the raft. It's so small.

KELLY:

You hated being alone. Couldn't stand

it. Busy every minute. Always plugged

into something.

CHUCK:

I didn't know what really being alone

was. No one back here does.

He has something more to say. She waits.

CHUCK:

We're not meant to be alone. Not like

that. Share life, that's what came to me

out there. Be with someone.

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