Cold November

---

[Florence crying]

[woman vocalizing]

[imitating police siren]

"Have you seen this girl?"

"No, we haven't, Officer Petey.

How long has she been missing?"

"Well, only since

last Friday,

but her parents

sure are worried.

Well, thanks, fellas."

[imitates engine starting

and police siren]

Ooh. Hi, honey.

Oh, this is great.

Is that a new building?

Yeah.

Sweet.

But it's really time

to get ready for bed, honey.

But, Grandma, Officer

Petey is on a mission.

Well, his mission is going

to be around tomorrow, too,

so why don't you... why don't you do

that stop time trick I taught you?

That's stupid, Grandma.

You can't stop time.

Oh, come on,

come on, come on.

Just give it a try.

Nobody's looking but me.

[sighs]

Okay, Grandma.

I'm ready.

All right.

Come on.

Nice job.

[woman vocalizing]

Hey. Did you brush

your teeth?

Yeah.

When is Mom coming home?

Well, she's working

late tonight

so that she can take time off

next week to hunt with us.

Now, you better get some sleep

because you're going to need it.

Good night, Grandma.

Oh, good night, honey.

Love you.

Turn out the light.

[Mr. Bill]

Now, if you passed...

your safety card

is attached to your test.

Congrats, kids,

and good luck

out there.

Be safe.

Be proud.

Bring me some venison.

[woman vocalizing]

What's wrong?

Why are people mean

to each other, Mom?

I don't know.

They just are.

[sighs]

It doesn't get any better

when you graduate either.

The world is...

just one big high school.

Why are you telling me this?

Sorry, baby.

I guess I had

a bad day, too.

[woman vocalizing]

That stew was really good, Mom.

Venison was perfectly cooked.

Well, that's what happens

when you follow a recipe, Mia.

You've got to cook it slow.

Mmm.

[Florence] Whose deer

was this one, Grandma?

Whose deer is this?

[chuckles]

I'm not sure.

I-I lose track

after a while.

You know what? I think it

was mine from last year,

'cause I recognize my handwriting

on the freezer paper.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

- [Georgia] I think you're right.

- Mm-hmm.

[Florence] Can I go play

out in the garage now?

[Amanda] You need to clean up first, Flor.

You know that.

[sighs] Okay.

[clears throat]

Who's that present for?

Hey there,

mind your own business.

That's just something

for one of my friends.

Oh. Well, you sure

it's not for me?

[Amanda] Well, that's a little

presumptuous, don't you think?

[Florence]

You're smiling.

[chuckles]

[Mia] You know, I haven't heard

a peep from you about school,

and I heard that

someone might have gotten

their gun safety permit.

Yep, and got 100%

on the test, too.

- [Georgia] Ah, that's my girl.

- [doorbell rings]

No playing with

your cars tonight, Flor.

We got to celebrate.

[playing kazoo]

[Georgia]

Look what the cat dragged in.

[all laugh]

- [balloon pops]

- [Georgia] Oh, God!

Oh, my gosh.

- Oh, my gosh.

- [laughs] Surprise!

[Florence] Where have

you been, Uncle Craig?

I drove straight up

from work.

From the cities,

right after work.

[Georgia] I didn't think I was ever

going to see you again, honey.

- [Craig] Hey, Georgia.

- [Georgia] Oh!

[Craig] I'm here.

Rest assured.

Now, what did you do

with this face?

Oh, come on, now. This trend... you

don't like the lumberjack look, huh?

No!

Well, I'm just trying

to stay warm for the winter.

[Mia] How was the drive?

Grow it if I got it, right?

It was good, it was good.

I almost whacked

a buck on 73.

But other than that,

it was good.

No party is complete

without a present.

- It is for me! I knew it.

- Yes. [laughs]

I can tell it's going

to be a good present

just because

I can feel it.

Oh, wow-wee, look at that!

Yeah! Whoo!

[Craig] Careful.

Don't scratch the table.

'Course not.

Never trying to.

Flor, Flor,

this is a 30-30.

But it's not

just any 30-30.

This belonged to your

great-great-grandfather.

[Amanda] I shot

my first deer with this gun,

and so did

your Auntie Mia.

[Mia] Yeah.

So did Sweeney.

[Craig] Yeah...

- [Georgia] Yeah.

- [clears throat]

[Craig]

It suits you, Flor.

Why don't you hold it up to your

shoulder, see how it feels?

[Mia] It's about

as big as...

[Craig]

Can you stay standing?

[all laugh]

Mm!

Thanks, Mom.

Thanks, Grandma.

Thanks, Auntie Mia.

You're...

you're welcome.

[Amanda] All right, come on, I'm

going to show you how to clean it.

[Florence] Okay.

Sweeney?

What is it, Sween?

[thuds]

[engine starts]

[buzzing]

Well, hey, kiddo.

Good afternoon.

[sighs] Grandma,

it's still morning.

Your mom's inside.

Better get in there and tell

her you're here, honey.

[Florence] Okay.

[vacuum cleaner whirring]

Mom!

Oh, my God, Flor.

- [whirring stops]

- You scared me.

[chuckles]

What happens if the animal

doesn't die right away,

like, after I shoot it?

Well, then you

shoot it again

and hope you get it

killed right away.

Worst thing would be

for it to suffer.

You don't want that

to happen.

But, you know, just take aim

on your first shot

and hopefully you don't

get in that predicament.

But if you do, it's okay.

You're going to be fine.

I found 'em!

It's not easy to watch

an animal die,

but if they didn't die,

we couldn't eat their meat.

You understand that?

Mm-hmm.

All right, why don't

you go sit down?

Hey, Mom?

Yeah.

Do you think

Sweeney suffered?

Boy, Flor. Um...

I don't know.

I mean,

I-I really don't know.

You know Sweeney.

She never did

anything half-assed.

When she went for it,

she really went for it.

So, I would guess

that she knew everything

that she was getting into.

She was a smart girl.

Yeah, she was.

- All right, you ready?

- Yeah.

Okay, let's do it.

Come here.

- I love you.

- I love you, too.

All right, so what's

the first thing you check?

That the gun in unloaded.

- And did you do that?

- Yes.

And how do you tie it up?

So that the barrel

points to the ground.

Ah, thanks.

All right, good.

So once we get this tied up, why don't

you climb up and then pull it up?

- All right?

- Yep!

After you pull it up, why don't

you kick out all the leaves?

Okay!

[grunts]

I think I'm going to go

head up over the ridge.

I'll be back

in about 20 minutes, okay?

Okay.

When will you be back?

- Like 20 minutes.

- Oh, yeah.

- You're going to be fine.

- Pfft. You said that. All right.

Okay.

[exhales]

[shivers]

[imitates engine revving]

[sighs]

[rustling, twig snaps]

[Florence] Okay, so it came up behind

me, and it, like, snuck up on me.

- [Amanda] Yeah?

- [Florence] It was like a deer ninja.

- [Amanda] Yeah? [chuckles]

- [Florence] And it, like...

It just came up.

And at first,

it didn't make a sound.

- [Amanda] Yeah?

- [Florence] It just creeped up and went in front of me.

And it just stood there and looked at me

like it wanted to be my friend or something.

Wow, that is so cool.

Wow, I don't...

I don't think I've had anything

like that happen to me before.

Holy sh*t, Mom,

you should have seen it.

Hey, did you

just say "sh*t?"

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes