Infinitely Polar Bear Page #6

Maggie nods. Peter gets into the passenger seat. Cam looks

toward him suspiciously.

CAM:

Who is this wimp?

MAGGIE:

Carol Webber’s cousin. He’s moving

to New York to live with his

mother. I’m lucky he’s splitting

the cost of the truck.

CAM:

He’s making you drive?

Cam seems unconvinced. Maggie hugs Amelia and Faith and

tries to be upbeat.

MAGGIE:

You can call me anytime day or

night. And I’m going to come home

the weekend after next, so don’t be

too sad because you’re going to see

me before you know it.

They nod. Faith wipes away her tears. Amelia is stone-

faced.

MAGGIE:

Amelia, you have to brush your

hair. Faith, will you make sure

your sister brushes her hair?

33.

Faith nods. Amelia shakes her head.

MAGGIE:

You are going to have a lot of fun

with Daddy.

Peter honks the horn. Cam reacts angrily.

CAM:

Hey!

Maggie stands quickly.

MAGGIE:

Cam -

CAM:

(re:
Peter)

You’re saying goodbye to your

daughters! What kind of a coldhearted

S.O.B. honks the horn?

MAGGIE:

Please. I’m about to spend five

hours in very close quarters.

Cam sighs and nods. Then:

MAGGIE:

Cam, thank you. I know this is

big.

Cam wears a stoic expression.

CAM:

I just wish I hadn’t dressed like a

big green bug.

Maggie laughs. He wraps her up in a big hug.

honks again.

CAM:

Go. Seriously. Or I’m going to

kick the living sh*t out of this

guy.

Maggie gets into the driver’s seat.

MAGGIE:

I love you. I love you girls!

CAM:

We love you too.

Then the horn

34.

The truck starts up. It pulls out into the street. They all

stand waving.

INT. MOVING TRUCK. MOMENTS LATER

Maggie wipes a tear away. Peter is oblivious.

PETER:

We’ll have to make a lot of stops,

I have a very small bladder -

Suddenly Maggie is startled to see Cam running full-speed

alongside the truck.

CAM:

Maggie! Take the Wilbur Cross

Parkway!

Maggie is stuck moving forward in the flow of traffic. She

doesn’t know what to do.

MAGGIE:

The what?

CAM:

Remember, Maggie? We were going to

Tom and Linda’s wedding and we

thought we’d be late but I took the

back roads and we made it in the

nick of time? The Wilbur Cross

Parkway!

She’s looking for a place to pull over. People behind her

are honking now.

MAGGIE:

I don’t know if I remember....

CAM:

(shouting)

At New Haven, shoot across 34 West

to the Wilbur Cross! It becomes

the Merritt Parkway!

EXT. STREET. CONTINUOUS

The truck keeps moving and Cam can’t keep up. He shouts

after them.

CAM:

You can avoid Bridgeport and the

trees are twice as green!

35.

Cam lights a cigarette. He stares after the truck as it

disappears from view.

EXT. PARKING LOT. DAY

Cam walks back to his daughters who are still standing on the

sidewalk where he left them. Faith is crying. Amelia is not

letting herself. He picks Faith up and she puts her head on

his shoulder. As they walk toward the apartment building:

CAM:

Who wants ice cream for lunch?

EXT. PARK. DAY

The girls still look really sad while they eat their ice

cream cones. Cam watches them with concern.

CAM:

Want to see a movie?

They shake their heads.

CAM:

We could drive out to Plum Island

and look for sea glass?

They shake their heads.

CAM:

We could go to the Museum of Fine

Arts and look at Great Grandpapa’s

portrait.

AMELIA:

Why is his portrait hanging at the

museum?

CAM:

Because a very important artist

named John Singer Sargent painted

it.

FAITH:

Why?

CAM:

(indignant)

“Why?” Don’t you know who we are?

36.

EXT. BEACON HILL. DAY

Cam and the girls are in his Fiat. The car is filled with

trash:
food wrappers, used napkins, empty containers, orange

peels, mail. They are parked outside a large freestanding

mansion on Beacon Hill.

CAM:

That’s where your great-grandmother

grew up.

FAITH:

In that whole house?

CAM:

The whole thing. It’s the grandest

house on Beacon Hill. Designed by

Bulfinch, a very famous architect.

AMELIA:

How did they get so rich?

CAM:

Railroads. Your great-greatgrandfather

was once the richest

man in Boston.

AMELIA:

So how come we’re so poor?

CAM:

...Well, all that money was put

into a trust which is controlled by

your great-grandmother. And she

decides when to give who what.

And... it’s hard to explain.

The girls stare at the house in awe.

CAM:

You want to see the inside?

They look excited and confused.

FAITH:

Are we allowed?

AMELIA:

You can’t just walk up and knock on

people’s doors.

37.

CAM:

(tickled by her ignorance)

Sweetheart... this is Boston.

They’re practically expecting us.

INT. ENTRY HALL. DAY

The girls look around the grand entry hall, amazed. Cam has

a hand on each of their shoulders. A MAID comes in.

MAID:

Mr. Fabrini will be out in a

minute.

CAM:

(to girls)

On the second floor are the parlors

where they would have huge fancy

dress balls...they would lay thick

canvas down to protect the wooden

floors and it looked like snow...

A man in his mid-40s comes out of a study. This is MR.

FABRINI. He wears a business suit. He seems annoyed.

MR. FABRINI

Can I help you?

CAM:

Hello. My name is Cam Stuart. My

great-grandmother grew up in this

house and I was wondering if I

could show it to my daughters.

It’s an important part of their

family history.

MR. FABRINI

I’m sorry, Mr. Stuart. But this is

my home. I don’t give tours.

The girls are mortified. They both start for the door, but

Cam holds them in place. He is defiant.

CAM:

This house was in my family for

more than five generations. My

great-great grandfather was born in

this house on Boxing Day in 1842.

MR. FABRINI

And would your great-greatgrandfather

give tours to anyone

who came along?

38.

CAM:

Certainly. If they had a personal

connection going back more than

five generations.

MR. FABRINI

Then he’s a better man than me.

CAM:

(pointed)

“Better man than I.”

The girls wince.

INT. FIAT. MOMENTS LATER

Cam drives much too fast down Storrow Drive, weaving in and

out of traffic. Everyone is shouting.

CAM:

We’re going back there again! I’m

going back every day till he shows

you that house!

AMELIA:

Slow down!

CAM:

Our family lived there for more

than a century for chrissake!

FAITH:

But it’s his house now and he

doesn’t want to show it to you!

AMELIA:

That was so embarrassing!

CAM:

You shouldn’t be embarrassed! He

should be embarrassed!

FAITH/AMELIA

No! You should be embarrassed!

Cam reacts as if they are speaking a foreign language.

CAM:

Me? I’m not embarrassed! I’m the

eldest son of the eldest son of the

richest man in the world!

39.

INT. ELEVATOR. NIGHT

The family rides the elevator in silence. All three of them

look furious.

INT. APARTMENT. NIGHT

The apartment is filled with boxes. Amelia is on the kitchen

phone. Faith is on the phone in the living room. They are

both unhappy, talking low, as Cam lurks about.

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