Kate and Leopold Page #15

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KATE:

(beginning to tear up)

I'm not!

CHARLIE:

You are. You can't live your whole

life under a microscope. You've got

to tell him how you feel.

KATE:

(breaking down in his

arms)

It's too much, Charlie. It's just

too much.

CHARLIE:

You owe it to him.

KATE:

I didn't know I could feel like this.

I really didn't know.

INT. FANCY FRENCH RESTAURANT - NIGHT

LEOPOLD:

So I looked him right in the eye and

said, 'Ego is nature's compensation

for mediocrity.' I turned and I

walked. He never said a word... He

probably didn't understand it...

Kate?

KATE:

(cold)

What?

LEOPOLD:

Are you all right? You're awfully

quiet.

KATE:

I'm fine.

LEOPOLD:

How was your day?

KATE:

(taking a long pause)

It's time.

Leopold looks at her.

KATE:

We're sending you back.

LEOPOLD:

(slowly pushing his

plate away)

When?

KATE:

A week from Friday, early morning.

LEOPOLD:

No!

KATE:

It was a mistake, Leopold. It's out

of our hands. We can't POCKET people

from history like stolen jewels. We

haven't the right... I'm sorry. We'll

miss you.

LEOPOLD:

Is that all?

KATE:

What do you want me to do, fall apart?

You'd still be leaving. It wouldn't

solve anything.

LEOPOLD:

Who is this woman sitting across

from me?

KATE:

What do you want me to say, Leopold?

LEOPOLD:

Tell me that you love me as I love

you. Let me hear you say it.

Kate remains silent. Leopold abruptly throws money on the

table.

LEOPOLD:

I will not do this. I'm sorry.

We starts out.

KATE:

Leopold!

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

Leopold walks out of the restaurant trying to remain calm.

His emotions get the best of him. Finally, exhausted, he

winds up walking along Central Park South.

Hansom Carriages wait to be taken out. He approaches slowly.

He stops along side one of the cabs and strokes the horse's

head.

He looks at the horse for a long time. Then he looks at the

skyscrapers surrounding him, deciding what to do. He lays

his face against the horse's head, torn.

CUT TO:

INT. LIVING ROOM - EARLY MORNING

Kate sits at the dinning room table behind empty Sara Lee

boxes, pints of ice cream, beer bottles, and is working her

way through the cookie dough. Leopold enters through the

front door, DISHEVELED.

LEOPOLD:

Good God. Look at you. You look awful.

KATE:

You should see what I'm looking at.

LEOPOLD:

I went back to the restaurant. They

told me you went out looking for me

right after I left.

KATE:

That was pound cakes ago. Where were

you?

LEOPOLD:

I had a lot to think over.

KATE:

Such as?

LEOPOLD:

Just where I stand around here.

There is a long pause.

KATE:

(quietly)

We should have come up with something

together. I might have been spared

ten or seventy pounds.

LEOPOLD:

Is that an apology?

KATE:

I'm sorry for what I said.

Leopold goes to her. He gently prys cookie dough from her

hands.

LEOPOLD:

I'm not going anywhere.

KATE:

Yes you are...

LEOPOLD:

I'm not going. I'm staying here with

you.

KATE:

But? You can't! We have no right

to...

LEOPOLD:

It is my destiny. It is my decision.

KATE:

Have you thought about what you'd be

sacrificing? Your influence? Your

authority?

They kiss.

KATE:

Your family, your whole way of life,

everything?

They kiss.

KATE:

You're not just feeling sorry for me

because I ate the contents of the

refrigerator, are you?

They kiss.

LEOPOLD:

I love you, Kate. The single most

miraculous event in my life was not

how I arrived here, but that when I

did, I found you.

KATE:

(overwhelmed)

Here comes the mushy part!

LEOPOLD:

After much consideration I've come

to the conclusion I no longer desire

a large estate with a full staff and

ornate grounds.

KATE:

That's good, because if you're staying

I'll probably get fired again. What

do you desire?

LEOPOLD:

A beautiful wife, a small home in

the middle of nowhere, lots of

children, and fine schools with PMS

meetings every other Sunday.

KATE:

...PTA?

LEOPOLD:

PTA.

KATE:

I love you too. I do, Leopold. I

love you, too.

They kiss.

INT. LABORATORY - DAY

Leopold and Kate sit calm and resolute. The doctors are in

an uproar.

DR. PLODDER

This is outrageous! I won't allow

it!

LEOPOLD:

The decision is not yours to make.

DR. PLODDER

Do you realize what you're saying?

You're tampering with fate,

preordinance, and God himself.

LEOPOLD:

We do that every day, doctor. It is

called CHOICE.

DR. KAU

Dr. Carlson is still over there. You

can't simply abandon her. We have to

get her back.

KATE:

Do you think I'm not aware of that?

Do you think a minute goes by that I

don't feel responsible for her? But

SOMEONE ELSE CAN GO.

DR. KAU

Only one person can return. The

capsule accommodates only one person.

Leopold has to find her.

LEOPOLD:

Perhaps she does not wish to return.

Perhaps she's found greater happiness

in her new life. It happened to me.

KATE:

Maybe this is her destiny. Maybe

she's of more important use back

there.

DR. KAU

Julia Carlson died in the Center

Factory fire of 1897, two years after

she arrived. She was 37 years old.

There is a stunned silence.

DR. DRAKE

Dear lord.

DR. KAU

She was a friend, Kate. She was never

expected to sacrifice her life for

this experiment. I won't be a party

to it. I know what I'm asking...

There's no way we can force you to

go. Just think it over.

INT. BEDROOM - 2:30 A.M.

A clock is ticking loudly. Kate and Leopold lie back to back.

KATE:

You're going back aren't you?

LEOPOLD:

I keep seeing that poor woman's face.

She was terrified.

KATE:

You said you wouldn't leave me...

I've never been lucky. Not one time.

LEOPOLD:

Six months ago I wouldn't have given

it another thought. I wouldn't have

lost a moment's sleep. You've changed

me, Kate. There is no turning back.

KATE:

I wouldn't WANT you to change. That's

what's tearing me up inside. Either

way I lose... You've changed me too.

I can't go back to my old life

anymore. I can't live like that again.

God my heart is pounding like a drum.

I've never been so scared in my life.

Take me with you, Leopold. God. Take

me with you.

LEOPOLD:

You don't realize what you're saying!

You don't understand the kind of

life you'd lead. What you'd be giving

up.

KATE:

I'd be with you.

LEOPOLD:

I can't ask that of you.

KATE:

Just ask me... Just ask.

LEOPOLD:

Come back with me.

She slowly turns. She embraces him.

KATE:

Yes!

EXT. N.Y.C. STREET - NIGHT

Dressed to the nines, Leopold leads a blindfolded Kate through

the street. She is clumsier than usual.

KATE:

Where are you taking me?

LEOPOLD:

This is something I've wanted to do

for a long time.

She takes off her blindfold and looks up at the sign:

ROSELAND.

KATE:

Leopold?

LEOPOLD:

This will be very therapeutic.

He takes her arm and escorts her in.

INT. ROSELAND - NIGHT

Leopold leads Kate to the dance floor. He opens his arms and

Kate steps in the way she was taught in class. Leopold pulls

her close.

This time there is no pretending. Partnered together, they

shine. They move beautifully, effortlessly. It's almost more

than they can bear. As the music plays, they stop. Leopold

holds Kate tightly. They look at each other for the longest

time.

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