Leaving Las Vegas Page #10

BEN (off-screen)

Want a drink? Great nap.

Wanna go out tonight?

SERA:

Seriously, Ben... I need to

keep pretty low-key around

here. Maybe next time you

could nap this side of the

door. That was the landlord.

BEN:

Of course.

She reaches into her purse.

SERA:

Gift number one.

And she gives him a newly cut key. He takes it and tries it

in the lock, then drops it into his pocket.

BEN:

I used to carry a lot of

keys, but one by one they all

fell victim to the great

condensation. Now I have just

this one... which is...

And he tails off and stares at the floor. She waits for him

to continue and then comes to him and touches him on the arm.

87 INT. SERA�S HOUSE - DAY

SERA:

Ben?

BEN:

Sorry.

He shakes his head.

BEN:

I was miles away.

He sees the parcels.

BEN:

Ah... more gifts. I have to

sit down for this.

He strides into the living room and flops on to the sofa. She

follows.

BEN:

Sera, I love that

name... S.E.R.A. Before we

proceed onwards, there is

something I need to say. OK?

SERA:

OK.

BEN:

I�ve come this far... here I

am, in your house. I want you

to let me pay the rent for

this month. All right?

And he stares at her as if to say that nothing can happen

until this matter is resolved.

SERA:

Why?

BEN:

Because... it�s better for me

that way. OK?

SERA:

Well... OK...

She is uncomfortable.

They sit in silence for a while.

BEN:

Sera... I hope that you

understand how I feel about

this. First of all, you�re

welcome to my money. We can

buy a couple of cases of

liquor and you can have the

rest. But I don�t think

you�re talking to me right

now about money.

SERA:

(smiling)

No?

BEN:

No. I think you�re talking

about you. I�ll tell you

right now that I�m in love

with you... but, be that as it

may, I�m not here to force my

twisted life into your soul.

SERA:

I know that...

BEN:

...and I�m not here to demand

your attention to the point

where it changes your life.

We know I�m a drunk... but

that seems to be all right

with you. And I know that

you�re a hooker. I hope you

understand that I�m a person

who is totally at ease with

this... which is not to say

that I�m indifferent or that

I don�t care... I do... it

simply means that I trust and

accept your judgement. What

I�m saying is... that I hope

you understand that I

understand.

SERA:

Thanks, I do understand. I

was worried about how that

would be... but now I�m not.

And you should know that

included with the rent here

is a complimentary blow job.

BEN:

Ah, yes... I suppose sooner or

later we ought to f***.

SERA:

Whatever that means. Open

your presents.

She hands him the larger of the two parcels.

SERA:

Open this one first.

Ben awkwardly unwraps the present, a large, colorful shirt. A

genuine smile comes on to his face.

BEN:

Very nice.

He holds the shirt against himself.

BEN:

This should work very nicely

with my suit, which, by the

way, is the only item of

clothing I brought over from

the motel with me.

Sera raise an eyebrow.

SERA:

Right... the suitcase was

clinking. So what did you do

with your clothes?

BEN:

(laughing)

I threw them into the

garbage., which was perhaps

immoral, but I wanted to come

to you clean, so to speak. I

thought we could go shopping

and pick up a pair of jeans

and forty-five pairs of

underwear and just throw them

out each day.

SERA:

(smiling)

Nice talk, Ben. Keep

drinking. In between the

hundred and one proof breath

and the occasional drool,

some interesting words fall

from your mouth.

She hands him the last present.

SERA:

Now, try this one.

Ben unwraps the smallest gift. It is a silver hip flask. He

is very touched and a little tear trickles down his cheek.

BEN:

Well... looks like I�m with

the right girl.

He turns it in his hands.

BEN:

I must say that I�m very

impressed that you would buy

this for me. I know you

wouldn�t do this without

thinking about it.

Funny... you did just what I

would have done.

Ben stands and tries the flask in his pocket for fit. It is

fine. He walks to the door.

BEN:

I�m going to fill it right

now.

SERA:

Do you want to go gambling

tonight? We could go out and

play for a few hours.

Ben comes back into the room, takes the flask out of his suit

pocket and has a drink.

BEN:

I hadn�t planned to

gamble... but if you would

keep the bulk of my money

here, then I could safely

blow a couple of hundred

bucks.

He takes out all of his money, peels off a few hundreds and

then gives her the rest.

BEN:

Giving you money makes me

want to come.

SERA:

Then come.

(pause)

I�m going to change. Watch

TV. I�ll be half an hour.

And she leaves. There is a slight edge to her voice and Ben

is not sure if he offended her or not. He watches through the

small angle of the door as she changes.

SERA:

I am planning to go out and

do some work.

BEN:

When?

SERA:

Tomorrow night as a matter of

fact.

88 EXT. THE STRIP - NIGHT

Ben and Sera walking. The camera follows them. He is wearing

his new shirt and looks good in it. She is wearing a green

dress and mismatched earrings and looks great. They walk and

talk.

BEN:

I like your earrings.

He changes sides.

BEN:

I like women who wear

mismatched earrings.

SERA:

Well, then... I hope we don�t

run into any tonight.

BEN:

(laughs)

What do you mean?

SERA:

I expect some kind of loyalty

here. Just because I f*** for

money doesn�t give you cause

to start picking up women and

leaving me looking silly.

And she stops and looks at him, smiling but serious.

BEN:

And I only have eyes for you.

And we both know that you

would never become

romantically involved with a

trick, right?

89 INT. CASINO - NIGHT

They walk around the huge space, which is full of people and

energy, and suddenly Ben grabs Sera and pushes her against a

slot machine and kisses her deeply. At first she resists and

then she gives in to him and responds. They knock over some

change, which falls to the floor, and Ben pulls from her a

beat to bend down and scoop up all the change and hand it to

the bemused player, before returning to Sera�s mouth or more.

They break for air and then Ben leads her towards the bar. As

he waves to attract the barman�s attention, she squeezes his

arm.

SERA:

(quietly)

I love you.

But he doesn�t hear her.

ANGLE ON CASINO ACTIVITY

On long lens we see Ben and Sera at the bar. Suddenly Ben

seems to fall asleep. Sera tries to wake him and then he goes

crazy and falls backwards off his stool, knocking a waitress

and her drinks over. Security Guards appear and begin arguing

with Sera.

CUT TO:

90 INT. SERA�S HOUSE - NIGHT

Ben wakes up on the sofa, fully dressed. A night-light gives

a soft glow. He rolls off the sofa, landing on all fours on

the floor. He crawls to the kitchen , opens the fridge door

and takes out a vodka bottle and carton of orange juice. With

difficulty he gets to his feet, finds a glass and pour s a

drink. He swallows the mix and then stands over the sink just

in case he has to vomit.

91 INT. SERA�S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Sera wakes and Ben comes in and gets into bed with her.

SERA:

How are you doing?

BEN:

Very well... umm... I never

expected to have to ask you

this again... but how did our

evening go? I remember

getting to the casino... I

remember kissing you... that

was really nice but

everything after that is a

blank.

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