Loving Page #2

Her eyes finally meet his. He looks serious.

RICHARD (CONT’D)

Mildred?

7 EXT. GROVE - EVENING 7

Feet rushing through tall grass, dodging in and out of limbs

and brambles.

Mildred, as best she can carrying the extra weight, darts

through a grove of trees.

6.

8 EXT. TOBACCO FIELD - EVENING 8

The tobacco field is vast, bordered on one side by a thicket

of trees and falling off to a horizon on the other.

The sun is quickly setting behind the field, but a DOZEN

PEOPLE, black and white, still toil there. They slouch over

the plants, weeding grass from between thick green leaves.

Mildred emerges from the thicket of trees, moving fast. She

rushes into the field weaving between rows.

Garnet barely straightens before Mildred has grabbed her by

the hand and pulls her away from her work.

GARNET:

What’s this now?

Garnet is led out of the field back into the trees.

9 EXT. GROVE - EVENING 9

Fireflies have begun to rise in the grove. Mildred is tucked

against a tree in the midst of a whisper to her sister.

MILDRED:

Said he’d bought it for me. And

then he asked me to marry him.

GARNET:

No he didn’t.

MILDRED:

Yes.

Mildred’s hand covers her mouth trying to contain her

excitement.

GARNET:

Right out in the field? Oh Lord

that man might be crazy. When you

gonna do it?

MILDRED:

He didn’t say. Soon though.

Before the baby comes.

Garnet’s eyes move upward as she takes in a long breath. She

seems troubled.

GARNET:

He’s gonna take my sister from me.

7.

MILDRED:

No. We’ll be right down the road.

Garnet takes Mildred’s hand and holds it to her face.

Mildred smiles, which leads her sister to as well. They

giggle at one another as evening takes hold.

10 EXT. LOLA’S HOUSE - DAY 10

Chickens peck the morning dew in the yard around a tin roofed

shack. This is one in a collection of houses built together

in a small community.

Richard’s car pulls in next to a rusty pickup. He climbs out

as LOLA(48), a weathered woman already missing teeth, helps a

very pregnant WHITE GIRL(17) out of the front door.

RICHARD:

Hey Momma.

LOLA:

They out back.

RICHARD:

Here now.

Richard grabs the young Girl’s hand to help her down the

porch steps. On the ground, she heads to the pickup.

PREGNANT GIRL:

Thank you Miss Lola. We’ll see you

soon.

LOLA:

We’ll be here.

As Richard moves around to the back of the house, the Girl

cranks up the pickup and rattles away.

11 INT. BARN GARAGE - DAY 11

The wooden barn has a poured concrete floor showing its

conversion to a makeshift garage. The walls are lined with

tools and parts.

Raymond takes a bite from a bologna sandwich before ducking

under the hood of their Chevy race car parked inside.

Richard walks in and surveys the work.

RICHARD:

How we doin’?

8.

RAYMOND:

Get that board and get up under

there. See if you can’t get this

manifold loose.

Richard snags a roller board and wrench from the corner and

slides on his back under the front end.

The two work in tandem, Raymond from above, Richard from

below. They work in silence for awhile. Then...

RICHARD:

I’m gonna take Mildred up to D.C.

to get married.

Raymond takes this in, but doesn’t stop working.

RAYMOND:

You sure about that?

RICHARD:

Yeah.

Raymond lifts the part out and carries it to a table.

RAYMOND:

Hold on, stay under there.

Raymond returns with another piece that he drops under the

hood. Richard, with no need for explanation, grabs the piece

and starts to affix it to the car.

RAYMOND (CONT’D)

You need a witness?

RICHARD:

No. I was gonna ask her Dad to

come with us.

As they continue to work, Virgil enters the barn. He

immediately finds Raymond’s sandwich. He picks it up and

smells it.

RAYMOND:

Rich is gonna take Mildred up to

D.C. to get married.

Virgil takes a bite. With a full mouth...

VIRGIL:

String Bean? That don’t make no

damn sense.

9.

Virgil chunks the rest of the sandwich into a metal bin as he

walks back out of the garage. Trailing off...

VIRGIL (CONT’D)

You’d be livin’ up in da house wit

no wife jus’ fine ‘fore you’d...

Virgil is gone before concluding his thought. Richard, still

tucked under the car, smiles to himself.

12 I/E. RICHARD’S CAR/HIGHWAY TO D.C. - DAY 12

Richard drives on the open highway with the windows down and

music drifting from the radio. Mildred sits up front next to

him. They wear their finest clothes.

Mildred’s father, THEOLIVER “Jake”(52), rides quietly in the

backseat. He wears a suit and hat.

MILDRED:

You think they’ll see us today?

RICHARD:

I called up there.

THEOLIVER:

Seem like a long drive to me.

RICHARD:

Thanks for coming Jake.

MILDRED:

Daddy what’s the city like?

Theoliver shrugs, unimpressed.

THEOLIVER:

It’s fine.

13 INT. COURTHOUSE CHAMBERS - DAY 13

Richard and Mildred stand in front of a MAGISTRATE in the

courthouse office. Theoliver stands behind them.

Richard slips a slight gold band on Mildred’s finger. She

smiles at him, her round belly filling the altered church

dress.

MAGISTRATE:

By the power vested in me by the

District of Columbia, I now

pronounce you husband and wife.

10.

Richard and Mildred kiss.

14 INT. MILDRED’S PARENTS’ FARMHOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT 14

Garnet studies Mildred’s ring as their mother, MUSIEL(46),

sits at the table snapping beans.

GARNET:

I may not forgive him.

MILDRED:

Come on now.

GARNET:

You lucky if I forgive you. No

reason to go all the way up there

for this and not take us.

MILDRED:

We took Daddy.

GARNET:

Like that means a thing.

MILDRED:

Richard said there was less red

tape in Washington. That’s all.

Garnet, not convinced, tosses Mildred’s hand back at her and

grabs a fistful of beans to snap. Mildred’s eyes go back to

the ring.

GARNET:

You can stop lookin’ at it String

Bean, you know it’s pretty.

Mildred smiles at her sister, using the edge of the table to

stand. She leans over and gives Garnet a kiss on the

forehead before walking out.

A14 INT. MILDRED’S PARENTS’ - FRONT ROOM - CONTINUOUS A14

Theoliver, coat off and tie loose, dozes off in a deep

cushioned chair next to a radio in the corner.

Richard sits at the dining table under a bare bulb. He’s

hunched over a sheet of drafting paper. He moves a pencil

around a slide rule sketching plans for their house.

Mildred enters and stops to look over his work. She places

her hands on his shoulders and leans down to him.

11.

MILDRED:

I’m turning in.

RICHARD:

What you think about our bedroom in

the back?

MILDRED:

I’ll love it however you make it.

She moves away and he grabs her hand, pulling her back in for

a kiss.

RICHARD:

I’ll be in there soon.

MILDRED:

Okay.

Mildred exits to the bedroom. Richard returns to his plans.

15 EXT. BUILDING SITE - DAY 15

Bricks laid, mortar spread. It’s a routine at the bustling

job site.

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