Meet Joe Black Page #12

JOE:

She's in a great deal of pain.

SUSAN:

Yes.

Susan regards Joe, puzzled.

SUSAN (cont'd)

Have you spent a lot of time in the

islands?

JOE:

Some.

Joe shifts.

JOE (cont'd)

I - uh - I - realize now - uh - my

being here - um - your patient --

this is not really appropriate --

and I - uh --

SUSAN:

Don't apologize. There's nothing

to be sorry for -- every hospital

should have someone like you.

Silence.

SUSAN (cont'd)

Well...I'm glad you came.

JOE:

Thank you. I'm so very glad to be

here.

Another awkward silence.

JOE (cont'd)

I guess you're busy --

SUSAN:

Yes.

She doesn't move, they search for words.

JOE:

Well, I could come again some other

time.

Susan regards him.

SUSAN:

Joe, I'm with Drew.

JOE:

(sincerely)

Not now.

Susan smiles gently.

JOE (cont'd)

Don't you want me to come again...?

A moment.

SUSAN:

I have to go, I'm sorry to say --

JOE:

Be sorry for nothing.

Another moment.

SUSAN:

Yes. Well...thank you, Joe.

Susan turns to go, hesitates.

JOE:

Good-bye, Susan.

Susan waves softly to him, heads down the hall, glances back

once to see Joe has not moved, is watching her depart.

INT. PARRISH'S OFFICE - AFTERNOON

Jennifer shows Joe in, Parrish is deep in thought, beside

him a meal laid out beautifully on his desk with linen and

silver, but untouched.

Joe is more abstracted than usual, he is staring at

Parrish's food.

JOE:

Are you going to eat your lunch

PARRISH:

It's all yours.

Joe starts eating, Parrish watches him, somewhat fascinated,

Joe's chewing has improved.

PARRISH (cont'd)

Good?

JOE:

Excellent. What is it?

PARRISH:

Cold lamb sandwich with cilantro. A

little Coleman's mustard.

Joe takes another big bite.

JOE:

Truly - uh - splendid.

PARRISH:

Glad you like it. My wife turned me

onto cold lamb sandwiches. Joan --

that was my wife --

JOE:

(familiarly)

Uh-huh.

PARRISH:

Cold lamb sandwiches -- not as chewy

as roast beef, not as boring as

chicken. She knew stuff like that.

Silence, Parrish getting lost in his memories.

PARRISH (cont'd)

-- Everything reminds me of her --

there isn't a day that goes by that

I don't think about her -- One day

she was here. The next day she was

gone. What are you going to do? --

I guess you've heard all this a

trillion times before.

JOE:

And more.

PARRISH:

Why didn't you stop me?

JOE:

Well...I don't know.

Silence.

JOE (cont'd)

How was it the first time you met

her?

PARRISH:

I thought you'd heard a trillion

times --

JOE:

This part I'm interested in.

A moment.

PARRISH:

She had on this little blue suit --

with a little white collar that had

little red piping on it --

Joe is riveted on Parrish ow, Parrish aware of him, has

paused.

PARRISH (cont'd)

You could have put her under glass

and I would have just stood and

looked at her. But when she spoke

-- I loved the sound of her voice

and her laugh --

(a moment)

-- I couldn't get enough of her --

and gradually -- or maybe it wasn't

gradually -- I realized I couldn't

live without her.

A KNOCK, the door opens and Drew enters, looks at Parrish,

then at Joe, stands poised in the doorway.

DREW:

May I interrupting?

JOE:

Yes.

PARRISH:

No.

DREW:

(to joe)

'Just kidding'?

PARRISH:

Sit down, Drew.

DREW:

Before I do --

(glances at Joe)

I was hoping we might be alone,

Bill.

PARRISH:

Joe and I have no secrets from each

other.

DREW:

(to Joe)

How nice for you both.

Drew takes a moment, then plunges in.

DREW (cont'd)

Bill, pardon my candor, but I was

confounded by your decision this

morning.

PARRISH:

Why?

DREW:

I was hired, you told me, to help

bring Parrish Communications into

the 21st Century. This merger is

the vehicle --

Joe interrupts:

JOE:

Perhaps a merger is a way to bring

Bill's company into the 21st cen-

tury. And perhaps it isn't. And

perhaps cheating on your French

Philosophers exam at The Groton

School was an expedient way to get

your diploma, and perhaps it wasn't.

Be that as it may, Drew, a question

can often be argued both ways.

Drew is stunned.

PARRISH:

Joe, cut it out. And you too, Drew.

DREW:

(to Parrish)

I thought this was practically a

done deal --

PARRISH:

Well now it's undone, okay? Forget

Bontecou! Scrub him! I'm tired of

his fancy name and his fancy offer.

I'm not going for it.

A moment.

DREW:

Okay.

Drew heads for the door, turns around.

DREW (cont'd)

(to Parrish)

Can I invite myself to dinner

tonight?

(a moment)

Susan and I had ticket for the

Knicks game. But she said you

guys were getting together --

PARRISH:

Dinner? Absolutely.

JOE:

Absolutely.

DREW:

(to Joe)

Damn decent of you.

Drew exits.

JOE:

Why, at this juncture, are you

letting yourself be so concerned

by business matters?

PARRISH:

I don't want anybody buying up my

life's work and turning it into

something it wasn't meant to be. A

man wants to leave something behind.

And he wants it left behind the way

he made it. And he wants it to be

run the way he run it -- with a sense

of honor, of dedication, of truth.

Okay?

JOE:

Okay.

PARRISH:

And I don't need your goddamn permis-

sion either! You! Drew! I don't

need anyone to tell me how to run my

life.

JOE:

Easy, Bill. You'll give yourself a

heart attack and ruin my vacation.

INT. SALON, PARRISH TOWNHOUSE, NEW YORK CITY - NIGHT

The skyline glitters through the terrace windows. The hour

is before dinner, Coyle and Luisa weave seamlessly among the

family, offering hors d'oeuvres and drinks on a tray.

Allison and Susan together by a piano; Parrish, Quince and a

distracted Joe are gathered near the terrace. Joe's eyes

are on Susan across the room. Her eyes flicker towards him,

aware of his gaze.

ALLISON:

(to Susan)

...We're never all together two

nights in a row. Maybe Christmas,

Thanksgiving, that's it. What's

going on?

SUSAN:

Nothing's going on. Maybe he

doesn't want to be alone. He's go-

ing to be sixty-five in a minute --

ALLISON:

...I don't know, Daddy seems funny

to me. Ever since Joe showed. It's

like he dropped from the clouds...

Drew enters. He nuzzles Susan's neck, out of the corner of

her eye she sees Joe still observing them.

ALLISON (cont'd)

...When Daddy walked in with him, he

couldn't even remember his name. Now

he's his house guest. And you know

how he hates house guests. What is

going on?

Drew, whose eyes have also been on Joe across the room, turns

back.

DREW:

(to Susan and Allison)

Good question.

Allison sees Susan's eyes flicker over towards Joe.

ALLISON:

-- But he does seem very nice.

SUSAN:

You think so?

ANOTHER ANGLE:

Over at the terrace, Quince buttonholes Parrish, Joe stand-

ing by.

QUINCE:

(to Parrish)

...I read you all the way on the

Bontecou thing, and I know where

you're coming from. And I'm with

you a hundred and one percent.

PARRISH:

Thank you, Quince.

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