Meet Joe Black Page #20

Joe, back on the street now, unscrews the top of a jar of

peanut butter, dips a wad out with his fingers. The Korean

Clerk runs out after him.

CLERK:

Change! Change!

Joe stops, uncomprehending. The Clerk hands Joe bills and

coins.

JOE:

Why are you giving me money?

CLERK:

Change.

JOE:

I am who I am. I cannot change.

Joe tries to hand the money back, but the baffled Clerk

refuses it.

CLE:

You change!

JOE:

That's impossible. You're wasting

your money. I couldn't change even

if I wanted to.

The Clerk, exasperated, murmurs something in his language

and returns to the store. Joe continues on down the street.

INT. LIBRARY, PARRISH TOWNHOUSE - NIGHT

Parrish is sitting in a wing chair staring at the fire. Joe

appears in the doorway, Parrish doesn't notice him. Joe

waits, finally Parrish looks up. They regard each other.

Silence.

JOE:

Uh --

PARRISH:

Yes?

JOE:

-- I have the feeling that, all in

all, what I made this voyage for --

has served its purpose.

PARRISH:

What are you saying, that it's time

to go?

Joe doesn't respond, Parrish and Joe measure each other for

the moment.

PARRISH (cont'd)

I'm ready.

JOE:

You are?

PARRISH:

Yeah.

JOE:

Good. Tomorrow, after the party.

Parrish nods, Joe nods back.

CUT TO:

EXT. HELICOPTER POV, HUDSON VALLEY - AFTERNOON

A bird's eye view of the Hudson, over the George Washington

Bridge, past the widest expanse of the river at the Tappan

Zee, coming in now over the great lawns and old estates of

the Upper Hudson Valley, down towards Annadale-on-Hudson

and the Parrish country estate, which commands a beehive of

activity, tents and workmen and vehicles.

EXT. PARRISH COUNTRY ESTATE - AFTERNOON

The Parrish AStar sets down in its roped-off landing area.

The Butler runs towards it to open the door, Parrish and

Joe disembark. Following the Butler, they make their way

through the maelstrom: tents being raised, platforms for

music groups, portable pools with clusters of florists

leaning over the edge to arrange lily pads within. Parrish

and Joe move solemnly, observing the activity, not speaking

to one another. Although they are shoulder-to-shoulder,

there is a distance between them. They walk on past chan-

deliers in the garden and fake trees with lights woven

through their branches. Adding to the confusion, the AStar

lifts off, the chandeliers rocking and floral pools rippling

from the blast of the rotors. May, the housekeeper, appears.

MAY:

(to Parrish)

Telephone call, sir. Mr. Sloane

from New York.

Parrish nods, starts up for a wing off the main house, Joe

right at his side. Parrish stops.

PARRISH:

Excuse me.

Joe, not knowing whether to be affronted or not, hesitates,

and Parrish strides away. Joe does not follow.

INT. PARRISH'S STUDY, COUNTRY ESTATE - AFTERNOON

A low-slung but well-appointed room with a writing table, a

working fireplace, expensive and appropriate Hudson Valley

prints.

Parrish enters, clicks on the SPEAKERPHONE, observes the

party activity through a wide, bow window.

PARRISH:

Eddie?

SLOANE (O.S.)

(speakerphone)

Yeah - Bill - How are you? You okay?

PARRISH:

Fine, fine. Big doing up here. Why

are you still down here?

SLOANE (O.S.)

(speakerphone)

The Board's working through the

weekend, tying up the loose ends on

this damn thing. But I want to give

it one more try, I'm still holding

out some hope.

PARRISH:

Eddie, hold out all the hope you

want but, I promise you, it's hope-

less, it's over. Come on up, let's

get drunk, if I had your shoulder

to lean on I might actually enjoy

this --

SLOANE (O.S.)

(speakerphone)

No, I'm going to stay down here,

keep my finger in the dike and maybe

by Monday, the waters could recede.

PARRISH:

If you're trying to show me lay-

down-in-front-of-the-bus loyalty,

forget it.

SLOANE (O.S.)

(speakerphone)

Sorry, Bill, have a drink, eat your

cake, blow out the candles and make

a wish. Talk to you Monday. Okay?

PARRISH:

Okay, Eddie -- anyway, thanks for

the memory.

Parrish clicks off the SPEAKERPHONE, turns around and looks

out the window again, the party preparations in full swing,

colored lights are tested, they flicker on and off.

EXT. LAWNS, COUNTRY ESTATE - AFTERNOON

Allison is everywhere, Parrish emerges from his wing, she

catches his eye immediately, the calm director of a DeMille-

like epic, politely giving workers instructions, making

lightning decisions.

Parrish turns his attention now to an ice-filled fountain

encircling two giant topiary letters written in faux-

Cyrillic, a 'B' and a 'P', as rubber-booted delivery men

carefully arrange giant ice chests of caviar under each

letter. A smile creases Parrish's face as, in an unexpected

lull, Allison backs into him at the fountain.

ALLISON:

Hi, Daddy, what do you think?

PARRISH:

It's starting to grow on me. But

what do the 'B' and 'P' mean?

ALLISON:

The fountain is the Caspian Sea and

the Sea is serving up caviar. The

'B's for Beluga, the 'P' for

Petrossian. Of course, they also

stand for 'Bill' and for 'Parrish'.

PARRISH:

Do they, m'dear?

ALLISON:

-- Plus we've got a baritone with a

balalaika coming from The Russian

Tea Room. I've dressed him in a

Cossack shirt and he'll sing Nelson

Eddy songs.

Parrish shakes his head.

PARRISH:

You are amazing. Why, oh why,

Allison, are you doing all this?

But before she can answer, a workman is tugging at Allison's

sleeve, she turns away from Parrish to give him instructions

out of Parrish's earshot, and then turns back, they step away

now, daughter and father, alone.

ALLISON:

I do it because I love you. Because

everybody I loved you. Mommy -- wher-

ever she is -- Susan, Quince, the

people who work for you, everybody

who's ever known you.

PARRISH:

Yeah? And what about my enemies?

ALLISON:

They respect you. Isn't that a kind

of love?

Unexpectedly, Allison brushes a lock away from Parrish's

forehead, with a flick she has rearranged his hair, he

blinks, a little embarrassed, but having liked it.

ALLISON (cont'd)

Above all, you've been a wonderful

father.

PARRISH:

I haven't been the father to you

that --

ALLISON:

That you've been to Susan?

PARRISH:

I wasn't going to say --

ALLISON:

But that's what you were thinking.

And that's okay. Because I know you

love me. Not like it is with Susan,

the way your eyes light up when she

comes in the room and the way she

always gets a laugh out of you, as

opposed to me when I walk in a room

and that look comes over your face,

"What does she want now?"

A weather-beaten military parade ground pennant passes, 24th

Infantry Regiment "C" (Charlie) Company.

ALLISON (cont'd)

I already feel I've had everything I

could have wanted for my birthday --

PARRISH:

Hey, there's lots to come.

(gesturing to the

activity)

A little excess -- like you love.

The preparations are building to a climax, all the elaborate

plans coming to fruition.

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