My Best Friend's Wedding Page #14

... BOLTS out of the chair. WHOA!

EXT. O'HARA AIRPORT - DAY

Skycaps, guests of impatient travelers, a bus offloading forty

Japanese tourists. A taxi cuts off a van to reach the curb. Out

jumps...

Michael. Opening the door for Digger and Julianne. Digger says

something, Michael gives him a strong HUG. Julianne raises one

finger to Michael, back in a second. Leads Digger off by the hand.

CLOSE on them now. Alone in the throng.

JULIANNE:

Bye, handsome.

Digger just stares at her. Those maddening judgemental eyes.

JULIANNE:

You're going to say it, aren't

you?

DIGGER:

Tell him you love him. With

all your heart.

JULIANNE:

I'm taking my next book to

Viking.

DIGGER:

Tell him you've loved him for

nine years, but you were afraid

to realize it.

JULIANNE:

I'm moving this book to Viking.

DIGGER:

Tell him you're afraid of love.

Afraid of needing.

JULIANNE:

Needing.

DIGGER:

To belong to someone.

He touches her hair.

DIGGER:

We all do, beautiful. I'm sorry

about that.

Staring in her eyes. Even Julianne has run out of words.

DIGGER:

Tell him you know this is the

worst, dumbest, cruelest moment

to do this to him. But there

it is, and he has to choose.

JULIANNE:

And what will he do?

Digger isn't smiling. His voice low, beneath the crowd...

DIGGER:

He'll choose Kim. You'll stand

by her at her wedding. You'll

kiss him good-bye. And you'll

go home.

He holds up one finger. Almost touching her nose.

DIGGER:

This is what you've come to do.

Now do it.

Wow. She looks frightened and moved, all at the same time. She

kisses him on the lips.

And walks away. He watches her go through the crowd. Take

Michael's hand. Lead him back toward the taxi.

EXT. SKYLINE CRUISE BOAT - DAY

The skyline of Chicago moves past us. Slowly. The NBC Tower,

Cityfront Center...

MICHAEL (O.S.)

Big weddings are so strange.

JULIANNE (O.S.)

You keep saying that.

Up ahead, the Wrigley Building draws closer...

MICHAEL (O.S.)

Kim has all this stuff to do,

I hardly see her.

JULIANNE (O.S.)

Well, you've got the rest of

your lives.

REVERSE ANGLE... they lean on the rail of a cruise boat, easing down

the Chicago River. Wind-blown. Close together.

JULIANNE:

Getting your bed made. Every

day.

They smile at each other. Seem so comfortable together.

JULIANNE:

You miss her, huh?

MICHAEL:

No. I've got you.

She nods. That you have. Staring in her eyes...

MICHAEL:

Don't you throw up on boat?

JULIANNE:

If you like.

And she LURCHES over the railing, emitting a BARRAGE of incredibly

disgusting sounds, her feet FLAILING in mid-air. He laughs, as he

pulls her back down to the deck. Of course, it was all a joke. He

brushes back her hair. Sighs. Stares.

MICHAEL:

I've been thinking a lot the

last couple days. About us,

actually.

JULIANNE:

(casual)

Have you.

He has.

JULIANNE:

Well. There's a lot of memories

to choose from...

MICHAEL:

It's more than that.

That tightens her throat pretty good. When she tries to speak, out

comes a dry CROAK that makes him laugh again. Softer, this time.

MICHAEL:

I mean, it's embarrassing to

say it this way, but...

He stops. Her eyes WIDEN in a burlesque of anticipation. So he

smiles. She knows how to put him at ease.

MICHAEL:

You've sort of been... y'know,

the woman in my life.

JULIANNE:

(straight back)

You've been the man in mine.

Passing under the Michigan Avenue Bridge. No one knows quite what

to say.

MICHAEL:

And I was thinking this could be

our last time. Alone. Together.

You know?

JULIANNE:

Except for the hot affairs we'll

have twice a year.

MICHAEL:

Except for that.

She's smiling so easily. Who would guess her stomach is double-

knotted.

MICHAEL:

I can hardly wait for your

wedding.

JULIANNE:

Me either.

She watches his surprise.

MICHAEL:

Boy, I never thought I'd hear you

say that. Can I come?

She holds herself together. Real soft with...

JULIANNE:

I couldn't have it without you.

He's glad to hear that. And then...

MICHAEL:

It's normal to have... second

thoughts, huh? To be scared.

Is this a change of direction? Or is it the direction she's been

praying for.

JULIANNE:

I wouldn't know. I never had

that many first thoughts.

MICHAEL:

I mean, you commit to a wedding.

And then it seems like... this...

momentum, you know? You forget

you... chose it.

She nods. Understands.

MICHAEL:

You and I. I mean, in all our

relationships with other people...

We didn't use the word "love"

a lot, did we?

We didn't.

MICHAEL:

Kimmy says. When you love someone.

You say it, you say it out loud.

Right now. Or the moment...

Long beat.

MICHAEL:

... passes you by, yeah. She's a

smart girl.

Off in distance, the Centennial Fountain SHOOTS an eight-foot JET

of water across the river. For Michael and Julianne it goes

unnoticed.

MICHAEL:

We don't have a song.

Hmm?

MICHAEL:

Kimmy and I. We don't have a song.

Is that a bad sign?

All Julianne can do is shrug. Then...

MICHAEL:

(sings, softly)

Someday, when I'm awfully low...

And the world is cold...

She doesn't want to cry. So she puts all the strength she has into

fighting it back.

MICHAEL:

(sings)

I will feel a glow just Thinking of you...

And the way you look. Tonight.

He stops. Smiles that sweet, boyish smile.

MICHAEL:

Dance card filled?

JULIANNE:

I'll check. I have it on

powerbook, these days.

He holds up his arms. And she moves into them. He begins to dance

with her, turning so slowly. And, yes, people are watching.

MICHAEL:

(sings in her ear)

With each word, your tenderness grows,

Tearing my fears apart...

She holds him closer. Bites her lip.

MICHAEL:

(sings)

And that laugh

That wrinkles your nose,

Touches my foolish heart.

He stops. He looks at her. She's still in his arms.

MICHAEL:

Where did we first hear th...

JULIANNE:

(straight back)

The night we met.

Right to his eyes...

JULIANNE:

The night we fell in love.

He doesn't know what to do with that.

MICHAEL:

So we heard it... like, right

that... that first...

JULIANNE:

We danced to it. Just like this.

Just like this. A long beat. And he has to say...

MICHAEL:

I won't lose you, will I?

Her eyes close. Then open. Utterly lost in his.

JULIANNE:

No. Because I won't let you.

INT. WALLACE ENTERPRISES - DAY

Julianne in crisp chalk-stripe trousers and a buttoned-up dress

shirt. Her coat slung over her shoulder, she wanders through

the Saturday-deserted office space. Desks, cubicles, monitors,

silent. A row of executive offices standing empty, waiting for

the custodian. Turning a corner, we hear...

... life, at the end of the hallway. A grand conference room with a

glass wall. Walter, in shirtsleeves, running a strategy meeting

for five. DEIDRE, his personal secretary, clicking every word into

her laptop at warp speed. Walter sees Julianne through the glass.

A comic take of pleased surprise. He comes out to greet her...

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