Sideways Page #27

Jack's CELLPHONE rings, and he checks the caller ID.

JACK:

It's Steph.

(picking up)

Hey, baby. Yeah. Oh yeah. Yesssss. I

mean I would, but let me see. Hey,

Miles... Oh f*** it, we're going.

We'll be right there. Me too.

He snaps his phone shut and turns to Miles.

JACK:

We're on.

MILES:

What's happening?

JACK:

We're going to have some fun. Remember

fun? We're going to have some of it.

Okay?

MILES:

What exactly are we going to do?

JACK:

I said okay?

MILES:

You have to tell me --

JACK:

I SAID OKAY?

Miles finally smiles.

MILES:

Okay.

OMITTED:

BIG FUN MUSIC BEGINS OVER:

EXT. DOWNTOWN LOS OLIVOS - DAY

A HIGH WIDE SHOT --

The Saab pulls up where Stephanie and Maya await with bottles

of wine and a PICNIC BASKET. The girls climb into the back

seat, and the car speeds away.

INT./EXT. THE SAAB - DAY

They're going FAST, hair whipping around.

MAYA:

Hey, Miles, I heard you came by the

restaurant last night looking for

me.

MILES:

Oh, yeah. No. I mean yeah, I stopped

by for a drink. Didn't see you.

MAYA:

I had class.

MILES:

Well, nice to see you now.

MAYA:

You too.

EXT. BEAUTIFUL ROAD - DAY

WHOOSH! That car's going a little too FAST!

INT./EXT. LA PURISIMA MISSION CHURCH

The two couples wander around this historic site.

EXT. IDYLLIC PICNIC SPOT - DAY INTO DUSK

The girls have led them to a beautiful spot.

IN A SERIES OF SHOTS --

we see the progress of their picnic. We don't hear them, but

there is a growing intimacy about their interaction. Even

Maya and Miles seem to be overcoming residual awkwardness

from the other night. Jack and Stephanie lean on each other

as they eat and sip wine.

Finally, the two couples are SILHOUETTED against the SUNSET.

EXT. WINERY #3 PARKING LOT - EVENING

The parking lot is crowded. The foursome join others headed

toward the main building.

INT. WINERY #3 - EVENING

A LECTURE by British wine sage LESLIE BROUGH is in progress.

He holds aloft a RIEDEL BURGUNDY GLASS containing one of the

few but growing number of local reds worthy of his attention.

IN THE AUDIENCE --

As our foursome listen attentively, Jack leans over to Miles.

JACK:

You ever actually read any of this

guy's books?

MILES:

He wrote a great one on Burgundy,

and I used to get his newsletter,

but then there were doubts about

whether he does all his own tasting.

Plus a couple of times he declared

certain years vintages of the century,

and they turned out to be turkeys.

F***er never retracted.

JACK:

Huh.

Stephanie leans forward and signals to Maya with a YAWN or a

GAGGING FINGER IN MOUTH that they hightail it. Although Miles

protests at first, they stand and leave.

AT THE BACK OF THE ROOM --

Stephanie finds a DOOR which she tests to see whether it is

open. It is! She leads her pals furtively inside --

INT. WINEMAKING ROOM - CONTINUOUS

This is an enormous, dimly-lit chamber filled with stainless

steel FERMENTATION TANKS and stacks of OAK BARRELS.

As the two couples walk in the near-darkness, they are

entranced. Maya takes Miles's hand and leads him away.

LATER --

In the background, Stephanie and Jack lean against a tank,

kissing.

CAMERA DOLLIES to reveal Miles and Maya among the barrels in

the foreground. They are shy with each other, on the verge

of kissing but holding back.

THE MUSIC CONTINUES...

INT. STEPHANIE'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

THREE BOTTLES OF WINE sit empty on the coffee table.

WIDE --

The four friends sit on the floor around the coffee table.

They drink wine and pass a JOINT. Suddenly they explode in

LAUGHTER.

A sleepy Siena appears at the hallway door rubbing her eyes.

Stephanie gets up, but Jack stops her, gathers Siena in his

arms, and takes her back to bed.

EXT. STEPHANIE'S HOUSE - NIGHT

The Saab pulls away from the house.

INT. SAAB - NIGHT

Miles sits in his own passenger seat as Maya tries her hand

at the Saab.

EXT. MAYA'S APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT

Maya leads Miles up her back stairway. They're both a little

woozy from the hours of drinking.

AT THE DOOR --

Maya searches through her purse for her keys while Miles

hovers directly behind her, staring at her ear. Her ear?

Just as Maya puts the key in the lock, he impulsively leans

forward to kiss the nape of her neck. Maya's reaction is

immediate -- she turns to embrace Miles, giving him a long

KISS. Then she opens the door, pulls him inside and closes

the door in our face.

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