Sideways Page #38

VICTORIA:

Not me. I'm not drinking.

MILES:

You quit drinking?

VICTORIA:

I'm pregnant.

MILES:

(hit in the solar

plexus)

Oh. Huh. Well...

(rallying)

Congratulations again, Vicki. That's

wonderful news.

VICTORIA:

(going to the car)

See you over there, Miles.

MILES:

Yeah.

As she gets in the car and cruises away, Miles glances back

at --

THE RECEIVING LINE

-- where Mike Erganian is introducing Jack to some dear old

FRIENDS. Mike throws a loving arm around his new son-in-law,

and Jack is drawn into Mike's bosom.

EXT. STREET - DAY

A HAND-PAINTED SIGN, attached to a STOP SIGH and decorated

with balloons, reads: "RECEPTION THIS WAY!" with an arrow

pointing RIGHT.

One by one, CARS are making a right turn. But when his turn

comes, Miles turns LEFT.

EXT. MILES'S APARTMENT COMPLEX - DAY

The Saab pull up outside. Miles leaves the car idling as he

sprints inside. Moments later he sprints back to his car,

this time carrying SOMETHING.

OMIT:

INT. FAST FOOD PLACE - DAY

His bowtie undone, Miles sits at a booth eating. He washes

down a bite by draining the contents of a big wax-coated

soft drink cup.

He brings the cup to his lap and refills it from a BOTTLE OF

WINE hidden next to him. As he sets the bottle back down, we

glimpse the label: 1961 Cheval Blanc.

He takes another sip. As the camera MOVES CLOSER, all the

complex emotions inspired by the wine ripple across Miles's

face.

14-YEAR-OLD BOY (O.S.)

"The marrow of his bone," I repeated

aimlessly. This at least penetrated

my mind. Phineas had died from the

marrow of his bone flowing down his

blood stream to his heart.

INT. MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSROOM - DAY

The voice belongs to one of Miles's PUPILS reading aloud in

class. Other students follow along silently from their own

copies of A Separate Peace.

SUPERIMPOSED --

FIVE WEEKS LATER

Miles sits behind his desk at the front of the class.

14-YEAR-OLD BOY

I did not cry then or ever about

Finny. I did not cry even when I

stood watching him being lowered

into his family's straight-laced

burial ground outside of Boston. I

could not escape a feeling that this

was my own funeral, and you do not

cry in that case.

The students look up.

14-YEAR-OLD BOY

Do you want me to keep reading the

next chapter, Mr. Raymond?

MILES:

(as though coming to)

Hrnrnrn? No, we'll pick up there on

Monday.

INT. MILES'S APARTMENT - EVENING

Miles enters his tiny apartment. He loosens his tie and puts

down his satchel.

On his way to the kitchen, he presses a button on his

ANSWERING MACHINE. As it plays, he opens the REFRIGERATOR

and looks inside.

ANSWERING MACHINE

One new message.

MAYA'S VOICE

Hello, Miles. It's Maya.

Miles FREEZES, not wanting to miss a single syllable.

MAYA'S VOICE

Thanks for your letter. I would have

called you sooner, but I think I've

needed some time to think about

everything that happened and what

you wrote to me. Another reason I

didn't call sooner is that I wanted

to finish your book, which I finally

did last night.

Miles's heart pounds.

MAYA'S VOICE

I think it's really lovely, Miles.

You're so good with words. Who cares

if it's not getting published? There

are so many beautiful and painful

things about it. Did you really go

through all that? It must have been

awfully hard. And the sister character --

Jesus, what a wreck. But I have to

say I was really confused by the

ending. Did the father finally commit

suicide, or what? It's driving me

crazy. And the title.

INT./EXT. SAAB - DAY

THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD --

We see ourselves taking the BUELLTON EXIT.

MAYA'S VOICE

Anyway, it's turned cold and rainy

here lately. But I like winter. So

listen, if you ever do decide to

come up here again, you should let

me know. I would say stop by the

Hitching Post, but to tell you the

truth I'm not sure how much longer

I'm going to be working there. I'm

going to graduate soon so I'll

probably relocate. We'll see.

EXT. MAYA'S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY

Miles climbs the wooden steps and approaches Maya's back

door.

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