Six Feet Under Page #17

72 INT. SLUMBER ROOM - CONTINUOUS (DAY THREE) 72

Claire stands, watching:

HER POV:
Keith stands at the casket, studying Nathaniel's

face.

Claire takes a breath, approaches him.

CLAIRE:

Did you know him?

KEITH:

No... you?

CLAIRE (CONT'D)

He's my father.

KEITH:

You're Claire?

CLAIRE:

(thrown)

Uh... yeah?

KEITH:

Keith Charles. I'm a friend of your

brother's.

CLAIRE:

Of Nate's?

KEITH:

No, David.

CLAIRE:

(baffled)

David is friends with a cop?

A beat.

KEITH:

We play racquetball together.

CLAIRE:

David plays racquetball?

David suddenly approaches, agitated.

DAVID:

(to Claire))

Excuse us.

He pulls Keith aside.

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48.

DAVID (CONC'D) (CONT'D)

You want me to cry on your shoulder?

Fine. My mother just told me she's been

having an affair.

KEITH:

Wow.

DAVID:

Yeah, with some hairdresser! Who likes

to hike! And now f***ing Nate is in there,

playing Mister Sensitive with her, while

her dead husband lies in the next room.

It's disgusting.

KEITH:

Okay, breathe. You're going to get through

this.

DAVID:

Oh I know. I'll be the strong one, the

stable one, the dependable one, because

that's what I do. And everybody around

me will fall apart, because that's what

they do.

KEITH:

(after a beat)

Don't you get exhausted, always being so

hard on everybody? And yourself?

DAVID:

Oh, shut up. She met him at church!

KEITH:

(smiles)

You met me at church.

David stares at Keith, unable to think of a response. ON

CLAIRE, watching them.

HER POV:
David finally smiles, even starts to laugh. Keith

smiles too; puts his hand on David's shoulder and leans into

him. It's a comfortable, intimate moment.

ON CLAIRE, getting it.

73 INT. SIDE ROOM - CONTINUOUS (DAY THREE) 73

Nate sits next to Ruth, his am around her as she cries.

RUTH:

These last few years, your father, you

know how he retreats inside-himself

(MORE)

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49.

RUTH (CONT'D)

sometimes? Well, it's like he was living

there twenty-four hours a day.

NATE:

Yeah...

RUTH:

I didn't even realize how lonely I was...

Or how long it had been since a man

touched me like that...

NATE:

(uncomfortable)

Well, loneliness is a terrible thing.

RUTH:

I'm still a woman, you know.

NATE:

Yes, I know.

RUTH:

And now your father sees me, like God

sees me, and he knows everything. I'm so

ashamed.

NATE:

You didn't do it to hurt anybody. You

were lonely. I'm sure Dad forgives you.

She looks up at him, stricken.

RUTH:

And God doesn't?

NATE:

Oh, yeah, I'm sure he forgives you too.

She starts crying again. He wraps his arms around her and

rocks her.

NATE (CONT'D)

It's okay. Everybody forgives everybody.

For everything.

His CELL PHONE RINGS. He attempts to loosen his embrace, but

Ruth clings to him. He hugs her even tighter, as his CELL

PHONE continues to ring.

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50.

74 INT. BRENDA'S PARENTS' HOME - CONTINUOUS (DAY THREE) 74

A state-of-the-art designer kitchen. In another room, we

HEAR people ARGUING. Brenda leans against the center island,

eating gourmet olives out of a plastic tub, her cell phone to

her ear.

BRENDA:

F***.

She hangs up, looks pensive. Her brother BILLY CHENOWITH

enters, weeping, and goes to the fridge. He rummages around

inside, starts to get upset when he can't seem to find what

he's looking for.

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