Still Alice Page #8

EXT. LIDO BEACH - BOARDWALK

LYDIA:

I like that necklace.

ALICE:

You haven’t seen it before?

LYDIA:

Nope.

ALICE:

My Mom gave it to me.

Alice fingers the butterfly pendant as they walk along.

ALICE:

When I was a little girl, second

grade, my teacher told me that

butterflies don’t live a very long

time, they live like a month or

something - and I was so upset. And

I went home and I told my mother,

and she said, yeah but you know,

they have a nice life. They have a

really beautiful life, so...it

makes me think about my mother’s

life and my sister’s life. And to

a certain extent my own.

LYDIA:

You’re going to be around for along time Mom.

ALICE:

Yes yes...There are some things I

want to do. I want to take a

sabbatical year with daddy, but I

don’t think that’s going to happen.

I want to read some classic books

I‘ve always meant to read. And I

want to see Anna have a baby, I

want to see Tom graduate...

LYDIA:

You will!

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ALICE:

And I’d like to see you go to

college.

Lydia looks at her.

ALICE:

Not for medicine, or anything - butfor drama.

(Lydia shakes her head)

You know, and then if actingdoesn’t work out you could teach oryou could do workshops. You’d have

some kind of backup plan.

LYDIA:

Yeah...I don’t want a back-up plan.

I want to do this. I want to giveit a shot, it’s not going to happenif I don’t believe in myself.

ALICE:

I believe in you, Lydia. I do.

It’s just that, you know, life’stough. It is tougher than youknow. I want you to have some sortof security before I go.

LYDIA:

Mom - you have to - you can’t useyour situation to get me to doeverything that you want.

ALICE:

Why not? Why can’t I?

LYDIA:

Because it’s not fair.

ALICE:

I don’t have to be fair. I’m your

mother. Right...

EXT. BEACH -- DAY

Flashbacks of Alice’s memory play like a movie. She is on

the beach with her mother and sister.

INT. LIDO BEACH HOUSE - DAY

Framed photos show the Howland family at a younger age.

Alice is playing Words With Friends.

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She drags three letters onto the board to make theunderwhelming word TONE. As ever, the game is with AnnaHowland-Jones.

Alice looks sadly at a photo of Anna, then gazes out of the

window into nothingness.

EXT. LIDO BEACH HOUSE - UPSTAIRS

John is answering e-mails on his computer as Alice walks upthe stairs.

JOHN:

Hey.

ALICE:

What’s going on?

JOHN:

I’m just working. How about you?

ALICE:

Nothing. I need something to read.

JOHN:

I thought you were reading MobyDick.

ALICE:

Yeah. I was. I got tired ofreading the same page over and overagain. I can’t focus.

JOHN:

That happens to me when I read MobyDick too.

(she smiles)

Why don’t you try something

lighter.

ALICE:

What like the Cat in the Hat?

JOHN:

How about some of those plays Lydiahas downstairs? They’re quicker,

they’re easy to read. Might give thetwo of you something to talk about.

Alice nuzzles against him, trying to distract him, but he

continues.

ALICE:

Okay.

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She gets up to head down the stairs.

ALICE:

You work all the time.

INT. SECOND BEDROOM

Alice enters. Lydia’s personality can be felt in herabsence: incense on the window sill, paintings on the wall,

clothes strewn over chair backs.

On the bedside table there’s a pile of plays. Alice picks upa few of the thin volumes and looks at them - Proof, ThreeSisters, Angels in America. She opts for Angels in Americaand is about to set the other two back on the stack when she

notices something: a small notebook with the handwritten

label “Lydia Howland Journal.”

Alice hesitates a moment, then opens it.

EXT. LIDO BEACH HOUSE - LIVING AREA - NIGHT

Lydia and Alice are trying to have a productive discussion asper John’s suggestion.

ALICE:

What I really liked about it washow...

She searches for a word.

ALICE:

How...big...how wide...the scape ofit was.

LYDIA:

Yeah the scope of it.

ALICE:

The scope of it, yes that’s theword. God, listen to me.

Lydia perseveres.

LYDIA:

It’s unbelievable to me that youguys had to live through that. You

must have known somebody who diedfrom AIDS right?

ALICE:

Oh yes, honey. Everybody did. Welost a lot of people.

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She looks at Lydia.

ALICE:

What did you think? You and

Malcolm - you played the Mormons,

didn’t you - the husband and wife?

You did the scenes in your actingclass.

LYDIA:

Yeah - how’d you know that?

Alice hesitates.

ALICE:

I don’t know. You must have told

me about it.

LYDIA:

I didn’t tell you.

ALICE:

Well, I don’t know how I know.

Lydia looks right at her.

LYDIA:

Mom, did you read my journal?

Alice looks away, trying to remember.

LYDIA:

Why? Why would you do that? Mom?!

ALICE:

I am so sorry Lydia. I honestlydidn’t understand what I was

reading.

LYDIA:

You didn’t understand “Lydia

Howland” written across the front

of the notebook?

ALICE:

I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.

LYDIA:

I don’t believe you!

ALICE:

I didn’t mean to...

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LYDIA:

Okay, it’s fine. I just can’t...

Lydia storms off.

ALICE:

Lydia, I didn’t - I really didn’t

know...

LYDIA:

Just stop!

ALICE:

I wouldn’t do that to you.

A door slams. Lydia is gone.

INT. LIDO BEACH HOUSE DINING AREA

In the bright clean light of the day, the table is laden withbagels, lox, toppings, and fruit salad. Anna, Charlie andTom are visiting. Lydia is conspicuously absent. Alice

struggles to follow the conversation.

TOM:

So you can’t eat this you know.

ANNA:

No, I know. No sushi, no hot dogs -

hot dogs are the worst!

CHARLIE:

No alcohol.

ANNA:

No alcohol.

CHARLIE:

Cigarettes.

ANNA:

I’ve never even smoked.

CHARLIE:

Well I mean...

JOHN:

You mean to tell me you’ve never

smoked a cigarette in your entire

life?

ANNA:

Not one.

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CHARLIE:

You can’t be too careful.

ANNA:

He was so cute. He even grabbed myhand the other day as I was walkingdown the stairs.

CHARLIE:

I was just trying to protect my

investment.

General laughter. Alice jumps in. Rather awkwardly.

ALICE:

Anna, I want you to return my Wordswith Friends.

ANNA:

I’m sorry, Mom. I haven’t had

time.

Lydia walks up to the table.

LYDIA:

Hey congrats.

ANNA:

Hey. Thank you.

She hands Lydia a mimosa.

LYDIA:

So it’s twins, huh?

ANNA:

Yes. A boy and a girl.

TOM:

Kinda perfect.

JOHN:

It’s exactly what your mom and Iwere hoping for.

ALICE:

It’s so wonderful.

John’s phone goes off. He checks the I.D.

JOHN:

Oh gosh. I’m sorry. I’ve got totake this.

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He heads back to the office talking into his cell.

LYDIA:

How far along are you?

ANNA:

Five weeks. I know it’s very earlydays, but...well the timing ofthings, how we found out, and whenwe did...well it really worked outin the end.

LYDIA:

Great. That’s amazing.

Alice smiles, not completely following.

TOM:

So Mom, how are you feeling?

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