Sweet November Page #10

SARA:

Hazelnut. You don't like it?

CHAS:

Too perfumy. Stick to classics -

Nelson is so outraged by this intrusion he slaps the

water.

NELSON:

Excuse me. Privacy? Heard of it?

CHAS:

Hi, Nelson. Nice pecs, you mustwork out. Me, I don't have time.

(pauses)

And you look absolutely adorable.

(as she gives him a

look, he stops)

Don't forget dinner's at eight,

on the dressy side.

He turns and walks out the door.

NELSON:

Doesn't that guy know how to makehis own coffee?

(off her stern look)

I mean, what if he'd walked in

just as I was...

(reaches underwater)

Doing this?

(CONTINUED)

SWEET NOVEMBER - Rev. 5/8/00 60.

71 CONTINUED:
(2) 71

She slaps the water with her hand.

SARA:

Stop it! We have important thingsto do today...

72 INT. MUNI TRAIN - DAY 72

Nelson and Sara stand in a rail car crowded with

commuters. As the car jostles and bodies bump up againsthim, Nelson squirms with discomfort.

NELSON:

I still don't see why we couldn'ttake a cab?

SARA:

Because I make the rules, Nelson.

Rules you must submit to, utterlyand completely.

NELSON:

You know, if you want to be adominatrix that badly, why don'twe just go buy you the leatherand get it over with.

SARA:

Kinky. Maybe even strangelyarousing. But if we took a cab,

we'd miss out on all this.

Exactly.

NELSON:

Sara studies Nelson, stiff and impenetrable once again.

SARA:

You know what this train is,

Nelson?

NELSON:

You mean besides a buffet of bad

breath and body odor?

SARA:

It's 55 lives. All happening atonce, in the exact same place, atthe exact same time. Imagine howmuch hope and lust and fear andlove are in this car, right now, atthis very moment. Look around.

(CONTINUED)

SWEET NOVEMBER - Rev. 5/8/00 61.

72 CONTINUED:
72

NELSON:

I try not to.

SARA:

I dare you. Look at someone,

anyone. That woman by the door.

A woman in her early 40s stands near one of the doors,

her head leaning against the window as she stares out atthe passing city with a distant, detached expression.

SARA:

What do you see?

NELSON:

Female, 32-45, primary householddecision maker. Watches 2.5 hours

of television a day, spends 27minutes at the grocery store,

values price over brand.

Ignoring him, Sara gazes at the woman with empathy andwonder.

SARA:

I think she's a mother. I think

she loves her family so much ithurts. I think she'd throw

herself in front of this train for

them if she had to. And I think

when she gets into bed at night,

she makes love to her husband like

he was the king of Egypt.

As Sara enjoys the fruit of her imagination, Nelsonreconsiders the woman, this time seriously.

NELSON:

I think she's got a dead-end job,

a husband she can't remember whyshe married, and a kid who doesn't

understand any of it.

Nelson's grim assessment rolls over Sara like a cloud,

darkening her entire disposition.

SARA:

Maybe. Maybe it's worse. Maybenothing about life even makessense to her anymore. Maybe somedays she wishes she could justquit pretending and end the wholegoddamn thing.

(CONTINUED)

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Nelson stares, silenced by Sara's sudden bleakness.

SARA:

You want to go to the dark side,

Nelson? I can get there fasterthan you can. Believe me.

Looking away, Sara takes a deep breath and then smilesagain, as irrepressible as she was just moments before.

SARA:

But what for? We see the world we

choose to see. And I think myfirst choice was a helluva lot

more fun, don't you?

As the train jostles and jerks, Nelson and Sara searcheach other's eyes.

73 EXT. SAN FRANCISCO DOCKS - DAY 73

Hurrying down the pier, Sara waves when she spots Abnerwaiting patiently, holding a paper bag.

SARA:

There you are!

Abner approaches, removing his balaclava. He's a cute

kid, just shy and awkward. Nelson wants to make up foryesterday.

NELSON:

Hey, Abner, you've got a face andit's a good one, too!

Abner giggles, as Nelson's PHONE RINGS.

SARA:

Cell phones are outlawed in myworld.

NELSON:

What can I say?

has begun.

The revolution

She doesn't like this. Nelson answers the phone.

VINCE (V.O.)

Call me genius, I don't mind.

NELSON:

What up, Vince?

SWEET NOVEMBER - Rev. 6/1/00 63.

73A EXT. FINANCIAL DISTRICT - DAY 73A

Vince gesticulates as he strides down a crowded sidewalk.

VINCE:

Friday, November 17. You, me and

Edgar Price.

(shouts)

Pucker your lips, we got themeeting!

A74 OMITTED A74

thru thru

D74 D74

74 EXT. SAN FRANCISCO DOCKS - DAY 74

Nelson steps away, sits on a nearby piling as Sara andAbner head toward the cluster of kids.

NELSON:

You're genius, Vince.

VINCE (V.O.)

About time you said so... Hey,

heard about Angelica. Sorry, man,

but truthfully? As much as I loved

her, I knew she wasn't for you.

NELSON:

Did you? Funny you tell me now.

VINCE (V.O.)

Yeah, well, you know... discretion,

valor... do I smell a new female

friend?

Nelson watches the other kids coldly survey Abner, as ifhe's too soft for this event. The tough kids areshowing off their remote-controlled sail boats: Most of

them are simple, macho, tough -- they look like Mad Maxboats.

NELSON:

What makes you say that?

VINCE (V.O.)

When my man skips his usualmorning check-in calls, I knowthere's estrogen in the air.

(pauses)

C'mon, c'mon, c'mon. Don't insult

me. I have a life. Who is she?

(CONTINUED)

74

SWEET NOVEMBER - Rev. 6/1/00

CONTINUED:

64.

74

NELSON:

You wouldn't know her.

VINCE (V.O.)

But would I like her? On a scale

of nine to ten, is she -ABNER

WITH KIDS:

pulls his boat out of a bag and the kids start to laugh.

Abner's is a hand-made sailboat, full of whimsy andinvention, an eccentric work of art.

KID #1

Oh that's really cool, not.

KID #2

What is it? Pokeman's dinghy?

The kids have gathered in a circle around Abner, they areintimidating, threatening. Becoming concerned, Saraturns to Nelson, waves him over.

NELSON ON PHONE:

NELSON:

Listen, I gotta run, great news onthe Edgar thing -VINCE

(V.O.)

Wait, wait -- quick thumbnail -- Ineed a gossip fix here -NELSON

See you on the 17th.

74A NEAR LAUNCH AREA 74A

He hangs up and joins Sara and Abner as one of the BIGBROTHER ORGANIZERS tries to break the circle up.

BIG BROTHER ORGANIZER

Come on, all boats in the water?

KID #1

Except for this kid's.

The kids leer contemptuously as Abner nervously stepsforward and lowers his sailboat into the water.

(CONTINUED)

SWEET NOVEMBER - Rev. 6/5/00 65.

74A CONTINUED:
74A

KID #2

That's not a kid, that's a girl.

ABNER:

(turns to Nelson)

Maybe I'll just forget about it.

NELSON:

No, ignore them, Abner.

KID #1

(disdainfully)

Abner?

The kids huddled together, checking Abner out, hiss his

name.

KIDS:

Abner.

The Organizer comes forward, shaking his head telling thetough kids to stop. As he raises his arm holding astarter pistol, Nelson spots a techie nerd packing up amodel submarine on a nearby bench.

NELSON:

Hang in there. Just wait a minute.

(whispers)

Abner is a great name.

74B ANOTHER ANGLE 74B

As the Organizer raises the pistol to fire, Nelson boltsover to the techie nerd.

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