The Fabulous Baker Boys Page #10

Jack shrugs.

FRANK:

(continuing)

Better take care of your fingers, little brother.

Buy yourself a case of arthritis and you won't

be able to play 'Chopsticks.'

JACK:

I'll take my chances.

Frank pats his hands together and glances into the street.

FRANK:

Something, huh? All those bids.

JACK:

Yeah. Something.

FRANK:

Yeah ... Well, I gotta go.

JACK:

You wanna get a drink?

Frank stops, surprised.

FRANK:

No, I... Little Frank's got strep. Donna's been

up two nights making sure the rest of us

don't get it.

Jack nods.

FRANK:

(continuing)

You all right?

JACK:

Yeah, fine.

FRANK:

Okay I'll see you tomorrow night then.

JACK:

Right.

As Frank leaves, he takes a glance at his brother,

then disappears around the corner. A second later,

Susie comes out of the diner.

SUSIE:

Where's egghead?

JACK:

His kid's sick.

SUSIE:

(searching her purse)

I don't know. It's hard figuring you two

as brothers. Seems like the hospital might've

scrambled the babies somewhere.

JACK:

He takes after our mother.

SUSIE:

Yeah,well, a11 I know is mother nature must be

one crazy dame. Sh*t.

Jack offers his pack of cigarettes.

SUSIE:

Uh-uh. I never touch American

cigarettes.

(still searching)

What's tomorrow again?

JACK:

The Stratford.

SUSIE:

Nice place. Fulla velvet. Even

the bedspreads.

(shaking the purse)

Damn! Two-fifty a pack and I go

through 'em like toothpicks.

Twelve-and-a-half cents a piece,

you believe that?

JACK:

Huh?

SUSIE:

Paris Opals. Twelve-and-a-half cents. I sat

down with a pencil and added it one day. But

I figure, if you're gonna be sticking something

in your mouth, you might as well make it the best.

(finding one)

Ah, here's a lost soul.

Jack lights it. She takes a draw.

SUSIE:

(continuing)

Mmm. Like kissing a rose. Well,

au revoir.

JACK:

Hey.

(as she stops)

You feel like a cup of coffee?

SUSIE:

You kidding? We must've killed three pots in

there. Anyway, I gotta get home. Rest the pipes.

JACK:

You want me to walk you?

Susie looks at Jack a little funny.

SUSIE:

No. Thanks.

She starts to move away, then stops and looks back.

SUSIE:

(continuing)

Hey, listen. You're not going soft on me, are

you? I mean, you're not gonna start dreaming about me

and waking up all sweaty and looking at me like

I'm some kinda princess when I burp.

JACK:

Forget it.

SUSIE:

I mean, that'd be too creepy.

With us working together and all.

JACK:

Forget it.

SUSIE:

Nothing personal --

Jack holds up his hand. Susie just stands there.

JACK:

Better hurry. You're a nickel

down on your cigarette.

EXT. VETERINARY CLINIC

Jack paces outside the veterinary clinic, rubbing his

arms against the night's chill. He glances up at the

flickering sign over the building: "Twenty-Four Hour

Emergency Care." Inside, a KID with deep-set eyes is

bent over a magazine. Jack hesitates then enters.

INT. VETERINARY CLINIC

KID:

Yeah?

Jack glances around, ill at ease.

KID:

(continuing)

You want something, pal? If you're looking for a

bathroom, try the Super Chief around the corner.

The Kid goes back to his magazine.

JACK:

No, I, uh, left a dog here this morning.

He needed some work on his mouth.

KID:

Regular hours are eight to five.

JACK:

Yeah, yeah, I know. I was just passing by.

Thought I'd check in on him.

KID:

You can check in on him tomorrow.

Between eight and five.

JACK:

Yeah, well, couldn't I take a

look now?

The Kid looks up at Jack with mild contempt.

KID:

You want to know if he's okay.

Right?

JACK:

(uncomfortable)

Yeah.

KID:

All right. Hold on.

JACK:

The name's Baker --

KID:

Save it. What's he look like?

JACK:

(puzzled)

Black. Labrador.

KID:

All right. they lay the dead ones out in the

cold room. I'll take a look.

The Kid disappears into the back. Jack stands frozen,

watching the swinging door come to rest. He looks

like a man who, unexpectedly, finds a razor pressed

to his neck. He fumbles for a cigarette, but doesn't

light it. He waits. A moment later, the door swings

open.

KID:

Nope. Just a couple poodles.

Jack nods, then, moving stiffly, leaves.

EXT. VETERINARY CLINIC

Outside, he reaches into his coat and takes the bottle.

INT. JACK'S APARTMENT

On the floor, a long line of bowls, each containing

a different concoction, all intended for the ailing Eddie.

Eddie, lying a few feet away, shows no interest.

In the kitchen, Jack is heating something up in a pan.

NINA:

I tried Cheerios this morning.

He didn't even get up.

Maybe they took out the wrong teeth.

JACK:

He's just feeling sorry for himself. This is it,

pal. Hear me? Two bucks a can.

Jack dumps some brown slop into a bowl and places it next

to the others. Nina and he wait. At first, nothing, then

... Eddie's eyes move. His nose twitches.

His head lifts. Finally, he gets up and walks to the

bowl. He eats.

JACK:

(continuing)

Chili.

CITY:

draped in winter. Dark skies, people lost in heavy

coats, the city's battered Christmas decorations hung

tenuously across traffic-clogged streets. Over it all

we hear "JINGLE BELLS," PLAYED for the first time

completely through, hesitantly but without error.

As the SONG ENDS, we are:

INT. JACK'S APARTMENT

watching Nina strike the final chord triumphantly.

She turns to Jack, who's been listening from the couch.

JACK:

(nodding to the ceiling)

You're gonna knock her dead, kid.

INT. LUAU LOUNGE

All done up in reds and greens for Christams Eve.

Jack, Frank and Susie -- each decked out in their own

little Santa hats -- perform "Silver Bells" for the

happy crowd. Jack, smoking a cigarette, will not be

mistaken for Santa Claus, but Susie looks adorable.

Frank just looks happy. As they finish,

the crowd applauds.

INT. BATHROOM

Jack, now sans Santa hat, enters the bathroom off the

lobby and finds Santa Claus standing in front of the

mirror, fussing with his beard.

JACK:

Hey, Frank.

FRANK:

You recognized me.

JACK:

Just a lucky guess.

FRANK:

So what do you think?

JACK:

Very realistic.

FRANK:

(not buying it)

Yeah, well, what can I say? Dad must've had

forty pounds on me.

Jesus, you remember him being this big?

Jack looks in the mirror.

JACK:

Yeah.

FRANK:

Well, the line's growing weaker, little brother.

Lucky for us there aren't any dragons left to slay.

INT. LOBBY

Jack and Frank step out into the lobby, thus giving

a few people, Susie among them, the curious privilege

of seeing Santa Claus exit a men's room.

FRANK:

You want to come out to the house tomorrow?

The way the bookings been piling up, Donna's decided

to really lay it on. Turkey, stuffing, the

whole bit. Kitchen's so full of food you can

hardly move. We could use another appetite.

JACK:

Thanks, but I've got plans.

FRANK:

All right, but if you change your mind,

let me know. I gotta go get Ma in the

morning anyway.

SUSIE:

(coming up)

Well, well. Ho, ho, ho. You

moonlighting at Macy's, Frank?

FRANK:

For the kids.

(moving off)

Merry Christmas, you two. Don't

forget. We leave the twenty-sixth.

Frank pushes through the revolving door and steps

out into the street in his Santa suit.

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