scenes 6 and 7

scene 5

6. INT. MOTEL ROOM - SUNSET

Basic room. Tom's suitcase on the queen bed, hat on rack, boots at its base, mini-fridge, wall-mounted TV, and the desk Tom sits at, looking out the window at the gathering monsoon clouds that shadow the Albuquerque skyline and obscure the Sandia Mountains. Tom's phone, eyeglass case and Foglost on the desk with a pen and pencil in a holder near a Yucca Springs Motel notepad. White tee under Tom's unbuttoned shirt. The first TAPS OF RAIN ON THE WINDOW. Tom picks up phone, taps it on desk, finally speaks into it.

TOM: Ruth.

Hey sis, just now remembered it's your swim night. Anyway, in my room 'bout to run a bath, tag you're it, Love Tommy.

(He sets phone down, HARDER RAIN against the window, ominous darkening cloud-gathering. He stands suddenly, leaves into bathroom. We HEAR FAUCET SQUEAK and BATH STARTED.) 

7. EXT. YUCCA SPRINGS MOTEL - PARKING LOT - SUNRISE

Clearish sky above the dozen vehicles, including Tom's truck, in the wet and puddled lot. Yucca Springs Motel in neon above the registration office guarded by potted Yuccas. Tom comes out of room, suitcase in hand, different western shirt, walks to truck.

INT./EXT. TRUCK

Tom unlocks and opens driver's door, slides suitcase to passenger side, sets hat atop it, gets in, closes door, starts engine, buckles up, turns on radio to static, punch-tunes to Freddie Fender's (I Love My) Rancho Grande, smiles, turns it up, drives to the street, turns right, drives out of view, MUSIC FADING INTO DISTANT SIREN FADING INTO FAINT DOG BARKING.

scene 5

scene 4 

EXT. LARAMIE RIVER GREENBELT TRAIL - DAY

Wanda and DAISY, 70-something, sit on a bench between the trail and river near the Laramie River Historic Bridge. Both in tennis shoes, anklet socks, knee-length shorts, long-sleeve blouses.

DAISY: You're going to miss our balmy winters.

Wanda laughs. 

WANDA: Ruth sent me a picture of her porch thermometer this morning at ten-thirty. Already ninety on the way to a hundred-and-five, with ninety-two humidity.

DAISY: And that's worse than shoveling the driveway in twenty-below?

WANDA (beat) No, it is not.

DAISY: How cold are Kerrville winters?

WANDA: Thirties occasionally. Infrequently colder and usually warmer.

DAISY: Fireplace.

WANDA: Very preferably. 

DAISY: Big back yard?

WANDA: That would be nice. And a shade tree. I think you would like Kerrville.

Wanda's PHONE RINGTONES an instrumental version of the Townes Van Zandt song, If I Needed You. She gets phone from pocket. Behind them on the trail a JOGGER follows her DOG on a leash.

W(CONT.): You in your room?

Rain yet?

On the bridge bench with Daisy about to head to Centennial to meet Carl and Darlene for dinner.

We'll spend the night, come back after a hike in the morning.

Plenty of picture taking. Loved the Cimarron selfie, by the way.

I love you, too. 

Sweet dreams, sweetheart.

(She pockets phone. Behind them on the trail a MAN rides a bike behind a SMALL BOY on a bike with training wheels.)

DAISY: Where is he staying?

WANDA: Yucca Springs Motel. We've stopped there a couple times. Simple, great Chinese restaurant down the street, window to the skyline.

DAISY: Clem and I stayed in Albuquerque once. Nineteen eighty-five. La Posada de Albuquerque.

WANDA: For how long and for what reason?

DAISY: Two nights, for a wedding. Clem's cousin Darrel's son David. We all took the tram ride to Sandia Peak. I have pictures somewhere. 

(A lull. A FISH SPLASH in the river.)

WANDA: Rainbow.

DAISY: Yep. Ready?

Wanda nods. They rise, walk back to the trail hand in hand.

scene 4 dialogue

scene 3

INT. GREAT ROOM - DAY

Ranch, limestone. Gil reading, aimed at the window to the boys playing catch with a football among the oaks.  Enter Maria.

MARIA: I just remembered Tom and Wanda arrive tomorrow.

GIL: Just Tom.

He marks page, closes book.

GIL(cont.): Wanda stayed back to be with a friend whose husband just passed.

MARIA: Oh. How long will he be here?

GIL: A week or so. Big news.

MARIA: Yeah?

GIL: They're moving down.

MARIA: Down where?

GIL: Kerrville. They and Ruth are going in together. 

MARIA: Living together.

GIL: Yep. Ruth and Tom are going to looky-loo a couple open houses while he's here. 

MARIA: Wow. Time frame?

GIL: Tom and Wanda will put Laramie on the market when they're back from Hawaii. Ruth will list Comfort when her realtor friend is back from Europe in a few weeks.

MARIA: This is great, dad. 

GIL: Yes it is.

She approaches him..

MARIA: Whatcha readin'?

Gil lifts the book to show her it's Foglost.

MARIA: Your guy. When did it come out?

GIL: Sunday.  

MARIA: Silly question but are you liking it?

GIL: Yes.

MARIA: What's it about?

GIL: An alcoholic's demise so far. 

MARIA: Looks like enough pages left for hope.

GIL: We shall see.

MARIA: Going fishing?

GIL: Friday. I knew I forgot to tell you something. 

MARIA: Hmm. Maybe I'll see what Diane is doing.

GIL: She still in Ingram?

MARIA: Yes.    

GIL: How's Brian doing?

MARIA: Great. Just started at Rice on a baseball scholarship.

GIL: That's great. What a turnaround.

MARIA: Took awhile.

GIL: Enough pages left for hope.

She kisses his head.

MARIA: Will Ruth and Tom come by?

GIL: Day after tomorrow.

MARIA: Tamales?

GIL: Terrific. Thank you, sweetheart.

MARIA: What's your guy looking like these days?

Gil shows her the author flap, Hunter's picture and blurb re his other three books.

MARIA: Not much for personal information, is he?

GIL: Seemingly not.

MARIA: But those mountains behind him sure like the Organ Mountains east of Las Cruces.

GIL: They do, don't they?

MARIA: Cute clue, if it is one. And handsome man aging well. 

GIL: Yes.

MARIA: Ready for your haircut when you are.

GIL: Five minutes til end of chapter.

MARIA: I'll Diane and meet you there.

She leaves, he examines author page, opens book to mark. When his PHONE VIBRATES he picks up to see the selfie Tom has sent, standing and saluting in front of the Huey helicopter display at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial near Angel Fire, New Mexico. His cowboy hat shades his eyes but his smile is big. Gil goes to the author flap, compares the two images, finally pockets phone, watches the boys, opens book to mark, reads, turns page.

scene 3 final

INT. TRUCK - DAY

Tom, sporting aviator sunglasses, drives on a two-lane highway surrounded by fenced open grassland and distant hills. Traffic in opposite direction on the other side of a grass median strip. He looks out his window at the rolling freight train that makes a horizon line between earth and blue sky, then out the passenger window at cattle that dot the land beyond a house and barn. A horse's gaze aimed at him from the back of the horse trailer with Colorado plate ahead of him. He turns on the radio to static, punch-tunes it to ending of the Willie Nelson instrumental Bandera, smiles, the song ends, a moment of silence before Glen Campbell's cover of Galveston starts. Tom turns it up, sings along to the end of "sea winds blowing."  

CUT TO: 

INT. GREAT ROOM - DAY

Gil reading Foglost, FAINT WHIR OF CICADAS. The boys kicking soccer ball amidst the oaks.  

silly interlude two scenes a day re Final

"What small thing can I work on today?" indeed. And somedays mileage will vary. Act 3, for example, is for all intents and purposes is done. A day, for context, is generally the hour-and-a-half I have each morning before job clock-in. 

scene 1 final

Decided just now Yes to the bedroom as scene one, following a recent notion to jettison.  

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

TOM and WANDA, mid-70s, sit up in bed, under the covers, in pajamas, reading. Both wear glasses. Curtains closed across the window above the headboard. Lamp, eyeglass case and phone on their respective nightstands. Wanda peruses a Hawaiian Travel brochure. Tom is reading a grey hardcover book we can see is titled Foglost and written by H.C. Hardyn. Wanda turns page.

WANDA: Should we do a luau?

TOM: Well, what is it they say about when you're in Rome?

WANDA: Do as the Romans do.

TOM: Heck, I'm halfway thinkin' about takin' a surfin' lesson.

WANDA: Now that's some halfway thinking alright.

TOM: You think this ol' dog ain't got one more trick in him.

WANDA: I'd pay to see it.

TOM: Won't have to. Got 'em down the beach from our hotel. You just pull up under an umbrella with your mai tai, stick your toes in the sand and watch.

WANDA: Hmm. Maybe I'll take a hula lesson.

TOM: You know I'll be front and center for that.

Tom turns a page.

TOM (cont.): So whaddaya reckon the chances are we'll get lei'd.

Wanda, shocked, sets down the brochure, stares at Tom, who finally looks at her.

WANDA: Thomas Travis Walker, my goodness gracious.

TOM: What? Ain't that what they call them flower necklaces they put around your neck when ya get off the plane. A lei?

Wanda shakes her head.

WANDA: Yes, that's what they're called. But I'm not sure our airline does that.

TOM: Oh.

She returns her attention to the brochure, Tom his to the book.

WANDA: But I feel there's a good chance we will when we get to our hotel.

Tom looks at her, closes book. She looks at him, winks. He smiles. She puts brochure on her nightstand, Tom sets the book on his. 

CUT TO:

SCENE 2

.

Hawaii 1: elements

Thanksgiving.

Sunset.

Hunter, Chloe, Wanda, Ruth, Daisy, Gil, Maria, the boys in island attire.

Tom's ashes in the biodgradeable sea turtle that:

Chloe paddles out with on her surfboard.

The live sea turtle she sees pass beneath her.

Ukulele, Elvis and (Tom and Wanda's ringtone) If I Needed You.

what do we know about 1: John and Jan

We know they both are 70-something and, like their daughter Barbara and granddaughter Chloe, often use "what do do we know about" to introduce a question.

We know from Hunter's mountain meadow exchange with Tom that they are retired attorneys who live in Paso Robles, California. 

We know from their power-walk ballcaps that John went to Stanford and Jan to Cal Berkeley and that there is an old sports coupe in the driveway of their California ranch-tyle home. We know from their drive home from the airport with Barbara and Chloe that they also own a new SUV.

We know from the golf course scene that they play golf. We know from the scene in which we meet them that they, like Barbara and Chloe, play scrabble.   

Timeout

 

House built, now to paint and place furniture and fixtures, decorate, choose countertops, etc., but after a Timeout, aside from some backstory fun and tinkering. Sense of things in place having pushed through some Resistance, blah blah blah. Mornings at Mom's next week to begin Final, finally.      

Other titles: The Symbol of Checking and Stopping, Stoppage, Reposing, Non-action, Stopping

act 4 beats

act 3 beats

58. Next day. Hunter leaves in truck.

59. Hunter driving, radio music.

60. Gil and Maria.

61. Wanda and Ruth, Hunter arrive.

62. Sunset. Chloe with Barbara, Jan and John, re Ruth.

63. Night. H, W, R table talk, photo albums, wine re Gil.

64. H guest room, laptop, screensaver, R and W about the truck. 

65. Hill Country highway, Hunter driving, Wanda and Ruth. Arrive Gil's gate.

66. Gil on deck, sound of truck engine, arrival and intros.

67. Chloe and Barbara.

68. Fort Park. Women in kitchen. 

69. That night. H, W, R, porch with ice cream. Rain and thunder. Hunter's abridged backstory.

70. Gil in den, tequila and Bangkok pics. Enter the boys. 

71. Next morning. Hunter leaving. W and R, matinee at Arcadia and call Daisy.

72. Hunter driving, flat on the flat, abandoned structure as shade, manual in the glove compartment.

73. Chloe movie-maker in her room. 

74. John and Jan, Foglost best-seller, movie deal, selling Las Cruces for ____. John calls Hunter. Hunter at flat, fixed, John's ringtone, phone on seat. Their talk, add Jan, re out there to deliver Chloe's birthday present. End call, DRIVER stops to check on Hunter, re the truck, "my father's, and his before that." In, start engine, drive away.

75. Daisy gets Facetime from Wanda and Ruth.

76. Hunter's guest room, Hunter enter with boots and hat.

77. Doc. Going to Hawaii.

78. Leaving Laramie.

79. Hawaii.

80. Chloe birthday truck.

EPILOGUE: Gil and Hunter fishing.

silly interlude re structure: four acts, not three

 

Other titles: Insight, Understanding

related.

act 3 beats

act 2 beats

43. Hunter dream.

44. Tom reveal.

45. Tell Chloe.

46. Wanda with Daisy gets Hunter's call.

47. Ruth gets Wanda's call.

48. Gil gets Ruth's call.

49. Barbara with Brian, John and Jan gets Hunter's call.

50. Coroner wagon away.

51. Jackie gets Hunter's call.

52. Wanda and Daisy, Laramie airport.

53. Gil picks up Ruth.

54. Hunter and Chloe.

55. Daisy home alone, photo album.

56. Hunter and Doc.

57. Chloe with Barb, John and Jan gets call from Hunter in guest room.

act 2 beats

act 1 beats

21. Next day, truck, Jackie.

22. John and John, found them, Ruth's ancestry site.

23. Rover, last time on a horse.

24. Doc, Foglost, Hunter file, selfie. 

25. Sess and Claire, Rover arrive, intros.

26. Barbara and Brian, Ruth's family tree. 

27. Horses in the pines.

28. Wanda and Daisy, Tom selfie. 

29. Mountain meadow.

30. Ruth places framed Tom selfie.

31. Cuh-lip, cuh-lop, Sierra Blanca.

32. Gil's screensaver is Tom selfie, Maria notices. 

33. Pinus ponderosa, Bonanza, buckle. Claire re Hunter pic for dad.

34. John, Jan, Ruth's tree.

35. Creek and fishing.

36. Brian, his dad and son. 

37. Horses, hay, Honda knot.

38. Claire's dad and mom, Claire's selfie with Hunter.

39. White Sands sunset.

40. Jackie leaves.

41. Tom's Tahoe tale.

42: Tom facetime Ruth and Wanda, guest book. 

act 1 beats

Rubik's Cubing revisited, again (and again)

0. Tom and Wanda in bed, Hawaii.

1. Wanda and Tom, truck, Wyoming plates, Tom leaves, wind chimes.

2. Tom driving cattle country, radio music.

3. Gil, Maria, the boys, Foglost, Tom and Wanda's move.

4. Wanda and Daisy, WYO theatre, urn, Tom's ringtone, room in ABQ.

5. Tom, ABQ motel room sunset, call Ruth/sis.

6. Next day. Tom leave ABQ motel sunrise.

7. Hunter home office, kitchen.

8. Tom Hunter's house. Contact.

9. Tom U-turn.

10. Hunter foyer, doorbell, howdy.

11. Barbara, Jan and John, Hunter's call. 

12. Wanda with Daisy gets Tom's call from Hunter's guest room. 

13. Tom calls Ruth, Fredericskburg and peaches.

14. Tom's home tour.

15. Hunter and Chloe.

16. Gil gets Tom's selfie.

17. Hunter, Tom, Chloe.

18. Barb and Brian, re Tom and Olivia.

19. John and Jan. Middle name.

20. Night. H, T, Ch patio, segue into call Jackie re horse.   

scene 2 location wy hwy 287

CREDITS OVER: 

INT. TRUCK - DAY

Tom driving. 

Cattle question answered.

Add RADIO MUSIC.

timeout

In need of a refreshed perspective before beginning Final. In the meantime throw notes at Baseball Movie

Other titles: Calculated Inaction, Biding One's Time, Nourishment Through Inaction, Waiting for Nourishment

Hilary Barrett:

"You wait for what you need, like a farmer waiting for the weather to change. This is not a passive state; you can dance for rain, influence events by bringing yourself into harmony with the outcome you need. But you cannot force this, you can only attend to it. You will need patience: it may all take much longer than you had imagined." 

related taking much longer than i had imagined.

---------------------

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silly interlude re J.K. Tanner

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