Please Come Now - A Screenplay: Part 8

in fiction •  5 years ago  (edited)

Please Come Now - Part 1
Please Come Now - Part 2
Please Come Now - Part 3
Please Come Now - Part 4
Please Come Now - Part 5
Please Come Now - Part 6
Please Come Now - Part 7

INT. FISHER HOUSE BEDROOM - MORNING

It's about a month since we last saw Jack. His external fixator is gone, replaced by conspicuous scars. His right leg can bend now, sort of. And he looks much healthier.

Sitting in the wheelchair next to his bed, he grabs a pair of crutches leaning against the wall and brings them in front of him.

Slowly, carefully, he slides to the edge of the wheelchair seat, tenses his left leg, grabs the handles of the crutches and forces himself up into an upright position.

He grimaces in pain but the longer he stand the easier it gets.

Linda opens the bathroom door and walks into the room.

LINDA
What are you doing?

JACK
Rachel is taking her first steps today. I told her I'd be there, not in my wheelchair.

LINDA
You just got those yesterday. You're not strong enough.

JACK
I'll make it.

LINDA
Terry said he'd be here around lunchtime, will you be back?

JACK
I think so.

He starts to hobble toward the door on his crutches.

JACK
One way or another.

INT. CENTER FOR THE INTREPID - MORNING

Crutches by his side, Jack sits on a bench near the end of the parallel bars.

Rebecca sits in a wheelchair next to him while a STAFF MEMBER fits a prosthetic limb around what's left of her tibia.

STAFF MEMBER
How does it feel?

RACHEL
Good. I don't feel it rubbing at all.

STAFF MEMBER
Ok. You're ready.

Rachel smiles at Jack and squeezes his hand.

She pulls herself up out of the wheelchair and slowly puts weight on her right foot.

STAFF MEMBER
Stay there for a second. Get a feel for it. Move your weight around a little.

Rachel does as she's told, tentatively testing out the prosthetic.

STAFF MEMBER
Now take a step. Right leg first.

Rachel puts her weight on her good leg and moves the prosthetic forward.

STAFF MEMBER
Use the handrails to keep your balance.

Her prosthetic stops right in front of Jack and she raises up her good leg slowly, letting all of her weight rest upon the prosthetic.

STAFF MEMBER
Hold on. Take it slow.

Rachel shoots Jack a mischievous grin and hops on the prosthetic foot, maintaining her balance with the handrails.
The Staff Member gives Rachel a disapproving look she doesn't see.

She walks to the end of the parallel bars, halting but confident, then turns around and comes back even quicker.

A CROWD OF HALF A DOZEN ONLOOKERS start to applaud.

With a wide smile and tears streaming down her face she collapses back into the wheelchair.

Jack gets up recklessly, dropping his crutches, and gives her a hug in the chair.

She pulls his face away and kisses him hard on the mouth.

Whereupon Jack loses his balance and falls, hard, to the floor.

RACHEL
Oh my god, baby are you ok?

JACK
You did it. I'm so proud of you.

RACHEL
We did it.

She gets out of the chair and joins him on the floor.

INT. FISHER HOUSE BEDROOM - AFTERNOON

Linda is flipping through channels on the television when she hears a knock on the door.

She opens it and there stands Terry - hair cut, clean shaven, and presentable. He has a bag in either hand.

TERRY
Mrs. C, how are you?

LINDA
Terry? My goodness, I hardly recognized you. How have you been?

Terry drops the bags and gives her a quick hug.

TERRY
Good. Sorry about the way I look. Had to go respectable while your son was gone and get a job.

LINDA
Wonderful. What are you doing?

TERRY
Security guard at a strip club. Where do you want these bags?

Linda points to the corner.

LINDA
Over there is fine.

TERRY
I brought socks and underwear and some DVDs and other stuff he had laying around his room. Hope this works.

LINDA
I'm sure it will be fine. He'll be happy to see you.

TERRY
Where is he?

LINDA
He'll be back, but I want to ask you a question first.

TERRY
Shoot.

LINDA
Do you know a woman named Rebecca?

Terry plops on Jack's bed and studies Linda.

TERRY
Yes, I do. They dated about a year ago. Why?

LINDA
Have you seen her? Is she still around?

TERRY
Why are you asking Mrs. C? That was over a long time ago.

LINDA
Jack has been seeing this girl who lives across the hall.

TERRY
All right! Two broken legs and my boy's still got it.

LINDA
They've gotten very close, and I'm quite fond of her. I was just curious about this other girl. Jack never mentioned her at all.

TERRY
I haven't seen her. And honestly, I can’t see them ever getting back together.

LINDA
Ok, thanks Terry.

TERRY
He was miserable when he was with her.

EXT. FISHER HOUSE DECK - NIGHT

Rachel, Terry and Jack sit at a table on the deck. Three beers in front of them. Rachel and Terry's beers are nearly gone, Jack hasn't touched his.

JACK
...we end up in this ditch on the other side of the road, facing the wrong way. Six high school kids in a car with a case of beer and everyone has one open.

TERRY
But this guy did not spill his.

JACK
Nope. After spinning the car on black ice and steering us into a snow filled ditch I didn't lose a drop of my newly opened beer.

TERRY
I love this man.

JACK
We get out of the car in hip deep snow, and this guy grabs everyone's beer, grabs the case and starts walking up the side of this hill.

TERRY
In case the cops showed up.

JACK
While he's doing this I realize there's no way we're pushing this car out. So I decide to walk to the farmhouse down the road and call my dad. As I'm leaving I see dipshit here coming back down the hill. But not in a straight line. No, he's weaving this way and that way in the snow. He gets to the bottom of the hill and I say "Terry, what the hell are you doing?" And he says "I'm making tracks."

TERRY
I'm making tracks.

JACK
He's making tracks.

RACHEL
Please stop saying 'making tracks.'

JACK
That's all he would say. "I'm making tracks."

TERRY
I was a little stoned too.

JACK
This is December, in Minnesota, 10 o'clock at night, pitch black, in hip deep snow. He could have put that beer five feet from the car and nobody would have found it until spring. But he's making tracks.

RACHEL
Did you get the car out?

JACK
As I'm on my way to the farmhouse, someone comes by with a tow strap and helps pull us out. Ask him what happened to the beer.

RACHEL
What happened to the beer?

TERRY
I couldn't find where I hid it. I made too many tracks.

They all double over laughing.

TERRY
Speaking of beer, who needs another? Jack you haven't touched yours.

JACK
Percocet and beer don't mix.

RACHEL
I'm fine, in fact I should get to bed, it's late.

Rachel gives Jack a kiss and grabs her crutches before standing up.

RACHEL
Nice to meet you Terry.

TERRY
You take care of him. He's a good man.

RACHEL
He is taking care of me.

JACK
Night babe.

Rachel makes her way to the door of the Fisher House and goes inside.

TERRY
She's a great girl. You got real lucky this time.

JACK
Have you seen her?

Terry looks at him for a long moment.

TERRY
You're not the first person to ask me about her today.

JACK
My mother.

TERRY
She was curious.

JACK
What did you tell her?

TERRY
Nothing.

JACK
Have you seen her?

TERRY
Yes.

JACK
And?

TERRY
Still wearing a wedding ring. Still living in the same house with her husband and their two boys.

JACK
Is she happy?

TERRY
How the fuck am I supposed to know? Are you insane? Did you see the girl who just kissed you and went to bed?
Jack leaned forward, grabbed his untouched beer from the table and took a long swig.

TERRY (CON'T)
Get Rebecca out of your head. You had your shot. She chose her husband.

JACK
Maybe if I'd taken your advice, maybe if I'd told her to dump him...

TERRY
Take my advice now. Knock on Rachel's door, tell her you love her and never let her go.

INT. FISHER HOUSE - NIGHT

Jack steadies himself on his crutches in front of Rachel's door and knocks softly.

The door opens and Rachel, smiling, motions him into the room.

INT. RACHEL'S ROOM - NIGHT

Rachel and Jack lie naked together in bed. Jack on his back, Rachel's head on his chest.

She runs a hand down to his right leg and touches it gently.

RACHEL
Did I hurt you?

JACK
No. I mean, I don't think so. It felt so good I didn't notice.

RACHEL
Good. I need to get the hang of one-legged sex, we should practice more.

JACK
Rachel, I love you.

She props herself up on one elbow and looks him straight in the eye.

RACHEL
I love you Jack.

Please Come Now - Part 9

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