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1 EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT Sold sign is posted in front of a house. SHOT OF SIGN. CUT TO: 2 INT. HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - SAME NIGHT The house is empty except for Bekins boxes which are packed. They are all over the rooms. The CAMERA SLOWLY MOVES IN AND AROUND the boxes until we REACH the bedroom. 3 INT. BEDROOM The bed is the only piece of furniture left. The CAM- ERA STOPS. In front of the bed is a small black-and- white television. In bed are DAVID and NANCY HOWARD. Nancy is rolled over on her side. David is lying on his back with his eyes wide open. DAVID Nancy? Nancy? NANCY What? DAVID Sleeping? NANCY Yes. DAVID Maybe we shouldn't move. NANCY (sitting up) Oh God. What's the matter now? DAVID Nothing. It's just time to ask these questions. NANCY No. We've sold our house and bought another one. These questions should have been asked before. DAVID Okay, fine. I can't talk to you. Good night. David pretends like he's actually going to go to sleep. NANCY (in a monotone; obvi- ously she's had to say this many times before) Stop it. You're nervous about tomorrow. You'll get your promotion, don't worry. We'll move into our new house and we'll be happy, okay? DAVID Boy, you should hear yourself. The excitement in your voice just fills the room. NANCY Look, I'm tired. Stop questioning. We made a wise decision. Let's try and feel good about it, alright? DAVID Fine. NANCY Good night. DAVID Good night. Nancy tries to go back to sleep. David just lies there. DAVID (continuing) But why that house? NANCY What? DAVID I think it's too close to here. It's going to feel like the same place. Maybe we really didn't think about this long enough. NANCY We thought about it forever. We wanted more space. That house has more space. DAVID Yes, but the point of a house is not just space. You can rent space. Maybe we should've moved into a completely different neighborhood, a step up or something. Maybe we should've gotten a house with a tennis court. NANCY Why? We don't play tennis. DAVID Sure we don't play tennis. We don't have a court. When you have a court, you learn. NANCY Well, possibly some day, we'll have a court and then we can learn. DAVID Let me ask you one more question? Why did we let Bekins do all of our packing? NANCY What? DAVID Isn't that a waste of money? We could've packed ourselves. Maybe we were too irresponsible. NANCY I don't believe you. One minute you want a tennis court, the next minute you're worried about Bekins packing a box? My God. Sometimes I wish we really were irresponsible. DAVID What does that mean? NANCY Nothing. Look, get some sleep, okay? You'll feel better. DAVID Don't assume how I'm feeling. What do you mean "nothing"? If you're saying we should be more irresponsible, I imagine you mean we're too responsible? Is that right? NANCY Well, sometimes I think that we are too controlled, yes. DAVID Oh, I see. Well, tell me something? How do you go out and buy a four-hundred-thousand- dollar house and let a moving company pack everything and get maids and servants and live the good life and not be controlled? NANCY What are you talking about? DAVID It doesn't matter what I'm talking about. David gets up. He takes his pillow with him. DAVID (continuing) I'm going to sleep in the garage. NANCY Don't do that. DAVID Why not? I'm responsible. I should be guarding the car. NANCY You're insane. DAVID (yelling from the kitchen) You're right. I am insane. I am insane and I'm responsible. A very, very good combination. We STAY in the bedroom with Nancy. She lies there. Her eyes are open. She's staring straight ahead. She looks sad. After a moment, David reappears at the door. DAVID I am not an animal. NANCY What? DAVID I am not an animal. I will not sleep in the garage. NANCY Just come to bed. Come on. DAVID (sitting down on the bed) I apologize, okay? But don't call me names. NANCY What names? DAVID You know what names. Calling me responsible is saying what? That I'm closed up. I'm old. I'm stodgy. That's not fair. I don't like the way things are any more than anybody else does but what am I supposed to do? I'm trying. What about you? You're as responsible as I am. Personnel Director for a department store is not the most irresponsible job in the world. Go hire anyone you want. Think you'd be fired fast if you did that? How much freedom do you have? We're all in the same boat. We're trying to make something of ourselves and it's hard. Okay? NANCY You're very upset. I'm sorry I used that word. DAVID No, I'm glad you used that word. It's honest but things are going to get better. They're going to change. NANCY You always say that. DAVID Yes, but this time it's different. After tomorrow I'm no longer an employee, I'm a Vice President. I'll be my own boss. I'll have a piece of the company. You see what I mean? I can be more irresponsible because I'll be in a position of responsibility. That makes sense, doesn't it? NANCY I don't know. I guess it does. Good night. DAVID Okay, go to sleep. Nancy and David both lie down, each facing the oppo- site direction. After a few seconds... DAVID (continuing) It does make sense and things will work out, don't you think so? No answer. DAVID (continuing) Nancy? No answer. DAVID (continuing) Asleep already? No answer. DAVID (continuing) Maybe men are supposed to fall asleep last. It could be a protective thing. CUT TO: 4 INT. BATHROOM - NEXT MORNING David is brushing his teeth. He stops for a minute and looks in the mirror. He starts talking, pretend- ing the face he's seeing is the one of his boss. DAVID What can I say? I'd be a liar if I tell you I'm surprised. I do feel it's deserved but yes, I still am flattered... That's very nice. Thank you... Oh, stop, please. I've never been good at taking too many compliments at once... Well, I feel the same way about you. Nancy walks in during this. She watches him for a bit. NANCY (interrupting him) What are you doing? DAVID (caught off guard) Why? Nothing. NANCY Who are you talking to? DAVID I'm not talking to anybody. What is it? NANCY I'm leaving now. Mr. Taft will be there in twenty minutes. Please be on time. DAVID Wait a second. I can't do this today. I can't choose tiles. This is my big day. Please? You do it. NANCY We're trying to do this together. I think it's important. DAVID I'm very nervous and it's your kitchen anyway. You'll make the right choice. NANCY You're in the kitchen more than I am. DAVID But I'm not thinking about anything when I'm in the kitchen. I don't really care. NANCY We said we would make these decisions together. DAVID Come on. It's just today. NANCY (exasperated, turn- ing around and leaving) Fine. DAVID Please don't be mad. NANCY I'm not mad. After a moment, she comes back in. NANCY (continuing) Good luck. You'll get it. You deserve it. Nancy exits. DAVID Thank you. And I trust any decision you make. You have great taste. There's no answer. DAVID (continuing; call- ing after her) Really, you have great taste. (turns back around to the mirror) I'm sorry. That was my wife... Yes, she has wonderful taste. She's going to choose the whole tile thing herself. Originally, we were going to do it together but it's nice to be able to trust someone, don't you think?... Well, that's very nice. I trust you, too. Hey!... When our house is finished maybe you'd like to come over and play tennis... No, but we might put one in. CUT TO: 5 EXT. WILSHIRE BLVD. OFFICE BUILDING - DAY We see David pulling into the garage. CUT TO: 6 INT. MAJOR ADVERTISING AGENCY - DAY David is walking down the corridor towards his office. He's saying "Hello"'s to various people. He comes to his own office. There we see his secretary, SUSAN, on the telephone. Obviously, she's making a personal call and she hangs up abnormally fast as soon as she sees David. DAVID Morning. SUSAN Good morning. Your meeting is in forty-five minutes. DAVID Oh my God. What time is it now? SUSAN Ten-thirty. DAVID Okay. (thinking aloud) Ten-thirty, eleven, eleven-fifteen ... okay. Susan, don't let any calls in. I don't want to be bothered. I don't want to do any business. I just want to prepare. David walks into his office. After a beat, he sticks his head out. DAVID (continuing) Oh yes. Get me Valley Mercedes, will you? CUT TO: 7 INT. ROBINSON'S DEPARTMENT STORE We FOLLOW Nancy as she's walking through the department store. She comes to her office. Her office is on the third floor in the corner with the other business offi- ces. Her friend, PATTY, who works with her, is in the office next door. All offices are separated by glass partitions. Nancy comes in and sits down. Patty sees her and enters. PATTY Hi. Nancy looks up from her desk. NANCY Hi. PATTY Is it beautiful? NANCY What? PATTY The kitchen. What does it look like? NANCY (half-heartedly) I chose an orange tile. PATTY Orange? NANCY A burnt orange. PATTY Sounds pretty. NANCY Patty, close the door. Patty closes the door and sits down. PATTY What's the matter? NANCY I'm going to hate this house. PATTY What are you talking about? NANCY When the contractor left this morning, I was all alone there and I sat in the middle of the living room and I got so sad. I got this preview of the next ten years, I just started shaking. Patty just stares at her. She knows that Nancy is serious. NANCY (continuing) I'm so unhappy. I don't like anything anymore. I don't like my job. I don't like my life. I don't like anything. I feel dead. PATTY What do you mean? NANCY Nothing's changing. I'm not growing. David's not growing. We've just stopped. Life is passing us by. PATTY Listen, you've had a tough week. With the moving and everything you're very tired. When you get tired you feel bad. Things seem worse. NANCY I'm not that tired. Do you know I've been hiring girls who are nineteen years old, who've already had more experience out of life than I have? PATTY You don't know that. You can't tell what a person has experienced just by interviewing them. NANCY Okay. Let's forget it. I really haven't thought this through enough. I don't want to discuss it now. Let's get to work. PATTY No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say the wrong thing. Have you talked this over with David? NANCY Of course not. That's the problem. I can't talk anything over with him. It's hopeless. PATTY Are you thinking of splitting up? NANCY Well, that's not my first choice but what's the alternative? And I'm not blaming David. I know he genuinely believes that being made Vice President is going to change things. But he genuinely believed that every promotion would change things. It never does. Maybe for a few days, but that's it. Then things are always the same. PATTY Well, this is vice president. Maybe this time it will change. NANCY And what if it won't? PATTY Then it won't. Then you get divorced, I don't know. Whatever you have to do. NANCY Oh, God. Maybe it will. PATTY It will or it won't. NANCY Okay. I'm starting to feel sick to my stomach. Thanks for talking to me. Let's just say maybe it will. PATTY (standing up) Good. Because if it won't, it won't anyway so what can you do? NANCY We said we'd stop on "will." PATTY We did. We've stopped. It will. Patty hesitantly backs out of Nancy's office. PATTY (continuing) It will. It will work out. Nancy stares straight ahead. She looks very depressed. CUT TO: 8 INT. DAVID'S OFFICE He is writing at his desk talking on the telephone. He's writing down figures. DAVID Oh, then tax, license, out-the- door, everything included, what are we talking about?... Thirty- six thousand, five hundred and twelve. Jesus! For a car... No, I know, a Mercedes. It's still a car... Well, I don't care. To me, if it has wheels, it's a car. But that's not the point. Now, that's everything, right? That's it? You don't have to pay that money and then be told that there are options? No extras, everything included... Come on! - For thirty- seven thousand, leather is extra? What kind of seats are in there?... What is Mercedes Leather?... So, why don't you just say vinyl?... Okay, thick vinyl, but it's still vinyl... Okay, these kind of semantic arguments are silly. The BUZZER RINGS. DAVID (continuing) Just a moment. (presses the intercom) Yes? SUSAN It's eleven ten. DAVID Thank you. Susan, I have another one of these Mercedes guys on the phone, he won't hang up. Would you do something with him please? David hangs up. He stands and walks over to a small mirror. He straightens his tie, fixes his jacket and carries on one more little conversation with himself as the boss. DAVID (continuing) What can I say? I guess, thank you... Oh, no. I can't take your office. This is too nice. Where would you sit?... Well, you are a very generous man. He smiles and exits his office. 9 INT. OUTER OFFICE SUSAN (still on the phone) No! We will call you back. (she hangs up) What a strange job to be arrogant in. DAVID I know. SUSAN Good luck. Don't worry, you've got it. DAVID Thanks, Susan. We FOLLOW David as he rounds the corners of this large building on the way to Paul Dunn's office. With each step, he is ready to accept this new responsibility. He stops at his boss's secretary, MARGARET, a woman in her older forties, a true executive type. MARGARET Well, you look very nice. DAVID Thank you and so do you, Margaret. MARGARET Go on in. DAVID Thanks. David enters. CUT TO: 10 INT. PAUL DUNN'S OFFICE PAUL DUNN is one of the heads of the advertising agency. He certainly holds the top position on the West Coast. His office is large. It smells of success. Obviously, this is a man who has made a great deal of money and spent it where people can see it. As David enters, he sees Paul sitting behind his desk and a baldheaded gentleman, BRAD TOOLEY, seated on the couch. Brad Tooley is in his early forties, very well-dressed in the upper Eastern advertising establishment manner. As David comes in, Brad and Paul both get up. PAUL (his hand out- stretched) Hello, David. How are you? DAVID I'm fine. I'm excited. PAUL Me too. DAVID That's wonderful. PAUL David, I'd like you to meet Brad Tooley. DAVID Brad, it's a pleasure. David and Brad shake hands. PAUL Brad has recently joined the agency in New York. He was one of the best men at Doyle, Dane and Bernbach. We were lucky to get him. DAVID Well, that's exciting. They all sit down again. David doesn't know quite what to make of the fact that Brad is in this meeting. He just assumes this is part of the ceremony of being made vice president. PAUL David, I don't have to tell you what I think of you. You know I feel you're one of the most creative people in this company. I was telling Brad earlier the accounts you've been responsible for. BRAD Very impressive. The Knudsen Orange Juice campaign was one of the best I've ever seen. Ever. DAVID (he smiles; he's in his glory) Well, thank you. PAUL Brad has joined this company for a very special reason. David, we're going to get Ford. David, now thinking of himself as the vice president, realizes that Ford is an account of such proportion, that the profit participation could be enormous. His eyes widen. DAVID Oh, my God! That's wonderful! PAUL Well, it finally puts us at the top of the heap. DAVID I'm stunned. When did this happen? PAUL Just in the last few days. You're really the first to know out here. We didn't want to say anything until it was final. DAVID That's wonderful. Just wonderful. God, what a week. What a week for all of us. PAUL It certainly is. Now, David... DAVID (interrupts) Paul, you don't have to say anything. As the new vice president, I know what this means to the company. I'm here twenty-four hours a day. PAUL David, you're too valuable to become vice president. I'd like you to move to New York and work under Brad. You two are going to be in charge of Ford. You're going to have to hurry, though. You start in three weeks. David is not quite sure what he's just heard. He thinks maybe he's heard a compliment. He's heard a name of a city, a car, some weeks, but he hasn't put it together. He needs to hear it again. DAVID Wait a second. You gave me too much information. I'm valuable and I'm vice president? PAUL No, David. I've hired Paul Shubano as vice president. DAVID What? BRAD He's giving you quite a compliment, David. I asked him for the best man he had and he didn't hesitate for a moment. DAVID He didn't? Well, I don't want to move to New York. PAUL What? DAVID I want to be the vice president. I want to be a stockholder in this company. It was promised to me. I don't mind working on Ford. Don't get me wrong. I think it would be a joy to work on but I'll work on it as vice president. I've been here eight years, Paul. I don't want to be transferred to just another account. PAUL This is not "just another" account, David. BRAD It's Ford. DAVID Brad, I know it's Ford. I've owned Fords, okay? Now, Paul, I feel it's only fair to keep your promise. PAUL I didn't promise you anything. DAVID Wait a minute. What about these lunches that we've been having for the last four years? I believe we talked about grooming me for vice president. Phil Shubano's been here only three years. Why? PAUL Well, first of all, quite frankly, he's not as clever as you. He's more of an executive type. DAVID Oh, great. I think that's wonderful. So, by being extra clever, I get thrown out of the town that I live in, with no promotion, no nothing, and just shifted to another account. He, on the other hand, because of his low intelligence and short time with the company stays here, gets a large amount of stock and becomes vice president. Well, that makes sense! PAUL You keep referring to this as "another account." It's not. It's Ford. DAVID Why don't you stop saying that? You sound like Dinah Shore. Now, damn it, look, this isn't fair. (stops for a minute; begins to laugh) Paul, if I'm working myself up and this is a joke, I'll kill you. Are they going to burst in here and say, "Surprise!"? Goddamnit. You almost had me fooled! PAUL No one's bursting in here, David. I'm offering you something very big. DAVID No one's bursting in here? PAUL No. DAVID No? Oh God. But, wait a minute, I'm vice president, right? PAUL No. DAVID Yes! PAUL No. DAVID Stop saying no! Just a minute. I can't go to New York. This is my home. My wife and I live here. I just bought a four-hundred thousand dollar house. I'm picking tile out at this very moment. What am I going to do? Burn it down? PAUL Don't worry about that, please? You won't lose a penny on the house. We'll take care of it. I think Ford is more important than a single family dwelling, anyway. We'll get you more than you paid for it. The important thing is that you and Brad get along. DAVID Me and Brad get along? Are you crazy? I've worked here eight years, for what? For me and Brad to get along? I was born in this city. All my friends are here. I like it. We're joking, aren't we? This is a joke. PAUL What do you mean, a joke? DAVID What do you mean, a joke? PAUL I didn't say a joke. DAVID I'm going to New York City? PAUL I'd like you there in three weeks. DAVID Oh, you would? PAUL This can be a stepping stone to something bigger, David. DAVID What's bigger than being vice president? That's all I want. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think I've already stepped on every stone we have here, haven't I? PAUL Well, someday you might be vice president. DAVID Someday? What do you mean? It's today. I've got it! PAUL You don't have it. DAVID Who has it? PAUL David, I can't say this again. Phil Shubano. DAVID Well, obviously, I'm blocking this man's name, aren't I? BRAD David, I don't know all of your work, but I do know you've got to be the best here or you wouldn't be working with me on this account. DAVID Brad, shut up! Don't talk! This is my day. Paul, look what you're doing. I've been with this company a very, very long time. I'm one of the oldest employees on this coast, aren't I? Now, I must get what I deserve. I will be made vice president and I will get the stock and I will participate in the ownership of the company and that's that. PAUL My God, I thought you'd be thrilled. DAVID You thought I'd be thrilled? I can't believe it. Why the hell don't you go to New York? If it's so thrilling, come on, I'll take you to the airport. I'll put you on a plane right now. PAUL Don't talk to me like that. I came from New York. DAVID Yeah, that's right and you don't want to go back because as soon as you land at the airport, people steal everything you've got. BRAD I resent that. That's a cliché. New York's the greatest city there is. DAVID Sit down. Just sit down and shut up. PAUL David, that's enough. DAVID No. I haven't even started yet. Now listen, let's say a giant mistake was made. Pretend none of this was ever said. I'm the vice president. Everything will be fine. I'll stay here. I'll work on Ford. I'll move into my new house. You and Brad can come over for drinks. And now, let's bring out Allen Funt and everybody will yell, "Surprise," right? I'm vice president, right? PAUL David, the position is filled. DAVID Well, then you can go fuck yourself! BRAD (gets up) Paul, I can't work with this man. PAUL I can't either. David, you're fired. DAVID Fired! How dare you? I can't believe this! You want to know something? I was nervous about coming in here today. I said to my friends, "Maybe I won't get this." You know what everyone of them said? "Stop it. You're being stupid. You're the best man. There's no one else. You're the best man." And what does the best man do? He stands next to the groom and watches the groom become vice president! PAUL I can see you're upset. I'll forget what you said earlier. I don't think you want to jeopardize eight years with this company. DAVID Fuck you! PAUL That's it. Get out. DAVID I wasted my youth for you and for what? What do you mean jeopardize eight years? What eight years? All I did was live for the future. Why didn't you tell me a long time ago that I was too clever? You should have told me five years ago, then I could've gone somewhere else. PAUL I didn't know it five years ago. DAVID Don't say anything else. I'll kill you. PAUL (presses a buzzer) Get me security, please. DAVID Oh, I can't believe it. Security. Okay, listen to me. I want my eight years back! Give me my life back! I want my eight years back! Give them to me! Paul stares at him. Brad gets up. BRAD I'm going back to the hotel. David, you're making a big mistake. DAVID You don't even know me, you baldheaded fart! Brad stares at him and then walks out. He turns back to Paul. DAVID (continuing) I can't believe that I almost wasted my entire life here! I've been waiting very, very patiently and I realize now what would've happened. This would've gone on for years and years and years and when I was seventy, I would've gotten a watch. Actually you wouldn't even have given me a watch. You would've told me I was too clever, that I would instinctively know the time. You know something, Paul? I made fun of my friends who dropped out of college and went to "find themselves." I told them they were stupid. I laughed at them. And what did I do? I went with you. Good choice, wasn't it? What did I get for doing that? A transfer. I could've gotten that from a bus. You're a human bus, Jesus Christ! You liar! I don't know where those drop-outs are today, but I've got to find them! I owe them a big apology. 'Cause let me tell you something. They have more integrity on their little tab of acid than you have in your entire body, you big fucking jerk! A security guard enters. PAUL (stands up) Would you escort Mr. Howard out, please? DAVID He doesn't have to escort me out. I'm honored to leave. David opens the office door. He begins to yell so everyone can hear him. This is reminiscent of the scene from "Network." DAVID (continuing) Before I leave, I think it's very important for everyone in this company to know what went on in here today. I don't know how many lunches you've all had with that man and I don't know what he's said over salad or dessert or whatever he buys you, but you better not believe it! He's a real smoothie! He'll tell you about the stepping stones! That's his favorite expression. He'll tell you about the stepping stones and where they lead. Well, I found out where they lead! To a baldheaded fat man in New York! Get out! Get out now! Smell the roses! Smell anything! Just smell! Smell before it's too late!! The office is applauding wildly. We HOLD on them for a second. CUT TO: 11 BEVERLY HILLS ROBINSON'S DEPT. STORE - DAY David's car enters the parking lot at high speed. The car screeches to a halt. He jumps out. CUT TO: 12 INT. ROBINSON'S MAIN FLOOR David walks hurriedly towards the elevators oblivious to the others. CUT TO: 13 INT. J.W. ROBINSON'S - DAY David is walking towards the personnel office. We've never seen him like this before. He's alive. He's got more than bounce in his step. It's as if he weighs 12 pounds. He's on another planet. He's smiling at every- body. He has the look of a "Re-born." As he enters the personnel department, he sees Nancy in her office. Because Nancy's office is separated from the others by a thin piece of glass, if you speak too loudly everyone can hear. David is not about to lower his voice. He has no concept anymore of volume. He's just too excited. David bursts in. DAVID Nancy! Nancy looks up. NANCY God, you scared me. DAVID Nancy, come here. (he pulls her up by her shoulders) Quit. Quit, right now. We're getting out. NANCY What? DAVID Now. Quit. NANCY Quit? DAVID Now. Come on. I did. Now, you do it. NANCY You did? You quit your job? DAVID Surprised, aren't you? You wouldn't have believed me. You would've loved it. No more me. No more waiting. No more responsible David. Jesus, they were leading me down a dead-end street! I've been on the wrong road. I realize what you meant. I've been too responsible. So responsible, God! I've been responsibly blind! NANCY I never would've used the word responsible if I thought you would have taken it so literally. It was just a word. I really didn't mean anything by it. DAVID Stop. Don't do this. Don't. I'm giving you the credit. You did mean it and you were right. I don't know where the hell I've been for the last ten years. What happened to me? I lost the feeling of life. Jesus, I was being jacked off. Nancy, they were just jacking me off! David's voice is a bit loud. We can see people look from other offices. NANCY Honey, shh. (whispering) A little lower, please? DAVID (whispering) Okay. They were jacking me off. (his voice starts to rise again) They were leading me down this road. You know, this road? NANCY What road? DAVID The road to nowhere. You know the road. The Nowhere Road. I was being tugged along with this carrot. "Come here. Come here. Come here." But no one told me it was a fucking cul-de-sac! We've been on the wrong road. NANCY Who was made vice president? DAVID (laughing it off) Oh, Nancy, that's all over now. That's kid's stuff. (in a childlike voice) Vice President. Class Secretary. Cloakroom Monitor. Treasurer. They're all stupid. (regular voice) If you really want to know who it was, it was Phil Shubano. NANCY No! Why? DAVID We'll never know. The Lord works in mysterious ways, but if there is a God, you know what will happen to Phil? He'll get his profit sharing and he'll buy a boat with it and he'll crash the boat and die. NANCY Stop it. You like Phil. You don't mean that. DAVID Of course I like him, the under- qualified son-of-a-bitch. Okay, I was harsh. He'll crash the boat. He'll have a serious injury but he'll recover. But forget about Phil! Forget about the vice presidency! That's the past. Nancy, it's time to do it. We're still young. We can change courses. We can do what we should've done years ago, what our smart friends did. We can get out there. We can get out and see this country. We can find out what it's about. We can touch Indians. We can live in the mountains. We can do anything we want to do. And we're still young enough to really explore. So come on, let's go. We're late. I'll wait here. Go quit. Come on. We're leaving. NANCY I can't just quit right now. DAVID (looking at her with a lust we haven't seen before) Oh, God, I want to fuck you. Come on. Let's fuck, right here. Nancy is trying, without success, not to call anymore attention to this particular discussion. NANCY (lowered voice) We can do it later. There's a lot of people around now. DAVID There's always going to be people around. That was the problem. We lived for them, not for us. It's okay. There are some people you want to fuck in front of and some people you don't. Maybe you don't want to fuck in front of these people, I don't mind. I'll be outside. You quit. I'll wait! NANCY I can't quit now, even if I want to. There is no one I can quit to. My boss is not here. We'll talk more about it tonight, please? DAVID Okay, but we're saved. Honey, we're saved. Somebody up there likes us. I don't know who it is, but we're going to find them. We'll find everybody who likes us. We'll start finding people who understand what life is all about. We'll find people who are really searching. We'll find people who are willing to take a chance. Look, I'll just get all excited and get into it all again. You go and finish what you have to do and then I'll see you tonight. David exits. Nancy watches him go. She's expressionless. She doesn't quite know what to make of this. You can sense that part of her thinks that maybe her prayers were answered, maybe this is how the marriage can be saved. You can also sense that part of her isn't sure her husband is sane. Maybe this won't last more than an hour and you can sense the last part of her is still embarrassed that the other employees she works with have heard words like "fuck" and "jacking off." This is a woman of many parts. CUT TO: 14 INT. THE HOWARD'S HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT David and Nancy are sitting on the floor. They're surrounded by various maps, atlases and cata- logues that show different pieces of property around the United States, property that most people forget even exist. These places look amazing in their little pictures and, in fact, they might be amazing. It's just that almost no one ever gets there to see them for real. The longer Nancy has a chance to see what her husband is saying, the more excited she becomes. NANCY (looking in one of the catalogues) Look at this. This is the cutest farmhouse I've ever seen. Twenty- four acres near Darien, Connecticut, five bedrooms, eighty thousand dollars? How could that be? DAVID Because it's there. It's not here. We're used to this city. You know what our new house would cost, if it were where this farmhouse was? Not four hundred thousand, maybe sixty thousand if we were lucky. Nancy is still looking at pages in the catalogue. She stops at one picture. She is fascinated. NANCY My God. Look at this. A converted lighthouse in Maine, fifty-five thousand, two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a playroom. How do you put this into a lighthouse? DAVID Well, maybe you go to Maine and find out. Or you don't. You do anything you want. Nancy, look at this... He opens a piece of paper, showing her the arithmetic he has worked on all afternoon. DAVID (continuing) This seems to make sense to me. You tell me what you think. The one good thing about spending all this time in Los Angeles was that we got a free ride on this bullshit inflation train. Don't ask me how it happened, but we made a hundred and ninety thousand dollar profit by staying in this house for less than five years. Now, that was money we were never going to see 'cause we were about to put it back into another stupid house. Okay. We pull out of that house, we lose our fifteen thousand dollars in Escrow, we take the money from this house, we liquidate everything else we have, cars, stocks, bonds, everything... Nancy, we have two hundred thousand dollars! NANCY We couldn't. DAVID We do. David shows her the figures. As Nancy looks at the piece of paper, he continues: DAVID (continuing) All we need to buy is a motor home and we should get a great one because we might live there for the rest of our lives, or for five years or ten years or whatever. NANCY What do you think a motor home costs? DAVID Guess who went motor home shopping? We can get a great one for twenty- five thousand dollars. If there's one thing you can get a deal on it's a motor home. This is the best time in history to drop out. It's a buyer's market! NANCY So that would leave us a hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. I can't believe it! DAVID Yes! On that kind of money we could ramble across the country for years! We can paint, we can explore, we can meet amazing people. NANCY And if we get to Connecticut and we like one of these farmhouses, we'd have enough money to put a down payment on it, wouldn't we? DAVID Yes! Then if we get sick of that we could sell it and move on. NANCY I'd like to go to Alaska. DAVID Great! Alaska's great! We can do anything we want. NANCY This is what we talked about when we were nineteen! DAVID Yes. We talked about finding ourselves but we laughed it off because we had no money. Now we can do it in comfort. We've got our nest egg. This is a dream come true. Nancy has a tear in her eye. David sees it. DAVID (continuing) What's wrong? Are you okay? NANCY We really can do whatever we want to, can't we? DAVID Who's stopping us? Nancy stares. She thinks about that question. She can't come up with an answer. Finally, almost in tears. NANCY Nobody's stopping us! CUT TO: 15 INT. PETE HIRSCH'S HOME - NIGHT PETE HIRSCH is one of David's former associates at the agency. He and his wife are throwing a party for David and Nancy, a final farewell gathering. There are people milling about, talking, general good cheer. David and Nancy are the heroes of the evening. In the corner of the room is a huge cake. The CAMERA MOVES ABOUT, PICKING UP various bits of conversation. PATTY You look very happy. You look so good. I'm happy for you. NANCY I know you are. She gives Patty a hug. An older, dignified-looking man, JACK MARTIN and his wife, CAROL, approach Nancy. Obvi- ously, he's an executive at Robinson's. JACK MARTIN Well, well. NANCY I didn't know you were going to come. JACK MARTIN (he gives her a paternal hug) One employee we are certainly going to miss. CAROL (to Nancy) I think it sounds wonderful. CUT TO: 16 INT. OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM A group of men are gathered around David. One of David's friends at work, JIM, is speaking: JIM You were great. Man, it was great. It was like "Network" and "Take This Job and Shove It," all rolled into one. When you left, we all wanted to go with you. Really. People really had to think for a minute. They were ready to leave. DAVID Did anyone else leave? JIM No. I mean after a few minutes, people just went back to work, but for the moment, it was real exciting. DAVID Well, when the time's right, if people want to leave, they will. JIM Of course. I believe that. I got to be honest with you, though. I was thinking about my situation and I don't think I have the guts. DAVID I don't know that it's guts. It just takes a certain kind of person. JIM Yeah, maybe it has nothing to do with guts. 'Cause I think I have guts. I guess I'm not that kind of person. Let's say that I like expensive things and I guess I need my job to get what I like. DAVID Whatever makes you happy. JIM Right. I guess expensive things make me happy. These shoes make me happy. Do you like them? He shows David his shoes. They look very expensive. For a moment, David forgets he will no longer partic- ipate in this world. DAVID Beauties. What are they? Bally's? JIM A Bally copy. Bally's would be three hundred bucks. These were a hundred and eighty. Can't tell the difference. The sole's just as thick. Look, feel the sole. DAVID (starts to touch the bottom of his shoe and then stops) No, I don't know where you've been, Jim. I don't want to touch your shoe. They're beautiful. Good thick sole. Nancy calls across the room to David. NANCY Honey? David walks over and recognizes one of her bosses, Jack Martin. DAVID Hello, Jack. How are you? JACK Daniel Boone, as I live and breathe. Dan, you know my wife, Carol. DAVID (shakes hands) Hi, Carol. JACK So, Mr. Boone, you leave in the morning, uh? DAVID Let's call me David from now on. Just for old times sake. JACK Oh, come on, I'm just playing with you. Listen, I'll tell you something. What you and your wife are doing, well, it's wonderful. Carol and I were driving over here tonight, and talking seriously about breaking the mold ourselves. DAVID Really? JACK You bet. We haven't been that happy lately. Have we, honey? How can a person respond to this? Carol just stares at him. JACK (continuing) I told her, if I can get some time off, we're going to try to get down to La Costa for a weekend and just let it all out. David now realizes that breaking the "mold" has many different meanings to different people. DAVID La Costa? For a whole weekend, huh? That's great. JACK That's if I can get away. If not, at least for an afternoon. Just the idea of getting to San Diego, maybe take in Sea World. Anyway, did Nancy tell you what Robinson's plans to do? DAVID Actually we haven't talked too much about American business lately. JACK Well, there is a rumor and I would appreciate you not telling anyone this, but our store may just be buying up the May Company. This is just the kind of expansion that can make a man like me very, very wealthy. DAVID Well, if it's good for you, I'm real happy. JACK Well, let's just say it could make me a million dollars, minimum. But, David, please keep this down. God, I probably shouldn't have said anything. DAVID Jack, we're not going to be around people who will care. I promise you. I don't think a guide at the Grand Canyon knows or cares too much about the acquisition of a department store in L.A. JACK You want a surprise? You want to know about the Grand Canyon and business? The 7-Eleven at the Grand Canyon does more volume business per year than any other 7-Eleven in the country, especially around Muscular Dystrophy time. DAVID Well, that's good to know. JACK I think it has something to do with the hiking and the tragedy of the children who can't hike. I don't know, but last year they did two million, eight-hundred thousand. Now, of course, there are no other quickie stores around so they have a good one there. A lot of people moving in and out of that canyon. Have you seen these new U-Tote-M stores? DAVID Jack, I don't want to be rude but I can't talk business anymore. I hate to sound "sixties" to you but I'm in a different place. JACK Hey, I understand. I remember the sixties. As a matter of fact, the concept of U-Tote-M is a sixties concept. See, the 7-Eleven is a rush-rush place. U-Tote-M is lay-back. Their store in Tarzana this year is going to gross almost... DAVID (interrupts) Jack, please? Pete Hirsch yells from across the room. PETE I'd like to make a toast. People mumble, "Great." "Good." "It's about time." Everybody gathers around. People raise their glasses up. PETE (continuing) To our beautiful friends, David and Nancy Howard... Good luck! He drinks. DAVID That's it, huh? What a well thought out toast. Thank you, Pete. People laugh. Scattered laughter around the room. DAVID (continuing) Well, I think it's time for me to say something right now. We hear a little applause. "Speech! Speech!" DAVID (continuing; calling Nancy over) Sweetheart, would you come here? David and Nancy stand together, arm-in-arm. DAVID (continuing) I have a surprise for my wife and I would like to share it, not only with her, but with you, who we consider our closest friends. We do have some other close friends. I'm sure they got lost. People laugh. DAVID (continuing) When Nancy and I were married we had dreams and plans and I guess in the pursuit of those things, we kind of lost each other. Tomorrow morning, when we leave here, we have no destination. Our only goal is to find out who we really are and what it is that's really out there. We're going to be adventurers in the classic sense of the word, but there is one place that we will stop at first. (reaches into his pocket and takes out a little box) That place is Las Vegas, Nevada. NANCY (her eyes open up wide; excited) Las Vegas? Really? DAVID Well, if this is to be a new beginning, I think there's only one way to really show it to this woman that I love. So, tomorrow evening my wife and I are going to be remarried. People applaud. Nancy is overwhelmed. She opens the little box and there is a ruby ring. NANCY Oh, my God! Oh! My! People are trying to get a glance at the ring. We can hear OOHING and AAHING. NANCY (continuing) This is the most beautiful thing you've ever done. DAVID Well, I'd like to say it was nothing, but that small little ruby cost a fortune. People laugh. DAVID (continuing) That's okay, it's budgeted for. A little laughter again. DAVID (continuing) And now, I would like to propose a toast. Everyone raises their glasses. DAVID (continuing) To you, our loyal friends, we will miss you. To my lovely new bride, I want to know you all over again... And to America, get ready. Here we come! Everybody drinks. As they do we... CUT TO: 17 EXT. SAN BERNARDINO FREEWAY - NEXT DAY We hear MUSIC (possibly the song from "Easy Rider" when Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda left L.A. on their motor- cycles). This is the first time we see the motor home. No expense was spared on this. It's seventy feet long. From the outside, you can see a roof that doubles as a little patio where you can sun yourself. The windows are huge. It looks luxurious, even from a distance. CUT TO: 18 INT. MOTOR HOME David is driving. Nancy is in the back in the kitchen area. DAVID Honey, we're two minutes from crossing the city limits. Come up front. This is historic. NANCY (from the rear of the trailer) Just a second! This microwave oven browns, did you know that? The one in our new house couldn't even do that. DAVID Our new house? No, some poor sucker's new house. This is our new house and I love it. Nancy walks up towards the front with two melted cheese sandwiches. No matter how horrible the sandwiches looked or tasted, to David, it would be great. That's his new attitude. DAVID (continuing) Boy, does this smell good. How long did it take to melt this? NANCY Twenty seconds. DAVID Can you believe it? Boy! I never really tasted melted cheese on toast before. I must have eaten it a million times, but this is the first time I've really tasted it. It's good and I bet it gets better the further we get from L.A. NANCY We'll actually be breathing clean air. We haven't done that for -- how many years? DAVID Forever. I hope we can recognize it. Nancy smiles. This is certainly the best mood she's been in for a long time. NANCY Last night was so nice, don't you think? Those are good people. We had good friends there. DAVID I know. It's just that we weren't good friends there. NANCY Every once in a while I can't believe what we're doing. Are you scared? Be honest. DAVID No, not at all. Well, let's say I'm scared in the same way Columbus was scared. NANCY Columbus must have really been scared, huh? That took a lot of guts, didn't it? What if the world was flat? They really didn't know anything. DAVID Well, I think he covered himself. NANCY How? DAVID Oh, let's say there was the Pinta, the Nina and the Santa Maria. I'd bet everything I have that Columbus was in the Santa Maria. If the world was flat, I think he'd watch the Pinta and the Nina go. Then he'd tell the Santa Maria to turn around. He'd probably just go back and have sex with the Queen again. I don't think he was a complete schmuck. NANCY So, actually, we're braver than Columbus. We don't have two motor homes in front of us. DAVID That's right. However, we should keep our eye on that Buick ahead. If it falls off the earth, it would be wise to pull over and re- evaluate. CUT TO: 19 EXT. LAS VEGAS - NIGHT TIME The town is all lit up. The motor home pulls up in front of a 24-hour wedding chapel. David stops. He stares at the chapel through the window. 20 INT. MOTOR HOME - NIGHT DAVID Doesn't it look beautiful? I'm excited. (opens the door and starts to get out) Let me find out what we do. I'll get all the information. NANCY Wait a second. DAVID What? NANCY Aren't you tired? DAVID I'm excited. NANCY You know what we should do? We should get married tomorrow. DAVID Why? We should get married now and then drive out to the Grand Canyon and have our second honeymoon under the stars. What could be better than that? NANCY Well, here's what I'd like to do. I'd like to get married in the morning. We're trying to start a new life. We should do it at the beginning of a new day. We'll both be fresh. We'll be up. We can get married at the crack of dawn. DAVID That sounds nice. Alright. We'll camp out some place tonight and then come back before dawn. As a matter-of-fact, these places will be less crowded then. Good idea. Nancy, you're a genius. He starts the engine. NANCY Are we sure we want to camp out tonight? DAVID What? NANCY Why don't we make tonight a real old-fashioned honeymoon? Let's go to the best hotel and get the honeymoon suite and celebrate our heads off. DAVID Sweetheart, we don't want to stay in a Vegas hotel. This is what we've left, this money-grabbing, horrible society. NANCY I agree, but one night? We'll have room service and make love in a big bed and watch porno movies. I think it'll be fun. DAVID We want to touch Indians. NANCY We will. Just tonight and then that's it. Don't you want to take a bath together in one of those big tubs? DAVID Well, okay. NANCY If you really don't want to, we don't have to. We can camp out. DAVID No, it's okay. As a matter-of-fact, it might be very exciting. We haven't been in a bath together for a long time. CUT TO: 21 EXT. DESERT INN - NIGHT David pulls the motor home into the parking lot and turns over the keys to the young parking attendant. 22 INT. LOBBY OF DESERT INN David and Nancy are coming through the main doors. We can see the motor home being driven out of the drive- way by one of the valet parking attendants. David looks behind him and watches the home drive off. He's nervous. DAVID I don't think they know how to drive those things. He could ruin it. NANCY (all excited) Oh, don't worry. They can drive anything. Look. Isn't this wonderful? It's so romantic. God, I used to come here a lot. I kind of miss it. DAVID You never told me you came here. When? NANCY Before we were married. I'll tell you about it later. Come on. They approach the front desk. A CLERK is working at one of the reservation computers. CLERK Excuse me? DAVID My wife and I have dropped out of society and we're making this statement, but we want to spend one last night here. We're planning to get up at the crack of dawn and get remarried and... NANCY (interrupting David, she whispers to him) Just ask him for the room. DAVID (whispering back) I'm getting to it. I know what I'm doing. (to the Clerk) Anyway, we're going to get up very early and get remarried so we want something very special because we're doing something special. My point is, we'd like your finest bridal suite. CLERK Do you have a reservation? DAVID No, I told you, we just dropped out. We don't do reservation things anymore. We're living spontaneously. CLERK Well, we're not. We thrive on reservations and I'm sorry but the bridal suite is occupied. DAVID What other rooms do you have? NANCY (to the Clerk) Just a minute, please? (she pulls David aside, whispering) The bridal suite isn't occupied. DAVID What? NANCY It's not occupied. I can see it in his face. DAVID What do you mean? NANCY Give him money. DAVID What? NANCY Give him fifty bucks. DAVID Why? NANCY We'll get the bridal suite. DAVID How do you know? NANCY Trust me. David approaches the desk again. He takes out fifty dollars. He puts it in the Clerk's hand, like he's shaking hands with him. DAVID Hello, again. (slips him the fifty) Do me a favor? I've worked with computers. I know what can happen. Sometimes these things get fouled up. Would you check one more time? Maybe the bridal suite was empty and the room next to it was occupied and the computer got mixed up. CLERK (takes a look) I know what you mean. That can happen sometimes. Let me check. (he looks at the reservation com- puter for a moment) Nope. It's occupied. These are state-of-the-art computers. Very rarely do we have those kind of mistakes. DAVID You're sure? CLERK Yes. Says right here, "Bridal Suite full." Nancy leans over and whispers to David. NANCY Give him more. DAVID Jesus. Really? Nancy nods yes. David turns back to the Clerk. DAVID (continuing) Listen, I'm not very good at this. I don't get good seats in shows because of this problem. I don't get good tables in restaurants. I've really never been good at this particular kind of exchange of money so, how much do you want? CLERK A hundred dollars. DAVID Fine. (hands him more cash) Here you go. A hundred. Now, I assume we don't have to continue this computer talk again and say that it's working now and everything? The Clerk doesn't even bother to answer. He reaches behind the desk and hands David his key. CLERK Here you are, eight-twenty. He rings for the porter. DAVID Now, this is the best bridal suite? CLERK Heart-shaped bed. Everything. You'll love it. DAVID Thank you very much. I'm sure the hundred doesn't apply towards the room at all. CLERK You're kidding, right? DAVID Of course. I was kidding all along. David and Nancy leave the desk and walk towards the elevator. DAVID (continuing) Tell me we didn't do the right thing, getting out of this horrible society? Jesus Christ, I told the guy we dropped out. Did that make any difference? No. I said we're making a statement. What did he do? Stare at me. I said we're getting remarried. What does he finally say? Give me more money. God! How does a guy like that even live? NANCY Well, think of all the people checking in here. Everyone giving him a hundred dollars, he probably lives well. DAVID No, I meant with himself. How does he... Never mind. CUT TO: 23 INT. BEDROOM SUITE - DESERT INN David and Nancy enter. Apparently, the hundred dollars was not quite enough. This could not be Desert Inn's best bridal suite. This looks like the junior bridal suite, at best. At one end of the room are two twin heart-shaped beds. Above them, there's a mirror, heavily-flocked with gold specks. The rest of the room is decorated in standard red velour. Nancy is disappointed. David is confused. He can't figure out how any manufacturer could make a living turning out twin heart-shaped beds. PORTER I'll go down and get your luggage for you. Where is it? DAVID That's okay. It's locked in our house. I'll get it later. Thank you very much. David reaches into his pocket and gives the man a dollar. DAVID (continuing) I haven't been here in years. I hope this is enough. If it isn't, take some from the clerk. I gave him a hundred. The Porter looks at David and walks out without saying a word. NANCY So? What do you think? DAVID I think if Liberace had children, this would be their room. Cute little hearts, aren't they? NANCY We should ask for a bigger bed. DAVID Let's hold onto the cash we have. I don't want any more favors. We can try and push these together. They try but they find very quickly that hearts don't fit together. After a few attempts, they give up. DAVID (continuing) Look, we can crawl over the ventricles when we want to have sex. It'll be exciting. Why don't you order something up, okay? Order up a great meal and some great champagne. I'll go run the bath. David walks into the bathroom. Nancy sits down on the bed. She picks up the room service menu and starts to read through it. She calls to David. NANCY How's the bath? DAVID (walking out of the bathroom) There's no bath in there, honey. NANCY Come on. DAVID I have no reason to lie to you. Go look for yourself. There's a very teeny, heart-shaped shower and a medium sized, heart- shaped sink. At best, we can wash our socks together. NANCY Are you disappointed? DAVID Not at all. NANCY Maybe we shouldn't order room service. We should get dressed and go down and check out some of these restaurants. Hey, do you want to see a show? DAVID I don't want to leave the room. I just want to be with you tonight, here. It's our honeymoon. We should order up like we planned and then we can figure out a way to make love. Somewhere in this room, there has to be space. NANCY Okay. (gets up and walks toward the bath- room) I'm going in to take a nice hot shower, okay? DAVID Good. You get nice and sexy because when you come out, we'll pack and leave. NANCY Come on. We're going to have fun. DAVID I'm joking with you. Now, hurry up, I'm getting horny. When you come out, I'll be the naked one on the right heart. I might even be looking at myself in the mirror and masturbating. Although, I don't think I can see myself through all this gold flock. CUT TO: 24 SHOT OF ALARM CLOCK It's ringing. The time is five-thirty A.M. As we PULL BACK we see David reaching over and shutting it off. He rolls over towards the other heart bed. DAVID Rise and shine, my darling wife. (singing to the tune of "My Fair Lady") We're getting married this morning. We're... He stops singing. She doesn't seem to be in the other bed. The room's still a little dark. Maybe David isn't seeing clearly yet. He's patting all over the bed. DAVID (continuing) Nancy? Honey? He realizes she's not there. He gets up and walks towards the bathroom. DAVID (continuing) Honey? Are you in there? Nancy? There's no answer. Obviously, she's not in the bathroom. Possibly, she's gone down the hall to get ice. He opens the door and calls down the hall. DAVID (continuing) Honey? Nancy? Are you at the ice machine? He goes back into the room. He picks up the phone. A WOMAN'S VOICE answers. WOMAN'S VOICE May I help you? DAVID Yes. I'd like to page Nancy Howard, please. WOMAN'S VOICE And where would she be? Do you have any idea? DAVID Probably in the coffee shop. David sits and waits. After a short pause: MAN'S VOICE Hello? DAVID Hi, honey. Had a sex change, huh? (laughs at his joke) I think you picked up the wrong phone. I'm paging my wife. MAN You're married to Nancy Howard? DAVID Yes. MAN Why don't you come down to the casino? DAVID Why? Is there something wrong? MAN Your wife has been gambling for quite some time and possibly, you should speak with her. DAVID What do I have to say to her? Is she winning? MAN Why don't you just come downstairs? DAVID (hangs up the phone) Oh my God! CUT TO: 25 INT. DESERT INN CASINO David comes tearing into the casino. He is still in his bathrobe. A SECURITY GUARD stops him. GUARD I'm sorry, you can't come into the casino dressed like that. DAVID What are you, crazy? I saw Electric Horseman. Animals rode through here. Excuse me. He pushes past the Guard. He looks frantically around trying to find Nancy. At this hour of the morning, it's easy to spot people. There aren't too many of them. He sees her. She's off in the corner at the roulette table. There's a small group of people around her. They seem to be watching, she seems to be gambling. David walks as fast as he can. He doesn't want to run, his robe might open up. As he approaches Nancy, he is frightened by what he sees. She is a maniac. She has been up for hours. The transformation is scary. It's like Jekyll and Hyde. She's frantically moving chips all around the table. DAVID (continuing) Honey? What are you doing? NANCY (to the Dealer) Eight! Big chips! DAVID Honey? NANCY Not now. Get away. Not now. DAVID What's going on? NANCY Stop it. Come on, eight! Come on, eight! The DEALER spins the wheel. The ball drops into the number sixteen slot. DEALER Sixteen. NANCY (shrieks) Shit! DAVID Honey, calm down. Sweetheart? The Man who spoke to David on the telephone approaches him at the table. MAN Could I speak to you for a moment? DAVID What is it? The Man takes David aside. MAN Your wife is very distraught. She's been gambling almost five hours and she has not been on a lucky streak. Now, it's not our place to stop her, but possibly, you should. DAVID What do you mean she's not been on a lucky streak? She's losing? MAN Well, why don't you talk to her? David runs back to the table. DAVID Honey, I want to talk to you. NANCY Get away! (to the Dealer) Once again! Give me eight! The Dealer spins the wheel. The ball goes around and around. NANCY (continuing) Come on, baby. Come on, lucky baby. Baby, baby. Baby, baby. DEALER Eight it is. NANCY (jumping up, excited as can be) Yes! Great! DAVID (now a little excited himself) Hey, that is great. You're a winner. (to Dealer) How much was that? How much did she win? DEALER Sixty dollars. DAVID Alright. Nothing wrong with that. What's wrong with that? Now, what does this man mean who says you weren't on a lucky streak? NANCY I was down earlier. Just go away. DAVID But you're up now, right? NANCY I'm still down. (to Dealer) Eight again! And make it happen for me! David turns to the Man who spoke to him on the phone. The Man is standing at a distance watching what's happening with a slight look of pity on his face. DAVID (walking over to him) Boy, she keeps betting eight, huh? How down is she exactly? MAN Oh, she's very, very down. I don't know how much money you have, but on the average I'd say this is what we call "very down." DAVID What do you mean? A thousand? At this moment, we hear a GROAN from the roulette table. The ball has dropped into double zero. David runs back over. He sees the Dealer taking the chips off of eight. NANCY Dammit! That keeps coming up, that zero. Jesus Christ! Now, once again, eight! Come back, eight! Come back, eight! DAVID Just a minute. Nancy, stop. NANCY Please, David! Please! You're bringing me bad luck. DAVID Well, according to some people here, I'm not bringing anything. You're already having bad luck. NANCY It's changing! Now come on, eight! Eight's my mate! Take the bait, number eight. The Dealer spins the ball. It drops into the number four. DEALER Four. NANCY See what you did? Bad luck! Get away, please. DAVID This man over here says you're very down. What does he mean? NANCY Fuck the man! I don't know who you're talking about. (to Dealer) Try it again! Eight! DAVID Nancy, stop betting eight. There's hundreds of numbers on this table. Why the hell do you keep betting eight? Now, how much have we lost? NANCY Everything. Come on, eight. DAVID What do you mean everything? Did you say everything? At this moment, the ball falls into number nine. The Dealer takes the last of Nancy's chips. NANCY Goddammit! Son-of-a-bitch! You can't get any closer to eight than nine. DAVID (beginning to take charge) Come over here. Come with me. He drags Nancy away from the roulette table. She turns around. She's yelling at the Dealer. NANCY Eight again! One more time! DAVID There's nothing on the board. You're not at the table. You haven't placed a bet. Stop yelling eight. He doesn't care anymore. NANCY I gotta find some money. Please. I'm about to hit. DAVID No, you're about to get hit. Come on. We have some serious talking to do. David starts to pull Nancy out of the casino. He passes by a one-dollar progressive slot machine with Nancy in tow as BELLS START TO RING and LIGHTS FLASH. An OLDER WOMAN has hit the jackpot and starts to scream. WOMAN I won!! I won!! NANCY Look. She won... I want to play! DAVID It's too late. You chose the table. Let's get out of here. CUT TO: 26 INT. COFFEE SHOP They sit down at one of the tables. David looks a little worried. Nancy is still frantic. She's mixed up. She's also looking around for a Keno girl. She's obviously in some sort of a daze. DAVID Okay, talk. What's going on? NANCY At two-thirty this morning, I was up three hundred thousand dollars. DAVID Three hundred thousand dollars? That's a lot of money! NANCY More chips than you've ever seen in your life. You wouldn't have believed it. They were all over the place. DAVID But when I came downstairs they were all gone. You didn't have any. NANCY Yes, but I can get them back. DAVID Let's wait on that for just a second. So, everything is gone and I'm trying to figure out the word "everything." We had a little bit of cash with us and you lost that? NANCY Yes. DAVID So, what did you do? You got more cash? NANCY Yes. DAVID So, you wrote a check then? NANCY Yes. DAVID You started drawing cash from our nest egg? NANCY Yes. Yes. DAVID How much of the nest egg did you take? What's left? NANCY Nothing. DAVID Oh, my God. By "everything" you mean "nothing." NANCY Yes. DAVID You didn't lose a hundred and eighty thousand dollars? NANCY Maybe. I don't know. Give or take a thousand. DAVID Give or take a thousand? Give or take a thousand? David is holding on to one of his testicles so as not to kill this woman. This is the first time in his life, where he truly can't comprehend what he has heard. DAVID (continuing) Oh my God! Oh my God! I understand what we mean now. I understand what we all mean. Oh my God! My God! My God! David puts his hand to his forehead. He looks around. He's thinking. Something must be done. Something must be done quickly. DAVID (continuing) Oh my God! Alright. Let's not panic. David thinks of something. He stands up from the table and yells as loud as he can. DAVID (continuing) Bellhop, please. Bellhop, in here, please. There's an emergency! He sits down, he's rubbing his head. NANCY What's the matter? DAVID Nothing. Just wait. Oh my God! NANCY Sweetheart, there were these Persians around me, staring at all these chips that were on the table and I've never had that feeling before, the feeling that I was completely in control. I was the one. I didn't need anything. I didn't care. I didn't have any problems. Do you know that feeling? DAVID Not now. I don't know that feeling now, no. The BELLHOP approaches. BELLHOP Yes, sir? DAVID First of all, I was speaking to a gentleman in the casino who seemed to be in charge there. He's what? BELLHOP The Pit Boss? DAVID Yes. What's his name? BELLHOP Mr. Shuster. DAVID Fine. Does he have an office? BELLHOP Yes, it's behind the front desk. DAVID Fine. Alright. Now would you please do me a favor? My wife is tired and would you escort her to 820. (hands the Bellhop his room key) Would you please sit with her, maybe she'll want to take a shower or whatever, and just don't leave the room. I'll be up in a little while. But please don't leave. I don't want her to be alone right now. NANCY Why are you treating me like an animal? DAVID I'll explain it to you later. They all get up. They exit the coffee shop. 27 INT. LOBBY OUTSIDE COFFEE SHOP DAVID (speaking to Nancy as if she has just had a nervous breakdown) Just relax. Lie down, if you want. Have some water. I'll be up in a few minutes. NANCY Stop talking to me this way. DAVID I'm not talking to you in any particular way. I'm just trying to keep everything calm and I'm trying to remain calm. I'm also trying to think what I can do to help us out now. (to the Bellhop) The man's name again? The Pit Boss? BELLHOP Shuster. DAVID Thank you. They are now at the elevators. NANCY David, I'm sorry. DAVID Save it. Just go upstairs. He leaves her at the elevators. 28 INT. LOBBY David walks very slowly towards Shuster's office. You can tell he's thinking. He approaches the front desk and clears his throat, trying to act dignified. The robe diminishes this a bit. DAVID (to the Clerk) Mr. Shuster, the Pit Boss, may I speak to him, please? CLERK I don't know if he's in. Just a moment. The Clerk picks up the phone. He buzzes. CLERK (continuing) Yes. There's a gentleman here to see you. (to David) What is your name? DAVID I'm David Howard. He knows me, we spoke on the telephone. My wife was the one who was up for hours. CLERK (into phone) David Howard. Yes. Yes. (hangs up phone) He'll be right out. David stands there. He's thinking, staring straight ahead. Out of an office emerges JACK SHUSTER, the Pit Boss, the man we saw earlier. Shuster's a large man, in his early fifties. He's as intimidating as his job calls for. He looks like he might have killed somebody once, and actually enjoyed it. He walks over to David. SHUSTER Mr. Howard? Come on in. CUT TO: 29 INT. SHUSTER'S OFFICE David tries to compose himself even more as he follows Shuster into his office. David's story is now formed. He knows what he wants to say. He feels confident. David enters the office. He sits down in front of Shuster's desk. DAVID First of all, let me say, I've heard a great deal about you. SHUSTER (suspicious) What do you mean? From who? What did you hear? DAVID Oh, I just meant I've heard wonderful things from everybody in general, from the whole hotel. SHUSTER (relieved) Well, that's very nice. Thank you. DAVID No, thank you. SHUSTER Is your wife feeling better? DAVID Yes, she is. SHUSTER So, what can I do for you? DAVID I have a very interesting idea. I think you'll be taken by it. Shuster stares at him. DAVID (continuing) I was a key executive with a major advertising agency - one of the biggest in the world. SHUSTER Yes, right. So? DAVID Well, I was the Idea Man there. So, when I say I have an interesting idea, I'm not speaking like any slob that walks in off the street. SHUSTER Okay. DAVID (clearing his throat, about to enter into The Big Story) My wife and I, we dropped out of society. She had a very important position in a department store and again, I remind you that I was one of the highest executives in the world's largest advertising firm. Shuster just stares at him. DAVID (continuing) Anyway, we were going to find ourselves. Then, we thought, maybe we're too old, it's too late. We can't find ourselves, that's only for kids. And then we thought about it some more and it hit us. Wait a minute. Who's to say at what age you stop being a kid? SHUSTER You gotta have some age. How else could a court separate rape from fun? In this state, it's eighteen, by the way. DAVID Yes. But my point is we wanted to find ourselves and we did and we dropped out, just like they did in "Easy Rider." SHUSTER Easy what? DAVID The movie, "Easy Rider." Famous movie. Important movie. SHUSTER Didn't see that, I'm sorry. DAVID It's a classic. If it comes on cable here, see it. Anyway, we did something that no one has done for a long time. Maybe no one has ever done it because in the movie they were movie stars, so they didn't really do it, even though they portrayed people that did it. SHUSTER I'm getting mixed up here. What is your point? DAVID Well, we did it for real. We quit our jobs and we sold everything that we had. The only thing we own is our little motor home, which is parked outside. That's all we've got and we were going to spend years roaming around this beautiful country, but we knew we couldn't do it unless we had our little nest egg tucked away in the bank. SHUSTER (interrupts) I'm going off duty in a few minutes. Now, your point is what? DAVID I'm getting to it. Why did we come to Las Vegas? Because it was a new beginning and I wanted to remarry my lovely wife. That's nice, don't you think? SHUSTER Very nice. DAVID I wanted to get remarried but I wanted to spend our honeymoon in the Grand Canyon, places like we intend to spend the rest of our lives in, but my wife is very fond of your hotel and all of the employees and she said, "Oh, come on, let's spend our honeymoon here." And we did and the room was very lovely and everybody was very nice to us, but my wife lost the nest egg. SHUSTER Mr. Howard, stop right here. I think I know what you're getting at. I realize you've lost a great deal here and I want you to know that your room and your meals are comped. DAVID That's very nice but that's not exactly what I'm saying. I think I have a multi-million dollar idea. Now, you have to be very secretive about what I'm going to tell you because the other hotels, if they heard about it, well, they'll grab it in a minute. David leans over Shuster's desk and whispers to make the idea really sound secretive: DAVID (continuing) I think, as an experiment, you give us back the money we lost. SHUSTER I beg your pardon? DAVID Well, imagine the publicity? I mean, the Hilton, for example, they have billboards all over L.A. where they put the faces of the winners of those slot machines. Now, those people win a couple hundred thousand dollars, but the hotel is getting millions of dollars of publicity with those billboards because people drive by and say, "Gee, the Hilton looks like a nice place. Look at those smiling people." So, what about a billboard with my wife and I on it and we would be smiling and there would be a saying, something like, "These people dropped out of society, they couldn't take it any longer, but they made a mistake. They lost their nest egg at The Desert Inn, but The Desert Inn gave it back." And maybe there could be some kind of a visual with you handing us an egg or something. Now I mean, I'm just formulating this now, as I'm talking, but you can imagine, when it's worked out how effective it could be. SHUSTER (chuckling) That's wonderful. (he gets up) Well, Mr. Howard, nice to meet you. DAVID What do you mean nice to meet me? You said this is wonderful. SHUSTER We're kidding each other here, right? (starts to laugh again) I gotta tell you, this is one of the best things I've ever heard. What's the board gonna say again? "Gamblers, come and get your money back." (he laughs) Great. That's great. DAVID (standing up) No. No. Wait... Not "Gamblers, get your money back." That's wrong. We're not gamblers. We're the few people in society that have tried to do something with our lives. See? We're drop- outs. We're finding ourselves. Someone's got to help the few people like us, because if they don't, nobody will ever drop out again. Nobody will ever have the courage to find themselves. SHUSTER Well, I understand what you mean, but I don't think The Desert Inn can help find you. I'm sorry, but thank you for the idea and good night. He begins to escort David to the door. DAVID (stopping him) Listen, I've experienced this before. I've had clients that didn't understand the idea until they saw it on television and then they said, "My God! What a brilliant idea! Why didn't I understand this?" I might have used the wrong phrase. Okay, picture this: maybe, my wife and I will do a television commercial for you and there could be a jingle and it could go: (begins to sing) "The Desert Inn has heart! The Desert Inn has heart! The Desert Inn has heart!" Something like that. See what I mean? SHUSTER That's a nice jingle. Mr. Howard, let's assume you're serious here. What if this caught on? Could you imagine what would happen? Why, we would have to return everybody's losses. The casino would just crumble. We couldn't pay our bills. You know the casino accounts for a great deal of our profits. DAVID I understand. Of course, you don't pay back everybody's losses. You make a distinct division between the bold, who are out there searching, and all the other schmucks, who come here to see Wayne Newton. SHUSTER I see. Now, I like Wayne Newton. So, I fall into what category? DAVID (realizing this was not the best example) Oh, look, I picked a name out of a hat. I like Wayne Newton, too. I'm saying a schmuck, representing the gambler and a bold person, representing me and my wife and the one or two others that probably wouldn't come here anyway. You wouldn't have to do this more than once or twice, there's not too many bold people around. I think it was a mistake to use entertainers as the dividing line. We could find another system. Anyway, what do you say? We do need that nest egg back. SHUSTER I say good luck to you and stay away from the tables next time. DAVID Oh, that's for sure, but come on? Half the money, for courage? Shuster opens up his office door. He escorts David out. 30 INT. LOBBY AT FRONT DESK SHUSTER Mr. Howard, nice to meet you. A pleasure. DAVID Hold it. What about "Miracle on 34th Street?" SHUSTER Christmas picture, right? DAVID (now rambling on very fast, desperate, rea- lizing his plan is about to fail) More than a Christmas picture. What happened there? Macy's didn't want to send their customers to Gimble's because the president of Macy's thought they would lose all of their customers and lose a tremendous amount of money and it would be taken wrong. But it wasn't taken wrong. What happened? Macy's did much better than they ever did before. And that's what would happen to you. The Desert Inn would do much, much better because you would get Gimble's business and the casino would be full. SHUSTER Well, I'm not too familiar with that picture but didn't Macy's have Santa Claus to help them out? (he starts to laugh) I mean, if they didn't have Santy Claus there, they might have done very badly. He continues to laugh. David now starts to laugh along with him, except David's laugh has a pitiful ring to it. He senses this is not going to work. DAVID Yes. I guess they did have Santy Claus. Well, thank you. Thank you. And just so I understand, we can t get any of our money back, right? SHUSTER Well, not today, no. But if the policy ever changes, we'll write you. (still chuckling as he goes back into his office) That's wonderful. Very good. He closes the door. The desk Clerk, who has just seen Shuster laugh, turns to David, who is standing there looking as bad as he's ever looked. CLERK I think he likes you. He rarely laughs at anything. David just nods a sickly "thank you." CUT TO: 31 EXT. MOTOR HOME - DAY David and Nancy are driving. They are well outside of Las Vegas. Nancy is staring out of the window. David is driving in silence. Obviously, they have been driving for a great deal of time without saying anything. Nancy finally breaks the silence. 32 INT. MOTOR HOME NANCY I can't take this. Say something. Yell at me. Hit me. Drive off the road. Do anything. Just stop being so silent. DAVID I have nothing to say. NANCY I can't keep apologizing. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I feel horrible. I would do anything to change it. David says nothing. He just clears his throat. NANCY (continuing) You're going to make yourself sick. It's unnatural. I understand. If I were you, I'd be furious. Don't hold it in. Go ahead. DAVID (looking at her) I'm fine. More silent driving. Nancy is desperately uncomfort- able. Obviously, David is not fine. How could he be? He's seen ten years of earnings dissipate in less than three hours and he didn't participate in any of the dissipation. After a while, Nancy tries a new approach. NANCY Obviously, I can't apologize anymore for what I did so we should talk about what we're going to do. DAVID And what would that be? NANCY Well, our dream is still the same. We just don't have any money. David clears his throat again. NANCY (continuing) And, also, we should stop saying we don't have any money. We do have some. DAVID (very patiently) We have eight hundred and two dollars. NANCY That's something. DAVID It is something. Yes. NANCY Well, look, I think we should try to make the rest of the day as pleasant as we can. Since we're heading towards Hoover Dam anyway, we should make that our destination for today. We can go there, look around, maybe have a picnic or something, and maybe just see the dam and just have a nice day outside. What do you think? DAVID (staring straight ahead, speaking in a monotone) Is that what you'd like? NANCY Maybe it would be fun. DAVID (still staring, still speaking in a monotone) Fine. Hoover Dam. CUT TO: 33 EXT. HOOVER DAM - DAY There are people walking around, tours going on and children playing. The motor home pulls up. They park. Nancy gets out with a bounce in her step, hoping David might copy her. David gets out like Frankenstein, walking very slowly, with no expression. NANCY Look at this! Come here. God! Just think. Men built this! DAVID (still with no expression) Yes. Men did build this. NANCY What about something to eat? Hungry? DAVID No. NANCY I'm starved. DAVID I don't think you can eat now. NANCY Why? DAVID Because with the little bit of money that we have left, I think we have to sit down and make up a new budget. Until we do, maybe we shouldn't spend it all on cotton candy and other various knickknacks here at the dam. Nancy is beginning to get irritated and frustrated that he will not talk to her like an adult. NANCY Well, if that's your attitude, I think you should give me half the money and let me eat whatever I want and you can do what you want with your half. I think that's the fair thing. DAVID (the release of his anger now begins) The fair thing? The fair thing? That's it! You're right. I've been controlled! Boy, have I been controlled! I guess any doctor could have spotted it. I was about to die, I was so controlled. You took all the money we had! People can hear this echoing for miles around. DAVID (continuing; now yelling) You took our nest egg and you broke it up! You got yoke all over the casino! You got the white all over the coffee shop! You threw the shells in the parking lot! Fair? Fair?! Where was I when you were playing with the egg? Sleeping. Sleeping. Goddammit! NANCY Good. Get it out. DAVID Shut up! Don't talk to me like I'm an insane patient! NANCY Let's just go back inside. You can yell at me. You should, I think it's right. I just don't want you to yell out here. DAVID Out where? This is where we're going to have to live. Why not yell out here? We're going to have to do everything else out here. We'll be sleeping out here and eating out here and going to the bathroom out here! Get used to this cement, baby! This is it! Out here is it! We found ourselves! We found ourselves, alright! We found ourselves with eight hundred dollars in the middle of nowhere! Nancy walks away. She sees a crowd that is gathered around and she does not want to have an argument in front of these people. David follows her. 34 EXT. SIDE OF ROAD - HOOVER DAM VISITOR AREA DAVID Where are you going? NANCY I don't want to have an argument in front of those people. DAVID Why not? I think those people are entitled to know how stupid you are. NANCY This is going to turn into a personal attack, isn't it? DAVID What else? A general attack? Who am I going to attack? Nevada? I can't attack the state. It wasn't their fault. I can't attack the motor home. It stayed in the parking lot. I can't attack me. I was fast asleep. By process of elimination, who's left? NANCY I am. I'm left, okay? And I'll say it one more time - I'm sorry. They are off by themselves now. They have reasonable privacy. They are both very upset. DAVID I don't want your apologies. I want to know why? I want to try to understand how it happened. Tell me. How did it happen? NANCY I couldn't sleep. DAVID You couldn't sleep. I see. Now, I remember nights where I couldn't sleep. I'm just trying to think what I did. Let's see. I tried warm milk or I took a long walk or I took Nytol and then, if all that didn't work, I gave away all the money I ever earned. But you didn't try any of those things first. You just gave away the money first, right? What did you intend to do? Have warm milk afterwards? Tell me. I'm mixed up. NANCY You're not even listening. DAVID I'm sorry. You're right. Go ahead. You couldn't sleep. Then what happened? NANCY I don't remember. I just went downstairs. DAVID Why didn't you wake me up? NANCY What would you have done? DAVID What would I have done? I would have followed you. I would've seen you. I would have watched you take your money and begin to lose it and I would have stopped you at thirty dollars, maybe thirty-two dollars, at the most. I would have said, "Sweetheart, come back to bed. We don't want to fool with our nest egg." You know, Nancy, I think you just considered nest egg to be a term but to me, it was a key to this whole experiment. Why, I considered it like a third person. It was our best friend, our guardian angel. It was going to allow us to do everything we wanted to do. It was going to watch over us during bad times and laugh with us during good times. It was going to help us roam and purchase and eat and explore. It was going to help us make love and laugh and cry and now, it's gone and who's got it? The Desert Inn! They've got our nest egg. They can sure use it, can't they? They don't have their own. They're a poor little organization. They need our nest egg. Gee, I hope they use it wisely. I know someday those mirrors are going to have to be reflocked and the red velvet was looking kind of worn. And those little heart beds are going to need new sheets. I'm glad we could help them pay for that. I'm glad our life savings will go towards making that room look a little prettier. I'm glad we gave it all to them, Nancy. I'm just going to miss the little nest egg, that's all. Won't you, sweetheart? Won't you miss the nest egg? In the middle of the night, won't you feel kind of lonely because little nest egg is paying for the gas in Frank Sinatra's limo? NANCY Shut up, David! (begins to cry; she's getting hysterical) Shut up! I don't want to hear nest egg anymore! I don't want to hear that word. Let me tell you something. That's not the way you drop out anyway. If you're really going to drop out, you drop out with nothing! DAVID You drop out with nothing? Oh where did you read that? In the Las Vegas Guide? NANCY I didn't read that. I know that. DAVID Oh, I see. Who told you? NANCY Friends, people who know. I don't have to answer you. DAVID No. You don't have to answer me. You can't answer me because no one ever told you that. You never had friends who dropped out. You don't know anybody who dropped out except for us. So how the hell did you know that? Come on, tell me? NANCY Alright. The movie you're basing your whole life on, "Easy Rider," they dropped out with nothing. They had no nest egg. DAVID Bullshit. They had a huge nest egg. They sold cocaine. They didn't get on their motorcycles till their nest egg was giant, fifty times the size of ours. NANCY That's not true. DAVID Oh, look. I'm not going to stand here, in front of one of the seven wonders of the world and argue about an old movie. I'm going to go now and get back in the motor home and maybe you can wander around out here and figure out something to do. We have eight hundred dollars left and an entire lifetime. See what you can come up with. David starts to walk away. NANCY We could sell cocaine. DAVID (stops and turns around) Well, my God. Why didn't I think of that? Great idea. As a matter- of-fact, I remember after seeing "Midnight Express" I went out of the theater saying to myself, "That's for me. Sex with hundreds of Turkish men." David turns around and walks towards the motor home. DAVID (continuing) Come on. Let's go. Nancy doesn't go with him. NANCY No. Forget it. DAVID Forget what? NANCY Forget everything. DAVID What are you talking about? NANCY You know, I'll tell you one good thing that came out of all of this. We forgot to get remarried. That was one good thing that happened and no one has mentioned that yet. DAVID What are you saying? NANCY I'm saying that if we got remarried it would be much more difficult to get divorced. Now it's easy. It's over. I'll just stay in Nevada for six weeks and then we'll be legally through. This is how it should have happened anyway, David. We were stupid to think it could have happened any other way. DAVID Do you really believe that? NANCY You bet your life I do. I realize now, you're never going to let me forget this. For the rest of our lives, you'll blame me and I won't take it. So, goodbye. I'm sorry. It didn't work out. 35 EXT. SIDE OF ROAD Nancy walks to the side of the road and sticks out her thumb. David walks after her. DAVID What do you expect to do? Where do you think you're going? NANCY I still have my dreams. I'll have to find somebody else who understands them a little bit better and then I'll start over. DAVID Okay. Enough is enough. I understand your dreams. You said, "Explode." I exploded. It's done. Now, come on. Let's not act stupid. I'm over it. NANCY (crying) You'll never be over it. I know you. You're right. I'm stupid. You don't want to be with a stupid person so leave me alone. DAVID What are you doing? NANCY None of your business. Now get out of here, please. DAVID You told me to be angry. You said it was unhealthy not to be angry. You'd be angry, too. God knows you'd be angry. We see a car approaching in the distance. DAVID (continuing) Nancy, there's a car coming and there's a man in there who looks like an animal. Now if you don't put your thumb back, he's going to pick you up and if he picks you up, you're going to be in his car. I don t know him. You don't know him. We don't know where we are, so why don't we stop acting like this?! NANCY Goodbye. DAVID (yelling) What is happening? You said it fifteen hundred times, "Get angry." I got angry. I thought I got angry well. I'm over it. NANCY Sure you're over it. You're still yelling. DAVID I'm yelling because you're about to get in someone else's car! An old Chevy pulls over. A guy in his late thirties, large, ugly, RED-NECK-looking fellow says to Nancy: RED-NECK Where ya headin'? NANCY With you. RED-NECK Alright. You got it. Come on. Nancy gets in the car. David starts to run after them. DAVID (yelling) This has gotten out of hand. Look around you, Nancy, you're in another car! That man is not me! Nancy! I apologize! I'm sorry! David stops yelling. He just stands there for a minute. DAVID (continuing; to himself) Listen to what I'm saying. I was sleeping and I'm yelling I'm sorry. What's going on? Jesus Christ! She's going to get killed! 36 EXT. ROAD TO HOOVER - HELICOPTER SHOT - DAY David runs back to the motor home. He starts the engine. David tries to catch up to the Chevy. The Chevy's gotten a large lead. He goes faster but it doesn't help. He loses the car. CUT TO: 37 INT. MOTOR HOME DAVID (mumbling) I've lost my wife in the desert. This is just silly. You lose your wallet or your keys but I've lost a whole woman. David continues to drive. After a short while, he spots a road stop, a gas-food-rest stop. There's a small restaurant. He spots the Chevy. He pulls in. David gets out of the motor home. Through the window, he can see this Red-Neck and Nancy sitting at a table. CUT TO: 38 INT. ROADSIDE RESTAURANT David walks in. He approaches the table where Nancy and the Red-Neck are sitting. DAVID Nancy, I think we should go. RED-NECK I don't think she wants to speak to you, buddy. DAVID I've known her for a long time. I think I would rather have direct communication with her. Nancy, come on. RED-NECK I said she don't want to talk to you. DAVID We're leaving now, okay, honey? RED-NECK You're not listenin', are you? DAVID I'm listening. This is my wife. It's between her and me. Nancy? We're going to work things out now. Thank this gentleman for the ride and let's go. Nancy says nothing. The Red-Neck stands up. He is huge. RED-NECK Mister, I'm gonna count to three and I want you out of here. One... DAVID Nancy, this man's counting. Who is he? RED-NECK Two. DAVID Honey, there's one number left. RED-NECK Three. The Red-Neck takes David by the shoulder and starts to lead him outside. RED-NECK (continuing) Let's go. You and I, we have some fighting to do. David is being shoved outside. He looks back at Nancy. DAVID Is this what you want? Is this what was supposed to happen? I'm now going to be killed by a gorilla? David and the Red-Neck are outside. Nancy realizes David is probably right. He will be killed. She gets up. She runs after them. 39 EXT. ROADSIDE RESTAURANT By the time she gets outside, David is already being punched in the stomach and then in the face. In be- tween punches, David is yelling to Nancy: DAVID Call him off! He'll obey you! Tell him it's alright! The Red-Neck is now really angry. RED-NECK I hate you. I'm going to kill you. NANCY It's okay. Stop. Please? Thank you for the ride but we can handle it. RED-NECK You're out of this now. This is between him and me. I haven't hated somebody so much in a long time. He reminds me of everything I hate. David is on the ground. The Red-Neck picks him up. RED-NECK Come on. Come on. Let's really go at it. DAVID This is going to disappoint you but I have really gone at it. I haven't had a fight since I was in the third grade. I'm just not used to it. Nancy, tell him. NANCY Please! It's okay. My husband and I had a fight but we can handle it. RED-NECK I said get out, lady. I'm on a mission now. Nancy, realizing that she can't stop the fight, begins to scream: NANCY Help! Help! Police! Help! Murder! Help! People start to come out of the restaurant. This is more attention than the Red-Neck wanted. RED-NECK Well, look at this. A woman has to help you by yelling for the police. Well, if I wasn't wanted, I wouldn't care. I'd stay here and beat the shit out of you, but right now I can't afford to see the police. But I'll get you. I don't know where or when, but I'll get you, mister. The Red-Neck starts to walk back to his car. DAVID Yell "Police!" more. Keep yelling. NANCY Police! Police! We see the Red-Neck hasten a bit. He starts his engine. DAVID More. Yell. Yell. Police! Help! Help! The Chevy pulls out. The Red-Neck yells back: RED-NECK I'll get you. David is holding his jaw. NANCY Are you alright? DAVID That man will spend the rest of his life trying to find me. I'll be killed, Nancy. Nancy helps him towards the motor home. 40 INT. MOTOR HOME They get inside. David is holding his jaw. NANCY Are you sure you're okay? DAVID Yeah, I'm okay. Next time, if you're going to hitch, get a ride with a small woman, will you? NANCY I'm proud of you. DAVID For what? Getting beat up? NANCY For rescuing me. DAVID Well, I had no choice really. I thought about just forgetting it and finding someone new, but I realized I had nothing to offer them. NANCY David, listen to me... We're going to be alright. DAVID I hope so. Maybe we will. David starts the engine. The home slowly begins to move. NANCY What do you think we should do first? DAVID First? First, I think we fill this thing with gas so we can get as far away as possible from that mental patient. Then, I guess we'll head east. We'll drive until we find a place we both like and that'll be our new home. We'll start there and we'll begin to rebuild. NANCY I swear to God I think this is a blessing in disguise. The whole idea of going to Las Vegas was to get remarried so we could have a new beginning, right? Well, that would've just been a ceremony. Now, we really are starting from the beginning. I think this way is much better. DAVID Well, I hope it is. But since we really will never know the other way, let's not compare. NANCY But after all, the whole purpose was to find ourselves and to be free and now we really are free. The other way... DAVID (interrupting) Hold it, honey. Another comparison, right? NANCY Well, I'm just excited. I think this is a blessing. DAVID It very well might be. All I'm saying is let's just let our original plan rest in peace. CUT TO: 41A EXT. ARIZONA HIGHWAYS thru 41C A) We see the motor home driving along. In the background there is MUSIC. As they head east, the sun slowly is setting behind them. After various SHOTS of David and Nancy moving along the desert... B) ... we finally see them pass a sign that says, "WELCOME TO PRESCOTT, ARIZONA." C) They drive on further until they pull up to a trailer park. The sign above the park says, "PRESCOTT TRAILER PARK." He stops. He pulls the motor home into this park. He sticks his head out the window, as if to feel the climate. It feels right. CUT TO: 42 INT. MOTOR HOME The sun has set. This is where they've chosen to live. Nancy is lying on the bed as David is at the kitchen table, figuring out the money they have left. DAVID Okay, so, gas and the payment here and the electricity hook-up, the water hook-up, lunch... Oh my! NANCY What? DAVID Three hundred and twenty dollars. He takes that amount out of his pocket. He lays it out in front of then, like a magician doing a card trick. DAVID (continuing) There it is, sweetheart. That's it. NANCY Okay. Let's call this "emergency" money. We'll get jobs right away so we don't have to touch this. DAVID Absolutely. This money we seal away. NANCY We'll both have jobs by tomorrow. It's going to be good. DAVID We have no choice. We have to have jobs by tomorrow. NANCY We should celebrate tonight. DAVID Celebrate what? NANCY This! This is the real beginning! David sits there. He smiles. He's staring at Nancy. After a while he feels a little uncomfortable. NANCY (continuing) What's the matter? What are you staring at? DAVID Your legs. They look different. NANCY Different? DAVID They look longer. NANCY You're joking, right? DAVID No. NANCY I have long legs, remember? DAVID Remember what? NANCY That was the first thing you ever said to me. You said I had sexy long legs. That was before you even asked me my name. DAVID My God. You're right. We talked about your legs for a long time before your name came up. Was I rude? NANCY You were great. DAVID You didn't think I was so sexy the first time you saw me, did you? NANCY Yes I did. DAVID You didn't say anything. NANCY Yes I did. DAVID No you didn't. NANCY Yes. I remember I told you I thought curly hair was very, very sexy. I said I liked your hair. DAVID No, sweetheart, you said curly hair was sexy and then you asked me if that was my own hair. NANCY Well, I was shy. DAVID Don't worry. I took it as a compliment. Nancy smiles. David walks over and gives her a passionate kiss, the likes of which we have not yet seen in this film. They begin to make love. It's the real thing. As they do we... CUT TO: 43 EXT. MOTOR HOME We hear MOANING. We see the home rocking gently back and forth. Older people who live in the trailer park start to come out and watch this new residence move from side to side. Some have folding chairs, others have picnic baskets. This is one trailer park that hasn't yet put in cable television. So, to these people, this is entertainment they so badly needed. We SLOWLY... DISSOLVE INTO: 44 INT. MOTOR HOME - NEXT MORNING David is still in bed. Nancy is almost dressed. She has an extraordinary amount of energy. NANCY David, I love you. That was the best. It was amazing. David is a bit dazed. Obviously they've had the best sex of their lives. It's given her energy. It's made him a little confused. DAVID It never happened like that in L.A. I wonder why? NANCY We stopped having sex in L.A. DAVID That must be it. NANCY Seriously. What do you really think happened? What did we do right? DAVID I don't think it had anything to do with us. NANCY What was it? The air? DAVID Maybe. My guess is extreme poverty. NANCY Well, then I say we should stay poor. DAVID Look, I was just guessing. I think we have to make some money, we don't want to starve to death and then find out it really was the air. We'll feel so stupid. NANCY (smiles) I have so much energy. I can't wait to get out and just explore this city. I'm going to get a great job. I know it. David gets out of bed. He puts on his robe. DAVID Me, too. Now, I think we should have some kind of a plan. What do you say we look for work together? NANCY I don't think so. I think we should go in separate directions. DAVID Why? NANCY We'll cover more territory. DAVID Alright. That sounds right. Good. Good idea. NANCY Let's say we meet back here no later than five o'clock. DAVID Five o'clock. Good. NANCY (kissing him) I can't wait for five o'clock. Nancy exits. David stands at the door calling out to her: DAVID Good luck! Go for the high pay! NANCY I know. DAVID And buy a cheap lunch! NANCY Don't worry. DAVID I love you. NANCY I love you, too. DAVID I mean it! Cheap lunch! We see Nancy wave as she walks off into the distance. CUT TO: 45 EXT. PRESCOTT, ARIZONA STREET - MORNING David is walking down the street staring into various stores. He stops in front of a pharmacy. There's a sign that says: "DELIVERY MAN WANTED." David enters the store. CUT TO: 46 INT. PHARMACY David approaches PHARMACIST. DAVID Hello? PHARMACIST Yes sir. DAVID The delivery job, I'm interested in it. PHARMACIST This is for your son? DAVID No, for me. PHARMACIST For you? Well, you have your own car? - DAVID No. PHARMACIST Gee, I'm sorry, but it's a delivery job. You would need a car. DAVID Well, I have transportation. I own a motor home. PHARMACIST A motor home? DAVID Yes. PHARMACIST I don't really think that would suit this particular job. I have just a few small deliveries a day. Those things aren't too efficient and you probably wouldn't be able to pay for gas with what I'd pay you. DAVID Oh, I didn't know I'd have to pay for my own gas. PHARMACIST Yes. Actually, my intention was to get a high school kid with a Rabbit or something. I think an older man with a motor home would be impractical for the both of us. You understand, I don't have that many deliveries. Also, you'd have trouble parking. I don't think this would work out. DAVID I agree. PHARMACIST You know what I should do? I should cross out "man" and put "boy," "delivery boy" is more correct. I guess "delivery man" is misleading. DAVID No, the sign's alright. It looks fine. You don't know of any immensely high-paying jobs in the immediate area, do you? PHARMACIST Um, let me think. No, not in the immediate area. DAVID What about in the outlying areas? PHARMACIST Uh, no. I don't know of any high- paying jobs anywhere in the whole country. Do you? DAVID Um, no. Not now. Well, good day. PHARMACIST Good day to you. DAVID Is there an employment agency in this town? PHARMACIST Yes. Just continue down this street about half a mile. It's a small building but you can't miss it. CUT TO: 47 INT. EMPLOYMENT OFFICE It's a small employment agency befitting a small town. David is just sitting and waiting his turn along with various other types. David looks a little out of place in that the others look like they want some job relating to alcohol. The AGENT steps out of a small glass cubicle and asks David to step in. David does and sits down. AGENT So. What can we do for you? DAVID Well, I'm originally from Los Angeles and I'm now living here. I need a job. AGENT Alright. He takes out a piece of paper and begins to write down information. AGENT (continuing) What was your previous working experience? DAVID Well, for the last eight years I was a major executive with one of the biggest advertising agencies in the country. AGENT Oh, I see. And your previous salary? DAVID Seventy thousand dollars. AGENT (looks up; he hasn't heard this figure in a long time) You said seventy thousand? DAVID Yes. AGENT Over how long a period are we talking about? DAVID A year. Seventy thousand a year. The Agent begins to laugh. DAVID (continuing) What's so funny? AGENT Nothing. That's very good. So, what brings you around these parts? Trying to double up that income? Agent laughs again. DAVID No. I came here to live. I wanted to change my life. AGENT You couldn't change your life on seventy thousand? DAVID Could we just get back to what we're doing here? AGENT Sure. Uh, I don't think I have anything at all right now. I mean the only thing I have, you wouldn't be interested in. Why don't you check back with me in a month? DAVID Well, you don't know what I'd be interested in. Why don't you just tell me what you have? AGENT I don't think that coming from your position and your salary you'd be interested in it. DAVID Well, you don't know me. What is it? AGENT It's a crossing guard. DAVID A crossing guard? You mean at a school? AGENT Yes. Where else do you see them work? DAVID No, I just didn't know if there were different kinds. Well, what does that pay? AGENT A hundred thousand dollars. He starts to laugh. David laughs along with him. DAVID But, really, what does it pay? AGENT It pays three twenty-five an hour, plus benefits. DAVID Benefits meaning what? AGENT Benefits meaning you can get a ride to and from work if you need it. DAVID Well, listen, I've just started looking for work and I don't want to rule anything out but I think I probably can find something where I can use my ability a bit more. Would you have another kind of file, like an executive box or something? AGENT What kind of box would that be? DAVID You know, a box of higher-paying jobs. AGENT My goodness, I forgot. Sure. You mean the hundred thousand dollar box? Agent begins to laugh again. DAVID (getting up) Well, I'm happy I could provide you with your morning's entertainment. You can laugh at me but let me tell you something. I made a statement. You understand what I'm saying? I made a statement. AGENT A statement? DAVID Never mind. Thank you. AGENT Thank you. Good luck. CUT TO: 48 EXT. TRAILER PARK - LATER THAT DAY David is walking dejectedly towards home. Nancy is inside fixing dinner. 49 INT. MOTOR HOME As he enters, she turns around excited. She runs up and gives him a hug. NANCY Guess what? DAVID (perking up a bit; at least one of them sounds like they had success) A job? NANCY Sure looks like it. DAVID Fantastic! (he sits down) Tell me everything. What is it? How much do you get? When do you start? NANCY I won't know anything for sure until tomorrow. I don't want to say anything until then. DAVID Oh come on! Tell me? At least tell me what the job is. NANCY Please. We'll get all excited and then what if I don't get it? Let's just wait. DAVID Just give me a hint! NANCY Well... alright. I would be an assistant manager. DAVID Jesus! After one day? Assistant manager! Where? NANCY That's all I'm saying. The manager's thinking it over. He said he'll let me know tomorrow. I don't want to jinx it. Now, come on. Let's hear about you. What happened? David can't get over the words "Assistant Manager." His own search hasn't brought him words of that caliber. He hedges. DAVID Well, I'm not saying anything either, but I'll also know in the morning. NANCY I gave you a hint, you have to give me one. DAVID I can't. I have too many leads. I've had many firm offers and right now I'm just mulling them over. NANCY What kind of offers? DAVID Listen, I think you're right, we're going to jinx this thing. Let's just keep the mystery. It's more exciting that way. CUT TO: 50 INT. SCHOOL BASEMENT - THE NEXT DAY David is standing with an older MAN in front of a locker. The Man takes out a uniform. MAN Now, this won't fit you exactly 'cause the fellow who had this before was about eighty and very heavy, but if you go up to the nurse's office they'll take it in. DAVID Thank you. MAN Now, I don't have the sign here, but do you understand? It's stop on one side... DAVID (interrupts) Yes. Go on the other. MAN No. If you're going to interrupt me I'm not going to be able to explain it. It's stop an one side and stop on the other. It's just a stop sign. So, when you want people to go you'll have to hide the sign. DAVID That's right. I remember. You just put it down so people can't see. MAN That's right. Behind your back is generally the best place. DAVID Yes. I think, basically, this job hasn't changed since I went to school. MAN Aren't you a little young for this kind of work? DAVID I don't think so. Why? MAN Well, all the other guards here have been in their late sixties or seventies. We had one who was fifty once but that's as young as I can remember. DAVID Well, times are changing. I mean stereotypes have to be broken sometime, don't they? MAN I guess they do. I never thought they did but yeah, I guess they do. Okay. Happy to have you here and I guess all you should know is that some of these children are rude. DAVID Well, all children are rude. MAN Well, these children are a little ruder than they used to be. You see we had this cutback in the school lunch program and sometimes they're hungry. And you know what happens when you're hungry? You get a little bit ornery. I guess what I'm saying is you'll need a little bit of tolerance. DAVID Oh, tolerance is my middle name. Believe me. CUT TO: 51 EXT. STREET SCENE - DAY David is at the crosswalk. He's leading a group of CHILDREN across the street. They are about twelve years old. Obviously, old enough to cross by them- selves. David greets them. He wants to make a good impression. God knows why. DAVID Hello, children. How was school? CHILD #1 Screw you! CHILD #2 Yeah. Mind your own business. DAVID Ah. You must be two of the hungry ones. The Kids glare at him. David walks back across the street alone. David is waiting. A bunch of KIDS, a little older, about six of them, walk up. One of them says: OLDER KID #1 Hey, who's the new Retardo? DAVID Oh, my goodness. More hungry children. You want to cross the street? OLDER KID #1 Yeah, Retardo. DAVID My name is David. I would appreciate not being called that name. It's an ugly name. OLDER KID #2 Ugly name for an ugly face. DAVID I see no reason to walk future prisoners across the street. Why don't you get some practice working on your own right now since you'll probably be in solitary most of your life. You can handle it. OLDER KID #2 No, man. That's what you're paid for. Come on. Take us across the street. DAVID No, I can't take you across the street and, also, I'm allowed to make judgments. If I think someone shouldn't be allowed to cross the street I'm allowed to deny them that privilege. So, if you want to cross, you'll have to cross on your own. OLDER KID #2 Hey, no. No, man. You work for us. Let's go. DAVID What do you mean let's go? Is that a threat? Be careful. I've got a metal sign here. OLDER KID #2 (takes out a knife) Yeah? I've got a metal knife. DAVID Knife wins. Come on. He leads them across the street. David walks back alone, mumbling. He sits in his little chair. There's no action and no children. Cars are passing by. A new black MERCEDES SCREECHES UP. The passenger window is electrically lowered. A GUY, in his early 30's, calls to David. DRIVER Mister? DAVID Call me David. I'm your age. I look a little older because I'm in this uniform. DRIVER David, how do I get out of this place? Actually, what is this place? DAVID What do you mean? DRIVER What town is this? DAVID Prescott. DRIVER Jesus Christ. I'm lost. How do I get to Phoenix? DAVID You have to get on Highway 90. So, what you do is go down about two miles, you'll come to a stoplight, you turn right and keep going and you'll see a sign. DRIVER Two miles down and then right? DAVID That's it. DRIVER Thanks, man. DAVID Hold it. David approaches the car. He sticks his head inside and starts sniffing, rather intensely. DRIVER What are you doing? Stop doing that. Get away. DAVID I'm just smelling the interior. This is leather, isn't it? DRIVER It's Mercedes Leather. They call it leather but it's vinyl. Smells like leather, though. Huh? DAVID (still sniffing) Yeah it does. You like this car? DRIVER What's not to like? Hey, thanks, man. See ya. He floors it and tears off into the distance. David watches the car slowly disappear. He's still sniffing. DAVID (to himself) It smelled like leather. They must spray it with something. Interrupting David's thought is a CHILD'S VOICE coming from behind him. CHILD Hey, Retardo! Over here! DAVID (to himself) Without even looking I'm sure he means me. CUT TO: 52 INT. MOTOR HOME - NIGHTTIME David enters. Nancy is taking off her coat. David can see that she has on a uniform. It's a candy-striped short skirt and blouse. Also, she has on a candy- striped apron and hat. It looks familiar but David can't quite place it. DAVID Hi. Nancy turns around. NANCY My God! You scared me. They stare at each other, each looking at the other's uniform. NANCY (continuing) You got your job? DAVID Yes. Did you get yours? NANCY Yes. Yes, I did. DAVID Is that a uniform you're wearing? NANCY Of course. What did you think, I bought this? DAVID What do you do? NANCY I work at Burger King. I got it. I'm the assistant manager. DAVID Burger King? NANCY The reason I wasn't sure last night was because the manager said he needed time to sleep on it, but this morning he told me he made his decision as soon as I left. He just didn't know how to get hold of me. DAVID Hold it a second. Burger King? The hamburger place? Just after David finishes this sentence, we hear the TOILET FLUSH. Out comes SKIP, a nineteen-year-old boy, dressed in the male version of the same uniform Nancy is wearing. Skip is one of those kids who talks like he's from Torrance, through his nose, blending all syl- lables into one, a kid whose speech could mask his intelligence, if there was intelligence to be masked. DAVID (continuing) Nancy, who's this child? NANCY Oh. This is Skip. He's the manager. He wanted to see where we live. David just stares. His image of the "Manager" was obviously way off. SKIP Hey, thanks, Nancy. Wow, this is like a real home. Now, when you flush the toilet, where does it go? Before Nancy can answer, Skip sees David. SKIP (continuing) Oh, wow! Who's the crossing guard? NANCY That's what you are! A crossing guard! I couldn't place it. That's wonderful! You're working with children! DAVID I'm walking with children. There's a difference, but we'll talk about it later. Now, tell me again. This child is who? NANCY This is Skip. He's the manager. DAVID The manager? This is who slept on it? Skip stretches his hand out eagerly wiping it first on his pants, just to make sure it's clean. SKIP Hey, it's nice to meet you. Call me Skippy, though, huh? That's what my friends call me. Hey, your wife's really something. Man, I think what you're both doing is amazing. She told me all about it. It's really great. You've got a lot of courage. It blew my mind. I'll tell ya, man, when I get old, I sure hope I drop out. It really sounds neat. Hey, did she tell ya what happened today? NANCY (a little embarrassed) David just got home, Skip. I'll tell him later. DAVID No. Let Skippy tell it. I want to hear him talk some more. SKIPPY Hey, thanks. Well, you know the fry machine? We were never using it right. See, no one ever told us. I mean we did everything the instructions said. You know, we put the oil in and everything, but we took the fries out, like, much too soon and no one knew. And your wife said, "Hey, these are frozen in the middle." And then we took them outside and we looked at 'em in the sun and she was right! They were still frozen. She spotted it on the first day! Do you believe it? DAVID And how long were you making them the other way? SKIPPY Oh, I don't know, a little less than a year. DAVID Nancy, where are the keys? NANCY They're in the ignition. Why? CUT TO: 53 INT. MOTOR HOME We are somewhere outside of Prescott. David and Nancy are driving along. They are still in their Burger King and crossing guard outfits, but obviously they have left their first home. Nancy has a map in her hand. She's looking it over. NANCY You know I think Denver could be a good place to go. DAVID Denver, huh? NANCY Well, it's bigger. We do need a bigger city. DAVID We certainly do. Sweetheart, let's talk for a second. NANCY What? DAVID I love you very much. You know that, don't you? NANCY I love you, too. DAVID Well, I think it's wonderful that we could say this and mean it. Do you know that ever since we were married I just was waiting for us to get divorced? I never thought we would make it, ever. But now I do. NANCY I know. I feel the same way. DAVID Well, my God, that's wonderful. I mean the experiences that we went through in the last two weeks, it did that. It showed us that we're going to be married forever. Nancy, we're together for the rest of our lives and I'm so grateful to finally have that peace of mind. It's wonderful. NANCY I told you this would all be a blessing. DAVID I know you did. But now, let's talk facts. Our nest egg broke. Forget who did it, no blame. That's not the point. The point is we didn't split up. We stayed together and decided to rebuild. And it was the best decision we ever made. Because for the first time we really know how to share. Whatever we have we can enjoy it together. NANCY But we don't have anything. DAVID There! Now we're getting to it. This afternoon I was guiding some children across the street and I realized something. Given our age, and the years we have left together, and the way we're going about this rebuilding program, we will never have another egg in our lifetime. NANCY I was thinking the same thing. DAVID Really? NANCY Yes. As a matter-of-fact, I began thinking what we might do to speed things up. DAVID That's amazing. So was I. Denver? Is that what Denver is about? NANCY No. Not exactly. I was just kind of thinking of a general plan. DAVID Me too. NANCY Great. What? DAVID Well, you tell me yours first. NANCY (hesitating) No, you go first. DAVID No. I'm almost embarrassed to tell you, mine's like a last resort. NANCY Don't be embarrassed. What is it? DAVID (hesitating) Well... NANCY Come on. DAVID Okay. I thought we'd just get to New York as fast as we can... NANCY (interrupts) And you eat shit? DAVID Your plan too, huh? NANCY Exactly. DAVID We really are a team. NANCY We certainly are. CUT TO: 54 EXT./INT. MOTOR HOME - MONTAGE - DAY It does a fast U-turn away from the northern direction and begins heading east. They are now on their way to New York going as fast as they can. As they do the THEME from the commercial "I LOVE NEW YORK" BEGINS TO PLAY. It grows and grows in intensity as David and Nancy cross the United States. Their trip from Arizona to New York will take place in a space of about thirty seconds. States whiz by. Signs "ENTERING MISSOURI" "LEAVING MISSOURI" "ENTERING VIRGINIA," "LEAVING VIRGINIA," all taking place in a period of seconds. The MUSIC is getting more intense. It's now filling our ears. VOICES BEGIN SINGING, "I LOVE NEW YORK." 55 EXT. GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE - NEW YORK CITY - SNOW - DAY We see the mobile home approaching the George Washington Bridge. As it enters the tollbooth we... CUT TO: 56 EXT. MADISON AVENUE - SNOW It's Monday morning, 8:45. Thousands of New Yorkers are filing into their offices. We see the motor home pull up in front of the advertising agency. Hundreds of people are entering this building. We see that one of these people is Brad Tooley, the baldheaded man David was supposed to work under. From a LONG SHOT, we see David exit the motor home. He's still in his crossing guard uniform. He's been up for three days, taking No Doz and drinking hundreds of cups of coffee. He looks like hell. He runs down the street and corners Brad near the front entrance. Brad sees David. He's scared. He can't believe it. He starts to run. He tries to escape. David turns after him. All this is shown in a LONG SHOT, with the busy Madison Avenue traffic in the foreground. We hear David yelling: DAVID Brad, I made it! Three weeks on the button! Let's go to work. We got Fords to sell! Brad looks frightened. He'd like to get away but he can't. David catches up to him. He grabs him around the waist. He drops to his knees. He begins to plead. As New Yorkers pass by going about their business, we see David begging. Brad just staring down at him. OVER THIS SCENE the following CRAWL appears on the screen: "Most people lead their entire lives without ever having the courage to break the mold, to find out who they really are and what life is all about. Those that do should take Route 16. This goes through Utah, avoiding the state of Nevada completely." THE END