By Misti Velvet Rainwater
Date: 24 February 2000
SCENE 52
SCENE 52-INT.-Derek and Becca's bedroom. Night.
Derek is sleeping. Becca is sobbing softly. Her sobs are
muffled by the pillow. Derek wakes up and turns toward
Becca.
Derek: Baby? What's wrong?
Becca: I'm sorry I woke you up. I'll go sleep on the couch.
Derek puts his arms around Becca.
Derek: You're hurting. I want to help.
Becca: You can't. It's just this fucking world. I hate it.
But there's nothing I can do about it.
Derek: You were fine earlier. You were so happy you
were glowing.
Becca: It's your grandfather. I feel so sorry for him.
Derek: Becca. Honey. He's fine.
Becca: You know that's a pat lie. You know he's like
an animal in a zoo. But worse. He knows he's losing
his mind. He knows his life will never be good again.
Derek: Why are you doing this to yourself? Papaw's
Alzheimer's is a fact of life. There's nothing we can do
to make it go away. We can help him. We can be
there for him. But beyond that-
Becca: How can you be so apathetic? Didn't it break
your heart to take him back to that nursing home tonight?
Derek: I'm not apathetic. If I were apathetic I wouldn't
bother. I love my grandfather but I know his situation
is out of my control.
Becca turns on the lamp. Gets out of bed. Paces the floor.
Derek: Oh, work is gonna be a barrel full of monkeys.
Becca: Screw work. I'm not going back.
Derek: Okay. Sure. That makes perfect sense.
Becca: I'm going to borrow some money from Adonis.
Derek: Please don't get crazy on me. I don't need this.
Becca: What do you need, Derek? Do you need four
good hours of sleep so that you can deliver pizza tomorrow?
Do you need a girlfriend who'll smoke weed with you and turn
off all her feelings and go through this life like a zombie?
If you want an assembly line mass produced Barbie doll
of a girlfriend who colors inside the lines and plays by
the rules five days a week and parties two days a week
to forget Monday through Friday, go back to Pandora's
Playground. Call the chic you met at the party. Because
this bitch feels everything and sees everything and takes
notes! Goddamn it, I can't be numb anymore! I can't sleepwalk
through life! I can't pretend. I can't turn it all off.
Derek: You are wearing me out, darlin'. Where is this all
comin' from?
Becca: There's more where this came from.
Sits down on the bed. Looks at Derek.
Becca: We've been together for two weeks now and we've
never really talked. You don't really know me. You don't know
my core. You just know my shell.
Derek: You want to talk about your past?
Becca: No. I don't want to bore you. I can see you'd rather be
sleeping.
Derek: Baby, I'm exhausted.
Becca: Then go to sleep.
Jumps up. Opens the closet door. Pulls out a suitcase.
Throws it on the bed.
Derek: What are you doing?
Becca: I'm playing Beethoven's glorious Ninth
on the piano.
Derek: So you've read *A Clockwork Orange.* I'm impressed.
Becca: Don't be. Books are empty. Paradin's better.
Derek: And you've seen "A Hard Day's Night."
Becca begins throwing panties and bras in the suitcase.
Becca: What kind of girls have you dated?
Derek: I've dated a lot of illiterate bimbos.
Becca: You're going to miss me, that's for sure.
Becca begins pulling jeans and t-shirts off the hangers.
Derek: Lemme guess. You're going to borrow a couple grand
from your good friend Adonis and take Papaw on a road trip.
Becca: Do you wanna come?
Derek: Darlin', what is goin' on with you?
Becca: He doesn't belong in that place. He's surrounded
by dead people and he's the most alive person I know.
I'm taking your grandfather to Las Vegas.
Derek: I guess I should humor you and ask why. Why do
you want to take Papaw to Las Vegas?
Becca: My parents divorced when I was six years old.
I watched my mother go through an endless series of
loser boyfriends. I learned about normal relationships on
sitcoms and in movies. I caught glimpses of true love
in fairy tales. But until tonight, I never heard a man talk
about a woman the way your grandfather talked about
your grandmother.
Becca stands still as she talks, looking down with clenched
fists.
Becca: I want that. I may never have that. But by expressing
the true love he felt for your grandmother, Papaw gave me
the gift of knowing that such a deathless love actually
exists. So I guess you could say that a road trip to Las Vegas
is my gift to your grandfather. I don't expect you to understand.
But I have to do this.
Derek gets up. Puts his arms around Becca.
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