Sharkey's Place, S1, E1: "Captain Julia visits"

Sharkey's Place
By Rick Regan
Season 1, Episode 1
9/30/2021
Rick Regan
Raleigh.rickregan@gmail.com
919-218-8834
INT. SHARKEY’S PLACE - LATE AFTERNOON - EARLY FALL
Glen and Myra are sitting at a low table, across from each
other, flipping cards. They are playing Solitaire separately.
GLENN
Myra, you are getting way ahead of me. How are you
doing that?
MYRA
I’ve just got a lot on my mind.
GLENN
You? You’ve got a lot on your mind? What about me?
You ever think of that?
MYRA
(looks up at him blankly)
You? Um, no.
GLENN
Thanks a lot.
They continue to flip cards
KIRINI
Myra, when you’re done there, could you give me a
hand back here. The Bud guy dropped off a couple of
kegs for us.
MYRA
Sure, be right there.
MYRA flips and sorts the cards, then stacks them up. She gets
up and goes to the kitchen.
GLENN
(looks up from cards)
Hey, Kiri. When you get a chance...
Glenn rattles his ice cubes in his glass.
KIRINI
Slow down sailor. Suns not over the yardarm yet.
GLENN
It is in Bermuda.
Kirini waves him off and goes in the back with Myra.
Glenn, sitting alone, looks around the place. He gets out his
notepad and starts to write. He is engrossed in his work.
Sometimes he checks his phone.
2.
This takes a while, and shows how quiet and slow this little
bar is. Not much happening. Glenn gets up and leans on the
bar.
The door opens and Julia comes in, a woman in her 30s,
attractive and smart. She is in trousers and a sweater, with
sensible shoes.
JULIA
Hallo. Anybody here?
GLENN
Oh! Hi, yes. Come on in. They will be back in a
minute.
Julia walks over to the bar and stands next to Glenn.
JULIA
Can I get something to eat?
GLENN
Sure, Myra will make you whatever you want. She’s a
great cook. I outta know.
JULIA
You eat here a often?
GLENN
Well, yes, but what I mean is that she’s my ex-wife.
I still come here, just for her.
JULIA
Are you Sharkey?
GLENN
No, he’s dead.
JULIA
Oh, I’m sorry for your loss. Grief is heavy
sometimes. Were you close?
GLENN
Me? And Sharkey? Nah! He was gone before I even got
to town.
JULIA
(puzzled)
Oh, I see.
GLENN
My name’s Glenn. What’s yours?
2.
3.
JULIA
(with a soft ‘J’, like a ‘y’)
I am Julia.
GLENN
Julia. Nice to meet you.
They shake hands.
JULIA
So you are not from around here?
GLENN
Me?
JULIA
(nods)
GLENN
Oh, well, I grew up in Portland. Maine. I’m kind of a
city guy. I’m a journalist. I write for The Global
Shipping Industry newspaper.
JULIA
Oh, the GSI, I know that. I read it every week. We
get it on Wednesdays in Amsterdam.
GLENN
You read the GSI? Nobody reads the GSI. At least
nobody I know.
JULIA
So you are a reporter for them? What do you write?
GLENN
I cover cargo-and-fish on the coast of Maine, and
freight past the Bay of Fundy. Mostly I just collect
all the reports and put it all together into the
tables.
JULIA
Oh, yes. I read the shipping tables. So you are the
Maine correspondent?
GLENN
(smiles)
That’s me, the Maine Man.
JULIA
Oh, yes. The Maine Man, yes. That’s funny.
Kirini comes back, behind the bar.
3.
4.
KIRINI
Oh, hello! Can I help you? Can I get you something?
JULIA
Hallo. Yes, I was hoping to get something to eat.
KIRINI
(handing her a menu)
Sure, take a look. But we’re out of the soup.
(to Glenn)
Refill?
GLENN
Yes, thanks.
Kirini makes another gin martini for Glenn. She gives Julia a
moment to look at the menu.
KIRINI
Know what you’d like?
GLENN
(to Julia)
Have the fish and chips. They’re great here.
JULIA
Well, OK! You’ve convinced me. Fish and chips,
please.
KIRINI
Coming right up. Would you like something to drink
while you wait? A beer or wine?
JULIA
You have cognac?
KIRINI
Um... yes. Yes we do. Don’t get much call for it so I
can’t say how fresh it is but I’ll pull it down for
you.
JULIA
Fresh? Heh, usually it is the older-the-better.
Kirini pulls a bottle off the shelf and puts the drink
together.
GLENN
(offering a toast)
Well, cheers! Here’s to the GSI.
JULIA
Alright.
4.
5.
They both sip the cocktails.
GLENN
So how is it that you read a shipping newspaper? It’s
very specific.
JULIA
I am a ships captain in Amsterdam. I run a
Netherlands-to-Norway ferry. Sometimes to Bergen,
sometimes to Oslo. In the summer we go all the way to
Tromsø, above the arctic circle.
GLENN
Holy Toledo! Really?
JULIA
Yes. Really.
GLENN
What are you doing here?
JULIA
It is a work trip, and holiday. I’m travelling with a
group but I took a few days to myself so I could see
the small towns, not just big shipbuilding yards.
GLENN
I see. How’s it been going? Or more importantly,
how’s the food been?
JULIA
A lot of fish and chips.
GLENN
Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t think.
JULIA
No, I’m Dutch. I love fish and chips. I just have to
convince Americans that it’s OK if I want to put
mayonnaise on the chips. You all get so worked-up
about that, French Fries! Ha!
GLENN
(smug)
Yes, you know, Americans just aren’t very worldly, or
sophisticated usually. Most people never leave their
own state. It’s sad but true. For me, I admire the
European system of education, ...and, and trains.
JULIA
Trains?
5.
6.
GLENN
Yes, uh... Inter-City. That’s the way to go. Leave
the cars behind. Right?
Kirini brings out the plate of food, with a bottle of
ketchup.
JULIA
Thank you. Could I get some mayonnaise, please?
KIRINI
Mayo?
GLENN
It’s European. It’s they way the have them in Europe.
She’s Dutch.
KIRINI
OK. Whatever you want. You want to put perfectly good
mayo on perfectly good fries, when there is ketchup
right there? Who am I to say no?
She pulls a squeeze bottle of mayo from under the bar.
JULIA
Thank you.
She squirts some mayo on the fries.
KIRINI
There is tartar and cocktail sauce on the side. You
know what that is? The red stuff?
JULIA
Yes, I’ve had it. Thank you. But do you have Tabasco?
I have come to love the Tabasco.
KIRINI
Spicy! Hey, I like her!
She fishes a narrow Tabasco sauce bottle from under the bar
for Julia.
JULIA
Oh excellent.
She uncaps the hot sauce and douses the fish with it.
KIRINI
Whoa! You’re not messing around.
JULIA
On the ship, the food is pretty bland so I get used
to adding more flavor. Now I am a hot-sauce freak!
6.
7.
KIRINI
Alright! Say, you just let me know if you need
anything else. And Glenn, keep your hands off her.
She’s a paying customer.
GLENN
What?! What did I do?
KIRINI
Just don’t scare away a new customer, OK?
GLENN
Sure, sure.
JULIA
So, are you married, Glenn?
GLENN
Who me?
JULIA
(chewing)
Mmm-hmm.
GLENN
Used to be. Been a couple of years. You?
JULIA
Same. Used to be, but he didn’t like that I was gone
overnight all the time.
GLENN
I assumed that’s part of the deal with you. Anybody
that gets involved with a sea captain becomes the
lonely spouse. Did he cheat on you?
JULIA
(chewing)
Mmm-hmm.
GLENN
Oh that’s not good. I mean, you’re an attractive
woman. No need to shop around.
JULIA
We went to uni together. Got married when we
graduated. It was foolish. We were too young, but we
stuck it out for eight years.
GLENN
Any kids?
7.
8.
JULIA
No. I went to graduate school for seamanship and he
took an MBA in England. When we both finished we
realized we were heading in different directions. I
don’t blame him really. He was lonely. But I wasn’t
going to give up my career to babysit him. He’s
married again now.
GLENN
Oh, is she nice?
JULIA
Perfectly nice. Perfectly plump little Dutch
dairymaid, a melk-meisje, we say in Dutch. She
snuggles her big backside into him and he stands up
like a rocket. Eh, good for him.
GLENN
Good for him, I guess.
The door opens and Captain Gordon comes in. He waves and
comes to the bar, very familiarly.
GORDON
Kiri. Glenn. How are you?
KIRINI
Didn’t expect you in today, Cap. First one’s on me.
She quickly set up a beer for Gordon.
GORDON
Glenn. Who’s your friend?
GLENN
Gordon. This is Julia. She’s a Dutch sea-captain.
GORDON
Sea-captain? Is that right? Don’t see many of those.
Good on ya.
JULIA
And you? You are a captain?
GORDON
Lobsterman. Twenty five years.
JULIA
Oh, that’s nice. Familiar waters.
GORDON
Oh, yes. And familiar with the weather, the sea and
the thieving bastards that steal traps overnight.
8.
9.
GLENN
Gordon runs a good boat. His men all say, tough but
fair. Not everybody gets that high-praise around
here.
GORDON
Captain.
(nods)
JULIA
(nods)
Captain.
GORDON
I’ll tell you my tale, but it is ordinary, in the
seaman’s way, rocks-and-fish. Is yours the same, or
life of high adventure on the blue water?
JULIA
Blue water? Hmmm. I’ve seen some blue water, but
mostly grey, mostly green. Sea foam, crashing waves
in a frozen sea. The cod-trawlers go out further than
us. We ply the coast of Norway, fjords, bays, inlets,
then down to Cobenhaven, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
GORDON
It must have its charm.
JULIA
In the summer, the sun never sets. Just rolls around
the horizon, and spins around the sky. Likely the
same here. Do the fish,.... And lobsters... respond
to the sun and the moon differently?
GORDON
Depends who you ask.
JULIA
I’m asking you.
GORDON
Well, I’d say the lobsters like it sunny and cold.
The fish, they like warm rain.
JULIA
And you?
GORDON
I prefer the warm curve of a woman’s body, in bed on
a chilly night.
JULIA
Ha! You have been on the water too long.
9.
10.
GORDON
So weather-blasted that no woman would look at me?
Eh, that’s true as the north star. Right, Kiri?
KIRINI
Gordo, I’m glad to see you back here, all in one
piece. A top up?
GORDON
Do you have any cold beer?
KIRINI
Ah, sorry about that. Myra’s changing the kegs in
back. Here’s a cold one.
She puts a frosty Bud long-neck on the bar.
GORDON
Ah, Kiri, you’re the freshest bait in the sea.
GLENN
Easy, Cap.
JULIA
So you are back today from fishing?
GORDON
I’m never back from fishing. I’m fishing right now,
thinking about my traps, my lines. Same for you, I
imagine.
JULIA
Oh no. I drive a bus. A big bus. On the water, but
it’s still a bus. Rain or shine, we’re steaming out.
I can put it out of my mind, easy enough.
GORDON
But out of your dreams?
JULIA
Well, yes. Still in my dreams. One time, in a
January, we were plowing north to Bergen. Not too far
out, not too far in. And a pod of Right Whales
approached from the ocean. They were hunting herring,
I think. I told the engineer full-stop. The pilot
went crazy because we were drifting and sliding off
course. But out there, course is easy to correct. I
didn’t want the props interfering with the Right
Whales. We would be late of course, but who is there
to complain? Nobody is going to Bergen in January. We
drifted and I watched the whales for nearly three
hours. The current had spun us around three times. It
didn’t matter. Easy enough to fix.
10.
(MORE)
11.
GORDON
A bright day?
JULIA
As bright as it gets in January, but clear. And you
know what?
GORDON
Hmm?
JULIA
A Dutch helicopter was sent to check on us. They
circled and radioed us. I told them that I was
watching the whales.
GORDON
Ha! Ha! Ha! Good for you!
(raises bottle for a toast)
JULIA
Captain of the ship. My ship.
GORDON
Damned right! Damned right. Captain of the ship.
JULIA
But they were all getting worried so... I told the
engineer and the pilot, set the course and proceed. I
dream of that day.
GORDON
Majestic fish, the whales.
JULIA
Are you married, Captain?
GORDON
Oh, yes. But she lives out on the farm. I have a
shack near the boat. I go in for grub on the weekend,
or..
JULIA
Foul skies?
GORDON
Right as rain.
GLENN
And shack is right. It’s a hovel by the marina. Isn’t
that right, Cap?
GORDON
Well, sometimes, for a change, I stay at the Red Barn
Inn, just down the road. Hot showers. Comfy beds.
(MORE)
11.
GORDON (CONT’D)
12.
And most particularly good coffee. I think the woman
grinds it by hand, if you’d believe it.
JULIA
Full disclosure, I have a room there.
KIRINI
At the Red Barn?
JULIA
Yes, that’s it.
KIRINI
I hear it’s nice, but not very private. Walls are
paper thin.
JULIA
Voice of experience?
KIRINI
(flustered)
No, no. Just rumors.
GLENN
And the parking is a bitch.
JULIA
I parked, and I walked here.
GORDON
Is that so?
JULIA
If they are full for the night...
GORDON
They could be.
GLENN
I’d be glad to give you a lift to the marina, Cap.
GORDON
In your shit-box? No thanks. I’ll hoof it.
GLENN
It’s a Camry. What’s the matter with a Camry?
GORDON
Ah, nevermind. Kiri, I think Glenn is chewing his ice
again.
GLENN
What?
GORDON (CONT’D)
12.
13.
KIRINI
Here G-man.
She pours gin into his glass and adds a handful of ice wedges
GLENN
Thanks.
JULIA
So, Captain, how are the lobsters this season?
GORDON
It was a good season, nearly done now.
JULIA
Is your boat paid off?
GORDON
Ah, so that’s it.
JULIA
What?
GORDON
The game you’re at.
JULIA
The game? There is no game.
GORDON
You want to fish lobsters then, instead of surfing
the Norwegian coast, is that it?
JULIA
No.
GORDON
Or something else? Like the long haulers out of New
York harbor. Or the Panama Canal ships, in and out of
ports in the south Pacific?
JULIA
I’m sightseeing, you see.
GORDON
Sure. Of course. And how’s the fish and chips?
JULIA
Tasty.
GORDON
You’re a treat, I must say.
13.
14.
JULIA
So say it.
GORDON
To my crewman I say, I like my women like I like my
coffee.
JULIA
Umm, black and hot?
GORDON
No, cold and bitter. Ha! You remind me of a captain I
once knew.
JULIA
Who was that?
GORDON
It was a fella down from Prince Edward. A seaman I’d
not seen the like of. Knew the boats, the currents,
tides and the shade of the moon. But he steered a tug
into Halifax for years it seemed. Then one day I hear
he’s off the coast of Africa fighting pirates and
steering cargo through monsoons in the Indian. And
wouldn’t you know I saw him, Barry Muldoon, this past
August, on a trawler off St. Johns. Why, I pull
beside, and we had a fine chin wag.
JULIA
What did he say?
GORDON
He said he’d been around the world, couple of times.
Australia, Borneo, Hawaii and all the rest.
JULIA
Right.
GORDON
And you know what he says?
JULIA
No. What is it?
GORDON
Gordo, he says. Gordo, you know what it is, all over
the world? No, I says. Rocks and fish, he says. Rocks
and fish. Ha!
KIRINI
Ha! Oh, that’s a good one, Gordo. Are you good then?
GORDON
Well, I should see a man about a horse.
14.
15.
KIRINI
You know where it is.
Gordon gets up and walks to the back to the restrooms.
GLENN
I should move around too.
Glenn gets up and follows Gordon to the gents.
Myra emerges from the back, sees Julia.
MYRA
(to Kirini)
How did Glenn like the fish?
KIRINI
It wasn’t Glenn. Her.
MYRA
Oh. Hi. Wadya think? Pretty fresh, huh?
JULIA
Oh yes. Very tasty. Are you the chef?
MYRA
I wouldn’t say chef, but the cook. I’m glad you liked
it.
JULIA
He said you are a wonder with meals.
MYRA
Who said that?
JULIA
Glenn.
MYRA
He said that?
JULIA
Yes. He said that you are a great cook and that he
should know.
MYRA
Funny. He never told me.
JULIA
I like him. He is available?
MYRA
Whadya mean, like, married? No, we’re divorced.
15.
16.
JULIA
Then you will have no trouble if I take him back to
my hotel tonight?
MYRA
Wait, what?! My Glenn. No, you can’t steal my Glenn.
JULIA
I don’t understand. Are you together?
MYRA
No, I mean, we were together, but he’s not exactly a
big hit with women. He wants to talk about shipping
in the Bay of Fundy.
JULIA
I am interested in the shipping in the Bay of Fundy.
MYRA
Are you? Just who exactly are you, coming in to pick
up my husband... ex.
JULIA
You are a woman. I’ve been travelling with my tour
group for two weeks. Sometimes we want some fresh
blood.
KIRINI
Fresh blood. First it’s extra spicy and now fresh
blood. I like you, sister. Where have you been
travelling?
JULIA
We came into Detroit to see the intermodal works, for
the automobiles. We don’t really have the
synchronized shipping like that. Then Phila-delphia.
New York and Boston.
KIRINI
But what’s Amsterdam like? I’d love to go some day.
Is your family there?
JULIA
My mother is in Zeeland, down south. But I went to
Utrecht for uni and only get back down there once a
year to see my mother.
MYRA
You only see your mother once a year? Doesn’t she
miss you? I would, if my son only came around at
Christmas.
16.
17.
JULIA
My mother was angry with me for my divorce from Jan.
She is quite conservative, in the old-style. She was
disappointed that I didn’t stay in Zeeland, marry a
farmer and have a herd of strapping farmhands.
MYRA
Sounds like my mother.
KIRINI
And mine. She wants me to take her back to Greece,
and live with her in the olive groves in her old age.
I said, ‘Ma, you go. I’ve got Sharkey’s and I’m fine
right here.’
MYRA
Kiri, you know, maybe you should take some time off.
I can handle the place until you get back. Take some
time and go to Greece for the winter. Nothing
happening here in the winter, except ice and snow.
JULIA
Sounds like Norway. I want to go to the warm islands.
There is an island in the Caribbean that is still
Dutch. I want to go there and lie on the beach and
read a book.
KIRINI
That sounds nice.
MYRA
That does sound nice. Yeah. You should go. What’s
stopping you?
JULIA
I’m a sea-captain between the Netherlands and Norway.
MYRA
That sounds like a big job. Is there a lot of stress?
Do you have to manage a lot of people?
JULIA
The crew are mostly men, mostly have left the Navy.
They are young and rough. In the winter when we land
back home, they have their pay packets and head into
Amsterdam. I never know who is going to show up on
Monday. They are reckless men. But they are good
sailors. Like he said, I have to be tough but fair.
MYRA
That sounds like a handful. I don’t think I could do
that. I like the simpler life. Cook the fish, steam
the lobster, you know.
17.
18.
JULIA
Maybe you should have married a farmer.
MYRA
Listen I’m doing fine. It’s you I’m worried about. I
can see it, even if you can’t. It can be hard to
admit the truth: you are conflicted at work, bored at
home, lonely in bed, and can’t find your way out of
it. Let’s face it, you’re stuck.
JULIA
I’m stuck?
MYRA
It sure looks that way.
JULIA
I am a sea-captain, not a fry cook at the edge of
nowhere.
MYRA
Meaning?
JULIA
Meaning that I have made my career, myself. I have
worked hard and achieved many of my goals. Do you
even have any goals? Maybe you want to own Sharkey’s
some day, eh? Do you have a plan for that or just see
what comes along?
MYRA
Well I may not be a sea-captain but I have a good
life in a quiet little town. Milbridge, Maine is a
good place to raise my son. The people here are nice.
It’s old-fashioned, sure, but maybe I am too.
JULIA
But you divorced Glenn. Is that because you have some
modern ideas as well, or is that an old-fashioned one
too? Eh?
MYRA
You know what, I dumped Glenn because he thought he
was going to be James Bond, travelling the world,
reporting from the capitals and centers of the news.
But you know what, he never got past the part about
the Martinis.
JULIA
Shaken, not stirred?
18.
19.
MYRA
That’s it. And he got himself stuck in the mud here
and never got out. Once I saw him for the drunk and
the bum that he is, I said, out!
JULIA
I understand. People change. Maybe they change back
too.
MYRA
He’s still sitting here clinking his ice, day after
day.
JULIA
He says he comes here to eat with you.
MYRA
Better here than someplace where he could really get
into trouble. Here, I can keep an eye on him.
JULIA
Well then, how about the Captain?
KIRINI
Gordo is a married man.
JULIA
He seems to have a roving eye though. Am I wrong?
KIRINI
Well, I wouldn’t say he was a saint, no.
JULIA
And if a woman wanted company for the night, he seems
kind enough.
KIRINI
In a lobsterman-way. Smells like fish.
JULIA
We all smell like fish.
KIRINI
Speak for yourself...
JULIA
No, I mean on boats, on the water, the mud. We all
smell like fish. Maybe I miss the intimacy of the
oyster, the mud, the brine, and the flesh, in the
hard, chipped shell.
MYRA
I make good oysters. Fried.
19.
20.
JULIA
I’m sure you do. But what I miss is the hard hands of
that you get from hauling ropes, strong backs from
pulling rigging out of the sea, the wet hair that
smells like slick seals on the beach.
Myra and Kirini both stare at Julia.
MYRA
Oh, honey, we’ve got to get you some action.
JULIA
Good, but where?
MYRA
Not with Glenn.
KIRINI
And not with Gordon.
MYRA
Well, should I wait around for another shark, like
bait on a hook? What should I do?
KIRINI
You know, My, there’s that sailor-bar around the
point, by the shipyard. Full of red-blooded
deckhands. I’m sure you’d find what you’re looking
for there. Right, My?
MYRA
Oh, yeah! And look, it’s Thursday so it’s Lady’s
Night there, half-priced drinks.
KIRINI
And it’s almost happy hour. If you leave now, you’ll
get in before the crowd gets there. You can take your
pick.
Julia looks at the two women.
JULIA
I see. Yes, you are right. I should go.
MYRA
No worries. Look, you go out to the road, head that
way, north, around the point. Then it will be there
on your left. You’ll enjoy it.
JULIA
How much do I owe for the fish and chips?
KIRINI
On the house. Just glad you came in.
20.
21.
Julia heads towards the door, just as Gordon and Glenn are
coming back. They see her and ask her where she’s going. She
says something, inaudible. She goes out the door.
Glenn walks back to the bar but Gordon goes out after her.
GLENN
She had to go, she said.
MYRA
Yeah.
GLENN
Uh-huh. Can I get some more ice?
Myra looks at Kirini, but Kirini is watching the door. She
doesn’t move so Myra brings a cup of ice and a bottle of gin.
She fills his glass.
MYRA
That enough?
GLENN
(unsure)
Uh, thanks My.
They all keep an eye on the closed door. In a minute, Gordon
comes back.
KIRINI
Buy you a beer there, Gordo?
GORDON
Just the one, then I’ll settle up.
MYRA
Why, you got a hot date? Not like you, Cap.
GORDON
Just gotta check on my tackle and rigging. Might rain
tonight.
MYRA
It might rain every night here!
GORDON
So, best to have everything buttoned up.
He picks up the bottle of beer from the bar, tips it back and
finishes the entire bottle. Then he reaches in his pocket and
pulls out two twenty dollar bills, putting them on the bar.
KIRINI
Gordo?
21.
22.
GORDON
To top up my tab. Keep the change. Good night folks.
Gordon makes his way out. They watch the door close.
INT. - SHARKEY’S PLACE - LATE AFTERNOON
It is almost a week later and an early winter storm has swept
through. There is a mix of frozen rain and snow. The dark
comes early and roads are dangerous, and on the water is
worse.
Myra is stacking glasses and stocking the condiments at the
bar.
Kirini comes in from the back. She’s been outside, cold and
wet.
KIRINI
Jeez, I’m freezing my tits out there!
She is bundled up and takes off her slicker and gloves.
MYRA
Came in quick. Probably rough on the water.
Kirini looks sharp at her.
KIRINI
Those watermen are damned fools. Let ‘em raise
lobsters and clams in tanks, if they want them so bad
in Chicago and St. Louis.
MYRA
“Fresh Fish!”, in Denver!
KIRINI
Ah, that’s a laugh! Hey, how’s your sister doing out
there? She still like it?
MYRA
Too many mountains for me, I tell ya. Nah, yeah,
she’s doing great, or she says she’s doing great.
KIRINI
But...
MYRA
But, I wonder. Her husband is a goof. Nice guy, but a
goof. I don’t know what he does. And her kids are
coming up, middle-school, high-school, and they don’t
know the first thing about Maine, about the ocean.
About...
22.
23.
TOGETHER
“Fresh Fish! In Denver!” Ha, Ha, Ha!
KIRINI
That’s funny. Say, you been out there in the winter?
They say it’s sunny and dry. Cold but dry. Can you
believe that?
MYRA
That’s like what they say about the desert, it’s hot
but it’s dry heat. Well, you can keep it. I’ll stay
right here where there is an ocean out my front door,
a blueberry patch behind me and good, solid folks on
either side. I don’t need my backyard, just all of a
sudden, jumping up ten thousand feet, out of nowhere.
KIRINI
But people are people. Are they any different out
there? Does the altitude make people weird?
MYRA
I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s the altitude or
the attitude, but it’s not like when you have an
ocean out your front door. You know what I mean?
KIRINI
No. But that’s alright. I still love you.
MYRA
Ha! You’re a goof.
KIRINI
Me too?
MYRA
Yeah. But you’re alright.
KIRINI
With this weather, I don’t think anybody is coming
in. Why don’t you go home, spend some time with your
son?
MYRA
Didn’t I tell you? He’s got a new girlfriend.
KIRINI
Who?
MYRA
The Godspeed-girl.
KIRINI
Bella?
23.
24.
MYRA
Yeah.
KIRINI
Aw, she’s a nice girl. Tommy and Shelly are a great
couple. Bella’s had kind of a rough go. Maybe she and
your Ethan will be good for each other.
MYRA
I think they might be doing more than playing Doctor.
KIRINI
They gotta grow up. Everybody’s got to have a first
time.
MYRA
Don’t remind me.
KIRINI
I’m just saying it’s going to be pretty quiet. I’m
probably going to close early anyway.
MYRA
Alright. Maybe you’re right. You seen Glenn?
KIRINI
No. Not today. But last night was late, so....
MYRA
Yeah. Ok, I’m going to go.
Myra wraps up her apron, folds a towel and exits out the
back, after putting on her rain gear.
Kirini is alone at the bar. There is a “Harpoon Beer” sign
above the back wall. She pulls the cord and it switches off.
Just then the door swings open. Gordon walks in.
KIRINI
Gordon.
GORDON
Kiri. Got any cold beer?
KIRINI
Sure, Gordo! First one’s on the house.
GORDON
Squalling like the devil tonight.
He shakes out his slicker, hangs it on a peg and sidles up to
the bar.
24.
25.
KIRINI
Don’t tell me you’ve been out on the water in this?
GORDON
The lobster don’t mind. Why should I?
KIRINI
Ah, ya damned fool, out in the soup. Like, mostly
you’re punishing yourself.
GORDON
Hmmm. Maybe we get what we deserve.
KIRINI
But you don’t have to go out in that cold spray. Did
you catch any lobsters anyhow?
GORDON
No, I did not.
KIRINI
Did you drag your whole crew out?
GORDON
No. Just me.
KIRINI
You’re saying, you steamed out your boat, into a nor’
easter, just yourself. Is that right?
GORDON
Yup.
KIRINI
Why, what on the green-earth for?
GORDON
To see the sky.
KIRINI
The sky?
GORDON
And the sea.
KIRINI
The sky AND the sea. Oh, it gets better and better.
Were there rocks and fish as well?
GORDON
Aye.
Kirini looks at him, stunned. He won’t look at her.
25.
26.
She comes around the bar, in close, and puts her hands on his
face.
KIRINI
Oh, Gordo. Have you got a fever? Are you mad, you
fool?
He pulls back, stepping away, not looking at her.
GORDON
No. No fever, I think. Or at least nothing a beer or
three might settle.
KIRINI
Gordon, did you eat today?
GORDON
Today? No.
KIRINI
Yesterday?
GORDON
Yesterday?
KIRINI
Yes.
GORDON
No.
KIRINI
And the day before?
GORDON
Which was that?
KIRINI
You heard me, the day before. Did you eat?
GORDON
I don’t think so.
KIRINI
Jesus, Gordo.
She goes back behind the bar, then into the kitchen. She has
some bread, some meats and cheese. She makes him a sandwich
and cuts it in half. She puts it on the bar and he takes one
of the halves and eats.
GORDON
Thank you, dear.
26.
27.
KIRINI
Gordo.
GORDON
Kiri.
KIRINI
You know I love you. Why did you run off with that
woman?
GORDON
Kir, you know me. I’m not a hard man, not a cruel
man. Tough but fair, I try.
KIRINI
That’s right, Gord. I know you. But why?
GORDON
You saw her. She was in need.
KIRINI
Oh, Gordon, she was looking for a one-night stand,
away from home. And you fell for it.
GORDON
Ah, it wasn’t like that.
KIRINI
Yes, it was.
Gordon chews the sandwich and swigs the beer. He tips the
bottle to signal he wants another. She uncaps a Bud.
GORDON
I think she wanted what we all want.
KIRINI
A hot lobsterman?
GORDON
A patient ear, a kind shoulder. Somebody to take her
seriously, and to listen. It’s hard being captain,
you know. The sea doesn’t forgive but it forgets just
the same. Whatever the struggle was yesterday, that
doesn’t matter today. Fine air, fine seas out, and a
howling gale just to get home.
KIRINI
So you deserved the punishment, is that it?
GORDON
I just wanted to see the sky.
27.
28.
KIRINI
And the sea. Yeah, you said. What did you do? You go
to the sailor bar around the point?
GORDON
No. I told her I was staying at the Red Barn. I gave
her my key. I said, bring some beer.
KIRINI
Aw, jeez....
GORDON
You know what she brought? Heineken.
KIRINI
Ha, ha! Dutch beer. Of course. A taste of home.
GORDON
So we put the beer in a bucket with ice and talked,
about the sea, about the world.
KIRINI
Talked? That it?
GORDON
She wanted what we all want, to be seen, to be heard.
I listened, I saw.
KIRINI
Did you tell her about the pod of Blue Whales you saw
off the Bank?
GORDON
Yes.
KIRINI
Ha! How can you tell if Gordo has seen a pod of
whales? You don’t have to. He’ll tell you! Ha!
GORDON
Ah, Kiri, she just wanted a friend for the night.
She’s a long way from home and...
KIRINI
Sure, it get’s lonely.
GORDON
No. It makes a body feel alone being on the water.
You want the touch, the sparkle in the eye. You want
to know that somebody is there and, you know, cares.
That’s all. That’s all we want.
KIRINI
Is that what you want?
28.
29.
GORDON
It’s what we all want.
KIRINI
I care, Gordo. I care.
GORDON
I know.
KIRINI
I hadn’t seen you this week and the storm came in. I
knew you were out there because, of course you would
put yourself out in the cold. You deserve the
punishment. Me too, for wanting you. For feeling
jealous of some Euro chick, in my own bar. I’m the
fool, Gordo. Not you. You’re a good man.
GORDON
No. I failed myself. I dishonored my commitment to my
wife. I promised, before God, to be faithful. And
look at me, I lash myself to the mast in a gale, to
be scrubbed of my sin by the wind and rain.
KIRINI
And who among us has no sin? Eh, Gordo?
Gordon looks at her, realizing her affection.
GORDON
You are my salvation. I come in out of the cold rain,
and you provide the loaves and fishes.
KIRINI
Gordo...
GORDON
This does not come from the rich larder. This love
comes from the heart. I see that now, doubling my
offense, not just of my bride but also my true,
faithful companion in this world. I am sorry I have
offended thee.
KIRINI
This isn’t church, Gordo. I’m not your priest. I just
pull the beer. But I’m glad you’re home.
GORDON
I’m home, yes. Seeing you.
KIRINI
Do you have a place to sleep tonight?
GORDON
The shack by my boat. It’s dry enough.
29.
30.
KIRINI
But not warm. Listen, come with me. I’ll take you
home.
GORDON
Kiri.
KIRINI
Gordo, I’m closing early. You’re coming with me.
GORDON
Alright. Lock the doors.
Kirini wraps the sandwich in wax paper. She pulls a six-pack
of Bud out of the cooler. She switches off the lights and
they go out the door.
END
30.