Sharkey's Place: "Let's Make Tuna!"

Sharkey's Place
Season 1, Episode 10
"Let's Make Tuna!"
by
Rick Regan
Jan. 17, 2022
Rick Regan
Raleigh.rickregan@gmail.com
919-218-8834
CHAPTER 1: SHARKEY’S PLACE - MID-MORNING
Kirini is alone, in before Myra and Sandra. She has coffee on
and is counting the cash from the previous night.
KIRINI
Three-Seventy, Eighty, Ninety, Four-hundred, Ten,
Twenty, Thirty, Five, Six, Seven. Four Thirty Seven.
She puts the cash in a locked box under the bar.
She sits with a cup of coffee at the bar and looks around at
the place. She does a general clean up at the end of the
night but the place needs a morning going over.
KIRINI
[sighs]
Look at this dump. Chairs are a mess. Floor needs
mopping. Trash has to go out. For four hundred bucks?
Who needs this?
She gets up and begins sweeping and straightening the chairs.
Gordon knocks on the door.
GORDON
[from outside]
Kiri? You open?
KIRINI
Gordo. You here for coffee?
She lets him in and pours him hot coffee.
GORDON
You are a darling. Those yokels down at the
Honk’R’Stop have the worst swill on tap in the
morning.
KIRINI
Ya don’t say. It’s a chilly day. You going out?
GORDON
I’m going to pick up Neil. He wants to go down near
Brunswick to an art supply place. Something about
canvas stretchers. He doesn’t like to drive in the
snow.
KIRINI
I guess he’s coming along with the Sandra pictures.
GORDON
I’ll find out.
KIRINI
[glum]
Good gig, I guess. If you like that sort of thing.
GORDON
Kiri, are your sails straight? You have a blue cast
this cold morning.
KIRINI
[sighs]
I don’t know, Gordo. I don’t know what I’m doing.
GORDON
Something serious, or... tidal?
KIRINI
The Red Tide? Huh, the unwelcome visitor.
GORDON
Or maybe a more profound melancholy? The deeper water
houses the darker spirits.
KIRINI
Ah, I don’t know, Gordo. I add up the till, and we’re
making money, but I look around and wonder what I’m
doing here.
GORDON
At Sharkey’s?
KIRINI
At Sharkey’s. In Milbridge. In Maine. I’m in Maine! I
grew up in Long Island. I’m not supposed to be in
Maine!
GORDON
Amidst the bumbling and the ignorant, yet in bucolic
splendor.
KIRINI
Boots says I should sell Sharkey’s and move on, get
back to the City.
GORDON
Maybe you should. You have a home here, but if you
long for the glittering mirage over the horizon then
your wanderlust will only smolder inside you.
KIRINI
I’ve paid my dues.
GORDON
Certainly.
KIRINI
I’ve done my duty, to Georgios. For family.
GORDON
Yes.
KIRINI
I’ve made it work.
GORDON
You don’t have to prove anything, to anyone. If you
want to set your cap to the City skyline, then you
probably should go. Sail to your destiny.
KIRINI
Is it though? My destiny?
GORDON
[long pause, observing her]
Kiri, it is a clear, cold, bright morning in New
England. You are an independent woman, and in-charge
of your own life. Destiny? Forget I mentioned it.
Talk of destiny, or fate, that clouds our thinking,
and we should be clear-eyed and clear-headed today.
KIRINI
Why today?
GORDON
Because the melancholy has come upon you, the doubt,
the dread, the frustration with all of the slings and
arrows of the world. To stay, or not to stay, that...
that is not the question. The question is are you
happy? Do you like your life? Are the people around
you supporting you, lifting you up, or are you
surrounded by ones who corrode your spirit?
KIRINI
Well, when you put it like that...
The door opens and Myra comes in to get lunch started.
MYRA
Gordo. Kiri. You two love-birds having a coffee
moment? Ha!
Myra proceeds to the kitchen, banging some pans around. In a
moment she comes out, pours coffee and joins Kirini and
Gordon.
KIRINI
You alright today, My?
MYRA
Schnitzel.
KIRINI
Excuse me?
MYRA
Tuna Schnitzel. Pounded Bluefin tuna steaks, breaded,
fried. It’s going to knock them dead.
KIRINI
It’s going to knock ME dead!
MYRA
I can only use the center-cut Bluefin tuna. It will
be so delicious.
KIRINI
Myra! That will cost a fortune! How much do we have
to charge per plate? It’s going to be a hundred bucks
a lunch!
MYRA
Kiri, think of it. A Bluefin Tuna lunch, at
Sharkey’s. We’ll be the talk of the whole coast of
Maine!
KIRINI
Myra, you are out of your mind! We were serving cold,
pre-packaged sandwiches while you were gone. They
sold out! You think these net-menders and ropepullers are going to spring for top-dollar sushi?!
You’re nuts!
GORDON
I must say, the imagination does run wild with the
idea of it.
KIRINI
Gordo, you’re not even going to be here! You’re
taking Neil to Brunswick. You won’t be back before
dark.
GORDON
Myra, I’ll come by later. Save me a plate?
MYRA
[sly]
I guess the light’s always on, for you, Gordo.
GORDON
And, I love the coffee, Myra.
Gordon gets up and goes out, after re-filling his coffee cup.
MYRA
So, I sense some doubt.
KIRINI
Myra, Bluefin sandwiches? Do we serve them on gold
plates? Should we dust off the Waterford crystal?
What are you thinking?
MYRA
I’m thinking that Sam the Butcher, in a personal
capacity, bought me a one-hundred pound Bluefin.
KIRINI
How am I going to pay for a hundred-pound Bluefin. At
the dock market, it’s thirty-bucks a pound. I’ve got
to pay the rent. I can’t spring for a Bluefin.
MYRA
[coy]
Paid in-full, for services rendered.
KIRINI
What services? What kind of ser.... Oh. Wait. I don’t
want to know.
MYRA
[smug]
He got his pound of flesh.
KIRINI
And you got a tuna?
MYRA
[excited]
A hundred pound Bluefin! It’s a frozen block right
now but I’m going to make that fish dance. And sing!
KIRINI
Frozen?
MYRA
If I start to thaw it, we can do a Bluefin Lunch on
Saturday.
KIRINI
Saturday?
MYRA
Call the radio guy. Call Glenn. Call Boston. Tokyo.
KIRINI
What?
MYRA
Kiri, I swear, they are going to be coming in from
all over the world for this tuna sandwich.
KIRINI
Myra, you’re crazy!
MYRA
No, I’m not. I thought about it all night, after I
paid with my pound of flesh, I couldn’t sleep. All I
could think was, what is the best way to make a dish
with Bluefin? Sashimi, obviously, but what else? What
would they serve at Noma’s in the Bahamas? What would
Thomas Keller do at The French Laundry? What would
Eric Ripert serve at Le Bernardin in Manhattan?
KIRINI
At Le Bernardin, they serve Yellowfin, pounded, on a
baguette with foie-gras.
MYRA
Ewww! Who eats foie gras?
KIRINI
Well, you wanted to know.
MYRA
Look, what I’m saying is that if you advertise an
Atlantic Bluefin sandwich-lunch, on the coast of
Maine, the place will be packed with a crowd of big
spenders.
KIRINI
But, come on. Bluefin?
MYRA
A hundred bucks a plate! Done. We’ll sell out.
KIRINI
You are out of your mind.
MYRA
But start taking reservations, otherwise we’ll be
overrun.
KIRINI
You really think this will work?
MYRA
Kiri, I’m betting my life, all in.
KIRINI
What does that mean?
MYRA
Well, if I’m wrong, you will fire me. And if I’m
wrong, I’m going to kill Sam.
KIRINI
So, electric chair?
MYRA
Right. Or the guys with the guns. I don’t know what
they are doing now. Do they still hang women?
KIRINI
I don’t know.
MYRA
Anyway, for me today, chowder.
KIRINI
Good, because the boys love your chowder.
MYRA
And for you, marketing, advertising. Make the calls.
TV, Radio, Internet.
KIRINI
[sighs]
OK.
MYRA
And, I am reluctant to mention this, but call the
heavies.
KIRINI
The Boston heavies?
MYRA
Sometime, maybe not now, you might need to call in a
favor. This is the time. They’ll owe you. Owe YOU!
KIRINI
Aww, I don’t need...
MYRA
Just make a few calls. This is Bluefin!
KIRINI
Alright, alright! I’ll make some calls. Saturday?
MYRA
Saturday. Bluefin Schnitzel. Parker House bun.
KIRINI
Any sides?
MYRA
A sprig of parsley and a cup of mustard. That’s it.
Real Vienna style.
KIRINI
Parsley and mustard?
MYRA
That’s it! That’s the old-world way.
KIRINI
Alright. I’ll make some calls
MYRA
And I’ll make some chowder!
Myra sweeps off into the kitchen.
KIRINI
To stay or not to stay...
CHAPTER 2: SHARKEY’S PLACE - LUNCH RUSH
Sandra is working the room for the lunch crowd. She is
getting a lot of attention with her bright orange turtleneck
sweater and lime-green tights. Outside is overcast, cold and
snow is on the ground. Most customers are in heavy, dark
clothes with muddy boots.
SANDRA
[to Kirini]
Two Specials, table Six! Two coffees.
KIRINI
Two specials, two coffees.
Myra is in the back plating up the bowls of chowder, with
fresh baguette slices and a hearty chunk of local cheddar
cheese.
MYRA
Two Specials, up!
SANDRA
Thanks!
She swings by the counter, scoops up the soups and the
coffees.
KIRINI
People love your chowder, Myra. A real crowd pleaser.
MYRA
Firing on all cylinders, Kiri! My head is full of
ideas.
KIRINI
Is that what its full of?
MYRA
Yeah.
KIRINI
After a visit from Sam the Butcher, you’ve got a lot
of spark today.
MYRA
Think of it: Bluefin Schnitzel! Did you call some
people?
KIRINI
Sure. I called around. Jimmy on the radio is going to
start pushing it. I’ve got a cousin in Boston who
does some radio down there. I talked to him. I called
a girlfriend back on Long Island. We went to school
together. She does local features for a magazine. I
called her.
MYRA
Did you call the heavies?
KIRINI
I made an inquiry. Why are you so keen on those guys?
You in a jam with Sam and need somebody to make him
some cement-galoshes?
MYRA
What? No!
KIRINI
Then why do you want to get their attention?
MYRA
I just think it’s helpful to have a gangster who owes
you a favor. Not the other way around.
KIRINI
How are they going to owe you over a fish sandwich?
MYRA
Kiri, you don’t understand. When this goes viral, and
believe me it will go viral, there are going to be
people flying in from all over. But we have to get
out in front of it because we only have three days.
KIRINI
What are you talking, going viral? How is it going to
go viral?
MYRA
On social media. Like the SnapTalk.
KIRINI
What? SnapTalk?
MYRA
It’s what the kids are all doing now. Like the
Grubhub, MySpace, and the Twittah. The Twittah is
big!
KIRINI
Are you posting about this on Twitter?
MYRA
Twitter, SnapTalk, Yelp. You name it!
SANDRA
Hey, can I get a fresh coffee here?
KIRINI
Right! Sure.
Sandra swings by for the coffee.
MYRA
It’s going to be the culinary event of the year.
KIRINI
Tuna sandwiches?
MYRA
[pleading]
Trust me!
KIRINI
Alright. You’re the chef.
Myra goes back into the kitchen. Sandra comes back.
SANDRA
What’s with her?
KIRINI
What do you mean?
SANDRA
She’s got a real twinkle in her eyes today.
KIRINI
Her and Sammy. You know.
Kirini makes a motion.
SANDRA
Huh. It’s been a while, we’ve seen her in a good
mood.
KIRINI
Yeah.
SANDRA
And Sam the butcher can have that effect. Say, can I
get an iced-tea, no ice?
KIRINI
Iced-tea? Who drinks iced-tea when it’s so cold out.
Here.
She hands Sandra a cup full of iced-tea.
SANDRA
Thanks.
She moves to go but Kirini stops her.
KIRINI
Wait! What do you know about Sam?
SANDRA
Ah, me and Sammy go way back. There’s a history, but
a good history. Good for her. Sammy’s a good egg.
Sandra takes the tea to a table.
KIRINI
[to herself]
Huh. The more you know.
The door opens and Aiden and Caiden come in.
AIDEN
I’m stah-vin!
CAIDEN
Chowder Day!
AIDEN
Been waiting for this one.
CAIDEN
A filling option for a cold afternoon.
AIDEN
A crowd pleaser.
CAIDEN
Right. Look at this place.
AIDEN
Filled.
CAIDEN
Wall to wall!
KIRINI
Aiden, Caiden. How are ya?
AIDEN
Stah-vin!
CAIDEN
Hungah monstah!
KIRINI
Lucky for you, it’s Chowder Day.
AIDEN
We’ve been stewing on it.
CAIDEN
Simmering, in anticipation!
AIDEN
You have room for us?
CAIDEN
Are you booked?
KIRINI
Let me see.
[to Sandra]
Sandy, you got a spot for the boys?
SANDRA
Table Six, I just cleared. C’mon.
AIDEN
Jackpot!
CAIDEN
Payday!
Sandra directs them while Kirini gets a black coffee and a
Harpoon Light Beer ready.
AIDEN
[to Sandra]
Is it true?
CAIDEN
Chowdah Day?
SANDRA
Myra’s Own. I know she thinks of you two when she’s
warming the cream.
AIDEN
It’s a special Special.
CAIDEN
Been anticipating.
SANDRA
So, two Specials?
CAIDEN
Sure, but first I just want to mention that I am so
moved that you have such grace, charm and elegance
today.
AIDEN
Outstanding!
SANDRA
[looking down]
You saying this sweater is too much, you know, for a
Tuesday in January?
AIDEN
It flatters you.
CAIDEN
Pulls the whole look together.
AIDEN
A real statement-look.
SANDRA
Huh. OK, so two Specials, coming up.
Sandra swings over to put in the orders.
AIDEN
You think it is Cod this time?
CAIDEN
Or Scrod?
AIDEN
Catch of the day?
CAIDEN
But she only uses fresh.
AIDEN
Dayboat fish.
CAIDEN
I hate it when there is a New England fishery, right
out the window, and a place advertises Alaskan King
Crab.
AIDEN
Or Pacific Halibut.
CAIDEN
Or shrimp from Argentina.
AIDEN
Oysters from Vietnam.
CAIDEN
How does that make sense?
AIDEN
There are fish outside the window!
Kirini comes by.
KIRINI
You boys ready for a feed? Chowder Day.
AIDEN
It’s like Flag Day.
CAIDEN
And Halloween!
AIDEN
Wrapped into one!
CAIDEN
A celebration.
KIRINI
That’s just the start. Have you heard what she’s
doing Saturday?
AIDEN
Heard?
CAIDEN
There’s talk?
AIDEN
Is it a rumor?
CAIDEN
A kind of town-whispah?
KIRINI
Sam got her a hundred-pound Bluefin.
AIDEN
Holy Mackerel!
CAIDEN
No, Tuna!
AIDEN
I know, right!
KIRINI
She’s doing Bluefin sandwiches on Saturday.
CAIDEN
A Bluefin Lunch?
AIDEN
Is that legal?
CAIDEN
Endangered?
AIDEN
Nat Geo says no longer endangered.
CAIDEN
So we’re in the clear?
AIDEN
Is it in season?
CAIDEN
Year round for tuna.
KIRINI
Sam got it.
AIDEN
She making sushi?
CAIDEN
Sashimi?
KIRINI
Schnitzel.
AIDEN
Wait! Pounded?
CAIDEN
Breaded?
AIDEN
And fried?
CAIDEN
How would you season that?
AIDEN
The mind boggles!
KIRINI
Going to be an event, I guess.
CAIDEN
Are you charging?
KIRINI
Sure. It’ll be expensive but...
AIDEN
No, admission. Are you taking cash at the door?
CAIDEN
Just to see the sight of it.
AIDEN
Hard to even imagine.
CAIDEN
How many plates, you figure?
AIDEN
A hundred pound fish? Maybe three hundred plates.
Maaaaybe.
CAIDEN
Too high. The yield will be half that.
AIDEN
At a hund-y a-plate, break even.
CAIDEN
Under watah. Double it.
KIRINI
Two-hundred per sandwich?!
AIDEN
That’ll break you even.
CAIDEN
Cover your costs.
AIDEN
We gotta call Turbo.
CAIDEN
Yeah, Turbo. He won’t miss this.
AIDEN
Mandatory! Bring a plus-one.
CAIDEN
Or five. You have your list?
AIDEN
Put him down for six.
CAIDEN
He’ll thank us.
AIDEN
Put me down for two.
KIRINI
You and him?
AIDEN
Me... And another. He’s up to his own.
CAIDEN
You having champagne? Put me down for one, and I’ll
bring a vintage Cliquot, for myself. Parker rates it
a 96.
AIDEN
Is that Epernay?
CAIDEN
Common mistake. But Reims.
KIRINI
Wait! You are in for two-hundred, plus champagne? And
you are in for four-hundred?
AIDEN
It’s Myra.
CAIDEN
[sagely]
And Bluefin.
Sandra comes by with the chowder.
SANDRA
Two chowders.
AIDEN
We just heard the news.
SANDRA
About... me and Neil?
CAIDEN
You and Neil?!
SANDRA
It’s just art!
CAIDEN
What is this?
AIDEN
No, the fish.
SANDRA
What fish!
KIRINI
Myra is making tuna sandwiches on Saturday.
SANDRA
So, a tunafish sandwich. How is that news?
CAIDEN
Bluefin.
AIDEN
Myra.
SANDRA
Myra’s making Bluefin tuna sandwiches? On Saturday?
KIRINI
She says it will be Schnitzel-style.
CAIDEN
Pounded.
AIDEN
Breaded.
CAIDEN
Fried.
SANDRA
Oh my! I gotta call Alexi.
AIDEN
The hockey guy?
SANDRA
No, In New York.
KIRINI
New York?
SANDRA
You know they talk about the Russian oligarchs?
KIRINI
Kinda, yeah.
SANDRA
He’s like that. But from Ukraine. We hit it off.
KIRINI
Wait, you have an oligarch boyfriend in New York?
SANDRA
From Ukraine. Yeah. He’s going to want to be here for
this. How much is it?
CAIDEN
Two-hundred.
AIDEN
THREE hundred, a plate.
SANDRA
[considers]
Yeah, that sounds right. Kiri, you have good vodka? I
mean, really-good vodka?
KIRINI
I’ll stock up.
SANDRA
I gotta make a call.
Sandra swivels away.
CAIDEN
So what’s the fish?
AIDEN
In the chowder?
KIRINI
I don’t know. Myra didn’t say, but it looks like a
hit.
AIDEN
[tasting]
Oh, this is sublime!
CAIDEN
[tasting]
Superb. Is that? Is that sherry?
AIDEN
Or paprika and port wine?
KIRINI
She’s been going through a lot of Chablis, so...
CAIDEN
Mmmm... yes. You can taste the minerality of the
terroir.
Kirini and Aiden look at him.
AIDEN
[disbelief]
You can taste the minerals?
CAIDEN
It’s more pronounced on the southern facing vinyahds.
In Burgundy.
KIRINI
Sheesh!
AIDEN
Can you send Myra out? I have some questions about
the tuna.
KIRINI
Not today. We’re packed and she’s slinging the
chowder. Sorry.
Kirini goes back to the counter.
CAIDEN
Can you believe that? At a place like this.
AIDEN
Ya, can’t even get an audience with the chef.
They go back to the chowders.
CAIDEN
So good!
AIDEN
She’s the best.
CAIDEN
The Chowdah Beast!
AIDEN
So good!
CHAPTER 3: SHARKEY’S PLACE - EARLY EVENING
Sandra has the night off. Myra is eating chowder at the bar
and Kirini is working the light crowd.
Gordon and Neil come in.
GORDON
[grandly]
Friends. Greetings.
KIRINI
Gordo! Cold beer?
GORDON
I’d have a beer.
KIRINI
Neil? A beer?
NEIL
Cognac, please. Cold day.
MYRA
Gordon, I saved you some chowder. Came out pretty
good.
KIRINI
Real popular!
NEIL
Enough for two?
MYRA
I’ll get you sorted.
Myra goes back to the kitchen.
KIRINI
How did you make out in town?
NEIL
Very well. I needed some special stretchers for the
linen canvases. These are larger than I typically
use.
KIRINI
For the Sandras?
NEIL
Right. I have the detail and the figure work all set,
now is the preparation for the mark-making.
KIRINI
Was she a good model for you?
NEIL
One of the best. Her figure is fairly symmetrical,
which is nice, but it’s the texture of her skin and
the color-tone of her eyes that really makes her a
standout.
GORDON
We are lucky to have her, one of the Sirens of
Sharkey’s.
KIRINI
Easy there, Gordo.
NEIL
Now the challenge is to represent the living,
breathing woman by dabbing paint around. I already
have quite a lot of interest back in Philadelphia.
KIRINI
Could you have one done by Saturday? We’re doing a
Bluefin Lunch.
NEIL
A Bluefin Lunch?
KIRINI
Yeah, but what do you think? We could put one up and
get some real high-rollers interested. Sandy’s got
some rich guy from New York coming up for the tuna.
He’s buying a table, eight seats, at three-hundred
bucks a pop. Maybe he’d like a souvenir!
NEIL
I’m sorry. They wouldn’t dry in time. But I have some
completed stock in Philadelphia. I could send for
them, or make the trip myself.
KIRINI
Suit yourself. Just saying.
Myra comes back, bringing chowder plates.
NEIL
Let me see what I can do. What’s a Bluefin Lunch? I
thought that was endangered.
MYRA
Sam says they are off the list for now, so it’s legal
to fish them.
NEIL
But three-hundred dollars a plate? That’s outrageous.
MYRA
But it’s schnitzel!
KIRINI
I admit, I don’t understand it but, I’ve already
started to get calls. For reservations. New York,
Boston, Philadelphia. Los Angeles even. It’s crazy.
GORDON
Will you have enough?
MYRA
That’s part of it - the scarcity! Once it’s gone,
it’s gone! And nobody has had Bluefin Tuna for a
decade.
NEIL
So forbidden fruit. Yes, I see.
MYRA
[to Kirini]
Did you hear back from the heavies?
KIRINI
A guy I know, he wants to get comp’ed. What do you
think of that?
MYRA
Do it. Limit four, but do it.
KIRINI
[frustrated]
Myra, what is it with you and the mobsters?
MYRA
Kiri, look, I hear the talk. Boots is telling you to
sell out.
KIRINI
She mentioned it, yeah.
MYRA
And, while I don’t want you to go, if you want to go,
you should go.
KIRINI
But I’m still here.
MYRA
But if you want to sell, who’s going to buy? You
know? You know who?
KIRINI
The heavies?
MYRA
The heavies. They had a good thing here with Sharkey,
and Georgios kept them at bay, but they want a slice
of the action.
KIRINI
What action?! We made four-hundred bucks last night.
Hardly get much attention with that kind of dough.
MYRA
And you’re about to clear forty-thousand this
weekend! If we play it right, you get top-dollar for
this place.
KIRINI
And you? You’re saying this out of the kindness of
your heart?
MYRA
I get noticed for a culinary-event. If you want to
sell up, I’ve got a real feather in my cap. I can
name the place, work wherever I want.
KIRINI
What about Sam the Butcher? What about Ethan? And
Glenn?
MYRA
Glenn? What do I owe Glenn? Nothing. Ethan is
following the Godspeed Witch up to U-M this spring.
And Sam works the whole Maine coast.
GORDON
And you could go back to New York.
NEIL
I thought you were from here, grew up here. You know
everybody.
GORDON
And everyone knows Kirini, the Fountain of
Generosity.
KIRINI
I grew up in Long Island. My parents ran a diner.
NEIL
So you’d go back to, what? Take over the diner? On
Long Island?
KIRINI
It doesn’t sound that great, when you put it like
that.
MYRA
Kiri, I don’t want you to go but you’ve been moping
around, looking at everything, and maybe, seeing this
place for what it really is, a small tavern on the
rural coast of Maine. Maybe, you know, you have
bigger dreams than this. I just have to look out for
myself, you know?
KIRINI
Sure, sure. I get it. But Myra, what if you bought
the place?
MYRA
Where am I going to come up with the cash for that?
KIRINI
We can work out a deal.
MYRA
And anyway, I don’t want to run a restaurant. I want
to cook. I want to explore, with food. That’s why
it’s so great that you are here. You let me run wild.
Nobody ever did that for me, nobody.
KIRINI
And now you’re doing a Bluefin Lunch.
MYRA
No, WE’RE doing Bluefin. Not just me.
GORDON
Maybe you just need a little time off. Go down to
Florida. See your Aunt for a week.
NEIL
Or maybe there is another way, a different model.
KIRINI
Go ahead.
NEIL
I saw it with the speakeasy. The first one is good,
but it is the second and third that really start to
make money and grow the business.
KIRINI
You mean franchise?
NEIL
Or, just open another Sharkey’s. Maybe in a bigger
market. More customers.
MYRA
If you put one in Bangor I could keep an eye on Ethan
and the Witch.
KIRINI
Stop calling her that. She’s a nice girl.
MYRA
[surly]
Too nice.
KIRINI
Anyway, who’d run this place?
NEIL
Who runs it now?
ALL
[together]
SANDRA!
NEIL
So... You dip your toe in the deeper water, Sandra
keeps the circus going here.
MYRA
And you and me open in Bangor. What do you think?
KIRINI
I haven’t thought this through. Let’s have the tuna
thing and then we can talk about it. Until then, no
rumors, no talk. We keep this right here.
ALL
[together]
Agreed.
KIRINI
Now, Gordo, you need another cold one.
GORDON
Kirini, your cold beer and your warm embrace are what
gets me up in the morning.
MYRA
Is that what gets you up?
GORDON
Metaphorically.
MYRA
Sure, Captain. Sure.
KIRINI
Neil, more Cognac?
NEIL
Oh, could you make me a Green Lady?
KIRINI
You? Costs extra. A cocktail, coming up.
NEIL
[laughs]
Where have you been all my life?
GORDON
Just laying the groundwork for you, old boy.
NEIL
You know, can I get that to go? I might just get some
painting done tonight.
KIRINI
Inspired by the muse?
NEIL
Sure. Good night, all. And thanks again, Gordon.
GORDON
Good night, Neil.
Neil exits.
KIRINI
Myra, maybe next week, after the Tuna, we go down to
Bangor and look at some locations.
MYRA
Whatever you say, boss.
KIRINI
I’ve got a few ideas.
END