Sharkey's Place: How did we get here? (S1, E2)

Sharkey's Place
Season 1, Episode 2
By Rick Regan
10/5/2021

Sharkey’s Place is a fictional tavern in a small, coastal town
in Maine. All action takes place in the main room. The recurring
characters are the three women who work there and some of the
customers. This is an episode where we get some of the origin
story of the place.
INT. SHARKEY’S PLACE - AROUND NOON
The tavern has the shades up and the blue glare from the
light outside makes the inside seem grim and kind of sad. It
is cold and raining outside and people variously come in,
dripping wet, to get lunch.
The table in the back corner has Glenn working through a
stack of paper and clicking on a laptop. He is engrossed in
his work and does not notice much of what is going on. It is
a typical weekday lunch at Sharkey’s Place.
Myra is in the back working on meals. Kirini is taking orders
at the bar and going to tables.
Sandra is a Sharkey’s lifer and works behind the bar for
Kirini. She is filling glasses along the bar.
Aiden and Caiden, two local fry cooks, come and go to a
table.
KIRINI
Hi, boys! Here for lunch?
AIDEN
Stahven!
CAIDEN
The Hungah Monsta!
KIRINI
Know what you want? The soup’s good today.
CAIDEN
Alright. A bowl for me and a Harpoon Light.
AIDEN
You got those good crackers I like with that?
KIRINI
Sure. Boston Crackers.
AIDEN
Yeah. Great. A bowl, and a cup of coffee.
KIRINI
Got it.
She swings around and gets the order back to Myra.
SANDRA
(to Kirini)
Say, Kiri, day like today, you ever think
about selling out? I mean the cold, the rain.
Does it make you want to get away from this
place?
KIRINI
Oh yeah, all the time. Starbucks just called
me last week and offered a cool million. Where
do you think I should go? Bermuda?
SANDRA
(astonished)
Starbucks? You’re going to sell out, to
Starbucks? Sell Sharkey’s?!
KIRINI
Oh yeah, gonna fly my personal helicopter over
to Nantucket, land at my mansion there, that I
bought with all the money I piled up from
owning this place. Spend my time by the pool,
I think.
SANDRA
Aw, you’re pulling my leg! You wouldn’t sell
Sharkey’s.
KIRINI
Hey, now. Don’t get me wrong. If some fella
with a fat wallet wants to peel off a check to
buy this place, I wouldn’t sneeze at it. I
mean, we do alright but how many times can we
make scallops with garlic in butter?
SANDRA
People love those scallops.
KIRINI
I know, I know. And I guess it’s better than
flipping burgers but, you know what I mean,
like, what are we doing it for? What does it
all add up to?
SANDRA
We feed the hungry.
She points at Aiden and Caiden.
KIRINI
And slop the drunks.
She points at Glenn.
SANDRA
Oh, yeah. I see what you mean. Anyway...
She grabs a water pitcher and tends to the customers.
Myra comes from out of the kitchen with the bowls of soup.
She puts them down in front of Aiden and Caiden. She is
hoping for their approval.
MYRA
Here you go. Soup of the day.
CAIDEN
Oh, that’s beauty.
AIDEN
Genius. Sheer genius! Thank you, Myra.
CAIDEN
(tasting)
Mmm! Say, where did you get these clams?
MYRA
Sam the Butcher came by last night, when the
boats came back in. He thought I might like
them. I bought the whole box. Cod too. That’s
cod in there.
CAIDEN
This is the stuff. I love it. And the garlic!
AIDEN
And, is that just black pepper?
MYRA
Fresh ground, but a lot of it. I have to use
an electric grinder to get enough, but the
fresh, you know...
AIDEN
Genius, Myra.
Mmmm- good!
CAIDEN
MYRA
So what are you guys making this week?
CAIDEN
Same old.
AIDEN
Same old.
CAIDEN
Fried oysters. Fried Clams. Fried squid.
French Fries.
AIDEN
That’s it. That’s all we make.
CAIDEN
But they keep coming back.
AIDEN
A line out the door by six o’clock.
CAIDEN
We couldn’t make this.
AIDEN
Too much time.
CAIDEN
Too much effort.
AIDEN
You should charge more.
CAIDEN
Make more profit.
MYRA
Talk to Kiri, not me. She sets the prices.
CAIDEN
(to Kirini)
Hey, Kiri, hey. Can I ask you something?
KIRINI
Sure, Caiden, how can I help you?
CAIDEN
If you raised the price of the soup, you think
you’d sell less of it? Because it seems to me
that you could charge double, and people would
still buy it. This is good!
AIDEN
I mean, we sell French fries for twice what
you charge. You’re leaving money on the table,
Kir.
KIRINI
Oh, is that right? And you two know how to run
a restaurant now, not just dipping fish in the
fryer. I will take the idea under advisement.
And thank you for your concern. And, hey!,
that soup is good, right? Myra’s the best.
AIDEN
The best!
The beast!
CAIDEN
MYRA
(beaming)
C’mon guys. It’s just soup.
CAIDEN
A beast of a soup.
KIRINI
(laughs)
Good to see you fellas. Thanks for coming by.
Kirini and Myra go back to behind the bar.
MYRA
Maybe they’re right, Kir. Maybe people would
pay more for the soup and the sandwiches.
KIRINI
Let me think about it.
Sandra overhears and comes over.
SANDRA
What’s to think? You erase the number on the
chalkboard and write a new number. That’s all
it is.
KIRINI
You remember what Georgios used to say?
SANDRA
Sure, he said that the money is in the beer.
KIRINI
And the food is just a way to get people in
the door. Don’t worry about the price of the
food. We could give it away for free if we
wanted to and still not make much difference.
MYRA
Give it away for free?
KIRINI
Nah, I don’t mean literally give it away for
free. I mean that the cost of the food that we
make is a small amount of the total operating
cost. You know what really costs money?
SANDRA
What? The rent?
KIRINI
No, I own the building. The real cost, is you.
SANDRA
Me?
And you.
Me?
KIRINI
(to Myra)
MYRA
KIRINI
And me. The people are the real cost.
SANDRA
(upset)
So you’re saying you want to fire me, to save
a few bucks?
KIRINI
No! No, You’re too valuable. And you too Myra.
You are too valuable. You guys are the reason
customers show up. Your soup is the best,
Myra. Everybody knows that. They talk about it
on the radio and people come in. And Sandra,
you’re the closest thing to a real priest in
this town. You hear everyone’s sins, and you
forgive them. They love you. They come to see
you.
You know, I could empty this place out and
just put in vending machines with beer. That
would be efficient and profitable. But what
would be the fun in that? Right?
SANDRA
(relieved)
So glad to know that I could be replaced with
a Bud Light machine.
KIRINI
I read that they have those in Japan, for
Japanese beer.
MYRA
The Japanese are so weird.
SANDRA
I know, right?
So, guys...
Kir?
KIRINI
SANDRA
KIRINI
Let’s get back to delivering on our Key
Performance Indicators.
SANDRA
Our KPI’s? What’s that?
MYRA
Soup and beer. Let’s go.
KIRINI
Thank you.
Everybody goes back to work.
INT. SHARKEY'S PLACE - EARLY EVENING
Lunch is over and the evening drinks crowd hasn’t come in
yet. Glenn is gone and Kirini has gone out for some errands.
Myra and Sandra sit on stools, waiting for some customers.
SANDRA
Is the ‘open’ light on? Seems like we should
have more people.
MYRA
It’s the rain, you know.
SANDRA
Yeah. I guess. Say, you got any coffee? I’d
take some.
MYRA
Sure. It’s fresh.
She gets up and fills two cups with fresh, hot coffee.
SANDRA
Nice, on a day like this. Warming.
MYRA
I wouldn’t want to be on the water in this
soup. I don’t know how they do it.
SANDRA
I don’t know why the do it. Can’t make much
money fishing anymore.
MYRA
It’s the life, I think, they want. Any day on
the water fishing is a better day than inside
a factory.
SANDRA
Like the cannery? Ooofff, that place smells.
MYRA
I know, right?
SANDRA
But I saw you with Sam last night. You an item
now?
MYRA
Who, me?
SANDRA
No, maybe it was the ghost of Mother Theresa.
Yeah, you. What’s going on?
MYRA
He was just making a delivery, is all.
SANDRA
Yeah, special delivery, I bet.
MYRA
He had some nice clams and cod. You see how
they went with the soup today?
SANDRA
I can hear you now, “All deliveries in the
REAR, Sam!”
MYRA
Come on! It’s not like that.
SANDRA
Hey, you want to get a little, you know, side
thing, good for you. People should be happy.
MYRA
You should know.
SANDRA
Listen, I’ve heard every sad-sack who ever
came up the highway, or off the water. The
story is always the same. You know what it is?
MYRA
You gonna tell me, or what?
SANDRA
Every man who comes in here is looking for the
girl of his dreams. Can’t find her. Then he
cries about his luck and washes his dreams
away with beer. But you know what?
MYRA
What now?
SANDRA
The girl of his dreams is not hanging around a
place like this, with a bunch of smelly
sailors. You know who is always the girl of
his dreams?
MYRA
The mother?
SANDRA
The mother. That’s right. And she doesn’t come
here on Tuesday nights and stay until eleven
thirty. I mean, look at your Glenn. What’s he
doing here all the time?
MYRA
He likes to work here. And I can keep an eye
on him.
SANDRA
Is he keeping an eye on you too, because it
looked like Slick Sam the Butcher might have
been rounding the bases.
MYRA
He never laid a finger on me. I just buy the
fish and we talk some.
SANDRA
Oh, yeah. You have a lot to say at nine
thirty, while I’m slinging beers?
MYRA
You know how it is. A guy wants to talk, and
yeah, he’s kind of cute. And maybe I like the
way he handles his business.
SANDRA
Is that what you want him to handle, his
business?
MYRA
Ah, leave me alone. I don’t put my nose in
your business.
SANDRA
Good. Because the smell would kill ya’.
MYRA
Ha! Say you’ve been with other guys, I mean
since Georgios, right?
SANDRA
Well, maybe a firefighter here and a detective
there but after Georgios, not really. Nobody
real. I mean, we had eight good years, me and
Georgios. After he got the bar, we had a good
time.
MYRA
Is it really true that Georgios won the bar
from Sharkey in a poker game? I mean, we tell
the story all the time, but it just sounds, I
don’t know, so fishy.
SANDRA
I was there.
MYRA
I know. You said.
SANDRA
Right but it’s true. I was working for
Sharkey, slinging beers. And his poker buddies
come in on Wednesday, regular and Georgios had
just come to town, trying to get into
exporting fish. Well, they play and play, and
all the regular stiffs drop out, but most
stayed to watch. Georgios wanted to win a big
pot, to stake his export business.
MYRA
I didn’t know that.
SANDRA
Then when the pot got too big to cover, and
Sharkey was really in a hole, Georgios said it
was all or nothing in the pot. If Sharkey won,
he got everything, but if Georgios won he got
the bar.
MYRA
And the cards?
SANDRA
They flipped the cards and Sharkey lost. That
was it. And with all of his buddies watching.
His life’s work was this place. He practically
lived here.
MYRA
It must have devastated him to lose it.
SANDRA
You know, I think it was kind of a relief. He
was getting older. He didn’t want to sell it,
or even go through the hoops of trying to find
a buyer. Who would buy this place? So he got
to hand it over, lock, stock and barrel.
MYRA
Was he in debt?
SANDRA
Of course! He was up to his eyeballs! When
Georgios comes in the next day and tallies it
all up, he couldn’t believe what a mess the
situation was. Sharkey owed everybody in town,
and now he did too.
MYRA
What happened? How did he make it go?
SANDRA
He went to all of the people Sharkey owed
money to and said, hey, I’m Georgios! I’m
going to make this right. Work with me, and
I’ll work with you. And it worked.
MYRA
What about Sharkey? A fishing accident?
SANDRA
About six weeks later, Sharkey went out
fishing on this big boat owned by Acostas
Drakos.
MYRA
The marina guy, Drakos? Nico’s dad?
SANDRA
That’s him. Sharkey owed him a lot of money.
And there were a bunch of guys on the boat,
mostly Greek and Portuguese. Sharkey owed them
all money.
So they get out into the deep water and there
was a tragic accident. Somehow Sharkey got
pulled in and eaten by a shark. Very sad day.
MYRA
Did they recover the body?
SANDRA
No, They said the shark swallowed him.
MYRA
That’s terrible.
SANDRA
But I don’t know how the shark is supposed to
swallow a guy who’s hands are tied and his
feet are in buckets of cement. Seems unlikely,
is all.
MYRA
Oh, jeez...
SANDRA
Not that Georgios was there. No way. Just a
favor by some friends. I liked Sharkey but, in
reality, he had it coming. I wasn’t getting
paid either, just tips.
MYRA
Was Georgios better?
SANDRA
Better? He was the best. He was great with the
customers. He threw out the handsy drunks.
Cleaned the place up. Got a new sign. Like I
said, we had eight great years.
MYRA
But what about Kirini’s mother? What happened
to her?
SANDRA
You’ll have to ask her about it. All I heard
was she stayed down on Long Island with her
family.
MYRA
Oh.
SANDRA
When Kirini showed up, I was as surprised as
anybody. I didn’t know he had a daughter.
MYRA
Did he?
SANDRA
Sure, of course. He just didn’t say anything
to me.
MYRA
Did you move in with him, I mean, live there?
SANDRA
No, I always had my own place. Lessons
learned, you know. With a man like Georgios,
everything is great, until it isn’t. Then his
buddies come around and say, ‘get in the car’.
And you know it’s over. I never had that
but...
MYRA
But what?
SANDRA
A saw a few things. A few guys, get in the
car.
Glenn comes in and waves at them. He goes back to his booth,
staring at his phone.
SANDRA
Like him. Georgie would have thrown him out.
Told him, don’t come back.
MYRA
Glenn? Why? He’s not a bad guy.
SANDRA
He’s always hanging around. He drinks himself
stupid. He keeps to himself but he’s not the
type that Georgie would have wanted. But
Georgios is gone.
MYRA
What do you think of Kirini? When she took
over?
SANDRA
She was in a tough spot, you know. Georgios
died and left it to her. But after eight
years, the renovations didn’t look so fresh
anymore so she’s been trying to clean house.
I’m just afraid I’m next.
MYRA
You heard what she said, you’re too valuable.
SANDRA
Too valuable to her or too valuable to the
customers. I think, push comes to shove and
she kicks me to the curb with the litter bins.
MYRA
No, it’s not like that. Just keep slinging the
beer and the customers will come back. They
always come back. They have to come back.
There isn’t anyplace else to buy beer for
miles.
SANDRA
But she said she could replace us with Coke
machines. That was not a nice thing to say.
MYRA
She’s got a sharp eye on the dollars and
cents, is all she meant. I think that’s a good
thing. But I do think we should charge more
for the soup.
SANDRA
Me too.
Glenn waves at them and makes a gesture about getting a
drink.
SANDRA
The plant needs watering.
She goes back to the bar and makes a drink for him. She puts
the clear glass of gin and ice on the table and walks away.
INT. SHARKEY'S PLACE - LATE NIGHT, SAME DAY
Sandra is working the bar. There are a few old-timers and
Glenn has moved to the bar. Myra has gone home. Kirini pops
her head around the corner of her office.
KIRINI
Sandy, you doing OK?
SANDRA
Sure, boss. What’s up?
KIRINI
I have to go over to Machias in the morning
for some business at the courthouse. Tax
filings and such.
SANDRA
OK.
KIRINI
So I’m’ going to go home. Can you handle the
close tonight?
SANDRA
Of course. We’ll see you when you get back
tomorrow.
KIRINI
Great. Thanks. See you tomorrow. You’re a
trouper.
SANDRA
You know it.
Kirini takes a tote bag full of papers and receipts and heads
out.
At last the two old-timers leave and it is just Sandra and
Glenn.
GLENN
Maybe a beer this time, thanks.
SANDRA
You ought to go home. Get some sleep.
GLENN
What? It’s only a quarter to ten.
SANDRA
Yeah, on a Tuesday. I’m going to close
tonight. I’m going to close you out. You can
finish your beer but that’s it.
GLENN
Deal.
She goes to the door, turns the lock and switches off the
“Open” sign in the window. Some customers come to the door
but she waves them off. She comes back to the bar and pours
herself a glass of vodka and soda with some ice. She sits
next to Glenn at the bar.
SANDRA
So what happened to you, Glenn? Why are you
here all the time? I told Myra today that if
Georgios were here he’d throw you out. Too
gloomy. Gloomy Glenn. What happened to you?
GLENN
Ah, you know how it is, Sandy. You get to a
place and there is, I don’t know, a job, a
home, a family, and you dig in. Right?
SANDRA
Is that what happened? Because it doesn’t look
like that’s what happened. It looks like you
live by yourself in a cheap apartment, send
your reports off to the newspaper, then spend
the rest of your time soaking your head in
gin. That’s what it looks like.
GLENN
Well, when you put it like that...
SANDRA
Like what, the truth?
GLENN
Can’t argue with the truth. But, what happened
to you? You’ve been here longer than I have.
SANDRA
I grew up here. Started working for Sharkey
right out of high school. Beats working in the
cannery.
GLENN
You could have been a nurse, or a teacher.
SANDRA
Oh, right. Women’s jobs.
GLENN
That’s not what I mean...
SANDRA
I know what you mean. Listen, I got in good
with Sharkey. Then Georgios comes along.
Things got even better. Now Georgios is gone
and things are just OK. But I’m still here.
GLENN
Are you going to retire?
SANDRA
Retire? You’ll be carrying me out of here in a
pine box.
GLENN
A life well lived, I guess.
SANDRA
That’s right. But I might take a vacation this
year.
GLENN
Oh, yeah, where to?
SANDRA
Maybe I’ll go over to Prince Edward and stay
in Halifax for a week. Get the feel for the
life in the city.
GLENN
There’s Bangor.
SANDRA
Bangor is a hick-town, compared to Halifax.
GLENN
If you say so.
SANDRA
I would like to spend some time shopping,
maybe go to the movies.
GLENN
You might find a handsome Canadian stranger.
SANDRA
I’m not looking for love, but... If it was to
come looking for me, well, a girl has to keep
her options open.
GLENN
What do you think Kirini is going to do with
the place, now that she’s really into it.
SANDRA
Depends what she wants. Sharkey wanted his own
place to play cards and drink whisky,
someplace that couldn’t throw him out.
Georgios wanted to make some money and be a
big man in town. He did that. He had a lot of
love, that man. Now Kiri, I don’t know what
she wants.
GLENN
I got a job offer this week.
SANDRA
Wait, what? You? Who would hire you?
GLENN
I’m keeping wraps on it because I don’t know
if I will take it.
SANDRA
What kind of gig is it? Writing?
GLENN
Yeah, the want profiles of locals. It’s a
Maine magazine. The kind of things they put on
the coffee table at an inn, for the tourists.
SANDRA
You get to keep the shipping job?
GLENN
I think so. I’m just not sure I’m the right
guy for the job. It takes a lot of going and
interviewing people.
SANDRA
You are probably right. You’d be lousy at
that.
GLENN
Hey, now!
SANDRA
No, I mean it. I don’t know how your writing
is but your personality leaves a lot to be
desired.
GLENN
I did a degree in journalism. I have
interviewed people. I can interview people. I
can write about people. I’m a good writer.
SANDRA
Sure, sure. That’s why you send your shipping
newspaper something that looks like a Sudoku
puzzle, because they value your sparkling
prose. They hang on every line.
GLENN
Look, it’s the nature of the job. I don’t
dictate that stuff. I’m just thinking it will
be a side-hustle, you know?
SANDRA
You? Hustle? I’ll believe it when I see it.
GLENN
Thanks a lot for your support.
SANDRA
I’m just being honest with you.
Glenn gets up, finishes the last of his beer and puts his
raincoat on.
GLENN
Always a pleasure with you, Sandy.
SANDRA
Good night, Glenn. See you tomorrow.
GLENN
You know what’s for lunch tomorrow? Myra get
anything?
SANDRA
She might be getting some hot sausage, but you
didn’t hear it from me.
GLENN
I’ll act surprised.
SANDRA
You will be. Good night.
GLENN
Night.
Glenn goes out the door. She follows him and locks the door.
She turns off most of the lights, with just the Harpoon Beer
sign to light up the bar. She sits alone in the quiet bar.
SANDRA
Good night, Sharkey. Good night, Georgie. We
had a lotta laughs.
She finishes and goes around to rinse out the glass. She
leaves for the night.
END