Sharkey's Place: Thirteen Iron Nails.

SHARKEY'S PLACE - MID-MORNING
Kirini is by herself. She has straightened up the room and prepared for the lunch crowd.
Gordon knocks at the door. She opens it and he comes in. She locks the door again. He is in his full-fishing gear.
KIRINI
Gordo. Good morning. Heading out?
GORDON
Good morning, dearest. Yes, across the calm, cool water we go today. But I hoped for a cup of your special coffee.
KIRINI
[smiling] Is that what you came for?
GORDON
That is all.
KIRINI
You didn't come by hoping for a kiss, did you?
GORDON
Well, I hope for the coffee. I pray for the kiss.
KIRINI
Come here, you goof. For good luck today.
She kisses him.
GORDON
Dearest, with your kiss, my luck extends from the deepest ocean up to the furthest heavens.
KIRINI
[going for coffee] Yeah, lucky guy. Here you go.
GORDON
[takes cup] Thank you, sweet one.
KIRINI
No trouble. Now get going.
GORDON
You by yourself? Where's Myra?
KIRINI
She decided to go down to Portland, stay with Glenn for a while.
GORDON
Hmm. Maybe it was time.
KIRINI
Maybe. And Sandra just called. She's going to New York for a week to visit her Ukrainian guy. A try-out, she said.
GORDON
Who's trying out who?
KIRINI
Both, I bet. But guys like that don't really like a woman in their life. Around, but not in.
GORDON
Very peculiar. You alright?
KIRINI
You go catch some fish. I'm fine.
GORDON
Well, Poseidon awaits. Thanks for the coffee. And the kiss.
KIRINI
Any time. Now get going.
GORDON
Right.
[exits]
Kirini sits with a cup of coffee and looks through the files at the table.
KIRINI
[to herself] Taxes. Sheesh!
After a while she puts the files away, unlocks the door and turns the OPEN sign on. Soon customers start flowing in. She serves cold, packaged sandwiches, coffee, soda and beer for the crowd. She clears the tables, takes the orders and cashes out the orders. When the lunch crowd clears out she is left alone again in the afternoon. She sits with more coffee and rests.
Caiden comes in.
KIRINI
Hello, Caiden, how are you?
CAIDEN
Afternoon. Did I miss lunch?
KIRINI
I have a few sandwiches left. Egg salad or deviled tunafish. Your pick.
CAIDEN
Egg salad, I guess. And a coffee.
KIRINI
Sure. Sit down.
CAIDEN
I came by because I wanted to talk to you about, you know, what we talked about, before.
KIRINI
You mean, you taking over the lunch?
CAIDEN
Right.
KIRINI
Well, I could sure use a hand. I don't know if Myra is coming back or not.
CAIDEN
Where'd she go?
KIRINI
She moved in with Glenn down in Portland.
CAIDEN
Ugh, that won't last. Glenn drives her crazy.
KIRINI
Maybe Glenn has pulled himself together.
CAIDEN
Not likely. You know the guy. Plus, she could just get a job and her own apartment, like anybody else.
KIRINI
How did things go with the fresh face at the Squid?
CAIDEN
Well that's one of the reasons I'm here. She was a cracker jack.
KIRINI
That's good, right?
CAIDEN
Except now Turbo is looking at me and Aiden.
And Turbo doesn't need two cooks if he's got the girl.
KIRINI
Wait, Turbo fired you?
CAIDEN
Not yet. But it's me or Aiden, one.
KIRINI
How long have you worked there, for Turbo?
CAIDEN
Eight years, working together.
KIRINI
That place was a dump before you two showed up. I used to go down there with Uncle Georgios, for clam strips. But it was a dump. Was Turbo running it then?
CAIDEN
Yeah, by himself.
KIRINI
He's got no head for food. He couldn't make an ice-cube. But you guys made that place really good.
CAIDEN
Yeah.
KIRINI
And now he's kicking you out? The fink!
CAIDEN
Ah, Turbo's alright. He's just looking out for the business.
KIRINI
Well he's making a mistake, getting rid of you.
CAIDEN
Or Aiden.
KIRINI
I thought you said Aiden brought Elsa Godspeed in.
CAIDEN
He did, but he's making mistakes now, whenever she's around. Trying to show off.
KIRINI
Well, would you stay, if he cut Aiden loose? Would Aiden work here?
CAIDEN
Listen, I don't know. What if we both came over, worked here?
KIRINI
Who'd run the Squid?
CAIDEN
Let Turbo sort it out.
KIRINI
I don't think I could pay you both. I mean if Sandra comes back and if Myra comes back, what am I supposed to do?
CAIDEN
I don't know. But look, I got a few ideas I've been thinking about.
KIRINI
Yeah?
CAIDEN
Yeah, see, what if we pivoted to a more upgraded concept?
KIRINI
A what?
CAIDEN
I was thinking about a French-style steakhouse.
KIRINI
A what?
CAIDEN
Like a brasserie.
KIRINI
A what?
CAIDEN
You know, like an open kitchen, with a few specialties, and an ice bar with raw oysters, steamed clams and mussels. Things like grilled steak au poivre and coq au vin. And then there is the beverage program.
KIRINI
The what?
CAIDEN
We can really elevate our wine offerings, kick it up a notch.
KIRINI
Caiden, you... you have eaten in here before, haven't you? You see the crowd we get. Farmhands, deckhands and the occasional lobsterman. They are not going to come into a French bistro.
CAIDEN
Brasserie. And they'll get used to it. They'll get accustomed to a better, craft beer selection. Hipstah beer.
KIRINI
[puts head in hands] Caiden, you're a fry cook. Now you want to be a chef? I need somebody to run the fryer.
CAIDEN
I think of myself as more of an executive chef and sommelier combo. I'm thinking I can use the title, Food & Beverage Executive Director.
KIRINI
[quietly] Executive Director. Right. Nice ring to it.
CAIDEN
I thought so too.
KIRINI
You realize that we're in Milbridge, Maine, right? There aren't enough people to support a restaurant that needs an Executive Director of Food and Beverage.
CAIDEN
We'll draw from all of New England.
KIRINI
Not on a Thursday night in February. There are eight million people in New York City and restaurants there go out of business all the time.
CAIDEN
Now's the time to think big. Ambition. Set goals.
KIRINI
You been listening to some motivation tapes, or something? You're out of your mind. Myra too! A bluefin lunch! Am I missing something here or is it just that cooks get crazy ideas now and then?
CAIDEN
If I have Aiden in back, working my menu, I can provide value to the customers by offering expert wine pairings.
KIRINI
Oh, Aiden is going to work for you too?
CAIDEN
Somebody's got to be in charge.
KIRINI
Yeah, me! And I'm not turning this into a French steakhouse.
CAIDEN
With a cash injection, we could add an outdoor dining experience. Al fresco.
KIRINI
Oh, now we're borrowing money for this pipedream?
CAIDEN
I'm sure the Boston heavies would kick in fifty, a hundred K. Get fifty from Turbo and we can start the construction.
KIRINI
What?! This is my place! I'm not selling out to Turbo and some goons. Did he put you up to this, Turbo?
CAIDEN
I ran the ideas by him, is all. He offered.
KIRINI
He offered, did he? I bet.
CAIDEN
Turbo's a good guy. You'll like working with him.
KIRINI
I know Turbo, and I know that Turbo is only interested in Turbo. And I don't need to borrow money from Turbo. I need a lunch cook. Run the fryer. Make some soup, you know?
CAIDEN
Hang on. It just seems like, what with all the turnover, it's a good time to re-assess. Consider new opportunities.
KIRINI
Listen, Caiden. I like you. You're smart. But messing with Sharkey's is dumb. You know why? Because we serve our community, our town. The men come off of the water, out of the woods at the end of the day, they want a place to relax, watch the Sox lose or the Celtics. They are not here for a dining experience.
CAIDEN
I am. I do. I come for the dining experience.
KIRINI
With Myra in the kitchen. Look, you tell Turbo to fold his money over and put it back in his pocket.
CAIDEN
What are you going to do?
KIRINI
It's what I'm not going to do. I'm not going to open for lunch. People like the coffee in the morning, so I'll open for that. Then close until it's time to start slinging beers. That's what I'm going to do.
CAIDEN
But where are we going to get lunch?
KIRINI
Let Turbo sort it out.
CAIDEN
So that means I don't get the job?
KIRINI
As Executive Director of Food and Beverage? No, you don't get the job. There is no job. But what I could use, is a fresh face.
CAIDEN
Meaning?
KIRINI
I'm going to call Elsa Godspeed. Get her to work here.
CAIDEN
But Turbo hasn't even officially hired her yet.
KIRINI
And he hasn't officially fired you either.
CAIDEN
[looks at her] I could stay at the Squid.
KIRINI
Work with your brother.
CAIDEN
Make her come here.
KIRINI
No more Aiden foul-ups.
CAIDEN
Back to normal.
KIRINI
Tell you what, instead of me calling her out of the blue, you tell her that I'm interested and to come see me. We'll have a chat about what she wants and we'll see where it goes.
CAIDEN
Kiri, you're the best.
KIRINI
The Beast?
CAIDEN
The Beast! Thanks.
[gets up to go] KIRINI
Don't forget your sandwich.
CAIDEN
I'll send Elsa over.
KIRINI
Thank you.
Caiden exits.
KIRINI
Jesus, a French steakhouse. What a world.
Kirini goes back into the kitchen.
SHARKEY'S PLACE - MID-EVENING
The usual crowd is in place and Kirini is doing everything herself. Gordon is at the bar and Boots Moran comes in.
GORDON
Boots, my lovely. Good to see you.
KIRINI
Careful, Gordo.
GORDON
A harmless flirtation.
KIRINI
Right.
BOOTS
[goes to the bar] Gordo. Good day on the water?
GORDON
The sea offered us the feast of its' bosom. We took our share and motored home.
BOOTS
Mustn't be greedy, I guess.
GORDON
That is the temptation, but also the path to ruin.
BOOTS
Oh right, you and Poseidon. I forgot. Forever locked in cosmic struggle.
GORDON
I go humbly on the water, praying to the sea for rich bounty, but I remember my simple and plain needs, and go gratefully home when the day is done.
BOOTS
Home? Which bed is that?
GORDON
I lie under the stars and moon, my head on a rock. Where that is, doesn't much matter, does it?
BOOTS
You don't call me.
GORDON
I don't call anyone.
BOOTS
Is that what I am to you?
GORDON
You offer your hospitality generously. I offer my companionship willingly. It is not any more complicated than that.
BOOTS
Is that what your wife would say?
GORDON
Quite likely, yes.
KIRINI
Say, Boots, you need a stiff drink? You seem out of sorts.
GORDON
Have I offended you?
BOOTS
Offended? No, A drink? Yes. Your Maine Hurricane, please.
KIRINI
OK. Coming up.
BOOTS
It's just that I'd like a few answers.
GORDON
I have no secrets.
BOOTS
I want to know where I stand, is all.
GORDON
You appear to be right here, right now.
BOOTS
Gordo.
GORDON
Yes, that's not what you mean, is it? You want to know the workings of the heart.
BOOTS
Yes.
GORDON
To know of my fidelity. My commitment and integrity.
BOOTS
Yes.
GORDON
And when you look at me, see my face, what do you see staring back at you?
BOOTS
Hmmm... I see a man, with flaws and passions.
GORDON
And do you see a liar?
BOOTS
No,
GORDON
A criminal? Or a man of cruelty?
BOOTS
No,
GORDON
Do you see a future and a commitment?
BOOTS
No,
GORDON
But I am right here, right now. And so are you. I will take that and be glad. Will you?
BOOTS
Yes.
KIRINI
[watching them] Here you go, Boots. Say, whatcha' working on these days?
BOOTS
Oh, that's the real problem. I've got mess of a story. I don't know what to do.
KIRINI
What's the problem?
BOOTS
I have a title, Thirteen Iron Nails.
KIRINI
Ugh, OK. Then what?
BOOTS
I have two distinct plots that are crashing into each other.
KIRINI
What kind of plots?
BOOTS
I have an international political intrigue with some drug cartel complications. And I've got a serial killer in the woods with a grisly way of killing people, by nailing them to trees. Then he watches as the wildlife consumes the bodies.
KIRINI
That's terrible.
BOOTS
But I think I'm missing something.
GORDON
May I?
BOOTS
Gordo, go ahead.
GORDON
Why the thirteen nails?
BOOTS
An unlucky number. Good for the cover.
GORDON
But also the number of the followers of Jesus, plus one, himself. That might be a stronger line than just an unlucky number.
BOOTS
Hmmm. So instead of a random guy killing vulnerable victims...
KIRINI
Like runaway girls?
BOOTS
Always a good seller, runaway girl stories. Truckstop hookers too.
KIRINI
Is that who your guy is killing?
BOOTS
It was based on a case deep in the woods of Vermont. The guy would tie the girls to a tree and do terrible things to her. Then watch as the bears and coyotes ate the body.
KIRINI
That's awful!
BOOTS
Really bad guy. He killed twenty-two women, in the Fifties. But it feels kind of done, you know. Bad guy, killing vulnerable women. It's like, really?, another story like that?
KIRINI
So you are stuck?
BOOTS
I kind of like the Jesus thing, Gordo. It would be a different story but a new angle.
GORDON
What about a guy who kills priests?
KIRINI
Pedophiles?
BOOTS
And maybe he was a victim of abuse, so he's getting his revenge.
GORDON
A lapsed seminarian. Fallen from grace.
BOOTS
The killing angel.
GORDON
And the nails are for the twelve victims, and the thirteenth?
BOOTS
For himself. The dying savior complex.
KIRINI
You have a detective find him?
GORDON
Or the Church's special investigators. All in-house.
BOOTS
No, I need a public person, somebody the reader can connect with. Like a woman who unravels the truth.
GORDON
I can see her revelation now, when she works out who is the real killer.
KIRINI
Nice!
BOOTS
That's going to work. I can move the guy in the woods to the next one, Five Nickels.
KIRINI
What's Five Nickels?
BOOTS
Title of the next one. After Iron is Nickel. Then Bronze.
KIRINI
You've got it all worked out.
BOOTS
What about you, Kir? I heard the tuna event was a big hit.
KIRINI
I was stunned at the response. It was amazing. Right, Gordo?
GORDON
Unprecedented. Myra outdid herself.
BOOTS
Where is Myra? Where's Sandra?
KIRINI
Myra is down in Portland for a while with Glenn. Sandra went to New York for a week with a new, rich-guy boyfriend.
BOOTS
So you're just working by yourself?
KIRINI
For now. I called Abigail Godspeed about her daughter, Elsa. She was about to get hired at the Inky Squid.
BOOTS
Yeah? Wasn't she working at the Tastee-Freeze?
KIRINI
Yeah, but I talked to Abigail and said, maybe Elsa would be better off at a place where a woman was in charge.
BOOTS
Good thinking. What'd she say?
KIRINI
It sealed the deal. I think she'll start this weekend. We'll see how it goes.
BOOTS
She's a nice girl, Elsa Godspeed. And her sister, Bella. Smart girls.
KIRINI
Good family. The Godspeeds have been in Milbridge for decades.
GORDON
Or longer. The name comes from the English ship, Godspeed, which landed colonists at Jamestown in 1606. Some colonist families took the name of the ship as more settlers arrived, to indicate when they had come to the Americas.
BOOTS
Jesus, Gordo! How do you know this?
GORDON
Few years ago, I was involved in the building of a replica of the Godspeed down in Rockport. Real shipbuilding, it was.
KIRINI
That's amazing, Gordo! I had no idea.
GORDON
A few years ago now.
BOOTS
So you're going to have Elsa working here.
KIRINI
I'm going to stop the lunch service and just do coffee in the morning and have her serving beer in the evening. Without Myra the food just doesn't make sense.
GORDON
She was something.
KIRINI
She still is and maybe we get her back. I don't know. But I talked to Caiden about running the fryer here. He had other ideas.
BOOTS
Like what?
KIRINI
He wanted me to turn Sharkey's into a French brasserie, with a wine list and al fresco dining.
BOOTS
That would be nice...
KIRINI
Sure it would! I'd like to go to a place like that, but this isn't it. Milbridge couldn't support a top dollar restaurant. Not enough people.
BOOTS
Have you looked at the figures?
KIRINI
Who needs to look at the figures? It's a New England tavern, it is what it is.
BOOTS
But the success of the bluefin lunch should show you that there is an appetite for finer fare than the Inky Squid, right?
KIRINI
And Myra made that, for lunch. She was great.
BOOTS
Why'd she really leave? She was making interesting food.
KIRINI
She wants a bigger stage, bigger restaurant, bigger menu, bigger town. But it's true though, she should be at a big place in Portland or Bangor. Her talent is appreciated here, but, really, it's wasted.
BOOTS
But what about doing another bluefin lunch? That could work.
KIRINI
You know who came in for that? People who weren't from Milbridge. Boston, New York, Philadelphia. And they are not coming to Milbridge on a Tuesday night in January. But the sailors coming off the water, they come in for beer, like clock-work.
BOOTS
Is that all you want to do though? I mean what about ambition? You just want to sling beers?
KIRINI
It's all I want to do right now. I make enough money, the place is profitable and we get a good crowd. That's good enough for me.
BOOTS
For now.
KIRINI
Sure, for now.
BOOTS
Kiri, are you running away from something? This doesn't sound like the woman who took over from Georgios and spiffed the place up. You made it nice here. A nice place to come into.
KIRINI
Thank you.
BOOTS
But are you just going to let it drift? No Myra, no Sandra?
KIRINI
I'll do OK. I'll have a fresh-face, Elsa.
BOOTS
It sounds like you are giving up, just hiring the girl from the Tastee Freeze.
KIRINI
I'm giving her a shot, a chance to grow. She'll make more money and see more of the business.
BOOTS
Yeah, OK. But is there something personal about all of this? I mean Sandra was here from the Sharkey's days.
KIRINI
Boots, I grew up in my folks diner, on Long Island. Every day there was a crowd. Every day there were orders and dishes and mopping tables of syrup. The grind just never ends for them. They couldn't take a week off, or a day off, in twenty years.
BOOTS
But they liked it.
KIRINI
They did. They did like it. But I want something different. Something where I am in charge, not the crowds.
BOOTS
Maybe something more fun?
KIRINI
Yeah.
BOOTS
Maybe get some music, like a guitar player, a band, things like that.
KIRINI
Maybe.
BOOTS
Did you see a lot of concerts or go to live music clubs when you were younger?
KIRINI
Never. Maybe there was a guy playing a song in a coffee house.
BOOTS
Hmm. Like to dance? Go out, have a good time?
KIRINI
I don't know. I never did that.
BOOTS
You never go on dates to shows or out dancing?
KIRINI
Nope.
BOOTS
Oh, sweetheart! Oh, dear we have to get you going again. You could put a small stage back there, with a microphone and a small amp. I do this sort of thing all the time at bookstores, for readings. You could have readings, poetry.
KIRINI
Would you read your stuff?
BOOTS
Sure, to help you, of course!
KIRINI
How would it work?
BOOTS
Let me make a few calls. I'll talk to some bookstores and ask them how they do it. But in the meantime, while you are pouring beer for the sailors, give it a think. Live music and readings.
KIRINI
I kind of like it. It's different.
BOOTS
And there really isn't anyplace along the coast to see anything like that, or, more to the point, no place for a writer to get in front of people. No place for a songwriter to work out material.
KIRINI
Or comedians.
BOOTS
Like stand-up? Sure, you can get the clowns in, be a stop on the circuit. Those guys will go anywhere for a few free drinks.
KIRINI
I could get, like, a spot light.
BOOTS
Maybe, let me see what the bookstores say about equipment.
KIRINI
Alright. Boots, you earned it tonight. That one's on the house.
BOOTS
Thanks, Kiri. I'll pay for another.
KIRINI
Coming up.
GORDON
Ladies, I bid you good night. I go back to my hermit cell where I will pray for good fishing in the morning.
KIRINI
Or is it the Red Barn?
GORDON
Hmmm, I could use a soft bed and a good nights rest. Care to join me?
KIRINI
Not this time, Gordo.
GORDON
Boots?
BOOTS
You can get yourself to sleep.
GORDON
Hmm. Then, good night all.
Gordon exits.
BOOTS
The nerve of that guy.
KIRINI
He's a sweet heart.
BOOTS
He is. Say, listen, let me take a rain-check on the strong drink.
KIRINI
You leaving? I can put it in a go-cup.
BOOTS
Eh, I'll take that. Thanks.
She takes the cup, leaves cash on the bar.
KIRINI
Good night, Boots. Thanks for coming in.
BOOTS
Good to see you. G'night.
She goes out the door and Kirini sees her turn toward the Red Barn Motel instead of back to her house.
KIRINI
Oh well. Hey, who needs a beer?!
She collects some glasses, pours beer and chats up the deckhands and sailors.
END