"HUMIDITY"
by
Charles Deemer
Department of English
Portland State University
Portland, OR 97201
cdeemer@yahoo.com
FADE
IN:
INT.
HOTEL ROOM - DAY
ALLY
and FRANK, both late 30s, are dressing after lovemaking.
They
look hot and sweaty.
ALLY
How do you breathe in this city?
FRANK
Always the west coast girl.
ALLY
You got that right.
FRANK
Humidity is the price we pay for
fireflies. You don't get them in
the west.
ALLY
I love lightning bugs but I also
love to breathe. I feel like I'm
suffocating.
A
window is cracked open. A horn honks in traffic below.
They
continue dressing.
FRANK
Time for lunch?
ALLY
Sorry, no. I'll be late as it is.
FRANK
At least you called me.
Ally
smiles.
ALLY
When have I ever come into town
without a quick fix?
FRANK
We've barely caught up.
ALLY
Are you complaining?
FRANK
No, I'd just like to know how you
are.
2.
ALLY
I divorced John.
Frank
waits for more. Nothing.
FRANK
I didn't know.
ALLY
Now you do. I turn forty next
month, and I've already had three
divorces. See what you missed?
FRANK
They say the third time's the
charm.
ALLY
What's charming about divorce?
FRANK
I was referring to my proposal.
You said no as an undergraduate,
no after you started your job ...
maybe you'll--
ALLY
Frank, don't you dare propose!
This is the first unequivocally
good time I've had since I can't
remember. Don't ruin it.
FRANK
Im not. But I will again one day,
you know. When you're old and
decrepit, and it finally occurs
to you that you can't live
without me.
ALLY
I already know I can't live
without you.
She
moves close and gives him a kiss on the cheek.
ALLY
The question is, what can I live
with?
FRANK
You live with that crazy job of
yours. You're a whiz at it.
3.
ALLY
Public relations is like getting
to be the actress I didn't have
the courage to become.
FRANK
A lot more money, too.
ALLY
Money, money, money. How about
you? How come you're still not
married?
FRANK
You shouldn't have to ask.
ALLY
Damn you.
She's
dressed and moves to the window. She stares down at
the
traffic far below.
Frank
also is dressed.
FRANK
I wish you didn't have to run
off.
ALLY
If I had courage, I'd quit my job
and spend the day with you. But
I'm a coward.
FRANK
You don't like your job any more?
ALLY
I never liked it.
FRANK
News to me.
ALLY
You only see what's on the
surface. You've always been that
way.
Frank
looks puzzled.
FRANK
Are you mad at me or something?
Ally
moves away from the window.
4.
FRANK
Ally, why do I feel like you're
keeping something from me?
ALLY
I'm sorry. It's just you're
always so upbeat about
everything.
Sometimes it gets on my nerves.
FRANK
Is the glass half-full or half-
empty? How many years have we
been arguing about that?
ALLY
More than half. You always have
the glass almost full. Almost to
the tip-top. I don't think I've
ever seen you down or depressed.
Not once. You're quite amazing
actually.
Frank
is silent.
ALLY
Listen, kiddo, I've got to get
out of here. The sex was great.
FRANK
We have more than sex.
ALLY
Right.
She
starts for the door.
FRANK
Let me make a quick pit stop.
Wait for me?
ALLY
Of course.
FRANK
You'd better close the window in
case the bats fly in.
ALLY
God, I haven't thought of that
night in years! It seems so long
ago.
FRANK
I'll be right back.
5.
Frank
goes into the bathroom and shuts the door.
Ally
goes to the window. She starts to close it but stops.
She
looks down at the traffic below.
It's
a very long way down there. Suddenly she lifts the
window
open much wider than it was before.
IN
THE BATHROOM, Frank finishes up and flushes the toilet.
He
comes back INTO THE ROOM. He sees that the window is open
wide.
But
there's no Ally to be found.
Frank
stands frozen for a minute, thinking. Then he hurries
to
the window.
He
leans forward and looks down.
His
expression tells it all: Ally jumped.
FADE
OUT