LOVE (ABRIDGED EDITION)
by Charles Deemer
Story by Mariana Arevalo G.


FADE IN:

EXT. NY - STREET - DAY

Moira walks along a street. She buys a 
newspaper.

EXT. CENTRAL PARK - DAY

She enters Central Park.

EXT. CENTRAL PARK - BENCH - DAY

MOIRA, 20s, sits on a bench in the park. 
There's an empty bench next to hers.

She's reading the personals in a newspaper. 
We HEAR what she's reading.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	"Successful professional SWM: 
	tall, fit, handsome, 
	intelligent, secure, 
	confident, honest, positive. 
	Has good communication skills, 
	sense of humor and balance."

Moira shakes her head in disbelief and 
moves on.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	"Rare, slender, nicely 
	integrated whole person, 
	spiritual warrior to take play 
	to a new level with a 
	spiritually mature, 
	energetically open friend of 
	the heart for whom even 
	lustiness is holy. You and I 
	would risk it all for the 
	truth. We enjoy intensity and 
	adore deep peace."

She looks thoughtful, pausing over this 
one. Finally she goes on.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	"Look, I'm lonely and you're 
	lonely. Sometimes screwing 
	your brains out helps to cut  
	through the crap, know what I 
	mean?"

She hears something and looks up. CALE, 
20s, has walked up to the adjacent bench.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	He's really cute. I should 
	talk to him. "How you doing? 
	I'm Moira." No, that sounds so 
	dumb. I have to look cool.

For a moment, their eyes meet. Cale smiles, 
and Moira quickly looks away. Is she 
blushing?

Cale takes a book out of his back pack. He 
sits down at the far end of the bench.

Moira is suddenly self-conscious about the 
personals and quickly turns to another 
section of the newspaper.

She sneaks a glance at Cale and imagines a 
conversation.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	What are you reading?
		
		CALE (V.O.)
	"War and Peace."

But the book he's reading is a thin 
paperback.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	I thought it was much longer.
		
		CALE (V.O.)
	The abridged edition.

Moira quickly looks away.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	It always turns out that way 
	with men. You think they're 
	the whole deal, and they end 
	up being the abridged 
	edition. 

She looks back at him. Cale notices this 
and smiles.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	You have a lovely smile.
		
		CALE (V.O.)
	Thank you. What's your name?
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	Moira.
		
		CALE (V.O.)
	Very pretty. Irish.

Moira quickly looks away. Across the lawn, 
A YOUNG COUPLE is embracing, playful 
flirtation. They kiss.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	God, they look so happy. What 
	has the greatest odds, winning 
	the lottery? Or finding the 
	right guy?
		
		CALE (V.O.)
	How do you know I'm not the 
	right guy?

Moira is startled by this.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	What?
		
		CALE (V.O.)
	You never know unless you get 
	to know me, right?

Cale turns a page. He senses something and 
looks up.

Moira is standing in front of him.
		
		CALE
	Can I help you?
		
		MOIRA
	I notice you're reading "The 
	Bridges Of Madison County."
		
		CALE
	Promise not to tell anyone.
		
		MOIRA
	I loved it actually.
		
		CALE
	The critics hated it.  
		
		MOIRA
	Who cares what they think? Did 
	you see the movie?
		
		CALE
	I like the book better. Great 
	sound track, though.
		
		MOIRA
	I like the book better, too. I 
	think what saves it from being 
	sentimental is the way it's 
	set up.
		
		CALE
	Right, exactly. The stuff 
	about her kids finding the 
	diary, all that didn't work as 
	well in the movie. 
		
		MOIRA
	Not that sentimentality is 
	necessarily bad.
		
		CALE
	I know what you mean. I'm 
	Cale, by the way.
		
		MOIRA
	Nice to meet you. Well, I'd 
	better let you get back to 
	your book.

She turns to go back to her bench.
		
		CALE
	Moira?
		
		MOIRA
	Yes?
		
		CALE
	Look.

He points to a Hanson Cab approaching. It's 
empty.
		
		CALE
	Have you had lunch yet?
		
		MOIRA
	Actually ...

She's thinking about it. In her head, she 
hears:
		
		CALE (V.O.)
	"SWM, 20s, wants to meet a 
	girl who's not afraid to take 
	a chance."

She manages to smile.
		
		MOIRA
	Let's do it.

Cale waves down the cab. 

EXT. CENTRAL PARK/VARIOUS STREETS - DAY

Moira and Cale ride in the Hanson Cab. They 
obviously are enjoying themselves.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	God, he's good looking. But he 
	doesn't flaunt it, he doesn't 
	come off as God's Gift to 
	Women. I read that Ted Bundy 
	was like that. Charmed those 
	women to death, literally. The 
	Hanson Cab Serial Killer. 
	Well, what can happen in the 
	middle of the day? 

EXT. SIDEWALK CAFE - DAY

The Hanson Cab pulls up in front of a 
sidewalk cafe, and they get out.

EXT. SIDEWALK CAFE - DAY

They find an empty table and sit down.
		
		CALE
	I hope you're hungry.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	Don't tell him you're on a 
	diet.
		
		MOIRA
	Famished.

She manages to smile.

Cale looks around for a waiter.

EXT. SIDEWALK CAFE - DAY - LATER

The table is strewn with empty plates after 
their lunch.

A WAITER brings them each a slice of cake.
		
		MOIRA
	We didn't order dessert.
		
		WAITER
	On the house. One of our staff 
	has a birthday.
		
		CALE
	We'll take it to-go.
		
		WAITER
	Very good.

The waiter leaves.
		
		CALE
	I have a special treat for 
	dessert.

EXT. 55TH STREET - DAY

Moira and Cale walk along the street. Each 
has a slice of cake on a paper plate, taken 
"to go" from the sidewalk cafe. 

They pass a HOMELESS PERSON on the street. 
Cale offers his cake.
		
		CALE
	Would you like this?

The homeless person accepts the cake.
		
		HOMELESS PERSON
	(automatically) God bless you.

Cale turns to Moira, who steps forward and 
offers her cake as well. The homeless 
person takes it.
		
		HOMELESS PERSON
	(with irony) It must be my lucky day.

Moira and Cale continue on.

                HOMELESS PERSON
        (after them) "Let them eat cake!"

They ignore this and walk on.
		
		CALE
	First we walk off lunch, then 
	you see my surprise.

A SERIES OF SHOTS - DAY

of Moira and Cale continuing their date.

1. They ride on a carousel.

2. They throw pennies into a pond.

3. They walk through a garden or other 
scenic spot.

4. They watch a STREET PERFORMER. Cale tips 
him a dollar.

During the above, we hear:
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	It was amazing. No 
	candlelight. No violins. No 
	flowers or boxes of candy or 
	sweet words on a card. Broad 
	daylight in the middle of the 
	day, and it was turning into 
	one of the most romantic times 
	I'd ever had. We were just 
	hanging out. We were just 
	being spontaneous.

INT. 5TH AVENUE - DAY

They walk along another street. Cale 
suddenly stops and looks at his watch. He 
looks like he has something important to 
say.
		
		CALE
	You ready for the piece de 
	resistance?
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	Please don't have it be 
	something that ruins the day. 
		
		CALE
	I hope you're not on a diet.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	Oh, God.

INT. PASTISSERIE - DAY

Cale orders at the counter as Moira 
watches. The WOMAN BEHIND THE COUNTER hands 
Cale a box to go. We don't know what's in 
it yet.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	He can't possibly still be 
	hungry. Has there ever been a 
	serial killer who attacked his 
	victims with calories?

Cale catches her eye and smiles. Moira 
forces a smile in return.

EXT. PASTISSERIE - DAY

They come outside. Cale carries the box of 
take-out. 

EXT. CENTRAL PARK - DAY

They enter the same park where they met.
		
		MOIRA
	You have a thing for this 
	park?

Cale stops. He sets down the box.
		
		MOIRA
	What are you doing?
		
		CALE
	Of course I have a thing for 
	this park. It's where I met 
	you.

He slowly moves forward and kisses her.

Moira lets herself be kissed. Then she 
kisses back.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	Wow.

They finally break the kiss.
		
		MOIRA
	What's in the box?
		
		CALE
	You find out in a minute.

EXT. CENTRAL PARK - BENCH - DAY

They sit down on the bench where they met. 
Cale opens the box.
		
		CALE
	Ta-da!

It's two slices of German chocolate cake.
		
		CALE
	You will not find better 
	German chocolate cake in the 
	western world. Tell me I'm 
	wrong.

He cuts a piece with a plastic fork and 
holds it up for Moira.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	Ummm, it does look good. 
	Tomorrow, I fast.

She starts to take a bite.

Suddenly Moira's CELL PHONE RINGS.

She looks startled. It RINGS again.
		
		CALE
	Want me to throw it in the 
	bushes for you?

And it RINGS again.

EXT. CENTRAL PARK - BENCH - DAY (REAL TIME)

Moira on the bench as before, her cell 
phone RINGING.

She answers it. Too late. 

She looks at the adjacent bench.

The bench is empty.
		
		MOIRA (V.O.)
	SWF, 20s, frustrated, maybe 
	unbalanced, certainly 
	confused, spends a lot of time 
	in the park reading the 
	personals and hallucinating 
	about romantic evenings with a 
	guy she meets on the next 
	bench.

She starts to pack up to go. She stands up.

Approaching is Cal. He has TWO cups of 
coffee in an egg carton. He stops.
		
		CALE
	Would you like a cup of 
	coffee?

FADE OUT