Eventide
Elise Montrose, daughter of Mandy
Mandy Montrose, mother of Elise
Nelwyn, a maid
Walker, a young man of good breeding
Joshua, another young man
FADE IN
EXT.
THE SEASHORE -- DAY
Gray sky and
booming surf. Seagulls
wheel overhead as ELISE, a young woman, looks out over the
waves. After
a few moments, JOSHUA
appears and stands beside her.
JOSHUA
Walk
with me.
ELISE
I
can't. I'm
waiting.
JOSHUA
For someone?
ELISE
Yes… someone else.
There's a pause
as the camera pans out over the water.
CUT TO
EXT. DOWNTOWN OF A SMALL CITY – EVENING
It’s the Christmas shopping
season, 1967, with lights strung across the streets and people
bustling about, bundled against the cold.
Among the crowd are several young hippies wearing coats
festooned with peace symbols and an American flag or two
turned upside down.
EXT. PROSPEROUS SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD –
EVENING
Joshua is
walking fast along the sidewalk, his hand clutching his jacket
shut at the neck. Even
though it’s dark, it’s still early and several cars pass
by on what would otherwise be a quiet street.
Fastened to the doors of the houses he passes are
Christmas wreaths.
INT.
LIVING ROOM
A middle-class
living room, one complete with fireplace, couch, overstuffed
chairs, inoffensive artwork,
and a white Christmas tree decorated with a set of
matching blue ornaments. MANDY,
the lady of the house, and the maid NELWYN are fussing about,
straightening things that don't need to be straightened.
MANDY
Nelwyn,
how close?
NELWYN
Roast
about done, Ms Mandy.
MANDY
They're
going to be here soon -- you sure?
NELWYN
Yessum.
I'll go check again, but everything's ready as can be.
Ain't no use in getting all worried.
MANDY
I
have to worry, no one else will.
NELWYN
[under her breath]
You
got that right.
MANDY
What
was that?
NELWYN
Said
no dust in sight. Let
me get on out to the kitchen.
Doorbell rings.
MANDY
Oh dear.
They're here already.
Go tell Elise our guests are arriving, then see about
Walker.
Nelwyn walks
quickly out of the room.
MANDY
For
heaven's sake, let ME answer the door.
She walks over
and opens it.
MANDY
Delivery?
Use the side entrance.
JOSHUA is
standing outside the door.
Mandy appears puzzled as she looks at him.
JOSHUA
Ms Montrose --
I'm Joshua Garrison. Friend
of Elise. Back in
high school, used to come over and help out with the annual.
MANDY
Oh, dear.
This isn't a good time. She has company -- we have
company. Just
about to sit down to dinner.
Elise, wearing
clothes appropriate for a flower child, appears behind Mandy
and looks over the older woman's shoulder at the young man.
ELISE
Joshua!
What a nice surprise.
Come on in.
MANDY
[moving aside]
Oh
dear.
Joshua steps inside.
JOSHUA
Thought I'd
stop by and see how you're doing. I'm reporting for active
duty in a couple of days, and I'll be gone awhile.
ELISE
It's
cold out there, come in.
Mandy moves off
towards the kitchen. Elise,
careful not to actually touch Josh, guides him into the living
room.
ELISE
Gee,
it's been a while since I've seen you.
JOSHUA
Couple
of years.... You
look great.
MANDY
[stops, looks back]
Elise,
where's Walker?
ELISE
Don't know,
Mom. Why don't you
go see where he is while I talk to Josh.
Mom's trying to remind me my fiancée is somewhere in
the house.
MANDY
[on the way out the door]
Oh,
oh dear.
JOSHUA
Fiancée?
Didn't realize you had company -- I should be going.
ELISE
Don't be silly,
I want you to meet him. You
guys'll like each other. He's
working on his MBA. What
are you doing?
JOSHUA
Packing up,
getting ready to leave for the Army.
ELISE
That's
right. Sorry.
Be gone long?
JOSHUA
I don't know.
Just stopped by to say hi.
Was going to see if you wanted to go out and get a cup
of coffee. Guess
not, huh?
ELISE
Wish we could.
Mom's having some people over tonight for a dinner in
our honor, so….
JOSHUA
You
get home often?
ELISE
Not often.
I carry a lot of courses.
Still have dreams of grad school.
JOSHUA
You'll
do okay.
ELISE
Think
so?
JOSHUA
I
know it.
WALKER,
a conservatively dressed young man, enters the room.
ELISE
Hey, Walker.
Want you to meet an old friend of mine.
Joshua…. Sorry, I've forgotten your last name.
JOSHUA
Garrison.
Good meeting you, Walker.
WALKER
You
staying for dinner, old man?
JOSHUA
No, I have to
be going. Got to
take care of some stuff before I leave.
WALKER
Where
are you off to?
ELISE
He's
joining the Navy.
JOSHUA
Army.
WALKER
Damn
shame.
ELSIE
[to Walker]
Did
you find towels in your bathroom?
WALKER
Everything.
ELISE
I
was afraid Nelwyn might forget.
JOSHUA
Guess
I need to be running along.
Things to do.
ELISE
Glad
you stopped by.
WALKER
I've got to
make a phone call before dinner. Good meeting you, Josh.
JOSHUA
Be
seeing you around.
Walker leaves
the room.
JOSHUA
Seems
like a nice guy.
ELISE
He
is. So why'd you come over tonight?
JOSHUA
[seemingly distracted]
Didn't realize
you had company.
ELISE
Yeah.
Decided since we were getting serious, I'd better
introduce him to the family.
JOSHUA
Like I said,
seems like a nice guy.
ELISE
He's fun to be with.
JOSHUA
I'm happy for you.
ELISE
Thanks.
You'll be gone a long time, huh?
JOSHUA
Oh, I don't
know that. Anyway
-- got a couple of more stops to make.
He moves towards the front door, opens it.
JOSHUA
I'll send you a postcard when I get to wherever I'm
going.
ELISE
Better send it
to me here, cos I don't know where we'll be living after the
wedding.
JOSHUA
I'll do that. Take
care.
ELISE
You, too.
Joshua leaves,
closing the door behind him.
Elise walks over to the tree and absentmindedly touches
one of the decorations.
EXT.
THE SEASHORE -- TWILIGHT
Gray skies,
booming surf. Seagulls
soar overhead as Elise looks out over the water.
JOSHUA
[off-camera]
Walk
with me.
ELISE
I'm
waiting.
She looks intently over the water, then
ELISE
You're
unlucky somehow. I
know it.
There's a pause
as the camera pans over the sea.
We see gray sky and waves rolling in.
Suddenly she looks around her, searching....
ELISE
[her
voice almost lost in the sound of the booming surf]
Joshua?...
Josh?
She looks out to
sea again. Now
there's only sky and ocean and the call of a lone seagull.
--
END --