[ Employee Lot . . .Behind The Aisles. ]
[ The Following Day. . . Sunshine takes
her
usual morning stroll from her Miata toward
the welcoming entrance of Care.
Crunching fresh snow underneath her
boots, she hastens to unlock the door. ]
“Morning!”
[ Sunshine turns around to see Jenni
subtly promenading in her direction. ]
JENNI: Our first Saturday! Aren’t
you excited?
SUNSHINE: Oh yes. I’m beaming.
Who knew the promotion from that
disaster would turn out to be such
a blessing for us.
[ Inside now, they are both standing and
warming up in the corridor hallway.
Jenni takes a sip of her latte, sitting down
on the bench. Sunshine turns facing her,
peering out the window and across
the lot. ]
SUNSHINE: That’s unusual, Mark didn’t
mention any construction work being done
today.
JENNI: What do you mean?
SUNSHINE: There’s a man walking around
on the store roof.
[ Jenni stands and joins Sunshine watching
out the window. Suddenly they see the
unknown getting closer and closer to
the building’s edge. ]
JENNI: Oh no!
[ She takes off for outside with Sunshine
sprinting after her. ]
[ Meanwhile, Brian arrives at TA. ]
“Sir, can you hear me? Are you alright?”
[ The women yell to him with no response. ]
SUNSHINE: How did he get up there?
JENNI: I’m not sure.
[ The sound of a glass bottle hitting a nearby
tree startles them as the stranger appears
sitting with his feet dangling off the edge.
Brain comes around the corner. ]
BRIAN: What’s going on?
JENNI: There’s a man up there.
SUNSHINE: He won’t speak.
JENNI: I’m calling the police.
[ She gets on her phone, frantically
dialing. ]
BRIAN: Okay good. Just keep trying
to talk to him calmly. I’ll be right back.
[ He runs inside the store. ]
[ Ricky & Maxx’s . . .Same Morning. ]
“Good morning, my meat queen.”
[ Ricky opens her eyes in bed, seeing her
shirtless husband standing with a tray
of exquisite breakfast delights. ]
“Hey.”
[ She gleams as Maxx sets the mini feast
down, further romancing her with a
kiss.
He joins her on the bed.
]
RICKY: This is actually perfect
because
there is something we
should
talk about.
MAXX: Every man’s
favorite line.
RICKY: I’m serious. Things have been
going great with us this
past year. I think
we’re on track to start
talking about the
next steps in our
marriage.
[ Maxx stares at her
through bites of his
sausage links. ]
MAXX: I’m assuming you’re
talking
about adoption.
RICKY: Well yes, neither
of us are
getting any
younger. If we’re going
to have that big family
you’ve always
wanted we’ll have to
start soon.
[ Maxx shakes his head
in agreement,
a little surprised. ]
RICKY: I know. I wasn’t
sure about
being a mother at first
but ever since we
got married, I don’t
know. Something’s
changed.
I guess what I’m trying
to say is.
I’m definitely ready
now.
[ The Aisles . .
.Back Outside. ]
“Where the hell are they
it’s been
20 minutes?”
[ Jenni exclaims, still
standing at the
corner with Brian &
Sunshine. ]
BRIAN: Sir, is it
alright if I come
up there with you? Just to talk.
[ The stranger finally
responds with
a sullen & shuddering
‘Yes’. ]
JENNI: Please be
careful.
BRIAN: It’s fine. I’ve
been trained
for this.
[ They watch as he
climbs to the top
on an extended ladder. ]
BRIAN: What’s wrong?
[ Brian keeps his distance,
managing
the situation. ]
REDIKI: It’s my
family. I had a huge
fight with my brother. And everyone
is taking his side.
[ He says choking back tears.
]
REDIKI: I have no
one. My family
all can’t stand me. My brother is
moving away with his
wife today.
I have no other choice!
[ He screams, standing up.
Struggling
to catch his balance. ]
[ At Mark’s House
. . . ]
[ Mark, Jai, & Kiilyn
are spread out in
the living room watching
a sports game. ]
JAI: So, when are we
going to meet
your new girlfriend?
MARK: Wait, I thought
you didn’t
date.
KIILYN: Well, Tori’s
different. She’s
a woman. And she’s changing me.
JAI: Is it her, or the
residency she
controls for you?
KIILYN: It’s her.
JAI: That’s good. At least someone in
this room’s love life is
going well.
MARK: I told you. Just talk to Kaori.
You’ve been together for
too long to
just throw in the towel.
JAI: There’s no
point! All we seem
to do is argue, Dad.
I’m pretty sure. . .
[ Kiilyn sees a car pull
into the drive
-way & goes over to
the window. ]
KIILYN: Yeah, maybe not.
She’s here.
[ Rediki is still
standing on the edge
with tears streaming
down his face.
The police officers are
trying to get
him to come down from
the ground. ]
BRIAN: Listen, I understand
how you
feel right now. Like everything is messed
up and you have no other
way out.
Many years ago, I was so
lost that I got
myself wrapped up in
this cult and
they almost killed
me.
But then I got a job at
TA and everything
started to slowly get
better for me.
You can do the
same.
REDIKI: No, I can’t. No one cares about me.
BRIAN: Then I will.
But you have to start by
getting away from
the ledge.
[ Rediki looks out seeing
everyone on the
ground’s concerned
expression and fear.
He turns around, slowly
walking over to
Brian as he grabs ahold of Rediki, clinging
on to him while he weeps. ]
[ Amigos & Amigas Gym . . .The Next Morning. ]
[ Maxx & Brian are conversating
in the
locker room. ]
“I can’t believe you
saved someone’s
life yesterday. You’re a
hero.”
[ Brian is looking at his build in the
mirror over Maxx’s head. ]
BRIAN: I’m just relieved
that I could
help and finally got him
to get to a
better place with it all.
Turns out he’s alone
and lost his job
so I’m talking to the TA
managers to
see what we can do.
MAXX: That’s
awesome!
BRIAN: Mark’s also going to help
him get into some counseling.
MAXX: So, Ricky is ready
to start
the adoption
process.
BRIAN: It’s about time!
MAXX: I guess but I’m
not sure
if I want to go that
route. If I’m
going to raise children,
I really
want them to be
ours.
BRIAN: I get that, but
Ricky can’t
exactly get pregnant.
MAXX: I know. But they
could
at least be half of
ours.
I’m just unsure of how
that would
make her feel.
[ Chais & Jenni’s
Home . . .Later That Day. ]
[ Jenni is at the door
letting her sister
Kaori inside. ]
KAORI: I heard you had a
whirlwind of
a day on Saturday. Are
you okay?
JENNI: Yes, I’m
fine. More importantly
so is Rediki now.
KAORI: That’s good. I actually came
over here to tell you something
pretty
important.
JENNI: What’s
going on?
KAORI: I don’t really
know how to
say this to you. You’re my sister
though and I didn’t want
to hide it.
I’m pregnant.
JENNI: What?
[ Kaori burst with joy not
being able
to contain herself, she
waits for a
positive reaction.
But Jenni can’t help it to
look at
her with growing hurt in
her eyes. ]
“Unbelievable.”
[ She thinks but doesn’t
voice. ]
______________________________________________________
Q: SHOULD BRIAN HAVE HANDLED REDIKI
DIFFERENTLY. . .
. . .WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?
A: ( Sound Off In The Comment Section Below! )
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