Lena half-carries a half-conscious Michael.
LENA
Jonathan...Jonathan! Oh my God,
Jonathan!
Jonathan is as frozen in place as his daughter.
JONATHAN
No. No.
He turns on his heel and walks away.
LATER.
The coroner rolls a stretcher bearing a body bag. Michael looks on from the back of an ambulance.
INT. YOUNG MICHAEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT - MANY YEARS AGO
The bedroom door opens and YOUNG LENA appears, the hall light behind her as she gazes fondly on the dark form of her son in the bottom bunk. Something beside him moves and she opens the door wider. A shaft of light falls on a blonde head.
Sleepy-eyed Young Michael and Young Grace sit on the side of the bed. Young Lena speaks earnestly to them as Jonathan looks on uncomfortably.
ANOTHER NIGHT
The bedroom opens and frightened Young Grace enters. She pulls on Young Michael's foot and he looks at her blearily for a second. He points to the top bunk.
The top bunk is empty and made up. Young Grace steps back shakes her head furiously.Young Michael gets out of bed and climbs to the top bunk. Young Grace curls up in the spot vacated by Young Michael.
EXT. MICHAEL AND ANNA'S HOUSE - MANY YEARS AGO
A car unloads Young Michael and Young Grace. Jonathan watches from the doorway as Young Lena kisses the
children good-bye. She meets Jonathan's brooding gaze.
YOUNG LENA
I'll be back for them on Monday.
Grace grabs Michael's hand, he detaches it. She fastens on to his shirttail as he hefts a duffle bag.
INT. HALLWAY - MANY YEARS AGO
Young Grace looks up at the sign on Jonathan's office door,
"Interrupt At Your Peril".
YOUNG MICHAEL (O.S.)
Hey, Pea-knuckle...Grace
(beat)
Gracie!
She turns and hops away.
YOUNG GRACE (O.S.)
I'm not a pea knuckle!
MICHAEL (O.S.)
Yes you are. You're a sweet
pea and a knuckle-head.
YOUNG GRACE (O.S.)
(yelling)
No, I'm not!
YOUNG MICHAEL (O.S.)
You're not sweet?
Silence.
YOUNG GRACE (O.S.)
Shut up, Mikey-Pikey!
Sounds of a scuffle and shrieks of laughter fade away.
INT. MIKE'S OFFICE - MANY YEARS AGO
Jonathan and Michael sit at the desk reading from the same book. The room is an older, slightly messier version of
Michael's office.
The top of Young Grace's head appears and disappears over the arm of a sofa on the other side of the room. Jonathan watches her. Finally, almost against his will, he goes to where she sits reading an old book with ferocious attention.
He starts to speak, to shoo her out, and instead looks at the book's title, "Human, All Too Human" by Fredrich Nietzsche. His hand comes up to touch her cheek and stops short.
YOU ARE READING
The Difficult Hour: Original Screenplay
Random"It well may be that in a difficult hour, Pinned down by pain and moaning for release, Or nagged by want past resolution's power, I might be driven to sell your love for peace..." from the sonnet LOVE IS NOT ALL, by Edna St. Vincent Millay
