Dan wouldn’t be happy.
RICHARD
You’re damn right he wouldn’t be.
BETTY
Well this isn’t your father’s marriage.
RICHARD
You’re right. It’s not our marriage,
either. It’s God’s marriage.
We took a vow before him and we’re keeping it.
Betty looks away.
RICHARD
Look at me and tell me we’re keeping it.
She does not look at him.
Richard charges at her and stands inches away from her, towering over her.
RICHARD
Look at me!
She cowers.
BETTY
Please stop!
RICHARD
You’re my wife, Betty!
I can’t believe it!
You want to be like the rest
of the country, getting divorced?
All those people, following the fags to hell!
BETTY
Richard just stop.
RICHARD
And what about Sam?
Remember your son?
BETTY
Don’t talk about him.
You hardly even notice him!
RICHARD
I’m a good father to Sam.
BETTY
Please. You know him about as well
as your father knows you!
Richard grabs Betty’s face.
RICHARD
Don’t you insult Daddy!
Betty fights him off and backs away.
BETTY
Stop it!
They stare at each other in silence.
BETTY
You made another vow before God remember?
(pause)
What did you promise that night?
What did you promise you’d never do again?
Richard shakes his head.
BETTY
And you’re not even drunk now.
RICHARD
I don’t drink.
BETTY
But that whiskey bottle is still in the
cabinet, Richard.
(pause)
And it’s not full.
Richard turns his back to her and leans on the kitchen table.
BETTY
You’re a hypocrite.
Just like everyone at that church.
She takes a deep breath.
BETTY
I’m sorry it got brought up like this.
RICHARD
Just stop talking.
BETTY
I’m going to stay at my mother’s
for the weekend.
Richard sits down at the table.
Betty picks up her briefcase from the floor and begins walking away.
Richard stops her when he says…
RICHARD
It’s not going to happen.
Betty looks down.
RICHARD
You’re my wife.
You’re staying with me, your husband.
Betty leaves the kitchen, and Richard hears the front door open and slam shut as she leaves the house.
For a moment he stands still, the rage inside him boiling, and when he can no longer stand still he violently grabs her coffee mug off the counter, enraged, and hurls it at the wall. It shatters.
BLACK SCREEN.
V
“TREY AND LILLY”
THAT SAME DAY AT LILLY’S AND HARRY’S NEW HOME – FRIDAY AFTERNOON:
As of now, the couple’s new home is a collection of many boards placed together to form the skeleton of the house. A construction crew surrounds the area under the bright sunlight.
Trey is one of these construction workers. He wears torn jeans and a wife beater, and he is shooting a nail gun into some two-by-four boards to piece them together.
Lilly has finally made her way out of to see the new house, just as her fiancé suggested. She leans against her car and sips from a bottle of water. She is blatantly staring at Trey while she bites her bottom lip.
Trey leans up and wipes sweat from his face. He sees Lilly staring at him, and he smiles.
Lilly comes to and shakes her head. She awkwardly looks away from him. For a second, she looks back and sees him laughing to himself as he walks away to the construction truck.
CONSTRUCTION FOREMAN
It’s coming along isn’t it?
Lilly jumps, surprised to see the Construction Foreman standing behind her.
LILLY
Oh yeah. It looks great.
She glances to the construction truck and sees Trey drinking from a jug of water.
LILLY
Everything looks… great.
CONSTRUCTION FOREMAN
Well I’m glad you like it.
By the end of today we’ll have the whole…
The Construction Foreman’s voice trails off.
Lilly can’t take her eyes off of Trey.
And then in slow motion…
Trey takes a drink from his water jug, and then he continues to pour the water all over himself. He looks at Lilly and winks seductively. But it’s all in Lilly’s head…
CONSTRUCTION FOREMAN
Come on, little lady.
I’ll show you what I’m talking about.
Lilly comes back to reality and quickly looks away from Trey.
LILLY
Okay. Yeah, let’s take a walk.
She walks with the Construction Foreman to the house and they step inside the structure.
She can’t help herself, and she glances again to Trey, who stands around with his coworkers. They are all looking at Lilly and talking amongst themselves, laughing.
Lilly avoids looking at them now, scoffing and shaking her head.
The Construction Foreman leads her to one of the beams and knocks on it.
CONSTRUCTION FOREMAN
See. Sturdy as ever!
His phone rings.
CONSTRUCTION FOREMAN
Aw crap! I’m sorry.
I gotta take this real quick.
He walks away and talks on his phone, leaving Lilly by herself.
Trey leaves his group and struts forward towards her with a swagger of cockiness.
Lilly pretends to be looking around at the house.
Trey approaches her.
TREY
Hi there.
LILLY
Hi.
She continues to avoid eye contact.
TREY
You the owner?
LILLY
Yes, me and my…
(rubs her engagement ring)
Yes I’m the owner.
He smiles.
TREY
Well it’s gonna be a great home.
This is probably our best work yet.
(pause)
I know it’s my best work.
He extends his hand.
TREY
I’m Trey.
Lilly hesitates, and then she shakes his hand.
LILLY
Lilly.
TREY
Very nice to meet you, Lilly.
(pause)
You know, I bet this place could use a few
add-ons in the future.
LILLY
Maybe.
TREY
Well if you ever need me to nail anything
else for ya, just let me know.
She stares at him in shock, her mouth open, but she’s blushing.
He’s smiling back at her, waiting for her to respond, and he’s quietly proud of himself for his “clever” comment.
LILLY
Uh, yeah, sure!
I’ll just have my fiancé give you a call.
She walks away from him and back to her car.
Trey walks back to the construction buddies, who boo him and laugh. He shrugs and looks back at Lilly.
Lilly gets in her car quickly, trying her hardest not to look back at him. What an ass! What a complete fool! What a complete
, unbelievably attractive fool.
She sees him looking her way. Her pulse, despite her trying to control it, is racing, and she can’t tell whether she wants to throw something at the son of a bitch or smile back at him. Either way, she knows she can’t flirt with that kind of temptation, not with her own wedding coming up, and so before she and Trey can even look at one another again… she drives away.
BLACK SCREEN.
VI
“HELEN”
LATER THAT AFTERNOON IN THE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS OFFICE:
The office is grey and boring, lacking in life or passion, a direct reflection of the man who sits behind the desk…
At the desk sits Richard, texting on his cellphone.
His cellphone screen reads: NEW MESSAGE FROM HELEN.
The message reads: “Free tonight? I wanna get nailed so bad!!!!”
Richard types a response: “Hell yes! My place! Everyone is going to be gone.”
A few moments…
Helen’s new message: “What time?”
The office door opens and in walks Trey, still wearing his torn jeans and wife beater. The work day is over, and he’s exhausted.
TREY
You wanted to see me, sir?
RICHARD
Yes, Trey. Please sit down.
Trey sits down in the seat across the desk from Richard. He already knows what’s coming.
RICHARD
Look, Trey.
You know we love having you here.
Trey shakes his head and looks down.
TREY
Please, sir, just cut the bull shit.
You’re firing me.
Richard sits back and folds his hands in his lap.
RICHARD
There’s been a lot
of cuts in the budget.
(pause)
There’s a lot of guys here who have
worked a lot longer.
They need this work.
TREY
And I don’t?
Richard clears his throat. There’s nothing he can say, and there’s nothing he’s going to do about the man’s lost job. What he wants is for Trey to leave.
RICHARD
I’m sorry, Trey.
Richard looks at a family photo of him, Betty, and Sam on the desk. He concentrates on Betty’s image in the photo, feeling the same hatred that had invaded him that morning.
RICHARD
Life isn’t fair sometimes.
We all know that.
Trey stands up. He’s rubbing his head when he notices the family photo on the desk.
TREY
Is that your kid?
Richard looks at the picture and nods.
TREY
Can I ask you a question?
A personal question, sir?
Richard leans forward and answers hesitantly.
RICHARD
Okay…
TREY
Do you have any regrets with him?
Your son? I’ve got a little girl and…
and I guess…
do you regret anything you didn’t do for him?
Or for his mom?
Richard’s face becomes stern.
RICHARD
Trey, here’s your check for the week.
He hands Trey a check.
RICHARD
Please leave.
Trey bites his tongue while he takes his last check. He’s never like Richard anyway, none of the men have. He sighs and leaves the office, never to come back to the only job that’s kept him barely scraping by.
Richard breathes deeply and shakes his head, thinking of Trey as some disrespectful prick who had no right to know his personal business. He returns his attention to his cellphone.
On his cellphone…
Richard types: “Be there at 10. I NEED that ass!”
A few moments…
Then there is a new message from Hellen: “:)”
BLACK SCREEN.
IN LILLY’S AND HARRY’S CURRENT HOME, IN THE BEDROOM:
Lilly enters, returning from seeing the new house. She wipes some sweat off her neck as she finds Harry in the bedroom.
Harry is packing a bag.
LILLY
Where are you going?
HARRY
Overnight meeting in the city.
The case is almost closed.
Just gotta push hard to get it through.
LILLY
So you won’t be home at all?
He kisses her on the cheek.
HARRY
Not tonight, babe. I’m sorry.
She’s disappointed. He’d be gone again, like always.
LILLY
I went and saw the new house.
HARRY
That’s great! What do you think
of it?
He doesn’t stop to have a conversation with her, and it sounds as if he’s robotically responding to what she says without any real thought.
LILLY
It’s nice. It’s really coming along.
HARRY
I think so, too.
He kisses her again.
HARRY
I would love to stay, babe, but
I’ve got to run by the office before tonight.
She forces a smile.
LILLY
I understand.
He is about to leave when she grabs his arm and turns him around.
HARRY
What’s wrong?
LILLY
You’re happy with me, right?
(pause)
Honestly. Please be completely honest.
Are you happy… with me?
HARRY
Why are you so worried about this?
LILLY
I don’t know.
You just see a lot of couples that are
married, but they don’t seem happy.
You know? People just – lie to each other.
Harry studies her curiously.
HARRY
Why do you say that?
LILLY
Because they go for what’s expected
of them.
(pause)
I think people pretend to be happy
just to keep things… safe.
Harry rubs his forehead.
HARRY
Lilly you’re making my head hurt.
I didn’t mean why do you think they lie?
Why are you saying these things in the
first place, Lilly? Are you unhappy?
Is that what this is about?
She looks away.
LILLY
No, no! I’m very happy.
Part of her feels she’s lying.
HARRY
When you talk about people lying…
you mean people like your parents?
Realizing she’s not ready to talk about hers and Harry’s relationship, she lies and blames her behavior on the scape goat of her parents’ failed marriage.
She nods.
HARRY
Baby, just because they didn’t work out
doesn’t mean we’re not going to.
We’re not them.
(pause)
I love you.
She looks at him, and she needs him to say something more convincing, but she knows he can’t.
LILLY
I love you, too.
They look awkwardly at each other.
He hugs and kisses her, and then he leaves.
Lilly gazes around the empty room. She’s alone, and she’s realizing she’s always felt that way.
LATER IN LILLY’S BATHROOM:
Lilly turns on the faucet in the bathtub. As the water pours, she undresses.
She steps into the tub and lays back. She runs her hand over the surface of the water.
She closes her eyes and she imagines...
She lies on a bed and Trey is on top of her. They are naked.
Trey is kissing her body while she lies, eyes closed, under him in ecstasy and pl
easure.
But then…
Lilly jolts awake in the bathtub.
She breathes heavily, flushed, and her skin is red.
LILLY
(whispering)
Son of a bitch.
BLACK SCREEN.
NAILED: The Truth Hurts Page 3