ROOT BEER 203 - A Fighter Pilot's Story (Part 2)

CUT TO:

INT. ROOT BEER 203

TEX
I'm sorry, Honey. I love you. Take care of the kids.

He starts to laugh at the irony of his predicament.

TEX (CONT'D)
At least I won't have to swim...

The SONG begins to FADE AWAY as the scene ends.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. RURAL EAST TEXAS SUMMER 1938 - DAY

A typical scene from DEPRESSION-ERA EAST TEXAS. At the end of a long, dirt road sits a small, tin-roofed farm house. Surrounding the house are a few acres of farmland - mostly corn, YELLOWISH-GREEN, THIRSTY FOR RAIN.

The words "EAST TEXAS, SUMMER 1938" appear, then disappear from the screen. Around back sits a hog-pen. Several hogs and pigs try to escape the sweltering heat by burying themselves in the mud. A few chickens scratch in the dirt. A cow grazes nearby.

At the front of the house, TWO LITTLE BLONDE-HAIRED BOYS sit on the edge of the porch, their legs dangling in the air. They are dressed like little boys in rural, 1938 East Texas would be dressed: faded, dirty overalls in bare feet.

Obviously brothers, the OLDER BOY has something in his hands. It appears to be a knife and a piece of wood that he is "whittling." His hair and clothes look wet, his face like he has been crying.

YOUNGER BOY
You gonna tell Daddy what happened?

OLDER BOY
(whispering urgently)
Shhhhhhh! Granddaddy said it was a secret.

ANGLE down the dirt road. A TALL MAN approaches. As he comes closer, we can see his face. The expression says it all - he is bone-tired. On his left arm, he wears an enormous bandage.

Upon seeing the man, both boys jump off the porch and run to greet him, the older one carrying the knife and wood.

OLDER BOY (CONT'D)
(getting a head start)
There's Daddy. I'll race you, BOBBY JOE.

BOBBY JOE
No fair! You jumped up before I was ready.
Daa-aa-dy, ORVILLE GENE cheated again!

As they run up and hug him, the Tall Man smiles down on the two boys.

TALL MAN
Now, now, boys. Let's have none of that.
Your ole' Dad is mighty tired, I just want to
rest a bit. Orville Gene, how did you get so wet?

BOBBY JOE
Daddy, these older...

Orville Gene cuts him off.

ORVILLE GENE
(uneasily)
Uhhh..... Bobby and I were playing near.... the....
the swimming hole and.......I.....and I fell in.

TALL MAN
I've told you about going near that swimming hole,
boy.

The Tall Man walks towards the porch, his sons clinging to him as he walks.

TALL MAN (CONT'D)
(sighing)
I guess it's about time I taught you two how to swim.

He steps up on the porch and as he sits down in a rocking chair, he notices the knife.

TALL MAN (CONT'D)
Son, what have I told you about running with that knife?

ORVILLE GENE
Sorry, Daddy. What happened to your arm?

TALL MAN
Oh, I got a little scratch at work today. Whatcha got there?

Orville Gene holds up the piece of wood.

ORVILLE GENE
I'm making an airplane, Daddy? Do you like it?
I'm gonna be a pilot some day.

TALL MAN
That's mighty fine, son. I'm sure you will. Now,
where's your Mamma?

At this, an ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMAN woman steps out of the house through the screen door onto the porch.

YOUNG WOMAN
Now, that depends. Just who is it that wants to
know? We get a lot of strangers around these parts,
ya' know.

She sits down in the Tall Man's lap with a giggle, until she sees the bandage.

YOUNG WOMAN (CONT'D)
Dear God, TILLMAN! What happened?

TILLMAN
Oh, it's nothing. One of the towers we was taking
down today fell and cut my thumb. The doctor said
it was nothing to worry about.

YOUNG WOMAN
Doctor? What doctor? You're not talking about that
ole German Quack, are you?

TILLMAN
Now, LORENE. That's not very nice, DR. HOFFMAN
ain't no Quack. He said everything would be fine.

Not wanting to think about his hand, Tillman stands up and goes into the house. An extremely strong man, the only hint we get of the excruciating pain he is in is a slight wince that appears on his face as he gets up.

TILLMAN (O.S.) (CONT'D)
I'm starved. What's for supper? Oh, hi, MAMMA.
Hi, DADDY.

Lorene and the boys stand up and follow Tillman into the house.

CUT TO:

INT. FAMILY ROOM AND KITCHEN OF FARM HOUSE

Sparsely decorated, there is a beat-up Victrola in the corner of the family room. JIMMIE ROGERS can be heard coming from the speaker. Through the screen door, we see an OLDER WOMAN, Tillman's Mother, standing at a stove. An OLDER MAN stands in the kitchen. Tillman goes over and gives his mother a kiss on the cheek. They all sit down at the table and bow their heads for prayer.

CUT TO:

INT. TILLMAN'S BEDROOM WEEKS LATER - EVENING

Tillman lies, unconscious, in a bed surrounded by his wife, mother, father, and a couple of his brothers, VON and ELLIS. His fever-wracked body is drenched in sweat. A SOFT SOUND can be HEARD, like the FAINT BUZZING OF A SAW. Indistinct at first, in a moment the source is readily apparent - they are the SOUNDS OF SUFFERING, and they are constant. He is obviously dying. A DOCTOR gets up from the edge of the bed and closes his medical kit.

LORENE
Well, DR. ANDERSON?

DR. ANDERSON
I'm sorry, Mrs. Elliott. There is nothing more I
can do for him. The infection has spread too far.

LORENE
No! Dear God, No! He can't die!

Lorene collapses in a wave of tears and sobbing and is led from the room by Ellis. He takes her out to the porch where Orville Gene and Bobby Joe are waiting with their baby brother, JIMMY.

Dr. ANDERSON
(turning at the door to look at Tillman
once more)
If only Dr. Hoffman had removed his thumb,
he might have lived.

CUT TO:

EXT. FRONT PORCH OF FARMHOUSE

Lorene sits, inconsolable, on the edge of the porch. In her lap is Jimmy, just a few months old. Orville Gene and Bobby Joe sit next to her, trying to comfort her. In her face is the look of a woman who has just lost her whole world.

LORENE
(sobbing)
What are we going to do?

ORVILLE GENE
(through tears of his own)
It's okay, Mamma. I'll be the man of the house, now.

Orville Gene reaches out to hug his mother.

Lorene turns to look at her oldest son. She takes his little face in her hands and looks into his eyes. She smiles - a sad smile, just the same.

LORENE
You will, won't you son?

The boys hug their mother. ANGLE UP up from the scene on the porch, a FULL MOON rises at the end of the road.

FADE TO:

INT. ROADSIDE DINER KERMIT, TEXAS 1939 - MIDDAY

A hectic scene in the kitchen and counter area of a "greasy spoon" in a small, West Texas oil town.

The words "KERMIT, TEXAS 1939" appear, then disappear from the screen.

A young woman, her simple dress draped with an apron, is behind the counter, busily serving the hungry, sometimes ill-mannered CROWD OF oil-spattered MEN. One of the men tries to pinch her on the bottom. She quickly slaps his hand away, smiling uncomfortably. We finally see her face. It's Lorene.

CUT TO:

INSERT OF WALL CLOCK - it reads 12:20.

CUT TO:

SHOT OF LORENE GLANCING AT CLOCK

LORENE
(to herself)
You're late, MR. WILSON.

CUT TO:

INT. SHOT OF DINER ENTRANCE

A SMALLER-THAN-AVERAGE MAN walks in the door. Unlike the other men in the diner, his uniform is clean and he is clean shaven. His coveralls show his employer's logo: MAGNOLIA OIL COMPANY. On one side we see stenciled his name: BILL WILSON. On the other the words: CREW CHIEF. His bearing belies his stature - he is obviously not one to be trifled with.

LORENE
(pouring him some coffee)
Well, Mr. Wilson, nice of you to join us. I was
beginning to think you weren't coming today.

BILL
(sitting down on a stool)
Please, Lorene, call me BILL. You can say, Bill,
can't you?

Bill sits near the end of the counter, near a large radio in the far corner. He turns up the volume, as a MAN'S VOICE can be HEARD finishing a local news report. The announcer introduces a song and we HEAR BOB WILLS AND THE TEXAS PLAYBOYS.

CUT TO:

ANOTHER ANGLE OF LORENE AND BILL AT COUNTER

Lorene notices a book in his hands.

LORENE
(putting a playful emphasis on his name)
All right, "Bill." What are we reading today, "Bill?"

BILL
"Riders of the Purple Sage," by ZANE GREY. You
should read him some time.

LORENE
(smiling)
Maybe I will. You're not the garden variety "roughneck,"
are you, Mr. Wilson?

BILL
I try to be different, Mrs. Elliott.

LORENE
Now it's my turn. Please call me Lorene. Why so
late today?

BILL
(feigning irritation)
Well, Lorene, if you must know, we had some trouble
with a well we're digging. Had a pipe collapse at the
500-foot level. We had to pull all that pipe out of the
ground and start over.

LORENE
My, how that DOES sound exciting!

CUT TO:

INT. SHOT OF DINER ENTRANCE

An OLDER WOMAN walks in with Orville Gene and Bobby Joe. She is carrying Jimmy.

LORENE
Hi, Mamma. Come on in and have a seat. Hi,
boys. How're you doin' today?

ORVILLE GENE
Hi, Mamma. We're just fine. GRANMA' is taking
us to the drugstore for a soda.

The boys hop up on the stools on either side of Bill. Lorene's mother chooses to stand.

LORENE
(motioning towards BILL)
Mamma, I want you to meet Mr. Bill Wilson.

BILL
(rising from his stool)
How'do, Ma'am?

CUT TO:

SHOT OF LORENE'S MOTHER LOOKING DISDAINFULLY AT BILL

LORENE's MOTHER
(icily)
You can keep your seat. I'm fine, thank you.

CUT TO:

SHOT OF BILL, LORENE, AND TWO BOYS AT THE COUNTER

BILL
Are these your boys, Lorene?

LORENE
They are. The oldest one is Orville Gene, the
middle one's Bobby Joe. The baby is Jimmy.
Say hello to Mr. Wilson, boys.

BILL
Please, call me Bill.

LORENE
It's Mr. Wilson, to you two.

ORVILLE GENE AND BOBBY JOE
(together)
Hi, Mr. Wilson.

BILL
Such fine boys. Their Daddy must be real proud
of them.

LORENE'S MOTHER (O.S.)
(flatly)
Their Daddy is dead.

LORENE
(with an exasperated tone)
Mother! Please!

BILL
I'm sorry. I didn't know.

LORENE
It's all right. He got sick last year and died back
in East Texas. After the funeral, I came back to
Kermit and moved in with Mamma and Daddy.
(leaning forward whispering, so only Bill can hear)
And don't mind Mamma. She's just suspicious of
"strange" men.

BILL
(whispering back to Lorene)
As she should be.

CUT TO:

SHOT OF LORENE'S MOTHER

Lorene's mother motions to the boys to follow.

LORENE'S MOTHER
All right, you boys. Let's get along, now. I've got
things to do.

Orville Gene and Bobby Joe hop down off their stools and begin to follow their grandmother.

As he is passing Mr. Wilson, Bobby Joe stops and looks up at him.

BOBBY JOE
Are YOU gonna be our new Daddy?

Taken aback by the child's forwardness, Bill is unsure what to say. With a sheepish grin, he turns towards Lorene across the counter.

BILL
Well, now, that would depend on your Mamma,
wouldn't it?

CUT TO:

INT. SMALL CHURCH KERMIT 1940 - AFTERNOON

A couple stand at the front of the church, in front of a PREACHER. They are dressed simply - he in an ill-fitting suit, she in a dress off a rack from the local department store.

It's Lorene and Bill on their wedding day. The boys stand in line to Bill's right, Lorene's SISTERS to her left.

Lorene's MOTHER and FATHER sit in the first pew on the left, her mother dabs at her eyes with a handkerchief.

PREACHER
I now pronounce you Man and Wife. You may
kiss the bride.

Bill leans forward awkwardly and gives Lorene a quick peck on the lips. From his expression we can tell - it is the happiest day of his life.

FADE TO:

INT. WILSON HOME DECEMBER 8th 1941 - EVENING

...to be continued.