Scene iii
Fade in
Lobby of the museum, mid afternoon
James is meeting with the artist from Utah, (Jeffery Day)
James: Well Mr. Day, I am glad that we could do business together.
Jeffery: Of course, I am just amazed that you contacted me in the first place.
James: Oh of course Mr. Day, you have good art and we want to integrate the good old west here in the east.
Jeffery: Well, I have the painting in my car, do you want to take it now?
James: Of course.
Jeffery: Then follow me.
(They exit, walking to the car and receiving the painting, then they walk back into the gallery and James looks at it.)
James: I love it!
Jeffery: I am glad.
James: What do you call it?
Jeffery: The Death Of A Rose.
James: Ah, truly abstract!
Jeffery: (confused) Um.....yeah, sure. Anyways, it is all yours now. Thank you for the payment, (walking out)
James: Yes, of course!
(James lifts the 3 by 4 foot canvas and puts it on a display easel. The painting is of a man, sitting on a chair, clutching a rose as he cries over a grave.)
James: Yeah, that’s not abstract, I don’t know why he thinks it’s so abstract.
(James walks into the other room. Fade out).
Fade in
End of day at the gallery, James walks out to meet Alfred
Alfred: (Walks towards the Death of a Rose), is this your prized Utah piece of art?
James: Yes, and it’s awesome.
Alfred: Yes, I have noticed, the silly ballot you had me issue has told us that visitors really like it.
James: I told you, it’s very romantic.
Alfred: This guy is crying…..
James: Not that sense of Romantic, like emotion evoking.
Alfred: Well, I’m glad it’s a hit.
James: Me too!
Alfred: Are you ready?
James: Bowling with you? It shouldn’t be too hard, ‘are you ready?’ is the question.
Alfred: Come on, I need to stop by the house and change.
James: Oh, I thought you would go in your snazzy suit.
Alfred: I’m not like that.
James: Lets go.
Fade out
Fade into the car
Alfred: Hey, James. Are you busy on Friday?
James: Nope, why? Do you want to go on a date?
Alfred: Um……...not with you. Gale and I are going to dinner, and a show, find someone and come with us.
James: What is the show?
Alfred: The Philadelphia Story
James: The James Stewart movie?
Alfred: Well it’s a play.
James: I don’t know Alfred, I don’t like dating.
Alfred: It will be fun, I will get you on a date.
James: You can’t get me on a date.
Alfred: Oh I can……….
James: I beg to differ.
Alfred: You owe me?
James: What do I owe you?
Alfred: Gale said you were going to paint our house, but we both know you won’t do that.
James: Already took care of it!
Alfred: No you did not!
James: (Nearing their house), Um, yeah, look.
(James points to the wall of Alfred’s home and on it is the 20 by 10 foot mural of The Great Wave of Kanagawa).
Alfred: James…….did you just………
James: (smiling) yeah.
Alfred: Dang it Jim! I swear I’m…..
James: ...not a miracle worker.
(Alfred looks at James with a glare)
Alfred: I’m not going Bowling, find your own ride home.
(Alfred turns the car off, gets out)
James: Well, Good! I left my wallet at the Gallery so there!
Alfred: Fine!
(Alfred walks in and slams the door to his house. James, fearing Gale would come out and be angry at him, hails a cab back to the gallery. By the time he comes to the gallery we see Claire, sitting on a bench reading who notices James).
Claire: Hello James!
James: (stopping next to the bench) Oh, hello Claire.
Claire: Why are you in a hurry?
James: Well, I just um. . .angered my brother in law, so I ran back to here.
Claire: Well that is nice.
James: What are you reading?
Claire: Oh, it’s Death Of A Salesman, by: Arthur Miller.
James: I have never heard of it.
Claire: It’s a good one. Do you read much?
James: Um, not really. I read books on Monet and Renoir, not really fiction or anything.
Claire: Why not?
James: Well, it just seems unrealistic sometimes, and it never happened, so how could it apply to me?
Claire: Well, you can take themes from them, and you can get ideas from it.
James: Really?
Claire: Just like everything else, you can be inspired by it.
James: Of course, but I’m just not easily inspired. Well…….
Claire: Well what?
James: Well, the other day, when I met you, you did inspire me to look differently at all my paintings.
Claire: Really? And what did you find?
James: Well I was terrible at it, but I had an idea.
Claire: And what was that?
James: Well, I was thinking if I could offer you a job here, as a tour guide of the gallery. I can teach you backgrounds and you could go into the inner depth of it.
Claire: But you need a degree for that sort of thing.
James: Well, what did you major in?
Claire: English…..
James: Dang it, Alfred was right…..
Claire: Who is Alfred?
James: My brother in law, you know, he deals with the business side of things at the museum.
Claire: Oh, sorry, I wish I could be of assistance.
James: Oh, you know, it’s fine.
Claire: I’m sure you will find someone.
James: Maybe, I’ve never really looked for someone before.
(Pause as they look at the cars passing by, and James contemplates the last couple of lines)
James: You seem to be out here a lot, just reading.
Claire: Oh, yeah. I have this crazy roommate who invites a lot of her friends over, and I just want to read my books.
James: You could always try the park.
Claire: Ah, but the bench here is great.
James: It’s just a bench……
Claire: Jim, you are too close-minded, look at the scenery. I’m surrounded by cool architecture, and art. The sun sets over here and the shadows and the twilight creeps over the square creating really perfect lighting. Things tend to quiet down sometimes and all you here is the whooshing of cars, which isn’t all that bad.
James: I guess it’s pretty great…..
Claire: Honestly Jim, look into life a little more. Stop and smell the roses, there are more important things than the important things in life.
James: I’m not sure I follow. . .
Claire: It’s more important to take notice of the beautiful simple things in life than rushing through trying to get your art into your museum. Do you notice the actual beauty in the art in your museum?
James: Not before the other day.
Claire: You should start. (Goes back to reading her book)
(James pausing and looking through the scene, pausing at Claire. He admires her features, then catches himself, shaking his head and looking down, but finds himself slowly looking up at her again.)
James: (cautious) Um…….Claire, this is super just random, but um…….my sister and her husband are going to dinner and a show on friday and I was just wondering if you wanted to come.
Claire: (Quite surprised) Oh, um…….yeah, I think that will work.
James: Alright, cool.
Claire: What show?
James: The Philadelphia Story
Claire: Oh that is a classic.
James: Yeah, i guess.
Claire: (Her phone goes off as she gets a text) Oh, it’s my mom, I’m supposed to meet her uptown, I have to go.
James: Alright, cool. I will see you Friday.
Claire: Bye. See you Friday.
James: Wait!
Claire: Yes?
James: Could I get a ride home?
fade out
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