|
Story-line: Life begins and ends at the table.
SCENE ONE
Setting: A bar. Lights up on a table with two men. Jake (32) and Ernie (30).
JAKE
Man, you cannot change your mind just now. It's crazy, Ernie.
ERNIE
I know it's crazy… but… but… I cannot marry her… I lost my interest. I don't want to spend my entire life with a woman, who
I felt nothing else. Anyway, you know, I'm seeing another girl.
JAKE
The girl from Yankee Stadium?
ERNIE
Yeah. We have a date. She's amazing! And I fell in love with her.
JAKE
Wow! I've never seen anything like that... How the hell did you fall in love so fast?
ERNIE
I don't know. But I'll have to break up with my bride.
JAKE
I hope you haven't forgotten that Don Bellini, the mobster, is the father of your bride, huh?
ERNIE
I know… it's my problem.
JAKE
It's a big problem.
ERNIE
What should I do?
JAKE
Man, man… I don't know what to say.
ERNIE
I know.
JAKE
What?
ERNIE
You could talk to him.
JAKE
Who?
ERNIE
Don Bellini.
JAKE
What the fuck, man!
ERNIE
Jake, we promised each other. Do you remember?
JAKE
No. What're you talking about?
ERNIE
When you were in college, you went on, "We will be friends forever, we will always stand by each other." So, now is the time to do that.
JAKE
Oh boy! I won't even be able to go near him…
ERNIE
I can try to get a meeting for you.
JAKE
You're out of your mind.
ERNIE
Please. I need you.
(Silence.)
JAKE
You know, huh? You know that after this meeting, our bodies will take one last trip inside the trunk of a car.
ERNIE
Maybe.
BLACKOUT
SCENE TWO
Lights up on a table with a couple. Drusilla (26) and Luigi (30).
DRUSILLA
I won't marry him.
LUIGI
What?
DRUSILLA
It's over, Luigi.
LUIGI
What happened?
DRUSILLA
I will break it up?
LUIGI
Why?
DRUSILLA
You know, I don't love him… by the way, I think, I never loved that guy.
LUIGI
Good. And your dad? Does he know about your decision?
DRUSILLA
I'll talk to him, too.
LUIGI
Wow! When?
DRUSILLA
I don't know… but it has to be soon…
LUIGI
And your mom?
DRUSILLA
She knows. We talked yesterday.
LUIGI
What did she say?
DRUSILLA
She got nervous. And she was like, your dad will blow up the world.
LUIGI
Oh my God!
(Pause.)
DRUSILLA
Do you love me?
LUIGI
Of course, Drusilla.
DRUSILLA
Then, let's go to Europe. We could start a new life in Lisbon.
LUIGI
It would be dangerous. Your father will never understand our love. He hates my family.
DRUSILLA
My mom will fix all that for us.
LUIGI
I don't know.
DRUSILLA
Please. Trust me. It may be our only chance to be happy.
LUIGI
I love you!
(They kiss.)
BLACKOUT
SCENE THREE
Lights up on a table with two men. Carbona (40) and Tommaso (35).
TOMMASO
Everything is right?
CARBONA
Yeah. The bodies are in the trunk of my car.
TOMMASO
Wait a minute! Are you talking they're here, inside your car parked on the street?
CARBONA
Yeah.
TOMMASO
Carbona! Carbona! Didn't you get rid of them?
CARBONA
No. You said to meet you here.
TOMMASO
Idiot! After you get rid of the bodies.
CARBONA
Sorry! I was on my way to dump them in the river when you called me.
TOMMASO
Oh my God!
CARBONA
Easy, man. Don Bellini didn't want this? The fiancé thing is over. The guy and his friend are dead.
TOMMASO
Okay, okay. Lemme see what to do now.
CARBONA
When we're done, I'll take them to the river.
TOMMASO
I think you have to go right now.
CARBONA
Tommaso? I'm waiting for my spaghetti with clams.
TOMMASO
Eat it later.
CARBONA
What? No way. Smell this dish... I can see the clams sliding through the spaghetti while my fork rolls it up. Come on, Tommaso! You invited me to
this lunch. You'll pay for this spaghetti, won't you?
TOMMASO
You're sick.
CARBONA
Please, let me eat first…
TOMMASO
All right.
CARBONA
Thank you.
BLACKOUT
SCENE FOUR
Lights up on a table with a couple. Don Bellini (60) and Giovanna (50).
DON BELLINI
What she did to me is unforgivable.
GIOVANNA
Please, she couldn't marry a man she didn't like.
DON BELLINI
So, why she got engaged?
GIOVANNA
It was a fleeting love.
DON BELLINI
What?
GIOVANNA
She thought that guy would be the love of her life… but it happens that he ain't.
DON BELLINI
It's a lot of crap. She makes me get the wrong man. Mamma mia! Two guys are gone.
GIOVANNA
What're you talking about?
DON BELLINI
Forget it. Look, tell me about this other guy she's seeing.
GIOVANNA
He is a nice guy.
DON BELLINI
What does he do?
GIOVANNA
Well, well. He's an entrepreneur. He works with import products.
DON BELLINI
What's that?
GIOVANNA
I don't know… I don't understand the business world.
DON BELLINI
Well, well. I want to know this guy.
GIOVANNA
Yeah. We could invite him to dinner.
DON BELLINI
Yeah, of course. You can organize all that.
GIOVANNA
Of course.
DON BELLINI
Next week.
GIOVANNA
I don't know… I need to check out if they have any appointments.
DON BELLINI
I want to know all about this guy. What's his name again? Luigi? Is that it?
GIOVANNA
Yeah.
DON BELLINI
And what's his last name?
GIOVANNA
Well, I've...
DON BELLINI
What?
GIOVANNA
He's… he's… Luigi is nephew of Domenico Mancini.
DON BELLINI
What fuck is that?
GIOVANNA
But he doesn't work for the family.
DON BELLINI
(He punches the table furiously.)
Never! My daughter will never be part of that family.
BLACKOUT
SCENE FIVE
Lights up on a table with two men. O'Brien (40) and Mulligan (45).
O'BRIEN
Mulligan, listen to me. First, the bridegroom and his friend disappear. Then, the bride appears dead.
MULLIGAN
Yeah. But before someone killed the bride, Luigi Mancini, the nephew of Domenico Mancini, was killed. Of course, it was revenge.
O'BRIEN
Since then, four more guys have died.
MULLIGAN
(Reading a list.)
Paolo Bianchi, nicknamed "Carbona", and Enrico Tommaso. They worked for Don Bellini. And Ennio Rosselini, nicknamed "Big Nose", and Anthony
Gemma were from the Mancini. All dead.
O'BRIEN
It's proof that they're making war. Two gangsters dead from each side.
MULLIGAN
Eight people died.
O'BRIEN
It's noise, man.
MULLIGAN
How could we do this report, huh?
O'BRIEN
You know, it will be very hard to get any interviews with them because these men from the mafia, you know, they don't speak to anybody. I'll try to
talk to the FBI, and they will say it is a secret investigation. The silence will be total.
MULLIGAN
Right. Then, what do we do, O'Brien?
O'BRIEN
I don't know. I never did a story about this subject. Anyway, I didn't study journalism to talk to criminals.
MULLIGAN
Neither did I.
O'BRIEN
I got in this business because of baseball. Sportswriting was my dream.
MULLIGAN
I got my degree with other intentions, too. I want to write reviews of movies.
O'BRIEN
Oh boy!
MULLIGAN
I don't even know where to start this story. What I know is that we have a deadline.
O'BRIEN
I have an idea!
MULLIGAN
What?
O'BRIEN
We can start with the table.
MULLIGAN
What do you mean?
O'BRIEN
All these crimes were decided in a table conversation.
MULLIGAN
Yeah… it makes sense… probably with many foods and wines…
O'BRIEN
Exactly.
MULLIGAN
(Pointing to the table.)
Everything happens around here.
O'BRIEN
They kill and die at the table.
BLACKOUT
END
|
