Perseverance (10 Minute Scene)

Clay – Well, hello.

Alicia – Hi.

Clay – What in blue perfect hell are you doing here?

Alicia – Looking for Tom.

Clay – Ha. Umm…he’s not here and hasn’t been for about a month.

Alicia – Do you know where he is?

Clay – Well, I think you got some explaining to do before I tell you that.

Alicia – Fair enough. Where would you like me to start?

Clay – Let’s start around a year ago, when you skipped town.

Alicia – I…I was scared. I was afraid and didn’t know what else to do.

Clay – Scared of what? Afraid of what?

Alicia – What do you think?

Clay – I don’t know. That’s why I asked.

Alicia – I was afraid of my feelings. The first time I met him in the bar. There was that feeling of some mythical connection. It felt like that mythical soul mate had been found.

Clay – So…it took you 3 months to realize this scared you?

Alicia – Ha. No and yes. At first, it was great. It felt good. I was looking to the future. I was loving every minute.

Clay – When and why did that change?

Alicia – When we started planning the Europe trip, I guess. I had been planning that trip before I ever met Tom. Once it became a “couples” thing, I started to freak.

Clay – You started planning a trip with Tom that you had already been planning for yourself and that’s when you started to freak?

Alicia – Yea. That’s why I ran. I thought that things would go back to normal for me if I did what I was planning to do be before Tom.

Clay – Did it work?

Alicia – Sort of. Out of sight, out of mind.

Clay – You know that he followed you?  He tried to find you. He was there for almost three months. After he had checked all the places you had planned on visiting, he backtracked and started hitting all the places you had talked about maybe hitting.

Alicia – I didn’t know that.

Clay – Yep. He almost caught up to you a few times. He’s never been the same.

Alicia – I didn’t know.

Clay – Well, now you know you how exquisitely you hurt my friend.

Alicia – I’m sorry. That’s why I want to find him.

Clay – To say you’re sorry? Why now? You’re getting married.

Alicia – No, I’m not.

Clay – You’re not? I was told you got engaged.

Alicia – I did, but I never intended to marry him.

Clay – Then why would you get engaged?

Alicia – Okay. His name is Jerod. We dated for a couple of months before I met Tom. Then he went overseas to fight in the war. After Europe, I moved in with my friend Shaunna and her boyfriend, Daniel, in New York. Daniel is a photographer and was trying to get a Gallery that would let him do a showing. He didn’t have enough of his own work for a full showing. So he asked me if we could combine our work so we would have enough for a full show.

Clay – What does this have to do with Jerod and you getting engaged or you putting my friends heart through a blender?

Alicia – I’m getting there.

Clay – Okay. Continue.

Alicia – Daniel and I do our show and a couple of my pieces sell. Jerod finds out about it through a mutual friend and made contact to congratulate me.

Clay – Ahh…So you two start talking again?

Alicia – Yes. The show was such a success that the gallery decided to have us each do individual shows.  It worked out that mine was going to be when Jerod was on leave. So he flies into New York for a couple of days at the end of his leave. I didn’t know he was going to ask me to marry him.

Clay – Unless you had giving him the impression you wanted to work things out and try again, why would he ask you to marry him?

Alicia – I don’t know. We had talked about it a little, but hadn’t made a decision.

Clay – So he comes to town and asks you to marry him and you say yes?

Alicia – He asked me when we were at dinner the night of my opening. There was almost twenty people there.

Clay – So he put you on the spot?

Alicia – Yes. My parents were there and all six of my little sisters.

Clay – He knew you wouldn’t say no in front of them.

Alicia – Yes. It was bad timing or something that Tom showed up.

Clay – What a bastard. When did you break the news to Jerod that you didn’t want to marry him?

Alicia – After the show.

Clay – Why didn’t you try and catch Tom before he left New York?

Alicia – I couldn’t get away from my show and after the show I had to deal with Jerod. Then I had to deal with my parents, who like Jerod more than they ever liked Tom.

Clay – Would you have broken it off with Jerod if Tom wouldn’t have showed up?

Alicia – I don’t know.

Clay – Tom showing up reminded you how you felt about him though? It ignited old feelings?

Alicia – Yes. I love him. I miss him. I need to find him so I can tell him everything. I knew the minute I first looked into his eyes that first night that I would spend the rest of my life with him. I never should have run away.

Clay – What if he doesn’t want you back? What if he feels he can’t trust you? What if you hurt him that much?

Alicia – I’ll take that risk. I have to find him so I can try to explain myself.

Clay – I don’t know, Alicia.

Alicia – Please, Clay. Help me.

Clay – What if I say no?

Alicia – Then I’ll fly to Europe and do the same thing he did and try to find him without your help, but if I do that and I find him and he listens to me and he gives me another chance and it works, you might not get an invitation to the wedding or get to be Godfather of our children.

Clay – Okay. I’m going to help you and hopefully it will help him too, but he could still be hurt so bad that he won’t give you the time of day.

Alicia – Thank you.

Clay – Don’t say that yet.

Alicia – I have to try.

Clay – I understand.

Alicia – Good. Thank you.

Clay – You’re welcome. Umm…The last e-mail I got from him was this. I have no idea where it is, but he says he will be there for two weeks and I got the e-mail three days ago.

Alicia – I know where that is.

Clay – What? Really?

Alicia – Yep. It’s in Bruges.

Clay – Where the hell is Bruges?

Alicia – It’s in Belgium.

Clay – How do you know that?

Alicia – It’s a movie.

Clay – What’s it called?

Alicia – “In Bruges.”

Clay – Okay. Let’s assume he sent this e-mail and picture the day he got there. You have eleven days to get there and find him. Can you afford a last minute plane ticket to Bruges and get there in time?

Alicia – I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. He’s worth every penny.

Clay – Oh yea?

Alicia – Yep.

Clay – Well, I think we should go get something to eat and have a couple of drinks and then come back here and get you a flight booked.

Alicia – That sounds good. Where are we going to eat?

Clay – How’s about Tucci’s?

Alicia – Sounds great.

Clay – Cool. Let’s go then. I hope this works, by the way. You two look good together.

Alicia – Thanks. I do to and I think it will.

Clay – Don’t get ahead of yourself.

Alicia – I’m just being optimistic.

Clay – Ha. I’m hungry, let’s get some pasta.