Ginny Stanhope
(30 years younger below)
ACT ONE
FADE IN: INT. PHOENIX BANK. (TAKE IT UP IMMEDIATELY BETWEEN JERI AND STANHOPE).
STANHOPE: I have to consider my wife and children.
JERI: Is that why you denied ever knowing me when Trish asked you? Because you were afraid your wife and children might find out you had a past?
STANHOPE: Leave it alone, Jeri.
JERI: I can't, don't you understand? My kid thinks I'm some kind of a...
STANHOPE (interrupting): That isn't my problem.
JERI: I think it is.
STANHOPE: Look, the bank will open soon, it's getting late...
JERI: Very late.
STANHOPE: Don't try to threaten me...
JERI: You're really running scared, aren't you? (LOOKING HIM UP AND DOWN SCORNFULLY) Funny thing when a man walks out on you. The way you build him up in your memory. A college man. Background and a name. Was I impressed.
STANHOPE: I didn't mean to hurt anyone.
JERI: Neither did I.
STANHOPE: Don't pretend it was more than it was, Jeri. A summer romance, that's all.
JERI: It was more to me. But I was still a kid, with stardust in my eyes. And a little hay in my hair because I came from the sticks...
STANHOPE: You were fun and we had a few laughs.
JERI: More than a few.
STANHOPE: I don't remember.
JERI: You remember the night I told you I was pregnant.
STANHOPE: I didn't believe you.
JERI: So you took a powder.
STANHOPE: I was scared about what my parents would say.
JERI: I was scared period.
STANHOPE: I...I came looking for you.
JERI: Sure.
STANHOPE: But the band had moved on.
JERI: When did you come looking?
STANHOPE: It was three months later.
JERI: To see if I was pregnant?
STANHOPE: I guess.
JERI: Thanks for the vote of confidence.
STANHOPE: We were just kids, Jeri.
JERI: Yeah, I guess we were. But I started growing up in a hurry after that.
STANHOPE: I'm sorry, Jeri. There's nothing more I can do or say.
(AT THIS MOMENT, THE DOOR SWINGS OPEN AND GINNY ENTERS, A BIG SMILE ON HER FACE)
GINNY: Daddy? Did you forget you were going to meet me and have coffee?
(TAKE STANHOPE, SHAKEN AT THE SIGHT OF HIS DAUGHTER)
STANHOPE: Ginny!
GINNY (to Jeri): Hello?
JERI: Hi.
GINNY (to Stanhope): Aren't you going to introduce us?
STANHOPE: This is...Mrs. Clayton. My daughter, Ginny.
GINNY (holding out her hand): Nice to meet you.
JERI (shaking hands): Nice to meet you. Thanks again for checking on that real estate for me, Mr. Stanhope. I'll phone you later.
(JERI EXITS THE BANK. GINNY STANDS LOOKING AFTER HER FOR A MOMENT, A PUZZLED EXPRESSION ON HER FACE)
GINNY: How come you're checking real estate for a customer, Daddy? I thought you only handled loans!
(TAKE THE EXPRESSION ON STANHOPE'S FACE, THEN SLOWLY DISSOLVE TO: INT. MICKEY'S SANITARIUM DAYROOM)
Marlena Evans
Mickey Horton
INT. MICKEY'S SANITARIUM DAYROOM (HE IS SITTING ALONE AT THE CHESS BOARD, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A MOVE IN A GAME SET UP FOR TWO. ESTABLISH HIS INTROSPECTION, THEN BRING MARLENA* EVANS INTO THE ROOM. MARLENA IS AN INDEPENDENT INTELLIGENT YOUNG WOMAN WHOSE CAREER AS A PSYCHIATRIST NEVER INTEFERES WITH HER LIFE AS A WOMAN. HER SUCCESS IS DUE TO HER PENETRATING PERCEPTION AND COMPASSION FOR PEOPLE. SHE IS EVERY INCH THE PROFESSIONAL. SHE WALKS OVER TO MICKEY, STUDIES THE BOARD WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING. HE FINALLY LOOKS UP AT HER).
(*IN THE ENTIRE SCRIPT, THE CHARACTER'S NAME IS SPELLED MARLENE. CLICK HERE FOR A SCAN OF THE ACTUAL FIRST PAGE OF MARLENA'S FIRST SCENE)
MARLENA: Stuck?
MICKEY: I'm trying to figure out how to put the queen in check without sacrificing a key piece.
MARLENA: Try the knight.
(MICKEY STUDIES THE BOARD FOR A MOMENT)
MICKEY: Of course.
[AND HE MAKES THE MOVE, LOOKS UP AT MARLENA SOBERLY]
MICKEY: Thanks. You know the game.
MARLENA: My dad taught me when I was a child. Mind if I sit down?
MICKEY: No, go ahead. You new around here?
MARLENA: Kind of.
MICKEY: I don't think I've seen your face.
MARLENA: Probably not. I've been on the third floor.
MICKEY: I've heard about the third floor.
MARLENA: What have you heard?
MICKEY: That it's kind of rough.
MARLENA: Everything's relative.
MICKEY: You a nurse or something?
MARLENA: No, I'm a psychiatrist.
MICKEY (a little cool): Oh, I see.
MARLENA: Does that turn you off?
MICKEY: How did you guess?
MARLENA: They tell me you go through therapists like a kid with a box of crackerjack.
MICKEY: You've talked with Dr. Powell?
MARLENA: I've been with him for the past hour.
MICKEY: You're assigned to my case?
MARLENA: I'm not on staff here, so I don't get assigned.
MICKEY: They brought you in from the outside.
MARLENA: That's right.
MICKEY: Am I supposed to feel flattered?
MARLENA: Not especially. You must have the money to pay my price. Or your family does. That's all.
[THERE IS A HALF-SMILE ON MICKEY'S FACE]
MICKEY: Okay, so you've put me in my place.
MARLENA: No, only trying to set the record straight.
MICKEY: You fancy yourself as a tough lady.
MARLENA: Not really. I'm trying to decide if we'll hit it off, that's all.
MICKEY: And?
MARLENA: I'm not sure. What do you think?
MICKEY: Why a lady shrink?
MARLENA: Why not.
MICKEY: Powell thinks a woman can reach me.
MARLENA: That's what he said.
MICKEY (looking at her hair): You're a real blonde.
MARLENA: Does hair color matter?
MICKEY: I try to strangle blondes.
MARLENA: Your favorite hobby.
MICKEY: So they tell me.
MARLENA: Okay. You've tried to put me on, down and out the door. But I think maybe we should give it a try.
MICKEY: Give me one good reason.
MARLENA: So you can have a crack at beating me at chess.
[MARLENA SMILES WITH A SMILE THAT IS ALL CHARM]
MARLENA: It bugs you, doesn't it. That you didn't see the move with the knight?
[TAKE MICKEY, STARTLED, SHOOTING HER A GLANCE AND FADE TO BLACK FOR COMMERCIALS # 3 AND # 4 (2 minutes, 3 seconds).